Starting high in the Tibetan Plateau the Mekong River runs through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam before endings its 4,500 km journey into the South China Sea. The world’s twelfth and Asia’s third-longest river. An estimated 65 million people living in the lower Mekong basin depend on the river and its rich resources for their livelihoods. I started out in 2017 from Jinghong in China with a loosely put-together plan to travel and photograph the length of the river. I returned again in 2018 and 2019 because of commitments, always in the months of November, December, and January.
This is the dry season so the river was generally low. I was surprised to find that passenger travel on the river was nearly nonexistent so traveled on small local buses. Always staying at every location for at least two nights some I have visited more than once. Using booking sites like Agoda made finding accommodation near the river quite simple. I loved to start the day with breakfast and coffee watching as she flowed past, at night I seek out riverside restaurants. I am passionate about the River the Mekong basin and the people whom live and work along it, and shall continue to return and explore and photograph.
