Mekong Delta in Depth

We had two days in the Saigon (Ho Chi Min City). The first day offered tours to the Mekong Delta or Saigon and the second day offered tours to the Mekong Delta or the Cu Chi Tunnels. There were two tours to the Mekong Delta. One was a big bus tour with 35-40 folks, which was our free excursion. The other was Mekong Delta in depth at a cost of $50 per person. This tour was limited to vans of 6 people. Doug and I knew we would be sick of the big bus tours at this point and had pre-selected the in depth tour. However, this precluded being able to see Saigon as a tour. I had heard that it was a fairly interesting city, with a rich history, that also offered wonderful shopping at good prices. Day 2 didn’t offer any Saigon tours. It only offered the politically charged Cu Chi Tunnel tour, the big bus Mekong Delta tour and a vegetable and fruit garnishing course. We decided to see if the tour desk could pre-arrange a private Saigon tour for us for Saturday for a half day. We were sailing at 4, with an all aboard at 3:30. Arlene and Gil, our friends, also were interested and the tour desk came through. The two days were set. It was expensive...$650 for the van, but we went for it.

On Friday morning, Gil, Arlene and Richard from our little tour group and another woman formed the 6-some for the in-depth tour into the Mekong Delta. Where Ha Noi is north, Da Nang is central, Saigon is at the southern portion of Viet Nam. The ride to our Mekong River cruise in the Delta took about two hours from Saigon. The most renowned places in the Mekong Delta are My Tho and Cai Be, where we headed.

While we may recognize the name Mekong Delta as being famous during the Vietnam war as the region which saw fighting between the Viet Cong guerrillas and units of the US Navy, the region is also known for the many miles of waterways criss-crossing the land making this area both fertile and unique.VietNam is the second largest exporter of rice globally after Thailand, exporting Jasmine and white rice, and this region is famous as a large rice growing area, producing about half of the total of Vietnam's rice output. The region also grows bananas, pineapples, coconuts, grapefruit, and has a large export fishing trade.

The people of this area are comprised of Khmer, Vietnamese, Chinese and Cham and Cambodian nationalities. The income levels are extremely low, especially since the US withdrawal in 1975. Nevertheless, as opposed to Ha Noi and Da Nang, we could quickly see that this area was much more prosperous than the north and central plains areas. There were many more cars evident on the roads and modern low and high rise buildings dotted the horizon. In certain neighborhoods, we could see Lexuses and Mercedes. We were to learn more about Saigon and its history on Saturday, but we immediately caught glimpses of the differences between the regions as we passed through them on Friday.

We comfortably sat back and enjoyed the comforts of our Mercedes 10 seater van and asked our guide various demographic questions. About 45 minutes into the trip, I asked our guide what town or city we were in and he said, Saigon. It is a huge, spread out city that seems to go on forever. As we drove down to the river, locals had set out there wares by the side of the road. The guide explained that while the produce and products sold were suspect, these roadside stands serviced three types of buyers: the person, often a wife, who was juggling working, buying and making dinner for the family, and/or the person who needed to save some dollars, as the costs were cheaper than the products in the store or the traveler. These enterprising roadside merchants staked out a spot along the road and waited for a buyer.

Along the route, these consisted mainly of produce and washing products. Another frequent type of establishment was the sleeping cafe. If you purchased a coffee, you could also take a snooze. We passed sleeping cafe after sleeping cafe. I didn’t notice many folks in them during the day. Considering the number of cafes and the number of mopeds, I assume that these roadside cafes are rest stops where bicyclists and moped riders take time away from the road. Set back from the highway, they were often no more than palm thatched shelters kitted out with some plastic chairs and tables and low-slung hammocks.

In the center of the highway, there were lovely, long lily ponds dotted with pink flowers that ran down the length of the divider, making an unusual and pretty site for the western eyes. It was a interesting and voyeuristic journey, as we took in the foreign signs and different style of living.

We arrived first at the restaurant and were served a wonderful meal of in a lush river setting. It consisted of shrimp spring rolls, shrimp, an elephant ear fish which was wrapped in little rice paper sandwiches with cucumber for us, and a hot pot soup which contained meat balls, squid, shrimp and vegetables. Dessert was a banana which was unlike anything I have tasted, with a bit of a salty flavor.

After lunch, we went down to a canopy boat that seated about 8 -10 folks and the 6 of us plus our guide entered the boat to begin our journey into the life of the people of the Delta. The people living in the Mekong Delta make their living as farmers and fishermen. Often, they live right on the edge of the rivers or canals on various structures built from whatever materials found. Consequently, the architecture along the delta varies from place to place. Some were tin shanties, others were made of wood, others were house boats, others were cement structures. Often, many homes appeared to have fisheries right under them. We noticed that life in the delta seems tightly woven with the river as daily activities and businesses are conducted on its banks. Markets, stores, ship yards, repair shops were facing the river. We passed floating market boats, filled with produce. The river water was a source of water for traveling, bathing and a cleaning source. Sadly, we saw individuals throwing trash and refuse into the river. It is NOT a clean or pretty river. Brown and acrid, it is anything but inviting. We could only imagine what creatures, snakes and alligators alike lurked in those jungle waters. We looked into the houses and watched folks at work, play and daily life. Some acknowledge us and some just went on with life. We stopped in the middle of the river to be served some fresh coconut milk in the coconuts and then continued on to our first stop, where we visited a home and watched a demonstration of rice paper (for spring rolls or cookies) being made. We were taken through a demonstration of how rice is puffed, how coconut milk is made, how local candy and cookies are made and were offered to try their local products and sample some tea. We also looked at some of the regional products such as the cobra products and then headed on our way down the river.

Something we did not thankfully visit, but is a unique industry in this region is the snake industry. Cobras are often soaked along with herbs in large flasks of whisky which can be bought. This potent drink reportedly will increase your libido as well as cure all sorts of illnesses. There were other cobra products for curing skin rashes as well.

Our next stop was a rather fine river home, now a B&B, where they gave us a tour, and we were treated to more tea and some local fruit before making our final leg of the river trip.

It was then back in the van for a repeat of the two hour trip back to the ship. However, the environment was rich with activity and there was much to see out the windows to keep us entertained. It was a varied day filled with lots to see and experience, ever so different to anything in our frame of reference. We all struggled a bit to breath. The road and air is heavy with road dust and debris and many of us suffer from allergies as a result. The air is thick and heavy. Our driver never buys produce from markets as it most assurably would be covered with dirt. We couldn’t imagine being a soldier back in the 60’s fighting in this hot, humid, dirty jungle fighting snakes, scorpions and guerrilla soldiers who understood the land so much better.

Ho Chi Min City AKA Saigon
We adopted Pat from our MeKong tour to be our fifth tour passenger in our Saigon City and shopping tour today. We started out visited the Chinese market, which was the market which both the poor frequent as well as distributors who buy and sell in country towns and other cities. Our driver advised us not to buy but to look and take pictures. What is interesting was prominently displayed in Chinatown was KFC as a key restaurant! One also takes ones' life into ones' hands when you cross a street in Saigon. There are no crosswalks or at least none that any car, moped or bike obeys. They will run you over, so you just have to look carefully and walk very fast in between the speeding cars. Our guide showed us how and guided us.

We next visited the Post Office and Cathedral. These are two key institutions as they are two of the last vestiges of French Baroque architecture left in this once “Pearl of the Orient.” While churches are often sightseeing stops, this church was closed to viewing. There were about 4 or 5 brides scattered around the church with photographers who had elaborate camera setups using the church facade as a backdrop for wedding photos. What was more unusual were the additional brides using a post office for their wedding photos. While an impressive building, it wasn’t all that lovely and I certainly wasn’t able to capture any remarkable shots of this building that were so glamorous, other than the door or interior that I would want to keep for posterity. However, these brides and grooms were posed lovingly in massive traffic, amidst motorcycles and trucks against the post office facade for whatever reason. It dates back to around the French occupation in 1880 and help the auspicious title of once being the headquarters for the Saigon Government during the “American War”. In 1964 it was the scene of a coup which took over the post office and the scene of some bombings.

The Opera House and Continental Hotel are still rather lovely and the center square in front of the Rex Hotel is still rather grand looking. I closed my eyes and try to imagine its large boulevards lined with French villas. There are now 7 5 star hotels in Saigon and 6 4 star hotels. However, it is anything but a luxurious looking city. While there is building going on, most of the architecture is a throwback to the the American occupation, with some 80’s buildings shooting up here and there. The entire city needs a good coat of fresh paint and some sprucing up. The sidewalks are being repaired, though, but the overhead wiring system looks like a Rube Goldberg setup...with a jumble of hundreds of wires rigged together.

Our guide, Dung, shared some differences with China that I found interesting. We noted that China and Hong Kong started late. 10 am was the norm for businesses to open. Here, most folks arrive for work at 9 am. In China, most eat breakfast at home. In VietNam, as in the US, it is eating on the run, grabbing a coffee at a shop that opens about 6:30am and bringing it into the office. The Chinese don't do that. The Chinese are a tea drinking culture with many tea rooms. The VietNamese are a coffee drinking culture. The culture is much more akin the the US in some ways to the Chinese culture, which looks so American.

We noted chairs and tables dotted along the roads in small towns. This is where workers take a beer on their way home (at a cheaper price) than at a bar.Coffee is 15 cents a cup, a beer, 50 cents, a pack of cigarettes, $1. A middle class family doesn't shop at the same type of stores or markets as the lower class, who frequent these open markets.

Our guide told us that pre-1975, much of the French architecture still stood and was well preserved. However, since the US left, the new government, had no desire to maintain any ties to the past and let much of the beautiful old buildings fall to ruin. Only the Continental hotel, the French Embassy, the Opera House, the Church and the Post Office still stand in their former glory. Saigon is home to a number of 4 and 5 star hotels and the modern buildings we saw is home to multinational expats and high level government officials. These homes go for $1 million for a 900 sq. foot apartment. About 70 percent of VietNamese are doing more poorly today than they were in 1975, so few will ever be able to enjoy these high level comforts. The only way to get ahead is with a college eduction and the key is to work for a foreign, not a VietNamese company, as there is too much corruption within Vietnam to get ahead.

Most salaries are comprised of base plus bonus, with bonus making up much more than the salary for the enterprising and bright Vietnamese. The bonus is also a way of avoiding paying for taxes. He told us that corruption is the way of life and the downfall of VietNam. He claims most of the money falls into a few privileged hands and the majority never see a dime. The exit of democracy has been VietNam’s demise. He made an interesting observation and I quote him, noting that it is a personal one. He claimed that the Chinese have moved ahead because they are noted as being focused on business. The VietNamese focus is on education and they are not noted for their astute business sense. For the VietNamese, who have succeeded, they have pursued education and left VietNam and joined foreign nationals. We all have Chinese friends and know that they value education, as well. Perhaps, though, if I tie his comment into what I have seen, the Chinese link education to an astute business sense and have been able to return the income back to their own economy, whereas the VietNamese take their money elsewhere. China has thus flourished as as a country, with certain individuals becoming extremely wealthy, while VietNam individuals may have benefited, but have not reinvested the money back into the country to benefit the country. It seems to be mostly foreign money that I have seen in VietNam.

Sadly, if the corruption problem isn’t resolved, VietNam may never rebound. In fact, Vietnam, the second fastest growing economy in Asia after China, is considered one of the world’s most corrupt countries. Last year, the corruption perceptions index ranked Vietnam 123rd out of 179 nations. Property, construction and government contracts are reportedly riddled with bribery. Aid agencies, which have pledged $4.4 billion to Vietnam for 2008, often complain about money disappearing. In one scam, in April 2006, transport ministry officials handling World Bank projects were caught betting millions of dollars from project funds on European football matches. Since taking office in 2006, communist prime minister Nguyen Tan Dung has vowed to root out corruption, making it his top priority for 2008. In December last year he ordered all ministries and government agencies to step up an anti-graft drive.

Nevertheless, this didn’t dampen the kindness and spirited nature of the Vietnamese we met in Saigon. It wasn’t all history. We left time for shopping, of course. We visited a recommended lacquerware factory. The bus tours usually have only 15-20 minutes there, but we had been advised that an hour was truly needed to carefully shop. These pieces are all created by hand, either with mother of pearl inlays, broken eggshells or painted motifs or a combination. Items ranged from full furniture to coasters and chopsticks. It takes approximately three months to complete a finished lacquerware item. The store also has some nice jewelry items in jade and pearls as well. After dropping a bit too much money, we all left with several bags full of items. We all felt somewhat vindicated with our purchases, having negotiated another 25% down from the asking price and telling ourselves that these items would be so much more at home.

Our final stop was the main shopping street. Our tour was to complete at noon and we were to be dropped off at the shuttle stop in front of the Rex hotel. However, our guide kindly offered to stay with us until 1:30 and then take us back to the ship. This gave us another 90 minutes to shop. Believe me, it wasn’t near enough time. I wanted to see silk. He took us to what he said was the finest silk store in the city. Doug had to pull me out kicking and screaming. I could have cleaned out our bank account in that store. It was called Khai Silk on Dong Street. Containing not only items made of the most beautiful silks I have ever seen, the styles for both men and women were stunning and artfully presented. The workmanship was like I have never seen. And the prices? While not bargain basement, they were reasonable for the quality. You would pay $55 for a silk tie, $150 for a woman’s jacket, $25-60 for a scarf to pashmina. I could have spent all day in the one store and spent most of the designated 90 minutes there.

I did stop in one store on the way back to the van and purchased one bolt of gorgeous silk for $8 a meter. While in the store, it started to rain cats and dogs. The salesgirl went in the back and got me a poncho and then went out and tried to buy Doug and our friend, Pat, ponchos as well. The warmth and service levels were terrific everywhere we went in Saigon.

By the time we got back to the van, the rain had stopped. Pat was having a sugar low and asked if we could stop for a quick bite before returning to the ship. Our guide recommended Pho 2000, the noodle shop famous for hosting Bill Clinton. After devouring some wonderful spring rolls, we hopped on a bus delighted with our day in Saigon.

What made the day so very special was our tour guide, Dung. A veteran tour guide with 21 years in the profession, he was a bit younger than we and had an excellent command of the English language. He explained that the older VietNamese speak English better than the younger ones, due to the exposure that they had to the vast number of Americans during their formative years. (This was is direct opposition to what we witnessed in China, where the younger people have a much better command of the English language). Being so highly experienced, in 2000, he was called into special duty of guiding Chelsea Clinton. He was given carefully designed, politically correct itineraries. He described this with pride and we could see why he was selected. He loved his country but did not gloss over its issues. His concern was that we got the most understanding and experiencing of VietNam and Saigon that we could. I think we all wished we had more time to spend with him in the Mekong Delta area and understand what had become of a country for which our friends and countrymen had fought so hard.