Mekong

I couldn't wait to see it, knew that I arrived in the dry season, yet was almost a bit disappointed: the mighty Mekong is not much more than a shallow, small river. Its bed must be almost one kilometer wide, but most of it is dry land at the moment. On the bank where Vientiane lies, there's practically no water, on the other side it's maybe 150 mts wide, hard to estimate. There's a floating restaurant that has fallen dry... it's still open, but I imagine the impressive feeling that a full-sized Mekong offers, can't be beaten...
Anyway, the monsoon should arrive around middle or end of may, so on my way back through southern Vietnam and Cambodia I should be able to get a glimpse of what the Mekong looks like in better days...

In spite of the pitiful appearance (only for me, though, after all it's the normal rhythm of this river's seasons) the banks of the Mekong are full of life: open-air food-stalls and restaurants, one after the other, in an endless row, are seaming the bank from Vientiane's center until the outskirts. As night falls early at around 7 pm, you can see the lights glowing on the other side, belonging to Thailand. When you wander around it's hard to make a decision, but the choice is definitely to stay here and enjoy the atmosphere. Why sit in any of the regular travellers restaurants somewhere in the city, if a light breeze, the setting sun, smells of charcoal fires and the local's gentle and soft-spoken voices make this the unforgettable ambience I came here for?