The Mekong is the world’s twelfth longest river at around 4,350 km (2,703 miles) in length.

It starts its course in the mountains of Tibet and runs through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia before emptying into the South China Sea in southern Vietnam.

Unfortunately the fate of the great river is in constant jeopardy due to damming projects that threaten the livelihoods of millions who rely upon it for fishing and irrigation.

This notoriously happens in China (where the river is called the Lancang) as they plough further forwards with industrialisation, seemingly without a care for their southern neighbours.

I have been fortunate enough to have experienced the Mekong in Vietnam & Laos and to a lesser degree in Cambodia.

Mekong Delta, Vietnam

The Mekong Delta was memory number one in November 1998.

We flew into Ho Chi Minh City and after experiencing two days of bedlam (and a fair few hairy incidents), we decided to do a two day delta trip to take in the authentic Mekong.

This included the floating markets of Can Tho and a never to be forgotten dugout canoe ride along one of the Mekong’s tributary channels.

The watery trip started with a motorised wooden boat ride across the wide river close to its delta, before in groups of three or four we transferred into small paddle boats, each steered and powered by a single oarsman/guide.

At one point the tributary was not much bigger than a ditch, meaning we needed to be alert to sweep low hanging trees away from our vulnerable faces.

Mekong Delta Canoe Ride, Vietnam

Before long, the river widened once more, our small flotilla of six canoes were now back in civilisation.

This was where we got our first sighting of the famed wooden houses built on stilts standing firmly in the river bed.

Our guide helpfully explained the toilet facilities enjoyed by the locals – holes in the floor with direct access to the river! Any temptation any of us may have had for a swim went right through the trapdoor.

Stilt Houses, Mekong River, Vietnam

My thoughts turned to the Oscar winning film, ‘The Deer Hunter’ starring Robert de Niro and Christopher Walken.

In the film they played US soldiers during the Vietnam War, who had been captured and imprisoned in cages in the water below the houses, the like of which were viewed now.

The vision of being in a complete backwater was shattered somewhat by a neon Coca Cola sign, some men playing pool and the flickering of TV screens.

Everything seemed to be in motion. Bikes and motorcycles speeding along narrow paths & bamboo bridges, kids playing ball games, women washing & drying clothes, men filling a barge with river silt, fishermen casting their nets.

Nobody of any age seemed to be sitting or standing still, with none of the televisions seeming to be watched despite all being switched on.

Silt Barges, Mekong, Vietnam

Wooden Bridge, Mekong, Vietnam

We soon ‘docked’ for our first Mekong treat, a visit to a riverside orchard. Here we picked papaya, mango and starfruit off the trees to eat.

The freshest, juiciest and most delicious fruit I had ever tasted, a record that remains to this day.

Back on the river, we passed acres of lush vegetation, palm trees with Jurassic sized leaves, paddy fields, orchards of dates & coconuts, the odd water buffalo, soaring eagles and gaggles of geese.

Women toiled in the fields in their conical hats, designed to keep their faces as fashionably pale as possible.

Goods Transportation, Mekong, Vietnam

Our accommodation for the night was a cheap hotel in Can Tho. We used up all of our sticking plasters repairing the holes in our mosquito nets!

My travelling companion was also to learn the hard way never to buy water from a street urchin. I will save the gut wrenching tale for another day.

Vietnamese Fisherman, Mekong River

Next morning we visited Can Tho’s famed floating markets, where the morning grocery run meant boarding your wooden vessel and getting up close and personal to the vendor’s boats selling virtually every crop known to man and much more besides.

It was a buzzing hive of activity, noisy negotiations, spluttering outboard motors, cries of ‘shopkeepers’ advertising their wares, gawping tourists clicking away and the odd horn sounding to boats that were getting too close for comfort.

Floating Markets, Mekong Delta, Vietnam

We spent a fascinating hour or so taking in the sights and sounds, before we motored off down river for our last stop of the tour, a visit to a noodle factory.

Quite Interesting as Stephen Fry might comment.

The tour was an overwhelming success and a fabulous introduction to the authentic rural Vietnam.

Little did we know that we were about to experience the worst floods in Vietnam’s living memory…………….

Can Tho Floating Market Seller, Mekong, Vietnam

Mekong River, Luang Prabang, Laos

Fast forward to February 2010 and a visit to majestic, spiritual, mythical Luang Prabang in Laos, situated on the confluence of the Mekong and Nam Khan Rivers.

Mekong Sunset, Luang Prabang, Laos

The former capital of the Laos Kingdom is absolutely stuffed full of highlights, dominated by monks and wats.

My ultimate stress buster memory is consistently the time I rode an elephant into the Nam Khan River to scrub its neck. Not your usual Monday morning!

Amongst my most glorious memories are the incredible Mekong sunsets. Golden skies, turning the plethora of wooden boats that shuttle back and forth all day long into silhouettes, as the blazing sun sinks for another day.

It was to be a day trip to Pak Ou Caves that were to give me the best insight into this stretch of the great river. The 25KM motorised boat trip to the caves showed the Mekong as a working river, providing food, transportation, irrigation and leisure.

Luang Prabang Fisherwomen, Mekong River

It is amazing how an old inner tube can entertain a group of kids for hours. Who needs computer games?

We chugged along the river cutting a swathe through limestone monolithic cliffs that loomed like Mordor Towers all around us.

We passed scores of fishermen, bathers, farmers, a few working elephants and crowds of enthusiastically waving children, before mooring at the popular tourist site.

We had to climb over other boats to reach the steps up to our destination, but happily most visitors were heading downwards, so some peaceful contemplation was to be possible.

The caves themselves were choc full of Buddha statues and we all made orange flower & lighted candle offerings to the thousands of idols.

On the way back we stopped at a village called Ban Xang Hai (Whisky Village), with its large monastic complex, complete with its own distillery!

I could not resist buying a souvenir from one simply beautiful female stall holder. Always a sucker for a pretty face!

A face to sell a thousand gifts

Not a care in the world, or maybe the effects of a few whiskies?

So taken was I with Luang Prabang that I returned in October 2015 with Mrs Wilbur.

We took a sunset cruise on the Mekong this time – a wonderful experience.

I went there in 2010, prior to taking the bus to LP.

A Couple View The Mekong, Vientiane, Laos

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

The Mekong also flows through the Cambodian capital, with the stretch in the city being known as the Chaktomuk River.

I took a couple of less than impressive shots!

Sadly it’s natural water levels and wildlife are under threat in the name of man’s need to tamper with nature.

I just hope we can believe what Sue Perkins was told on a fabulous TV documentary she made traversing its length, about conservation and respecting the environment. I have my doubts.

I am sure you can catch it somewhere and would thoroughly recommend giving it a watch.

Sue Perkins, Mekong

You can see some snippets here.