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RIVER GLOW

Fishermen have long been trawling the treasures of the Mekong River, which flows through China, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos, where this photograph was taken at sunset.

Among the many potential catches that live here, one creature believed to dwell in the river’s depths is the giant catfish, which at about two metres in length, is up there as one of the world’s largest freshwater fish.

But most Lao folks would contend that a mightier beast lurks beneath the surface: the naga, a mythical serpent that is said to have carved out the waterway and on whose goodwill the fortunes of all those connected to the river depend.

Words and image by Tom Greenwood