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First, I’ve posted some photos at the bottom of the previous entry, showing some of the flood waters from the Mekong in Laos and Thailand. Scroll down to take a look.
Yes, I’m finally here in Yeosu and getting settled in, which is the main reason I haven’t made a post lately. I haven’t taken any photos yet, but I’ll get some up as soon as I can.
Yeosu is very beautiful, but the campus here at Chonnam National University is even more so. It’s built high upon a hill, so getting here from the bottom of the main road is quite a hike (195 steep steps up–I counted ‘em). The dormitory where I live is down the other side of the hill, so getting to classes is also a hike up, but not as far. The small campus is covered with trees and vegetation, and I woke up the other morning with wind whispering through the pine trees just outside my cozy (cozy = very small) apartment.
I haven’t really gotten out to explore the area that much, but I plan to do so on Sunday morning, when the traffic is lighter. I’m not that used to riding a motorbike, so I want to take it out when it’s a bit safer, though Yeosu is small enough that traffic doesn’t seem to be a big problem.
Classes begin on Monday, so my schedule is going to be very busy again. I have 18 hours of university classes and 8 hours of “other” classes each week (that means 6 hours overtime/week). The “other” classes are for City Hall employees learning English for the 2012 Expo and for advanced level classes for the community in general. Monday, Wednesday and Friday are my busy days, with Tuesday and Thursday being easier ones (M,W,F = 7 or 9 hours/day and T,Th = 2.5 hours/day). Everyone here has been extremely friendly and helpful, and I think my time here will be enjoyable and productive.
Right now, though, Saturday at 9 a.m., I’m going to hike up to my office and work on lessons for the upcoming week. I’ll get some more posted as soon as I can.
Nai and I took a tuk-tuk to his village yesterday. As expected, the Mekong was spilling over its banks for most of the way that it neared the road and sandbagging was active in the area around the capital. However, no such activity was occurring in his village, and, again as expected, his family compound was under water. The narrow dirt road running past the houses was just a bit less than knee-deep with water, but the housing area drops off a bit from the road and the water was waist-deep there. Of the 6 houses, two were under water, but they were temporary quarters, made up of plywood and tin siding. The other 4 “real” houses are still habitable, due to their having a second floor or the first (and only) floor being built a bit higher on its concrete base.
For the kids, the area is one big swimming pool, and they were frolicking in the water as I waded to one of the houses, which belongs to Nai’s sister and her husband and two young children. The adults seemed to be looking at the flood as a slight inconvenience more than anything else, and life continues as before. The major effect is that their croplands are under water and those who depend on farming for their livelihood are in a bad situation. Some of the family work outside the farm, so all is not desperation. Still, I gave them a bit of money for food and water and will give them some more when we go back to visit on Sunday, the birthday of one of the kids–Kim, 6 years old.
The water is still rising, although very slowly, and, despite a very heavy, but brief, downpour last night in Vientiane, today’s weather looks very good, with clear blue skies–no rain in sight. Hopefully, the worst is over, but one never knows. One report suggests that this is the worst flooding since 1966, and there are other reports that the flooding will abate this weekend. [Note: Edited on 11/17/09 to remove non-existent link]
After Sunday, I’m going to Nong Khai for a day, then will take the overnighter to Bangkok, staying there until flying on to Korea next Sunday. Hopefully, Bangkok’s annual flooding will not take place early this year. More later.
Sandbagging along the Mekong in Vientiane
Here’s Nai taking a walk in the floodwaters at his house.
Some of the kids having fun.
And here’s the flood from the Nongkhai side. This jetty/pier extends down a good 7 or 8 more feet, but it was underwater then.
After my post yesterday, we took a walk along the river and had lunch. All of the numerous open-air restaurants that line the Mekong were open for business as usual, despite the rising waters. Sandbagging was just beginning, but there was no sense of urgency, no air of desperation. In fact, most of the police, soldiers and ordinary citizens engaged in the activity with mirth making, laughter and playfulness, which seems to characterize Lao attitudes in general.
While we sat in a restaurant, I marked a spot on one of the posts supporting the platform on which the restaurant rested. The waters rose only about 1/4 to 1/2 inch in the 3 hours we were there, but later in the evening, the river had come up to several feet short of the sandbags, which are stacked 4 or 5 high, 2 rows deep. This morning, I saw that the river had not risen too much in the night and was still short of the bags. Hopefully, this marks the end of the rise–perhaps the crest has passed.
I think we’re going to try to go out to Nai’s village today to see what we can do to help his family, though they seem to be coping ok by the phone calls Nai has made to them. The first floor of his house is about knee-deep in water and everything has been moved upstairs. The rain has fallen off and the forecast calls for partly cloudy skies in the upcoming days. Let’s hope there’s no more rain here or elsewhere along the Mekong, though it’s only about half way through the rainy season. More later.
The rain here in Vientiane, Laos, has fallen gently throughout the night and into this morning. Gentle is usually associated with soothing, but the rain is anything but that. Nai phoned his family last night, and the Mekong had flooded his family’s croplands and was threatening to rise further and inundate the various houses in the family compound. Most of the houses are on stilts or are two-story affairs, so hopefully they can gather their belongings and move them to the higher locations. I fear, though, the worst for that area along the river–it looks like it’s going to be devastated. The overnight rise in the level of the river here in Vientiane has caused the flood to approach street level in the capital, which normally sits 10 or more feet above the Mekong. It looks like at least some parts of the city will be under water soon.
Nai and I were going to go on to Vang Vieng today, but we’ll stay here at the hotel along the Mekong another night and see what happens. (We’re on the 4th floor.) I doubt there’s anything he can do to help his family, and, in fact, the road leading into the village is probably under water in many places, leaving it inaccessible (though I don’t know that for a fact). Well, let’s hope for the best, but this appears to be one of those 100- or 500- year floods. I hope I’m wrong. The rain continues to fall, though, but not so gently. More later.
It’s been an uneventful trip so far. The flight over to Thailand was long, but there were plenty of entertainment options (movies, games, music) on board the China Air plane, though the food wasn’t up to the standards of my usual carrier, Thai Airlines. I learned that the Taipei airport was shut down several hours after my flight left there, due to a Category 2 typhoon that hit the island.
I spent a pleasant Monday evening in Bangkok with my former Moroccan supervisor, John Scacco, and his wife, who invited me to their condo apartment for a delicious home-cooked meal. Then, on Tuesday evening I took the overnight train to Nong Khai, where I met up with Nai.
There has been plenty of rain here in Nong Khai, but not enough to prevent me from going to my favorite massage parlor, Healthy Garden. If you’re ever in Nong Khai, I highly recommend that you visit the place. Another nice business is the hotel that I stay at when I’m in Nong Khai– The Pantawee. Good rooms for $30 a night, free internet, nice cafe, close to the Mekong. Give it a try.
Ok, so today we’re heading into Laos and I don’t really know when I’ll be able to post again. Perhaps in a week or so, hopefully. More later.
P.S. I’ve turned on comments again, in case OGM wants to say something about the Manny Ramirez trade (snicker).
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