For the past three days we have been down in the Mekong delta. The Mekong river has 9 branches here and there are hundreds of additional channels making water the dominant mode of transport with large barges and freighters to small dugout canoes with ingenious rowing systems. We visited wholesale fruit and vegetable markets on the river and were paddled through small channels giving us the chance to watch the everyday life. The very fertile soil of the delta grows everything from rice to numerous fruits and vegetables such as rambutans, yongans, pomelos, melons, and jack fruit which were fun to sample. One of the most interesting sites was a "farm" which raised porcupines and weasels for food. Another one grew hundreds of crocodiles which we sampled at lunch! We also visited several small traditional factories making diverse products such as rice paper for spring rolls, coconut candies, puffed rice confections and even building bricks. And, of course, the markets are filled with fish of many kinds and sizes which appear daily on our plates. Our favorite so far has been the elephant ear fish.
In the far west of the delta next to the Cambodian border we went by boat to a community of house boats where the Muslim Cham people have fish farms beneath their houses and still weave on traditional looms.
One of the interesting stops we made was to a Cao Dai temple. A Vietnamese man started this religion which now has 2 1/2 million followers here. It is a confusing combination of Christianity, Confucianism, Islam, Taoism, and Victor Hugo (yes, the French author!). The temple was garishly decorated with statues of all the spiritual leaders backlit with neon! Amazing!
We returned to Saigon this afternoon giving us some time to explore this vibrant city with its surprisingly modern high rises and well preserved French colonial buildings. It is definitely a city on the go and growth is obvious everywhere.