As we traveled down the Mekong and visited the Tad Lo resort, it was clear that rivers are integral to the life of the village and the city. The river at this location is controlled by a dam, so the flow is not the same all day. The river is used as a bathing place, as a laundry, for swimming and recreation, and for fishing. This image, for me captures the spirit of that use, the scum, is, I believe, left over soap from either bathing or laundering. It is yet to be washed away by the evening surge of water, yet reflected in the water is the beauty of the trees and the river and symbolic of the interaction between the people and their world.
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