Mekong Delta tour

Our last few days in Vietnam we spent in the Mekong Delta, getting a rainy taste of life in this region of canals, floating markets, and rice paddies. On Monday morning we hopped a bus down to Cantho, the biggest town in the area. We assumed that finding a boat tour of the area would be easy (and cheap) once we arrived, but most people going into the Delta region do so by tours arranged in Ho Chi Minh City, so finding a hotel and arranging a boat proved not-so-simple as expected. Paying a little more than we wanted, though, all was sorted at last, and we spent a drizzly evening wandering around the riverfront area looking for food.

The next morning a boy came to pick us up at 5:30 am and led us down to the river to board our own personal rowboat. His mom takes people on a fantastic day trip through the area and we had such a great time with her that I promised to put her phone number online in case anyone is reading this looking for information. Highly Recommended Mekong Delta Tour out of Cantho: call Phuong at 0944984151. While we missed out on the sunrise due to the ominous gray clouds that chased us all morning, the rain held out until the very end of the trip. We spent the first few hours visiting two floating markets based in the area. Cai Rang market is the largest in the region, and Phuong Dien market, which supposedly has more of the traditional stand-up rowboats and less motorized boats. They were both wonderful, and being in a small rowboat meant we could push right into the middle of it all. Lots of the children were waving and full of smiles, but I love this little girl, glowering out at us in the middle of all the hustle and bustle.
Notice how they string up a pole with examples of what they're selling... like a signpost of sorts.This woman was selling the hot pink and green Dragonfruit which is native to Vietnam. It tastes like a very mild kiwi, though its outside is much more eye-catching than a kiwi's hairy brown skin. I especially like how this lady's clothes match the fruit; bright spots on a very gray morning.

Between markets, we stopped at a small family-run rice-noodle making factory. Big vats of rice-paste would be boiled up, and then the women would smoothe big ladle-fulls of it over heat and cover them for about 20 seconds with a basket to steam. Men would then use a big roller to lift up the crepe-looking steamed circles and lay them out on big drying racks. Once completely dried, we were told, the thin rice-discs would be put through noodle rollers to turn out skinny, slightly stretchy, rice noodles.

After Phuong Dien market, we moved off the river and into the network of streams and canals that criss-cross the region. This was the best part of the day, pushing through lillies and overhanging trees, past homes and bridges and fields. Here we are turning into the canal.Here are some kids heading home for lunch.We stopped to try out one of the bamboo "monkey bridges" .We also stopped to see some of the rice paddies and orchards. Phuong asked if we wanted to walk through the paddy. Ben asked if there were snakes. Oh yes, lots of snakes she tells us. "Poisonous?" I ask. Sure, some of them, she says. Do people often get bit? Oh sure. So how do people know if they are in danger I asked. Well, Phuong said, if the snake is in the water, it's most likely no problem, if it does THIS -- and she rears her hand back in a movement that looks very cobra-like to me -- then it is a problem. We refrained from wading into the paddy.