LIKE some cosmic drum roll, the rumble of thunder accompanied the wild winds and torrential rains that swept across most of Indochina last week, heralding the advent of the southwesterly monsoon. From the air, thousands of acres of paddyland glistened in the infrequent sunshine like a vast mirror. By the time the storms abate in October they will have dumped up to 150 inches of rain on the region, turning the ground into a muddy sponge and swelling the majestic Mekong River to flood stage as it courses through Laos, Cambodia and South Viet...
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