The Mekong River with Sue Perkins S01E03 - Laos

In this third episode, Sue reaches Laos, one of the poorest and least developed of all the Mekong nations. It's a country shaped by both Buddhism and Communism and has hardly changed for centuries. Today, the beauty of its landscapes and people is bringing in foreign tourists - backpackers in search of unspoilt Asia. Sue spends time with Bounsom, a fisherman who's turned to tourism, setting up a restaurant on the beach. And she visits Luang Prabang, a beautiful town which was once the Royal City of Laos and is now a Unesco World Heritage site, famed as the centre of Buddhism. Thought to be the home of more monks than anywhere else in Asia, Sue spends a day with the novice monks and gives a surprising English lesson in the temple's school.