Looking down at the Hover from the Laos riverbank, it seemed small
compared to the mighty Mekong rolling by, the crimson flag of China fluttering
brightly in the breeze. That flag was to be joined by the 5 others of the
Mekong neighbours. The first ever hovercraft journey down 2,900 kilometres
of the mighty Mekong, completed last month, was also the first private
sector tourism project ever
to involve all 6 nations bordering it!
Right on schedule, the 'Golden Quadrangle', a 25 seater craft had ridden
on it's cushion of air from Simao, Yunnan, down past Burma and the Golden
Triangle river junction with Thailand and on towards it's biggest logistical
challenge a few kilometres south into Laotian waters.
The scene we witnessed was at Champasak, the occasion: an hour before
this Chinese built British invention carrying American, Canadian, Belgian
and Swedish passengers, was pulled out of the river through Laos by a Japanese
crane supervised by a German tour director. Expedition Mekong 2002 was
surely the most vivid international mix ever to be seen on an Asian tour!
The unique challenge? The widest waterfall in the world, the beautiful
and spectacular Khone Phapeng Falls, impossible to navigate by canoe let
alone an 8 ton hovercraft! Months before, organisers Diethelm Travel and
the Brooker Group had surveyed the site and decided that even the flexible,
land-and-water hover needed outside help here. Having overcome the obstacles
of multiple visas and other mandatory red tape, this one seemed
easy!
Hang on a moment!
One of the biggest cranes to be found, one of the lowest of low trailers
and 4 kilometres of specially widened jungle track were organised to move
the hover from the top of the falls some 34 kms by road around to the bottom.
And the men and machinery had to stay behind to perform the whole operation
in reverse so the hover could return home at the end of the adventure!
Retired USA
travel agent Rodney Soenksen (81) was the eldest pioneer,
Oscar Schoch
(5), the youngest.
The men who conceived this historic plan and made it all possible made
us welcome. Diethelm CEO Armin Schoch (19 years travel experience in Asia),
Brooker CEO Dr.Peter Brimble and Vice President Dr.David Oldfield were
confident, but holding their breath over a manoeuvre they had started to
plan 2 years before. The VIP passengers, enjoying this journey of a lifetime,
were off on a side tour to photograph rare fresh water dolphins elsewhere
on the river, "unlocking it's secrets", just as the brochure
had promised. Chiangmai-based leader Reinhard Hohler steered them wisely
away from this key operation which had never been attempted before!
Jolly Captain Jianhua
Zhang
Meantime, the other people who had made it all happen so far circled
the crane and bit their lips. Well, Armin did rather more than that. To
say that he ran around directing operations (and getting it right!) would
be an understatement. In sleepy little Ban Hat village, as the afternoon
light faded, the giant crane growled into action, the lifting wires tightened
and, seemingly reluctantly, the craft that had earlier seemed so small
took on giant proportions as it cleared the water and swung, shedding gallons
of river water, as the low trailer was reversed under it's rubber skirts.
The skillful crane driver lowered it as gently as he might treat a baby
in a pram - and you could almost hear the sighs of relief from the assembled
company! Was the multilingual Armin muttering thankful prayers in 8 languages?
Cameraman Peter Wennberg
Parked overnight at the riverside, the hover was steadily hauled away
next morning in front of an awed audience of locals including, it seemed,
every child from miles around.
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Snaking through the jungle
Following the route planned months before, the truck trundled first
along a wide main highway, then turned into a jungle track, back towards
the river. In the mini bus, following along, the party were speechless
at the sight of a man riding along on a bicycle with a giant King Cobra
snake wrapped around the handlebars. Happily for the man, it was dead.
Unhappily for us, no-one thought to stop the bus for photos! Ah well, next
time. If there ever is a next
time!
Couldn't go over it
- had to go round it!
On the south side of the Falls at Veun Kam, the same crane was ready
and waiting to lift again. The trailer was driven away and the crane gently
set it down, then acted as a winch as the red and white beast slowly reversed
down a specially built earthwork ramp, back into it's watery element again.
Fresh from their overnight stay in the simple but clean Ville Muang
Khong guest house - built on one of no fewer than 4,000 islands in the
river here - and the only accommodation nearby (a far cry from the 13,000
baht a night 5-star hotels these folk were used to) the passengers happily
embarked once more.
Cutting the red tape
This time they were joined by half a dozen cheerful, uniformed Cambodian
immigration officers, checking and stamping our passports ready for their
border invisible watery border only a few kilometres away. Little did most
of the passengers know that this was yet another masterpiece of ground-breaking
co-operation! Never having had international visitors arrive like this
before and with no official national entry point, these men had travelled
all the way from the capital to set up this unique 30 minute check point!
One of the longest legs of the journey, 410 kms, took the passengers smoothly
through seemingly endless rice paddies and forests. Smooth as silk except
for small waves and the gentle lift over an occasional sandbank, the hover
progressed steadily into habitation again. Gradually the stilted riverside
huts of the poor gave way to the temples, then the grander residences of
the rich and finally the bright lights of the hotels and restaurants of
Phnom Penh.
Next day, the privileged party hovered along the Tonle Sap to Siam Reap
to see the legendary Angkor Wat. But that, and their welcome at journey's
end in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam is, as they say, a story for another day!
Where from here? Will there ever be a next time? Did we take part
in a unique piece of Mekong history, a brave one-off, or did we get a preview
of the future? Only time will tell!
David
Hardy
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