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The
Mekong Delta- Vietnam, often referred to as Vietnam’s
rice basket, is the biggest rice-growing
region in the country, the rich alluvial
soils producing three harvests a year.
Despite being a predominantly rural region,
the Mekong Delta is one of the most densely
populated areas in Vietnam & most of the
land is under cultivation. Other delta
products include coconut, sugar cane, fruit
& fish.
The
main towns of the delta are
My Tho,
Vinh Long,
Can Tho
and
Chau Doc.
Driving south from Ho Chi Minh City, My Tho
is the first major Mekong Delta town you
come to. Its proximity to Ho Chi Minh City
has made My Tho the most popular destination
for day-trippers to the delta looking for a
taste of authentic delta life. Here
visitors can take a sampan along the
waterways, visit tropical fruit orchards and
try the local delicacy, Elephant’s Ear Fish.
The
other popular destination for day-trippers
from Ho Chi Minh City is
Vinh Long,
another 65km deeper into the delta. It is
the islands in the Mekong River rather than
the town itself that is the highlight of a
trip to Vinh Long. Most of the islands are
given over to fruit orchards and the narrow
canals are often straddled by flimsy-looking
wooden bridges made from the trunks of
coconut palms or bamboo and known as monkey
bridges. An early morning visit to nearby
Cai Be Floating Market
offers great photographic opportunities as
all manner of produce is traded from boats.
To make
shopping easier the boats suspend a sample of what they
sell from the top of a long pole. On the way back to
Vinh Long it is possible to stop off to visit small
riverside workshops including blacksmiths, rice huskers,
thatches and coffin makers!
Just
over 30km and a ferry ride away from Vinh Long is
Can Tho,
the bustling commercial centre of the Mekong Delta. Can
Tho is one of the more attractive delta towns but as in
the rest of the Mekong Delta the best sights are on the
water. The delta’s biggest floating market, Cai Rang
Floating Market, is 6km from Can Tho and well worth an
early morning visit. For a memorable boat trip the
Victoria Can Tho Hotel operates sunrise and sunset
cruises on the Lady Hau, a renovated traditional rice
barge. A spectacular sight outside of town is the stork
garden at Thot Not where hundreds of egrets, herons and
cormorants gather in the treetops to roost late in the
afternoon.
Chau
Doc, nestling at the foot of Sam Mountain on the
Cambodian border, has a real frontier town feel to it.
This busy little riverside town has large Cham, Khmer
and ethnic Chinese communities and the distinctive
architectural styles of each community can be see
n
in their places of worship around the town. A boat trip
on the river is the best way to see the unusual floating
fish farms, houses with wooden pens suspended underneath
where live fish are kept. Chau Doc’s Sam Mountain is
home to dozens of temples and shrines and is a popular
pilgrimage site for ethnic Chinese as well as
Vietnamese.
Off
the eastern coast of the delta in the Gulf of Thailand,
nearer Cambodia than Vietnam, is the island of
Phu Quoc.
A mountainous island that is still mostly forested, Phu
Quoc is blessed with some beautiful white sandy beaches
and clear blue seas. The island is famous throughout
Vietnam for the production of black pepper and its fish
sauce, said to be the best in the country. Several
small-scale beach resorts have opened over the past few
years on Phu Quoc and it is connected by a daily flight
to Ho Chi Minh City.
Though
not part of the Mekong Delta,
Con Dao is
another island off the southern coast of Vietnam. Con
Dao served as a prison island for political prisoners
during the French colonial era, when it was known as
Poulo Condore, and in later years the Saigon regime
imprisoned opponents of the regime in the infamous cells
known as the ‘tiger cages’. The old prison buildings are
still standing and are open to the public as is a small
museum tracing the island’s history. Besides having an
interesting history, Con Dao is also an island of
immense natural beauty with forested hills, deserted
sandy beaches and extensive coral reefs making for some
excellent diving.
Mekong Delta
Highlights
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Take a boat along some of the delta's
verdant narrow waterways
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Explore the bustling floating markets for a
colorful early morning experience
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Visit one of the many orchards for exotic
tropical fruits straight from the tree
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Watch the sun setting over Cambodia from Sam
Mountain |
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Phu Quoc island for relaxing beach break
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