Noodles, Candy, and Puffed Rice

I think the Mekong Delta is my favorite part of Vietnam. You leave the crowds of the major cities behind and spend most of your day on various boats. There always seems to be a breeze to keep the heat down. It's slow-paced, relaxing, and different than anything you're going to see back home.

It was day two of my independent adventures in the Mekong Delta. My Lovely Wife continued her visit with old friends, and wasn't going to make me sit all day, smiling, and not understanding a word anyone was saying. This was a very wise move on her part. Everyone had fun, and no one was grumpy.

After breakfast it was back to Sinh Cafe to jump on another bus. This being my third trip to Vietnam, I've been on this tour before. But I like the Delta. People there find very creative ways to earn a living.

The day started out watching vendors selling produce to restaurants. The wholesalers are on large boats, the buyers are on small boats. As we moved about, we saw all variety of food.

Boats were bringing all sorts of goods to market. Rice was being warehoused. Vietnam has gone from a rice importer to the fourth largest exporter.

Catfish were being moved downstream. Catfish are another major export, but the fish farms in Vietnam may soon face U.S. sanctions for uncompetitive practices.

Next, we had a stop at a rice noodle factory. The noodles are made by boiling the rice and then making a crepe-like cake from the rice water. After a few seconds, the crepe is removed and dried under the sun. Later the crepe is put through a machine that slices it into thin noodles. If you've ever had Pho (the national dish of Vietnam) you've had these noodles.

What's that I see in the background? Why, it's a still making "rice wine". There's nothing winey about this. It's rice whiskey with all the alcohol to prove it. It just goes to show nothing is wasted.

At another cottage, they're puffing rice in hot sand. The sand is heated and then the rice is stirred in. The rice explodes much like popcorn. The sand is then sifted from the rice and heated again. There is no cooking oil used in this process.

Back on board, more purchases, more deliveries. I've often wondered if Walt Disney had seen something like the Delta before he designed the Jungle Cruise.

One of our last stops is to a fish farm. Where they prove fish are not as dumb as people think. The farmer walked out on a pier and banged on a metal bowl. All the fish in the pond rushed to the pier. You could see the water swelling as they schooled around him. The fish started a feeding frenzy when the farmer started tossing grain into the water.

There's so much to see on the delta. If you come to Vietnam, you mustn't miss it.

At the end of the day, it was back to Saigon. My Lovely Wife had her own adventures in the city's markets. Tomorrow, we would continue our journey together.