Feb 19 Mekong Delta

We entered the delta about 5:30 this morning. At the entrance we passed many small boats that appear to be homes as well as fishing vessels. The shoreline is densely forested. While we travelled along a major channel there are several sharp turns – I didn’t realize that a ship this size could heel over that much, I was waiting for the captain to tell us all to hike out to stabilize the ship. it took 4.5 hours to reach Saigon. 

As we approached Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon) there were many large working ships, industry and housing. Saigon is a spread out area of about 9 million people.

Our tour today was a trip through the Mekong delta. From Saigon we traveled about 1.5 hours to My tho, a town on the Mekong river. Saigon has about 10% of the Vietnamese population. 

The traffic in Saigon is interesting if somewhat scary. There are 9 million people and 4 million motor bikes. Every one of those bikes was on the road with us. The guide said the laws are driving on the right but the bike drivers use all sides of the road and we saw lots of proof of that.

On the way to the Delta. The guide told us our animal signs in this year of the rabbit. It is just past New Years, the Vietnam use the same lunar calendar as the Chinese. Gary is a dragon (egotistical, strong and intelligent). I am a rooster (diligent, imaginative and need attention). 

On our journey we passed miles of rice fields. Most had small low buildings in the field. These are cemeteries. Children bury their parents there, so a whole family will be buried together. Once a year at Tet ( New Years) the families clean the burial house. The main industry of Vietnam is exporting rice, second largest exporter after Thailand. Also the second largest exporter of coffee. In the interior highlands they produce coffee, rubber and tea. The rice is harvested by hand every three months, the field is burned and then replanted. The delta area is very fertile as you would expect.

Our guide today said there is still a lot of animosity between the north and south. After the war ended in 1975 there were desperate conditions. People could only live off the land and were starving, would eat anything they could find – rice, a root plant like a potato, rats, snakes. 90 million gallons of Asian Orange plus many other poisonous chemicals were used in the war so immediately after the war the crops were not good. Many of the South Vietnamese were not allowed to work or were shipped to the country to work in the fields. Families in those days were large and the mothers often starved to feed their children. Our guide is one of eleven children ( a normal sized family then). 

Our guide is from the south and his father fought in the war against the north. He described the southerns as people that are friendly and help one another, people from the north are selfish and mean. Army service is required for all men at 18 years of age, they must serve for 3 years. There are 20 million people in the delta area.

All the women and some men wear the conical hat. It has a  number of purposes, first for sun protection, turned upside down it is filled with water which will be filtered and drip out the point for drinking water, it is a ” measuring” cup, inside there is 16 lines inside to measure quantities. It is a fan, a screen and a food basket.

Our first stop was a pagoda, a mix of Vietnam and Chinese architecture. There are 3 gates, one for the Buddha, one to enter and one to leave. The entrance is to forget, the exit to forgive. The Buddha statue is of a large, fat, laughing man. The fatness represents health, long ears to represent long life and laughing represents happiness. He described Buddhism as a peaceful religion. About half the Buddists follow the teachings of Confucius. A building that houses just Buddha is a pagoda, a building that houses more gods is a temple. The building is in the Chinese style. It is decorated in the same style. Inside, the incense smell is overwhelming. There are many statues of Buddha, some alters with pictures of dead relatives. The Pictures stay for five years and the monks pray for the soul to ascend to heaven during that time.

The Meekong river which creates the delta is 4500 kilometers long, starting in China. A tidal river with two meters difference between high and low tide. The water is collected, alum added to clarify it and the it is used for washing. The water is brown from the silt and has many floating branches from the jungle floating along. We got into a small vessel for a trip along the river. We passed a number of floating shacks, usually 5 or 6 clustered together and connected by planks. We could see nets surrounding sections of the areas. These are fish farms and the people who live in the shacks tend the fish, feed them and catch and sell them. Wires from shore provide electricity and TV antennas are apparent on most shacks. 

Most of the local boats have two eyes on the bow, considered good luck and is important to the fishermen. Guppy is a popular eating fish.

We stopped for lunch – elephant ear fish, grilled shrimp, spring rolls, grilled pork, steamed rice, great ball of rice for dessert with jasmine tea. The elephant ear fish tasted like flounder, was served whole standing up between two supports. The great ball of rice came to the table as a large ( soccer sized) ball looked like it had been deep fried, it was basically hollow. The server cut it into pieces, it has a sweet slightly deep fried taste. Not much to it! 

We returned to the boats and traveled to another island for some fruits. Same fruits we have experienced elsewhere. We also tasted honey tea, a mixture of honey, kumquat and tea. Then a mixture of royal jelly and honey, very sweet, also supposed to be good to put on face to remove wrinkles (didn’t work any better than Erno!). We then climbed into small boats rowed by two people (one at each end) we paddled down a small creek which had a lot of overhanging growth making it seem like a tunnel. Along the way we passed a few houses, seemed to be typical homes from what we learned. We visited one home. Very small by our standards, the living room had 2 small sofas, the kitchen was very basic, stainless steel counters, sink, kitchen table & chairs plus a motor bike. Outside some rain water collectors, chickens and clothes rack. There is no greenery, a dusty dirt yard. Despite that there is a motor bike in the kitchen, we are asked to take off our shoes before going into the house. Little furniture but a large lacquer cabinet. The kitchen and living room are probably the size of our kitchen.

In past and still in the country the women are not allowed in the living room just the kitchen. This is true of women who live in the house as well visitors. 

On way back to ship we pass number of kids flying kites, seems to be very popular after school activity.