Tracing the Mekong River

1. Source: Quinghai Province and Tibet in western China

Head of Rupsa-la Pass at 5100 meters - altitude of 4975 meters. Latitude: 33 degrees 16' 534N; Longitude: 93 degrees, 52', 929E.

Bleak, high plateau of Eastern Tibet

Treeless landscape

Traditional rope bridges

In the Tibetan Plateau, the Mekong is called Dza Chu, "River of Rocks" or "Water of Stone."

2. Lake Erhai feeds water into the Mekong. China's ethnic minorities live here. They follow a traditional way of life, grow crops on the hillsides, and hunt for food with traditional crossbows

3. Xishuangbanna District - far south of Yunnan Province. This is the first large riverside town along the Mekong. Many tributaries run off the Mekong creating many valleys and plains. The environment is subtropical with a variety of plants and animals. The region is famous for the birds and butterflies.

The Dai people live in this region. They celebrate the New Year in mid-April with the Water Splashing Ceremony. The water washes away the dirt, sorrows and demons of the past. People go to the Mekong to compete in boat races. Gong players and drummers keep time for the rowers.

4. Flows about 85 km eastward, then turns south, falling about 2000 meters to Quando (a stop on the ancient yak route from Chengdu in China to Lhasa). Find out what a yak is.

Flows through deep gorges that remain hostile to settlement. Why would it be difficult to settle in these gorges? What is a gorge?

Emerges at Baoshan on the Burma Road.

5. Goes through 1200 km of Chinese territory (inhospitable territory)

Area characterized by malaria-ridden valleys. What is malaria? Why is malaria in this area? By now it has dropped 4500 meters from its altitude at source.

In Southwest China, the Mekong is known as Lancang Jiang, "Turbulent River."

The Mekong continues for 200 km as a boundary between Burma and Laos.

6. Golden Triangle - Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand meet. The countries are divided by the mountains, but are linked by the Mekong and its tributaries. The Mekong reaches a minor tributary, the Ruak River, where the territories of Burma, Laos, and Thailand come together.

"Golden Triangle" - This term describes rugged hinterland surrounding the confluence of the Mekong and the Ruak - not the point at which the borders of the three countries meet.

This is a region long associated with the cultivation and sale of opium and its derivatives. Today, opium still grows and is processed into heroin and smuggled out to an international market.

In Thailand, the Mekong is referred to Mae Nam Khong, "Mother of the Waters."

7. "Lower Mekong" - only 500 meters to fall before reaching the sea.

But, it's still 2000 km away. For a time the Mekong marks the boundary between Laos and Thailand. It then turns eastward to run through Laos alone, passing between steeply rising gorge walls and over repeated rapids that impede navigation during much of the year. The Mekong flows south. Just before it reaches Luang Prabang it passes the confluence of Nam Ou tributary. Just past the confluence is the Pak Ou Caves. Pak Ou Caves are sacred caves in limestone cliffs that are filled with Buddha statues. Villages, as well as, fishing traps can be seen along the Mekong. Jungle clad banks and limestone gorges are seen on the banks of the Mekong.

One of the villages, Ban sang Hae, is known for rice whiskey (laolao) distilling. The villagers grow the glutinous rice. After they harvest the rice, they wash, cook, and ferment the rice in water and yeast. The rice water is then distilled into whiskey. The villagers use the good crop of rice for eating and the poor crop for whiskey. Rice whiskey is made during the rainy season.

During the dry season, the depth of the water in sections of the river above the ancient royal capital of Luang Prabang can be as little as 1/2 meter. From the top of Mt. Phousi, the Palace Museum and the Mekong can be seen. Mount Phousi is a high rocky outcrop with forested slopes. At the summit (328 steps from the bottom) are sacred shrines and a stupa. The Mekong River can be seen from the point.

Navigable course for the boat is narrow. It is only 30m or less and runs between jagged rocks.

Many hilltribes such as the Hmong live in the mountains near Luang Prabang. Story cloths and other Hmong crafts can be found here.

8. Down stream from Luang Prabang, it passes Lao capital of Vientiane. The Mekong widens as the mountains give way to riverine plains. The course continues to be interrupted by rapids and groups of island. Variations in width and depth of the river continues. During flood time, the width can be more than 4 km and the depths can be greater than 100 meters. Thailand is on the other side of the Mekong River. The Mekong is very important for people in Laos to survive, especially those who live along the river. It was near this area where many Hmong crossed over the Mekong to escape Laos. Those who made it across lived in refugee camps.

9. Four Thousand Islands - Obstacles of the river's course finally culminates in the Four Thousand Islands (Si Phan Don) above the Khone Falls. The amount of water flowing over these falls at high water is greater than Niagara Falls.

10. The Mekong reaches Cambodia, increasing in width.

It flows over another major set of rapids above Kratie.

In Cambodia, the Mekong is referred to Tonle Thom, "Great River."

At the north end of the Tonle Sap River people live in a "floating village." Here people move north or south depending on the seasons and the depth of the water.

The Tonle Sap River flows in opposite directions at different times of the year. During the summer (July to October) monsoon, the Mekong swells and backs up into the Tonle Sap river, expanding the size of the lake from 1000 square miles to about 4,000 square miles.

Traveling from Siem Reap, you can drive to the boat dock on the shores of lake Tonle Sap. Once on the boat, you travel to the floating village where you'll see bamboo fish-holding pens. The fish pens hold thousands of fish.

Floating "stores" travel in the lake going form one boat to another to sell different items like fruits, vegetables, and plastic containers.

For a short time at the end of the rainy season, Tonle Sap stabilizes. Then suddenly in November the Tonle Sap begins its reverse flow into the Mekong and rushes toward Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia. As it does, a huge quantity of fish are harvested for weeks and carried by oxen carts to be dried. The dried fish provide protein for Cambodia's rural population living far from the river. You can smell the drying fish in late November or early December.

At this time people move inland. Families move their boats and some live in temporary huts that are built on stilts. This is the best time for people to fish. By February it shrinks to a third of its size. As the water recedes, fish can't escape the fishing nets, traps, mud, and trees. One of the species of fish that lives in the deeper water is elephant fish.

11. At Phnom Penh, Cambodia's modern capital, the Tonle Sap River (Cambodia's tributary) flows out of the Great Lake and joins the Mekong. The two rivers form a vast "water plain" that is 2 km across.

Phnom Penh is the only major port on the Mekong above the delta. Ocean-going ships come up the river to unload and city's docks and carry away their cargoes of rubber and rice. Smaller vessels can navigate up river to Siem Reap.

Local wood-fired ferries brings passengers downstream from distant provinces.

Annual Water Festivals are held as gratitude for the end of the rainy season. There are boat races and the finishing line is where the Mekong joins Tonle Sap.

12. The "water plain" divides into two main water courses, the Mekong and the Bassac. They meet in Phnom Penh and together form the Mekong Delta. The Mekong flows into the South China Sea.

In Vietnam, the Mekong is referred to Tien Giang, Song Lon, "Great River," or Song Cuu Long, "Nine Dragons River" (the number of channels into which it divides as it flows through the Mekong Delta). My Tho is a market town located in the Upper Mekong southwest of Saigon. In the early 18c. people moved south to the swampy area. They cut the trees to flatten the area and began to grow wet rice. There were reptiles, birds, and tigers in this area.

People grow rice with waters from the Mekong. in the Mekong Delta, they can grow 3-4 crops a year. The Mekong Delta has the highest yield, 6-10 tons (60% of total rice production), in Vietnam. Water buffalo are used to plow the fields along the Mekong. To improve the land, people sub-crop with corps like pineapple, sugar cane, and peanuts.

Viewing the Mekong Delta by Boat - Traveling by boat is the best way to see the delta. Covered wooden boats usually take tourists to the islands which are in the center of the Mekong. The islands near My Tho are Tan Long (Dragon), Phung (Phoenix), Quy (Tortoise), and Thoi Son (Unicorn). On the island people walk or row their boats in the irrigation canals. Fruit trees (longan (dragon eyes), banana, papaya, jack fruit, pineapple) are abundant on the island.