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Published: February 6th 2008
Putting our feet up
Settling back for a day on the riverIt was a good thing we had two alarms with us, because it's no easy thing getting up at 5am on your holiday. Nevertheless, by 5:30 we were being led between the old buildings on the side of the river to where our boatman for the day was steadying a 5m long boat, shaped like a large canoe. We dumped our backpack in the front of the boat, and stretched out in the middle, while our 19 year-old boatman used two oars to row us away from the shore. The boat did not sit very high above the water, but it was comfortable enough, a good thing since we'd paid the guy for the next 8 hours.
As we got away from the bank, our driver swung the long extended propeller shaft of a 5hp motor out behind us, and pulled the cord. The motor banged and coughed to life, and we joined the procession of boats of all size, chugging downriver with their cargo of fruits, bamboo, coconuts, mechanical parts and the odd tourist. As we settled down for the trip we noticed that the dilapidated buildings which overhang the river close to the town began to thin out
Filling up
2 coke bottles of '97 please and give way to small concrete homes, each semi-concealed behind overgrown bamboo and with an old outboard-power canoe tethered in front.
We knew we were approaching the floating markets first the by smell, then by the sound. It was only as we rounded a bend in the river that we could actually see the sprawl of boats that stretched from the one bank into the middle of the river. Our boatman switched back to the oars and we picked our way between the boats. Most of the boats were selling vegetables and fruit. In a very ingenious way, they advertised what their products by tying samples to a tall stick above the boat. They looked like some strange armada flying their colours in fruit and vegetables.
Our bodies, which had previously been in a state of denial, had now decided it was very much morning, and more specifically, breakfast time! We pulled along side another shallow boat, and while we held onto th e side of his boat, he mixed up some of the typical Vietnamese espresso and condensed milk that we were now becoming dangerously familiar with. Just as he was pushing away, another small boat snatched
Agricultural Armada
Fruit and Veg barges advertise their products on poles the gap, and next thing we knew, a friendly looking guy was loading up baguettes with (what we guess were) fried onions and mushrooms, and passing them onto our boat.
After the first market we cruised another 17km downriver to Phuong Dien market, which was similar, but had less tourists, due to it's distance. We topped up with a coconut and a delicious fresh pineapple. Cath had never eaten coconut straight out of the shell before, and really enjoyed digging out the white flesh with her teeth. During one of the more technical steering moves our young boatman managed to break off one of the oars. We had no idea how much we would need the manoeuvrability the oar offered later in the trip.
We continued to cruise down the river, so relaxed that we were dozing on and off. We split off the main river and followed tributaries. Which gradually shrank into canals. At places lilies and grass almost closed over the river. The propeller would get stuck in the flora and without the help of oars, we continually found ourselves drifting into the banks. Fortunately we were able to provide some sort of amusement to the
families bathing in the canals or sitting on the banks fishing, as we passed by their tiny thatched brick huts in the forest.
Life on the river certainly seems to be very slow-paced, with most of the adults either doing basic chores like washing clothes in the river, or just lying around in hammocks while the kids play in the water and tease the dogs.
At around 10:30 we stopped at a little restaurant on the banks of the river. There were tables under little thatched canopies in amongst the trees. We ordered a meal to share, and while we were waiting, 2 of the people became very persistent about rubbing our shoulders. After about 10 minutes they stopped, and told us that it would be 50,000 dong each. That's the same as an hour-long massage on the beach, even if it is only around $3. We told them to forget it and went for a walk in the forest. The fish pot was really good, and filled us up nicely. When the bill came we argued a bit over the price of the massages we hadn't wanted, until paying only $15, 000 dong each.
Back
Frying up some breakfast
Handing over a cool 20 000 dong for 2 baguettes. on the boat we slowly cruised back around the narrow canals through the overgrown Mekong Delta. Every few minutes we had to stop because a plastic bag had been caught in the propeller. Each time the driver would yank it out and drop it back in the water. At first it was surprising, then amusing, and soon we tried to explain that if he dropped it in the boat and threw it away later, someone else wouldn't catch it later. Between the language barrier, and the cultural barrier of a boatman who has grown up on the garbage-filled river, he just couldn't get what we were trying to say. When we tried to show him he didn't understand why we would want to collect the dirty plastic bags. It was a brief look into the mountainous task that aid workers face in first changing a perspective before they can even begin to address a problem.
As our trip came to an end we began to pass through the very poor outskirts of the town. Rickety shanty houses hung precariously over the dirty water, supported by bamboo poles driven into the mud. The river is used for everything from bathing
to sewerage removal. It was the first time that we had seen this kind of poverty since being in South Africa. The trip had been a real exposure to the raw beauty and desperation of daily life on the Mekong delta. Definitely not the manicured tourist-brochure image.
We hopped of the boat at the pier and bid farewell to our boatman, and wandered around the town for another hour, somehow managing to miss every one of the thousands of cyclo drives, before we caught a lift back to the bus station. For 20,000 don each we were on a bus to Vinh Long.
As we stepped off the bus in Vinh Long, we were instantly mobbed by touts trying to charge us 5 times the normal rate to get into town. We just wanted to walk, but when one particularly persistent guy rode along side us on his bike for 2 blocks, nagging the whole way, Cath almost broke down. She was begging the guy to just leave us alone, and I was pretty forceful with him about getting lost. It had been a tiring day, we'd been ripped off one too many times, and he just pushed
Houses by the river
People growing rive plants and kids playing. Looks like a very relaxing life too far. Fortunately, just as Cathy was saying it might have been better to stay at Phu Quoc, we met a very friendly English-speaking local who pointed us in the right direction.
At the riverside we chartered the only boat around at the late hour. Being a 12-seater, it was a bit overboard, but we really wanted to do a homestay with a family on tan island in the middle of the river. When we got there we found we were the only guests, and relaxing in hammocks alongside the river, we were immediately glad we had made it. The host family prepared a delicious beef and seafood stew for supper, and taught us a few basic Vietnamese words while we ate. After supper we headed back to our little $7 bamboo room in among the trees, once again getting back to holiday pace.
It's really a shame that al over Vietnam you feel like a walking money bag. If you are ever given anything extra, you will most likely have to pay for it later. Vietnam is a very cheap place to travel in, and I have no problem giving decent tips because of the poor
Down through the canals
You can imagine this was pretty scary during the war - the jungle is so dense! condition of the people, but it seems so often that you are being conned out of your money. It really leaves you with a sour taste of a fantastic experience. But every time we're getting mad with the country, we find another reason to love it!
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incredible!!
this is so far off the normal tourist experience of Asia (shopping shopping fancy beaches)