Mekong Delta days one and two

We keep pinching ourselves to really believe that it is us who are doing this trip. As we set off on a boat along the Mekong Delta we just looked at each other and said "who would have thought that we would be here" It is just amazing, we are having the experiences of a lifetime.

The Mekong Delta has to be seen to be believed. Our boat trip is very much a tourist tour but we thought the best (and cheapest) way of doing it. I think we were right. Within a very short time of leaving Saigon on the boat, we were in wonderful waterways which could be wide or narrow, depending on the number of small streams and rivers flowing into the main river. At one point the river was so wide it was impossible to see the far bank. We are on the river at the end of the rainy season so it is swollen to capacity, so we are seeing it at its best. Apparently the farmers rely on the volume of water to wash the silt down the river as this is what makes the land so fertile.

In many places the sides of the river are lined with ramshackle housing. People, who's livelihood comes from the river, tend to be poor, it is impossible for them to afford the price of land to build a home so they build in the water. The photo shows what some of these homes look like. What was unsettling, is the level of pollution of the river, which in places is used as a rubbish dump. In the local paper they were saying that Vietnam is going to experience a water shortage in 10 years time because many of their water reserves are so polluted. With this recognition it is hoped they address the dumping of rubbish soon.

Once away from the densely populated river banks, the waterway is a hive of activity with large boats delivering containers of goods, small boats transporting people, water taxis buzzing around and tourist boats taking in all the atmosphere. It is really exciting and you cannot help but be involved in all the goings on.

At just over 80 kilometers from Saigon we stopped for lunch and a trip round a coconut candy factory. As with lots of things here a health and safety person from anywhere in Eurpoe would have had kittens if they could have seen the shed in which these toffees were being made. I think it was the rolling of the sticky toffee on a piece of tarpauline which rather took my breath away. However, we did accept the offer of a piece of the toffee from the tarpauline and it was yummy - and with no after effects!!

We stopped at another Island where we had a boat trip in a canoe rowed by what looked like a husband and wife team. It was along a narrow stream between dense foliage, it felt a bit like a lazy river theme park ride but it went on for quite some way. Clearly the villagers make their livelihood from taking tourists along this waterway, it was quite an experience for us and we also felt we were aiding the income of these families by enjoying ourselves.

After a good meal at a pavement 'restaurant' by the riverside, we had a reasonably early night as we had an early start this morning and with another early start tomorrow as we are off exploring again.

Today's trip on the Mekong took us to the largest floating market in the delta. People come from miles around to sell their fruit and vegetables from the boats. This is a wholesale market where the produce is sold in huge quantities, purchased by retailers who sell to the public. To advertise what is for sale, they have a pole on which are tied sample items of produce. So some poles had an onion and a cabbage, others a squash and onion and so on. It was a hive of activity. One enterprising lady had realised that tourists might fancy a piece of fruit so, for 40 pence, she would sell you a pineapple which in front of you she trimmed off the outside and all those little fibrous bits, cut it in half down the middle almost to the bottom but left a 'handle' on the bottom made from the trimmed crown of the fruit, it was just delicious.

Afterwards, we were taken to a rice noodle making family business. The equipment was pretty basic and it was hot and humid work. The rice flour was mixed with water and tapioca flour, left to ferment overnight. The mixture is then made into huge pancakes by spreading it on silk and then steamed for about a couple of minutes. It is then laid on bamboo racks and dried in the sun. Once dried, it is cut into narrow strips (the noodles) with a rather ancient loking machine, packaged up and sent off to market. It was clear the noodles had been made in this way for generations and I am sure on the same equipment.

Tomorrow is our last day in Can Tho, we are off again further up the Mekong to stay the night in a floating hotel. Is this the simple old Pointons' doing all this, I can't believe it!!!