Chapter 5

The following character appears in this chapter:

Mr. Teerasak

Barge owner, 5’-6’’ tall, 60 years old, black hair going gray, brown eyes, weather beaten skin

Mike Still has the Narrative

Chanthra and I awoke early the following morning. There had only been a bit of hugging and kissing when we had gone to bed for a very good night’s sleep. The hotel had surprisingly good mattresses and we had slept very well on them each night.

Following a large breakfast at a nearby open-air restaurant, Chanthra and Yuang went to the morning market to obtain some things to take with us to eat on the way to Chiang Khong where we would be crossing the Mekong River to that part of Thailand known as Northern Laos. The Thai had been joined by the northern Laotian Kingdom of Luang Prabang and several smaller northern kingdoms in the late 19th Century after the Thai Army removed the threat of local Chinese marauders. Those kingdoms hadn’t wanted to be taken over by the French, who had taken control of Southern Laos and Southern Cambodia as well as Vietnam. Still, the Mekong River remained a formidable barrier to cross at this time of year even without a border.

While the ladies were busy buying food for the trip, I took the water can to the Chiang Rai Team House to obtain 20 liters of treated water from them. Fortunately, those on guard remembered me from my previous visit, and they smiled when I held up the water can. There were two water trailers near the Team house. I chose the one that had a sign reading ‘Treated Water’ and that had yesterday’s date on it. Twenty liters of water weighed a bit over forty pounds, but it wasn’t anything that I couldn’t handle on the short trip back to the hotel’s parking lot.

After securing the water can with the others, I returned to the restaurant where we had breakfast and ordered six colas and their ice. Normally, they were served in a tied plastic bag with a straw, but I had purchased a round five-liter insulated cooler in Bangkok. The colas and their ice were poured in the cooler. It had a spigot near the bottom to drain the cola or other liquid, and part of the top served as a cup. We would have something cold to drink on the trip.

Chanthra and Yuang soon returned with a large basket filled with fruit and other things they had gotten at the market.

“What did you get?” I asked, as they approached the truck.

“We got some bananas and some cut up mango slices in addition to a dozen Kao sum fresh from the fire,” Chanthra told me with a smile.

Kao sum are rice treats in the form of a pyramid about two inches on a side. They are made of sweet or sticky rice as it is called. The rice is mixed with coconut milk, and some coconut meat plus a piece of fruit is usually added in the middle. Everything is wrapped in banana leaf, and then roasted over a fire. According to Chanthra, ours had just been finished and were still quite warm. They are still very good even when cold.

“I guess we are ready to leave then,” I told the others. “Let’s go up to our rooms, get our belongings, and check out. We will need to stop to fill the gas cans before leaving the city,” I reminded them. Since we were traveling with a minimum of things, it didn’t take long to secure our backpacks, inspect the rooms, and then check out of the hotel. We were soon pulling out of the hotel’s parking area.

We passed the city clock in the center of the main town roundabout. It is a tall, white column and has four large clock faces, so it is easily seen from any direction. It read 8:30 as we passed it on the way out of town. Shortly after that, we stopped at a gas station to fill the three gas cans. The truck was still full, but I also picked up two quarts of oil for the engine.

We took Highway 1 south out of town for something like four and a quarter kilometers (2.6 miles) before reaching the turnoff for road 1020. The road here was in very good condition, and we were able to drive at 65kph or so (40 mph) for a time. However, on reaching the first mountainous area, the road’s surface was in less than good condition, and we needed to slow to 40 kph (25 mph) or so for a time. Eventually, we reached a better area where the road ran along the edge of the mountain range, and we were able to return to 65 kph (40 mph) for the remainder of the trip, which took two and a half hours to reach Chiang Khong on the Mekong River.

In 1970, Chiang Khong was a sleepy little town. It had several marketplaces, and there were a number of Wats in the area along with a waterfall, but its main reasons for existence were the ferries that crossed the Mekong to the area of Huay Xai on the east side of the river, and slow boat trips down the river to Luang Prabang. Huay Xai was supposedly a much larger and more active town than Chiang Khong.

The town is built along both sides of road 1020 and stretches for several kilometers (miles) along it. However, it was not all that wide on either side of the road. On the right-hand side there was the river, and on the left side, the town soon gave-way to fields of various crops but mainly rice.

After reaching the town, we soon pulled off the road and stopped at a small market area to get directions for crossing the river. We had enjoyed some of the fruit and several of the Kao sums on the trip, and the market had more things to eat as well. Chanthra got out to inquire about directions and to see about more food. She spent many minutes speaking with those at the market. There was much loud talk as well as gesturing and hand waving. I was ready to get out and join her when she returned to the truck.

“The language used here is very different,” she told us as she rejoined us. “There is Northern Thai like in Chiang Rai, but there is also Northern Lao and Hmong. Those are the three main groups of people living in this area. Getting directions was a bit complicated as each group uses a different systems of measurement. They finally agreed that we need to continue up the road. There will be a Thai administrative building visible on the right side of the road but on a broad soi and not on the main road. They couldn’t agree on the distance to the soi, however,” she told us.

“Anyway, they agreed that those there will be able to help us, and it is also close to where the ferries tie-up to cross the river to the Huay Xai dock,” she added once seated.

“Let us proceed, but slowly, and the two of you watch for this administrative building, while I keep an eye on the road,” I told both of them before pulling back out on the road and proceeding slowly up it. There was presently very little traffic on the road, so there wasn’t much to worry about but pedestrians.

“Turn right at this next soi,” Chanthra soon told me, and I turned across the other traffic lane to the soi on the right and proceeded down it a short distance to the indicated building. To my surprise, there was even a small parking area in front of it.

“You stay here, my Mike. Yuang and I will go in and talk to those in charge,” Chanthra told me before they exited the truck and went into the building. Fifteen minutes or so later, they emerged with an older man in a police uniform. He looked at the truck for a couple of minutes from several angles before coming over to me. I had exited the truck when he started toward it. I greeted him with a respectful wai and my best Thai in a ‘Sawat dee, krup’ greeting which he returned before he got to what he had to say.

“This truck is very heavy,” he started in very good Thai. “You will need to go on a barge to cross the river. The cargo piers are close to here. Check with them. I do not know if there is a barge there now. One is due to arrive from Huay Xai sometime today. You will need to wait until it can return up the river to the cargo piers on the other side of the river. It will be expensive to move a truck this size,” he finished.

“Koop kun mahk, krup, (Thank you very much, sir)” I told him before we exchanged wais and Sawat dees, and he returned to the building. Chanthra and especially Yuang seemed relieved when they got back in the truck.

“Is everything okay?” I asked, as we sat there before starting the motor again.

“Yes, everything is okay now, my Mike. The police were upset that you are a Fa-rang and had a truck to go to the Laotion part of Thailand. They said that there had been a lot of fighting there because of the drug warlords. I needed to pay the lieutenant two hundred Baht (about $10.00) to get him to allow us to cross the river,” Chanthra told me.

“They did not want us to go there. They said it was much too dangerous,” Yuang added in a frightened voice.

“It will be alright, nong (youngster),” Chanthra told her. “They did not know that the Amulets will protect us from all harm,” she reminded her, before giving me directions.

“Pull out and go to the right down the soi. Soon, we will come to the cargo piers. Those there should know when a barge will be available to take us across the river,” she directed.

Since the soi was wide enough for two of the big ten-wheel trucks to pass on it, we had no trouble following it to the area near the river where there were several piers and a couple of shacks. I could see that there were two barges of a sort docked at them. Two men had emerged from one of the shacks when I stopped the truck. (Ten-wheel trucks were the main cargo carriers in Thailand at this time.)

Chanthra got out of the truck to speak to them, but I didn’t like their looks and also exited the truck to stand there staring at them with my arms crossed across my chest and wearing my best senior NCO frown.