Date: 29th March 2009
Location: Salween River / Moei River
Participants: Ben, Bobby & 2 Karen boatmen / guides
Goals: explore the Moei, 2 nights camping, catch a fish, get some photos
Weather & Temperature: Hot and sunny throughout the day. Heavy morning mists, cool overnight.
The Salween River flows approx 2400km from the Tangula Mountains of the Himalayas, in the Tibetan plateau. Running southward through Yunnan Province of China, through eastern Myanmar’s Shan & Kayah States, along the Thai-Myanmar border, through the Kayan & Mon States before emptying into the Gulf of Martaban, in the Andaman Sea. Even in Dry Season, its a seriously large river!
To reach the river from Thailand, access is via Highway 1194, a trip of approx 48 kms from the town of Mae Sarieng in Mae Hong Son province. Destination is the village of Ban Mae Sam Laeb, located on the riverbank above the high water level. At low flow, there is a natural boat harbour that is crammed with a variety of vessels of all sizes, shapes and colours.
Primarily, these are the “long-tail’ boats, powered either by small Honda outboards, or full-sized car / truck engines! Steering a 30 ft, heavily laden long-boat with a tiller-bar attached to a 6 cylinder turbo-charged truck engine is a man’s job!
For those with a sense of adventure and a thirst for a new experience, there’s also the opportunity to fish the lower reaches of the River Moei, a tributary of the Salween. From its confluence with the Salween, the Moei is also the border between Thailand and Myanmar, for over a 100 kms towards Mae Sot.
Access to the Moei River is via long-tailed boat, and camping trips in this sensitive border area require the services of an English-speaking Thai who also speaks Karen… That helps soothe any potential issues with military authorities -- Thai Army on one side of the river, and Democratic Karen Buddhist Army on the other side… a big handful of cheroots, some edibles, and a few baht go a long way to making friends along the river. There are a couple of large UN refugee camps in the vicinity, and cross-border incursions by DKBN personnel are not uncommon further south, near the big refugee camps at Mae Sot.
This DKBA soldier may have a really, really old carbine (.30 cal M1) but the odds are it works disturbingly well, and he probably knows how to use it…
The Moei is big freestone river, clear and fast in places… ideal for big Mahseer (Thai and Golden)
In other sections, long, slow lagoon-like pools are very deep and sure to hold some big catfish…
The landscapes are stunning. Late March is not the best time for photography due to smoke and haze, but nonetheless, its real pretty country. The sunrise through the morning mists is surreal!
During this trip, there was an extraordinary amount of boat traffic, apparently due to significant relocation of refugee from the smaller camps, out to Mae Sot / Bangkok… not exactly sure what was going on, but I was astonished by the volume of people on the move! Apparently, this was something out of the ordinary, and the boat activity was certainly not conducive to good fishing!
Camping out -- many of the most vivid memories of my life revolve around camping trips! I can still clearly recall the first such outings, camped on a riverbank with mum and dad, now 50 years ago! I still get as much pleasure in being far from civilisation now, as I did back then.
However, this particular trip offered sensory experiences so totally different to the New Zealand wilderness adventures I’ve grown up with. Not least of which was Bobby’s flair in the camp kitchen -- I’ve always been the chef on every camping trip I’ve ever been on since I was a kid…
But kebabs? Damn, Bobby -- that’s very, very cool…
By the time he’d produced Tom Yum Kai (spicy chicken soup), fried chicken and Pad Pak Ruam (stir-fried vegetables) and rice to go with it, I was speechless and in awe at being in the presence of a Master!
Add to that the presentation -- the serving dishes were created by the Karen boatman whilst dinner was cooking, quickly manufactured from a handy piece of bamboo! Oh, such simple pleasures, far from home. Bobby and I have the same philosophy on eating and guided fishing… We can’t guarantee to always catch a fish, but there is absolutely NO excuse for going to bed hungry, or eating baked beans out of a can!!!
