Total Miles Traveled: 46,236
Several friends and travelers advised us to get out of Ho Chi Minh City to see the Mekong Delta – we were glad we did.
We took a 2-day cruise on the Bassac boat, from Cai Be to Can Tho. It turned out to be a fantastic way to see the area and way of life in the countryside.
The Mekong river [wiki link] starts in Myanmar, passes through Cambodia and flows down to the coast of south Vietnam. It is THE transportation network and foundation of the economy in the area. So, people live by the river – check out the antennas on these homes to get a TV signal!
… and on the river in boats. And sometimes both.
The back of the boat is usually where people make dinner:
And clothes are not washed in machines, but in the muddy river.
One major industry is harvesting dirt and rocks…
… and then you have to transport it. The dirt is so heavy that the boats are made to travel almost completely submerged.
Where does the dirt go? Well some of it is used to make bricks in these huge kilns.
At the end of our first day, we had a torrent of rain just after sunset:
The next day, we woke up before dawn to visit the floating markets. Yes, one of the rare days we see the sunrise, but it was worth it!
Where do you go buy the freshest produce? You go to the floating markets where vendors transport fruits and veggies direct from farms to its buyer, all via boat. You can tell what each boat is selling because of the fruit or vegetable that is hung on a pole extending up from the boat.
Here’s a customer, driving her self-powered SUV to the market:
Check out the morning commute – look at all of the bikes!
Or the ferry!
Here’s a look at life on land. The Mekong delta is also known as the Rice Bowl of Vietnam. Many a rice paddy are found here:
Life is simple – people work hard and live off the land. Growing season is year round.
And as we’ve noted before, kids appear to behave the same around the world… well mostly. These kids have learned the peace sign that is oh so common around Asia:
Here’s a boy blowing a blade of palm to make a kazoo-like sound:
Have a look at all of our photos from our trip to the Mekong Delta:
[flickrslideshow acct_name=”tony-chen” id=”72157625802462215″]
Next, we head north to central Vietnam and visit the city of Hoi An.