Mekong River Trip

Just came back from a 2-days, 1-night trip to the Mekong River in Vietnam. It was a tiring trip and as you can probably imagine in your mind's eye, not something that conveys comfort and picturesque sceneries. I survived the trip with sunburns and insect bites on my body (that's my forearms in the picture!). So for those who have not done the trip and would not consider going for such trips, you are in for a treat. For the next few articles, from the comfort of your home, you will be shown pictures from the trip with some comments.

The Mekong is one of the world's major rivers. It is the 12th-longest in the world, and the 10th-largest by volume (discharging 475 km³ of water annually). Its estimated length is 4180 km (but because the exact source is unknown, lengths vary up to 4350-4909 km.)

It drains an area of 795,000 km²: From Tibet it runs through China's Yunnan province, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Approximately half the river's length is in China, where it is called the Dza Chu in Tibetan in its upper course in Tibet (Chinese: 扎曲; Pinyin: Zá Qū), and more generally the Lancang in Chinese (Simplified Chinese: 澜沧江; Traditional Chinese: 瀾滄江; Pinyin: Láncāng Jiāng), meaning the "turbulent river". The entire river is known as the Meigong in Chinese (Chinese: 湄公河; Pinyin: Méigōng Hé).
The river next forms the border between Myanmar and Laos for 200 km, at the end of which it meets the tributary Ruak River at the Golden Triangle. This point also marks the division between the Upper and Lower Mekong.

The river then divides Laos and Thailand, before a stretch passing through Laos alone. It is known as Mènam Khong (Mother of all rivers) in both Lao and Thai (แม่น้ำโขง).

In Cambodia, the river is called the Mékôngk or Tonle Thom (great river). It ends up in Vietnam to discharge into the South China Sea and in Vietnamese it is the Cuu Long Giang or Sông Cuu Long (nine dragons river), but is often just popularly known as the Mê Kông.

About 90 million people rely on the river.

My trip took me through the lower parts of the Mekong River which is but a fraction of the whole Mekong River. This where 60 million people call HOME. Follow me to see Life On the Mekong River...