Down the Mekong to Champassak and Wat Phou After an early breakfast we drove through Pakse town down to the confluence of the Mekong and Xe Don rivers to board a covered longtail with old rattan chairs and cushions for seating (a lovely touch, we thought) for an hour and a half downriver journey to Champassak township. Shortly, we passed under the 1.3 km-long bridge spanning the Mekong, paid for by the Japanese, and completed in 2000. It has added to the prosperity of Pakse, however, since it is the only bridge for hundreds of kilometers, and now provides this part of southern Laos with a direct road link to Thailand, 25 km beyond the Mekong. It was another enjoyable, breezy river trip, meandering back and forth between the left and right banks to fin
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