I woke up today still feeling pretty crappy, but with only two days left of my trip, I wasn’t about to squander any more time. My bus to the Mekong Delta was leaving at 7:30, and, cold or no cold, I was determined to be on it. So I grabbed a pack of tissues, my sunscreen and a giant bottle of water, and off I went.
The Mekong Delta is a region southwest of Saigon where the Mekong River splits into dozens of tributaries. About 17 million people call this vast region home, most of them living on the river and conducting their daily lives entirely on or around water.
We drove about two hours to a small town called Cai Be, and embarked on a motorboat for the day. The day was swelteringly hot, of course. Is there any other kind of weather in this region? So I was grateful for the breeze along the water, as well as for the boat’s covered roof, which provided some shade.
We navigated away from the port through Cai Be’s “floating market”, which essentially consists of boats selling their products on the water as opposed to in a market stall on land. Most of the homes in the area are built right up against the riverbank, and people use boats as opposed to cars or bikes to get around. Needless to say, this can present a problem whenever there’s flooding.
The boat took us to see a number of the cottage industries in the area, including honey, coconut candy, rice paper and rice wine. We were given demonstrations on how all of the above are made, as well as samples to taste — and of course, plenty of products available to buy. I’ve gotten used to the sales pitches that are part and parcel of these kinds of day tours, and I’m more or less immune to them by now, though I did buy some peanut candy for about a buck. Hey, it was good. We had some close encounters with various dangerous animals, including honeybees and a giant boa constrictor. None were as annoying as the mosquitoes, though.
Lunch was at an outdoor restaurant on an island in the middle of the river, and consisted of the usual choice of rice, noodle and spring roll dishes at vastly jacked up prices. I can’t complain, though; a jacked-up price in Vietnam means you pay five bucks instead of two or three. (Actually, Saigon in general is much more expensive than Hanoi or northern Vietnam. I’ve noticed the prices steadily rising as I’ve made my way south, which I suppose is to be expected. But I digress.) We lingered over lunch, since it was too hot to rush, and eventually got back on the motorboat.
At that point, they took us to an area where we had the option to get on a traditional rowboat — the kind you see in all the pictures of Vietnam, with the women in the conical hats rowing peacefully down the river. The prospect of being in the open sun with no cover at the hottest part of the day wasn’t all that appealing to me, though, so a few of us sun-phobics opted to stay on the motorboat. It was a good choice; we lay in hammocks in the shade as we got transported back to shore, while the others melted in the midday sun.
Then, it was back to the bus for the two-hour return to Saigon. The daytrip provided barely a taste of the Mekong Delta, and plenty of people go for multi-day trips to see more of the region. But, given the weather, it was enough for me. I enjoyed seeing how the people live on water and use the resources they have to create enterprise. But to be honest, I think I would’ve enjoyed it more if it had been about ten degrees cooler.
Once back in Saigon, I was feeling far too lazy to go back out into the heat in search of dinner, so I just got some overpriced food from the restaurant attached to the hostel, and made it another early night. It’s the last night of my trip, really, and I feel vaguely guilty for not going out on the town, but I’m well and truly beat.