The collected writings of a Renegade Tourist

Tag River

Touqian River, 4:47 pm.

What's normally a small stream flowing lazily through an otherwise dry river bed has swelled with the rains of the latest typhoon to a wide, swift flowing river. Just a few meters from where I'm standing there's a kind of wier, consisting of a series of large concrete blocks, stretching across the river. Normally you'd be able to get across to the other side by jumping from block to block but today that's not possible. The entire wier has been turned into a waterfall, the concrete blocks engulfed in muddy brown water. Just below it, there's a massive standing wave, the water curling in on itself as it flows across the stones and concrete. A loud booming fills the air of this otherwise peaceful river valley. That even a relatively small typhoon can transform a river this much is a stark reminder of the truly awesome power of nature.

River Bar, 3:38 pm

I’m on a small wooden platform covered by a thin mat, reclining under a parasol with my back against the low railing. Behind me the brownish green river, occasionally a couple of kayakers float past. In front of me, on a larger wooden platform, is a bunch of twenty something Europeans in their swimsuits, dancing and drinking Beer Lao. All the while techno music is booming from the speakers, filling the otherwise blissful landscape with its noise.… Read the rest

Nam song river, 3:15 pm

I’m floating down the river in an old tractor inner tube, it has been yellow but the paint has faded and peeled off from use and the black rubber is showing through. The water is a muddled brownish green color and the sun, already sinking lower, is sparkling on the surface like liquid silver. I lean back, raise my feet out of the water and relax. In front of me the spectacular Laotian nature, karst cliffs rising up out the jungle, and behind me the other tubers, all swimming suit clad bodies and yellow tubes, floating lazily along with me.… Read the rest

Duong De road, 3:29 pmĀ 

The road, raised on an embankment, cuts straight through the Vietnamese countryside. On the right are yellowish green fields with grazing cattle here and there, and a few scattered houses. In the far distance a row of mountains frame everything in, and up above pure white clouds tower majestically in the clear blue sky. To the left the square pools of the rice paddies are almost indistinguishable from the river that curves it’s way through the landscape; old barges that look too big to fit between the rice paddies floating lazily by. In the middle distance the karst cliffs rise … Read the rest

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