Amazing Quest: Stories from Laos | Somewhere on Earth: Laos | Free Documentary

um [Music] somewhere on earth is heading to asia to discover laos the land of a million elephants a realm of mountains water and forest the mekong the world's tenth longest river crosses the country from north to south and sets the rhythm of life for the six million lay oceans bordered by china burma vietnam cambodia and thailand laos has no direct access to the sea half the country's territory is covered by forest it's an island of greenery populated by more than 60 ethnic groups and a vast store of cultural wealth layua an itinerant vendor spends most of his time traveling with his family on the upper mekong near the borders of china burma and thailand he knows this mythic river inside out peng is also an inveterate traveler but he sets out for the most remote corners of the country at the wheel of his old army truck peng who practices meditation is progressing on the path of wisdom that all buddhists dream of travelling a thousand kilometers to the south near the cambodian border are the khon papeng falls the largest in southeast asia so on is a fisherman a very dangerous profession every day these men working above these turbulent waters place their life in the hands of the spirits of the mekong i don't cast my net just anywhere i cast it only in the spots i know well [Music] after its involvement in a global conflict laos one of the most heavily bombarded countries on earth was long isolated from the rest of the world now laos is a haven of nature and tranquility all its rivers flow into the mekong asia's legendary river called the mother of all waters is a vital artery for the country's inhabitants leia is a sailor of the mekong there are many dangers on the river at each tricky passage he has to check out the pitfalls i've come down to check the water level this morning i'm wondering if my boat can make it through here there are rocks a lot of rocks and there's not much water depth for the boat so no i won't come through here it's impossible [Music] so [Music] has been navigating on the mekong for more than 20 years but he's been captain of his own boat for less than six months all year round he travels the river with his wife and two daughters selling his goods i always have to be really on the alert if i don't pay attention at all times i could have an accident with the rocks the slightest air in the boat sinks i'm not sure i prefer not trying to go through first i have to check that the rudder is working well if i'm not in control of everything i'm taking a risk it's dangerous here and i'm putting my family in danger the mekong valley usually so quiet and sleepy seems to be waking up leo at the wheel knows that the slightest error in piloting means a shipwreck the rapids are like a step an obstacle they have to get across [Music] [Music] he's pitted against the river in a dogged struggle the boat is practically at a standstill [Music] each millimeter gained against the current is a victory [Music] the bolt men or the river impossible to tell who will win out in the end the adventurers of the mekong all know that the river has the right of life and death over its travelers [Music] the current is very very strong and it's hard to make any headway the river is powerful yes i was really afraid water is the source of life we drink it but it can also kill us crossed four sets of rapids that day each one a moment of anxiety the motor is on its last legs from the struggle up the river leo has to get his family to the shelter of the next village before nightfall shouldn't be dumping everything into the river it's a nurturing mother for us everybody here should take care of it our couple is quite a lovely story we're husband and wife and we always travel together i love this life we lead recently bought a 20 meter longboat it's an old craft but it has a smart line in any case it carries the dreams of leo and his whole family together they go up the wild valleys of laos to sell their pottery and transport anything the villages living on the rivers may need leo knows all the secrets of the mekong there are no markers on the river there are no charts navigating this river means knowing it by heart every bend every hill every tree every landmark that could help sailors get their bearings i am a man of the mekong sauna i've lived on the river ever since my early childhood my whole life revolves around the mekong and that's how it will be as long as i live and as long as i can keep going [Music] the machinery tires quickly in this sweltering heat leo has to take care of the motor for the trips last several days maneuvering through the mekong's rocks and treacherous currents leia has to know that he can always count on his motor [Music] [Music] in the rainy season when it's high water the rocks are really submerged so it's easier to navigate but right now it's the dry season the water is low and it can be dangerous my main worry right now is the motor if it breaks down that means big problems it should be okay it'll hold up at least i hope so i'm not really afraid the boat continues its ascent of the dusky waters of the mekong towards the north of laos there are no roads or trails in these remote regions so the only way to reach the isolated villages is by boat i'm really glad to arrive i've been on the river since eight this morning i can finally get some rest in any case we can't go any further nights coming on it's too risky it's always an event when the floating vendors arrive in a village this evening leo is stopping in a small camu village an ethnic group that lives along the upper mekong one of laos 60 odd ethnic communities [Music] and there haven't been any vendors here for quite a while [Music] the villagers buy my jars and use them to make their beer and rice wine the villagers may not always have money but they do always have something to barter it'll take just a few minutes for layua to unpack and sell his wares i like visiting villages like this one i is our way of life and our livelihood [Applause] the villagers here welcome leia like a member of the family hospitality is one of the cornerstones of laotian society the slightest occasion becomes a good reason to break out a jar of the traditional beer a camus specialty [Music] [Music] okay [Music] [Music] the lights of the mekong exercise an irresistible attraction on voyagers the ancient land of a million elephants was for a long time unexplored territory in the late 19th century a french adventurer from brittany traveled the length and breadth of laos his name was auguste for years pavi traveled the peninsula of indochina on foot the laotians who traveled with him during those long years of walking called him the barefoot explorer at that time the maps of southeast asia were still riddled with blank patch in 1895 august pavi drew up the first map of indochina [Music] he had a particularly tender eye when photographing lay oceans at the end of his life august pavi forgotten by history wrote in his memoirs i knew the joy of being liked by the people with whom i stayed [Music] the mekong is the soul of laos and the lifeblood of the peoples along it everyone tries to live off the river adventurers peddlers traffickers and gold prospectors in their village near luang prabang the former royal capital leo and boivan turn out hundreds of pieces of pottery when they're not plying their wares on the river they spend their time making jars and pots oh so 700 pots or 300 jars at one time i have to keep a close watch over the firing for 24 hours a whole day at night this is my profession it's how i make my living this is the life that leia has chosen he and his family live a free nomadic existence on the mekong [Music] [Applause] [Music] peng and his uncle powell are partners from way back together they've covered all the trails and tracks of laos [Music] [Music] their work tool is an old russian truck it's robust and just never gives up today they're taking on a load of banana tree trunks this is where we come to load up we'll take these trunks to the elephants i have an elephant too mine's made of iron and has wheels instead of feet and my elephant can do 120 kilometers per hour you know nature is generous here you can just plant anything everything grows naturally this is really a land of abundance [Music] so [Music] the elephant is the symbol of laos the country's elephant population numbers just over 800 half of which are still wild the asian elephant was domesticated by man over four thousand years ago the mautes are the elephant's masters the only ones capable of controlling the instinctive power of these impressive animals even today in laos these giants of nature are still used for work in the forests each elephant has its own personality it's a sensitive animal and can understand more than 50 commands oh yeah [Music] peng and powell arrive in sayaburi they've come to deliver their banana tree trunks to the laotian elephant conservation center the only place of its kind in southeast asia here at the conservation center a team of veterinarians takes care of the animals they free the females from their work in the forest so that they can raise their young for the first years of their life the domesticated asian elephant is a fragile animal its low rate of reproduction makes it an endangered species in laos the elephant is called the cousin of the clouds maybe on account of its color but surely because it loves water so much oh this morning peng and powell are eagerly awaited visitors for the bringing the elephants their favorite snack according to the popular beliefs in the eternal cycle of reincarnation the elephant is the final stage before becoming man they say that laos is the land of a million elephants they're beautiful majestic [Music] [Music] pang is back on the road for a long time his truck was used by the laotian army for troop transport seeing it eat up the trail like this one could say that this truck is a sort of resume of the recent history of the country a collateral victim of the vietnam war [Music] across rivers it never gets bogged down on tough trails it can take up to two tons but it's hot inside the cab especially in this season it's an oven there's no air conditioner it's a soviet truck it's all pretty complicated an old truck but it's unstoppable the seat in the cab is directly above the front wheels so i'm getting bounced all around all the time it's not easy to handle the road is a family heritage for peng it's even a vocation almost a spiritual quest so [Music] obama [Music] i can stay on here with the monks if i want there's no one telling me what i have to do when i have a load well i earn my living if i don't it's no problem i'm not bothering anybody just the opposite [Music] i live from day to day and mostly i try to live according to the rhythms of nature and the passing seasons i try not to bother others and i don't want others bothering me either eventually manages to be at peace with others he purifies himself he develops and evolves [Music] peng often makes stops to meditate he has always been attracted by the monk's life its serenity its sharing sometimes behind the wheel of his truck he dreams of withdrawing from the world to follow another path [Music] in laos a man can choose to devote several years to a spiritual retreat and to live the life of a monk before coming back to society [Music] peng's life is a long road a path that allows him to live as part of nature to follow his destiny and to reach out to others [Music] [Music] there you are i learned from very skilled drivers when you're going uphill you have to know how to help the motor go easy work the brakes know how to use the four-wheel drive [Music] eating up these dusty trails for more than 30 years its cruising speed hardly ever tops 30 kilometers an hour but no obstacle seems to stop it okay in the mountains of laos time seems to stretch out indefinitely peng and his uncle have been on the road for more than three days and the morale is still as solid as a rock we've got a little problem with the truck but it's nothing serious we'll take a look at it [Music] a few minutes with a screwdriver and a hammer are all it takes to get the old truck rolling again means no problem in lao this could be the motto of the whole country [Music] with a good dose of determination we can do anything and with a bit of patience we get what we want here in laos we try to keep life simple but you can't just say if you don't take action nothing will happen [Music] it's up is fully aware of the risks of the road but he has faith in his karma this principle of buddhism that says people's lives depend on their acts and their past lives [Music] driving the trails of laos pang is living the spirit of buddhism if he ever gives up this roving life it will be because he has embarked on the path of awakening a different voyage that's like a return to the essential [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] what's up night everybody here makes their livelihood from fish whatever the season or time of year [Music] there are some very dangerous spots here where i don't dare go this is how i feed my family according to what nature is willing to let me have [Music] [Music] for more than 30 years sowen has been casting his net into the turbulent waters of the mekong [Music] konpapen in the extreme south of laos are the largest waterfalls of southeast asia here fishermen brave their fear to cast their nets in the eternal combat between man and river [Music] the eternal cloud this is where so on comes to earn his livelihood in the rainy season the water level of the mekong can rise two to three meters so so on always has to adapt he still has a few weeks left before the sky becomes overcast with clouds full of the monsoon rains the high water occurs in the 9th and 10th month of the year it gets very high here then no one wants to come here it's all flooded during the dry season the water is very low so i use different fishing techniques like fish traps in any case i catch only the minimum just enough to meet my needs through the treacherous currents every time he goes fishing someone has to cross the mekong he doesn't have his own boat so he counts on other fishermen and has to pay for each crossing up river from the falls the mekong gives an impressive display of its full might here near the border with cambodia the mekong widens into an enormous inland delta the four thousand islands form an incredible labyrinth of land and water we're very close to the waterfalls we're okay right here there's no danger but we have to be prepared for anything especially if the motor breaks down you always have to have an oar in the pirogue right now the current's not very strong here it's all right but if we break down we'll have to row it took so on 20 days of hard work to build this boat it's his first boat and he's very proud of it this little craft will change his life soon he'll no longer have to count on others to cross the mekong but before he launches his boat someone has to keep an important rendezvous with the river spirits i'm bringing offerings to the shaman a great protector of the river so that the spirits will protect my boat is a ceremony that seals the destiny of people the shaman recalls the 32 souls that each human being possesses the bhasi is a way of drawing to oneself the positive influences of the spirits this is an auspicious day for me i'm going to launch my perogue this means a new life for me and my family [Music] it is really beautiful i love this boat it's very well built i really like it this is going to make my life so much easier i'll be able to go where i want when i want and i won't have to depend on others to go fishing anymore i'll soon be independent when he has enough money to buy a motor sowan will be able to navigate on the mekong with his own boat it is part of me [Music] the mekong is a legendary river it runs more than 4500 kilometers from the tibetan plateau down to its vast delta it crosses all of laos cambodia and the south of vietnam the mekong also borders burma and thailand the lives of 70 million people depend directly on this river the tenth largest in the world when i come to fish here in the waterfalls i have to cross with this cable there always has to be two or three other fishermen nearby to ensure my safety and to help me if i have a problem and likewise i am here to keep an eye on other fishermen this spot is dangerous we all help each other out when i have a small catch i keep some fish to feed my family when i get a big catch i go sell them so i can buy gas but even more important i can pay the fare to cross the river to make a livelihood from the river's resources the fishermen have to adapt and be resourceful the cone popeng falls form a natural insurmountable barrier in the tightly knit community of fishermen here the most daring are also the most respected these are the tightrope walkers of cone papen [Music] the power of the mekong dominates this wild untamed landscape [Music] under the admiring eye of sauan samyang juggles with the laws of equilibrium [Music] [Music] and i'm still crossing it every day it's part of my family's patrimony no one else can use it these are my cables and i discourage anyone else from using them if an accident were to happen i'd be held responsible the cables and i are won the dangers that the cable gives or that my hands slip if i fall my life is over it's very dangerous [Music] the environment is hostile and the climatic conditions are extreme in this part of the world [Music] today the sky is shedding its excess energy it's 40 degrees celsius and the first monsoon rains are pouring down sowen has come to see the village healer this man is a storehouse of knowledge about plants and natural remedies lately he also comes regularly to consult about his malaria depending on the diseases i'll do incantations i'll prepare concoctions i'm an accomplished healer i'm going to give so on the medication to treat the malaria that's what's been causing his anemia and dizziness [Music] [Music] there are also people from the whole region who come to see me i treat everyone who comes to consult me whatever [Music] even though the fishermen of konpapen may be protected by the river spirits they're still constantly risking their lives it takes nerves of steel to brave the dangers [Music] [Music] so the slightest error can be fatal for these balancing artists of the mekong they need to maintain perfect control of their balance their movements and their own fear foreign despite all that if someone decides to cross anyway and they slip they're done forever [Music] how can one appreciate the multiple facets of this unpredictable mysterious river at konpapen locked away in the memory of the fishermen are all the secrets of the mekong the mother of all asian waters [Music] wish is to be able to keep on enjoying this harmony [Music] you

Channel: Free Documentary

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Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, documentary - topic, documentary (tv genre), somewhere on earth, amazing stories, amazing stories from laos, amazing quest, laos

Id: NfxPIVDnuPo

Length: 52min 6sec (3126 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 17 2022