The Legendary Mekong River in Land-Blocked Country

With the special geographical condition – no sea or ocean, Laotian life is now relying much on rivers which is their main resource for fishing and boating. Rivers play a very important role in Laotian daily life, transportation, and tourism.

The Mekong River is the lifeline of Laos. This river originates in the Yunnan Province of China, travels south, forming the boundary between Laos and other countries such as Myanmar and Thailand. The path of the Mekong crosses Cambodia and then ends in southern Vietnam, forming the famous Mekong Delta.

Floating on the Mekong River, to see the specular landscape in both riverbanks, why don’t you take a Mekong Cruise Trip?

Mekong River is the second richest aquatic biodiversity river in the world and is only behind the richest, Amazon River. The Mekong is known as the English name depriving of Vietnamese, but actually, Laos’ name of this river is different “Mae Nam Khong”. “Mae Nam” (mother of the river) is what Laotian calls a big river, so “Khong” can be considered as its name. Therefore, in some cases, you can notice that people also call it “Khong River”. It can be understood as “Mekong River” with no difference in meaning.

There are many means of transportation in Laos from the car, airplane, tuk-tuk, bicycle, etc. one thing which is most preferable, especially in tourism is a waterway. Mekong River flows from the Northern part to the Southern Part give us an opportunity to enjoy all the scenery along two sides of the river slowly and not be in a hurry. The decision is up to you from various options such as a slow boat, speed boat, long-tail boat, traditional boat, overnight boat etc. Each of them will give you a different feeling about the Mekong River. Be ready and take Eyes on the Mekong.

For a country with no coastline like Laos, the presence of Mekong River is a great honor. In both sides of the bank, the main job of locals is fishing, which also creates the main supply of seafood in Laos.

Laos is in the lower basin of Mekong River where major tributary systems develop, which brings fertile for the surrounding area. Heat and humidity are the main characters that we see in Laotian weather, but luckily, this gift from nature has encouraged them to develop and maintain the tradition of agriculture, a distinctive point in Laotian Lifestyle.

Everyday Laotian life are plentiful as novice monks in their saffron robes take an early morning plunge into the Mekong, fishermen cast their nets into the deep, and children beam with joy as they wave enthusiastically at passing slow boats.

One of the beautiful scenery that has been created by Mekong River is Si Phan Don, 4000 thousand islands in Champasak Province, Southern Laos. Half of these islands will be submerged when the Mekong River is in flood. What a surprise! Right now, this area is attracting many tourists to come and considered picturesque sites.

Sunset is another thing that you won’t want to miss on Mekong River. In modern life, the development of high and giant buildings has made people forget about all the natural beauty around. Therefore, this chance to witness the moment the sun going down is extremely precious and valuable.

There is no suspicion about Biodiversity in Mekong Area. This area has proven to deserve this title. Besides the fact that there are over 20000 species of plants, 1200 different kinds of birds, over 1300 species of fish, Mekong River in Laos also the house of the rare Irrawaddy dolphins in 4000 thousand island areas. If you are lucky enough, you definitely see it when visiting this area.