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Life Along the River
When we first arrived, we saw some of the waterfront settlements of the people who make the Mekong Delta their home. The houses are built on stilts, and people were often doing their work facing the water, behind them children playing inside, others taking a retreat from the sun, and laundry hanging from the line. If Vietnam were a body, the Mekong River could be described as its blood. This important body of water provides so much to the people and their country's landscape.
The Mekong Delta is located about 100 kilometres south of Ho Chi Minh City. It is a place teeming with activity (mind you, a much slower pace of activity when compared with Ho Chi Minh City for example) and life. Here, 38% of the country's rice crops are grown, and other crops such as sugar cane, and coconut palms can be seen. It is a place that is green, green, green, and where life revolves around the river: swimming, bathing, washing dishes and laundry...it's all done here!
Alexis and I took a two day bus trip from Ho Chi Minh City to the Delta area. It was a nice retreat from the chaos of Ho Chi Minh and gave us an opportunity to see another face of Vietnam. We headed down Highway 1, the route that travels the country's coast and connects North Vietnam to South Vietnam, and in about 2 hours we had arrived in the Delta area. We were treated to another delightful Vietnamese guide, named Tong, who
House Boat
For other people, their boat was their home. I didn't realize this until I downloaded these pictures, but if you look closely, you can see the man at the back of the boat waving. One of the things I loved about the Vietnamese people was their friendliness and their constant willingness to don a beautiful smile. kindly reminded us of his name by way of an auditory clue (it sounds like the beating of a drum..."tong! tong! tong!"). The bus journey to the Delta was an experience in and of itself...not surprisingly, the traffic along the highway was rather chaotic, and the bus driver had to slam on his brakes a number of times to avoid a collision with a motorcyclist. This resulted in Tong, who was standing at the front of the bus giving us a commentary on the Mekong Delta, being thrown into the stairwell. He always reappeared, looking slightly dishevelled, but laughing, saying, "maybe this bus driver is crazy...I dunno! Maybe I go to hospital!" Most likely, he's used to these occurences during his commute by now, and was nonetheless able to keep a good-natured attitude while being tossed about.
Our days consisted of boat trip after boat trip, transferring from a large boat to a smaller one, and vice versa. Although it made me a bit shaky at times (it's not exactly the cleanest water to fall into) it really was the best way to see the area. We visited a bustling waterfront market in Cai Be where I had the
One Powerful Lady!
Our rowboat ride down one of the many tiny passageways of the Delta. That arm that you see is one of pure strength! It was here that I discovered... most delicious fried banana with coconut sauce concoction I have ever tasted. It was also interesting just to see the interactions of the market, full of fruits and vegetables to be bargained over.
We were also treated to a rowed boat ride along a smaller canal in the Delta. It was on this particular boat ride that I learned the fantasticalness (not a word I know, but this is all I can think of to describe it!) of the Vietnamese cone-shaped hat. All throughout our journey in Vietnam, we would see Vietnamese women wearing these distinctive hats, and I would secretly scoff at tourists who donned them, as let's be honest, they can look a bit ridiculous. However, when the sun was beating down upon my head, and strongly reflecting off the water, I thought I would give it a try. The Vietnamese know what they're doing! These hats, made with woven straw, miraculously cover your head and neck, protecting them from the unforgiving rays of the Vietnamese afternoon sun. I became a huge fan, and whenever one was offered to me on a boat ride, I became a dorky looking tourist too! Oh, how important it is not
to judge so quickly....It was amazing to watch the thin, amble Vietnamese woman who rowed our boat, and used her toes like fingers to grip the boat when she needed to, maneuvre our boat load of 4, throughout the canal. Such hard work, and most likely her salary isn't even a dollar a day...
After our many boatrides, we took a final ferry ride across to Can Tho City, the largest city of the Mekong Delta, to stay at our hotel overnight. Here, with dinner, I sampled a small sip of snake wine. Vietnam's unique culinary delights are many, and snake wine is one. With a cobra that is left to ferment with the rice in a bottle, it is said to do all sorts of good things for your health. One sip was enough for me!
The next day we arose bright and early at 7 to visit a floating market. Here, all goods are sold on boats, and customers visit the vendors using boats as well. The market was bustling at this early time in the morning, and it was amazing to see boats stocked full of pineapple, or other tropical fruits and vegetables.
We
A Relaxing Swing Along the Riverbed
I saw this cute little boy after we got off our rowboat. I saw many children being swung in hammocks, as a replacement to the Western wind-up swing. visited a village where mats were woven, and were "treated" to traversing the river in the local way, via a Monkey Bridge. Monkey Bridges are simple bridges that are constructed using logs, with a bamboo handrailing. They are a very distinct feature of the Mekong Delta, but are slowly disappearing as the government is replacing each one with more stable concrete bridges. Apparently the locals are skilled enough to ride their bikes across! Simply walking was challenging enough for me!
Throughout the day we meandered along smaller water passageways, as I donned my now beloved discovery of the conical hat, and enjoyed the lush, green scenery along the way. Our weary bodies were eventually transported back to Ho Chi Minh City via bus, but not before saying goodbye to Tong, who reminded us that whenever we heard the beating of a drum to think of him. Somehow, I don't think I'll forget him, or the beauty and life of the Mekong Delta, anytime soon!
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Jaime
non-member comment
... cute
cute little boys.. nice hat stacey.. you know.. the class that i'm in has one of those hats.. they put it on the model of the human body (the kind where you can open up the body and look at the organs..).. i think they named him Barry! lol.. it looks better on you than Barry hehe