paddlesup

Hey, that's a fine-looking boat you built Arthur! Nice one. You should think about volunteering your services at a local secondary school and encouraging them to have a go at building a similar canoe. Maybe you could ask folks back home to chip in the cost of materials through sponsoring the school. I've just done something similar for schools up in Nakhon Phanom near the Songkhram River. I got the sponsorship money by canoeing down the length of the Nam Songkhram in July. Coincidentally, the story is covered in today's Outlook section of Bangkok Post.

I think canoeing or kayaking is one of the best ways for getting young people to appreciate their local river and thus increasing the likelihood of looking after it in future. It's also a great way of seeing the countryside and some brilliant old characters who still fish for a living. Like Newquay trawlermen, they're a dying breed unfortunately.

Enjoyed reading about you and your two buddies...what's up next, the length of the mekong?

Wouldn't mind having a crack at the Mekong, at least from Lao-Chinese border on down to the Delta, but unfortunately, don't have the money or time for such a long adventure just now.

The Mekong has been canoed from "source" (at least near enough) to sea now, with an Australian called Mick O'Shea achieving this incredible feat of endurance, especially the upper reaches through Tibet and down the gorges in Yunnan. There's a film out of his trip which I saw last January and it is just awesome the raw power of the river through those gorges, which have stoppers and whirlpools that could swallow a truck. He did it just after the sping snow melted and the river was becoming more angry and raging each day, and of course icy cold.

At one point he was sucked under in a bloody great stopper and luckily spat out again a little while later, but without his canoe. He just about struggles to the edge of the torrent, but then is faced with a huge climb in an uninhabited gorge with little hope of rescue. He climbs a mile up the steep sides of this massive slope and just by sheer good fortune stumbles on an old Tibetan woman in a shack. By this time he's getting hypothermia and she literally saves his life by feeding him yak's milk tea and warming him up. He manages to get out to a road and a lift to safety eventually.

Not to be put off, Mick has another crack at the same gorge and section of rapids in a replacement canoe, but this time he takes along the old Tibetan woman who saved his life to watch. There's a lovely scene where she starts crying and praying to all the spirits to save her "adopted son", as he disappears behind these giant angry foaming walls of water in a little canoe. Brave guy.

Mick now campaigns around the world, trying to alert public opinion to the dangers of the Chinese-built dams to the countries and people living downstream, with his film and book of the journey being a powerful testament to the unique and abundant nature of the Mekong, largely unspoilt by pollution, concrete and dams up til now.

Arthur,

At the risk of repitition that's a really great looking boat - and such a good ideas and deeds too. Not sure if we have your skill and tenacity, but is a thought and love the community spin offs.

Only got to this today - is there another way of getting the Bangkok Post article at all?

Best wishes.

Yes, go to www.bangkokpost.com and look up Archives or Recent Issues and then click on Saturday 17 November and you'll see it in Outlook section.

Thank you paddlesup for the compliments on my boat. I am quite pleased with it myself too, since it is my first self built boat. The hull is out of the local Mai Takian Thong and the trimmings Mai Pra Doo (Rosewood) I made it completely from scratch out of rough lumber, stripped and routered the strips all myself. It was a hel_l of a job but I enjoyed doing it. Even the seats are made out of wild cut rattan, stripped and woven myself ( must be honest my wife did the weaving)

Great what you have been doing with the school. Coincidently, I am starting up a similar project now with Chumphonburi secondary school. It is a combination with their sports instruction, English converstation and arts&crafts. I have volunteered to provide, the materials, working facilities and instruction and design for two longboats (crew of 8) which the students can make under my supervision. The two boats will be donated to the school to use for sports instruction. In the course of the year the school will form two teams out of the best performing paddlers to take part in the boatraces which are held every year at the end of the raining season. The boats will carry the sponsor name "Meuanfun Resort", which is my wife's operation. Cooperation from school and local authorities is great and we are looking forward to next years races.

I will be buying a copy of the BKK Post today to read about your activities.

Cheers

Arthur

That's excellent using local wood to complete the boat, and for a first attempt, I'd say a brilliant finshed article! How many coats of lacquer did you have to apply, and did you use any of the local hole plugger "kii-sii" from the stick-lac insect? It's that red stuff which is mixed with the resin from a mai yang to produce a tacky glue that works wonders in keeping holey boats watertight! Having said that, probably just easier to get a silicon gun and squirt a few shots of that in. Or maybe you needed nothing, as the wood was a perfect fit?

I'm really encouraged to hear that you are going to be helping local kids to build one of the boats and wish you the best of luck. Thai students, if given the right supportive environment can be very creative and good with their hands I've noticed (just look at those amazing candles they carve and the elaborate floats for Loy Kratong), so I've got faith that you'll get a good result. In fact, they'll probably do far better at the boat building than they will with the English lessons, although the non-formal environment of the workshop will be more conducive to learning than the snore-inducing classroom! Just split them into small groups for each activity and make it sanuk, and you can't go far wrong. Weed out any troublemakers early on is one other word of advice!

WEll yesterday my German Shepherd hunted and killed this one its what we call a rat snake tries to get away and does not like confrontation the locals say it is not venomous

Then the kids dragged me outside to look at this one it was green and very alert and quick don't know if venomous or not

Yesterday the wife shouted ngoo (Snake) i ran outside like the big white Hunter : She said careful Cobra I could not see anything she gave me the daughter and ran to the neighbours the came looked found nothing except a hole that went under the concrete base of the car-port, the descriptive from the wife was long and as thick as our 9 month old daughters leg and moving slowly the local thought was it was a white cobra !!! No pictures I did not see it either

A "white cobra" - that's a new one on me and it's certainly not in the handy "Snakes of Thailand" book I have. Maybe it's an albino variant on the spitting or king cobra? Or like the "lethal" black Brahminy blind snake, a product of the fanciful Isaan imagination when it comes to serpents and ghosts.

The alert green snake is almost certainly a ngoo khieow, which are great hunters and are useful round the house for keeping tookay populations in check. I've seen them in some fantastic battles with a tookay which lasted for up to 30 mins. The snake usually wins!

I am in the market for a small canoo (2 people size) for day trips /fishing on the Mae Nam Mun river. One of them plastic canoo's is more than good enough for me.

If can not find a western style canoo, of them local little plastic flat bottomed long and narrow boats is good enough.

The closer to Puthhaisong I can find one, the better as we do not have car, so dealer must bring to the village.

Anyone seen a dealer somewhere?

If you plan on making daytrips and going fishing on Mae Nam Moon, I think those little plastic boats will not suit you. Especially at times when there is alot of water (and fish) in the river at the end of the raining season. A bigger canadian style canoe would suit you better. I have searched the internet and could not find them in Thailand, apart from that freekayak shop, which wells imported plastic kayaks. As they are imported, the price is also quite high.

That is why I have built one myself (17' Prospector stripplanked and epoxy/glass sheated) and am busy with a second one, not far away from where you live. I live in Amphoo Chumphonbury, about 20 km. North west of Satuk. If you come from Phuttaisong and cross the 219 at Thang Phat junction it is about 13 km from there. I went on Mae Nam Moon with it a month ago (when the water level and the current where at its highest) from Ban Yang Chum to Ban Taklang (elephant village) and the boat performed extremely well. Also had a go with it during Satuk boat races and it got good reception there too. If you like you can come and have a look at it and maybe get tempted to build one yourself too. It is not as hard as you think. And if you do, you would not only have a boat which is fit for what you want to do with it, but also a nice peace of art to look at.

Cheers

Arthur

Hey, that's a fine-looking boat you built Arthur! Nice one. You should think about volunteering your services at a local secondary school and encouraging them to have a go at building a similar canoe. Maybe you could ask folks back home to chip in the cost of materials through sponsoring the school. I've just done something similar for schools up in Nakhon Phanom near the Songkhram River. I got the sponsorship money by canoeing down the length of the Nam Songkhram in July. Coincidentally, the story is covered in today's Outlook section of Bangkok Post.

I think canoeing or kayaking is one of the best ways for getting young people to appreciate their local river and thus increasing the likelihood of looking after it in future. It's also a great way of seeing the countryside and some brilliant old characters who still fish for a living. Like Newquay trawlermen, they're a dying breed unfortunately.

Hoping to hear from someone who has obtained in Thailand a Business Visa for Laos, i.e. if you're going for non-tourism or work related purposes.

Are there agencies arranging them and if so, where and what's the cost and requirements?

Also, how long does it take to arrange, plus any other advice you might have would be helpful. Cheers.

Not sure where to post this.........Wonder if anyone can kindly offer some advice on costs involved of shipping h/hold goods from Thailand to UK. Is it generally charged by cubic metre or by weight and what is the customs situation at each end - any hidden extras to be aware of? What length of time is normal for goods to arrive? Lastly any recommendations of reliable firms to contact?

Cheers!

Be interested to hear your impressions on O'Shea's book when you've finished with it Mike. I've also seen his film and was struck by the sheer guts of the guy to canoe down those gorges uncertain if he'd come out the other end (one way passages). Some great cinetography too, with a lovely sequence down on the Tonle Sap, panning the camera around a floating community and then zooming in on individuals going about their daily routines. The questions the film raises are also pretty profound and relate to the future of this whole region, in a not too distant period of time.

The Songkhram by comparison is a whole lot more gentle and sedate than the Mekong, with no rapids or whitewater to negotiate. But the interest lies primarily on the riverbanks and water-based acitivities of the local people, especially the fisheries and its huge diversity. Anybody up for a paddle along the last great unspoilt river of Issaan?

Yes, agreed, nowt worse than a quiet day in the countryside next to a river somewhere, you sit down, order some food, some beer, the day is getting mellow and you're starting to think "this is the life"..............when all of a sudden the peace is shattered by a banana boat and a shedload of screaming kids (big and small) zooming past at 30 kms/hr. You're just thinking, what the hel_l was that? and down they come again, closer and noisier than before. On the third pass, when they start singing the Thai equivalent of "Agadoo", you've had enough and decide to head home to chill out to your own form of noise pollution.

sorry, I tell a lie, there is something worse than banana boats and riverside restaurants.......in fact, far worse........the dreaded karaoke machine and a tableful of drunk Thais sitting next to you, who collectively can't sing a right note between them. Much, much worse.......especially when they shove the mike in your hands and ask "My friend you sing song". Now that can be really evil for the peaceful riverbank........

hope you find a canoe or kayak to mess around in by the way. The Mun was a really nice river 15 years back, but has been a bit screwed up since Pak Mun Dam blasted or drowned the best rapids.

I like the idea.

In 1991, I went with a group that went down the Sadaan River in Northern Sulawesi in white-water rafts for the first time. There were no rapids on a long stretch on the final day, and your canoeing sounds like being as pleasant as that was.

But I am planning on going back to the Canadian Arctic in July to where I worked in 1959/60, so couldn't join you.

I hope you'll tell about it, with photos, on here; as it would be great if it caught on.

I am still looking for a secondhand sailing dinghy and a sailboard suitable for a big, heavy old man, if anybody knows where there are any gathering dust.

Hi Martin,

That trip in Sulawesi sounds like it was one to remember. How long? How far? The Songkhram is mostly placid water, bar some eddies near obstacles, although the upper reaches could provide some fun around weirs, dams, etc. While down in the lower reaches, sometimes it actually flows backwards, due to the Mekong's influence. So we could be canoeing downstream against the current towards the end!

Sure, will send some pics and story when over.

Never seen anyone sailing or windsurfing in Isaan, but saw some noisy jetskis in a lake north of Roi-Et, last time I drove down that road. Wind propelled or paddle propelled craft are a sooooo much better way to see and appreciate water and nature, but others seem more addicted to noise and speed these days.

The Songkhram trip will be about stamina and viewing the sights and sounds that the river and its people present. Unscripted enjoyment to the right person.

Hi Paddlesup

That is fantastic idea, unfortunetly im off work that time already.

I use to do similar trips back in Finland with canoe groups where we done up to80KM per day and tenting during night time.Maybe you are familiar of ARC, Kilpisjärvi-Tornio(Finland) Arctic Canoe Race (535km).

Every one has they own Canoe or you will provide? and what type you are using? Grummans aluminium or Fiberglass?

As you start this great activities,, where in TH you can find good canoes?

-Marco-

Hi Marco,

Glad you like the idea! And nice to know there are other paddlers in Issan, all the way from Baltic Finland!

Basically, we will have 6 double canoes minimum available for 12 persons, with a support minibus and trailer. We expect to borrow a couple and buy some canoes for the trip, the latter staying on the river for a schools/youth group to benefit from in the future. They will use them for wetlands conservation activities and potential eco-tourism in future.

I expect they will all be fibreglass Canadian type canoes which are light, manouvarable and can easily be repaired. They can be bought, imported boats, at quite some expense but I've found a guy who will be able to make some locally at a fifth the cost of imported canoes. He's based in Mahasarakham.

There are also plastic sit-a-top kayaks available in Thailand, made in Bangkok, but not great for long distances or speed. Some people also import inflatables, but again, quite expensive.

Hope this helps. If you change your mind and want to join the trip, which will coincide with the fascinating flooding period when you will be able to paddle into the unique flooded forests and see fishing methods long since disappeared from other rivers in Thailand, then do please let me know and I'll be glad to provide more details.

Cheers,

Paddlesup

I don't see them adding much salt when preparing food here but there's always a flurry of sugar.

the fish, oyster, soya and other souces are some 30% salt - sometimes you can even see the salt crystilised on the bottle cap. Thai use those souces instead of salt crystals

Hey, Thais don't use them instead of salt, they use them in addition to salt. My wife has been slowly poisoning me with salty food these past ten years, and is only now just starting to get the message that salty food is neither necessary, delicious nor healthy. She's cut down the daily salt dose recently I'm glad to say, and is now much more aware of the dangers of too much salt and sugar in food. Will never get her off the pla rah and somtam in a thousand years....

I am planning on organising a long distance canoe trip down the Songkhram River in the upper Northeast of Thailand during the coming rainy season. It will be the first time that this trip has ever been attempted and so in some ways is a trip into the unknown.

The trip will consist of 12 people in 6 canoes, half locals and half outsiders, who would like to experience a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, physical challenge and opportunity to learn much about the local society, culture, environment and livelihoods. The going will be tough at times - 25-35 kms per day paddling in all weathers - and staying overnight in villages with local people. The journey will take about 12 days to complete, with various side trips arranged to places of interest. Money raised from the expedition will support a local schools environmental conservation group.

Interested in joining us on the River Songkhram for 2 weeks in July? Then please PM me and I will gladly send you more details.

Cheers,

Paddlesup

I am planning on organising a long distance canoe trip down the Songkhram River in the upper Northeast of Thailand during the coming rainy season. It will be the first time that this trip has ever been attempted and so in some ways is a trip into the unknown.

The trip will consist of 12 people in 6 canoes, half locals and half outsiders, who would like to experience a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, physical challenge and opportunity to learn much about the local society, culture, environment and livelihoods. The going will be tough at times - 25-35 kms per day paddling in all weathers - and staying overnight in villages with local people. The journey will take about 12 days to complete, with various side trips arranged to places of interest. Money raised from the expedition will support a local schools environmental conservation group.

Interested in joining us on the River Songkhram in July? Then PM me and I will gladly send you more details.

Cheers,

Paddlesup