Mekong Delta, like traveling in time.

There are many places in the world where rivers are used for transportation. The low-lying region makes it vulnerable to climate change. This place is so thrilling to visit; you feel you are traveling in time and experiencing something that might not be here in a few generations. I saw it during my journey in south Vietnam.

Mekong Delta

The Vietnamese name for Mekong is Đồng bằng Sông Cửu Long, the nine dragons, after the nine arms of the flood of Mekong. Here they can, in some places, harvest rice up to three times a year. It is also a significant export of tropical fruits from this area. And the seafood is also excellent here. The site is vast, and it is impossible to see everything in one day, but that was all I had at my disposal.

I joined a day trip from Saigon to Mekong Delta. It was about two hours drive by bus. We started with being transported on hand-paddled boats, and even if there were many tourists there, it was still peaceful and calm. You could not hear any engines from anywhere. Later we were transported in a small electric car. We visited a sweet coconut factory and could see the whole process of their production.

Lunch with Elephant fish

I felt like a tourist that day, as I certainly am. You do not need to think by yourself and shuffle from place to place, but at least you also get in touch with other travelers and see some of the highlights. The trip also included lunch; here, we got a selection of traditional dishes. The most interesting was the Elephant fish; their way of eating it is to cut off some fish, roll it into lettuce leaves, and eat it by hand by dipping it into a delicious fish sauce.

Mekong delta with speed

After lunch, we went back on the flood and, this time, on a boat with an engine. On the manual boats, it was primarily women that were steering the boats, so the engine boats were left to the men to handle. This was also nice, even though the manual once gave us much more peace.

Vĩnh Tràng Temple 

Our last stop was the Vĩnh Tràng Temple. This is one of the most famous Temples in the region, and even if it looks new, it is not. However, there is no doubt this is a tourist magnet because so many buses have been held here to let tourists see the sights. It was not my favorite stop, but you can’t like everything you are shown on a day trip like this. All in all, it had been an exciting day.