We hop the bus to check out Vietnam’s south in the Mekong Delta. This is a 3 day excursion starting from Saigon. Along the way we checked out a series of National Parks, including a protected area of mangroves (tree/shrub plant that grows along the mouth of the delta). Check out the photos below.

There are several villages along the river, who base their livelihoods and homes right on the river. Aside from tourism, there are several fish farms and natural fishing traps along the way. Our guide told us that many of the fish are exported to their northern neighbour, China. He said that he was happy for the additional jobs, but was worried that the river was being over-utilized for the demand on fish. It seems that countries everywhere have to deal with the economic/environmental struggle.

We checked out a few water markets, where all the trades are done on the water. The local farms are located right on the water, so it’s best to load up the produce on a boat and motor out to the morning market. There are even concession boats that pull up and serve sliced pineapple (fresh from the farm of course), coffee, potato chips, etc. Quite convenient!

Overnight we stopped in a few delta towns. They both had a very chill atmosphere, where we could wander around and try out the local cuisine. I recommend the barbequed rat! Yeah, yeah, I know it sounds bad – but how do you know unless you try it! I dare you! Other options include snake, alligator, or the traditional chicken/pork/beef.

On the way back we stopped at some huge Buddha statues. There’s a photo of the Laughing Buddha below. This was at the Vinh Trang Temple. Very beautiful and well kept temple complex – definitely worth the stop!

I really enjoyed the Mekong Delta. Great views, tasty rodents, and beautiful temples. Now back to Saigon for a night, and north to the beach town of Mui Ne!

Cheers, Shawn

Photos by Jon Lang

Asia Trip – 2015