November 2021

GROUNDHOG DAYS – MONSTER PROPOSAL – MEMOIR ONE FINISHED – THE COVID TRAIN LEAVES THE STATION – WORKING WEEKEND TO LAO OCEAN

 It feels as if I could simply take the text from my October diary and cut and paste it here. Although possibly I have become spoilt over the years with “variety”, the fuel of my motivational engine. For the most part my days were a Groundhog Day repetition of morning cycle, work and homeschool zooms, afternoons work and evening exercise with Christopher at the field. I should not be complaining should I, not at a time such as this. 

 I have been engaged with a MAMOTH work project, developing a huge, complicated proposal that if successful, will provide funding for 5 years of good work on my Protected Area. Pretty much every night and all weekends have been taken up with this task as it needs to slot in over and above the day-to-day management of the program. This certainly has contributed to my feelings of being on a conveyor belt of deadlines and zoom meetings. This too will pass through. Did I already say I should not be complaining?

 My first memoir project was finally completed this month, and I received all the completed document files for the e-book and print versions, including a media pack of images for the marketing process. Marketing process……. 

I decided that the least I could do, after all the efforts that went into the project, was to have a few copies of the book printed at our local printer. It came out better than expected. I so badly want to load it up on Amazon for sale, but the sad reality is that if I do that, it will be still born, just as my Oman Oracles book was. Without a significant marketing strategy, no one other than my few friends and family would even hear about it, never mind finding it and then choosing to read it, why should they?  I must think carefully about this one. 

 COVID 19 hit Lao hard during this month, and even in my small village, small red squares of cloth depicting a “COVID house” could be seen on many locked gates close to me. Strangely through, even as cases rose, the country started to open up, markets and restaurants, then provincial borders as well (All except my NP province of Houaphan which remained locked down) In spite of the continued lockdown of the Lao international borders, the long-awaited Lao / China railway was opened on schedule, allowing international access to Chinese and Thai passengers across the borders. I guess it’s going to be difficult to justify this concession for too much longer, so possibly we can expect some level of border lockdown relaxation in the near future. 

 Towards the end of the month, I was able to take my motorbike on a road trip up to Vangvieng town and then on to Greenview resort on the Lao ocean for a weekend of working in a more peaceful, uninterrupted environment. 

 Next month is December. What happened to the rest of 2021?

October 2021

LOCKDOWN SMACKDOWN - ZOOMING THROUGH SCHOOL – GREYSCALE - WHEELIES AND POWERSLIDES - SELF PUBLISHING PROGRESS - FINAL 5.

 Difficult to get a solid grip on this time now. With the rest of the world opening up, Lao is locking down as COVID really takes hold. With no chance of heading out of Vientiane or going to my site up North, I am feeling restless and discontent. The lights of Thailand, just a short distance across the Mekong from our house, beckon cruelly. I have taken to fantasizing out loud to Mina;

“Mina, do you think it’s possible for you to take me to the airport tomorrow morning? I have a few things I need to do in Bangkok. It’s just for a few nights and I’ll be back on the Sunday afternoon flight.”

Mina looks at me. 

“What you talking about, you crazy or what?!” 

I’m not the only one struggling with this, though. Little Christopher is missing school terribly, with no friends to play with and the 5-6 zoom lessons per day a poor substitute for a 7-year-olds social life. I’m trying my best to be all things to him, a father, friend, teacher and mentor. My efforts are essential to his well-being, but they do little to fill him up in the areas he really needs. Tough times. 

With all this self-induced pressure on me, it’s interesting to see my creativity take a dive. I struggle to lift the burdens of work and home sufficiently from my mind to allow my creative spirit to roam free. As a result, my photography feels grey and uninspired, as are my few weak attempts at writing. Better to aimlessly scroll through YouTube videos, right?   

Despite the exploding COVID situation in Laos, the strict lockdown regulations set in place appear to be receiving less enforcement resulting in some inconsistences throughout the capital city. On the positive side, all the police checkpoints have disappeared, some restaurants and many coffee shops have opened for business. After supervising Christopher’s major set of zoom lessons and “classwork” in the morning, I head out to the office after lunch and work alone till the evening to catch up on the backlog of my morning's work. 

I bought Christopher his first “real” bike, a blue 20’’ 7 speed MTB. His old bike was really a toy. In the evenings, Christopher and I ride down to an abandoned school field near our house and ride our bikes around. During this time, I practice my wheelies, while Christopher practices power slides and gets used to having a set of gears. We are both improving in our separate objectives. Long controlled wheelies is a skill I have always wanted to develop, but never really had the time. I can now do around a 4 seconds burst at a time. It doesn’t sound much, but it is actually a vast improvement. 

In terms of my book development, things moved quickly this month. We finalized the book cover edits and completed the print book formatting and type-setting. I was shocked to see that the final proofreader found 123 errors, and this after a full set of professional line and copy edits! I also now have a set of ISBN numbers, one for each format, print and e-book. All that remains is the e-book formatting and a media marketing pack.  

I had an interesting experience this past week at work while developing a concept proposal for a new UK government funded grant for my site. Nothing unusual, X amount of GBP for a 5-year period. Been there and done that on more than one occasion. The thing that got me was the realization that this is most likely my last 5 year anything in terms of my formal working life. When I write the final report for this grant, if we get it, I will be 67-year-old. 

September 2021

 ANOTHER MOTORBIKE – RAIN SEASON IN HIEM – LIMA SITE 85 – VIENGXAI CAVES – COVID-19 RUNS AWAY IN VIENTIANE – LOCKDOWN – WORK FROM HOME – SCHOOL FROM HOME – BOOK PUBLISHING PROGRESS.

Brummmmm..

A month ago, I bought, or rather, replaced my adventure motorbike back home in South Africa with a road bike here in Laos. It’s not a conventional bike for me, a replica of an old classic, but lovely looks, old school handling and a beautiful voice. I took it up to Hiem, a good 800km round ride over a variety of road conditions and loved every moment on her. 

LIMA site 85 

My three weeks up in Hiem were hot and wet, as is the case now in the rainy season. It was a busy time work wise, but we also got to visit the top of Phati Mountain (LIMA site 85). The site is the scene of an infamous battle during the secret war in Laos. During this battle, the Vietnamese attacked a small company of American soldiers and “contractors” maintaining a radar base to guide the US bombers into Hanoi City. The small area on top of the mountain is still full of the remains of the base after the attack. Anti-aircraft guns, parts of a downed helicopter, machinery to maintain the old STOL runway, and sections of the bullet ridden accommodation unit are clearly visible.  

 We went on further to the town of Viengxai. Here we visited the network of caves that the Lao revolutionary army and civilians lived and worked out of out of during the secret war in Laos. They have an audio recording of the history and first-hand accounts to listen to while you visit the various caves. There are caves used for hospitals, command center, library, jail, living quarters, and even a large entertainment center. It’s quite moving and genuinely inspiring to see the level of solidarity during that time, and to hear first-hand accounts of the pain, courage and bravery. I think they should encourage more people to visit these caves at regular intervals to remember what the original ideal was all about. In some cases, these ideals appear to have been lost somewhere along the road to riches.

COVID 19 run 

By the time I headed back to Vientiane, a fresh wave of COVID-19 had broken out in the capital, and so I returned directly into a “work from home” situation. Along the road back from Hiem, I endured a dozen police and military checkpoints, all related to the COVID-19 travel restrictions. Fortunately, all my paper and vaccine work was up to date, so my encounters, while tiresome, were pleasant enough.

 The next weekend, we found a hole in the lockdown curtain and could do a quick weekend trip to Vang Vieng. There, as a family, we could enjoy the hotel swimming pool and surrounding countryside, as always, stunningly beautiful. On the night before we returned to Vientiane, we heard ominous news that Vientiane was to be placed immediately under an even harder COVID lockdown. There was a strong possibly that we could not return to the capital at all. Leaving early the next morning, we travelled down through endless roadblocks and police checkpoint taking 7 hours to do a normal 2 hour road trip. We got home safely, although to a now very locked down Vientiane.

All from home 

The last few weeks at home have been taxing. With School from home for Christopher and Work From home for me, it's proving to be extremely challenging. Despite my efforts, I can see him slowly slipping away from the rest of the class. Regardless of how many Zoom classes in the day, it’s still home schooling, and needs full time parental supervision and input at his age. I am trying, but just can’t do it all. It hurts.

Self-publishing

 After struggling to find a competent book cover designer for my upcoming book publication, I decided to go the route of contracting a small publishing company. So far it proved to be the correct decision and the first set of cover designs they offered me were next level in terms of professionalism. The next stages are typesetting and proofreading for the print version of the book, followed by formatting for e-book. Lots for me to learn about the process of self-publishing! 

December 2020

TRUMP’ETS – COLD COMFORT – SEING STARS – OBSERVING PLANETS – SEASONAL FESTIVITIES – ROAD TRIP – INTO THE FUTURE

What in the world!

Hunter turned field guide and boatman on the NNNNS with his baby boy.

Never before has a cycle trip faded so quickly from my memory than my trip across Laos which ended late last month. Partly familiarity and partly the current workload of dumb ass chain-reporting and desk-based deadlines, but still I had hoped for some higher level of residual memory, energy and enthusiasm. Probably this has been compounded by the alarming situation around the world as my family and friends back in South Africa brace for a second round of lock down, but only now with an even more deadly COVID 19 strain of virus. Then there is Trump, running through the halls of American democracy and civil society with a flame thrower and a bunch of hand grenades while his handlers, to week or unprincipled to care for anyone beyond their own skin walk indifferently some distance behind him, or at worst, keeping him in steady supply of fuel, grenades.  

 Of course, beyond this rant, scenes and incidents of courage, humanity and compassion are played out daily, although largely escaping the media’s selective scrutiny. The large majority of people like yourselves and your friends, family and acquaintances, living their best life under difficult circumstances, caring about the things they say so as not to cause undo harm, finding meaning in honest work, sacrificing for those they love and generally wanting the best, even for those with whom they are mealy acquainted. The very least of these principles, values and deed’s, exceeding by far, the greatest evil concocted by men. Goodness and justice will prevail in the end.

 Winter mission to Nam Et Phou Louey.

Dinner spot on the Nam Nern Night Safari

I travelled up to Hiem by pick-up this time, which was great as I could load up my new “Hiem” MTB which will remain there for my monthly missions. Phonsavan, usually cooler than Vientiane due to its elevation was “better pack warm clothes” cold, colorful padded jackets enclosing rosy cheeked children shopping with mom and dad at the local market. The dry season made it possibly once again for us to use the short cut to Hiem, cutting a good few hours off the normal route time. Soon to be paved, a large section of the route had been upgraded and repaired, making for an even faster journey. 

Besides the normal management planning activities and work-related discussions, we managed to get in a trip on the Nam Nern Night Safari (NNNS) where we tried out a new birding route and investigated potential locations for camp sites on a two-night route option. It was a wonderful, so cold that its cold, trip upstream where instead of staying over in the cottages at the campsite, we chose to camp out on the sand bank normally used for the dinner spot. On this occasion, we were joined by a few of our staff who have not yet experienced the NNNS, always a privilege to share in the joy and excitement of first-time visitors, especially our Lao staff. Opting to try out a dawn safari instead of the traditional night safari, we recorded a disappointingly low observation count, only proving that a sample size of one is no sample at all. Our rangers assure us that dawn is the best time for viewing wildlife along the river. While we didn’t see much wildlife on this trip, the night sky was clear, its canopy heavily laden with stars, a spectacle seldom seen in the tropical areas due to the moisture laden air. 

 Back in Hiem, while walking back from Songphet’s restaurant one evening, I noticed something that seemed out of place in the clear night sky, high above the horizon. Later that evening after some internet searching, there it was, Saturn and Jupiter coming together for a once in 750-year kiss. So glad I caught this spectacle, as I clearly remember the nights of watching Halley’s, which showed up brightly above the oak tree at my parents’ home in the late 80’s. I suppose I could see it again, if I make it to 103, we shall see. 

 Tis the season……

Happy birthday

In the West, we have been handed down a rather thin variety of year end festivities, Christmas, New Year, and possibly thanksgiving if American. Here in Laos, we have first of all, the Hmong New Year celebrations, then Christmas for the benefit of the Falang’s (and retail), then international New Year for all, followed by Chinese and Vietnamese New Year celebrations in February and finally, Lao and Thai New Year celebrations in April. While up in hiem I was invited to celebrate, first one of our staff birthdays, followed by a Hmong family new Year celebration. While all this was all going on my own Lao family were attending a week-long family wedding in their home village far into the countryside, followed immediately afterwards by our own Christmas celebrations at home. Tis the season to be jolly all right! 

 Back on a highway

Vang Vieng -

A few days after Christmas we decided, rather spur of the moment, that a road trip for a few days would do us some good before the heavy lifting of 2021 begun in earnest. The trip really highlighted for me, the rapid development (in certain aspects) occurring in Laos. 

 Our first stop was the Nam Pien Yorla Pa resort located within the largely unmanaged Phou Khao Khouay NPA where we were met with a very organized and professionally run operation offering a range of outdoor activities. From tree top walkways, ziplines and a unique suspended cycling rail high up in the trees to more random activities such as BB gun shooting, a very steep downhill luge and the normal 4-wheeler track. They plan to provide accommodation and camping soon, and this should prove very popular among the rapidly emerging middle class within the country.  

 The next leg landed us at a very gross, stale cigarette reeking casino hotel, labeled as “Dansavanh Nam Ngum Resort”, close to, but strategically not actually on the banks or within a view of the Nam Ngum Dam (Lao ocean). The blue water stretching out beyond the patio size windowpanes I had seen on the website were in fact taken from the resort pier, located some way beyond the windowless, nicotine-stained room we actually spent the night in. Weaving a teenage daughter and 6-year-old boy between one arm bandits and scowling Chinese to the lift up to our room was in itself a walk of shame and fair punishment for not looking more closely at the fine print.

 Our final destination the familiar Vang Vieng, although the way there was anything but. Having been used to the pothole strewn broken road, crisscrossed by cows and herds of goats heading for the fields on each side, trucks and minivans in a chaotic slow procession, dusty, hot and very very dangerous, the prospect of using the new Lao expressway, sounded somewhat over optimistic. We entered the expressway at Phonhong, and what a surprise and a pleasure. Dual carriageways perfectly surfaced and well signed complete with tunnel, offramps and modern toll systems. 20 minutes was all it took to deposit us, relaxed and smiling on the main road of Vang Vieng town. Wow, thanks very much China, I’ll take one of those any day of the week. It really does make a massive difference to a trip of this nature and returning back into Vientiane was only an hour’s drive. (I won’t bother to mention the additional 50 minutes needed to drive the final 12km’s from the exit through town to our home.)

 Vang Vieng proved a subdued version of its former self due to COVID 19, which was not a bad thing really. The mountains, rivers and fields remain the same, quite beautiful and inviting. Two days of swimming, walking and eating was good for us all and provided some welcome relief from the traffic and rush of Vientiane City. As a result, we were happy to bid goodnight to 2020 at a reasonable hour, been woken, pleasantly so, at the appointed hour by a crescendo of fireworks from right next door to well beyond the far bank of the Mekong in Thailand. We murmured good wishes through puffy eyes and drifted back into dreamland.

Tomorrow, yet another year, no doubt. 

November 2020

SOCIAL MANIA – ORWELL - CYCLING ACROSS LAOS – SMART RANGERS – FILM PHOTOGRAPHY IN 2020?

 Social media

I’m still struggling with my determination not to be dictated to by social media. The reality though, is that sharing my stories, images and thoughts with you all is a big part of why I do the things I do, and what gives meaning to my photography. There is no point to documenting my life, only to lock the book away in a box under my bed.

 I am a storyteller, we are all storytellers, we cannot not communicate. Even my attempts at not communicating on social media, is an attempt at communicating that fact …. on social media! Actually, its really not at all the communication that’s the problem for me, it’s the knowledge that every line we write, item we click, photo we post, page we view is been collected and sold to the highest bidder, a bidder whose motives, values and purpose is largely unknown to us, except for one sure thing, the exploitation of who we are and what we think. 

 So I decide to print out a book instead, there, that’s content definitely off the grid right?..... except for my 360 revolving online subscription of Photoshop, Lightroom, and InDesign, a trail of YouTube how to tutorials, a series of email exchanges to the printer followed by an online transfer of files via my Dropbox account and an online payment transaction, followed by a thank you post to me from the printers, on their Facebook page!   

 Ok so how about I get off Facebook and Instagram for a while and focus rather on a website, that’s it! That will keep me off the mainstream social media, so I redesign my website to accommodate more regular and varied content and create a subscribe button which I share with you all on Facebook, subjecting everyone I know to have to decide if what you really need in your life is yet another request to click, like or subscribe, and the boomerang of hypocrisy once again fly’s around the corner only to hit me squarely on the back of the head. 

 Aggghhh, can’t live with it, can’t live without it. In my book review of George Orwells novel; Keep the Aspidistra Flying this month, I see the harsh reality of fighting against something that mainstream society has openly embraced. Of course you can do it, and many do, but few can avoid the loneliness that comes from being the only person in the room who is “right”. 

 There must be way, a path down the center, or to the left a little, then to the right, but until then, we

 Like, 

Comment, 

Click,

Subscribe, 

and let the algorithm report that, at the very least, we’re still alive.

 Cycle trip across Lao

My cycle across Lao continued on through much of this month ending near the Cambodia Lao border 18 days after starting at the China Lao border in October. Covering a distance of a little over 1,700 km in 16 days of actual cycling, it was wonderful to be out of the city, the office and the routine of everyday life. Reduced to a single purpose, one backpack and a bike, life can be very uncomplicated indeed.

Riding across the country in such a short time frame really highlighted the uniqueness of the various regions, mostly sampled through my interactions with the locals, especially the kids along the route. The outcome of COVID travel restrictions imposed around the world were evident across the country with most of the guest houses closed up and needing to be opened specially for me. 

 Southern Cross, my custom bike built for me by David Mercer proved herself perfect for a trip of this nature. By the time I reached Hiem town after a few days riding, I had reduced my kit to only the bare essentials, making my kit light enough to just enjoy the actual cycling. 

 I need to put my thoughts down and go through all my photos of the trip, sorting through 1,000’s of mostly bike selfies! Although I have riden in a few countries now, this is only my second actual crossing of a country by bike, but what counties! Bhutan and Laos! Can hardly wait for the next…….. 

 Ranger training 

The remainder of the month was taken up with forest ranger training in Thakhet, a town I had just cycled through on my bike trip across Laos. The Rangers and management team are responsible for managing Khounxe Nongma Provincial Protected Area in the central Annamite range of mountains separating Vietnam from Laos, an area of high biodiversity in the region.

Training involved field navigation using maps and GPS, recording patrol tacks and observations and collecting information of incidents encountered while on patrol. This information is then all downloaded into a software program called SMART, where the PA management team can analyze the data, and generate patrol reports and maps depicting the location and distribution of these key observations. Its an incredibly useful tool as it immediately highlights the; what, where, when of snares, hunting camps, people arrested, ranger patrol efforts, both spatially and graphically. 

I love this kind of work, always so inspiring to work with rangers in Lao. While their capacity may be low, they are hungry for knowledge and quick to learn, and as a result, any positive input results in immediate improvement in terms of protection of these areas.

 Photography

Life on the street - Thaket Laos (Ilford HP5 - Canon EOS 1N)

Coming back from my cycle trip across Laos, I sent in a batch of film shot during the past month to be developed by our local “garage” film developers, young Lao hipsters who have developed a passion for film.  So great to have these guys operating here in Lao, otherwise I would have to stop shooting till after COVID has come under control and I can once again travel regularly to Bangkok.

 Every time I see the results of one of my rolls of developed film for the first time, I experience a sense of disappointment and even frustration at why I am bothering with film at all. Visible grain, strange color profiles, artifacts, scratches and dust on the image, and more than a handful of frames out of focus thanks to poor technique on my part. But then after a second look and some reflection, a handful of images start to grow on me, and by the end of the process, I am in love with them. I load another roll of ILFORD HP5, KODAK POTRA 160 or KODAK EKTAR 100 into one of my 20+ year-old film cameras, closing the film door with a satisfying clunk. 

 “This roll will be different” I tell myself, “Better, for sure!”.

October 2020

LAST STORMS – BOAT RACING FESTIVAL – LAO OCEAN CYCLE – EARLY CHRISTMAS - MANAGEMENT PLANNING – ACROSS LAO CYCLE PT 1 – GOODBYE MOM.

Last storms of the season

last of the rain season storms, dramatic and ferocious, hit the country causing some serious flooding down south in the province of Savanakhet. Between these storms, the annual rice harvest is in full swing all over the country. 

Approaching storm on the Vientiane waterfront.

Boun Ok Phansa / Boat racing festival

A subdued and largely reduced, (due to COVID restrictions) annual boat racing festival took place in Vientiane immediately after the last day of the Buddhist lent period. Along with all the people from our village, we got to place our small boat float of flowers, candles and offerings into the Mekong river. The ceremony represents a blessing to the Mekong river for all the gifts it provides villages, towns and cities along its route to the ocean. A primary source of fishing, transportation recreation and refuse removal, but now increasingly under threat due to the many dams built within its catchment areas and on the river itself, higher up in China.

Our river blessing float about to be let loose in the Mekong River.

Lao ocean cycle

To make the most of the long weekend this month, I decided on a 3-day circular cycle trip from Vientiane via the “Lao Ocean” which is the Nam Ngum dam.  My original plan was to cycle to the dam, take the ferry over to the other side and continue around and over Phou Khao Khouay national park and back to Vientiane. When I arrived at the village on the other side, however, I was immediately blown away by the relaxed and peaceful atmosphere of the place. This was truly a paradise, one of the most beautiful, laid back places I have come across in Laos. I couldn’t bring myself to leave the next morning, so instead, I cycled around the village coastal areas, exploring the small bays, fishing jetties and villages. The children especially appeared to be thriving in the freedom and beauty of the place, diving off the wooden river boats, fishing and generally enjoying life on the “ocean shores. Huge mountains arise from either end of the horizon, adding yet another dimension of beauty to this place. It was difficult to leave when the time came, the local ferry loosely at anchor just below the window of my guest house. As with many of these experiences I have enjoyed in Laos over the years, I was the only foreigner.  

Nam Ngum dam

Early Christmas

With some opening of international freight services, I received a number of very welcome packages, some of which I had ordered in March, before COVID lockdowns earlier in the year. My sister sent me my driver’s license, wrapped with Cape Union Mart clothes and cycling shorts for my trip across Laos, and a colleague brought in with her from Canada, a batch of film stock I ordered. This was followed a few day later by the arrival of the original batch of film stock I had given up on which I had ordered from China in March! In addition, 2 classic film cameras ordered through e-bay, arrived from Japan after a 5-month delay in Singapore.

Film stock from China arriving just after a back up stock from Canada.

NEPL Management plan consultations

I had time for one quick trip up to the Nam Et Plou Ploy National Park (NEPL) before starting on my Lao country crossing cycle. I have been trying to take my annual leave for a few months now, but each time, someone on the program has something so important, that I need to postpone my leave. In this case, it’s to participate in the NEPL management plan consultation process, which is an important task. I can feel I need a break, its been non-stop from before COVID, and I feel stale and unproductive. 

Some of the NEPL technical team during a draft management plan review process.

Lao country crossing cycle

I have always wanted to cycle across Laos and with COVID international travel restrictions still in force, this was the ideal time. After a few days at home, catching up with a backlog of work and digging from next month’s pile, I was finally able to turn this idea into reality. My trip started on the 21st  with an internal flight to Luang Namtha and a short cycle up to the Lao Border with China at Boten, a crazy casino city. I then basically headed SE across Lao on my Mercer steel framed custom cross bike, Southern Cross” By the end of the month I had travelled 846km’s from the border to Muang Mo in the central area of Laos, with body and bike still very much intact. The journey continues into November.

On the road near Oudomxay

Farewell Mom

On the 19th my mom passed away quite peacefully with my siter Ellen at her side. She was doing ok only a few weeks before, but then she had a small accident in her room and broke her hip. The operation seamed to go ok, but soon after, infection set in and she slid into her final days with us. Although not entirely what she had in mind, even before the accident, mom had come to terms with the fact that she was nearing the end of her life, even embracing it, saying that she was ready to move on and go to be with dad. Always a mom, ever content, consistently considerate. I'm happy she went peacefully, but I regret that I didn’t get the opportunity to visit her in Cape Town just once more time, to take her out for tea, have fish and chips at Kalkbay harbor and have her spend time with Mina.  

 Not only did she give me life, she taught me how to live.

Goodbye Mom.

Mom during my previous visit to Cape Town during 2019