Mekong Delta Trip

Today, our class just returned from a trip to the Mekong Delta. We left early Friday morning to go to Can Tho. We arrived around noon and ate a really good restaurant with food from the Southern region. I have sampled a variety of interesting foods in Vietnam so far and I definitely added a few to the list this weekend. Prior to this trip my list included: water buffalo, ostrich, snail, wild boar, pig intestines, and deer. After this weekend, I can add frog, rat, eel, and snake to that list. And to think that I spent the past five years as a vegetarian...

After lunch, we walked around the city a bit and went to a few stores. We again had a huge feast for dinner; food seemed to be a pretty big theme for the weekend. In the morning, we woke up obscenely early to leave for the floating markets at 5am. We got to see the sun rise over the water and the buying and selling of produce at the floating markets.

The sun rises over the Mekong River

A woman cuts pumpkin on top of her boat while the pumpkin on top of a pole indicates to buyers what fruit she is selling

After going to the floating markets, we took a 3 hour boat trip to Vinh Long where we had lunch and visited a brick factory. Apparently the Mekong Delta region has very clay rich soil and is good for making bricks. We got to see the enormous kilns cooking the bricks and other pottery for export to other countries.

Our lunch: The enormous "elephant ear" fish

One of the giant brick kilns

We then traveled to our homestay where we spent a relaxing afternoon riding on boats, hanging out, and of course, eating. We even got to help the family that we were staying with cook dinner. Here is Loan singing a song as we meander down the river in our conical hats.




The next day, we went to see how different specialty foods of the Mekong Delta are made such as rice paper, puffed rice, and coconut candy. We also went on a beautiful hour long bike ride through a village. It was amazing to see what life was like in a new place and enjoy such a peaceful and beautiful setting. Overall, it was an extremely relaxing and enjoyable trip.


Hôm nay, chúng em mới về nhà từ Dồng bằng sông Cửu Long. Sáng thứ hai, chúng em đi Cần Thơ. Chúng em đi lòng vòng và ăn nhiều đồ ăn vừa lạ vừa ngon. Chúng tôi dậy sớm quá để đi xem chợ nổi. Sau đó, chúng tôi đi Vĩnh Long bằng táu. Chúng tôi có dịp đi xem nhà máy gạch, cơm, và nước mắm. Chúng tôi ở nhà ở Vĩnh Long và nấu ăn với gia đình ở đó. Chúng tôi ăn chuột! Ngày hôm sau, chúng tôi đạp xe một tiếng. Chuyên này vui lắm!