Cambodian Blog - New

I have started a new blog about my activities in Cambodia

www.cromincambodia.blogspot.com

Here are the first posts (these are not links)

Last few temples
Lake Tonle Sap and the floating village
Hard workers, more strange food, embarrassing moment
Village (slum) Tours
Rice Drop Day
The Battambang Killing Cave
Teaching 57 Five-year-olds English

Seamstresses' Project Complete

Ock Pop Tok Training 

Hua and DerYang are back from their 2 week training at Ock Pop Tok (OPT) which is a craft centre in Luang Prabang. I had rung OPT 3 times during that time to check on progress and that they were OK. I got good reports – keen, interested and eager.

I went out to Ban Xai to talk to them about their experiences - they had a good time and it seems as though it was very valuable. They came back with material to make 180 cloth handbags – there is substantial hand embroidery required on each bag. Through Yang, my Hmong/Lao manager, I asked questions about how the training went, what the people were like, how the guest house was, the travel to work on bicycles (they had never ridden bikes before), the lunches, evening meals etc. It was all fine - they liked the OPT people and had a good time. I asked each question and watched Hua and DerYang as they answered. Hua is the natural leader - a confident, bright, pleasant young lady and took the lead in answering. In the end I leaned forward and, as I looked Hua steadily in the eye, I said, “How were the boys?” Yang translated. She didn’t hesitate or falter - she looked me in the eye and said in Hmong, “No boys”. DerYang had said nothing, deferring to Hua to answer the questions. I didn't want her left out so, in the end, I asked Yang to ask DerYang if she enjoyed herself and she blushed demurely and said yes. Then I asked her if the journeys had been OK (she was travel sick when we went the first time - 7 hours of very winding mountain roads) and she blushed, “Yes”. And did she miss her family and she blushed, “Yes.”     I gave them a deep cop and we departed.

The Tools

I put forward a case to MiVAC that, if we are serious about poverty reduction, here is a perfect case which, with a little extra capital, will make a difference to these 5 ladies. I asked for enough to pay for the training, an industrial sewing machine and an industrial overlocker. (I don't know - it does edges or something) and was given AUD1,000. If I go over the top, I pay. OK.

A week ago we went to the sewing machine lady in the "dry market" and collected the 2 new machines – overlocker (2.5m kip) and sewing machine (3.5m) - we needed both the old and new Pajeros as the machines are mounted in large metal work tables. Then we went Ban Xai and moved the machines into the sewing room.

We loaded the 2 old, unserviceable Chinese machines that I was going to part-exchange for the new ones into the old Pajero and returned to Phonsavan. Took them into the sewing machine lady and got 1m kip for them. I bought some extra lubricating oil for the machines and, having paid for the training trip to Ock Pop Tok in Luang Prabang, had $25 remaining out of my $1,000 budget! See Vicki? I can do it on my own! OK, it wasn't 0.01% but any saving is good around here.

The ladies have been given the material by OPT for an order for 180 bags of 2 designs. They also have to make single examples of 4 other items (don’t know what) for assessment by OPT. 

Poverty Reduction

So I believe I have completed what I can. The ladies are in direct contact with OPT, they know how to get the products transported to Luang Prabang and raw material back, they have an order and promise of more. They are now well set up with professional, industrial machines, a work location, appropriate training and an outlet for their work.

One of MiVAC's main goals is the reduction of poverty in the Phoukood District of the Xieng Kouang Province of the Lao PDR. In an endeavour to reduce poverty I am very happy that we have been able to help these young ladies as much as we reasonably can - the rest is up to them to make a go of it.

Fund Raiser for The Lone Buffalo Starts 16th April 2014

I think the people at the Lone Buffalo Foundation do very good, worthwhile work. If you think you may be interested in donating and want more information you can find plenty in an earlier post (Mine Awareness Day) on this blog and at the links below:
Lone Buffalo Foundation
Jon Witsell is running the fund raiser - please keep an eye on Jon's websites:
Plain of Jars Project
Plain of Jars Project - Connect
Jon's YouTube channel
Start Some Good crowd funding - Plain of Jars Project web page

To Donate

If you would like to donate please click here

Thank you

Mine Awareness Day

Mine Awareness Day and the Lone Buffalo Foundation

Is it a petanque ball or a mine?

The purpose of this post is to draw your attention to the UN International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action which falls this year on Friday 4th April 2014 and to the Lone Buffalo Foundation in Phonsavan. I hope the connection will become clearer later in the post.
Click here for Mine Awareness Day 
Click here for the Lone Buffalo Foundation

On Jon Witsell’s website there is (or soon will be) a short video in which Jon and I were about 30km west of Phonsavan, near the village of Pong Hor, standing on a hillside which was the site of gun emplacements during the American Secret War. Minefields were laid around the hill to protect the emplacements and connecting trenches from ground attack. Five hills near Pong Hor and the neighbouring village of Ban Xai were mined and 2 have been cleared by the Mines Victims and Clearance Trust, an Australian non-government organisation funded entirely by donation.

On the other 3 hills there remains a risk that cattle will be blown up by mines. Furthermore, there is a risk of death or maiming to the villagers themselves if they go into the mined areas to collect their cattle. If they wished to turn the field over to cultivation of the very popular Hill or “Sticky” Rice, the use of agricultural tools exposes the villagers to severe risk of death or injury from striking a mine.

The issue in Lao PDR is not just mines, there is unexploded ordnance (UXO) dropped from aircraft or fired from guns and just lying in the ground randomly. Between 1965 and 1973 during the American Secret War, 580,000 US bombing missions were conducted over Laos which is equivalent to one bombing mission every eight minutes, 24 hours a day. The data show that Cluster Bomb Units (CBU) containing 260 million bomblets (called “bombies” by the Lao) were dropped on Laos and, of these, 30% failed to explode. Therefore, from this source alone, there are thought to be 80 million items of UXO. Then there are the heavy bombs, mortar rounds, artillery rounds, and grenades.

Clearing UXO costs from US$2,000 per hectare to as much as US$10,000/hectare. In a mine field the mines were deliberately buried with the intention that they should not be found. An added problem is that mines can be made of materials like plastic that make them hard to detect. Clearing a mine field costs, conservatively, ten times as much per hectare as clearing UXO.

According to the National Regulatory Authority of Lao PDR, cluster bombs account for the majority of UXO dropped on Laos and current clearance rates show that annually 'bombies' make up roughly 50% of the UXO being cleared. Additionally, in the last decade 30% of UXO accidents in Laos were caused by cluster bombs.

Cluster Bomb Display at COPE

The photograph above was taken of a CBU display at COPE in Vientiane (more later) and the two clamshell sides and tail cone of the CBU can be seen as though they had just parted (by small explosive charge) and the bombies are falling randomly to the ground. There are many types of bombie - here is information on three found in the Plain of Jars (courtesy of www.designation-systems.net).

Bomb Live Unit (BLU)/3 "Pineapple"

BLU/3 "Pineapple"

 

BLU/3 (left) and BLU/42 halves

The Bomb Live Unit (BLU)/3 "Pineapple" was a fragmentation bomblet for use against personnel and unarmoured targets. After release from the CBU aerial dispenser, the bomblet was stabilized by six pop-out drag vanes. It detonated on impact and dispersed 250 high-velocity steel pellets which can be clearly seen cast into the wall.  Length: 95mm (3.75 in); with vanes extended: 170mm (6.7 in).  Diameter: 70mm (2.75 in).  Weight: 790g (1.75 lb).  Explosive: 160g (0.35 lb) RDX.

The BLU-26/B "Guava"

 

BLU/26B (Picture: NRA of Lao PDR)

  

The BLU-26/B "Guava" is the most common UXO in the Plain of Jars and was an air-dispensed APAM (anti-personnel/anti-material) fragmentation bomblet containing 600 embedded steel fragments with a lethal range of 12m (40feet). The BLU-26/B had three different fusing options. It could detonate immediately on impact, as an airburst 9 m (30 ft) above ground or after a selectable but fixed time after impact. Like the BLU42 (below) it is centrifugally armed. In the ground impact version any slowing of the spin rate detonates the bombie. Therefore, it was used in forested areas when the enemy could not be seen but were believed to be beneath the trees. The bombie’s rate of spin would decelerate as it hit the canopy of the trees and effectively become an airburst. The externally identical BLU-36/B and BLU-59/B had random-delay fuses so that people entering the area to help the wounded after the first explosions would also be injured by subsequent explosions or would leave the wounded unattended for fear of the delayed fused bombies. Diameter: 64mm (2.5 in).  Weight: 435g (0.95 lb).  Explosive: 85g (0.19 lb) Cyclotol.

BLU-42/B"Spider"

BLU/42 Exterior

BLU42 Interior

The ball-like object above and being held by the child in the photos and videos on Jon’s websites is a BLU-42/B WAAPM (Wide-Area Anti-Personnel Mine also known as a "spider"). It is an anti-personnel fragmentation minelet. It was fitted with several surface and trip-wire sensors for detonation, an anti-tampering device and some (presumably not Jon's) had a self-destruct system. The flutes or vanes on the outside of the casing cause the bombie to spin as it falls and it is armed by centrifugal force. After it hits the ground 8 trip-wires spring out of the holes hence the nick name "spider". These days, 40 years on, the wires have usually rusted away but the bombies often remain “live”. Diameter: 60mm (2.38 in), Weight: 500g (1.1 lb), Explosive: 71g (0.15 lb) Composition-B.

The Cluster Bomb Unit

 The Cluster Bomb Unit CBU2B/A carried 409 BLU-3/B bombies, the CBU24 carried 665 BLU 26/B bombies and the CBU-34/A carried 540 BLU-42/B bombies. In an earlier post you will see CBU clamshells being put to various uses. Here’s another - CBU fence posts.

CBU clamshells as wall posts

What's The problem? 

Map of bombing targets in Xieng Khouang Province. Phonsavan is in the middle of the red just south of where it says "Pek"

On 24 December 2012 Lao PDR Deputy Prime Minister Asang Laoly stated that between 1996 and 2012, more than 31,000 hectares had been cleared and the total UXO identified and demolished during surface clearing now totals over 1.3 million items. Laos still has more than 87,000 square kilometres (8,700,000 hectares) UXO contaminated land to be cleared.

Currently, the National Unexploded Ordnance Programme (UXO Lao) employs teams of 22 people to clear one hectare of land each month. But even using many teams they can only clear 5,000 hectares each year.

At present, Laos receives about US$30 million in financial support each year. By 2020 the Lao government aims to have cleared UXO from 200,000 hectares of land.

COPE

In Vientiane is the Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise (COPE) where they build and fit orthotics and prosthetics for mine and UXO victim survivors. They do the same work for all people who need their services, for example, people injured in motor bike accidents or those born with birth defects like club foot. According to the National Regulatory Authority for the UXO/Mine Action Sector in the Lao PDR (NRA) over the last decade: 

• There are approximately 300 new casualties annually
• Accidents caused by cluster bombs rose to 30%
• 40% of casualties are children.

 

Polypropylene is replacing leather, aluminium and wood

You would think everyone in Lao PDR would be aware of the UXO/mine problem and that may be the case but I suppose when one lives with the problem, familiarity breeds contempt. I’ll give you an example. The Hmong sister of a friend of mine was clearing land that they had recently bought so that they could build a house. During the work one weekend she came across a bombie. She picked it up and threw it away. When I expressed my horror to my friend he said that people often throw them into lakes or wedge them into trees. At least in a lake or a tree it can’t be stepped on!

Another issue is that bombies are attractive to children as toys. The French game Petanque or Boules is very popular in Lao PDR and, presumably, many children see their fathers throwing the metal balls. Unfortunately, as can be seen from the photo at the top of this Post and below, bombies and petanque balls are very similar.

Click here to read the story of Pheng and her children

The temptation for children to play with bombies or other UXO and the relatively casual disdain with which some adults treat UXO are a real risk for all outside the immediate confines of urban areas of Lao PDR. In other cases, farmers in Lao PDR may know their land is contaminated but can’t afford another plot. They simply have no choice but to cultivate their land.

It will take many decades to clear all the mines and UXO in the Lao PDR at the present rate of clearance. The Mines Victims and Clearance Trust (MiVAC) cleared the mines from the first 2 hills at Pong Hor but until MiVAC receives donations to de-mine the other 3, in fact, until all of the other mines and UXO in Lao PDR are cleared, what can be done? 

Education must be the key.

Education is an investment. In the more developed countries many students don’t appreciate and don’t take full advantage of comprehensive, free education.

The Lone Buffalo Foundation (LBF) in Phonsavan, Xieng Khouang Province takes children and young adults who want to be educated, who want to make that investment in themselves. These people have made the connection between education and a route out of poverty.

The LBF also teaches football which is valuable not only for the health benefits and team ethos that accrue but also for the improved concentration and stress relief that exercise brings. Football education complements academic education.

As part of the education at the LBF students are taught an awareness of the dangers of UXO and mines. If the land is not safe to walk on, at least the students can be taught how to avoid some of the risks.

Education leads to a healthier lifestyle, longer lifespan, gaining a better job, being more productive and earning a higher income. Education leads to poverty reduction. More importantly, in the case of the LBF education could also, literally, save their lives.

The LBF teachers are volunteers. So are the administrators. The whole operation is run on donations of money, time and skill.  

I make no apology if some of the information in this post is a little blunt. The people of the Lao PDR and, in particular, around Phonsavan in the Plain of Jars deal with these matters routinely in their lives - there are still 50 people per year killed by mines/UXO in Lao PDR. Friday 4th April 2014 is UN International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action. Please consider donating to Jon’s fund raiser for the LBF,

Click here for the Plain of Jars Project

Thank you

Drums, interesting people, dog bite, newer car, a long journey and 63 million Kip.

Drums and Alms

Luang Prabang is a very serene, tranquil, peaceful place. There is a lovely mix of oriental and colonial (French, admittedly) culture. I really like it there. There are 17 Buddhist Temples in the town centre and one often sees monks and novice monks around the town. 

 

Serene

 

Tranquil (to be honest this temple is on the other side of the Mekong from LP. But look at it. It's lovely!!)

 

Peaceful.  (But what is that Temple Cat lying on?)

Monks laying concrete

Monks climb to the temple on Mount Phousi

Novice tidying up

 

Most temples here have an open tower with a gong or bell at the top and a drum on the level below. The pictures below illustrate this but are from Vientiane and Moung Khoun. 

Drum tower at Wat Mixay, Vientiane

Drum tower at Wat Si Phom, Moung Khoun

In Luang Prabang, before dawn at around 0500, when the wind is calm, every morning I am woken by the gentle sound of the drums from the local temples - I presume it is the “wake-up call” for the monks. The tempo starts slowly and quickly builds until it gets too fast to beat and so, stops. This "groove" repeats 3 times.

Later, at about 0630, the monks walk in procession to seek alms from local people. Bare-footed, they walk silently until they come to women kneeling or men standing at the roadside waiting to give them food - sticky rice, fruit and so on. Whilst they are receiving alms they chant quietly. This ritual may be seen every day, near every temple (in the world I suppose). I see at least two sets of monks whenever I am out running in Phonsavan. I avoid eye-contact, give them the Cop and wish them, “Sabaidee” (hello) as I pass. In Luang Prabang it has become somewhat of a tourist attraction with tourists lining the streets to watch the procession. This would be OK if the tourists would just stay at a respectful distance and behave unobtrusively. Unfortunately, there are too many who don’t understand the significance to both the monks and the donors and intrude rudely. 

Monks receiving alms (I was behind a wall looking through railings using a zoom lens and an ISO of 1600)

Jon Witsell, The Lone Buffalo Foundation and Mines Awareness Day

Jon Witsell gave up his job in New York film industry to come here to create a portfolio of artistic photographs of the Jars and to promote mines awareness. he has some really great pictures and other interesting photographic stuff on his website - click here for Jon Witsell Photographic Arts

He became involved in the Lone Buffalo Foundation (you will see more about this organisation soon on this blog and a lot more Jon’s website) and I will not steal his thunder, suffice it to say you may have seen the “teaser" video I sent round by email.  If not, please take a look - click here for Teaser 

The ball-like object being held by the child in the photos and video is a BLU-42/B WAAPM (Wide-Area Anti-Personnel Mine also known as a "spider"). It is an anti-personnel fragmentation minelet. It was fitted with several surface and trip-wire sensors for detonation, an anti-tampering device and some (presumably not Jon's) had a self-destruct system. As the Cluster Bomb Unit shells separate the bomblets or minelets (known locally as "bombies") scatter. The flutes or vanes on the outside of the casing cause the bombie to spin and it is armed by centrifugal force. After it hits the ground 8 trip-wires spring out of the holes hence the nick name "spider". Diameter: 60 mm (2.38 in), Weight: 500 g (1.1 lb), Explosive: 71 g (0.15 lb) Composition-B. These days, 40 years on, the wires have usually rusted away but the bombies often remain “live”.

Which leads me to the catchily titled... 

UN International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action falls every year on 4 April.   Click here for Mines Awareness Day 

I Was a Dog’s Breakfast

Early one morning in Vientiane I ran and when I was nearly back at the guest house there were 3 dogs at the side of the road at a noodle restaurant. As I ran past, one of the dogs ran out and bit me in the thigh. It didn't feel like much in that split second between realising I had been bitten and looking down at it but it started to bleed straight away. The endorphins must have masked how badly I was bitten. My blood was pumping from my runso it looked worse than it was. I got really angry for a moment and went back to try to kick the dog but he ran into the restaurant. There was nobody there who looked like the owner.

I ran on to the guest house where I rang Doug who had lived in Lao PDR for 30 years to ask his advice. He was brief and unequivocal - get rabies shots at the international clinic at the hospital. I showered, washed the wound - not as bad as I feared, dressed, went down to reception and asked them to write the name of the clinic in Lao on some paper. I jumped in a tuk tuk and as I went past noodle shop I saw the dogs and a lady standing there. I jumped out and said, "You have three dogs," and I pointed at them and gesticulated with barking and biting signs, "That one bit me!" and showed her my leg. She looked at me blankly.

I went on to the hospital, walked in through the front door and was greeted by a lady (doctor it turns out) behind a desk. It was about 0730. I said I had been bitten by a dog and showed her my leg and she directed me to a nurse’s station a few metres away. The male nurse wrote out a prescription and sent me a few more metres to the pharmacy. He looked at the prescription, put on it the appropriate and obligatory rubber stamp and sent me to the Cashier. I paid LAK148,000 (=$20). Back to the pharmacy where I was given the vaccine and returned to the nurse.

When I was having my course of injections, vaccinations and inoculations in Canberra before I came to Lao the doctor said that if I was bitten by a dog I would have to get myself to Bangkok within 2 days for the vaccination. This is because (a) rabies can kill you in 4 days and (b) there was a world-wide shortage of vaccine and there wasn’t any in Australia. The other thing he said was that I should get them when I arrive because, if I am bitten by a dog, the first injection has to go directly into the wound and is extremely painful. Oh, good.

So, it was with some trepidation that I presented myself back to the nurse. She prepared the syringe and I pointed first to my leg and then to my upper arm. Upper arm. Oh, good! Too easy.

Took some photos of the packaging (names, expiry dates etc), the doctor wrote on the back of the receipt the dates of the next 4 doses and told me that, yes, they would have the vaccine in Phonsavan. Good to go.

Tuk tuk back to hotel by about 0820 - it was probably only an hour since I got bitten! 

Disabled in Vientiane

I met a lady, Meena, at the Vientiane Rotary Club meeting who said she might be able to help me find suppliers for our seamstresses. The next day I walked to the Morning Market which is a mall on 3 floors and where Meena runs a kiosk selling jewellery and beauty products. She also has a travel agency and currency exchange. Meena is a wheel-chair user.

She met me at the foyer and led me to her kiosk. She asked me for what sort of materials I was looking for my seamstresses and then we set off through the throng to 2 or 3 shops, none of which had Lao cotton. Back to the kiosk where she put on her jacket and collected her handbag. She wheeled herself briskly down the ramp, hand-brake turn at the corner, out of the mall across a rough access road towards the mall next door. "You will let me know if I can help won't you Meena," I said. "I need help now," she said as we approached a curb which was about 300mm (12") tall. I got her over the curb but then there were 6 steps into the mall next door. She waved at a man standing nearby and I suppose said something like, "Take the front" and I took the back and up we carried her. Off she went again at a great speed amongst the shoppers. At the lift she noticed a drinking straw on the ground so wheeled over, picked it up and popped in a nearby bin. I’ve never seen anybody in Lao PDR pick up litter!! I bought some Lao cotton cloth and we made our way back to the car park at the front.

Frequently she would stop briefly to exchange greetings or a few words with other stall holders, the man running the toilets, a tuk tuk driver. Then her phone rang. She tried to push herself along one-handed while talking on the phone. Unbidden, I started pushing, once she had finished I told her that in Australia it is against the law to talk on the phone whilst driving. I told her to let me drive while she talked. She laughed out loud!

We went to a taxi (I'd never noticed a taxi in Lao before this) and the driver seemed to know her. He allowed her to lift herself into the car and straighten her dress over her very thin knees, folded the chair up and put it into the boot. Meena gave him instructions and off we went to another shop. I went in to see if they had what I wanted - they didn't. We then went to the national stadium where Meena was meeting friends and I walked back to my guest house. What an amazing lady! One of the things I notice wherever I am when I am out running is the state of the pavements. In Lao, generally, they are not good. Certainly in Vientiane they are much better than Phonsavan. Nevertheless, Meena must have endless patience and determination not to let her disability slow her down too much.

Newer Car

In Phonsavan, MiVAC has a 1995ish Mitsubishi Pajero. It is a heap. It has done literally countless kilometres (the clock stopped long ago at 340,000km), it makes thick black smoke from the exhaust when accelerating, it is often going wrong, the driver’s seat and one other have collapsed, the tailgate rattles loudly and there are suspicious knocking noises from various parts of the steering and suspension. And the hand brake doesn't. And a tyre keeps losing pressure. What? Yes, I do expect it to go on forever!

Old Pajero crosses the ford going to Hinmou Peung - end of the dry season so the river is VERY low

New Pajero at the MiVAC house in Phonsavan

One reason for my recent visit to Vientiane was to collect our newer car: a 2000 Mitsubishi Pajero with only 160,000km on it. Just nicely run-in!  We bought it from a lady at the Australian Embassy who was returning to Oz and I thought I was just going to meet her and drive it back - you know - a day, maybe 2 max, to do the paperwork? Errr, no. What was I thinking?

It is a very long story which involved at various times: visits to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (twice), Ministry of Health, Ministry of Transport, Australian Embassy (thrice) and internet shops, many tuk tuk rides, much frustration with the Lao and Australian bureaucracies in 40 C temperatures.

One anecdote…. Mr Poo, from the Australian Embassy, came with us the the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We went to the Asia/Pacific Office (on the first floor) and a lady gave me a ticket which said that the letter we need as part of the process to hand back the Australian Embassy Diplomatic Plates on the car would be ready in 4 to 7 days. Mr Poo translated that she said we would then need to return to this office to take the letter to the Protocol Office on the ground floor. I looked at Mr Poo steadily and said, “I have to drive 400km from Phonsavan in a week’s time to carry a letter from this office to another office downstairs?”

“Yes,” he replied, “Normally that is what happens but I will come and do it for you.” What a kind man!

The Journey to Phonsavan

The journey involved driving a 14-year old car which, apparently had never been outside the local area of Vientiane 400km to Phonsavan over some pretty impressive scenery up and down some significant hills. We stopped for lunch at the bottom of the climb to Phoukhoun in Kasi where it was 38 C. There is a climb of about 1,400m (4,500feet) and naturally the old car didn’t like it and started to overheat. We pressed on climbing more slowly. There was a downhill section for a few kilometres after Phoukoun and the temperature dropped. At this point we heard the front, nearside brake binding. So we stopped and let everything cool off for a few minutes. There was nothing we could do but press on because we were way out in the middle of nowhere. I went very slowly up the hills to try to avoid overheating the engine and very slowly downhill using the engine braking in low gear on the automatic transmission to try to save the brake.

The temperature went up and down quite quickly with the climbs and descents and, at this stage. However, the temperature gradually climbed and eventually didn’t come down. We stopped, as it turned out, about 3km from the final summit before the drop into Moung Souy and the Plain of Jars which is at about 1,100m (3,600feet). Once the temperature had dropped we set off very slowly up the hill. The temperature immediately went to max but came off the peg as we crested the summit and got some air through the engine. It was getting dark and the temperature gauge light didn’t work - a blessing that I couldn’t see it?

I drove at about 60kph thinking that I would maximise the flow of air with the minimum expenditure of fuel/power/heat. It seemed to work and the temperature sat just off the max for a while. However, every hill we climbed drove the needle back to the Max peg. The last hour or so in the dark was a test with so many unlit bikes, people, cattle and the Pajero had rubbish headlights. I thought the journey would never end. We made it to Xang’s house at about 1930.

He lent me his motor bike and to round off a relatively stressful day I had my third motorbike ride in my life and my first in the dark!

Ever Seen 63 million Kip?  

= USD7,833 or AUD8,468 or GBP4,709