Mekong: A Journey on the Mother of Waters

The place the Tibetans call the sacred source of the Mekong is a frozen river bed at an altitude of 17,000 feet on the Tibetan Plateau. In search of a campsite, our guide Meiga crosses the three feet of ice under which the westernmost headwaters of the Mekong trickle.

View Photos (6) Image © 2000 Michael Yamashita

These photographs are from Michael's book, Mekong: A Journey on the Mother of Waters, Takarajima Books. © Michael Yamashita 1996.

Stanley Karnow (author of Vietnam:A History) writes in the introduction of Michael’s book:

"Of all the rivers I know, from the majestic Nile and mighty Mississippi to the busy Thames and placid Seine, none enthralls me more than the Mekong. Nourished by the eternal snows of Tibet, the roof of the earth, it twists and turns for nearly three thousand miles -- tumbling down the rugged mountains of southwestern China, cutting through the jungles of Laos, after marking its border with Myanmar, bending to delineate the boundary with Thailand, traversing Cambodia and finally fanning out across the delta in Vietnam before splaying into the South China Sea. Inextricably intertwined with the vast area’s mythology, history, economy, politics and culture, the Mekong is the vital artery that pumps life into the different people touched by its banks."

"No photographer portrays this fascinating panorama as vividly as does Michael Yamashita. Trekking from its lonely source to its multiple mouths, he spent months capturing its brilliance, its variety and, above all, its humanity."

Published on 6/1/97