Jungle safari: Visitors take boat ride along a coconut tree-lined canal. — VNS Photo Hong Van(11-01-2008)
by Hong Van
HCM CITY — Children swam in the river. People bathed in the river. Men sat drinking on the terrace of their stilt houses near the riverbank. Women washed clothes in the river. A big stuffed bear was hanging to dry with some clothes on a fence.
When our boat passed by, children and teenagers on the riverbank jumped and waved their arms at us.
As we travelled along the Mekong River in Thailand, Cambodia and Viet Nam, the scenes of people’s lives at different spots were all quite similar.
The sinuous 4,184km Mekong River runs from Tibet, China, through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia before it merges with the East Sea on the southeastern shores of Viet Nam.
The boat ride from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to Viet Nam’s Vinh Xuyen border gate took around three hours.
The wind blew strong. We were so overwhelmed by what we saw along the river – the scenes of people’s everyday activities – that some of us flocked to the back of the boat to take photos.
Immigration procedures at the border went smoothly, except for one group member who was asked to return to Phnom Penh because his visa would not be valid until one day after our arrival. It cost US$10 for the boat ride back to Phnom Penh, but the Vietnamese boatman was kind enough to give the man a free ride.
We spent another 30 minutes on the boat travelling to Chau Doc Town in the Cuu Long (Mekong Delta) province of An Giang. On the wide river near the banks were fishing farms, petrol stations and floating water hyacinths.
Although we could have saved an hour going by boat, we decided to take a bus to Can Tho, the economic and cultural centre of Viet Nam’s Mekong Delta, 116km away from Chau Doc town.
The three-hour bus ride was a nice change from our previous perspective on the muddy river.
We passed by green rice fields, noticing the low straw-roofed houses with piles of straw nearby, the groves of bamboo, and the cows grazing in rice paddies. As the sun set, the scene became more nostalgic with smoke coming out of the houses.
Children in their school uniforms with backpacks walked hand in hand as they returned from school. Our bus driver honked as some children rode bicycles in the middle of the narrow road.
The bus quickly passed several newly painted churches and temples and village gates covered with weathered paint.
Cai Rang floating market
We arrived in Can Tho in the early evening. A boat had been arranged for us to visit the local Cai Rang floating market early the next morning.
At 6:30am, we set out the next day to see people who were already busy buying and selling at the floating market. Boats docked at the harbour were full of cabbages, sweet potatoes, watermelons, pineapples, grapefruits, mangoes, coconuts, coal, rice, and other essential goods, including detergent, cooking oil, salt and fish sauce.
The noise of people calling and yelling, of dogs barking and pigs oinking, as well as the roar of boat engines, brought the river to life. A boat with a barge containing a petrol station was pumping fuel to other boats through a pipe.
The local tour guide told us that people in small motorboats often go to the market early in the morning to buy vegetables or fruits or rice for resale. The big boats will stay until late afternoon.
We cruised around the market. People on the small boats approached to offer us fruit and locally embroidered clothes and tablecloths.
On the way back, a woman who had accompanied us from the beginning opened the big bag she had been carrying. She showed us sets of white embroidered tablecloths. She even put on the sleeping gown modeling it for us. One of us bought a gown for US$8 after bargaining down from $20.
The same morning, we left Can Tho for My Tho Town in Tien Giang Province, which is 110km away. Pham Thu Kim, a tour guide with the Tien Giang Tourism Department, greeted us in fluent English at the harbour. We later learned that she also spoke Russian, French, Chinese, English and Japanese.
About 70 km southwest of HCM City, for the past few years My Tho has become a popular tourism spot for foreigners. Families have signed contracts with the provincial tourism department to sell fruit, coconut toffees, handicrafts, and souvenirs such as small bottles of cobra wine, lacquerware, and embroidered clothes to tourists.
Making use of natural resources is how the people in the Mekong basin live. In Thailand, we visited a family about one hour from Bangkok who make palm sugar from palm flower juice. In My Tho, making coconut toffee is one of the most popular businesses.
After a short rest to sample grapefruit, pineapple, mango, watermelon, and tea for free, our tour guide, Kim, led us through a stand of water coconut trees as we arrived at a small harbour. We then boarded boats that could accommodate only six people each.
The boat owners gave each of us a conical hat to protect us from the hot sun. Weaving through the narrow canal with the tall coconut trees around us, we listened to a description of how the Vietnamese guerrillas used the criss-crossing canal system to hide from American surveillance above.
After about 15 minutes the canal led us to the Tien River, an estuary of the Mekong River. Our first boat had been waiting for us. We came back to the harbour and travelled to HCM City, ending our two-day tour in the Mekong Delta.
While we visited the delta from Phnom Penh, it is possible to travel from HCM City. Most of these tours are usually booked on De Tham, Pham Ngu Lao and Bui Vien streets in District 1.
The best time to visit the Mekong Delta is the dry season from November to January, the coolest time of the year. — VNS
by Hong Van
HCM CITY — Children swam in the river. People bathed in the river. Men sat drinking on the terrace of their stilt houses near the riverbank. Women washed clothes in the river. A big stuffed bear was hanging to dry with some clothes on a fence.
When our boat passed by, children and teenagers on the riverbank jumped and waved their arms at us.
As we travelled along the Mekong River in Thailand, Cambodia and Viet Nam, the scenes of people’s lives at different spots were all quite similar.
The sinuous 4,184km Mekong River runs from Tibet, China, through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia before it merges with the East Sea on the southeastern shores of Viet Nam.
The boat ride from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to Viet Nam’s Vinh Xuyen border gate took around three hours.
The wind blew strong. We were so overwhelmed by what we saw along the river – the scenes of people’s everyday activities – that some of us flocked to the back of the boat to take photos.
Immigration procedures at the border went smoothly, except for one group member who was asked to return to Phnom Penh because his visa would not be valid until one day after our arrival. It cost US$10 for the boat ride back to Phnom Penh, but the Vietnamese boatman was kind enough to give the man a free ride.
We spent another 30 minutes on the boat travelling to Chau Doc Town in the Cuu Long (Mekong Delta) province of An Giang. On the wide river near the banks were fishing farms, petrol stations and floating water hyacinths.
Although we could have saved an hour going by boat, we decided to take a bus to Can Tho, the economic and cultural centre of Viet Nam’s Mekong Delta, 116km away from Chau Doc town.
The three-hour bus ride was a nice change from our previous perspective on the muddy river.
We passed by green rice fields, noticing the low straw-roofed houses with piles of straw nearby, the groves of bamboo, and the cows grazing in rice paddies. As the sun set, the scene became more nostalgic with smoke coming out of the houses.
Children in their school uniforms with backpacks walked hand in hand as they returned from school. Our bus driver honked as some children rode bicycles in the middle of the narrow road.
The bus quickly passed several newly painted churches and temples and village gates covered with weathered paint.
Cai Rang floating market
We arrived in Can Tho in the early evening. A boat had been arranged for us to visit the local Cai Rang floating market early the next morning.
At 6:30am, we set out the next day to see people who were already busy buying and selling at the floating market. Boats docked at the harbour were full of cabbages, sweet potatoes, watermelons, pineapples, grapefruits, mangoes, coconuts, coal, rice, and other essential goods, including detergent, cooking oil, salt and fish sauce.
The noise of people calling and yelling, of dogs barking and pigs oinking, as well as the roar of boat engines, brought the river to life. A boat with a barge containing a petrol station was pumping fuel to other boats through a pipe.
The local tour guide told us that people in small motorboats often go to the market early in the morning to buy vegetables or fruits or rice for resale. The big boats will stay until late afternoon.
We cruised around the market. People on the small boats approached to offer us fruit and locally embroidered clothes and tablecloths.
On the way back, a woman who had accompanied us from the beginning opened the big bag she had been carrying. She showed us sets of white embroidered tablecloths. She even put on the sleeping gown modeling it for us. One of us bought a gown for US$8 after bargaining down from $20.
The same morning, we left Can Tho for My Tho Town in Tien Giang Province, which is 110km away. Pham Thu Kim, a tour guide with the Tien Giang Tourism Department, greeted us in fluent English at the harbour. We later learned that she also spoke Russian, French, Chinese, English and Japanese.
About 70 km southwest of HCM City, for the past few years My Tho has become a popular tourism spot for foreigners. Families have signed contracts with the provincial tourism department to sell fruit, coconut toffees, handicrafts, and souvenirs such as small bottles of cobra wine, lacquerware, and embroidered clothes to tourists.
Making use of natural resources is how the people in the Mekong basin live. In Thailand, we visited a family about one hour from Bangkok who make palm sugar from palm flower juice. In My Tho, making coconut toffee is one of the most popular businesses.
After a short rest to sample grapefruit, pineapple, mango, watermelon, and tea for free, our tour guide, Kim, led us through a stand of water coconut trees as we arrived at a small harbour. We then boarded boats that could accommodate only six people each.
The boat owners gave each of us a conical hat to protect us from the hot sun. Weaving through the narrow canal with the tall coconut trees around us, we listened to a description of how the Vietnamese guerrillas used the criss-crossing canal system to hide from American surveillance above.
After about 15 minutes the canal led us to the Tien River, an estuary of the Mekong River. Our first boat had been waiting for us. We came back to the harbour and travelled to HCM City, ending our two-day tour in the Mekong Delta.
While we visited the delta from Phnom Penh, it is possible to travel from HCM City. Most of these tours are usually booked on De Tham, Pham Ngu Lao and Bui Vien streets in District 1.
The best time to visit the Mekong Delta is the dry season from November to January, the coolest time of the year. — VNS
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