Mekong Delta The Do Che Diaries

Experiencing authentic Vietnamese local life is not complete without a visit to the Mekong Delta, and sailing across the river on a motor boat to islands with people waiting to welcome you to local attractions and luscious traditional cuisines.

- Sudipto Roy

A bus ride one and a half hour from Ho Chi Minh City, or Saigon as the dwellers call it, across the green rice fields, we reached the rural My Tho city to be transferred on the motor boats that would take us on a sail across the Tien River. There are four islands to visit in this trip although we managed to complete only two. The islands are called the Dragon, Unicorn, Turtle and Phoenix by virtue of their shapes and also adding an attractive nomenclature for foreign tourists.

Thom, our tour guide was really informative in terms of explaining the cultural aspects of the trip and how the food, amateur music, local small scale industries and the way of living of this predominantly fishermens' hamlet in the southern Vietnam has evolved over the last two decades. As our steamer left the fishing wharf and sailed towards the Phoenix Island, Thom told us about the itinerary. We would later visit the Unicorn Island (locally called the Thos Son Island). The muddy water foamed and bulged making a group of smaller motor boats in the backdrop look timid and hapless. However, there is not much that you can soak in terms of sombreness as the smile that remains all-pervading on the faces of these locals will make you seek for life amidst wilderness and modesty. It was September and the monsoon was still quite omnipresent in the air. The occasional rain, the humidity and then the sun playing a mystic hide and seek behind the cloud set up a perfect atmosphere before our captain decided to drop the anchor at the jetty on the Phoenix Island.

Sampling local fruits and candies