DIRECTORATE OF INTELLIGENCE
Intelligence Report
Geographic Brief on North Thailand-Northwest Laos Border Area
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FOREWORD
The nor lit Thailand-northwest Laos border areaocus of subversive insurgency that increasingly plagues the Thai Government. Rugged, remote, and densely forested, the area is well suited to coven cross-border movement and is very inhospitable to the Governments counterinsurgency operations.
This report is intended for userief orientation aid by persons concerned with events or programs inimilar report is available on Laos (CIA/B1, Geographic Brief on Loos.,
CONTENTS
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Terrain and Vegetation *
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ThailandBoundary *
Population *
Diitribunon and Composition 7
Settlement 9
Insurgency
13
Transportation 15
Roads18
21
Airways
TABLE
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Mean Precipitation 5
PHOTOGRAPHS
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Figure 1. Densely forested, steeply sloped ridge in northern. &
Figure 3. Broad valley Boor in Chiang Rai 3
Figure 3. Meo family of Nan Pro S
Figure 4. Main vireef of Chung Khong. in northern Chung Rai Province 9
Figure 5 Thai village in valley. Chiang Rai
Figure 6. Typical Meo village in hills of northern Thailand 11
Figure 7. Crudely built, windowless Meo house 11
Figure 6. Opium poppyfield in northern Thailand1st
Figure 9. Meo girl collecting raw opium .
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Young leak plantation in northern Thailand
Elephant dragging teak log to road
Road through town of Sayaboury
Dry-season viewoad between Nan and Pua in Nan Province
Ford and footbridge across Mae Nam Nan
Laterite road between Chiang Rai and Mekong River town
of Chiang Khong
akeshift vehicular ferry constructed from two native pirogues Small native crafts navigating rapids on Mekong River near
Paid**
Landing strip for STOL aircraft in northern Nan
MAP
Following Page
North Thailand- Northwest Laos Border Area22
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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY Directorate of Intelligence3
INTELLIGENCE REPORT
Geographic Brief on North Thai land-North west Laos Border Areahe Thai provinces of Chiang Rai. Nan. and Uttaradit and the Laotian province of Sayaboury occupy0 squareegion slightly larger than Vermont and New Hampshire combined. The northernmost tip is less thaniles from Communist China (see) The region is rugged, densely forested, and underdeveloped. Slopes are populated by seminomadic hill peoples who have traditionally been unresponsive to governmental controls and who pay scant heed to the international boundary slicing through their homelands. These factors combined make the region susceptible to and well Suited to subversive insurgency, and they hamper government counterinsurgency operations.
2 Although Sayaboury Province (formerly part of Thailand) has remained relatively free from Pathet Lao (PL) influence, PL forces have been active in the northwestern part of the province, west of Hongsa They have alsoole in the support of Communist insurgency in the northern Thai provinces wheic bill peoples (principally Meos) have been the targets of Communist propaganda and recruitment for several years. Serious clashes between insurgents and Thai security forces have occurred in Chiang Rat and Nan since
TERRAIN AND VEGETATION
ighly dissected, steeply sloped ridges and valleys trendingoctb-northeast- south-southwest direction characterize the terrain of the region (seeecause secondary ridges branch oS at all angles from the main terrain features, movement for moteew miles is diScult in all directions except along majoi valleys. Much of the higher terrain is so difficult that it isinis tared by the central government on cither side of the border. Ridge-iuws areeel above >ea level, with thohe Sayaboury-Uttaradit border. Flat to gently rolling valleys and intcrmontane basinseet below the ridgebnes (seehe most rugged territory in the region Banks the northern segment of the north-south trending range that forms the SayabouryNan border; prevailing crest elevation; here arc welleet. Terrain in other parts of Nan Province and in most of Chiang Rai and Uttaradit is less rugged, and broad, relatively gentle slopes are more common.
Sou Thii reportproduces' by CIA. Itprepared by the Office of Baaic and Geographic totelUg-nce and coocdunW wrtt utc Office el Current Intelligence
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of the streams in Sayaboiry Province as wellhe northern two-thirds of Chiang Hat drain into the Mekong liner, which forms tbe northern and eastern borders of Sayaboury Streams in the so-ithern one-third of Chiang Itai and all of those in Nan and Utlaradit drain into the Mac Nam Nan. which flows $oi tilt ward into the central lowland of Thailand.
Although screams meander slowly through the broader and more level valleys andor most of their courses they low swiftly through deeply entrenched valleys. Cradients axo steep, beds arc strewn with boulders, and courses are punctuated by numerous falls and rapids- In places tbe streams (including the Mekong) flow in canyons welleet below the flanking terrain. During the low-water season (November through April) mailer streams and upper courses of larger ones arc dry or their flows are reducedrickle. During tbe high-water season (May throughowever, flows become torrcntinl and flash floods are common. Discharge may be up toimes as great as during low water, and water leveb may rise as much aseet in constricted channels.
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forests containing both evergreen and deciduous speciesof the region except valley floors and lower slopes that are underridges that support mainly coniferous growths. Evergreenswetter areas such as along st/cams or on windward, rain-swepttrees prevail on drier tracts. Slash-and-burn farming hasslope areas of their original forest covcr^and. after the cleared land has'
FIGUSFrood .alter floor in Chiong Rai Province.sually ore blanketed by fieldsetlond rice, eipecially in in* Thoi provinces ond era surrounded by terrain .isingeet obove ihem. Afcer tho horvesr. in October or November, thery and would not significantly dote' movement.
been abandoned, lower but more tangled secondary growths have developed Tall, open stands of virgin forests are restricted to remote tract* of rugged where ilash-and bum activities have not bven practiced. Trees in the deciduom forests are leafless fur varying periods from December to late March or carl; April, and their capacity to conceal insurgent operations from air observation Is diminished accordingly. Nearly pure stands of teak arc common in the deciduous forests. Crasilnnds with grattcs up toeet high arc scattered throughout the region. Tracts with short grasses could be used for drop zones in countcrinsurgency operations.
he rugged mountains and densely foliated forests of the region greatly favor guerrilla operations. In the Thai provinces, insurgent groups are composed mostly of Moos but include other hill people* Their Thai adversaries are low-landers wlto not only lack tha insurgents* knowledge of the mountains but also Lick speed and endurance when traveling in such terrain. The insurgents therefore arc able to attack Thai militaryhe valleys, as well as patrols in the mountains, and then withdraw into their mountain redoubts with little fear of apprehension The dense forest canopy, although somewhat diminished by leaf fall in the deciduous standi from December to April, effeclively conceals
insurgent movements (including infiltration of agents into northern Thailand rrom Laos) from air observation. On the other hand, the region is poorly suited to conventional military operations. Airpower and artillery are difficult to apply effectively in the mountainous, densely forested terrain. AU forms of surface movement by ground forces, too. are severely limited
CLIMATE
fl. Like tha tut of Southern! Asia, the border areaonsoonal climate characterized by two majorwet southwest monsoon from mid-May to mid September and the dry northeast monsoon from mid-October to mid-March. These major seasons are separated by two transitionalfrom mid-March to mid-May. the other from mid-September to mid October.
southwest moo sooneason of heavy and frequenttwo-thirds of the yearly rainfall occurs during this period.swollen, the ground becomes saturated and muddy, surfacedifficult or impossible, and the dense cloud cover curtails airare persistently high and. except at highor elevations.-meantemperatures climb into therFahrenheitsuch weather hampers the logistic support of Governmentoperations, it has relatively little effect on guemlia activities..cover, for example, actually helps to conceal insurgent movementsobservation.
The northeast monsooneason of very little precipitation. Temperatures (which may dip into thej at higher elevations) and relative humidities are at their lowest and skies are clearest during this season.
The mid-March to mid-May transitional season is characterized by increases in the frequency and amount of precipitation and in relative humidity Maiimum annualthe upperat this time, generally near the end of April. The mid-September to mid-October transitional season isby decreasing precipitation, temperature, and relative humidity. The table onhows mean monthly and annual precipitation for selected stations in the region.
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THAILANO-LAOS BOUNDARY
he Thailand-Laos boundary, lor nearly all of ifi extent through the region, is alined along remote mountain crests. Although entirely undemarcated, no part of itin dispute North of the regionmile segment between tbe Thai province of Chiang Rai and the Laotian province of Houa khong is formed by the thalweg {middle of the chief navigable channel) of the Mekong River. Between Chiang Rai and48boundaryountain range that forms the water divide between two minor river systems that drain northward to the Mekong. Between Sayaboury and the Thai provinces of Nan andZ3Sboundary is formed by the water divide between streams flowing northward and eastward to the Mekong and streams flowing westward and southward to the Mac Namouth of the region the boundary between Sayaboury and the Thii province of86the thalweg of the Nam Huang to its confluence with the Mekong.
aos originally gained control of what is now Sayaboury Province during theeries of treaties between Sinm {now Thailand) and France (colonial administrator of Laoseded territory on the west bank of the Mekong to France.the backing oftook advantage of0 collapse of France and the resultant weakening of its colonial empire by reclaiming the west bank territory. She retained it6rance-Thailand accord annulled1 treaty that had accom-paniedthe Thai seizure and reestablished theoundary. This boundary exists today. Some Laotian leaders undoubtedly suspect Thailand of* harboring ambitions to reannex all of the Laotian territory west of the Mekong River (including the southern provinces of Champassac and Silhandone. as well as Sayaboury) that Thailand had annexed during World War II. Control of the west bank territory would give Thailand continuous frontage on the Mekong from its northern botder to Cambodia and would greatly facilitate the operations of Thai timber rafters and boatmen.
he present boundary traverses rugged terrain inhabited by hill peoples {principally Meos) who pay little attention to it. They commonly have family ties on both sides of the border. Some
villages arc situated On One side of the border and have fields on the other. Villagers in Kenc Thao. in southernreportedly cross the Nam Huangell on the Thai side to obtain drinking water. The hill people in some sections of the Sayaboury border areas trade in Thai towns that are closer to them than Sayaboury, Paklay. or other towns on the Laos side of the border. These people may travel as far into Thailand as Pua,iles from the border, or Nan,iles, toecent American visitor to the Thai town of Chiang Khong. across the Mekong River from Houei Sai in Houa Khong Province, reported considerable traffic of people and goods across the river, with no documents being shown to immigration or customs
* Therof this segment actually are alinedthe Nam Huang Nga to its confluence with the Nam Huang.
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officials on cither side. Thai Government ofScia's reportedly arc becomingby the laxity of such local officials and the generally porous nature of the border, particularly in view of the current Communist-supported insurgency festering in the region and the ease with which agents can infiltrate from Laos into the northern provinces.
border crossings are difficult to curtail. The Sayabourythe border is alined along rugged, heavily forested terrain that ispatrol effectively; hence illegal crossings are likely to continue. Riverthe border, too, are difficult to control; both Laotian and Thaihave traditionally closed their eyes to the hundreds of small boatsthe Mekong daily. Because of the apparent increase in infiltration ofagents into its northern and northeastern peripherics, Thailand hasplans to Improve security along the border. These plans call for anriver patrols, the addition of selected hill tribesmen to existing securitythe border regions, and the establishmentufferilometersmiles) wide along the Thai side of the Mekong (but not. apparently, alongboundary with Sayabouryll people of questionablewithin the buffer zone arc to be resettled outside the zone.
POPULATION
Distribution and Composition
eople inhabit the region. The total populationdensity of each province are as follows; *
POfUWTJOW
DiMim
Squue Mile)
Chiang Rai
Figures for the Thai provinces are from0 ccoiui; Sayaboury figures7 census claims.
" There ate an0 Meos in all of Thailand.
Densities vary considerably within each province; generally, they are higher in the wider valleys and basins that are populated by Thais or Laos and are lower in the more rugged mountainous tracts peopled by tribes such as the .Meos or Yaos (seeontrary to popular conception, lowlandersubstantial majority throughout the region. In Nan Province, for example, the Covemor estimated thatotal population ofrercent, were hill people;f these hill people were Meos, the major Insurgency force In northerneos
therefore account lor onlyercent of the population of Nan Province. Most ofre clustered in Pu* and Thunr Chin* districts in the northern port of the province, near the Laos border.eople presumably constitute about tho same percentage of the population in Chiang Hai Province hut are fewer in Uttaradit where mountainous tracts, too. arc less numerous. In Sayahoury, an estimatedercent of the population are ethnic Laos, with Mens comprising most of tbe rest."
ike the rest of northern Thailand and all of Laos, the region iticiijv (Oinjlle* s*i:
chicflv Tluis (in Thailand) and Laos (inhe innainiiig population consists largely of non-Tai bill peoples such as the Mcos and Yaos whose ancestors have filtered southward from the southern province* of China in th*Revolts by these groups against their Chinese rulers and subsequentaccelerated the search (or unoceup-ed land to the south Thesi' rmgrarions have about rrached their peak, as little unoccupied hill land Is left
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farther wnth. InMens have made'igiiilu-ant penetrjliiui wnlh ofin Thailand tome have migrated soum into[xie-i Phrtsanulolc,
and Ttk Provinces
IS. In addition to the Tat aiid hill peoplrs, several thou'and Haw Chinese live in theo( them In Chiang Bai Piovinw, along thf borders with Burma and Laos. They moved Into theborder region from Yunnan Province in China after the defrat of the Nationalist GovernmentQ Most arc sedentaryany, however, are engaged inof it illegal, In opium or small arms. Those in the border area have, in rlfert, serveduffer aguinst CornmunM infiltrations from Laos. With the increase in Communist-supported insurgency in the region, tbe Thai Government has considered using the former Kuomintang (KMT) Army members of the Haw rommuiulies inmore active countcrinsurgcticy role. Moot Chinese merchants and traders are found in the Thai lowni and villages, few of them live in Sayaboury.
Settlement
'lhan areas are few and small. Generally thev function ae administrative, military, and/or transportation centers and provide markets for consumer goods* not available in the villages (seehayao and Chiang Rai in Chiang Rai Province have populations of lS.OOOespectively; Nanopulation'ttaraditnhabitants* On the Laos side of the
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Sayaboury and Pjklay have cstim-Hcd populations of, respec lively.
In the lowlands, villages vary from tiny hamletsew families to settlements of several'hundred people- Village patternsmay be clustered in the riecfields (see Figurer strungirt road or stream. Hill villages are small and formless, seldom with morenhabitants (sue.hey an* abandoned for new sites everyoears as soils become depleted and crop yields diminish. The Yaos live at elevationseet; the Meos inhabit the slopes jbovepert or so.
For several years the Laotian Government, with the support of USAID, hasefugee relief programhe thousands of hill people displaced by the military and political instability throughout much of the Laotian countryside. Under this program, refugees have been resettled and provided with food, seeds, clothing, and educational and medical services.high percentage of themsome form of assistanceayaboury Province, because it has been relatively free from PL influence, has resettled many of the refugees.
During the past year, resettlement of refugees front hill villages that have been infiltrated by Communist insurgents hasroblem on the Thai side of the border as well. Iircrcasingly, the Thai Government has been evacuating
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flGUBErudely buill, windowtenhouie. flimiyaquedutts like tho one In fro.il of this house- cony woler down iha mo <io to in tides lo the vjlloges.
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villagers from the border hiilsof Chiang Hai and Nan Provinces, where insurgency has developed, and has been moving them into resettlement camps. As ofefugees (mostly Meos) jammed the largest of these camps,alley near Pua in northern Nan Province. In its early stages resettlement encountered difficulties. Few of the refugees have been satisfied with conditions in the camps, and in June several hundred were reported to be planning to Gee into Laos where they hoped they could live free from government interference. Other Meos reportedly fled into Laos after Thai Government reprisals against their villages for pro-Communist activity. Continued That Covemmcntof the hill peoples presumably couldlow of such refugees into Sayabouiy.
ost of the problems with the Thai resettlement program arc related to hasty planning and implementation. Poor timing (allowing insufficient time to clear land for planting before the rainynadequately constructedcamps, and overcrowding have been characteristic. Other problems,arc deep seated and likely to persist. Among these are unfamiliarity of the hill people with lowland agricultural practices, hostility toward their lowland neighbors, and conflicts with these neighbors over land use-
id. The Thai Covemmcnt, recognizing that the security of tho northern frontier region requires the loyalty of the hill people living there, in the past decade or so has'rogram to gain that loyalty. The chief vehicle for the implementation of this program has been the Border Patrol Policearamilitary force ofen that has carried out civic action projects in the north with US advice and assistance. These projects have included the building of roads and landing strips, the construction and operation of elementary schools and medical facilities, and the provision of limited agricultural assistance. In addition to carrying out such projects, the BPP is responsible for border reconnaissance and security.
nsurgency in the northern Thai provinces involves intense ethnic tensions that heretofore have overshadowed BPP attempts to improve That-uplander relations. Sinceommunist subversive activity among the hill peoples has eroded much of the civic action work achieved by the BPP and hasheightened tension and fear in the area. The hill people are highly independent; usually they are loyal only to the individual village or tribe and prefer to live free from Thai Government controls. They mistrust the Thau and look upon the BPP and Thai Army patrols as intruders Frequent theft and destruction of property by these patrols have not helped the Government cause. Threats and penalties (including bombing and burning) applied to villages suspected of harboring insurgents have further aggravated Thai-hill people relations. The uplandert feel that laws forbidding the growth of opium and the felling of timber for slash-and-bum cultivation, both ol which have beenamong the hill people, reflect the Thai disdain for their way of life.
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Communist Insurgent leaders have exploited grievances among the Meos by promising toMeo Kingdom" in which the Meos will be allowed to grow opium and practice slash-and-burn agriculture from Covemmcnt interference. In line with these promises the Communists have urged the Meos to take up arms against the Thaieveral hundred Meos reportedly have been recruited during the past several years and have been taken either to PL-controlled areas of Laos or to North Vietnam for training In subversion. In northwestern Sayaboury the PL have had some success in recruiting Meos to fight against the Royal Laotian Government, largely because Government forces have been unable to provide adequate protection for the Meos against PL hostilities.
Ethnic groups other than the Meo are not deeply involved in insurgent activities on either side of the border, although their villages may be used as involuntary shelters or way stations for passing insurgents. Unlike the hill tribes In Laos, whose leaders Bt into the governing hierarchy, the Meos.in Thailand have little effective voice in the Central Government. In Sayaboury, Meos occupy all of the national administrative posts in their own villages and share with the Laos the higher provincial posts. Moreover, strong Meo leaders in Laos, such as Vang Pao, have effectively organized the Meos into fighting forces, and Meo village defense units have become important adjuncts to (he Covemmcnt military forces. There arc no such leaders in the Thai provinces. Little cross-border unity exists among Meo villages; the traditional leaders in Laos have no known authority over Meos living in Thailand.
ECONOMY
Nearly the entire population of the region is engaged in agriculture. Sedentary cultivation of wetland rice predominates in the lowlands, semimigratory llash-and-bum cultivation of rice or com in the hills. Although the region is normally self-sufficient in food, rice has been imported Into Sayaboury Province in recent years to feed the thousands of Meo refugees who have been resettled there from other parts of northern Laos. Rice has also been provided for the refugees who have more recently been forced out of the Thai hills by insurgent activity.
The only noteworthy occupations other than subsistence farming are opium cultivation and lumbering. Such cash crops as cotton, kapok, and tobacco are grown, but they are not significant money earners.
Opium is the primary cash crop for hill farmers on both sides of the border (seemall portion is consumed locally. The value of opium illegally exported from Laos is estimated atillion US dollars, or about twice the value of all legal exports. Opium annually earns the average hill farmer upS dollars with which to buy rice to supplement his own crop (the average Meo family produces only about half its annual rice needs)
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ftt well as to boy necessary consumer goods. Tbo farmer typically sells his opiumhinese trader in tbe nearest valley town who. in turn, smuggles it on to Bangkok or to Vientiane, Government official* commonly "muvcle in" on the Operation somewhere along the Hoe.
The region has some of the best stands of leak left in Southeast Asia (see. Teak grows in mixed deciduous forests up toeetIn the Thai provinces the stands have been greatly depleted hy nvercutting and conservation measures have had to be implemented, but in Sayaboury logging has been less intensive and overcutting has noterious problem The most extensive stands in Sayaboury arc in the south, near Paklay. Elephants are widely used in the extraction of teak togs. In the Thai provinces they haul the tog*oad fnr truck transportation (setsrtream where they are floated singlyoint below which the current is slow enough for the togv to bo lashed together and rafted downriver tn Bangkok. Twoears may elapse between the cutting of the log and its arrival at the Bangkokn Sayaboury thenipped via elephant or truck southward from Paklay io Kene Thao. thence across the Nam Huang into Thailand and via truck to the railhead at Khon Kaen.
Much of Sayaboury has closer economic tics with Thailand than with the rest of Laos. The northwestern and southern parts use the Thai baht as frequentlyperhaps moreLao kip as monetary exchange Consumer good* for much of the province move up the Mekong from Vientiane or from tho Thai river town of Chiangn the northwestern section. Itowever. they may inovo downriver from Hooei Sai. Scene goods are flown us from VraytisDe.
TRANSPORTATION
lte only railroad in the regionhort section of the Bangkok-Chiang Mai line, which puses through Uttaradit in the southwestern corner of the study area. The road net is sparse. Mountainous tracts may be without roads, and valleys may be traversed only by narrow roads untrafficablo in rainy weather. Major waterways such as the Mekong and the Mac Nam Nan are Important for moving people and goods between lowland settlements, but most mountain
streams are unuavigablc by any type ofumber of crude landing strip* capablo o: handling ihort uVcofi and lauding (STOL) aircraft have hernthroughout the region In Sayaboury. many rosettlcd Meo villages depend ou tuchwith cleared areas for dropmuch of (heir food supply.
(See Figures
ho densely forested, mountainous rrrrain ui most of the region precludes the developmentan adequate road network*.of vdvich are narrow, unsurfaced. and motorable only under favorable climaticthe lowland towns and villages but rarely extend into the mountains, whereaud horso trails prevail.
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tinues northward Irntn Nan along tbe Mac Nam Nanoint north of Pita.mile laterile road goes from Chiang Hal. via Thorng, to the Mekong River town of Chiang Khottg. Some sections may be unusable for brief periods during the rainyumber of other unsurfaeedof them built in recent years as partS-Thai securitythrough the valleys of the region.
he movement and logistic supportonventional military forceseverely hampered throughout the region hy the sparse, primitivenarrow, unsurfaced roads with limited capaeiry to sustain heavyBottleneck* include narrow and lowbridges, sharp curves,fords, and ferry crossings with primitive facilities.
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Mekong between Chiang Khong and llouei Sal. for example, arc ferriedaft .supported by two pirogues. All hut the few surfaced toads arc impassable during much of the rainy season, when they become evrremely muddy, bridges wash out, fords Hood, ferry landing slips submerge, and road* in mountainous terrain become blocked by landslides, rockfalls, or fallen trees. Olf-roadand cross-country movement of vehicles are precluded the year around
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in most areas by steep slopes and dense forest. Cross-country movement by foot troops would be arduous to those not accustomed to travel in mountainous terrain. Difficulty in cross-country movement for both vehicular and foot traffic is compounded during wet weather.
Waterways
ivers are important arteries for the movement of people and goods in the larger valleys. High-powered, mancuvcrablc. shallow-draft launches and long, narrow pirogues ply the Mekong and the Mae Nam Nan as well as the lower parts of (heir principal tributaries. The Mekong has heavy traffic despite its numerous rapids, gorges, abrupt turns, and other navigational hazards (see. It is the principal supply route to the towns of Sayaboury Province. Because of the swift currents and dangerous rapids, steamers cannot operate on the Mekong above Vientiane. Launches, however, can move upriver as far as Luang Prabang during high water (July throughhey are unable to navigate through the more difficult sections during much of the low-water period (December througho through traffic virtually ceases at this time. Local traffic continues, as launches with engines at full speed arc pulled through the rapids by men using ropes and cables. Rapids arc more numerous between Luang Prabang and the Burma border, and craft are limited to narrow pirogues powered by Outboard motors.
3d. During high water, motorized cargo-passenger vessels and large river barges towed by tugs can navigate up the Mae Nam Nan as far as Uttaradit, occasionally as far as Tha Pla. Above Tha Pla. vessels arc limited to shallow-draft pirogues powered by outboard motors.
Airways
Because of the inadequacy of surface transportation systems, airis of major importance in the logistic support of countcrinsurgencyFacilities within the region, however, are limited. Only onea hard-surface runway and can handle year-round traffic. Runway length of the Chiang Rai fieldS0 feet, greatest in the region. Airfields with earth or laterite runways, which may be closed for periods during the rainy season, are located at Uttaradit, Sayaboury, Paklay. and Kenc Thao. Inumber of unimproved earthen or grass landingin remoteaccommodate STOL craft such as the Pilatus Porter or Heliocourier (sec.
Chiang Rai, Uttaradit, and Sayaboury are served by scheduledflights. Weather permitting, Royal Air Laos (RAL) runs threeights weekly between Vientiane and Luang Prabang via Sayaboury. Thai Airways has daily flights between Chiang Rai and Bangkok and threeeekUttaradit with Chiang Rai and Bangkok. Thai Airways fliesnd Hawkers-
* High- and low-wittr period! of the Melongonth* tfter those to Its tributaries.
IT. Snorl*,ofH'opkb on Mekongr*ot fokloy. The numoroutxposed rotkt(oun<hn ftomihit section during, most of theperiod.
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Original document.
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