I had written about the Mekhong but the computer lost it all. Frustrating but I will now just mention it briefly. I had a good three day tour (yes I went on a tour cause it wa going to be easier with only a couple days to actually see things and not just be figuring out the transport). The last day was crossing the border and finishing up in Phnom Penh (Cambodia).

Fruit market with baskets of pineapple, mangoes, bananas and dragon fruit. Women gathered around under the shade of their conical straw hats, buying, selling and socialising. The river was a km wide at one point with traffic ranging from large cargo boats laden down with building materials to small wooden rowing boats. We visited a small island that grew fruit in orchards and a rice noodle factory and coconut candy factory - both of which were actually quite interesting. We boated up canals under a 'monkey bridge' (narrow bamboo pole across the river) and house boats, stilt houses, flimsy and sturdy houses. We saw people swimming in the river; washing, bathing, cleaning vegetables and meat, boating, working and relaxing - life intertwined with the flow of the river and its seasons.