Stops and Halts of Mekong River

These stops were, as they say where I come from, "the blessed cane". Here passengers got on and off, with or without loads, sometimes the burden for others to collect upstream at he next stop. These stops served as free ports for goods, as bus stops and as meeting point for the most important news that occurred the day before, if they had a sick animal, if the rice harvest was good or if a tourist had become ill between villages. Although in principle I learned all this by knowing the language, the fact is that after several weeks here and with the help of my friend Clara, who knew a bit of the language, I realized how important were these little stops that the first day had seemed a bit of a pain.