The Mekon Delta is not only Vietnam's rice basket but also its fruit bow. For
kilometre after kilometre the flat lands of the delta are either in the stage of planting, growing or harvesting of the staple diet of the vietnamese millions. As you head towards HCMC the landscape turns to undulating and the fields are transposed to an endless line of orchard of every possible delicious tropical fruit imaginable. On the side of thye road local growers tend their stalls selling pinapples, bananas, dragon fruit, papaya, watermelon, longon, strawberries and durian fruit - just to mention a few.
As the mighty Mekong river winds its way south towards the south China Sea its many tributaries are amass with colourfully decorated fishing trawlers and barges ferrying goods form town to town. From the border of Cambodia I had as many as 9 crossings before reaching HCMC. The people are incredibly friendly and go about their daily routine never seeming to be fazed or stressed.
My highlight of the Delta was a daylong riverboat cruise visiting the Can Tho floating markets which are a colourfu and bustling confusion of boats plied hight with vegetables and fruits. Housewives, paddling their sampans from boat to boat bartering and haggling before negotiating the narrow canals back to their family homes - life revolves around the water.
HCMC My main aim was to successfully negotiate from the southern approaches to the central Siagon Railway Station where I could catch the train to Phan Tiet on the east coast. I soon learned that train station translated to the Vietnamese equivalent of "ben xe" as I had to ask for directions as many as 20 times before stumbling upon Siagon Central - hidden off some back alley. As in China, signs are only in Vietnamese making locating landmarks a little frustrating to say the least.
With a population exceeding 6 million HCMC is a caotic scene of clogged roads. The evening traffic jam is a sight to behold, especially in the rainy season where the skies open to clockwork at 4pm. People just don a rain poncho and continue on their merry way at the same bustling pace - a constant hooting of horns but not a raised vocie in anger or frustration.
There is certainly an art to cycling in such a swarming mass of motorbikes - maintain a constant pace, don't suddenly veer off your line and keep a friendly smile on your face. After finding a hotel close to the railway station I bedded down for the night before cataching the 7am express to the quitet of the east coast fishing village of Phan Tiet - the home of the world famous fish sauce.
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