The joy of the Mekong - a photo on Flickriver

            At Wat Xieng Thong in Luang Prabang we arranged to meet a boatman. Through the palm trees and down the riverbank, we could see the muddy Mekong over branches and stones. We arranged a boat trip to the famous Pak Ou Caves. A trip down the Mekong River on a longtail boat will glide past limestone cliffs and terrace farms, fisherman wading with nets, and boats streaming from China laden with motorcycles. We traveled about 25 kilometers up the river as it snaked through vine covered hills.  A swirling Mekong river. The brown color indicates the destructive land use systems on its watersheds. Women washed clothes along the banks. Naked boys swam and splashed. We passed houseboats, speed boats and slow meandering boats. The biodiversity of the Mekong mountains is one of the richest in the world. More than 1200 species of fish have been identified and there could be possibly as many as 1700. Fishing is a very important part of the economic activities in the area and a vital source of protein in the local diet. Even the rare species of freshwater dolphin, the Irrawaddy dolphin can be seen at the Lower Mekong. Irrawaddy dolphins have been documented participating in cooperative fishing with humans using cast nets by driving the fish towards these fisherman in response to acoustic signals from them.

Photo taken during our longtail boat trip 25km to the Pak Ou Caves down the Mekong River. The boy is jumping from a tree into the Mekong while our boat was passing by. I took multiple shots to capture his jump.

Luang Prabang ligt op een heuvel die wordt omarmd door de Mekong en zijn zijrivier Nam Khan. De beroemde Pak Ou caves liggen een kleine 25 kilometer buiten de stad, bereikbaar per boot over de Mekong. De tocht hier naartoe is geweldig want de omgeving is werkelijk adembenemend. Na twee uur varen kom je uiteindelijk aan bij deze grot waar duizenden pelgrims sinds de 16e eeuw Boeddha- beelden hebben neergezet. In totaal vind je er nu zo’n 2500. Onderweg passeren we typische Laos-dorpjes, nauwelijks zichtbaar door de rijke begroeiing. We stoppen onderweg bij Ban Xanghai, het dorp dat bekend staat om zijn rijstwhisky ;-) De biodiversiteit van de Mekong bergen is één van rijkst aan de wereld. Meer dan 1200 soorten vis zijn geïdentificeerde en misschien nog wel meer. De visserij is economisch zeer belangrijk en een essentiële bron van proteïne in het lokale dieet. In het lage gedeelte bij de Mekong-delta komen zelfs nog de bezondere irrawaddydolfijnen voor. In sommige gebieden werken de twee samen: de dolfijnen drijven vissen de netten van de vissers in, en de vissers belonen de dolfijnen met een klein deel van de vangst. In deze gebieden worden deze dieren vereerd.

Taken in: Laos / Louangphabang (show map)

Taken on: August 2, 2008

Tags:

Laos

Mekong

Mekong river

Jump into the Mekong

Kids having fun

Muddy Mekong

Dense jungle

Buys swam and splashed

Swirling Mekong river

Trip to Pak Ou Caves

Longtail boat

Vine covered hills

Jumping from a tree

Bamboo

Boat trip

Let's jump

Smiling boy

Yeah JUMP

Watch me jumping!

Paradise

Adventure

wooaaahhh

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Camera: Panasonic DMC-FZ8, f/3.2, 1/640 sec, 13.4mm, ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Panasonic DMC-FZ8
Aperture:	f/3.2
Exposure Time:	0.002 sec (1/640)
Focal Length:	13.4mm
ISO:	200
Exposure Bias:	-0.66 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Shutter speed priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Spot
White Balance:	Auto
Gain Control:	Low gain up
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Paint Shop Pro Photo 12,01
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