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After our short stopover in Vientiane we headed south by bus - an easier trip because the roads are finished, and straight, and mostly flat. We followed the Mekong, first to the town of Tha Khek and then on to Savannakhet.

The Mekong watershed is enormous and the farther south you go the wider and deeper the river gets as more tributaries join in. During the dry season workers shore up the banks against the waters of the monsoon.

There are a few completed dams along the Mekong in Laos and more are on the drawing board. They're controversial, to say the least.