Meandering on the Mekong

On our second day in Vietnam we had an early start of 7.30 in order to visit the Mekong delta.  The Mekong river is the 7th longest river in Asia and the delta, the area where it approaches the sea occupies a vast 39,000 square km of  Southern Vietnam.  It is a biologically rich area with 10,000 new species having been discovered there.  It is Vietnam's most productive agricultural region especially in rice, of which it produces three crops a year.  

As we set off in our boat we were all fascinated to see the buildings lining the river and were able to imagine the way of life for these people.  

       

       

It was easy to see how, at times of flooding or worse that whole villages could be destroyed.  It made us think of the Tsunamis in 2004 and 2011 and it was clear how they caused such devastation.  We recalled how villages sought shelter in the buildings that withstood the flooding such as churches and mosques and it was clear how that was possible.

                                         

Our first stop was at an eighteenth century house which was fairly interesting, but seemed mainly to be half restaurant and half furniture storage!  However, we did see some women making rice pancakes to use for spring rolls and lots of bananas and other fruit growing.

                                     

      

                                       

       

A little further along we stopped at a sweet 'factory'.  Here we learnt how to make puffed rice and coconut sweets.  

      

William and Oliver also met the pet.  Although he might have been on his way in to the next bottle of home brew!

      

      

As seems to happen with all organised tours we randomly stopped off at a house where we were served a fruit platter and sung to by the family living there!  Oliver and William were quite disappointed as they thought we were stopping for lunch.

When we finally reached our lunch destination it was well worth the wait.  The restaurant was set over water which the boys loved and William wished he could live there!

      

The food was fresh fish and prawns caught that morning and cooked as we arrived.  We were given a demonstration on how to assemble our spring rolls too.

                                  

      

After an early start and a busy morning we were all hungry and polished it all off!

      

     

      

      

                                    

After lunch we headed off of the main river and changed to a punt, which took us down some smaller rivers which felt miles away from anywhere.

      

                                      

On the way back in to Ho Chi Minh  we stopped at a 'service station' for a traditional Vietnamese coffee.  All along the roads we had seen the pit stops serving coffee and providing hammocks for weary drivers to rest in.  

                        

The boys relaxed in a hammock whist Sam and I enjoyed a coffee with condensed milk.  

                                     

      

Apparently when the French introduced coffee to Vietnam there was a shortage of milk but not condensed milk!