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Show Page BIO - tEfre fflimgg-,3lttftgpenbg- -- Thursday, nt February 3, 2005 The big rivers of Southeast Asia ... the pioneer of the river outfitting business in SE Asia and started his company about five years ago. Since then, four other companies are now competing in the business of running the Wa River. Nok told us that 80 percent of his clientele are females from metropolitan Continued from page B 7... Asia to their respective deltas at the Indian and Pacific oceans. Their story is somewhat similar to the rivers of the Rocky Mountains that pass through the Colorado Plateau. Besides melt Bangkok. Consequently, Nok and a member of his staff nicknamed Dr. Lee (Ph.D. candidate) are married and en- water from the Himalayan snowfields, these rivers are augmented to a huge peak that occurs during the rainy season, which begins in May and lasts until September. This monsoon season is quite significant in Vietnam, for example, where the total annual rainfall averages 100 inches. However, rain is in the folalmost was which season, lowing dry our experience and for the entire length of our trip. (Susette is still in Thailand, Lara is in non-existe- nt Malaysia and John has turned to Moab ) re- Chao Phraya and Mekong (chow-pry-ya- rivers. We also did a tributary of the Mekong called the Tonle Sap River in Cambodia, and a paddieboai trip on the Wa (vah) River, which is a tributary of the Chao Phraya. (meh-kong- ) (tawn-lee-sa- Fast friendly service... for all your 4 plumbing needs. Embarking on the Salween River in traditional and very colorful long boats at the boundary waters between Burma and Thailand. Note the bags of grain ready for export at the top of the photo. Left to right: Owen Lammers, John Weisheit, Nantiya Tangwisutijit, and other river friends. Photo by Susette Weisheit Being a river guide on the Colorado River, I will admit how very humble I felt while experiencing the combined volume and power of this huge watershed. There are four pro- found memories that impressed me the most, which I will relate as they occurred during the course of my journey in the company of Susette, Lara, Owen and Nantiya. Our first river trip was on the Salween and this was a special treat because the Salween runs free without All dams or diversions. This, however, may change in the near Plumbing Repairs future. The proposed dam Locally Owned 4 Operated Licensed S Insured New Construction gaged, respectively. Again, boatmen are the same no matter where you go. Each paddleboat (12 feet long) has two crewmembers: a paddle captain in the back and a navigator in the front. We do not use navigators on the Colorado River, but this company policy is justified concerning the technical nature of the Wa River. The Wa is a small but very fast river that winds through forest of a densely-covereteak and bamboo. The bird life (and bird noise) was outstanding. The rapids are choked with many boulders and fallen logs, and consequently we got to rise, it overpowers the Tonle Sap River to the point that the Tonle Sap will reverse its course and begin to flow upstream. The water backs ups to a place where the river water is allowed to swell into a natural lake of immense size and called the Tonle Sap (The Great Lake). This lake is so big that when you get to the middle it feels like the open sea. When the Mekong subsides in the dry season, the lake begins to drain and the Tonle Sap River once again flows downstream. This place has a bounty of fish and fishing boats are spread about the waters in great abundance too. To end this story, these river trips allowed me to appreciate rivers from a broader perspective, which emphasized to me how important rivers are to people and their cultures. I thought about our river and how our town has an affinity to the rivers and people of Asia, and yet how unique our differences can be. But the thing that remains constant and true for everyis how body in the world are in rivers very important our lives and how important it is to be sure that they continue to support us into the future. d During this dry season and after the rivers had subsided, we participated in five river trips. Three trips were tours on the main stems of the Salween (sall-wean- ), season sandbars and bedrock islands divide the river into channels. What impressed me the most here were the children, who enjoyed the river for their playtime, usually swimming and playing various kinds of team sports. Last but not least is the Tonle Sap River in Cambodia. This river joins the Mekong River at Phnom Penh in Cambodia. The Mekong River here is wide and deep enough to support a route for international shipping. And here the countryside is very flat - I mean really, really flat. So flat that when the Mekong begins projects on the Salween have generated a considerable amount of controversy, as they Remodels Service S Repair Water Heaters Heating & mo re- here in the United States. While river activists in the U.S. work hard to decommission existing dams, river activists for the Salween River work hard to keep dams from do call Doug Whipple Jr. 25915663! ever being built. The support for the river activists of Asia come mostly from the thousands of villagers who live and depend on the Salween River for their livelihood, as has been the custom for many generations. The Salween is four times as big as the Colorado River and rises about 30 feet every year. Its shores have the biggest beaches I have ever seen. There is so much sediment along the river that the villagers farm the beaches as the water drops. They grow corn, peanuts, melons, potatoes and other such staples. The villagers also fish by spreading nets while operating what they call a long boat, which is powered by a salvaged car engine that turns a sheathed shaft about 12 feet long, which turns a prop with a diameter of about 14 inches. This loud and clever contraption of moving parts is mounted and balanced on a swivel as a single power unit that is manhandled by a barefoot, sunburned boatman. By the way, boatmen are the same no matter where you go. There are no motels, gas stations or restaurants on the Salween River and we made arrangements to stay with the villagers as their guests. Their homes are usually suspended on stilts and constructed from materials harvested from the jungles (teak and bamboo). Some of the villagers live on floating houses made entirely of bamboo. In the cleared areas ofthe jungle they grow rice and usually export their surplus. They also tend chickens, pigs and cattle for their own use. Consequently, all the food we ate was homegrown and our tasty native fish dishes came from the Salween River. Our paddleboat trip down the Wa River started from a small city called Nan in the northeast comer of Thailand. We chose an outfitter called Eskimo Roll and the young man who owns the company is nicknamed Nok. This Thai is stuck periodically in the middle of raging rapids. There were also small waterfalls that we navigated through expertly thanks to the skills of Nok and his staff. I am a better paddle boater as a result of this trip. Our next river trip was on the Mekong River in the country of Laos, which started and ended at the city of Luang The Phabang Mekong is as big as the Mississippi River in the United States and is just as busy, with boat traffic constantly going up and down the river. As with the Salween River, the local people farm the banks once the river begins to recede in the fall. The Mekong rises about 30 feet every year and during big floods about 45 feet. 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