Kayaking the 4,000 Islands of Laos and Cambodia
Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2019 4:38 pm
BYJohn McMahon
October 31, 2018
This hazardous water vexed traders and adventurers until the 21 century when whitewater kayakers with modern technology, mad skills, and nerves of steel more fully explored the area known as Si Phan Don.
The narrow channels formed here are steeped with hazardous whitewater and cataracts including Khone Phapheng, considered the largest waterfall in Southeast Asia. This hazardous water vexed traders and adventurers until the 21 century when whitewater kayakers with modern technology, mad skills, and nerves of steel more fully explored the area known as Si Phan Don.
Heading to the Cambodian side of the river is a mission onto itself but once there expert, class V level senders will be rewarded with Mr. Clean: an intimidating 20 to 30 foot falls which can be intimidating at first sight but turns out to be a clean enough drop to be lapable. Paddlers are advised to take a high, upstream start to avoid being drawn into chutes that have yet to be negotiated. All known chutes end along the Cambodian edge with a stout rapid ending the run.
At nearly 70 feet high and 35,376 feet wide with an average water flow greater than Niagara, Big Falls is the largest waterfall in Southeast Asia and is the main reason the Mekong is not fully navigable. To date there has been no attempt to paddle the main channels of the falls and top level kayakers who have visited judge that either a major development in technology or a serious personal breakdown is needed before it will be.
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