From Ho Chi Minh I travelled south west to the Mekong Delta. The Mekong river is an extremely long river in Asia that starts up north somewhere in China and goes through or boarders Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. The delta is where the river splits in to multiple canals and channels until it empties in to the sea, it is a huge life source for the people who live there and make a living from the river. In total I spent 3 days there and each day I went further and further in to the delta the less touristy it got and the more I experienced of their real day life.
Day 1 - I had signed up to the 3 day tour thinking I would be with the same group of people for 3 days however there was only me who wanted to do 3 days so I was put with a group doing the one day tour to start with. At each stage over the trip I met some great people from many different countries.
We started with a boat trip across one part of the river to see some of the business that thrive on the delta, however they were all set up ready to make there money out of the tourists. We saw the production and got to try honey and coconut candy. there was also a cute boat trip with a Vietnamese hat!!
We then stopped for lunch where we saw a water buffalo and ate some interesting tasting river fish. After this we travelled back across the main river to the start point of the trip with a slight detour to taste some yummy fruit and listen to some rather high pitched Vietnamese music, which I'm not sure was everyone cup of tea!
After saying goodbye to the 1 day tour people I had met that day I went off with another group of people further in to the delta. We arrived in the small city of Can Tho and the people I had travelled with were staying in different places so we went our separate ways. I was staying in a rather sketchy hotel on my own down a bit of a dark street. We then had time to ourselves to explore the city until the next day. I luckily bumped in to 3 girls who had been on the bus with me so I had company for dinner.
Day 2 - It was time to explore the floating markets. This was probably my favourite part of the tour, where we got to see what real trading was like on the river. The middle men collect the produce from the farms and come down the rivers to Cai Rang floating market to sell it on to the next stage. there where boats full of one thing such as potatoes, onions or pineapples. I got to buy the most tasty and juicy pineapple I had ever had.
We then got to see how noodles were made from rice dust to boiling it with water to drying out sheets of it to shredding it and packing it up ready for the customers to collect.
Life on the delta was fascinating to see. We also stopped off at a rice mill where they packed up huge bags ready to be sold. I was fascinating seeing how the Vietnamese live, eat, bathe and wash there clothes. It was a million miles away from the western way of life.
After lunch I was then joined by some other people from another tour to travel via the crocodile farm (a rather serial place packed full of crocodiles) to Chau Doc a town very close to the Cambodian boarder. That night I went for dinner in the town with a few people from the tour and we stayed in a floating hotel on the river. Not quite as sketchy as the first place but a little bit spooky. It was the kind of hotel you imagine in a horror movie!
Day 3 - The final day of the tour. We visited a fish farm in the morning and a Cham village. Everyone else that I had met the day before where travelling on to Cambodia and I was set to go back to Ho Chi Minh, so after another goodbye I was off again.
On the way back to Ho Chi Minh I stopped at Sam Mountain and Pagoda. There was a beautiful view once I had hiked to the top and looked around the tranquil temple. It was a Buddhist temple however was very different to Thai temples. It had much more influence from China. I arrived back in Ho Chi Minh in time for dinner with 3 girls who I'd met on the first night of the tour so it was lovely to catch up with them.
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