“I have never travelled any of the other great rivers, like the Amazon or the Nile, but I can
relate to the Mekong in many ways. The Mekong for me is like a journey of life - from the
dragon that runs in the yellow waters of the Lancanjiang to the calm waters of the Mekong
Delta. Sitting on a boat on Tonle Sap was like riding on a sea of inifinity – I felt like I was
in the middle of the ocean. At the “Thousand Islands” at sunset, I felt I had gone back in
time. The songs of the fishermen and the coconut trees mirrored in the water reminded me
of my younger days along the rivers of Terengganu twenty years ago.”
The Mekong River forms the backbone of mainland Southeast Asia, binding and dividing China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand,
Cambodia and South Vietnam. It bears many names and characters: scaling down from its source on the eastern Tibetan
plateau it is the Dza Chu (“River of Rocks”) or Lancang Jiang (“Turbulent River”) in China, swelling as it crosses Northern
Laos and forms the Golden Triangle of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos, where the Thais name it Mae Nam Khong (“Mother of
the Waters”), from which is derived the name Mekong. It forms the border of Laos and Thailand, charging through the
ancient Lao capital of Luang Prabang and its modern capital Vientiane, and culminating in full force at Si Phan Don (“Four
Thousand Islands”). Tearing down the formidable Khone Falls, the river falls into Cambodia, where it is Tonle Thom (“Great
River”), joining the Tonle Sap at Phnom Penh, and going on to form, with the Bassac, a vast water plain that flows through
the historical Mekong Delta, dubbed Cuu Long (“Nine Dragons”) in Vietnam, and out to the South China Sea. In geographical
terms, this course begins at 5100 meters above sea level and charts a distance of at least 4350 kilometers from source to sea.
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The Mekong River plays a central part of Southeast Asian history, seeing the rise to glory of great empires in Southeast Asia’s
early history – the ancient Funan, the Cham, and the kingdom of Angkor. Yet it has also been very much part of the war-torn
contemporary world, witnessing the Second Indochina War, and forming the battleground of the merciless American war that
raged through Vietnam in the 1960’s and 1970’s.
Today, the Mekong and its tributaries continue as a lifeblood for both the small communities and the greater countries it passes
through - providing fish, a rice-growing basin, irrigation for farming. and hydro-electric energy, as well as functioning as a
trading thoroughfare.
“Today I share concerns with others about the effects of development on the Mekong. For example, hydro-electric dams may
have benefits, and the blasting of rocks to destroy rapids may encourage tourism by boat. But these changes disturb natural
cycles, like the upriver migration of fish for spawning, when fish is the main source of protein for people living along the river.”
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