The Mekong Delta

About 1.5 hours south of Ho Chi Minh City lies the mighty Mekong Delta region of Vietnam where 60% of the country's rice exports are produced. This region has a prosperous 3 harvests a year compared to 1 harvest per year in central Vietnam. The Mekong river meanders through many village communities and offers an amazing insight into life, culture and history of the river dwellers. 

We spent a day exploring this area and quickly discovered it was bursting with small industries making tourist treats on the stunning backdrop of the Mekong river. It is a lazy pace of life far removed from that of Ho Chi Minh (Saigon).

There are many little islands on the Mekong producing different delicacies:

On one of the islands, there is a small factory where people beaver away in the boiling hot weather producing the finest, melt in the mouth creamy, coconut sweets. These are truly addictive!

The coconut sweet production line

The sticky sweets being wrapped in rice paper

The large mixer that is used to make the sweets, fired by coconut shell.

Another island is home to a honey farm that produces honey. The locals claim this magical honey will eradicate any illness a human has.

Buzzing Bees

Honey, Lemon, Ginger and Lime tea- Beautiful!!

 On not such a beautiful note we encountered the snake wine that locals produce and drink by the cup-full. This is truly hideous and truly deadly!!

Snake wine

The final island we visited was home to a crocodile farm.

 

We tasted crocodile in Cambodia and I think they wanted the roles reversed in this instance. 

So after sampling the lazy, relaxing pace of life by the Mekong, we headed back to the frenetic capital where we were to catch our bus to Dalat in the central highlands.