The Mekong Delta — Vietnam’s Rice Basket

The Mekong river begins as snow in the Tibetan Mountains. It flows through China, Myanmar, Laos (where we took a riverboat ride earlier this week), Thailand, and Cambodia, and finally Vietnam where it flows into the South China Sea (or as the Vietnamese call it, the East Vietnam Sea). The river is a rich source of food, water, and power for every country. There is much legend and history associated with it as well. As it approaches the sea, the river — much like the Mississippi River back home — forms a large and fertile delta. It is characterized by many tributaries and canals that branch throughout the region.

Lisa and I set off yesterday morning for the two-hour drive from Saigon to the delta. Our guide, Hien grew up there and was a fountain of information for us. His family had a rice farm and seven children. Hien’s older brother was old enough after the war, that he became one of the hundreds of thousands of “boat people who fled Vietnam to avoid persecution. He settled in Tennessee, got a job with First Fidelity Title company, and sent money home so Hien and one of his sisters could go to college. Vietnam provides elementary education for free. If you want to go to middle school, high school or college, you must pay. This isn’t possible for many Vietnamese families. Hien was lucky. His four youngest siblings still work the farm.

The ground is so fertile and the growing season so long that they can produce three rice crops per year. This compares to two crops in North Vietnam and one in Cambodia. But, the area was unique to what we’ve seen before because of the tropical fruit orchards on the many islands in the delta. We tried many fruits, some of which we had never seen or heard about before, like rambutan, longan (a relative of the lychee — it looks like an eyeball when peeled), and mangosteen.

We arrived at the river and boarded a small junk boat. We headed out to the floating market where merchants sell their crops. Unfortunately, it opens early in the morning, so, we arrived to late to do any shopping. But, we were able to see the “belly boats” the market people live in. They cook, work, and relax on deck and sleep down below. The boats are anchored in an area that looks a little like Venice — if I had only wood and built it myself. But, there are canals, boats, water taxis, and ferries with activity being a constant.

A belly boat.

We then landed and checked out a place that makes rice paper, rice wine (some with snakes in it!), puffed rice cakes, and coconut caramels. Lisa liked the work of a local artist and bought one of his oil paintings.

Rice wine still.

Lisa wasn’t a fan of the rice wine.

Puffed rice is made a lot like popcorn.

Finally we boarded a little saipan boat for a ride up one of the many little canals that are used to get to homes on the delta islands. What a ride. The boat guy uses two oars to steer and propel the boat. But, unlike the typical rowboat, he stands and faces forward. Stephanie would have thought she was on a Disney jungle cruise. But, this was real. Here are a few pictures. Judge for yourself.

And, finally, we had lunch on one of the islands at a local family’s home. They do this for ecotourist visits. We were, however, the only ones there at the time. Before sitting down, we visited with their pet python. He didn’t have a name. But, they seemed to love him as they had had him for 14 years.

We then had one of the best, most fresh meals of the trip. Elephant fish (a new first), fresh water prawns, pork, fresh fruit, pho (Vietnamese soup). Delicious. Once again, we found friendly people content with their lives and proud of their heritage and land.