Life in the Mekong Dela

We left the ship at 7:00am(!) this morning for a 2.5 hour drive inland from Ho Chi Minh City (Sai Gon) to the Mekong Delta area. Along the way we got a glimpse of life in Viet Nam as we passed through many rural villages. Overall, this waqs the most exciting part of the whole trip. We got to see the real life of Viet Nam along the Mekong River which originates in Tibet and flows through China, Burma, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia before it’s 120 mile journey through Vietnam dividing into nine river mouths they call the 9 Dragons (Mekong Delta). This river delta is inhabited by more then 25 million Vietnamese. The numerous natural and man-made canals serve the local traffic. Eventually, we left the bus and boarded a local long-boat at Cai Be River, one of the branches of the Mekong. Our guide ‘Jason’, and local guide Won and boat driver ‘Mekong’ served as hosts to 6 of us - the best part was that each of us got to drive a short segment of the journey along the river. The river banks were crowded with many makeshift and some more permanent housing. Along one of the channels we encountered the Cai Be Floating Market. Here we cruised among the many boats from which vendors offer all kinds of merchandise. Traditionally, families live on the boats, buying fruits, rice and flowers from local farmers, which are then sold in the floating market. Each boat advertises their wares on a long pole and family life is evident when you see laundry lines, and cooking activities. Boats are old and equipped with motors that can be raised as needed and many have t.v. antennas perched atop the rooftops. It was sad to see the trash floating by and along the banks. Now that the whole world is using plastic, much of it ends snagged along the river creating an unpleasant sight.

No part of this trip has been without an opportunity to taste the local fare - everything from sweets to a medicinal drink guaranteed to increase the virility of men. Paul actually tasted a local rice wine that is made with an actual snake and scorpion! It worked great! This part of the trip was no exception. We toasted each other with fresh coconut water and enjoyed ‘elephant ear’ fish for lunch.