Pancake flat but lusciously green and
beautiful, the Mekong Delta is the
southernmost region of
Vietnam.
It was formed by sediment deposited by
the Mekong River, a process which
continues today; silt deposits extend
the delta’s shoreline at the mouth of
the river by as much as 79m per year.
The river is so large that it has two
daily tides. At low tide in dry season,
boats cannot even move through the
shallow canals. The land of the Mekong
Delta is renowned for its richness, and
almost half of it is under cultivation.
The area is known as Vietnam’s ‘bread
basket’, though ‘rice basket’ would be
more appropriate. The Mekong Delta
produces enough rice to feed entire
country, with a sizable surplus.
When the government introduced
collective farming to the Delta in 1975,
production fell significantly and there
were the food shortages in
Saigon (although farmers in the delta
easily grew enough to feed themselves).
People in Saigon would head down to the
delta to buy sacks of black-market rice,
but the police set up checkpoints and
confiscated rice from anyone carrying
more than 10kg, with the aim of
preventing ‘profiteering’. All this
ended in 1986, and farmers in this
region have since propelled
Vietnam
forward to become the world’s second
largest rice exporter after Thailand.
Other products from the delta region
include coconut, sugar cane, fruit and
fish. Although the area is primarily
rural, it is one of the most densely
populated regions and nearly every
hectare is intensively farmed. The only
exceptions are sparsely inhabited
mangrove swamps around Ca Mau province,
where the land is not as productive.
The
Mekong
River
is one of the world’s great rivers, and
its delta is one of the world’s largest.
The Mekong originates high in the
Tibetan plateau, flowing 4500km through
China, between Myanmar and Laos, through
Laos, along the Laos-Thailand border,
and through
Cambodia
and Vietnam on its way to the South
China Sea. At Phnom Penh (Cambodia), the
Mekong River splits into two main
branches: the Hau Giang (Lower River,
also called the Basic River), which
flows via Chau Doc, Long Xuyen and Can
Tho to the sea; and the Tien Giang
(Upper River), which splits into several
branches at Vinh Long and empties into
the sea at five points. The numerous
branches of the river explain the
Vietnamese name for the Mekong: Song Cuu
Long (River of Nine Dragons).
The water flow in the
Mekong begins to rise around the end of
May and reaches its highest point in
September; it ranges from 1900 to 38,00
cubic meters per second depending on the
season. A tributary of the river that
empties in to the
Mekong
at Phnom Penh
drains
Cambodia’s
Tone’ Sap Lake. When the Mekong is at
flood stage, this tributary reverses its
flow and drains into Tonle’ Sap, thereby
somewhat reducing the danger of serious
flooding in the Mekong Delta.
Unfortunately, deforestation in
Cambodia
is disturbing this delicate balancing
act, resulting in more flooding in
Vietnam’s portion of the Mekong River
basin.
In resent years seasonal flooding has claimed
the lives of hundreds and forced tens of
thousands of the region’s residents to evacuate
from their homes. In some areas, inhabitants are
not able to return to their homes until the
waters fully recede several months later. Floods
cause hundreds of millions of dollars in damage
and have a catastrophic effect on regional rice
and coffee crops
MEKONG RIVER
Living on a flood plain presents some technical
challenges. Lacking any high ground to escape
flooding, many delta residents built their
houses on bamboo stilts to avoid the rising
waters. Many roads are submerged or turn to muck
during floods; all-weather roads have to built
on raised embankments, but this is expensive.
The traditional solution has been to built
canals and travel by boat. There are thousands
of canals in the Mekong Delta – keeping them
properly dredged and navigable is a constant but
essential chore.
A further challenge is keeping the canals clean.
The normal practice of dumping all garbage and
sewage directly into the water ways behind the
house that line them is taking its toll. Many of
the more populated areas in the Mekong Delta are
showing signs of unpleasant waste built-up. One
can only hope the government will take stronger
measures to curb this pollution.
Estuarine crocodiles are found in the southern
parts of the delta rivers, particularly in the
Hau Giang River. These creatures can be very
dangerous and travelers are advised to keep
healthy distance from them at all
times.
The Mekong Delta was once part of the Khmer
kingdom, and was the last region of modem-day
Vietnam to be annexed and settled by the
Vietnamese, Cambodians, mindful that they
controlled the area until the 18th century,
still call the delta ‘Lower
Cambodia’.
The Khmer Rouge tried to follow up on this claim
by raiding Vietnamese villages and massacring
the inhabitants. This led the Vietnamese army to
invade
Cambodia in 1979 and outs the Khmer Rouge from
power. Most of the current inhabitants of the
Mekong Delta are ethnic Vietnamese, but there
are also significant populations of ethnic
Chinese and Khmer as ell as a few Chams.
A major activity in the Mekong Delta is boating.
Indeed, the only way you’re really going to get
a close look at the delta is to tour the canals
by boat. However, several provincial governments
in the Mekong Delta, such as those in Mytho and
Vinh Long, have essentially banned private
entrepreneurs from renting boats to foreigners,
not every provincial government is so
restrictive though – there are several places in
the delta, Cantho and Ben Tre for example, where
you can simply rent a boat and go where you
like.
It is worth mentioning that if you want to visit
one of the amazing floating markets, it is
nearly impossible to do so on a one-day trip
from HCMC. There markets are their bustling best
early in the morning and usually finish before
noon, so you should plan to spend at least one
night some place in the delta; Cantho is as good
a place as any to do this, and there are several
floating markets in the vicinity.
Con Phung Orchard
This island is also known as the
Island of the Coconut Monk named after a monk,
Ong Dao Dua, who meditated on the island for
three years during which he ate nothing but
coconuts. An active supporter of the
reunification of Vietnam, he strongly believed
that reunification could be achieved by peaceful
means. In the early 1960s he founded a community
in support of this ideal, and as a result was
imprisoned by President Diem on a number
occasions. At his time, the island became a
sanctuary for those who were attempting to
escape the ravages of war. Ong Dao Dua also
headed his own sect, which was a bizarre mix of
Christianity and Buddhism. The large cross that
you may stumble upon in his sanctuary is not a
swastika, but actually communist victory his
community dissolved, and the island is now a
little run down. You can reach Con Phung island
by boat from Mytho which takes about half an
hour.
Snake Farm
If you enjoy having enormous pythons wrapped
around you, this is the place for you as snakes
are greed here for anti-venom and medicinal
purposes. If snakes do not turn you on, then bay
be the turtles will. The Snake Farm is home to
two yellow turtles, the only two living of their
species known to the human race. They live to
1,000 years old so these ones have another 800
years to look forward to. The Thai government
offered US$ 250,000 for the turtles, but the
Vietnamese authorities declined the ‘generous’
offer, so that they could keep these very
special creatures.
Cai Rang Market
Cai Rang Market is situated about 8 km from Can
Tho by road or a 20 km loop by boat. This market
is quite nice and sells a variety of fruit and
vegetables and operates from
5 am to 11 am, though the markets are better the
earlier you can get there. A cyclo from Can Tho
will take about 15 minutes to get to Cai Rang
Market. Another market, Phung Hiep market, is 31
km from Can
U-Minh Forest
U-Minh is the largest mangrove swamp that can be
found excepting the Amazon. Once in U-Minh
forest you can take an interesting walk around
the rice fields and mangrove forests. It is very
quiet and spacious, making a worthwhile day trip
from Ca Mau
Bird Sanctuary
There are two bird parks that you can visit from
ca Mau. The first, Bac Lieu bird garden can be
found about 3 km out of Bac Lieu. The second
bird garden is in Minh Hai in Vuon Chim in the
Bam Doi District.
Phu Quoc Island
Situated in the
Gulf of Thailand, close to both Ha Tien, Rack
Gia and the Cambodian coast,
Phu
Quoc
Island
possesses excellent white sand beaches and great
snorkeling opportunities. Some of the islands to
the South of Phu Quoc are also great for
swimming and viewing the marine life.
Ha
Tien
Beach
Ha Tien, a very beautiful beach and market town,
is situated virtually on the
Vietnamese-Cambodian border and offers a diverse
spread of Vietnamese life. There is a high
percentage of Khmers living in this area,
reflecting the historical significance of the
area that has changed hands between
Cambodia
and Vietnam and in the late 1970s bore the brunt
of Khmer Rouge raids across the frontier. Today
ha Tien is a bustling smuggling town between two
former enemies, but for the traveller, the main
attractions of the area are the superb beaches
Sam Mountain
The main attraction of Chau Doc is
Sam Mountain. Situated 7 km from town along Bao
Ho Thoai Street, the mountain has a number of
pagodas at its base, and some kind of army
listening post on the top. The main pagoda gets
full marks for kitsch. Although the pagodas at
the base of the mountain are nothing to write
home about, the view from the top of the
mountain is well worth the climb
