The Mekong river goes through 5 different countries and amazing to think that I've actually been through 4 of them now. Myanmar is still on the list of places to go but I think its a little harder to do than the rest of them. Actually its probably only just a little more expensive, and that not too many people actually want to go, which I guess all adds up to a little bit harder.
Lets start from the source.
Even though I've never actually been anywhere close to the Mekong river while in China, its a bloody big country, and I've only seen parts of it. The big parts with lots of cars and trucks and people doing squatties on the side of the street.
I've written about China in previous posts, and even did one where I would say I would talk about how everything there is a little bit half baked. But now it turns out that theres a book written about how the entire country is half baked and everything that goes wrong when you do business with it. Remind me to post a link to it when I find it, so I won't bother going through it again here, just read the book.
Laos I just came back from. Actually everything downstream from China is quite similar, which makes me think that the source of the Mekong river in China would be very similar to the rest of the other countries, just Chinese. Theres enough Chinese stuff in Laos that you wouldn't think they're totally separate. Its not like they have a Chinatown in their capital, but then who needs to since all the foreigners can't tell the difference between the two kinds of people anyway. I'm pretty sure Ghengis Khan also made it all the way down here so everyone is pretty much related anyway. Otherwise, Laos is a sleepy country where it seems like nobody is in a rush to get anywhere, since theres really nowhere to go, and taking your time lets you drink in the lovely scenic route on your way over there, and maybe stop along the way to explore a cave or bathe in the local waterfall.
Cambodia is a country that just seems wrecked by war, over and over and over again. A lot of the 'attractions' around the capital revolve around how many people and who got massacred during the last 50 years where there have been wars and internal strife on and off. People still suffer from random land mine explosions from munitions left behind decades ago. Siem Reap is the other side of it. While war was still felt there and around it, it feels cleaned up. The land mines either stepped on or cleared so that tourists can come and see the temples.
Vietnam, from the mouth of the Mekong, has two very different parts. The old, French and slightly slower Hanoi which actually still feels a bit communist up in the north, to the capitalist bustling Ho Chi Minh City. I still haven't been in between yet, so not really sure whats in the middle, except for nice spicy noodles with crab. I suppose thats what happens when one city is on the Mekong and the rest are kind of inlandish a bit more. The only thing communist about the south are the customs officers at immigration when you first enter the country. Otherwise I really couldn't tell.
People around the area aren't all that different. A lot of them still make their living from the river itself. Who knows how everyone else got around to building cities and stuff in the middle of nowhere. All you really need is a boat and some fishing rods!
Oh. And the water.
