I wanted to travel to the Mekong Delta and the city of Can Tho to see the countryside and visit my friend Hai. My good friend Quan arranged for me to travel by private car, with a guide and driver, to Can Tho for the day, returning to Ho Chi Minh City the same evening.
I met Phuong, a lovely young lady, at the hotel lobby in the morning.
She was very bright and friendly. She seemed a little shy at first, but
as the day progressed, we became very good friends. She told me a delightful
story about a little boy who wanted to sing a song.
It became our secret code for requesting a bathroom stop.
We proceeded to maneuver our way through rush-hour traffic to the outskirts
of HCMC, where we stopped for breakfast at a roadside cafe. It was the
usual open-air restaurant, and the food was excellent. We ate our morning
bowl of noodle soup and jumped back into the car to continue our journey.
Once we cleared the suburbs of Ho Chi Minh City, I was enchanted by the
beauty of the countryside. Along the road, there was the usual traffic
of people and livestock, motorbikes and bicycles, farmers taking their
goods to market and children on their way to school. Rice fields were
everywhere. This area of the Mekong Delta is one of the most productive
rice-growing regions in the world. The climate is perfect for the cultivation
of rice. It is hot and humid, and the rainfall is abundant. Everywhere
we looked, there were miles and miles of rice fields.
One of the main
reasons for today's activities was to gain an insight into the lives of
rural Vietnamese people. So, we stopped every now and then to look at
how people lived in the countryside. We walked along a berm on the edge
of a rice field and took a look at a typical rural home. I noticed fishing
nets, an occasional horse, many water buffalo and several pig pens. Prosperity
comes in many forms in the delta.
Late in the morning
it was already becoming quite hot. As we visited one area, we met a young
girl on her way to school. She was dressed in the traditional Vietnamese
long dress. I, who was already baking, wondered how she could dress so
beautifully and walk to school in this heat. I guess, if you are raised
in this climate, you get used to it. It was just like Alabama in August.
We came across
a family burial plot next to a rice field. Phuong explained to me that
the family traditionally buries the dead on the family property. The ancestors
are revered in Vietnam, and the tombs are lovingly maintained. The anniversary
of a parent's death is commemorated even more than the date of birth.
Sometimes the entire family will re-assemble to pay respects to the departed
ancestor. I was very impressed by this tradition.
We stopped for
lunch at another roadside cafe. This highway is the main thoroughfare
through this part of Vietnam, so shops, cafes and fruit stands were all
along the roadside. Merchants sell everything from home-made wine, to
shirts and dresses right on the side of the road. If you turn off the
main road onto a dirt side road, you are in the boonies very quickly.
We drove across
the new bridge that spans the Tien Giang River. Opened in 1996, the bridge
replaced the old ferry system of crossing the wide and often treacherous
river. We crossed in 2 minutes what formerly took 45 minutes to traverse.
We got our chance to experience the old method of river crossing when
we reached the Hau Giang River. There was no bridge here. The ferry sytem
was alive and well. The ferry operators crammed as many vehicles, livestock
and people onto the ferry as possible. There were no clear lanes on the
boat and the guides positioned each vehicle within 2 inches of the next.
I climbed out the car window in order to ride the ferry in the open air.
It was fun.
The
river was wide and green. And, as usual, I was the only American in sight.
But, after 19 days in Vietnam, I was accustomed to people staring at me.
I simply smiled at them, and they always smiled back.
Once across the
river, we met Hai, and proceeded to a restaurant to eat again. All this
travel made me hungry. We ate at a restaurant next to the river and enjoyed
the view, while observing the everyday lives of the people of the Mekong
Delta. Boats were everythere.
Small boats were
used for local transportation and large boats took goods and people all
the way to Saigon.
I watched a group
of workmen driving pillars into the river bottom. They worked the old-fashioned
way, by hand. Up to their waists in water, they muscled large wooden posts
into position to be used as a foundation for a new pier.
There was new development
as well. A new hotel was under construction adjacent to the old boat dock.
The park next to
the boat dock was beautifully adorned with flowers of all kinds. Even
with the heat, this was a beautiful place. The people were extremely friendly
and I wondered how often they saw Americans here.
Of course, the
children were eager to have their picture taken.
I was introduced to a new form of transportation, the Xe Loi. It was similar
to the Xich Lo. But instead of a passenger carriage propelled by bicycle,
the Xe Loi was a buggy pulled by a motorbike. Very interesting.
Concerned about
the time, we debated about where to go next. We really didn't have time
to take an excursion on the river and visit the remote areas of the delta,
so we settled on My Khanh Orchard, a small, relaxing garden spot with
a small zoo and overnight accomodations. There was a Sun Bear on display
and several cages with native animals including large bats. We enjoyed
ourselves there for an hour or so, then decided to head back to Saigon.
We drove back to
the restaurant where Hai had parked his motorbike and said our goodbyes
to him. He was a wonderful companion and was very knowledgeable about
the area. As the afternoon faded into evening, our progress on the highway
slowed considerably. We arrived back in Ho Chi Minh City about 8:00 p.m.,
roughly 12 hours after we had left. It had been a long day, but the experience
was unforgettable.
