Reflections on the Road: The Mekong River (Part 2)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In part one of this series, I followed the Mekong River as it flowed from Tibet through China's Yunnan province, Myanmar, and Thailand, finally ending up in the Lao town of Luang Prabang.  This second installment traces the river as it continues toward its final destination: the South China Sea.  From Laos the Mekong meanders through Cambodia before reaching Vietnam, where it forms the region's most famous delta.

 

From Luang Prabang, the Mekong turns off its eastward course and heads south toward the Lao capital, Vientiane.  On my second visit to the city in 2005, I spent half my time in one of the city's cafes, frequented by both backpackers and affluent locals.  With wireless internet and a one-dollar cup of coffee whose taste blew Starbucks out of the water, it was a great place to write.  It was also a great place to meet people and swap stories.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When not in the cafe, I was often at one of the outdoor eateries along the bank of the Mekong (as was the man above), or I was visiting fellow travelers or getting to know locals (like the young woman below).  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The name of the woman pictured is Sung.  We had met one afternoon while I was walking from the river to my hotel, which was several blocks inland.  On the way to the hotel I passed a church where, on account of the beautiful music I heard coming from inside, I peaked through an open door.  The music was in fact so good -- the musicians were practicing for the next day's service -- that I decided to sit down on the cool tile floor and stay a few minutes.  Seeing my sweaty face, a young woman silently brought me water.  Then later another young woman -- Sung -- came over to say hello.  When we met again the next day she told me her story:  Three years earlier she too had been walking past the church and heard the music.  But it wasn't the melody that drew her in; it was the words.   The song was about grace, something she did not see present in the merit-based Buddhism she had grown up in.  Later in the year, she decided to become a Christian.

 

From Vientiane the Mekong continues to meander southward.  Near the Lao-Cambodian border it passes through an 18-mile stretch of waterfalls and rapids which, while attracting visitors, blocks the movement of ships.  The French, when they began their colonization of Indochina, had hoped to turn the Mekong into a superhighway of trade.  But cataracts like these made that dream impossible.

 

As the muddy waters of the Mekong pour into Cambodia, it enters a country whose name, for me, conjures up an image of a dark and bottomless pit, strewn with poverty and bones.  This is because I cannot think of Cambodia without thinking of the five-year reign of the Khmer Rouge, who in the late 1970s brought about the deaths -- through starvation, disease, and execution -- of an estimated 21 percent of the country's population.  Many of those who were responsible for these crimes are today living normal lives, working as farmers and traders in the Cambodian town of Pailin, near the Thai border.  Rarely will one visit a country where he or she may so often look into the eyes of an older grocer or rickshaw driver and wonder, where was this person a generation ago; was he a victim...or an executioner?  Or maybe both?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Above is a view of the river from Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh.  Below is a couple taking in the relative coolness of early evening along the same bank.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Phnom Penh, it is only three hours or so by fast boat to the Vietnamese border.  Here the Mekong transforms into a mighty sprawl in preparation for its split into numerous branches and canals.  The number of people living along the river noticeably increases, and the women begin to wear that beautiful trademark of Vietnam:  conical hats.  The Delta is also home to hundreds -- thousands? -- of catfish farms, which export their product to restaurants across the United States and Europe.  As one draws closer to the sea traffic picks up, with the engines of barges and fishing vessels ringing in your ears.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the main waterways in the Delta one can slip into any number of the canals that crisscross the region.  The woman below is paddling outside the city of My Tho, about two hours away from Saigon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this woman and baby are traveling along a canal that parallels the Cambodia-Vietnam border, not far from the city of Chau Doc. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The pictures in this two-part series are but a glimpse into the life, history, and culture that resides along the banks of this 2700-mile-long river.  If you would like to learn more about Cambodia, you can click on my article entitled ENTERING CAMBODIA WITH A BOOK.  For photographs taken in a Burmese town along a tributary of the Mekong, click on IN PICTURES: A BUDDHIST BOY IN A BURMESE TOWN.  And for photographs from Luang Prabang, click on IN PICTURES: FACES OF LUANG PRABANG, LAOS.

 

 

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		Joel Carillet, Gather Travel Correspondent
	Joel's column, "Reflections on the Road," is published every other Thursday to Gather Essentials: Travel. His articles, based on extensive travels in Asia and the Middle East, seek to shed light on humanity, both our own and that of others.   They aim not merely to entertain and inform but also to develop a sense of connection between the reader and the world. Joel's writing and photography have appeared in several magazines and newspapers, including the Kansas City Star and Christian Science Monitor.  Currently he is seeking an agent for a book manuscript entitled Sixty-One Weeks: A Journey across Asia. When not on the road, he happily calls Tennessee home. Keep up with Joel's article series by joining his network, or subscribing to his content.