Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Chiang Khong Green Inn
( 0 5379 1009;
www.chiangkhong-greeninn.com
;
89/4 Th Sai Klang; r 200-500B; )
The cheaper
rooms in this modern-feeling backpacker joint are tight, fan-cooled and share bathrooms,
but the rooms with air-con have a bit more legroom and TVs.
HOTEL
$
Portside Hotel
( 0 5365 5238; portsidehotel@hotmail.com; 546 Th Sai Klang; r with fan/air-con 300/500B; )
This good-
value hotel features two floors of tidy but cramped rooms. The rooms can't claim river
views, but a communal rooftop area makes up for this.
HOTEL
$
THE MEKONG'S GIANT CATFISH
The Mekong River stretch that passes Chiang Khong is a traditional habitat for the
Ъlah bèuk
(giant Mekong cat-
fish,
Pangasianodon gigas
to ichthyologists), among the largest freshwater fish in the world. A
Ъlah bèuk
takes at
least six and possibly 12 years (no one's really sure) to reach full size, when it will measure 2m to 3m in length
and weigh up to 300kg. Although the adult fish have only been found in certain stretches of the Mekong, it's
thought that the fish originate in China's Qinghai Province (where the river originates) on the Tibetan Plateau and
swim all the way to the middle Mekong, where they spend much of their adult lives.
In Thailand and Laos the mild-tasting flesh is revered as a delicacy, and the fish are taken between late April
and June when the river depth is just 3m to 4m and the fish are swimming upriver. Ban Hat Khrai, 1.5km from
Chiang Khong, is famous as being one of the few places where
Ъlah bèuk
are still occasionally caught. Before
netting them, Thai and Lao fishermen hold a special annual ceremony to propitiate Chao Mae Pla Beuk, a female
deity thought to preside over the giant catfish. Among the rituals comprising the ceremony are chicken sacrifices
performed aboard the fishing boats. After the ceremony is completed, fishing teams draw lots to see who casts the
first net, and then take turns casting.
In recent years only a few catfish have been captured in a typical season (some years have resulted in no
catches at all). The catfish hunters' guild is limited to natives of Ban Hat Khrai, and the fishermen sell the meat
on the spot for up to 500B or more per kilo (a single fish can bring 100,000B in Bangkok); most of it ends up in
Bangkok, since local restaurants in Huay Xai and Chiang Khong can't afford such prices.
Although the
Ъlah bèuk
is on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) list of en-
dangered species, there is some debate as to just how endangered it is. Because of the danger of extinction, in
1983 Thailand's Inland Fisheries Department developed a program to breed the fish in captivity. Every time a fe-
male was caught, it was kept alive until a male was netted, then the eggs were removed (by massaging the fe-
male's ovaries) and put into a pan; the male was then milked for sperm and the eggs fertilised in the pan. The pro-
gram was largely unsuccessful until 2001 when 70,000 hatchlings survived. The fish were distributed to fishery
centres elsewhere in the country, some of which have had moderate success breeding the fish, mostly in ponds in
the central Thai province of Suphanburi. Because of this,
Ъlah bèuk
is again being seen on menus around the
country.
At the moment the greatest threats to the wild Mekong catfish's survival are dams: there are three in existence
and eight more proposed along the Mekong River, posing potential obstacles to the fish's migration. Another
threat is the blasting of Mekong River rapids in China, done to allow the passage of large ships, which is robbing
the fish of important breeding grounds.
