2017-10 Mekong River Delta (Vietnam)

Wooden boats carry tourists to the islands in the Mekong River

What a treat today to visit the Mekong River Delta! The delta is an area of 40,000 square kilometers fed by the great Mekong River that begins in Tibet and ends in Vietnam, a distance of 4800 km. We visited My Tho City along the delta.

My favorite cactus fruit: dragon fruit!

Upon arrival, we boarded a wooden boat that took us across to Unicorn Island. On the island, our guide pointed out dragon fruit and jack fruit, both of which we had a chance to sample. As we ate, we were serenaded by musicians playing traditional southern Vietnamese music called "nhac tai tu". The ensemble played a welcome song, a love song and a song about the red river delta. They closed by playing a song we all knew: "If you're happy and you know it."

Baby's hammock in the kitchen

Next, our guide walked us through a family's home. What patient people to open their home for tourists to walk through multiple times a day! There was incense burning at several different levels for the family shrines. The highest level was for the Buddha, then, for the king, with the lowest level reserved for two little statues, one holding bread and the other money. We walked through to the kitchen, where there was a smaller hammock with a large pillow that the baby would sleep in. Then, we walked to the adjoining room where the cooking took place in a wooden stove.

Showing off the beehive

A short tramp across Unicorn Island brought us past hibiscus and banana trees. We stopped to check out beehives that the people tended in order to sell royal jelly. We received a sample, which was quite delicious. We also sampled some banana wine, which tasted more like vanilla or almond extract.

The coconut shredder

Back on the wooden boat, we crossed to the other side of the river, where we visited a coconut candy operation. The coconut is hulled by hand on a very sharp implement. (We all gasped when we thought the man hulling the coconut was about to impale his hand.) Next, the coconut meat is run through a shredded, also operated by hand and looking very dangerous. Then, all the shredded coconut is pressed for milk and oil. The coconut milk is cooked over a coconut husk fueled fire with sugar and sticky rice for 45 minutes. When it comes out, it is pressed into a wooden form, cooled, and then cut into bite size pieces. These candies are wrapped first in rice paper (edible) and then in white paper. The texture is much like dulce de leche. The flavor distinctly coconut.

stir-fried rice in a pineapple

The rest of our afternoon consisted of taking moto-scooter transport along streets the size of sidewalks, drinking delicious sugar cane juice, riding in boats between water coconuts and mangroves, and eating stir-fried rice in a pineapple.