29th March 2010
The Mekong Delta is the region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of tributaries. The Mekong delta region encompasses a massive area of southeastern Vietnam where water coverage depends on the season. The region is famous as a large rice growing area and produces about half of the total of Vietnam’s rice output. Vietnam is the second largest exporter of rice globally after Thailand.
We set off from Saigon about 8am and headed out of the city surrounded by the rush hour mopeds and coaches.
Vietnam genuinely feels like a country on the move. There are buildings going up everywhere, and everywhere we have travelled so far they are developing the infrastructure. We left Saigon on the new highway linking the Mekong Delta to Hanoi, bypassing Saigon.
With Saigon being the biggest city in Vietnam it took us a fair while to leave the high rises and warehouses behind. On the way we saw plenty of cafes with hammocks hanging where people can take a break for the price of a drink. The contrasts of Saigon where you often find palatial-looking houses sat besides mere shacks gradually lessened and we began to see a more relaxed countryside.
We arrived in Cai Be and boarded a boat onto a tributary of the Mekong to visit the floating markets. This whole stretch of river is a trading area for fruit and vegetables. In the past, it would be the farmers who brought their goods down to the river to sell, but over time it has changed so that now the traders visit the farms. They will the negotiate and buy the entire crop from that one farm. Very often families eat, sleep and work aboard their boats. To show what they are selling aboard a particular boat they tie some of their wares to a pole.
We continued on down the river to the Mekong proper. 140kms one way to the Cambodian border, and 85kms the other way to the sea. Turning around we headed for the opposite bank where we got out and sampled some honey tea and sweets while the guide explained that bees are popular here because they have so much fruit blossom.
After our cup of honey tea we walked beside the river to a small village to see the various goods produced in the village, such as rice paper, rice wine, coconut candy and popped rice.
By now we were getting rather hungry so it was a good job it was time for lunch. Set within a lovely garden we were served soup, pork and rice, followed by fresh watermelon. Delicious.
Back on the boat, we sailed down the Mekong, thoroughly away from the built up areas now and surrounded by greenery on all sides. We arrived at Vinh Long to get back on the bus and head for Can Tho.
We we arrived in Can Tho we had to get off the bus and take the ferry across to the other side as foot passengers. It was great to stand right at the front of the boat in the shadow of the new suspension bridge. We followed out guide for a short walk from the ferry where we waited for our bus which had obviously been a few crossings behind us.
While the rest of our tour group headed into their hotel for the evening, me, Ed plus another lad called Bao from Canada jumped onto some xe oms. We were booked into a homestay for the evening.
The mopeds dorve us out of the city about 20 minutes. The first thing I noticed was the traffic, although still bonkers, was lighter then Saigon. In fact, the whole area has a very relaxed feel about it. The bikes soon turned off and updaed up a verdant laneway with houses appearing sporadically on either side, occasionally crossing some very narrow bridges.
We eventually stopped outside on of the little places. It would be fair to say we were slightly apprenhesive about what we were going to find, but we needn’t have worried. We walked to the back where the patio area overhangs a tributary of the Mekong. A beautiful view in both directions. Lush greenery and the backs of the small houses meeting the river on the opposite bank.
Our room had 2 double beds and an ensuite. Basic, but clean and we certainly hadn’t anticipated the ensuite!
The rest of the evening was spent relaxing and watching life happen on the opposte bank. The river is a huge part of people’s lives here. They work on it, wash their hair and clothes in it, swim in it. The river is an integrated part of their lives rather than being something to be observed and watched. It is an incredibly peaceful place to spend some time.
The more I see of this country the more I like it. Yes, it can be noisy and dirty and the culture is vastly different from our own, but it has a unique charm, a way of getting under your skin. The people in particular are warm and friendly and despite not having much in the way of material goods are welcoming and keen to show off their country. Their life here is hard, but simple and they have an wonderfully rich family life.
