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Ask
someone in Thailand about Mekong, he or she will probably answer,
oh, yes Mekong Whisky.
Actually this particular type of
whisky is not made from Mekong water, its almost pure alcohol
with a strange taste. Actually in Thailand almost every drinkable
alcohol is called whisky or in Thai language -lau-.
Here we have a other kind of Mekong,
its the 10. longest waterway on earth, coming from the Himalayas,
passing through China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and
Vietnam.
For every country, except China, the
water of the Mekong is a very important lifeline. Unfortunately
this lifeline is currently destroyed by a alarming rate.
The worst in the moment is that China
is constructing several huge power plants on the upper Mekong and on
top of it is diverting large amounts of water for irrigation.
One of the result is that in Thailand
there is not even enough water in the Mekong river bed to have a
ship floating, and this is on most of the year.
Actually on many parts on the Mekong
between Thailand and Laos its no big deal walking through the
Mekong.
This is quite often used by refugees
from North Korea, who travel through China and Laos and are
walking through the Mekong to find shelter in the South Korean
embassy in Bangkok. |
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Mekong River east of Chiang Khan Loei Province opposite is
Laos Mekong River near Chiang Khan Loei Province
opposite is Laos
 
Loei
province bicycle on the road Loei province on the road
Loei
province buffaloes near highway 203 |
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Greater Mekong sub
region recent discoveries.
The Mekong |
On a decade long
–until 2008- research all over the Mekong region
scientists discovered over one thousand new species.
Perhaps the last time research, because the area
along the Mekong River is loosing water, jungle and
earth with dramatic speed.
From the reservoirs
of the Mekong power plants on the upper reaches
of the Mekong River in China huge amounts of water
is diverted and jungle is cut to make space for
plantations.
Since 1990, according
to the WWF annually 2.7 Million hectares of
jungle have been cleared for plantations to
cultivate rubber and coffee among others. Along the
whole Mekong basin about 150 large power plants are
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planned and / or already
in operation.
4500 km in length makes the Mekong
tenth longest river in the world. Now, actually
within the last 10 years researchers found more than
thousand new animal and Plant species.
An incredible
amount of new discoveries around the Mekong river,
according to the WWF, discoveries included 519
plants, 88 spiders, 279 fish, 88 frogs, 22 Snakes,
four birds and 15 mammals’ species.
Among other animals in the Mekong region,
researchers found the Lao rock rat which was
considered extinct eleven million years.
Other finds near the
Mekong river were a new kind of rabbit, the
world's largest spider with 37 cm cross section and
the cyanide-producing millipede.
The millipede below has a bright pink color
to warn other animals of his poison.
The Mekong region
covers the countries , Thailand, Burma, Vietnam,
Laos, Cambodia and China.
The WWF criticized a
growing overexploitation of nature and urges
more protection for 600,000 square kilometer region
in the six countries. |
New Frog Discoveries
Mekong Frog |
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Pink Millipede from Mekong area |
Huge Spider from Laos Mekong Region |
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for you |
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The natural extension is
to download our unique e-book on
southern Thailand where you will find much more content and a lot of
exiting full scale pictures. You can have a look on the screen and if
you like you can print all content on any desktop printer, ...more
e-book |
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Mekong,
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the Mekong,
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whisky,
great outdoor. |
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