13th Uprising - Mekong River Delta
Today was sadly the last day of the Vietnam leg of our tour but held, for Fatpap anyway, perhaps the most awaited excursion. About 90 minutes drive south of Ho Chi Min City is the Mekong River Delta forming a vast maze of rivers, swamps and islands that are home to floating markets, Khmer pagodas and villages surrounded by rice paddies with boats the main means of transportation. Ours was met at My Tho boat pier and we boarded the well used wooden vessel for a trip through the various tributaries.
The tour would encompass what is known as the Four Sacred Islands of the Tein River mthyically named Turtle, Dragon, Phoenix, and Unicorn Islets. We crossed the wide, dirt brown watercourse with many other craft with our first stop Thoi Son Islet, the “unicorn”. Here we enjoyed a welcome drink of juice and regionally grown fresh fruits while serenaded by local amateur musicians harmonising their voices and traditional instruments into high pitched and elongated Vietnamese shrills. After a few goofy photos with a nearby Vietnamese “milkmaid's yoke” used to carry heavy loads, we walked along distinct island trails crossing small creeks and all types of vegetation.
We emerged at a small village practised in the art of apiculture and learnt how they extract honey from those bees. Enjoying a complimentary tea made from the honey, and served with a few of its makers still on the saucer, we were invited to purchase various honey products such as sour honey milk and dried twisted fruits. Grift number 1.
Next stop not far from the bees was a small chocolate stand, yep, chocolate in 34 degree heat, called Alluvia made from cocoa beans grown in the Mekong Delta. While not manufactured here they did of course offer to sell us a variety of products. Grift number 2.
Leaving we again jumped on our barge to cross over to Con Phung Islet, the “phoenix”. Here we witnessed the entirely manual production process of natural coconut candies from extraction of fresh coconut water and flesh, mixing it with sugar, to cooking, shaping and cutting the candies by hand. Of course a variety of these products were available for purchase. Grift number 3.
After such cultural enlightenment it was a short walk to some waiting Tuk Tuks for a quick zip across to the other side of the island for lunch. Hidden deep within the foliage in the heart of the Mekong, we dinned within an outdoor pagoda of a family restaurant on the local delicacy of Elephant Ear fish. A large species of gourami native to the Mekong River basin, it is fried until the scales are golden and crispy, then wrapped with vegetables and rice noodles in rice paper before soaking in a sweet and sour fish sauce with just a hint of chilli. It actually had quite a unique texture and taste and when accompanied with fresh prawns and just a few beers, it was the perfect lunch. Carla even had a little nap afterwards.
From the restaurant it was a really short walk along a hidden boardwalk sprouting from the murky waters and marshes to board a long awaited sampan ride. The centuries old tradition of sampans still dominate the Mekong and are the perfect craft to navigate the intricate canals and admire the riverscape. Donned with obligatory conical hats, we slid with the current gently swaying as we shifted our weight to take photographs. It was a relaxing and fabulous trip through a canopy of overhanging palms and ferns, but in truth very short. Perhaps there’d been too much emphasis put on this part of the day because it wasn’t quite what Fatpap was expecting, but both iconic and memorable all the same.
Literally stepping from sampan to barge, we had one last crossing of the Tein River on our return journey where we sipped on fresh coconut milk for refreshment and welcomed the slight breeze whipped off the massive expanse of water. While the day was absolutely fantastic and interesting in many aspects, it will sadly be the first remotely negative thing to be said about the tour….and it had taken 13 days. This writer found it to be a little touristy and contrived, and not quite the Mekong Delta experience imagined. Filled with tourist traps and seemingly rushed at times, it lacked heart and any romantic notions previously held were lost very early on. To be fair though, there had been perhaps an unrealistic supposition that a Mekong Delta River cruise would be akin to going upriver on an RPB deep into the jungle searching for Colonel Walter Kurtz, (An Apocalypse Now reference for those wondering).
The bus trip home was as all the others, full of laughter and stories and photo airdropping like kids swapping football trading cards. Stopping approximately half way at the Van Thinh rest stop for a coffee and stretch, there was a beautiful outdoor pond filled with colourful and obviously well fed fish. While stunning to watch, they did however seem a little stand-off-ish, almost as if they were being coy.
Back in the big smoke we showered and changed ready for a night out on the town. As the last night, well for the first leg anyway, we’d planned a big night in celebration but never imagined what would eventuate. Chairman Boa had booked a restaurant as usual just off Walking Street so a few of us conservative types jumped the gun and settled in for some roadside cocktails. Of course it was happy hour and between us mathematically calculated how to get the best value for our money. Tom of course perpetually having two drinks made the equation that much easier to compute. Dinner was superb as always and we formally said our goodbyes to the Chairman thanking him for his guidance and support since leaving Hanoi. From there it was back out to the real world first selecting a bar suitable to both ends of the group’s nocturnal sociabilities. Here beer, cocktails and shots were enjoyed together with some strange gas filled balloons. It was a lovely last set of drinks with everyone remembering and sharing stories of our time together travelling through Vietnam.
But of course reality would inevitably return and with the niceties exchanged those on the degenerative end of the spectrum took it to the next level. Of the hundreds of bars available along Walking Street, we randomly choose the darkest and noisiest of them all. But before entering some of us felt the need to entertain the passing crowds with some impromptu tabletop dancing. Needless to say the wads of 1000 VND notes slipped into Fatpap’s underpants would shout us all for the first hour or two.
The still nameless bar was just like any other bar in any other city of the world except for one vital component. It had us in it. With the Irish onboard to spice things up a little, everyone immediately got into the mood with singing and dancing and unadulterated fun. Atharva had all tour held a long voiced desired of ordering one of those “beer towers” filled and left on the table. As his final night we allowed his second concession of the trip, but to rub salt into the wounds made him pay for it! Not entirely sure how many beers it produced, it kept us all going for a while until finally being conquered and thusly displayed like a championship trophy.
Deaf, drunk and covered in sweat, it was Rachel who mobilised the gang to leave the bar and return to a special little hole in the wall she’d spied at dinner. Tucked within a small alleyway was an unobtrusive Irish Bar only an Irish traveller would manage to find in a city of such depravity like Saigon. But she did and we happily went inside the spacious, and more importantly quiet bar. Tom and Rach shouted us all mini Guinnesses to restart the party and we whiled away another hour or so drinking whisky and stout.
It was by far the best, and most fun filled night we’d had thus far and most certainly the biggest in terms of consumption. It was worth it to say goodbye to two very special members of our group each contributing to the dynamic in their own way. They would be sorely missed moving forward, but at 2:00am Fatpap was happy to see the back of them all.