Lai Vung District

The last 2 days we spent on and around the Mekong, mostly in the rural areas close to Can Tho.

Sunday we slept in for the first time in weeks. Completely relaxed we got ourselves on a couple of bikes (yes, bikes again) and cycled through the countryside. We rode on small roads through villages and were able to get a glimpse into rural lifestyles. We saw an open air temple built into mangroves, were greeted like a hundred times by local children and could try a couple of fruits like milk apple, water apple, jackfruit or mango. The pineapple was better in Indonesia ;). We also represented our countries well when asked by locals to chuck a round of beer with them.

Today we spent most of the day on a small motor boat visiting 2 floating markets, the main attraction of the area. We got up at 4.30 to be at the first one around 6.30 to see it live and bustling. The first was the floating market of Cai Rang, one of the biggest in the Delta. Mostly bigger, motorized boats come here to sell goods from their farms. For example you could see a boat full of pineapples anchoring here for 3 or more days till all its fruits are sold, then going back home and coming back in the next few days. Between those bigger boats you can see smaller boats buying those fruits and vegetables - it is almost exclusively that, fish and meat for example are sold elsewhere - for their local markets or selling coffee to the vendors. The second one was a smaller, local version. There you could get most stuff necessary for a daily life. Fruits, veggies, clothes etc. There was even a small convenience store floating around. After that we drove into the smaller canals of the countryside and floated along rice fields and fruit gardens.

All in all those were 2 trips well worth our money because you really get a feel for how much the local livelihood revolves around the Mekong. From gas stations for boats, people washing their clothes and themselves in or catching their lunch from the river, rice and other fruits kept alive with Mekong water to housing and everything that comes with it: the Mekong is what makes this region work. If you have any more questions about the region or especially about how man made climate change affects the people's livelihoods, please ask away! Dunja will answer all your inquiries in German, French or English ;).Read more