Mekong and More 2014
Lao Cai Province, Vietnam. Lao Cai, on the Chinese border, is the gateway to the mountains, mountain streams and terraced rice fields around the resort town of Sapa. This scene is on the road from Lao Cai to Sapa.
Ta Phin, Sapa, Vietnam. Red Dzao woman in the doorway of her home.
Ta Phin, Sapa, Vietnam. Red Dzao woman and her baby in the doorway of a relative's home.
Can Cau, Sapa, Vietnam. Every Saturday, villagers (especially Flower Hmong like the women in the foreground) from the nearby mountain region gather here for a high energy market day.
Can Cau, Sapa, Vietnam. Flower Hmong woman organizes Blue Hmong clothing she's selling. This market even attracts Hmong from across the Chinese border, which is only about 9 km away.
Can Cau, Sapa Vietnam. Flower Hmong clothing vendor, with terraced rice fields in the background.
Vung Vieng Floating Village, Ha Long Bay, Vietnam. Though their numbers have been reduced by recent government-sponsored relocations to the mainland, there are still hundreds of families living full time on floating villages in several sites on Ha Long Bay. The relocation push was motivated by environmental and quality of life considerations.
Vung Vieng Floating Village, Ha Long Bay, Vietnam. Children play in their floating village home, with their family's fishing boat in the foreground.
Quang Ba Flower Market, Hanoi, Vietnam. Primarily a wholesale market; activity winds down as the sun is rising, but there is still lots of color to be found.
Quang Ba Flower Market, Hanoi, Vietnam. This load of flowers is likely stock for a flower shop.
Quang Ba Flower Market, Hanoi, Vietnam. The flower vendor has just stocked her bicycle trays. She has already found a customer, even before leaving the market area.
Quang Ba Flower Market, Hanoi, Vietnam. A bicycle based flower vendor is off to sell her wares on the streets of the city.
Traffic on Dike Road, with Anniversary Mural, Hanoi, Vietnam. The multi-kilometer ceramic mosaic mural in the background was built in 2010 to celebrate the 1000th anniversary of the founding of Vietnam's capital city. The mural, built along the city's dike road, is said to be the largest ceramic mosaic mural in the world.
Traffic on Dike Road, with Anniversary Mural, Hanoi, Vietnam. Thirty-five Vietnamese and international artists were involved in the design and construction of the wall, which features a new design every 100 meters or so.
Ho Chi Minh Presidential Complex, Hanoi. The view across "Ho's Lake" from Ho Chi Minh's stilt house in the complex.
Temple of Literature, Hanoi, Vietnam. The Temple was founded in 1070, first to honor Confucious and by 1076 as the first university of Vietnam. The Chinese character in the foreground means intellect; this and other similar characters highlight desirable characteristics of an ideal Confucian man. These days, the Temple is frequently visited by students in traditional Vietnamese garb to commemorate recent or upcoming school graduations.
Temple of Literature, Hanoi, Vietnam. A young Vietnamese woman in a traditional ao dai checks her phone on the grounds of the vintage 1070 Temple.
Temple of Literature, Hanoi, Vietnam. A student commemorating her graduation pauses for a picture on the Temple of Literature grounds.
Temple of Literature, Hanoi, Vietnam. A student commemorating her graduation pauses for a picture on the Temple of Literature grounds.
Temple of Literature, Hanoi, Vietnam. Ao dai clad students celebrate their graduation in the third courtyard of the Temple of Literature.
Prek Bang Kong Village, Cambodia. Five village children squeeze onto a motor scooter.
Prek Bang Kong Village, Cambodia. This village along the Mekong River specializes in silk production, starting with silk worms grown nearby and culminating with fabrics woven on traditional looms in home shops like this one.
Angkor Ban Village, Cambodia. In this village along the Mekong River, a resident and survivor of the terrible Khmer Rouge years tells his story.
Angkor Ban Village, Cambodia. A young girl glows in the setting sun along a bank of the Mekong River.
Mekong River, Cambodia. Sunrise silhouettes a boat and its crew.
Wat Hanchey, Cambodia. A monk cleans one of the colorful buildings of this temple, which dates back to the 8th century. The temple sits high above the Mekong River, north of Kampong Cham.
Wat Hanchey, Cambodia. Novice monks head for a mid-day meal across the fancifully decorated temple grounds.
Wat Hanchey, Cambodia. A novice monk (one of many who live and go to school at this thriving temple) pauses for a break.
Wat Hanchey, Cambodia. A young novice monk (with his friend silhouetted nearby) enjoys wash time.
Royal Palace, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The throne hall, amid the immaculately landscaped grounds of the palace.
Royal Palace, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The elaborate roof of the Moonlight Pavilion looms above the palace grounds.
Choeng Ek Genocidal Center, near Phnom Penh, Cambodia. One of the killing fields, where the Khmer Rouge executed over a million people between 1975 and 1979. This fence surrounds a burial site; its bamboo posts are hung with bracelets from visitors honoring the lost.
Phnom Penh, Cambodia. A tuk tuk, crowded with people and goods, captured from a cyclo moving next to it on a Phnom Penh street.
Phnom Penh, Cambodia. A cyclo driver pauses outside the National Museum. His green jacket confirms that he is a member of the Cyclo Conservation and Careers Association, which works to support cyclo drivers and sustain a cyclo culture in Phnom Penh.
Konpong Louang Village, Cambodia. A silversmith owner in a village along the Tonle River crafts elements of an elaborate custom piece ordered by a wealthy client. The copper base will be overlaid with silver.
Konpong Louang Village, Cambodia. A silver smith works the copper base of a bowl . The copper will be overlaid with silver.
Konpong Louang Village, Cambodia. Children in this silversmith village study and play among the tools of the silversmith trade.
Kampong Tralach Village, Cambodia. A young boy offers a handmade souvenir gift.
Kampong Tralach Village, Cambodia. A young girl approaches a tourist ox cart.
Tonle Sap River, Cambodia. A young boy waves to a passing boat.
Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia. These stilted buildings are well above the falling level of the Tonle Sap lake, which shrinks dramatically during the Cambodia dry season, just beginning, here. This lake is the largest in Southeast Asia.
Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia. A floating commerce center serves residents on the lake.
Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia. Sunrise silhouettes a boat and its crew on the lake.
Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia. Floating homes on the edge of the lake.
Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia. A fruit and vegetable vendor makes an early morning visit in her boat to floating home residents on the lake.
Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia.
Siem Reap, Cambodia. Angkor Wat at sunrise. The 400 square kilometer Angkor Archaeological Park includes the magnificent remains of the capitals of the Khmer Empire from the 9th to the 15th centuries
Siem Reap, Cambodia. Angkor Thom. Angkor Thom was the last capital of the Khmer Empire. A causeway crosses the moat to the south gate of the ancient city. The causeway is guarded by 54 demons on the right (pictured) and 54 gods on the left.