The Mekong Region Today - Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Northern Thailand - page 971

Spirit of Cooperation
Much of the region is closer than it has been
for some time thanks to the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). At the end
of 2015, the Asean Economic Community
(AEC) will unite the association's 10 South-
east Asian countries into a liberalised market-
place where trade moves freely. Things are
moving especially fast in the Mekong region.
Major cross-border highways are being built.
Railroad track is being laid down or rehabilit-
ated. New border posts are being installed and
old ones upgraded. Airlines are expanding
their interregional routes. There's even talk of
a single-visa policy for foreign visitors to the
region, although this appears to be some ways
off.
Needless to say improved infrastructure is
having a profound effect on tourism, as it
makes it that much easier to get around. This
may disappoint old-timers for whom the epic
journey by longboat or pickup tuck was an in-
herent part of travel in the region. Ultimately,
however, improved accessibility puts more
tourist dollars in remote communities and
helps some locals escape poverty. Meanwhile
you can still dial up those epic journeys, you
just need to venture more off-the-beaten track
to do so.

Best In Print
The Quiet American (Graham Greene,
1955) Seminal anti-war novel set in the
1950s as the French empire is collapsing.

The Lover (Marguerite Duras, 1984)
Semi-autobiographical tale of a young girl
in love with a local scion in French coloni-
al Vietnam.

Phaic Tan: Sunstroke on a Shoestring
(2004) Ultimate spoof guidebook pokes
fun at locals, travellers and guidebook au-
thors.

Best on Film
Apocalypse Now (1979) Francis Ford
Coppola's masterpiece is one of the most
savage indictments of war ever seen on
screen.

The Killing Fields (1984) Iconic film
about the Khmer Rouge period, focusing
on photographer Dith Pran's relationship
with journalist Sidney Schanberg.

Platoon (1986) Based on the first-hand ex-
periences of director Oliver Stone, it fol-
lows a young recruit to the Vietnam War.

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His
Past Lives (2010) Terminally ill Thai man
explores ghosts of his past in Apichatpong
Weerasethaku's Palme d'Or winner.

Big Brother
As the nations of the Mekong region draw closer together through Asean, the elephant in
the room continues to be China. Beijing exerts political and economic influence on the re-
gion as it spends some of its enormous surplus in Laos and Cambodia. Apart from the ob-