December 9th, 2009
Sunrise over the Mekong River and a morning spent in one of our favorite Asian markets. Bob and Claire Rogers take a day off from their tandem bicycle tour of China and SE Asia.
We leave the Mekong for good soon, and we will miss it. The river is the lifeblood of SE Asia, and the people use it fully.
We were not far from the river’s source in the Tibetan lands of the Himalaya and enjoyed it in Laos and the delta in Vietnam. It is truly one of the world’s great rivers and we are privileged to have seen so much of it, and it’s people.
December 6th, 2009
The Mighty Mekong braids its way across Cambodia and Vietnam and supports a huge population. Bob and Claire Rogers put their tandem bicycle on a slow boat for a good look at river life from water level, and then a 108k ride the next day beside or near the river in Cambodia.
December 5th, 2009
Slow Boat to Cambodia:
After taking the wrong ferry to the border, we finally found our way to a the most laid back border crossing yet. However after we started riding to the Cambodian border station, we discovered the nice small paved road turned to a dirt path, and would be like that for up to 40K, and we didn’t have much water.
After another easy time with our visas into Cambodia, we discovered a small wood boat at the dock and found we could take it four hours to a town with accommodation for $10: both of us, Zippy and Lucky; such a deal.
November 2nd, 2009
We are in the valley of the Mekong. We arrived in the Capitol, Vientiane yesterday and applied for our Vietnamese visa. Claire got a bit of the last day of the Full Moon festival on video, and we will Vientiane. Claire finally found her French Toast! Unfortunately the only syrup they had on offer, was honey. Maple syrup comes from Quebec, for the French, and there are few French to be seen in the former colony, though we do see some of the language, Lao and English appear to be dominant. I can imagine that upsets the French.
