Mekong delta

On Wednesday (11 April) we had a full on day visiting the Mekong delta area. Our journey took us 170km from Saigon on a 3 hour drive to the fertile lands of market gardens and busy river trade of the Mekong delta. We boarded a boat and spent 5 hours touring. We saw fruit & veg being traded from boat to boat, then cruised to an area where candy and fruit wine was made. A very labour intensive operation in all aspects, we saw the distillation process of the wine (25-30% liqueur). I sampled a couple of the fruit varieties whilst Dean was brave enough to drink the snake wine! There was coconut crisps, toffee and popped rice candy for tasting / purchasing as well. These guys don't waste a thing in the manufacturing process.
After 45 minutes on our boat, the next visit was lunch at a tearooms where once again we were served too many dishes and ate far more than normal. Then onto market gardens, heaps of fruit trees and more food! (Adam pictuured with jacfruit) Cruising back to our car we were amazed at how the massive river supports so many people.
Our car journey home involved taking in more of the scenery and lifestyles of the poorer side of the population in some areas.