> Landlocked Land of Water, Vangvieng, Laos        

For a country without direct access to the sea, Laos is incredibly wet, with an economy and every day lifestyles that seem still to revolve around water. The mighty Mekong River and its tributaries carry vaste quantities of agua from the Himalayas though winding mountain valleys and canyons, making greens in Lao seem greener than anywhere else. Life seems to revolve around the river, whichever is nearby. Here a local wades across the Nam Sang River that goes through Vangvieng. From my hut on the river, one of my favorite pastimes was to sit with a Beer Lao watching 95% of local traffic cross the river in this fashion, wading or driving an incredibly odd assortment of vehicles across the riverbed rather than using the new bridge at the same spot. Simple pleasures and values can be rediscovered and studiously practiced here, and refined well beyond the capacity of any modern world prozac allternatives.
 > Boat to Market, Hoi An, Vietnam          

The big, everpresent smile passing underneath the Hoi An River bridge on way to morning market. Baskets full of fish and that relaxed low crouch on the stern of the small boat, showing such comfortable stability from a life near and on the water.
 > Fish Baskets, Hoi An, Vietnam          

Hoi An is a most pleasant little river town with great beaches only a short ways away, but the real reason people visit is to have new clothes custom made. Zillions of tailors compete for your business to make custom clothing within a day or so at incredibly inepensive prices. The biggest problem is deciding which shop to give business. Designs are drawn from samples in each store, catalogue or copied from garments you provide. Not a shopper or looking for any clothing myself, I was compelled nontheless to have gifts made for my daughter, and a couple well needed replacements for my own pants worn thin along my journey. But I enjoyed the area most notably for the river scenes, excellent market with dramatic morning river commerce, and very mellow  and convenient beaches. Development will grow this area quickly, especially with such good beach potential. So get here soon. River activity is non-stop, but especially good early in the early morning when all the fish and food is brought fresh along the river and roads, creating a characteristic Vietnamese cacophony of activity. Here in later morning after things quiet down a bit is a great time to catch a smoke in the shadow of bigger boats, with baskets now empty from earlier morning transit.
 > Troop of Macaques, Khao Sok, Thailand     

A troop of Long-Tailed Macaques make their home at a Buddhist shrine near Khao Sok.  This basket is just one of any multitude of objects these funny monkeys make into communal toys. They seem easy followers of Buddhist faith, comfortably claiming the temples as their home. The interplay between colorful saffron robed monks and wild monkeys was an interesting counterpoint to the otherwise subdued nature of the temples.
Landlocked Land of Water, Vangvieng, Laos     

For a country without direct access to the sea, Laos is incredibly wet, with an economy and every day lifestyles that seem still to revolve around water. The mighty Mekong River and its tributaries carry vaste quantities of agua from the Himalayas though winding mountain valleys and canyons, making greens in Lao seem greener than anywhere else. Life seems to revolve around the river, whichever is nearby. Here a local wades across the Nam Sang River that goes through Vangvieng. From my hut on the river, one of my favorite pastimes was to sit with a Beer Lao watching 95% of local traffic cross the river in this fashion, wading or driving an incredibly odd assortment of vehicles across the riverbed rather than using the new bridge at the same spot. Simple pleasures and values can be rediscovered and studiously practiced here, and refined well beyond the capacity of any modern world prozac allternatives.
 > Landlocked Land of Water, Vangvieng, Laos        

For a country without direct access to the sea, Laos is incredibly wet, with an economy and every day lifestyles that seem still to revolve around water. The mighty Mekong River and its tributaries carry vaste quantities of agua from the Himalayas though winding mountain valleys and canyons, making greens in Lao seem greener than anywhere else. Life seems to revolve around the river, whichever is nearby. Here a local wades across the Nam Sang River that goes through Vangvieng. From my hut on the river, one of my favorite pastimes was to sit with a Beer Lao watching 95% of local traffic cross the river in this fashion, wading or driving an incredibly odd assortment of vehicles across the riverbed rather than using the new bridge at the same spot. Simple pleasures and values can be rediscovered and studiously practiced here, and refined well beyond the capacity of any modern world prozac allternatives.
Landlocked Land of Water, Vangvieng, Laos     

For a country without direct access to the sea, Laos is incredibly wet, with an economy and every day lifestyles that seem still to revolve around water. The mighty Mekong River and its tributaries carry vaste quantities of agua from the Himalayas though winding mountain valleys and canyons, making greens in Lao seem greener than anywhere else. Life seems to revolve around the river, whichever is nearby. Here a local wades across the Nam Sang River that goes through Vangvieng. From my hut on the river, one of my favorite pastimes was to sit with a Beer Lao watching 95% of local traffic cross the river in this fashion, wading or driving an incredibly odd assortment of vehicles across the riverbed rather than using the new bridge at the same spot. Simple pleasures and values can be rediscovered and studiously practiced here, and refined well beyond the capacity of any modern world prozac allternatives.
Photo by: photographie-irie · see photo in gallery