Traveling Down the Mekong River

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The Mekong River is the longest river in Southeast Asia and supports the lives of 70 million people from Tibet to Vietnam. Our reporters undertook the journey to tell their stories in blog posts, video diaries and images..

Radio Free Asia


    • Nov 20, 2012 LATEST EPISODE
    • infrequent NEW EPISODES
    • 5m AVG DURATION
    • 33 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from Traveling Down the Mekong River

    Mekong Diaries: Cambodia

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 20, 2012


    Our team goes into Cambodia to visit villages wrecked by floods and see the famous and endangered Mekong dolphins.

    MekongDiaries: Vietnam

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 19, 2012


    RFA's camera team follows the Mekong through Vietnam to its end in the South China Sea.

    Mekong Diaries: Laos

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 14, 2012


    RFA's cameraman and his crew enter Laos and visit villages along the river to assess the impact of dams and relocation schemes.

    Mekong Diaries: Golden Triangle

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2012


    The team hops on the bus to cross Laos and reach a spot on the river where a Burmese ethnic minority, the Lahu, took refuge from the Burmese army..

    Mekong Diaries: China

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2012


    Our cameraman and his crew get tips on how to get "off the beaten tracks" and come close to the great glaciers melting into the Mekong.

    Mekong Diaries: Tibet

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 3, 2012


    At the start of a journey down the Mekong River, Radio Free Asia's cameraman discovers Tibet, its ancient traditions and its stunning sites.

    Expert Views and Analysis: China's Influence

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 17, 2010 8:59


    Upstream Dams Cause Downstream Concerns: Chinese dams on the Upper Mekong River are creating erratic fluctuations on water flow. Yet, people living off the river downstream are neither consulted nor informed of changes affecting their livelihood.

    Expert Views and Analysis: Damming the Mekong

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 15, 2010 9:22


    The Mekong River basin currently provides 1,600 megawatts of electricity and has potential for 30,000 megawatts,. But is the cost of modernization too high?

    Expert Views and Analysis: Mekong Fisheries

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 10, 2010 8:55


    The Mekong River is the world's most productive fishery – supplying critical food security for the region. But experts cite declining animal protein and edible oils in the local diet. Why?

    Expert Views and Analysis: People of the River

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 4, 2010 7:15


    The Mekong Basin is home to 100 languages and 70 million of the world's poorest people, for whom any ecological change—man-made or natural—could drastically alter how they live.

    Vietnam's Rice Bowl

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 16, 2010 5:02


    Seasonal rice harvests in the Mekong River Delta are threatened by the rise of sea tides due to climate change.

    The End of the River

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 16, 2010 4:35


    At the mouth of the Mekong River, climate change is affecting the livelihoods of both those who fish the river and those who fish the sea.

    Vietnam's Floating Marketplace

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 8, 2010 3:08


    The Mekong Delta has traditionally served as a nexus of commerce to the people of southern Vietnam, but development is threatening the livelihood of area residents.

    Rare Dolphins at Risk

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 1, 2010 6:10


    Overfishing, pollution, and development of the Mekong River in Cambodia could kill off a rare species.

    Festivities on the Mekong

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 1, 2010 5:15


    Cambodians gather in the capital, Phnom Penh, to witness annual boat races and fireworks.

    Fishing the River

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 1, 2010 5:24


    Rising Mekong waters also expand the Tonle Sap, giving Cambodians a steady fishing income, for a time.

    Dam Aims to Power Region

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 26, 2010 5:50


    The Nam Theun 2 dam in Laos aims to turn the Mekong and its tributaries into a major new regional power source, but at what cost?

    River Life in Laos

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 22, 2010 4:25


    A look at the intimate connection between the Mekong River and the daily lives of the Laotian people.

    Downstream Dangers

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 22, 2010 6:31


    The release of excess rainwater from overburdened dams in Vietnam has catastrophic results on river communities downstream in Cambodia.

    Dams Threaten Falls Fisheries

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 15, 2010 5:02


    Planned dam infrastructure threatens the Khone Falls, the only major drop in elevation along the Mekong River and a traditionally important center for the fishing industry in Laos.

    The Golden Triangle

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 18, 2009 4:45


    China stakes a claim in Chiang Rai province, Thailand, with its new casinos.

    Grandma Hai

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 18, 2009 4:22


    A poor rice farmer in Ubon Ratchathani province, Thailand, wins a 32-year battle over a dam that flooded her land. Grandma Hai tells all.

    Damming Lessons

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 18, 2009 5:14


    In Ubon Ratchathani province, Thailand, construction of the Pak Mun dam was so disastrous for the local economy that it stalled all new dam projects across the country.

    Mekong Lovers

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 11, 2009 5:21


    A fishing community in Chiang Khong, Thailand, talks about changes in the ecology of the river that make it difficult to continue the traditions of their trade.

    Behind the Bamboo Curtain

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 10, 2009 5:04


    In northeastern Burma's Shan state, our Mekong team speaks with the Lahu minority people about being forced into difficult, often deadly service to the Burmese army.

    Melting Glaciers

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 7, 2009 3:26


    Experts say two-thirds of Himalayan glaciers could melt over the next 40 years. The Mekong team treks to the Mingyong Glacier in northern Yunnan, China, a 12-km sheet of ice.

    Rubber Kingdom Along River

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 3, 2009 3:22


    Flowing for the first time through this regional capital in Yunnan province, China, the Lancang provides electricity to neighboring Thailand while an ethnic minority produces rubber.

    Harnessing the Lancang Jiang

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 2, 2009 4:31


    As the Mekong changes its name and wends through the highlands of Yunnan province, the massive scale of China's plans to dam the mighty river are readily apparent.

    The Ice Triangle

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 26, 2009 5:18


    Officially, the military regime fights drug production in Shan State, Burma, but our reporters meet with local residents who expose the army as a main participant in the manufacturing process.

    The Sacred Plateau

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 20, 2009 4:28


    Nomads describe the ancient practices of water burial and sky burial, threatened by China's policies in Tibet.

    The Last Black Tents

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 1, 2009 4:27


    The ancestral lifestyle of the Khampa nomads in Tibet is threatened by a forced modernization.

    The Source of the Mekong

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 1, 2009 4:55


    Dzachu, Tibetan for the Mekong River, is said to be sacred by nomads living on the Qinghai plateau.

    Why this Project?

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 18, 2009 5:37


    We invite you to travel with RFA down the least developed of the world's major rivers—the Mekong: fragile, beautiful, and threatened as never before.

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