Borneo Bulletin –
The Mekong River is the source of many good things that help people through their daily lives. It lowers their cost of living by providing them with fertile soil to grow vegetables and enables them to make money by selling their crops and the fish they catch.
In Nakeo village, in the Huayxai district, Bokeo province, the Mekong is relatively shallow for most of the year and people enjoy spending a lot of time playing in the water, tending a small vegetable garden, and catching fish.
But now it’s the rainy season, and the river is rising, so the riverbank is being swallowed up and the vegetable plots are disappearing. However, the young men have a lot of fun catching fish.
Nakeo village is close to a hill and every morning, the river is covered in mist; but you can see people there soon after dawn, swimming, washing their clothes or fishing.
Nakeo is only eight kilometres from a town, but it’s right out in the countryside and is very attractive and clean. Most of the inhabitants are farmers and it’s time for them to start planting rice.
Other than farm work, the villagers don’t have much to do and the men like to spend their time in the river catching fish.