The Mekong Delta and Good Night Vietnam
Trip Start
Feb 05, 2008
1
38
70
Trip End
Ongoing
Ben Tre,
Ben Tre,
Vietnam
Monday, May 5, 2008
In typical travel Vietnam fashion, most people make their way to the Mekong Delta by way of one, two or three day tours. The promotional material does little to make them sound anything other than truly lame. We had decided beforehand to do it on our own. This was no easy feat. Finding out where to catch the bus was the biggest challenge. Things have changed a bit since my edition of 'Southeast Asia on a Shoestring' was published. After an eight dollar cab ride to the bus station on the eastern edge of Saigon, we were able to catch a bus to Ben Tre for about $2.25.
When we arrived, Mr Phat from the Thao Nhi guesthouse was there to greet us. After a helluva sales job promising a special experience in a quiet and rustic spot, we opted to stay at his place outside of Ben Tre in the village where the ferry lands--$15 a night (as much as I'd paid anywhere else in Vietnam)
The Mekong Delta
. It was long on quiet but short on 'rustic'. But here was a slice of Vietnam I hadn't really seen yet. No touts. Only a couple of moto guys. Very little english spoken. Friendly children who wave and say hello. Teenagers who say hello and something else in Vietnamese and then laugh hysterically. Friendly locals. Great Pho. No tourists. During our three days in the village we did not see another westerner. Mr Phat is a real operator. He's hired an assistant, Dai, to host the english speaking guests. Dai is a young local fellow who spent two years studying hospitality management at university in Saigon before running out of money. Poor Dai, lost the girl he was planning to marry to another guy while he was away at school. Nicest guy in the world. Dai kinda runs the place while Mr Phat goes to the ferry and bus stations to hustle business. As far as we could see, we were their only guests during our stay.
After you settle in, they insist that you have one of the restaurant's specialties, elephant ear fish. They keep them in a tank right there in the yard. $6 for two people which is a tad expensive by Vietnamese standards. It was delicious but after that we took all of our meals in the village where a buck would get you a delicious bowl of Pho or a great rice dish
Our trip through the delta
. Coffees here were really cheap as well--sometimes only 30 cents--and delicious. Mostly we just sat around and enjoyed the village vibe. We wanted to see some of the delta, that's why we came after all. Mr Phat's tour seemed as good a way as any. 20 bucks each seemed a bit pricey given one day tour out of Saigon cost less but Mr Phat is a helluva salesman. Best of all, he had just purchased his own boat and ours would be its maiden voyage! Whether qualified or not, every member of Mr Phat's family has a job. His brother was our boat driver. He brought along a helper and his daughter. Dai was our guide. Things got off to an interesting start when we started heading inland on a canal over which there are a number of small bridges for pedestrian and moto traffic. As we headed towards the first bridge, by quick mental calculation I determined that the roof of this boat was too high by about 5 or 6 cms. I may have been the only one to make this determination and ducked. It happened fast. Luckily I was off by about 5 or 6 cms. The roof scraped the bottom of the concrete bridge peeling back a bit of its bamboo finish on the way through. Oh my god I thought. He was heading for another bridge when better judgement took hold. He stopped and turned around. Dai and the helper stood on the bow and he scraped his way back under the first bridge and took a different route
Our trip through the delta
. On another occasion we were slowly motoring down a beautiful canal, enjoying the flora and I notice we were veering towards the shore. I looked back and driver was smiling and waving to some friends on shore. His assistant yelled and he quickly swerved away. They all started laughing. Watching him turn the boat around was good for a laugh as he'd almost always smack into the shore on either side. One time he executed a perfect turnaround and I turned and gave him a thumbs up and he didn't laugh. The tour was funny too. First there was a stop at a coconut factory where nobody could tell us how anything worked and we were simply expected to buy stuff. Then we went to a bee farm where we were served an excellent assortment of indigenous fruits and tea. It was my first taste of jack fruit and la gun (eyeball looking fruit). We didn't see anything of the bee operation or honey making process and we ere expected to buy stuff. After that, two local ladies paddled us back to the big boat in a little canoe like it was supposed to be some kind of authentic experience. From there we stopped at two orchards before visiting the coconut budha's pagoda. Looks to me like this guy was some kind of nut bar. After a disappointing sunset we went firefly hunting, which was easily the highlight of the tour. We all got up on the boat and starting catching fireflies from the trees along the side of the Mekong and putting them in a bottle
Our trip through the delta
. Motoring back you could see them lighting up the trees like Christmas. Gazillions of them. The slapstick tour adventure was over by around 7 p.m. The hotel provided bikes at no charge and we took at 15 km ride into Ben Tre. I'm glad we didn't stay in town. On the 6th it was back to Saigon, this time on a much more comfortable minibus that would drop us near to the hotel district. The Delta was beautiful and well worth taking in. After 27 days in Vietnam and one more night in Saigon, I would leave for Phnom Penh the next day.
A few odds and ends: Vietnam was the dirtiest and often smelliest of the places I've been thus far. Garbage is dumped everywhere, in river valleys and especially along highways--even the the main number 1 highway that links the country from Hanoi to Saigon. On the flip side, it also offers some absolutely fantastic scenery, especially where the vast plains and rice fields meet the mountains. The people are a bit hard and somewhat aggressive at times but they have a fantastic sense of humour and love to laugh. For them, family comes first and it shows. They are friendly, open and approachable. They love to chat and ask questions about you. They love to practice their english and it's there knowledge of english that makes it possible to interact with them more readily. Generally they live among the tourists. They are fiercely proud and highly competitive. They think a lot of themselves and their country. Neither of these last couple of points should be particularly surprising given their history.
Vietnam is generally too touristic for my liking
Our trip through the delta
. Almost everything is highly organized and regimented. At times it can be a good thing, like when you are arranging for bus travel between cities (you purchase a ticket and you get pickup at your hotel), but it makes it difficult for the independent traveler wanting to forge a unique travel experience. Vietnam is inexpensive rivalling Laos. Customer service is excellent and almost always with a smile. I loved both major cities and would consider short-term work in either of them. But when all is said and done I don't think I'd bother to visit the country again anytime soon. I certainly don't feel like one of my friends who said words to the effect of, 'Good riddance Vietnam. I can't wait to see the backside of ya'! But I can understand how one might come away feeling that way.
Oh and as for the Peace Cafe... The original was the one in the hotel. The partners had a falling out only about three or four months ago and the one who bailed, stole the name and started two others.
