A- DELT-ery
Living and teaching in a homestay provides me with a healthy dosage of free time to explore my bustling new world. Realizing that my 'working day' all of this week did not begin until 7 pm, I quickly made plans to escape my four walls and experience a short wholesome affair with the Mekong Delta. Given that I am allergic to overly touristy experiences and tours, I wanted to find a sufficiently 'authentic' outlet for my time. This I found in the form of Countryside Adventures (https://www.countrysidediscovery.com/) with whom I arranged a half day tour along my new love's red brown waters . The tour promised to be action packed and would include two of my favorite forms of transport; kayaking and cycling.
The Delta spreads itself over a vast area of more than 40,000 square km and begins its life as a young river in the Tibetan Plateau continuing its teenage years through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and finally ending its life in Vietnam. My countryside adventure explored a small section of the many channels and tributaries making up the basin, which until the early 18th century belonged to the Khmer empire of neighboring Cambodia.
The 2.5 hour journey from Saigon city to Cai Be town (in the province of Tien Giang) was broken up with anecdotes and insiders information about life in Vietnam. Our enthusiastic tour guide Ben was a wealth of information, radiating passion for his job. Once arrived at our destination we were promptly mounted on bicycles and leaving all traces of weariness in our wake, we peddled to the waters edge. Our Delta initiation began on a long wooden boat steered by a cheery driver, Mr. Ba (definitely spelt incorrectly). The boat, like all Mekong maidens, featured painted Orwellian-esque eyes to ward off unseen danger. Bicycles were stowed in the back for later use. From our boat we transferred to stable kayaks and to my excitement were given a traditional conical hat each. As well as their obvious street cred, these palm leaf hats provide much needed shade from a restless sun and cloudless sky.
Kayaks proved to be the ultimate floatation device in the Delta; affording us the opportunity to navigate our way through the many narrow canals and tributaries that larger boats cannot pass through. We overtook wooden rowing boats manned with standing captains deftly wielding huge wooden oars (resembling large chopsticks); drifted beneath leafy green canopies; past fruit and pig farms and under narrow concrete bridges spanning the slow, peaceful waters below. Before the advent of these bridges (in the 2000's) the delta's water ways were the busy roads of times gone by.
Our route was remarkably free of tourists and certainly we were the only people to be travelling by kayak. The only dampener to my spirits was spotting frequent pieces of floating rubbish. I asked Ben whether there were many environmental groups, he informed me that some young people had set up 'Delta clean up operations' but the problem, he thinks, stems from a lack of incentive. He hinted sadly that if the problem of rubbish continued boat trips like this on the Delta might cease to exist--'it would just be too dirty'. A sobering thought and with this in mind, I picked up a stray plastic bottle drifting coquettishly to my right.
After our Kayak flirtation, we continued on the wooden long boat to see the famed 'floating markets' of the Delta. Mr Ba let me steer for a short period (quickly taking over as we began to veer largely off course).
The floating markets, although flourishing pieces of riverside capitalism also hark back to a system long gone of bartering and trade. Many locals do not exchange money at all, but goods. Items for sale or trade are hung on tall bamboo poles for inspection. Boats sporting a coconut leaf however, signify that the owners wish to try life on the mainland and the price of their floating home is negotiable. A very Mekong 'For Sale' sign. This happens more and more frequently as younger generations begin to feel the lure and pulse of vibrant and exciting city life. By the time we reached the site of the market it had all but finished: boats remained in situ but with laundry rather than produce hung out for air. The boats, after all, are families homes as well as shopfronts.
The next part of the tour unfolded on two wheels, but not before visiting a warehouse and sampling their ricey products: rice paper, wine (plain or with serpent), popped rice and coconut candy. On our bikes we followed stony paths and country roads, passing small fruit farms and children en route from school.
We stopped for lunch at a local eatery overlooking a wide, quiet stretch of delta. I was relieved to see that our small party of four were the only westerners dining. We ate a vegetarian friendly meal of frog cooked in lemon grass, braised chicken, pork wrapped in tofu and a delicious beef soup--all with a generous serving of rice from 'the rice bowl' itself .
An endless form of entertainment for me was seeing the impressive range of items carried by motorbike by the local drivers . A large pink and purple sheep hurtled toward us, revealing itself to be duvets and pillows piled high around a determined bike driver (rushing off to a slumber party?!).
The tour was rounded off with a refreshing break for Aloe Vera juice (pea green but oh so sweet) at a roadside café and a stop outside a curious and colourful temple. Once again an ominous eye featured- interpreted as the divine 'left' eye, held as the Cao Dai religion's official symbol. Caodaism was established in Vietnam in 1926 and now has approximately 5 million followers (mainly concentrated in the south). The religions desire to unite humanity and to promote peace and understanding seemed to chime with my Mekong experience. Ancient waters providing a life source for generations past and present. One common river that divides and then unites again as it meets the sea. Humbling and mighty but also requiring our care and attention.
The Delta spreads itself over a vast area of more than 40,000 square km and begins its life as a young river in the Tibetan Plateau continuing its teenage years through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and finally ending its life in Vietnam. My countryside adventure explored a small section of the many channels and tributaries making up the basin, which until the early 18th century belonged to the Khmer empire of neighboring Cambodia.
The 2.5 hour journey from Saigon city to Cai Be town (in the province of Tien Giang) was broken up with anecdotes and insiders information about life in Vietnam. Our enthusiastic tour guide Ben was a wealth of information, radiating passion for his job. Once arrived at our destination we were promptly mounted on bicycles and leaving all traces of weariness in our wake, we peddled to the waters edge. Our Delta initiation began on a long wooden boat steered by a cheery driver, Mr. Ba (definitely spelt incorrectly). The boat, like all Mekong maidens, featured painted Orwellian-esque eyes to ward off unseen danger. Bicycles were stowed in the back for later use. From our boat we transferred to stable kayaks and to my excitement were given a traditional conical hat each. As well as their obvious street cred, these palm leaf hats provide much needed shade from a restless sun and cloudless sky.
Kayaks proved to be the ultimate floatation device in the Delta; affording us the opportunity to navigate our way through the many narrow canals and tributaries that larger boats cannot pass through. We overtook wooden rowing boats manned with standing captains deftly wielding huge wooden oars (resembling large chopsticks); drifted beneath leafy green canopies; past fruit and pig farms and under narrow concrete bridges spanning the slow, peaceful waters below. Before the advent of these bridges (in the 2000's) the delta's water ways were the busy roads of times gone by.
Our route was remarkably free of tourists and certainly we were the only people to be travelling by kayak. The only dampener to my spirits was spotting frequent pieces of floating rubbish. I asked Ben whether there were many environmental groups, he informed me that some young people had set up 'Delta clean up operations' but the problem, he thinks, stems from a lack of incentive. He hinted sadly that if the problem of rubbish continued boat trips like this on the Delta might cease to exist--'it would just be too dirty'. A sobering thought and with this in mind, I picked up a stray plastic bottle drifting coquettishly to my right.
After our Kayak flirtation, we continued on the wooden long boat to see the famed 'floating markets' of the Delta. Mr Ba let me steer for a short period (quickly taking over as we began to veer largely off course).
The next part of the tour unfolded on two wheels, but not before visiting a warehouse and sampling their ricey products: rice paper, wine (plain or with serpent), popped rice and coconut candy. On our bikes we followed stony paths and country roads, passing small fruit farms and children en route from school.
The tour was rounded off with a refreshing break for Aloe Vera juice (pea green but oh so sweet) at a roadside café and a stop outside a curious and colourful temple. Once again an ominous eye featured- interpreted as the divine 'left' eye, held as the Cao Dai religion's official symbol. Caodaism was established in Vietnam in 1926 and now has approximately 5 million followers (mainly concentrated in the south). The religions desire to unite humanity and to promote peace and understanding seemed to chime with my Mekong experience. Ancient waters providing a life source for generations past and present. One common river that divides and then unites again as it meets the sea. Humbling and mighty but also requiring our care and attention.
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