Vietnam - Entering through the Mekong Delta

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Mekong Delta

Another golden sunrise, and morning stroll along the river followed by the very addictive delicious beef curry and baguette breakfast and we were ready to venture on to our next country, Vietnam.

Team assembled, and we hopped on the minibus for the jetty,expecting to be taken to a modern busy 'harbour' for our boat, we were somewhat surprised to find ourselves in someone's back-garden! The owner was a friendly older chap who sat and chatted with us as we waited for our boat to arrive. We had to make our way through his garden and scramble as elegantly as we could onto the long wooden boat, with our packs wobbling precariously...we all made it safely on board and made ourselves comfy on the sun deck.

There were about 12 of us altogether, a mixture of travellers from Germany, Poland, Mexico (originally Iran), and us. We had all just visited the Killing Fields and deep discussions about war, death, society and the power of the ideology ensued, the polish boys were actually law students and extremely knowledgeable on these subjects. Bringing examples of Auschwitz into the mix... not a very happy conversation topic, but extremely enlightening none the less.

We made a quick stop to have our passports stamped at a riverside bungalow and headed for the border. Alighting at a very fancy modern building , we duly carried all our luggage off the boat into the customs area, complete with xray machine, metal detector and quarantine rooms. Expecting the full customs rituals to be honoured, we waited patiently in an orderly queue. But, bizarrely we were asked instead to walk a quick circuit of the small compound and get straight back on the boat!!! Crazy place Vietnam! (We think this had something to do with the dollar bills slipped to the immigration officer to help smooth our trip/entry by the tour guide)

Back on the boat and we were able to enjoy the views.The Mekong is a massive wide brown river flanked by dense green jungle. Floating along the edges were small fisherman's' houses, a variety of raft-like structures that bobbed creaked in our wake. Rain soon drove us inside to find shelter for the final leg of our day. High on diesel fumes, we disembarked our boat onto a houseboat where we were to spend the night. A quick freshen up and five of us set off in search of food (we had been promised lunch on board our boat..this turned out to be a pot noodle which neither Guy nor I could stomach after so many in china).

We found a floating restaurant that served everything one can find in the river.....freshwater snails, eels, catfish, and even frog was on the menu! We washed our delicious meal down with a beer (or two) and decided to do a quick recce around town, as we were to be leaving first thing in the morning. Sadly most shops had closed for the night and the streets were mostly deserted, we did stumble across a great little fruit and veg market, with the vendors sleeping in the middle of their fruit pyramids ...ready for an early start i suppose?!

Back on our little houseboat, and we slept like babies, rocked gently to sleep by the water....very romantic!
The next morning we were up early and taken on smaller, canoes to visit one of the many floating fish farms we had whizzed past the day before.
The locals build themselves a large wooden platform, that floats (be rubbish otherwise) with a small house to one side. The entire area is netted underneath, which is where they keep the fish in the free flowing waters of the river. To feed them they either buy fish pellets or boil up a revolting concoction of leftover fish bits, veg and rice...the smell almost made us retch!! There's a little hatch in the platform and when our guide opened it and threw in a handful of pellets we were instantly soaked with the splashes from what felt like a thousand fish all eager for a munch.
Weirdly enough most of the fished farmed here is not eaten by the locals, but exported to us Brits as 'cod' replacement'! Nice.
We woke to a perfect sunrise over the Mekong before charging up on Vietnam jet fuel (coffee) Next for our touristy morning, was a visit to a little village on the banks of a small estuary..so after a short paddle in our canoe we climbed some steep steps and found ourselves briefly transported back in time. Shady little roads, with turquoise, green and blue painted wooden houses. Each with the requisite hammock, clucking chicken and wrinkled granny smiling a gummy smile, it was a haven of tranquility, and a lesson in how to live the good life.
Visits over and we boarded the next boat destination Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) The scenery, although beautiful didn't really vary that much along the Mekong, though everyone agreed this was a very mellow way to travel!
While a little more expensive route into Vietnam, the boat is a great deal. $25.00 for 2, 3hour buss rides, 12 hours floating down the mekong, overnight in an A/C floating guest house and 2 tours of the local villages and floating fish farms. (Oh, and you make it through the border guaranteed, with no hassle)

Finally a bus brought us to the centre Saigon... bright lights, loud music and an atmosphere as buzzing and vibrant as Bangkok..we launched off the bus and found the cheapest (nearest ) guest house we could. Four of us went out for dinner...pizza and salad this time (always nice to recognise what you're eating) before crashing.

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