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July 27, 2005
The colors of the Mekong Delta
(Day 159) One has to look past the unaesthetically brown appearance of the Mekong River to fully appreciate it. Commencing all the way in western China, it travels 4500 km, through multiple countries, before emptying into the sea in southern Vietnam. Waterways have always been important to human settlements. The Mekong Delta is no different, being the lifeforce of a thriving community. Part of the reason I signed up for a two day tour from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City (rather than take the 12 hour direct bus) was because it included sights around the area, hopefully giving me a glimpse of life in rural Vietnam.
The day began way too early, when someone came banging on my door before 6:00am. "Okay, okay," I grunted, throwing on a black shirt and blue jeans, and trudged downstairs for breakfast. We were then led down to the pier, where women still dressed in pajamas sat around, for a boat ride around Chau Doc. First stop was a fish farm, not exactly my favorite place to be so soon after eating. Our guide took a few minutes to explain how things worked here, but I really couldn't concentrate on what was being said. The fish stench was too overpowering.
Immediately after having our olfactory glands tormented, our eyes got a real treat at the Cham village. Despite being tailored for tourists, the dazzling array of cloth, handwoven by local craftswomen, was ultimately impressive. Again, someone said a few words about life in a minority village, but again, I was too distracted, trying on colorful hats and watching vibrantly dressed children at play, to pay any attention.
"You just made her day," said Jo, as the little girl ran off clutching the 1000 dong note (US$1 = 15000 dong) I had just given her.
"I had to. I mean, she let me take her picture and all."
It was then back to the hotel to catch a minibus. During the drive, the color overload continued. We saw wedding banquets, decorated with pink flowers and red ribbons, held on the side of the road. We passed them at such frequent intervals that it caused Jo to wonder outloud why there were so many, and the best reason we came up with was that it was a sunday. Women dressed in vivid patterns, greens, blues, oranges, and always with matching tops and bottoms (to clash must be a finable offense or something) chugged along on motorbikes and push bikes. Charming buildings arranged in neat columns, painted with a pastel palette. And even a stream of yellow, as someone shockingly just unzipped and relieved himself over the edge of a ferryboat.
Our Mekong Delta 'tour' turned out not to be much of a tour. We stopped all the places the brochure said we'd would. A fifteen minute stop at a local market. A fifteen minute stop at an incense stick factory. A fifteen minute stop at a bonsai garden. None were particularly noteworthy. The only interesting bit during the whole day was when I bought a green grapefruit from an old woman on the street, and then attracted a crowd who was curious how a strange man, with similar skin tone, but obviously too tall to be a local, would think of it. (For the record, I thought it was delicious.) Our guide was nice, but seemed to be there primarly as an escort instead of an information provider. In the end, the tour was nothing more than transport between one city and the next. Not that anyone minded. You'd have to be colorblind not to have enjoyed the ride.
Thanks to everyone for their support and comments! Knowing people are reading keeps me motivated to continue the updates!
Posted by markyiin at July 27, 2005 01:35 AM
Comments
Hard to get photos from a moving vehicle, but one day, i'm just gonna sit outside and take pictures of all the colorful outfits...
matt: the record so far is a traveller i've met who's been on the road 23 months, and that was back in april...
lisa: using pentax optio s4. really though, for amateur photographers like us, any mid range digicam will do. yes, i went to grade school in the states.. i overheard some people talking about some sort of connection between pol pot and the US, but at the time, i didnt know how accurate it was.
pete: i'm sagging my size 34 jeans like a punk. so yes, i think i've lost a lot of weight!
chung: pho is delicious. i havent tried any of the 'com' dishes though, i'll make it point to do so soon. i'll definately consult you if i have questions.. to start off.. do people here really eat rats? i still cant get that out of my mind...
karen: i'm pretty sure the genocide here was well documented.. the khmer rouge kept meticulous records it seemed. there are profile pics of 99% of the prisoners that went through s-21, and dossiers crammed with information about them. they also made a lot of the people they killed write autobiographies. if anything, i think its omitted just cause its so near the time of the vietnam war, and its not western history.
frank: the kids didnt speak english, except maybe 'hello!' i never watched tv much to begin with, so its not like i miss it. the last hotel i stayed at had tv though, so i spent an hour watching espn before going to bed :)
siuwah: for US$200, you can go out into the countryside and fire a live rocket into the mountains and watching the explosion on impact. for like $30, you can toss a live grenade into the river and watch that explode. for like $2 a round, you can fire anti aircraft guns.. the list goes on and on. i've heard that in some places, you can even go buy a real live cow and make it your target.
Posted by: markyiin at July 27, 2005 02:29 AM
Never really heard of Vietnamese people talking about rats as a cusines.
(OK, don't read this) But the rumir is true though....they do eat dogs.
You won't find people selling it in the main cities but if you travel out a bit, you will find people selling them.
This is what I heard....from various Vietnamese people who have been back.
Posted by: Chung at July 27, 2005 08:27 AM
Never really heard of Vietnamese people talking about rats as a cusines.
(OK, don't read this) But the rumir is true though....they do eat dogs.
You won't find people selling it in the main cities but if you travel out a bit, you will find people selling them.
This is what I heard....from various Vietnamese people who have been back.
Posted by: Chung at July 27, 2005 08:43 AM
I believe the cloth on women are not pajamas. It's normal outfit made by light and colorful dotted flowery fabric. Those are very comfortable for hot summertime. Also those green grape fruit are not grape fruit, it's called "Yo-Zi" in chinese. I realized that you have a record of least 154 readers yesterday, not for long your blog will be hit like Harry Potter.
Posted by: mojess at July 27, 2005 09:00 AM
Just curious on those "charming building", do they have anything to do with the French culture?
We eat those green grapefruit (Yo-Zi) in Taiwan on Mid-Autumn Moon festival.
Posted by: Frank at July 27, 2005 04:50 PM
Yo-Zi? What does it taste like? Like grapefruit, or different?
Posted by: Jon at July 28, 2005 09:57 AM
Currently in Hoi An. Taking a bus to Hue tomorrow, and then a train to Hanoi the day after. Updates when I can manage to fit them in.
Also just heard about the flooding in india. Damn, that kinda messes up my plans. I was going to try to go there for a week or two, but now I might have to figure out something else to do.
Posted by: markyiin at July 28, 2005 10:26 AM
Thanks! I decided on the Nikon Coolpix S1.
Posted by: Lisa at July 28, 2005 08:59 PM
I just came back from my 12 days Europe trip, went to Italy, Germany, Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg. If you get a chance, Europe is really worth visiting. I saw all these backpackers in Europe and made me so jealous. Sucks to be back to work but I'll find the time to go backpack someday. I tried to write down each day what I do, it's pretty time consuming and it's not that easy. Makes me appreciate your blog more. It's been only a day since I got back and I've caught up already. Keep up the good blog.
Posted by: Simon at July 29, 2005 12:31 AM