The Mekong!

Preparing to visit Vientiane, I read about the 800 year old dyke built to hold back the Mekong and decided this is something I indeed wanted to see. First morning there, it was high on my list of things-to-do so I walked six blocks to find it.

And here it is:

Eight hundred years old?
I want my money back!

Not sure if I'm showing you the right photo? Well, here it is again:

I kept asking people
"Are you sure this is it?"
They all assured me it indeed was!

Says something about the amazing durability of plastic bags, doesn't it!

But it was built to hold back the Mekong, and I couldn't find that either. You don't expect to play "Where's Wally?" with the world's fourth largest river, but that's what happened. Walked the full length of the dyke and here's what I mostly saw:

Where the Mekong was!

I promise you, that's indeed a photo of the Mekong taken from atop the dyke. And it was all like that apart from the occasional this:

Who needs a houseboat!

Then, finally, through the trees ... ta dah! The Mekong! Can you see it?

There, in the background,
the world's 4th largest river!

China dammed the Mekong upstream five years ago. This is all that remains.

I finally understand why they're all saying that future wars will be over access to water. I wouldn't blame Laos for being furious with China over this ... although they are mostly being very well adjusted about it and just planting crops and building villages on their new land.

If life gives you lemons ...


Meanwhile, back in Hong Kong: