Trade on Once-Bustling Mekong Grinds to Halt

In late October, the weather is still scorching-hot in northern Thailand's Chiang Saen Port. The chief engineer on a Chinese cargo vessel and his crew wait out the heat with a game of mahjong. The ship plies its trade ferrying goods along the Mekong, but it has been over three months since the engineer last revved up the engine on his ship. Until he can fill his vessel with enough goods, he and his crew remain stranded.