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MEKONG DELTA BABY!!! This was the one of many foibles of tonal languages we were to experience. I had always thought my mother grew up in Hue (Hua-ayy) a grand imperial city in the middle of Vietnam but, in acutality she grew in Que (Hu-wee) the countryside.
Thai's grandpa was not well enough to meet us in Saigon, so we had to make the trip out to meet the family. We set off at around 8am to visit Thai's Grandparents. We expected to be heading up the coast but instead we were headed to the Mekong Delta to a town called Can Tho, about 4 hours away from Saigon.
The long bus ride and short ferry ride did not surprise us. However, getting off the bus and into a small boat did shock us! We had arrived in the Mekong Delta and were not prepared for it! No Malaria meds, no first aid kit, nothing, we assumed a short 2 day stay at the Grandparents would be a piece of cake. Nope.
After a grueling 4 hour bus ride with no A/C we got of the bus happy to sit down in a house any house but, we
had only just begun our journey as the aunties led us to the riverside to await a river boat for pick up.
As we all clamored aboard the narrow river boat Bianca and I looked at each other a little shell shocked that we were now journeying into the Heart of the Mekong. We had initially planned to do the 3 day tour of the Mekong Delta, where villagers lived by rivers and canals, but after this trip, we didn't need it!
The three uncles and aunts we were staying with live on the grandparents family property. It is a beautiful piece of land stretching along the river banks of one of the Mekong's many tributeries. This was a decidedly different Vietnam from our Saigon experience.
The lifestyle and living conditions range from rough shanty huts and "natural" habitats to the clean simple open style houses of the city. the grandparents house was a large property which was worn down by the weather and time and in disrepair.
It consisted of several large rooms and additions with varying degrees of technology. The kitchen was a country kitchen with thatched roof, walls and charcoal stove, the living room
a mix of couraguated aluminum roofing and ceramic shingles. Dark and musty with the typical charm of a Vietnamese country house. My mother loudly voiced her displeasure at uncle number 9 for his up keep of the family estate.
Although we were a bit unnerved by the possibility of staying in this recreation of Brando's Apocolypse Now homestead, it was hardly worthy of "The Horror, the horror." However we were both unexpectedly surprised, not to mention a little releived when my aunt led us next door to uncle # 3's brand new luxourious Vietnamese style villa. We had a beautiful new bedroom with queen bed and requisite mosquito netting.
My family lives a sedate lifestyle here, with enough land and fruit trees to be self sufficent. My uncles run a small conveneience store, bar and billiards hall or more apt billiards hut. They also have a the luxury of a phone line which they charge locals to use. They moved here about ten years ago from Saigon to escape the hustle and bustle and tight confines of the big city.
Mornings start early, I mean 5 am early with a actual rooster's call and due the need
to catch the tide and get into town the river is bustling with activity. Each morning boats making their way down to the floating markets of Can Tho float call out to anyone who may require meat, vegtables, fruit, Banh Mi sandwiches and of course toiletries. A floating butcher in the Mekong and the pulley system utilizing a reincarnated woven rice sack to transfer goods across from one side of the river to the other were just of the few sights to see.
In the afternoon things quiet down as the tide goes out stranding all of the boats in the mud of the shallow river bed. Life on the Mekong for my family is about relaxing and enjoying the day. Business trickles in and money exchanges hands but the tempo is super slow, a little too slow for Big City Bianca and Thai.
The Mekong environment was amazing to be a part of and to live the life of a villager in the area was a great experience.
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Richard Kim
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Mekong, Your Kong
Bring me back some of that delish looking sun baked meat from the butcher dude. The pics are very cool, I must say. Travel safely.