Two surefire ways to see how people live when visiting a new place is to experience their market and local mode of transportation. This morning we departed Jahan to visit Chau Doc. Like much of what we’ve seen in Vietnam along the Mekong River, Chau Doc is a busy place with fishermen, ferries, and cargo boats moving up and down the river. On our way into the city, we rode through a floating market. This is where middlemen who have bought produce from farmers come with overflowing boats to sell to people who will in turn sell the products in area markets. Each vendor’s boat has a bamboo pole with fruits and vegetables tied to it, indicating the items that they have for sale. Smaller boats tie up and load up on the products they are buying. A few industrious individuals moved among the others selling concessions.
Once in Chau Doc, we mounted local cyclos called trishaws to tour the downtown area. These small carts attached to bicycles were a fitting way to feel first hand what it’s like to be in the flow of traffic in a Vietnamese city. We passed by businesses, markets and schools, and saw several other modes of transportation as motorbikes, bicycles, cars and other trishaws as they moved around us.
The town market is a place to purchase just about anything. Bins full of exotic fruits, many of which we’ve come to love on the Jahan’s buffet, lined the main street of the market. Parallel to this, vendors sold fish, eels, frogs, chickens and other meats. Those of us who ventured off the main walkways saw candy, toys, clothes and processed fish for sale. As we saw at the floating market, others walked among the stalls selling prepared food and drink to keep the vendors from going hungry.
Much of the economy is dependent upon fish, whether at a subsistence, artisanal or commercial scale. Floating homes and fish farms line the shore of the Bassac River near Chau Doc. Tilapia and basa are contained under these floating structures inside a corral made of wood and stainless steel netting. Up to 100,000 fish can be contained under some of the larger structures. Tilapia are sold locally, while the basa are exported to the US, China, Europe, the Middle East and Australia in the form of frozen fillets. They are harvested every 10 months and provide a comfortable living for the families running these farms.
As we made our way toward the Cambodia border, we sailed up the Tan Chau Canal, a man-made channel that has been in use since the 17th century, before rejoining the Mekong River and continuing north. While we had only traveled a short distance to the border, it did not take long for us to notice the differences between Vietnam and Cambodia. The Mekong River of Vietnam, its shoreline filled with industry and activity, transitioned in to the Mekong River of Cambodia, with sparsely populated pastoral scenes and quiet waters. We spent the afternoon cruising in comfort on Jahan, taking in the views of this new land.
