the Mekong Delta

Ben and I joined a day trip to the Mekong Delta today, which began with a 7am 3 hour boat trip from Saigon to the Mekong river, and along to My Tho and Ben Tre. We saw boats of all shapes and sizes, and hundreds of locals going about their everyday lives, and so in some ways, I found this to be the most rewarding part of the day.

The rest of the tour grated a little, to be honest, but it's the simplest and cheapest way of seeing the Mekong Delta with limited time. Unfortunately, the area we saw (and I suppose this was the most commercial part, being the closest to Saigon) has been geared to tourism, and money is practically teased out of your pockets as you go around - even if by some miracle you are able to hold onto your cash, you are made to feel guilty by everyone you pass whispering 'give money, give money' covertly and from behind their scarves....! Unfortunately, this mainly annoyed me, and didn't increase their chances of a donation that would otherwise have been very forthcoming.

The Mekong Delta is beautiful though, with lush green, marshy areas and so many trees, including the water coconut tree (NB: the water coconut does not taste good), colourful flowers and unusual fruits. The river leads into hundreds of progressively smaller waterways which feed through the land and breathe life into the communities that live there. According to our tour guide, 21 million people live in the area and their quality of life is getting increasingly better as the water quality improves and the infrastructure and links to the mainland become more developed.

We visited a few examples of local industries (though how much of these were staged, I cannot be sure), and watched delicious coconut candies being made and tasted the honey tea and various honey products made from the local bee farms (which brought back harrowing memories of my time on a bee farm in Beecroft, Australia *shudder*). In addition, the area provides "almost all" of the tropical fruit eaten by the Vietnamese population and much of the sand used for construction in Vietnam, Singapore and elsewhere, is dredged from the riverbed (either efficiently, in which case taxes are paid, or by using a water pump, whereby you get less sand but you are able to avoid paying tax) and shipped to the relevant location.

Overall, it was an enjoyable day out, but Ben and I were both pleased that we opted for the single day trip rather than a longer excursion. The bustle of Saigon is quite addictive, and we are enjoying our time here, seeing the city sights, absorbing the craziness of the city and drinking Bia Hoi on the tiny streetside stools! More on the city itself to follow....