Mighty Mekong Delta - The Rice Basket of Vietnam

Let me start this entry by letting you know that I have been the first member of the family to fall to gastro/food/water poisoning so I am all alone in our hotel room here in Saigon while Kristen and the kids are off at the Cu Chi Tunnels. I was looking forward to that...but passing out at the Ben Thanh Market last night surrounded by locals wondering what to do - you want hospital? chemist?...no I just want a toilet....anyway enought detail (there is so much more if you are interested?!?!). I am feeling better today but bed rest is a must given that we have our first overnight train ride tonight to Danang and Hoi An and that means there was no way I could have made it through a long bus ride today.

Onto more pressing matters and our trip to the Mekong Delta....



We decided to do an overnight trip into the Mekong Delta. (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mekong_Delta for more information). We also decided to do a homestay instead of another night in a hotel "for the experience".



After a 2.5 hour bus ride (to get 70 km) we arrived in My Tho and got on our first boat to motor down the Mekong. Given that it was the rainy season, the size of the tributaries was awesome to behold. The amount of boat traffic was huge throughout the two days which gave you the sense of the importance of the river to the everyday lives of the people here. Along the way, we saw field after field of rice crops and it was easy to understand that 80% of all Vietnam's rice (3rd largest producer in the world) is grown in this region.

The first day however was quite the tourist trap. I was starting to understand why the two-day trip was only $22 USD. We visited a coconut candy "factory" where there was lots to buy followed by lunch on an island where there was lots to buy, a trip in a small canoe through large reeds to taste tropical fruit (that we had never seen or tasted before and was enjoyable) and have honey tea...with lots to buy...you get the picture. I would say the time on the boat was the highlight of Day One although the kids are unanimous that the coconut candy was the best part...of course!

Another two hour bus ride to Can Tho (largest city in the region at approx. 1.2 million) and we were on another "short" boat ride to our homestay. By now it was quite dark and the short ride was really over an hour and we were beginning to get the sense that this was another trap...thankfully we were wrong and we were treated to the warm hospitality that we have become accustomed to here. We helped make our own rice paper spring rolls for dinner filled with sweet potato and beans followed by steamed Elephant Ear fish with onions and lots of fresh vegetables to go along. Dinner was superb!! Our accomodation was basic but as we found out, more interesting than those who stayed at the hotel in Can Tho. Erica and Kristen awoke at 6 a.m. to travel across the river to the markets to purchase breakfast and then we were off back on the river to the Floating Markets.



Day Two was the highlight!! Floating Markets, watching and learning about life on the River, learning how to make rice paper and tasting the most fantastic pineapple right from the market boats - all for 20 cents!!



By now of course the kids had made some friends. As the only people under the age of about 22 on this trip, they latched onto some American girls from California who were lots of fun - Shana and April - both of whom became defacto parents and Kristen and I seemed for some time to be childless. We also met many other great people - Chris and Verity from the UK who awoke one morning and decided to leave their jobs and travel the world for a year including teaching english in India. There are always some great stories on these trips....


A long journey (4.5 hours) back to Saigon was follwed by some Thai/Indian food (we think) and a well deserved rest.

There is still a story in me about our reaction to evrything we have learned about the "American (Vietnam) War" here as it colours much of what we have seen so far. That is on its way soon.