Chau Doc, Vietnam
We are anchored at the midsized market town of Chau Doc (pop c. 100,000), the first community of any size after entering Vietnam from Cambodia along the Mekong Delta (Cuu Lon –the Nine Dragons). In the morning—but not too early—we embark on large, covered watercraft that takes us through a modest floating market—quiet now after the early rush—with an opportunity to stop and visit one of the larger craft so we can see how these river merchants live and work. Their produce is prominently displayed on the boats’ masts, e.g., if they sell pineapple or bananas, a sample of the fruit can be viewed from a great distance.
We venture onward to the centre of town, past the classy Victoria Hotel and into the main market area. Along the way we note two different ways of getting across the river after shopping: the sleek and stylish motor craft near the hotel and then the long wooden canoes tilled by muscular women with two long oars—we do not stop to ascertain the fare. We visit an early 20th century Confucian temple: temples of this kind are syncretic in nature and not especially spiritual: this one honours the intrepid Vietnamese adventurers who “liberated” this southern region of the country from Cambodia in the 17th/18th centuries (then saw it become a French colony in the 19th). It prominently features the mandatory portrait of Ho Chi Minh as its centrepiece. From there, we walk through the town market, again fairly typical, displaying a huge variety of fruits, vegetables, meats (remarkably fresh-looking and fly-free), and, especially, dried fish. Chau Doc is famous for its large variety of “anchovies” for which people travel long distances—it is eaten with rice and green papaya.
We board our watercraft again to visit one of the ubiquitous floating fish farms—this one holding some 100,000 “saba”—these fish farmers can make up to $30,000 a year per farm, but the overhead is high, and there are significant risks, including disease and the vagaries of the river as it goes through its annual flood/drought cycle. Viewing the feeding frenzy when fishmeal is thrown into the huge tanks is worth the price of admission. These fish average 2 to 3 pounds each.
In the afternoon, Nguyen Qui Duc introduces us to the post Doi Moi (“Renovation”) literature of Vietnam; most of us are familiar with the writings of (mostly) American authors after the war, but there is a wealth of novels, short stories, and memoirs by Vietnamese authors. These works fall into a number of categories, but the most interesting are by writers who, in the dark days before 1986, would have been classified as “dissidents”—many still are. And more live abroad, some able to return from time to time, some who would prefer not to. It is a fascinating study, and we are provided with a pretty comprehensive reading list which many of us will delve into with relish.
We conclude our day with a delightful stroll through the “typical” Delta village of An Hung, evidently quite prosperous: a variety of fruits and vegetables are being grown here, and there are a lot of healthy chickens and ducks, but the main crop seems to be red chillies, which, in a good season, are an excellent cash crop. This seems to be an excellent season. Participants are given the option of crossing a “monkey” bridge over the local irrigation canal—a couple of us do not take the risk of a dunking in the canal, and go around, arriving for a welcoming cup of tea at a pleasant village home moments ahead of some of those on the monkey bridge. We pass by a local “shipyard” before boarding Jahan—an example of cottage industry being brought to a new level.
