Word: mekong
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...time of partition; others are newly infiltrated guerrillas sent down from North Viet Nam through neighboring Laos or Cambodia, or put ashore from small fishing boats in the Gulf of Thailand. Their total strength is now estimated at 3,000 to 5,000 men, concentrated in the swampy Mekong Delta-"a diseased part of the body," one U.S. observer calls it. It is a secret, hushed war of stealth and secrecy, since the government of President Ngo Dinh Diem suppresses all news of new murders or incidents. The Reds' special targets have been civil officials, and in recent months...
...Royal Palace in Luangprabang in the fetal position, for the Buddhist monks say, "As we came into this world, so we shall leave it." The dead King is dressed in his most glittering robes and wears a gem-encrusted conical crown. His gaze is turned toward the wide, murmuring Mekong River where during his long life of 74 years he loved to watch canoe races and fireworks displays, often in the company of some of his 25 wives and 100 children...
...take over as Premier, Kou instinctively turned for help to his younger brother. He appointed Nhouy his Vice Premier, then made the remarkable announcement that the younger man would do most of the governing. The two brothers last week sat silently together on the embankment of the serpentine Mekong River, their chins resting on their canes, awaiting the fiery sunset. Finally the younger brother spoke: "I wish fervently that the future may give us peace, that we can always remain a placid people." The older brother nodded and continued to watch in silence as the sun slowly sank below...
...sense, he stayed something of a child himself. The frequent bassi (festivals) of his capital and the boat races on the Mekong River were always irresistible, and fishermen rowing by the palace often stopped to listen to the music from the King's khen pipes. But five years ago sickness fell-first rheumatism and then a malignant tumor on the neck. Last August King Sisavang Vong finally turned his duties over to his eldest son, Crown Prince Savang Vatthana, 52. Last week 21 can non volleys thundered over Luangprabang, and the fires in the temples burned all night...
...population can only be guessed at; estimates range from 1,000,-ooo to 4,000,000. Though it possesses two capital cities-Luangprabang for the royal family. Vientiane for the civil government-Laos has no railroad. Except for jungle paths, navigable rivers like the 1,200-mile Mekong, and barely 500 miles of all-weather road, all travel is by plane from rutted airstrips surrounded by tree-clad hills and swamps...