Cycling the Mekong Delta

Jan 10, 2013 // by Avia // Blog, Vietnam // 1 Comment

Flat as a pancake, the Mekong Delta is good biking terrain for recreational bikers. Off any road small paths suitable only for bikes or cycles quickly lead to little villages along rivers and streams. This is where people live. There are a few towns in the delta and some major roads but most people live along the water accessed either by boat or two wheeler. Our guide, Ute Ho, grew up in the delta and happily new how to shorten a 35km cycle to 12km when necessary by using short cuts and back paths. He was also willing to race Yannay 1 km up a 45- 60 degree mountain road.

Here is a summary of the 5 days we spent in the delta: The food was unbelievably good.

Spectacular Water Forest near Chau Doc

$300,000 of fish live in the river in nets under this house

Fish are fed through a hole in the floor

Life on a house on the Mekong River

Town life in the Mekong Delta

Flat roads, lots of rice paddy fields and water

Wholesalers bring fruits to sell at the floating market

Or to sell to visitors

Life in a Crocodile Farm. Grown for meat, leather, teeth. The only place Crocs survive in the Delta are in farms. Once they lived in the river.

Life in a rice packing factory

Lunch. Most things in the photos end up in soup.
What’s that? – something for soup.
How do you use that? – We eat eat in soup

Ferry Crossing

Fighting Cocks

Water Lilies under the Eco-Hotel, Pelican Island

Eco-hotel means “no frills” and shower in the toilet.
Romi seems refreshed after a toilet shower

Yannay on the way to his toilet- shower

Did we mention, we cycled. Daily. All day. And we only stopped briefly when it was absolutely necessary, for boating, for lunch, to snack, to admire the flowers, to drink coconut, for sightseeing, birdwatching, canoeing, shopping and other good reason to stop.

Canoe into the water forest.

Avia’s injury and her unique bandage

Jan 9, 2013 // by Avia // Blog // Comments Off

Avia’s foot got caught in the spokes of David’s bicycle’s wheel in the middle of a small village. Immediately some women brought her treated herbs and tea leaves to soothe the pain and some cut up cloth to make a colorful bandage.

Boiled and cooled tea leaves are wrapped onto Avia’s ankle to try help her heal.

Eco-Hotel, Mekong Delta, Vietnam

Jan 7, 2013 // by David // Blog, Videos, Vietnam // 1 Comment

A short interview with guests at an eco-hotel in the Mekong Delta.

The Underground

Jan 6, 2013 // by David // Blog, Videos, Vietnam // 9 Comments

The Viet Cong underground who fought the US in South Vietnam literally lived underground in 200 miles of camouflaged tunnels. Check out this 15 second video.

Hoi An – A lovely old port town on the spice route.

Jan 6, 2013 // by Avia // Blog, Vietnam // Comments Off

Hoi An is a lovely little town preserved since the 16th century and now a heritage town The old town’s buildings are especially cute encompassing a three or four long streets. It’s like a super cute open air shopping mall as each of the buildings are fronted by a retail store. What is remarkable to me is that these storefronts are the front room of people’s homes. The store owners are the store managers and their home extends backwards behind the store but also includes the store. Families use the store at night as an eating room or a place to sleep. So this cartoon town is actually a residential neighborhood.

Most retailers sell tailored clothing. The photo below shows Eva and Daniela choosing cloth for dress each. Their dresses cost $32 and $12 respectively. David had a pair of cotton trousers made for $14. Avia’s dress cost $10.

One photo below shows a group of people selling watermelon from their cart. Note the scale on the floor to the right. Cute!