I spent a few days in Vientiane last week just to goof off and walk around a bit. The big story was how much the Mekong had risen since my last day of work on the previous Saturday. That weekend very heavy rains had affected most of the country, launching devastating landslides and flooding tributaries. This was a small portion of what hit Myanmar and India, and it caused “only” a few deaths. However, all that water had to go somewhere, so the Mekong rose dramatically.

I read in the Vientiane Times on Friday that the river would crest in Vientiane on Saturday, the 8th, just below flood level. Some low-lying, non-embanked areas of Hadxaifong district might see some flooding, the article stated. So, guess where I live? Yup, Hadxaifong. With a lot of trepidation, Nai and I returned to the house on Saturday, but, thankfully, there was no flooding. The island marker that I use to see the height of the river was still above water. Last year, it had been submerged for a week or so, and there had been no flooding in our area.

For the past five or six days, we’ve been enjoying beautiful weather. The rain has stopped and the skies have been clear to partly cloudy, with lots of sun and high temperatures. That should keep the river down, unless there’s a lot of rain upstream, which isn’t in the forecast for now. Everything has dried out, and it’s like we’re in the dry season again. I’m sure there will be plenty more rain to come, though.

Here are a few photos of the Mekong and Vientiane.

Mekong River rising.

This is a photo taken on Wednesday, August 5th. To the right is what remains of a sand sculpture that was made for the Laos New Year back in April. It’s the largest one among five still standing. There are four smaller ones to the left, out of range of this shot. It’s a sculpture of an elephant. During the dry season, the main channel is about 15 meters beyond the sculpture and many people walk out there.

Storm cloud over Thailand

This was taken the day after the previous photo. In the lower right corner, above the street lamp, you can see that the elephant sculpture has disappeared (washed away, I believe) and the river has risen higher on the tuft of scrub brush. The next day, the scrub brush would be under water. The impressive storm cloud moving over Thailand stayed on that side of the river.

Mekong River rising.

Looking toward the Don Chan Palace Hotel, the tall building on the left, from the riverfront promenade.

Mekong diagonal

I walked down to the bottom step of the promenade and started to take a photo of the river. I stepped in some slippery stuff and managed to capture this scene just as I was falling into the shallow part of the river. I managed to hold the camera aloft, so I saved the most important thing. I crawled up to the steps and continued on as if nothing had happened. “Oh, I meant to do that.”

Mekong River rising

Looking north along the promenade. Soon, above the steps, crowds of people will gather to walk, ride bicycles, do aerobics, jog, and just hang out. Hopefully, the river will stay where it’s at.

Clouds over Thailand

Some nice clouds over Thailand above a near- flood level Mekong River.