All language subtitles for The Mekong River with Sue Perkins 3 Laos_Subtitles01.ENG

Ahh, I'm not very good at steering.

OK, OK.

SHE LAUGHS

It's hard work.

'This is the Mekong,
the mother of water.

'The greatest river
in South East Asia.'

These are the best noodles ever.

'It brings life to millions

'from the paddy fields of Vietnam

'to the mountains
of the Tibetan plateau.'

Ooh, that's cold!

'I'm travelling nearly 3,000 miles
upstream to its source,

'exploring landscapes and lives

'on the point of profound change.'

One. One. Two. Two. Three. Three.

THEY LAUGH

'I've now reached Laos,

'one of the poorest
and least developed

'of all the Mekong nations.'

'It's a country shaped
by both Buddhism and Communism,

'and has hardly changed
for centuries.

'But now Laos is on the verge
of huge and irreversible change.

'Dams are being built
to harness the power of the river.'

I'm a great fan of green energy

but if it's at the expense
of nearly 50 million people,

you've got to wonder
where the balance is.

'Money is flowing in from tourism.'

And from the flash bulbs going

you'd think that Brangelina
was in town,

but no, it's monk paparazzi.

'But foreign investment

'feels like a high stakes gamble.'

Plonked in the middle
is this mausoleum of bad taste

which I'm assuming is the casino.

'Laos desperately needs to develop

'but will the price of change
simply be too high?'

Wherever you go in the world,

there's always
a Manchester United fan.

How do you feel about
David Moyes' management?

Do you think he's done
anything for the club

or are you worried
that this is the end of an era?

I think we all feel the same.

'I couldn't have wished
for a more beautiful morning

'to start my journey through Laos.'

I've had to travel
this many miles up river

to finally get to the Mekong
of my imagination

which is hazy skies
and silhouetted blue mountains

and relative silence...

She says as the only
boat for 15 minutes go by.

SHE LAUGHS

And there's a saying which says
that the Vietnamese plant the rice,

the Cambodians watch the rice

and then the Lao
listen to the rice grow.

What I glean from that is a sort
of dispassionate mellowness

to the Lao People,
which I look forward to provoking.

'For landlocked Laos,

'surrounded by powerful
neighbours like Thailand and China,

'the Mekong is its most
important resource.

'My journey starts in the south,

'just across the Cambodian border

in Si Phan Don or the Four Thousand
Islands.

'I've come ashore
at one of the river beaches

'to meet a local character.'

Mr Boonsong?

THEY SPEAK LAOTIAN

Nice to see you. How are you?

This is so beautiful.

'He's offered to show me
the best place to catch fish

'in his little corner
of Mekong paradise.'

OK, OK. You can sit at the back.

Further back? Yeah. OK.

THEY LAUGH

What was the word for beautiful?
Ana laoi?

Beautiful? What is beautiful? Ana
laoi. Whoo-hoo! Yeah, it's that.

It's that times a thousand.

Same, same. Yeah.

'I'm worried for two reasons.

'Firstly, because he appears
to be hitting on me and secondly,

'because I think this boat
is sinking.'

This is a good spot?

OK? Yeah good, thank you. OK.

'We've arrived at what I assume
is the fishing spot.

'And now I have a third reason
to be worried.

Boonsong's got a state of the art
harpoon gun.

These are rockfish
we're looking for.

Did you see? Smartarse-ness
comes just before a fall.

Why am I going upwards to fish?

Why am I climbing a mountain? OK?
You're a nutter!

Ooh! Waterfall, beautiful waterfall.

Oh, wow!
SHE LAUGHS

You have a very excitable squeal.

It's very beautiful. Yeah.
Beautiful, yeah.

'It turns out we're not
the only ones

'to have made the treacherous trek
to this popular fishing spot.

'There are traps set up
along the rapids

'and we're about to spoil
the solitude

'of an old lady quietly getting on
with her work.'

Can you fish anywhere on the river

or does each fisherman have a
special pitch, a special spot?

'Boonsong is very aware
that catching fish

'is increasingly hard work,

'but this beautiful scenery
attracts backpackers

'in search of unspoilt Asia

'and for Boonsong,

tourists offer a more attractive
income than fishing.'

What do you think of backpackers?

What do you think of travellers?

And that's a way to get more money?

'Boonsong's suddenly reminded we
came all of this way to catch fish.'

He's got excited about the
fish now. Come on.

She's shamed you. She's shamed you
with her brilliance

Beautiful. I don't know why
he needed a harpoon for those.

For me that's overkill

How many?

It's good. Good for barbecue.

'Boonsong has introduced me
to the Lao phrase bo panang,

'meaning no worries.

'Which just about sums him up.

'It's this mellow atmosphere

'which draws hoards of backpackers,

'keen to just lie back
and soak it all up.

'With ever an eye for an extra buck,
Boonsong runs a shack on the beach.

'Next year he hopes
to open a guesthouse too.

'All his family lend a hand,
and today I've offered my services.'

Can I just say
your husband did not catch this.

If he's been telling you
he's a fisherman, he's lying.

Bash.

Goodbye, bingo wings. Hello, papaya.

'I'm glad papaya salad
is on the menu,

because I love it,

'but I haven't experienced
Laos papaya salad before.'

OK, A bit of a tasting.

Ohh!

SHE LAUGHS

It's good.

I'm going to say that now

while I still have the power
of speech. It's really good.

Yes, if she says
it's hot we're in trouble.

Fire, just fire!

I don't know where I'm going,
I'm just going to go

down to the river
and drink it.

I mean literally all of it.

So I'm just about
to take part in a Baci ceremony

which although it sounds like it,

isn't a Welsh songbird diva strop.

In fact, it's a pre-Buddhist ritual

which integrates the 32 souls
or spirits of the body

and usually happens
at a time of transformation.

We've got no idea
what weapons grade military hardware

he's brought with him this time.

Who knows? Maybe a bazooka
or a surface-to-air missile.
Whatever's appropriate.

'An elder is going
to perform the ceremony.'

I just want to kiss his face.
He's just got a face
that you want to smooch.

You have a beautiful face.

87 years.

Amazing. Amazing.

Boonsong and his family,
like most Lao, are Buddhist.

And today the ceremony is for me.

It's to wish me well on the start
of my journey through Laos.

I have absolutely
no idea what the words mean,

but the feeling, the warmth
from this gathering is tangible.

As each person
ties a string round my wrist,

they are offering me a blessing.

To work I've been told they need
to stay on for at least 3 days.

I don't think you can get
much more blessed than that.

Properly blessed,
properly blessed. Amazing.

Boonsong is a cracking guy.

He's so energetic and full of life,

and he's so wonderfully friendly
and charismatic.

He's also one of the laziest
entrepreneurs I've ever met,

in the sense that he's just got this
amazing ability to not do anything.

He gets over people to do it,

so somebody will catch his fish
and he'll buy them.

His wife will do the cooking,

he'll embed a cleaver in an onion
and think he's made the dish.

But perhaps that's the key
to his success really -

powers of delegation
will mean he'll make his fortune.

Maybe I'll come back here
in ten years' time

and he'll have formed
a chain of restaurants

that will, you know,
extend throughout Asia

and he'll be doing very little
work in any of them, I imagine.

Having a beer on a porch of one
and roaring with laughter.

HE SINGS LAO KARAOKE

'I really hope
that Boonsong's plans work out.

'He's adapting and he's welcoming in
the tourist dollar.

'But what about those upstream,

'for whom fundamental
and profound change is coming?'

'The Xayaburi hydroelectric dam

'is South-East Asia's biggest

'and most controversial
engineering project.

'It's the first dam
across the Lower Mekong

'and will completely block
the flow of the river.

'The countries downstream of Laos

'are deeply concerned
about its impact.'

'It's taken us months
to negotiate access to film here

'so this is a pretty big day.

'I've certainly never been

'so excited to meet a couple
of thousand builders.'

Throughout the entirety
of my trip up the Mekong

the prospect of damming
has always loomed large

but the dams felt
like a Keyser Soze figure -

dark and mysterious
and always out of sight.

And here in Laos I will actually get
to visit one.

It doesn't really matter
whether you think

that it will bring renewable energy
to an area

that is one of the least provided
in the entire world

or whether you think, quite frankly,

it's an ecological disaster
waiting to happen.

Either way, the dam is coming

and it will change
this entire land forever.

'Laos is a Communist state,

'and information about the dam
is very tightly controlled.

'Off camera, there's a whole convoy
of information officers

'and media minders making sure
that I'm strictly on message.

'Almost everybody I've met
on my travels up the Mekong

'have been against
the damming project,

'but I'm trying
to keep an open mind.'

I'm just approaching the dam now,
pulled over,

and the support car went in front
of us, put the nee naws on.

It's quite exciting, I now feel
I'm part of Police Camera Action!

I expect Alistair Stewart
to pop up any minute now

in a very tight pair
of stonewash jeans.

But it just goes to show
how tightly controlled this area is.

What's really funny as well

is there's no other traffic
on the road.

Literally the road
is completely clear.

'It's impossible to understate the
significance of this one project.

'It has the power to change
the entire region.

'On my journey I've met just some
of the 50 million people

'who depend on the Mekong
for their food and livelihood.'

'My liberal Western kneejerk
reaction is that hydroelectric power

'means clean green energy

'but when I dig a little deeper,
a ecological alarm bell goes off.

'I start to understand

'that dams interrupt
the natural flow of the river,

'changing water levels,
blocking fish migration

'and destroying fish stocks.'

Oh, that's marvellous.
We're being saluted.

It's just a sort of reflex.

I have no military training.

I seem to be stuck in a sort
of media sandwich

in that they're making
a documentary about me

as I'm making a documentary
about them.

'I think the security might have
been stepped up

'as I'm on my way
to meet a representative

'of the Communist Government,

'The rather splendidly-named
Mr Viraphonh Viravong,

'the Vice Minister
for Energy and Mines.'

It's nice to meet you.
Please...Viraphonh.

Mr Viravong, nice to meet you.

Thank you for letting us come
and see your dam.

It's our pleasure to receive
you here. Thank you.

Come in... Excellent.

..and talk about
the projects a little bit.

Come, we have to do the
presentation.

Ah. This is great, cos
I've prepared a speech.

I feel like
I'm in a James Bond film.

SHE LAUGHS
This is very good.

'I'm desperate to clap eyes
on the actual dam

'but before I'm allowed on site,

'I have to sit through a
40-minute presentation

'on hydroelectric engineering

'including navigation
lock systems,

'sand flushing

'and, of course,
fish transportation.'

Next to that is a fish lift,
but we call it... A fish lift?

Fish lift.

They've got their own lift?! Yep.

I've never heard of a fish lift.

You have the lift. It's like this.

It is a lift. Yeah?

..coming down, the gate open,

and after the fish can come in.

Going up.

Automatically, we set the times
and other things,

it would go up and release
it upstream.

These are for the fish that like
to migrate at the bottom of the...

..like catfish and other thing.

You've got the fish escalators
and fish lifts.

I can't knock you.

That's the most high-tech marine
life I've ever come across.

I don't get invited
to a lot of presentations

because I'm an A-grade numpty.

But I really enjoyed it
and I had lots of questions,

all of which were answered
and a lot of prejudices confronted.

So I don't know at the moment
whether everything I've...

You know, all my sort
of naive ecological feelings

about dams are wrong

or whether they're very, very
good at selling me a hard lie.

I don't know. He's a marvel, though.

'And finally, here it is.

'This construction side is massive
and it's not even a quarter built.

'I've seen the effect of dams
further down the river in Vietnam

'but here it is in all of
its concrete glory.

'I can't help but be
impressed by the scale, the size,

'the industry - there are 9,000
people working here

'around the clock.

'Thailand is paying most
of the $3.8 billion costs.

'In return, they will get 95%
of the electricity produced.

'But Mr Viravong is still confident

'that Laos will have
longer-term benefits.'

In your presentation you showed
11 dams that were planned.

If all of those dams were realised,
what percentage of the total energy

produced will be renewable
energy in Laos?

So everything will be pretty much
renewable in Laos? Yeah.

So you can go
from the visually greenest

to the ethically greenest country
in the entire world?

This also means a lot of money
now for Laos potentially.

This is a huge revenue generator.

Do you think it will massively
change the country?

'Sounds too good to be true,
doesn't it?

'But of course, there's a catch.

'Thousands of people will be forced
to leave their traditional

'villages as the waters
inevitably rise.

'Mr Viravong offers me the chance
to look around their new homes.'

On my own, without an entourage?
Right.

'When Mr Viravong said
I could go alone,

'he actually meant I could go
with a convoy of 10 cars

'just to check
I get to the right place.'

So this is the village of Ban Tang
Long and I'm just going to get an

impartial view on what it's really
like having your community uprooted.

Thank god there
are 20 government officials

and heavies to make sure he really
does have an impartial view.

'It's hard to know
who I'm supposed to be meeting,

'villager one turns out to be
one of the developers.'

May I sit?

Too hot for me. Yeah.

'Villager two,
the Laotian Johnny Vegas,

is another developer.'

So, um...

It's the villager here,
you can interview him.

'Ah, finally. The real McCoy.

'But just in case
he gets his words wrong,

'the company have supplied
a translator.'

So, when did you and your community
come to the resettled village?

Already disagreement.

Slightly-filtered answer.

What was your feeling

when you knew that your village
was going to be moved?

He said, "Feel happy."

Very happy.

And what are the changes from the
old village to the new village?

This sounds very good.

Is there any one small thing
that is bad about moving?

Would you mind showing me
around the village?

Excellent. Thank you.

This dude's doing a deal.
Look at him.

He's just doing a couple of quick
property deals.

Is it possible to
see inside a house? Is that OK?

Is this your house or are we just
walking into a stranger's house?

I mean, who's going
to question this guy?

You can go anywhere he say.

Are you sure? Yeah.
Yeah, you're the dude.

I feel like I'm in a Southeast
Asian version of Reservoir Dogs now.

Look!

'And this is what
it's all about.

'With a flick of a switch,
lives are transformed.'

Entering those homes and they
are really a class above

anything I've seen
all the way along the Mekong.

Don't get me wrong, they are great
places for these people to live

and I wish that for them,

but I can't help thinking
that in a way

they're just exchanging
one kind of bonded labour,

in this case fishing,
for our capitalist version,

which is just slumped
in front of stuff.

You know, addicted to stuff,
to material stuff.

I think I went into today thinking
I have a feeling about which way

I would side on this debate,
but very little information.

Now I can honestly say
I've got an awful lot of information

but I find it very hard
to plonk myself firmly

either side of the debate.

I think to frame the debate

within the sort of binary opposites
of right or wrong

is a hiding to nowhere really.

I was incredibly impressed with
Mr Viravong.

I thought he was a proper statesman,
you know, and he had all the patter

and I slowly became completely
beguiled by him.

Everything he said I believed,
utterly,

just sucked into the tractor
beam of fact and moral rectitude

and by the end of it I thought,

"Yes, we must go home,
we must build dams

"everywhere because they're clean
and brilliant and everyone is going

"to benefit." And I maintained that
completely singular

perspective for about an hour until
I went to my completely free rein

trip to the resettlement village
and then everything changed again.

And then you have to start
investigating your own mindset.

I'm a product of a western
colonial education.

Why wouldn't I want people to have
electricity here and why wouldn't

I want people to have nice new
houses and a house like I've got.

Is it just because undeveloped Asia
is so beautiful,

I'd like to have a holiday here.

How appalling, you know?

This is the thing. It challenges
your preconceptions so constantly

and I'm really glad of that.

Is life's goal always about
the pursuit of the cathode ray

and the fridge freezer or is it
about a more natural connection with

landscape and a better quality of
food that can be retrieved from it.

And there's somewhere,

there's a middle point that
I don't know where that is

and I don't think mankind as a whole
has found it, but it is the sort of

intellectual frontier that Asia is
having to navigate as it develops.

'Of course, there are
no easy answers

'but if I've learned anything
on this river trip it's that all

'the people of the Mekong,
regardless of their nationality,

'are in this together,
all linked by one vital,

'international water course.

'While the Xayaburi Dam will surely
bring economic benefits to Laos

'and beyond, it's also likely to
harm tens of millions of others

'downstream.

'And this dam is just
the beginning -

'there are 10 more dams planned
for Laos alone, and 140 either

'commissioned or under construction
for the Mekong and its tributaries.

'As I continue upstream,

'I see the people along the
riverbank with new eyes.

'Their ways of life have evolved
over generations in tandem with

'the annual monsoon rains
and the rise and fall of the water.

'I just hope it won't all
be swept away

'in the great flood of progress.'

So when you think of Asia you think
weed, right?

River weed, of course, algae.
I'm going to get some.

'During the dry season,
when the river is low,

'the local women take to the water
to collect this unusual delicacy.'

The laughter has already started.

Sue. Sue. Sue.

Butang.

Oh, hello, straight into it.
Thank you.

No worries. There will be worries
when this is completely empty.

Will you show me
how to get the weed? We can go?

Yet more balancing exercises.

SHE NERVOUSLY LAUGHS

I see one's got out
from Cambodia and Vietnam.

This is it? This is the weed. OK.

Right. There's a lot of delving now.

'It's hard to believe

'but apparently this
Kermit-coloured slime

'will get turned into a local
speciality known as kaipen.'

It's a cross between
farming and swimming.

Oh, that's no good?

So what is the difference
between good and no good?

It looks exactly the same to me.

You've got loads.
You've got a wizard's hat full.

I've got a very wet bottom.
Look, look at this.

Oh, that's OK.

Ooh!

SHE LAUGHS

Ooh, that's cold! Ohh!

It's like a very strange river
dance going on here.

I don't know where I'm being led
but I quite like it.

It's good? It's OK?

Volume-wise I'm doing really well,

what she doesn't realise is
that 90% of that is sand.

SHE LAUGHS

'The weed is processed back at the
house where it's flavoured with

'spices and hung out
to dry in the sun.'

I'm going to try this bit because
there's loads of stuff on it.

A bit like Japanese seaweed.
Quite salty.

I've never disciplined river
weed before.

THEY LAUGH

This I could get into.

Oh, OK. Now lengthways.

You really don't want to
get on the wrong side of her do you?

Take that. Yeah. Hell yeah!

I tell you what you can have
some of that back. Hang on.

THEY LAUGH

So do you know that they are going
to build a dam near here?

The water may be higher
in the Mekong near where you are.

So if you could not make money
from doing this,

you could not get the seaweed
anymore,

would it really affect
your family?

Do you want to go back
to the rice fields?

It's so tiring.

The Mekong House of Correction has
completed its business for the day.

It's true what they say about Laos.
It is seriously good weed.

'I could happily batter
the living cack

'out of seaweed for the rest
of my life.

'But as with most things Laotian,

'it's very easy to romanticise this
apparently idyllic way of life.

'Laos is the poorest of the all
the Mekong nations.

'For many families sending children
to school is not a priority

'and, shockingly, 1 out of every 4
are illiterate.

'But some people are trying
to change this.'

Welcome to the Book Boat.

How wonderful. Thank you. Welcome.

We're talking in a library. Shh!

In England you have
to be very quiet.

This library boat,
run by a local NGO,

takes books to remote villages only
accessed by the river and it's led,

not by your usual mousy librarians,

but this lot, who are all-singing
and all-dancing.

What I like about this library
is it's really noisy.

What happen? What happen?
What happen?

OK, I think this might be
the first library crash actually.

Just hitting some rocks there.

Is this normal,
do they normally go into rocks?

No, no. Never happen. This is
first time.

That's good to know. That is good to
know.

Can you swim? I can swim.

Can you move here? I certainly
can...

Apparently it's my weight
that's caused it.

It's a very polite way of saying,
"Listen, you big porky Westerner.

"We were fine until you got on
board."

'Disaster averted,
after two hours more travel

'we arrive at our destination -
a remote village

'inhabited by the Hmong,
one of Laos' 49 ethnic minorities.

THEY CHEER

'It's not your normal
reaction for a library van.

'I feel like I'm in One Direction.

'The children borrow the books
overnight and then return them

'the next morning when the boat
moves onto the next village.'

These are the Hmong tribe

and they don't even speak Lao,
they are learning Lao now.

They've taken themselves off to
every little hillock and crag to sit

with these books which are as
precious as gold. And they're not

interested in me and the cameras
or the circus that I've brought

with me. They're interested in just
taking themselves off, opening up

the books and just immersing and I'm
so moved by it, because that

was my experience of reading
and you'd want that for everybody.

That joy of forgetting the
mundaneness of your own existence

for a second and suddenly being
involved in

a turtle's life or an elephant's
life or a princess' life.

It's amazing to be
part of that for a second.

So I've just managed to secure
a massive break.

I've just been told that I'll be
playing the part of the tree

in the community story which is
frankly massive for me

because I've only ever played 3rd
sheep and quite a grumpy shepherd.

What kind of tree am I?
What's my motivation?

'It's a sort of super squeaky
Laotian Punch and Judy.

'I'm certainty giving
the role of tree my all.

'I'm a tree. I'm still a tree.

'It's been humbling to spend
the day with these kids,

'lit up by the simple act
of reading.

'And the revenue from the dams could
help elevate communities like these

'from poverty, bringing electricity,
schools and healthcare.'

'I'm heading north on the
river again

'to the ancient
city of Luang Prabang,

'famous for its temples - and its
tourists.'

As Lao starts to develop,
it looks not only to the future

with all the high-tech,
high spec projects

such as the hydroelectric dam,
but also to its past

in an effort to capture
that all-elusive tourist dollar.

Nowhere is that more important
than here in Luang Prabang,

which is Laos' cultural core.

I'm actually at Sean Connery's
favourite hillock - Pussy Mountain.

'Phu Si Mountain - I kid you not -
looks out over Luang Prabang,

'set on the confluence of the Mekong
and the Nam Khan Rivers,

'surrounded by water.

'It was once the Royal City of Laos
and is now a UNESCO World Heritage

'Site famed for its temples
and architecture.

'It's also the centre of Buddhism

'and is thought to be home to more
monks than anywhere else in Asia.

'Laos' sleepy demeanour
belies a turbulent history.

'It's been squabbled over by more
powerful neighbours Burma and

'Thailand, colonised by the French,
then caught up in the Vietnam War.

'But throughout all this,

'Buddhism has remained a constant,
consoling presence.'

'Every morning at 6am,

'the monks and novices of
Luang Prabang leave their temples to

'collect alms.

'These alms provide the monks
with their food

'so I'm hoping that getting up at
first light and giving out buckets

'of sticky rice will help me to win
just a few karma points in life.'

Quite a crowd building, and from the
flashbulbs going you'd think that

Brangelina was in town but no,
it's monk paparazzi, how brilliant.

The good thing of course - more
people, more alms for monks.

Bad thing is it sort of takes away
from the ceremony.

It becomes this tourist experience.
Just another iPhoto.

'Traditionally every Laos man
is expected to join

'a monastery for at least a short
period of his life.'

So, yet another orange wash there.

Every morning: "Anyone got
anything for the orange wash?"

'For poorer families it's a way of
getting an education. It also means

'that generation after generation
is imbued with Buddhist principles.

'I'm joining the novices for a day

'to try and understand
what that really means.'

Do you sometimes get a bit
bored of it?

Do you get tired of sweeping?

No, never bored. Never bored? Yes.

A real hint of Hogwarts
about this one.

It's very clever bit
of rubbish disposal that. Very good.

Why do you want to be a monk?

What do your family do?

Not Luang Prabang? Not
Luang Prabang.

So one day do you think you will be
a teacher or doctor,

or what do you think?

Well, I think you will definitely
be able

because you have very, very good
English. Very good English.

'For a boy from a farming family,
joining the monastery is

'one of the best ways to broaden
their horizons.'

'But the subject matter of their
English class wasn't quite what
I was expected.

'Traffic problems in towns.'

Road accidents? Yes.

Being drunk...

..is a major cause, major cause.

Never expected
to be doing this vocab.

Major cause of traffic problems.

Injury.

Injury, when you hurt yourself.

Sometimes another word for injury
is...I can't believe I'm doing this,

this is the most depressing English
lesson that's ever been.

Wound. Wound.

So if somebody hurts you you can say
I'm wounded or injured,

"Ah, I'm injured.

"I hope it won't leave a scar."

Ultimately...you need to know
something, OK? Which is this.

England is safe. Safe.
It's OK, it's nice.

If you come to England I can
guarantee, pretty much...

..no injury,

no wound, collision, crash.

I sometimes worry
that you'll be frightened to go

because of the vocabulary,
but it's all good.

It's almost as if I knew I was going
to be doing an hour

on road traffic accidents.

It's very bizarre.

I just wonder what else
is on that syllabus.

Anyway, they've got
a class on dismemberment next,

so I don't want to keep them.

THEY CHANT

'The novices' day finishes with an
hour of hypnotic chanting

'as the sun goes down.

'These novices are following rituals
that have gone

'unchanged for centuries but now
these daily practices are under

'scrutiny from dusk to
dawn by hoards of tourists.

'They are drawn to Luang Prabang
hoping to find - or at least

'photograph - spiritual Asia.'

'Satu Oneko has been a monk
in Luang Prabang for four decades

'and has seen the many changes here.

'He is now the head abbot

'and I'm wondering what
he makes of this latest invasion.'

Satu, do you find there is a lot
of pressure on Buddhism in Laos

from tourism?

Why do you think Buddhism has
managed to survive Siamese invasion,

Burmese invasion, French Colonialism

and the beginnings of Communism
here?

Thank you, Satu.

And thank you for lowering my blood

pressure by about 30 points
just being in your company.

You are the most mellow man
I've ever met. Thank you.

With all the violent change that
this country has endured, I suppose

Buddhism is the only thing that has
remains constant and unaltered,

and as Satu said it's the tree that,
yes, gets buffeted by the storm

and, yes, changes
its outward appearance

but ultimately does not move
and is that symbol of unity

and cultural identity
for the people here.

'The monks of Luang Prabang will
need all their centuries of silent

'contemplation to resist this most
recent invasion.

'International visitors like myself
come searching for an authentic Asia

'and a simple, spiritual
way of life that is slipping

'away from our secular world.

'But in doing so, we can't help

'but corrupt that which we've
come to find.'

Nothing better sums up
the relationship between the tourist

and the local economy than this
really sad sight.

And there is really nothing on this
earth that I hate more

than a caged animal or bird.

So you can walk along the streets

and you can buy these two beautiful
trapped things for £2.50.

And then for £2.50 you get
to have the amazing experience...

..and joy of releasing them
back to where they came from.

There you go, there goes one.
Come on.

And in paying £2.50
I've created a demand

and the only way that demand

is going to be met is by them going
and catching those birds again

and again. £2.50, free them,
trap the birds.

On and on and on the cycle.

What I really want to do
is say, "Here's more than £2.50,

"an awful lot more than £2.50,
go and set up a bird sanctuary."

Off you pop.

'Despite the volume of tourists
in Luang Prabang there is something

'special about this place
and it's had quite an effect on me.'

Throughout my trip up the Mekong the
banks have been occasionally studded

with the odd hit of saffron
the occasional monk wandering by,

washing his robes, having a swim.

But nowhere has it been more
concentrated than Luang Prabang

and in Laos in general.

And being there for a little
while has helped me

begin to understand at the least
the feeling, I think, of Buddhism.

It seems to me that the reason it's
particularly strong in that place

is because of the water,
because the water works in companion

so strongly with that religion.

The idea of constant movement, of
seeing something come towards you,

of accepting when it's on you,

and then letting it go
as it moves past you.

'Well, I've certainly got
plenty of time to mediate on this

'and pretty much everything else
as I have a two-day journey ahead,

'travelling north towards China
and the end of my time in Laos.

'This stretch of river feels pure,
untouched by modernity - timeless

'and beautiful.

'But I'm heading into the heart
of darkness.

'Laos is surrounded on all sides
by rich countries

'with powerful economies.

'The government is desperate to
attract foreign investment,

'especially from its most
influential neighbour, China.'

I'm just approaching now an area
of land known as the Golden Triangle

which conjures up
amazing romantic images.

You should always beware of thinking
anything romantic about a triangle -

Bermuda Triangle, Dairylea Triangle,
it's all trouble.

'And this place should come
with a warning triangle -

'it's long been notorious
for opium production

'but now it's a drug
of a different kind

'which is being pushed - gambling.'

Having spent 2 days on a boat
just seeing nothing but beauty,

suddenly you come across
this stripped scrubland

and you can just see
the heat coming off it.

Plonked in the middle is this
mausoleum of bad taste, which I'm

assuming is the casino.

'This area has been rebranded

'as The Golden Triangle
Special Economic Zone.

'It's in effect
a Chinese state in Laos.

'The Laos government has tempted
Chinese developers here with tax

'incentives and low tariffs.

'Essentially, they are creating
a carefree playground for tourists -

'an Asian Las Vegas.

'In a Kafkaesque way, Chinese aren't
allowed to gamble in China

'so come here, but Laotians
aren't allowed to gamble in Laos,

'so are banned from a casino
in their own country.

'So it's goodbye, Laos,
hello, China.'

I actually think this is for me.

This is just...

..wrong and awkward and...

..where's the door?

I want to get out the car and say,
"Hello. I'm a delegation
from the 1980s."

'When it's completed,
this $20 billion project will be a

'pleasure dome fit for modern day
Kubla Khans - with its own zoo,

'international airport, horse racing
track and 36-hole golf course.

'With a casino that's open
24 hours a day, 365 days a year,

'it's just what one of the poorest
nations in the world needs.

'I don't feel two days
away from Luang Prabang.

'I feel a universe away.'

Thank you. You do know I'm not J.R.
Ewing? Thank you. Thank you.

Nice to meet you.

Very nice to meet you.
Good to see you.

Good to see you too. How are you?
Not too bad, not too bad.

'Mr Abbas, the general manager,
greets me like a VIP.'

Does it matter I set the alarm off?
Is that OK? It's OK. No worries.

'Clearly no one's told him
I'm not a oligarch.

'You would have thought he'd
spotted my clothes

'don't really conform to
the usual dress code.'

You've got a bit
of Sistine Chapel going on.

You've got some Renaissance
paintings going on.

Because of the name, so we try to
create a kind of a Western feeling,

different to the level
they've got in Laos, anyway.

I can absolutely promise it really
is very different from anything that

they've got going on in Laos.

Now, who is this? Is this Zeus?

Yes, that's right.
Very good, you guessed right.

It's not often you see Zeus
and Michelangelo in the same room.

Extraordinary.

So how big is this place?

I mean, it seems vast.

Total area is 20,000 meters square,
more.

20,000 square meters? More
than. Right. Good Lord.

Down there is the main lobby. Yeah?

That's the north wing
and south wing

and this is our VIP rooms over here.

So how many VIP rooms do you have?

In here we have six - three
downstairs, three upstairs.

And what makes a VIP?

Is it somebody who's got
a lot of money, a lot of contacts?

People who like to have
more than the basic service.

Actually yes, high rollers,
of course. Of course.

When you say extra services,
what sort of extra services?

Well...

'After the poverty
and humility of Laos,

'the extravagance
of this place feels obscene.'

'I struggled with the dam

'but at least Mr Viravong believes
they offer

'a chance for a better future
for Laos and its people.

'This whole place feels culturally
and spiritually bankrupt.'

There's absolutely no doubt that
landlocked, cashed-strapped Laos

needs foreign investment, but I find
this particular venture dispiriting.

Mainly because I'm not sure how much
it benefits the Lao people.

Apparently 500 Lao hold jobs
here out of 4,500

but honestly I've heard
not one soul speak Lao.

We couldn't buy our dinner in kip,
which is the national currency.

You could only use yuan or dollars.

It's culturally a no man's land.

I can't see how this place
is doing any good to anybody.

'Even more worrying this is just
one of 41 special economic zones

'planned by the Laos government
in remote areas of the country.

'They won't all be casinos but they
are all about attracting foreign

'investment and the biggest investor
is China.'

'Foreign money will inevitably
change Laos

'and the contrast between the
Golden Triangle

'and everything else I've
experienced here is shocking.'

'The economic zones
and the dams are coming to Laos

'and life on the Mekong will
inevitably change.

'But the further I get
from the despair from the casino,

'the more I can feel Laos' deep
spirituality enveloping me again.

'There's something about this
place and the resilience

'of its people that can't fail to
give me some hope for the future.'

Laos is a sort of state of mind.

I can't even believe I'm saying it,
but that's what it feels like to me.

Its about accepting
that things change.

So whilst I would love it
if groups of people were

protesting on the banks as the
hydroelectric dam is created

or people being furious
about the special economic zone

creating in effect a
Chinese colony in their country,

their attitude is actually saying

"We've had the French, we've had
the Siamese, we've had the Burmese,

"we've had everybody, so this is
just somebody else

"and then they'll go and there'll
be another one along in a minute."

Ultimately Laos will survive,
and they've got bigger things to

worry about, like listening
to the rice grow.

And that seems
a very, very good philosophy

for the anxious modern world.

'Next time I'm in China
on the last leg of my journey.'

This is the first outfit
I've ever worn that my mother
would actually be happy with.

'I travel through the Mekong's
wildest valleys to discover

'a China I didn't even
know existed.'

Look at your office!
Of course you believe in God.

'And finally reach the river's
spiritual source.'

If you're gonna to end a journey
and see all this magnificence,

this surely has to be
the way to end.