Along the Mekong River

After an intense 10 days in Xieng Khouang Province in the North East of Lao PDR where I have been working with Tessa Bunney documenting the effects of Unexploded Ordnance (UXO), we have returned safely to Vientiane.  We've spent a lot of time interviewing, photographing, listening, eating, crying, laughing and drinking a little bit of Beer Lao. It's been an experience and I'm incredibly happy to have been asked by Tessa to accompany her on this assignment and to be part of her story.

We arrived back in the capital Vientiane after a dusty hot journey through mountainous landscape, relieved to be able to bring back the stories we collected and to walk on safer ground. From the people we met along the way and from our outstanding translator Long, I now have a much greater understanding about one of the most heavily bombed countries in the world. I'm leaving here in a day to go back to the UK to work with the material we have gathered and to put it all together, which will be a challenge - albeit a good one.

So today I decided to borrow Tessa's bike and head out for a cycle along the Mekong River. As I biked along I felt extremely happy to have had the opportunity to visit this country and meet some of the people who live here. It's hot and there wasn't much breeze, but I felt an overwhelming sense of joy and freedom to be riding it down the dusty track with the river on my left and Thailand on the opposite bank. My friend Jamie is right, it's so brilliant to call out "Sabaidee" (Hello) to everyone you see and hear them call back "Sabaidee" - and then you both start laughing. It just makes you smile, it's such a beautiful singsong word.

So my challenge to myself is to wake up when I am back in cold and frosty England and say to myself Sabaideeeeeeeee! - surely this will keep me smiling through the Winter.