Vietnam: Mekong Delta

Mekong barges

We awoke to another cloud washed day in Saigon. Breakfast on the roof garden of the Majestic overlooking the river brought back thoughts about the terrible events that had occurred in Saigon through much of the last century. I had been reading Anthony Grey's book, Saigon, and the final chapter was about the fall of Saigon in 1975. It referenced many of the places that we had visited yesterday and its 800 pages covered the tragedy from 1925 to 1975 as the country fought for and eventually achieved its independence. It felt right to be moving on and we left at 8:00am for the 4 hour drive to Can Tho, the largest city in the Mekong Delta, from where we would take a 24 hour boat trip across the main distributaries and canals of the Mekong Delta to reach Cai Be and the floating markets.

The boat was modest in size with just six cabins. There was a party of six French and two other British couples. We were fortunate to have a local guide who bubbled with enthusiasm. We began the cruise on the Hau river, one of the two massive distributaries of the Mekong, and followed a series of smaller rivers and canals across to the Co Chien river. It began to rain as it only can in the tropics and we sat on the covered deck watching the flow of traffic on the rivers with massive construction barges, ferries and sampans competing for channel space.

At dusk, we transferred to a small tender and went walkabout to a small village. The lush vegetation and muddy paths led us to a house where we were invited to partake in an afternoon tea and sample the exotic fruits that grow in abundance in the delta. Washed down with green tea it was a a wonderful feast. Our guide, Lan, had the knack of bringing the best out of everyone and we left the family in admiration at their sustainable lifestyle and the superb diet of the villagers. Returning to the boat, we had some time to ourselves whilst we covered a few more miles along the waterways before it dropped anchor. We were served a Vietnamese meal which had a perfect balance of fish, meat, vegetables and fruit. After a couple of weeks of Vietnamese food we were feeling very healthy.

The next morning we were moving at first light. It began to rain heavily again as we crossed the mighty Co Chien river during breakfast. Despite the dense vegetation along the river banks, there was a lot of villages, construction work and commercial activity along the waterways. We eventually left the boat and took a small launch around the local floating market at Cai Be.

We went ashore and visited a family run factory that made rice wrappers, rice corn and other rice based delicacies. The technology was intermediate but the results were impressive. The trip had been thoroughly enjoyable and as we swapped email addresses with Lan, who wanted to improve her already impressive English, we hoped that we would see her again even though she had yet to venture as far as Saigon.

Leaving Can Tho

Mekong parking

Mekong traffic

Barge

On the deck

Mekong village

Lan

Water Melons

In the Rice factory

Rice Wraps

Garden Plantains

Tropical Fruits

Spot the Plimsoll line

Crossing the canal

Construction traffic on the canals

Floating Market at Cai Be

Breakfast