The Mekong Delta is a destination you will probably consider when visiting Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The problem, as I see it, is that you will more than likely join a busload of tourists, be shuffled off to a geared up part of the river (oops, Delta) and pointed at local crafts and so on as some sort of sales pitch. Not my idea of fun.

Having said that, we still ended up at a part of the river often frequented by tourists. We did end up doing the river ride and visiting this and that. But this was in the afternoon, long after the hordes from up the river had gone. The addition of our cabbie (the guypictured in the grey uniform on the boat) made it more personal as we had already enjoyed several hours of chit chat with him.

I would suggest that if you really want to enjoy the Mekong Delta for all of its glory, that you get on say a 10-day cruise, join it in Laos and take an in-depth look at the history and culture of the region.

Contrast this to being shuffled up to a stall that purports to sell handmade goods by a woman 50 metres away, then noticing there are still ironing creases in the garment — clearly Chinese smuggled goods.

The Mekong Delta is massively important to the world. For more information I suggest wikipedia as a start.

The day was filled with food, fun and laughter. Our taxi driver also gave us a lesson in how Vietnamese graft and corruption works (or doesn’t work). One particular story I recall was how goods are smuggled (legally with payment and illegally without payment) over the Chinese border.

Our short visit on the Mekong took us past fish farms. They are floating family dwellings from which nets hang. The family goes out fishing, sells what is saleable, then adds the small fish to the nets. We were led to believe that the rich families buy infant fish as well.

We visited a multitude of ‘factories’, all using pre-WWII equipment, walked and paddled through small villages, then headed back. The bridge is a relatively recent addition.

Biggest lesson today: hire a cabbie for the day. We learned heaps and ate well — total cost US$50. Probably got stung but who cares as I put food on his family’s table and memories into our minds.

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