The Mekong Delta

The Mekong is the longest river in Southeast Asia at over 4,300 kilometers and serves as a lifeline for nearly 70 million people.

Today, we set off at 5:30 AM to visit the floating market in Can Tho. We cruised through a small canal with our boat until we finally reached the main branch of the Mekong. The sunrise was beautiful, as was the entire area, were it not for the significant and well-known waste problem. Vietnam struggles with the largest amount of plastic waste in the world, and this is particularly noticeable in the river. Trash as far as the eye can see, whether in the water or on the banks. Our guide tries to downplay it, repeatedly explaining that the river initially flows through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia before finally reaching Vietnam. He estimates that much of the waste already comes from these regions. That may be true, we think, but the riverbanks certainly give a different impression.

We had already touched upon the waste issue in Southeast Asia in our Bali blog. The topic is difficult... and somewhat disheartening.

The floating market in Can Tho is the largest in the region, and it continues to shrink year by year. The needs of the younger generations understandably no longer align with the realities of life on the boats. It was certainly interesting to watch the activity, although it feels like there are more boats loaded with tourists than with goods for sale.

Afterwards, we visited a private noodle production facility and even got our hands involved. In a simple backyard, up to 1,000 kg of thin rice flour products can be produced during peak times. It’s impressive to see the production site and the effort involved.

The rest of the day today was spent by the pool. Tomorrow we head back to Saigon.

In this sense: Final push.