Mekong Delta and Around

Sunday, 24 January 2010 19:27

Last Updated on Sunday, 05 September 2010 17:53

Written by Administrator

One of the very beautiful place of the Mekong delta - Chau Doc, as close as you can get to Cambodia without being in it. The Bassac River flows through the town and is a border crossing for river borne traffic, and the small Sam Mountain has an excellent view of the flat plain on the other side. It’s an attractive, busy place with a good hotel and several interesting attractions.It became part of Vietnam in the middle of the 18th century as a gift, a reward for helping the Cambodian monarch to put down an insurrection. Unsurprisingly, it has a high proportion of ethnic Kh’mer people among the population here, easily identifiable by their darker skins and a chequered scarf instead of Vietnam’s ubiquitous conical hat. There’s also a fair number of ethic Cham and Chinese people, and enough Christians to fill a local cathedral, making up a rare pot-pourri of cultures and religions.
There’s a large market selling local products and commodities. As might be expected, there’s also plenty of smuggled goods changing hands in both directions. Deep in the market, the Quan Cong (a Chinese character) Temple is a rewarding visit. It’s a flamboyant Taoist structure with good murals and effigies dominated by a ruddy-faced Quan Cong. Further along the riverfront there are several traditional stilt houses.
A short boat trip across the Bassac takes you to several floating fish farms and villages. They’re modified house-boats - a trap-door in the floor provides access to nets under the boat where the fish are grown. A little further takes you to the other bank and a Cham community. Once you’ve tip-toed across the stepping stones to avoid the mud, you walk through the stilt house village to the mosque.
Although sharing the same linguistic and historical tradition, the Cham are divided into two quite distinct religious communities, the Hindu Chams and the Cham Bani, or Muslims. The latter live mainly in the Chau Doc region and are easily distinguished by the men's preferred headgear - a crimson fez with a long golden tassel, or white Muslim prayer cap.
Mountain Sam
The mountain is a tourism destination in its own right. Everest it isn’t, although the pancake-flat plains of the Mekong make it look higher than it is. It’s a ‘holy’ mountain, full of caves, shrines and temples. The most significant in religious terms is the Ba Chua Xu, dedicated to the ‘Lady of the Region’. Her festival is held in the spring. It attracts huge numbers of devotees and, of course, swarms of vendors hoping to make a killing.
Less important, but more interesting, is the Tay An Pagoda. It’s architecture is sometimes described as Hindu/Muslim, which is a bit fanciful. However, there’s a definite Chinese and Islamic influence, and the interior contains a small army of colourful effigies. Further along, the Cave Pagoda isn’t really worth the climb for ones with no interest in pagoda.

Your energy is best saved for the ascent of the mountain. This is a gentle stroll rather than mountaineering. The road winds gently past the new offshoot of the Victoria Hotel (the main building is down in the town) and culminates in a Vietnamese Army lookout post. Thoughtfully, there is a path on the left that allows you to look across at Cambodia and back to Chau Doc and the Mekong Delta – both as flat as a board.

Major Cities Of The Delta

Bac Lieu

The town has a few elegant but forlorn French colonial buildings, like the impressive Fop House (now used as a community sports centre), but not much else.

Farming is a difficult occupation here because of saltwater intrusion, which mean that the town has remained fairly poor. The province is, however,   known for its healths longan orchards. In addition to this, the enterprising locals eke out a living trom fishing, oyster collection and shrimp farming, as well as salt production (obtained from evaporating saltwater ponds that form immense salt flats).

For the Vietnamese people, Bat Lieu's main claim to fame is the grave site of Can Van Lau (1892-1976), famed composer of 'Dai Coa Hoai Long' ('Night Song of the Missing Husband').

Most foreigners give the tomb a miss and instead use Bac Lieu as a springboard to reach the outstanding bird sanctuary out of town. If you're keen on seeing it, head out on Cao Van Lau st. towards the bird sanctuary lor about 1km. turn right and follow the dirt road for 150m to the grave.

Tra Vinh

About 300, 000 ethnic Khmer live in Tra Vinh province. At first glance, they might seem to be an invisible minority since  they all speak fluent Vietnamese and there's nothing outwardly distinguishing about their clothing or lifestyle. However, digging a little deeper quickly reveals that Khmer culture is alive and well in this part of Vietnam, There are over 140 Khmer pagodas in Tra Vinh province, compared with 50 Vietnamese and five Chinese pagodas. The pagodas have schools to teach the Khmer language most of the local in Tra Vinh can read and write Khmer at least as well as Vietnamese.

Vietnam's Khmer minority are almost all followers of Theravada Buddhism. If you've visited monasteries in Cambodia, you may have observed that Khmer monks are not involved in growing food and rely on donations from the strictly religious locals. Here in Tra Vinh, Vietnamese guides will proudly point out the monks' rice harvest as one of the accomplishments of liberation. To the Vietnamese government, non working monks were parasiles. The Khmer don'l necessarily see it the same way and continue to donate funds to the monasteries surreptitiously.

Between the ages of 15 and 20, mosl boys sel aside a lew months or years to live as monks (they decide themselves on the length of service). Khmer monks are allowed to eat meal, although they can not kill animals.

There is also a small but active Chinese community in Tra Vinh, one of the few remaining in the Mekong Delia region.

Ben Tre

Ben Tre is a good place lor boat trips and, unlike My Tho, Vinh Long and Can Tho, the People's Committee doesn't have a monopoly on the boat tour business so prices have remained low.

Ben Tre is famous for coconut candy (keo dua). Many local women work in small factories making coconut sweets, spending their days boiling large cauldrons of sticky mixture, before rolling it out and cutting sections off into squares and wrapping them into paper for sale.

My Tho

In order to visit floating markets, however, you'll need to continue on to Can Tho.

Being located so close to booming HCMC, one would expect My Tho to have profited handsomely from the country's economic reforms. Sadly, this is not the case - My Tho is one of the poorest cities in the Mekong Delta, though it is said tc have the richest government and one of the strictest police forces.

 

My Tho was founded in the 1680s by Chinese refugees fleeing Taiwan for political reasons. The Chinese have virtually all gone, now, having been driven out in the late 1970s when their property was seized by the government. The economy - or what's left of it - is based on tourism, fishing and the cultivation of rice, coconuts, bananas, mangoes, longans and citrus fruit.

Chau Doc

The town is located on the right bank of Hau Giang, 5 km away from Sam mountain, the highest point on the Delta. This mountain gets the name from its shape of a king crab, which is "sam" in vietnamese. It is a sacred mountain for many locals since it is dotted with pagodas and temples. Chau Doc is very famous for "ma('m", a type of fermented fish used regularly as food ingredients or garnishes.

With a population of 85, 000, Chau Doc is a bustling city with heavy trade of illegal goods crossing the cambodian border. From smugglers on bicycle carrying cartons of cigarettes on their back to boats loaded with VCR and TV sets to new cars originating from Thailand, it seems like anything is fair game in the wild west of Vietnam.

Sa Dec

n the 1700s, the area was exchanged with the Vietnamese for military aid. Since then many Vietnamese have settled in this area and effectively annexed this whole area. The Chan Lap were subsequently wiped out and assimilated by the Vietnamese and today the population consists mostly people of Chinese, Khmer, Cham and Thai origin.

Sa Dec has become less and less prosperous ever since Cao Lanh was named capital of the province to reward communist cadres from the area after the war ended. New constructions and developments are now occuring in Cao Lanh, the commercial hub of the region.

Long Xuyen

Many of the produce grown in the vicinity are shipped here before being transported elsewhere. With a population over 100, 000 people, it has a significant number of catholics as the city boasts the largest Catholic church in the region, seating up to 1000 people.

Long Xuyen is a big town with slow pace living. Unlike its motorized cousin in Can Tho, "Xe Loi" here is pulled by bicycle. 40 km from Long Xuyen is the hilly area of Ba The where the ruins of the Oc Eo civilization dating back to the first century A.D. were discovered. The Oc Eo civilization reached its height in the 5th century and was part of the foundation of the Phu Nam (Funam) kingdom.

Can Tho

Since the beginning, Can Tho was already given the title Tay Do or Western Capital. It is also the meeting point of the various waterways of the Mekong Delta. Today, it has become an industrious city with big bottling companies and fish sauce factories. It is is home to 220, 000 inhabitants.

Can Tho is a busy port capable of accomodating large ships from neighbouring countries. Hau Giang or Hau River is the main channel that passes through Can Tho. The land mass surrounding the river was developed very early so the population in this area is probably the largest in all of the Delta region. The land here is said to be the most fertile because of the deposits from the various branches of the river.

Ben Ninh Kieu is probably the most well known landmark in Can Tho. The port lies on Hau Giang and crosses the city of Can Tho. The city opens to the water front where port Ninh Kieu is the focal point of all activities on the river. Frequent ferries carry passengers to Xom Chai island, just a short distance away and a beautiful sight at sunset.

Mekong Delta Floating Markets

Cho Gao Floating Market

In the early morning, you could travel by your comfortable bus towards Can Duoc, where you come aboard of your boat to cruise to the Cho Gao floating market.

This sightseeing is extremely interesting as you participate in the life of the local people. The market is a melting pot of colors, shapes, sounds and smells. Rice, fresh fruit, fish, handicrafts, bonsais, almost everything is for sale, a great opportunity to find some nice souvenirs for the loved-ones at home!

Phong Dien Floating Market

Boats loaded with produce from nearby orchards of the Mekong Delta converge to the floating market. They carry mostly fruits but also coconuts, vegetables and fishes.

Buyers are local traders with bigger boats snapping everything by the bushels and resell at local markets or to wholesale dealers from big cities, often for a handsome profit.

Large floating markets are not complete without its floating restaurants, floating gas stations and an occasional tour boat filled with tourists.

Perhaps the best floating market in the Mekong Delta, Phong Dien has fewer motorised craft and more stand-up rowing boats. It's less crowded than Cai Rang and there are far fewer tourists. The market is at its bustling best between 6am and 8am.

It is theoretically possible to do a whirl- wind boat trip here, visiting the small canals on the way and finishing back at the Cai Rang floating market. This journey should take approximately five hours return from Can Tho.

Cai Be Floating Market

It is opened from 5am to 5pm. It is best to go early in the morning. Wholesalers on big boats moor here, each specialising in one or a few types of fruit or vegetable. Customers cruise the market in smaller boats and can easily find what they're looking for, as the larger boats hang samples of their goods from tall wooden poles.

One interesting thing you won't see at other floating markets is the huge Catholic cathedral on the riverside - a popular and fantastic backdrop for photographs.

It takes about an hour to reach the market from Vinh Long, but most people make detours on the way there or back to see the canals or visit orchards.

Phung Hiep Floating Market

The market meets all day long, but most noisy and busy in the morning. The precious evening, from far-and-wide, boats full of seasonal vegetables and fruits: mangoes, durians, bananas, oranges, coconuts... left their villages to head for the sunrise market. Every boat is full of fruits. Some boats are covered with roofs, some are not. On boats without roofs, the sellers have to hold high a stick hanging with fruits as signals. Market-goers do not bargain, just a few words exchange, they sell and get paid. Normally, fruits are sold and brought to big boats. Then they will be transported to fruit-processing factories or to Ho Chi Minh City, Vung Tau, even to Hanoi and Northern provinces.

It's a floating market' but services are available, foods and drinks on small boats twist and turn to serve hungry sellers and buyers. Signal to buy is only a whistling or waving band. Apart from fruits, local products: snakes, birds, turtles... are easy to find near Phung Hiep bridge. These specialties are almost bought and brought to restaurants in Can Tho or Ho Chi Minh City.

The atmosphere in Phung Hiep market was exciting, as we witnessed snake traders fearfully transferring poisonous copperheads, kraits, and rattlesnakes, from their cages to purchaser’s jute bags.

The price for a snake ranges from tens of thousands of dong for individual specimens, to hundreds of thousands of dong per kilogram. One kilogram of water snakes is priced at VND30, 000-VND50, 000 (US$1.88 - $3.13); while copperheads sell for between VND50, 000-VND400, 000 ($3.13 - $25) per kilo.

Second to the snakes in quantity at Phung Hiep market are wild birds. All species favoured by urban gastronomers such as cao, cu dat, stork, blosh dove, moorcook, and la mia, are sold at the market.

Birds are hanged up on the motorbikes of bird hunters from rural areas and confined in narrowed cages. Thousands of birds are purchased each hour, and transported to “headquarters” for retail sale to restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City and southwestern provinces.

Phung Hiep Snake Market, located close to the floating market, is known worldwide. Visitors from all over the world go there to taste the snake liquor and see the dangerous snake dance.

Cai Rang Floating Market

Cai Rang Floating Market is open all day but it is busiest from sunrise to about 9am. The main items sold there are farm products and specialties of Cai Rang Town, Chau Thanh District and neighboring areas. Every boat has a long upright pole at its bow on which samples of the goods for sale are hung.

During the early morning market hours, larger sized boats anchor and create lanes that smaller boats weave in and out of. The waterway becomes a maze of hundreds of boats packed with mango, bananas, papaya, pineapple, and even smuggled goods like cigarettes.Sellers do not have to cry out about their goods because their goods can be seen in a distance and their cries would not be heard in the vastness of the river and the noise of boat engines. Small boats that sell beer, soft drinks and wine go among the other boats to serve market-goers and visitors. Sellers tie their goods to a tall pole so that buyers can see from a distance what they are selling.

Each boat is loaded with plenty of seasonal goods. Activities at the market are also an occasion for tourists to study the cultural aspects of southerners.

To visit Cai Rang Floating Market, visitors can join a tour of the Mekong Delta. On the way to Can Tho, visitors can stop to visit My Tho and take a boat trip to visit orchards, bee farms and coconut candy establishments in Ben Tre.