Today’s trip was a two-hour drive out to the delta of the Mekong River which has wound its more than 4,000 km journey from China, through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and finally into Vietnam where it empties into the South China Sea. The mouth of the river is a broad flat plain where 80% of the agriculture of Vietnam takes place. It is an extremely fertile and very essential part of this country. So today we headed out to check up on some of the farming activities of the delta.
A boat shuttled us over to Unicorn Island so we could see some fruit plantations and sample the exotic tropical varieties. Chau, our guide, pointed out a number of plants and let us sample mango, dragon fruit, longan fruit and pineapple chased down with Jasmine Tea as we were serenaded by some local musicians.
We walked across to the other side of the island where we visited a bee operation and bought royal jelly.
Next to the bees was a cocoa plantation and we got to sample some of the best chocolate I have ever tasted.
A boat took us off the island over to the other side of the river where we were loaded into small three-wheeled “trucks” and were taken on a tour of the farming areas down narrow lanes and around some very tight corners until we ended up back by the water in an area of water palms. We went by threes into some rickety narrow rowboats and taken through the palms to see how they are used to help control the erosion of the delta.
Last but not least we ended up taking a short trek over to a beautifully laid out restaurant area where we were fed traditional lunches. Many of the dishes were local fish.
Fully sated we launched ourselves into the original boat to head back across the river then onto our bus for the two hour ride to the hotel.
A number of us took advantage of the Happy Hour and pool offered on the seventh (top) floor of the hotel where we stood in the shallows, drinks in hands and gazed out over the cityscape.
Bun took us to one of his favourite spots for dinner – a short walk from the hotel – where we enjoyed our last supper in Saigon. Sekyiwa will be pleased to know that I had Pho and it was delicious.
Tomorrow morning we catch a local bus and head for Cambodia.