We have now reached the end of our month-long journey through Vietnam from the hilariously-named Dong Dan border post, right through the towns/cities of Ninh Binh, Hue, Hoi An, and now Ho Chi Minh City. We arrived in Ho Chi Minh a week ago, and after a few days sightseeing we arranged to go on a 3-day 2-night tour of the massive Mekong Delta. The Mekong River passes through Tibet, China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia before breaking off into 9 separate channels and then out into the South China Sea (see link down the right hand side!).
The Delta is home to millions of people and is a huge area. Our trip would take us to the area of Ben Tre (where orchards are everywhere!), and the cities of Can Tho, Vinh Long, and Chau Doc, the latter only 12km from the Cambodian border.
At the start of day one we headed down to the Saigon River in Ho Chi Minh City, and from there we boarded a speedboat that took us through the suburbs of this bustling city and into the more rural areas of the Delta itself. The journey into the Delta took around 2 hours before we arrived at Ben Tre. Here we were able to try locally grown fruits alongside tasty honey and lime tea that is produced by the local population and sold in Ho Chi Minh and at the various floating markets in and around the Delta. In addition to this we were offered the chance to taste snake wine at this first stop. Snake wine is considered to have a variety of health-related qualities, and is fermented for years to induce these nutritious qualities. I, of course, had to taste it, and to my surprise the wine also had a dead bird in it!! The dead bird is supposedly good for your bones. I was skeptical. It tasted fine though, if a little strong, and five minutes later I was still standing so all was good!!
From here we transferred to another smaller long-tail rowing boat, and a local lady captained us through very narrow inlets of water, whilst coconut leaves stretched high into the sky. The coconut leaves are so strong that they actually help to minimise the erosion caused by the channels in the Delta. The coconut milk is absolutely gorgeous as well!!!
We then visited local families that made coconut candy, and we were shown the process used to make what eventually look like small penny sweets. A variety of flavours are available, including chocolate and banana leaf, and the sweets are sold all over the south of Vietnam. The people here do not waste a thing either, and a variety of useful things are fashioned from the coconut itself, including teapots, cutlery, and figurines. I couldnt help but think that we are not quite as resourceful in the western world! Here, the people will use absolutely everything to make something!
Our first night’s accommodation was at a home-stay near the city of Vinh Long. We were taken by a small boat to the homestay, where we were invited in by the family. Our rooms were basic, but included the all-important mosquito net which is especially important in rural areas (due to the threat of Malaria!), and the shower and toilet block especially built for us westerners was clean but again basic. We were at the homestay with three Canadians and two Australians, and the local family invited us all to assist in making dinner. This involved us rolling spring rolls (of which mine kept unrolling!), although suspiciously me and the other male member of the party were shunned in favour of the women (a bit sexist I thought, or maybe wise!?), and Gemma helped to cook the spring rolls, whilst the three Canadian girls helped to cook the local fish and pork stir-fry. The food was predictably delicious, as is normally the case in Vietnam, and was washed down with a few cold beers. The night’s sleep was interrupted by a cockerill at 4am, and he just wouldnt stop. It sounded as if he was trying to out-do another that was just about audible in the distance. He won!!
We awoke to the sound of motor boats on the Delta, and after breakfast visited one of the floating markets at Cai Be, where local produce is traded and then taken back to villages/towns wihin the delta, or onwards to Ho Chi Minh City. Boats were packed with everything from bananas and pineapples, to pigs and ducks, and we slowly sailed around the boats, watching the trading take place. Some of the traders had been up early to the market, and could be seen snoozing in their hammocks on the boats. The living quarters of the boats are tiny, and we were told by our guide that entire families live in these extremely close quarters. Making a living in Vietnam is not easy.
Our second night was spent up at the town of Chau Doc, 12kms from the Cambodian border, where we stayed on a floating hotel, nearby to the corrugated-roofed shacks that are built on bamboo stilts by the riverside. It was a very relaxing place to stay and was needed after a busy day!
Our final day in the Delta saw us visit a Muslim minority near Chau Doc and a particularly attractive mosque. We were also shown how high the river can get in the wet season, and some of the homes, although built on 2-metre high stilts have been flooded in recent times. It was then a 3-hour speedboat ride back down one of the main rivers of the Delta, and along the way the many fishermen, traders, and locals waved as we sped past. The Vietnamese people will always try and do you out of a few Dong (yes, the currency is called Dong!!), but they are a friendly bunch. We visited the largest city in the Delta last, a place called Can Tho, before heading back to the big smoke. Here we met a friendly buddhist monk, who posed for pictures, gave us tea, and tried to practice his English on us!!