In the room there are four large, freestanding notice boards, two on each side. Both the front and back of these are covered in photographs, all black and white, all the same size, neatly organized in a grid pattern. The photos all depict the same thing, faces, people looking straight into the camera, not a single smile among them. All the people have number tags hung around their necks, a few of them have fresh bruises on their face and a large amount hold their arms behind their backs, their shoulders twisted backwards. These are pictures of prisoners, brought here … Read the rest
We’re on a sort of raised, circular platform, the circumference of which is planted with trees that obscure the view from the outside. It’s like being in a clearing in the forest only it’s in the middle of the palace grounds. The edge of the circle is lined with Buddha statues and in the middle a stupa with white walls and golden spire. On one side there is an open door leading in to a small shrine. The stupa and shrine are nothing compared to the splendor of the surrounding palaces and temples but with all the trees it feels … Read the rest
Our minibus is parked in the side of the road with the engine still running. The driver is outside, trying to call for assistance while the passengers are stuck inside with the closed-in heat and smell of diesel. The engine is running badly, it sounds like an old tractor and the whole bus is shaking with the thumping rhythm of the piston strokes. The letters VIP, printed in white on the rear window, seem very ironic now.… Read the rest
Two rivers, or possible two streams of the same river, flow over the edge and into a large, almost cylindrical hole cutting vertically down through jungle clad cliffs. The left falls tumbles slowly, majestically downwards to the little pool at the bottom. The right one goes bounding over the edge them comes crashing down onto an outcrop of rock where it splits and widens, sending splashes in all directions. The two streams of white water are surrounded by spray thrown into the air as the water hits the rocks. From this distance it looks almost like white smoke billowing around … Read the rest
The fall comes crashing down with an absolutely deafening roar just a few meters to my right, a wide curtain of water obscuring the view of the river valley outside. On my left, the moss clad rock wall curving upwards towards the lip of the fall, forming a sort of semi circular tunnel that goes behind the fall, then continues along the edge of the little pool at the bottom. The spray from the fall hits me like mist but it’s not enough to really make me wet so I can stand here a moment in awe at the forces … Read the rest
I’m sitting on a little two-plank bridge across the stream, dangling my feet in the cool water. The fall in front of me isn’t very tall, only a few meters, but it’s wide, like the large, semi circular brim of a bowl, the water flowing over the edge into the green pool at the bottom. The sunlight shining through a gap in the clouds hits the spray and forms a rainbow that hangs, evanescent and shimmering, in front of the the green clad rock wall.… Read the rest
I’m by the small turquoise pool at the foot of the falls. In front of me the water comes crashing down from a ledge of charcoal grey rock. The booming is so deep and so loud it sounds like someone playing the bass drum right next to me. In the background the gurgling of the water downstream and the shriek of cicadas. Around me the steeply sloping sides of the river valley, covered in verdant green.… Read the rest
The sign says “Dangerous Zone” (song playing in my mind: Danger Zone from Topgun) and I can see why, in front of me, massive amounts of muddy brown Mekong waters go cascading down the cliffs in a series of steps, smaller falls feeding into each other, building up to the big one just in front. The roar is almost deafening, it drowns out the sounds of the other tourists nearby. The sign has been put up because while there is a fence, it looks none too sturdy and the ground is uneven and strewn with rocks. Trip, and you could … Read the rest
I’m on what counts for a ferry in this part of the world, two narrow boats interconnected by a wooden platform, forming a kind of catamaran with a long tail outboard in the back. Me and my bike are the only passengers, the driver, sitting at a wheel of rebar and controlling the motor with his foot, is a middle aged man with sunburnt skin, wearing a stereotypical Asian conical rice hat. The river, wide and brown, flowing sluggishly by, is dotted by little green islets. Some are big enough for houses, others just a few feet across. Up above … Read the rest
I am on a cliff face, my hands and feet on four metal brackets made from rebar, drilled into the rock. I’m on a sort of overhang, below my feet is a straight drop of several meters down to sharp looking rocks, if I fell I would likely die or at least break several bones. Balancing in what feels like a precarious way I unhook one of the safety ropes and move it forward to the next anchor point…… Read the rest
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