The Far Side of the World, Pt 1

It's late April 1974, and Tony Reavley has moved on from Hong Kong to Thailand, where he's experiencing life in the jungle and the mountains.

(If this makes no sense to you, you may first need to look at Tony's previous letters, from November 1973, December 1973 and April 1974).

27-04-74

Have just arrived in Prachuap Khiri Khan, which I expect you know well. No need to tell you it's on Thailand's east coast and five hours south of Bangkok by bus. It's 4pm here; at present it's bucketing down and our planned exploration of the town will probably be postponed till tomorrow. We are back on the trail heading due south now to escape the monsoon season which is just beginning in Thailand and Laos.

We had three days in Chiang Mai and then went on a sort of expedition with two Thai guides. The Thai's name was Mr Moo and he ran an outfit called MOO'S TRIBAL TOURS. Sounds a bit Heath Robinson, but was a great success. The more people who joined the group, the cheaper it became and we eventually rustled up 15. Due to our charm, wit and personality, we procured 9 girls and only 3 men. Apart from Baz, Barbara and myself we had 2 English girls, 3 Canadian girls, 2 Swiss girls, 2 American girls, 2 Aussies and 1 American (men) and our 2 guides.

We bussed to a small village along a dirt road and then loaded our equipment on to a large canoe. The two hours downriver was interesting. It was very shallow and we often got stuck on sandbanks and had to wade out to push the boat free. Fishermen standing up to their waists in pairs, walking with a net held between them. The first village we reached was a Shan village but not very interesting as the people had seen plenty of Westerners and many were in t-shirts and trousers. We had tea with the head-man and then trekked across the plains and into semi-jungle to visit the Lahu tribe. Small people, dressed in black with colourful trimmings round the edges of their clothes. We stopped about an hour and then went further away into the hills to visit the Lisu tribe. They were similar to the Lahu. The chief had never seen such a large party of people before, and a pig was killed in celebration.

We ate well that night and our tinned food was unnecessary. Water was piped down along large bamboo canes about 6 inches in diameter from a nearby stream. We were assured it was safe to drink, and as no-one had gut trouble it must have been pure. We left at 8am to see the Akha tribe, who live halfway up a bloody mountain.

With the temperature over 90 degrees, an uphill slog all the way with rucksacks, I never realised I could sweat so much or drink so much. We must have poured gallons of water down our throats. After two and three-quarter hours we were rewarded by seeing the village ahead, stumbled in, and practically cleared them out of water. This tribe was the most fascinating of all being so far from civilisation and rarely seeing white people. One Canadian girl weighed 15 stone and was the object of much curiosity. The people, especially women, kept prodding and pinching and feeling her to see if she was real. They also kept rubbing our white skin to see if we had paint on. An interesting fact we discovered was that in the Lahu tribe the women do all the work, the men sit around smoking opium; the Lisu share work evenly; the Akha men do all the work so we only saw one while we were there, making bird-traps. Next day, boat, truck and local bus back to Chiang Mai - the whole journey being an unforgettable and rewarding experience.

We returned to Bangkok and on April 16th caught the bus up to Laos. This took us to the border town of Non Kai where we took a canoe across the Mekong River, scene of bitter fighting in the past, and then a taxi on to Vientiane. Stayed in a cheap hotel which we later discovered doubled up as a brothel, as most hotels out here seem to do. Still a lot of French people here and their influence can be seen everywhere. Our first evening meal here was in the French Officers' Mess; it was also our last, as the following day it closed to the public. We had the dubious distinction of being the last two patrons to be thrown out for wearing shorts. Two Swiss came out a few minutes later, having eaten, and we swapped trousers with them.

Took a 250 mile ride from Vientiane to Luang Prabang by truck along an unmade dirt road. The truck broke down 11 times with the radiator boiling dry due to a leaking hose. We took thirteen and a half instead of ten hours; coming back was quicker, we went by bus. The road was so dusty I got up on the roof with the luggage, as the dust gets into eyes, ears, nose, throat etc. Narrowly missed being decapitated.

These are the only parts of Laos open to tourists - the rest of the country is too dangerous. Still the odd sniper about and I never felt entirely at ease on my morning runs outside the cities. Soldiers everywhere, some Communist and others coalition government. Young kids of 10 or 12 carrying sub-machine guns. Nearly everyone carries a gun of some sort.

We are now heading south on the Malaysian peninsula. Aim to reach Kuala Lumpur on 22nd May and will be there several days. My regards to everyone at the club.

Tony