The far south of Vietnam is one of the two main rice bowls of the country. Dominated by the Mekong Delta, the surrounding lands are comprised of low lying rice paddies and the rivers are bordered by dense mangroves and palms. The tributaries of the hectic Mekong River highway provide a comprehensive network of canals and channels. The rivers are the best methods to explore the region at a leisurely pace and offer the opportunity to experience the truly unique Mekong River lifestyle.

What follows is an exploration of the Delta in a clockwise direction, beginning south of Ho Chi Minh City at Mytho, visiting areas both very popular with travelers, and those which are virtually unknown. Cruising up river on the roof of a boat laden with all manner of fish produce, as the sun sets over the distant coconut tress, is a truly remarkable experience

My Tho	Rach Gia
Ben Tre	Phu Quoc Island
Vinh Long	Hon Chong
Can Tho	Ha Tien
Soc Trang	Chau Doc
Ca Mau

Mytho

Mytho is a delightful town, situated about two hours by bus south west of Ho Chi Minh city. Sitting on the bank of The Mekong River, Mytho is divided into two by a tributary of the river. From here you can do a number of short boat trips to various islands and floating markets within the surrounding are. It is also a good place to catch the overnight long boats to a variety of locations including Chau Doc and Long Xuyen. A quiet evening in Mytho can be spent on your veranda watching the sun set and the fishing fleet unload after dark. During the day you ca spend hours in a nearby cafe simply watching life go by, or on the river, cruising the day away. The Mytho experience is enhanced by the fact that the streets are generally extremely quiet. Mytho is mot a place where you need to worry about being decapitated by a bike carrying six people and half a ton of corrugated iron speeding along at 100 kph.

Along 30 thang 4 street is an amazing demonstration of the bizarre Vietnamese taste for really tacky photos. Rather than have their photo taken with the background of the flowing Mekong River, photographers have erected all manner of cardboard backings with snow scenes, stuffed deer and to add that final tough of authenticity, their assistants are dressed as pandas. Just a bit down from the strange signs there is a quiet little park where you can savor a baguette and watch the sun set

Con Phung island
This island is also known as the Island of the Coconut Monk named after a monk, Ong Dao Dua, who meditated on the island for three years during which he ate nothing but coconuts. An active supporter of the reunification of Vietnam, he strongly believed that reunification could be achieved by peaceful means. In the early 1960s he founded a community in support of this ideal, and as a result was imprisoned by President Diem on a number occasions. At his time, the island became a sanctuary for those who were attempting to escape the ravages of war. Ong Dao Dua also headed his own sect, which was a bizarre mix of Christianity and Buddhism. The large cross that you may stumble upon in his sanctuary is not a swastika, but actually communist victory his community dissolved, and the island is now a little run down. You can reach Con Phung island by boat from Mytho which takes about half an hour.

Snake farm
If you enjoy having enormous pythons wrapped around you, this is the place for you as snakes are greed here for anti-venom and medicinal purposes. If snakes do not turn you on, then bay be the turtles will. The Snake Farm is home to two yellow turtles, the only two living of their species known to the human race. They live to 1,000 years old so these ones have another 800 years to look forward to. The Thai government offered US$ 250,000 for the turtles, but the Vietnamese authorities declined the ‘generous’ offer, so that they could keep these very special creatures.

Ben Tre

Ben Tre is made up of seven districts with Chau Thanh being the main city, surrounded by many islands that are covered in coconut trees. Ben Tre is known throughout Vietnam for its masses of coconut palms, and during the war the coconut oil was used as a valuable substitute for kerosene. This are is relatively untouched by tourism, and this is evident in the fact that NOBODY speaks English in Ben Tre. Even the tourist office has trouble communicating. Communication problems aside, you will find the people of Ben Tre to be exceedingly friendly and the countryside is beautiful. There is also a daily fresh produce market that is extremely colorful and worth visiting. Due to the limited exposure to tourism, Ben Tre can leave you with a purely cultural experience.

Vinh Long

The town of Vinh Long is set on the edge of its principal attraction, the Mekong River. More precisely it is the beautiful islands that you can visit from here that may attract you to use Vinh Long as a base. Vinh Long is uncharacteristically large for the Mekong Delta, displaying an abundance of tall buildings and Karaoke bars to tempt your vocal chords. At one stage in Vietnam’s history, Vinh Long was at the center of a Christian stronghold. Although Christians no longer dominate in the area, there is still a cathedral that is worth looking at.

Most people that visit Vinh Long use it as a base to explore the islands which are home to people that grow exotic produce. One of the more popular islands to visit has several rambutan and bonzai tree gardens with many different fruits and flowers that you can visit.

Can Tho

Can Tho is a thriving metropolis with huge streets, little action and loads of mosquitoes. Although Can Tho has its own market by the riverside, where you can get excellent ice-cream, the principal attraction would have to be the nearby floating markets. Being rather industrious, the centre of Can Tho is quite busy and noisy with motorised cyclos roaring up and down the streets combined with throngs of people going about their lives. The riverside can have its quiet moments, but Can Tho is also a burgeoning are a number of pagodas worth visiting, and for the trivia fans, Can Tho is the home to much of Vietnam’s fish sauce.

Markets
Cai Rang Market is situated about 8 km from Can Tho by road or a 20 km loop by boat. This market is quite nice and sells a variety of fruit and vegetables and operates from 5 am to 11 am, though the markets are better the earlier you can get there. A cyclo from Can Tho will take about 15 minutes to get to Cai Rang Market. Another market, Phung Hiep market, is 31 km from Can Tho. This is the snake market, selling a plethora of living, wriggling and often poisonous snakes. Pythons and Cobras are sold here by people from the countryside who have caught them by hand, whilst others have come to purchase snakes for restaurants, medicinal reasons or personal consumption. This market is open from 5 am to 5 pm. If travelling by boat, you can add a dimension to your day by stopping and visiting some of the fruit gardens, which sell pineapple, rambutan and papaya amongst many other fruits.

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