A Trip Down the Mekong River
The one day trip that we did take while staying in Ho Chi Minh City was down the famous Mekong River. We were picked up by a bus at the hotel and driven to the small town of My Tho, were we boarded a launch to cruise the river. We were joined on our trip by a gentleman from Norway, and a Vietnamese American who was returning for a visit. The photo to the left shows the larger launch that we took to and from My Tho, while the photo to the right shows the two other people on the tour and the launch operator flashing the ubiquitous "peace" sign.
The Mekong River is a
major thoroughfare in this region where roads are difficult to
build
and always congested and slow. If it is used by people in the
cities,
chances are you can find it being transported on the Mekong's
muddy
waterway. In many respects the Mekong river reminded me of the
Mississippi River around New Orleans, always bustling with
commerce and
tourism. After about 30 minutes on the launch, we disembarked
at Dragon
Island. From there we would tour villages on these islands on
foot and
by sampan. The photo to the left shows a load of sugar can
being
transported on the Mekong River, while the photo to the right
shows the
woman ready with the bowline as we ease into the landing at
Dragon
Island.
Winding
our way up a narrow and muddy path, we
came to our first stop, a small village about 200 meters
inland from
the river. The main livelihood of this village was creating
treats,
mainly of the sweet or spicy variety, from rice. The first
step in this
process is shown in the photo to the left, essentially popping
the rice
in a wok. To ensure uniform heat, the rice is mixed with the
sand, then
the sand is sifted out, leaving the hot rice. It is then
bonded into
sticks, using combinations of molasses, honey, and spices.
Some bars
are just sweetened rice (like Rice Krispy bars), while some
are spicy,
and others are mixed with nuts. They were tasty treats, which
we
enjoyed the remainder of our trip. The photo to the right
shows a women
weighing and bagging one of the finished products, in this
case a
coconut treat.
After enjoying
a rice
treat, we boarded sampans to go a bit deeper into the interior
of this
complex of islands in the Mekong River. The only way to travel
is by
sampan, a small boat with gunwales like a canoe, but beamier,
like a
small rowboat. They have a paddler in the front, one in the
back, and
can take about 3-6 people, depending upon their size. The
sampans do
share another characteristic with canoes--they are very tippy,
and the
first few minutes are a bit uneasy, until one becomes
accustomed to the
motion and learns never to react suddenly. We were paddled to
Unicorn
island via a narrow waterway filled with overhanging
vegetation. The
photo to the right shows one of the paddlers, while a view of
the
channel we were negotiating is shown in the photo to the
right.
On Unicorn Island we
encountered larger and more diverse settlements. Walking up a
small
path, we soon found ourselves at a small family compound
surrounded by
fruit trees. The photo to the left shows one of the houses in
the
compound, room for a family, while the photo to the right
shows the
small shrine outside the house, replete with offerings for the
gods. At
the center of the compound was a pavilion, where visitors were
served
the fresh fruit grown by the family. We got the impression
that it is
more profitable running the family business as a tourist site
than it is to simply
rely on the sale of fruit. After being
served a variety of tasty fruits, other family members then
entertained
us with traditional village songs, using homemade instruments.
The
photo to the left shows us being served fresh fruit in the
pavilion,
while the photo to the right shows 
the family performing traditional
Vietnamese
songs.
Following
our visit to Unicorn Island we
returned to Dragon Island to sample a bit more of local
culture. The
next village that we visited specialized in the making of
honey. We
were treated to a sip of the local liqueur, plus tea with
honey; the
remnants of our tea party is shown in the photo to the right.
In the
tropics honey consumption carries with it inherent risks, as
we were
constantly bombarded by bees as we sat at the table. The
guides and
villagers always insisted the bees were of whichever sex does
not
sting, but I doubt their eyes were keen enough to make such
anatomical
distinctions at a glance! After sampling the tea, we visited
the hives.
The photo to the left shows a confident beekeeper hoisting an
entire
hive of bees in casual conversation, while we maintain a
respectful
distance.
Honey was not the
only treat that we encountered in the village. As we made our
way to
the main pavilion, a man beckoned us toward a large glass
container.
Inside the container were three cobras, neatly coiled on top
of one
another. The liquid inside the jar was saki, aged three years
in the
cobra carcasses. What do you do with this? Yes, that's
right--you drink
it. Urged on by the dreaded "triple dog dare," and heartened
with the
promise that you will "look and feel five years younger," I
quickly
downed a shot of the miracle substance, to Tracy's horror. And
the
taste? Exactly the same as when you siphoned gas from a car as
a kid
and got a mouthful (what, you didn't do that?). But it got
worse: the
only foodstuff available to cut the taste turned out to be
very spicy.
I left the pavilion with a mouth on fire. The photo at the
upper right
shows the dreaded cobra cocktail. By clicking on the picture
you can
see a close-up of the jar. The photo to the right shows a
typical Vietnamese house, which
holds the extended family. Three generations live under one
roof, and
when sons marry, they just tack on another addition. The house pictured
above had a large kitchen at the near end (the large opening
in the
photo), while the remainder of the area was devoted to sleeping
quarters. Two other crafts that were in evidence in the
village were
weaving,
shown in the photo at the middle left, and candy-making.
Everything is done by hand, and out of doors. These small out
of the
way villages are rather remarkable for the volume of crafts
they
produce (including footwear, wooden carvings, and textiles) as
well as
remaining remarkably self-sufficient when it comes to their
own basic
needs.
Following our tour of these arts, we
returned to the
main center for a delicious fish lunch (we eschewed some of
the local
delicacies, although our guide assured us that the rat and the
snake
was delicious). Following our leisurely lunch (which also
included a
chicken and prawns, we boarded the launch for the trip back to
the bus,
and from the bus to our hotel. The photo at the lower left
offers a
view of the dining pavilion on Dragon Island. Below is a video
tour of
this trip, made some years later by Alison Linh. It provides a
nice
overview of the experience.
Video
of Mekong River Cruise by Alison Linh
