Stepping aboard this sleek 44 metre teak-lined vessel, it is hard to believe that it started life as a barge used to carry heavy cement and rice up to China. Perfectly accustomed to tackling the fierce flow of the Upper Mekong, the RV Laos Pandaw was converted in the Golden Triangle where Burma, Laos and Thailand meet; ship builders came flocking from Mandalay, materials from Thailand and it emerged gleaming from its chrysalis in November 2015.