The mighty Mekong River, also known as “Mother of Waters” because it is such an important resource to many millions of people, begins its journey in the high Tibetan Plateau and snakes its way approximately 4,350 kilometres through six countries, eventually flowing into the South China Sea.

We are about to embark on a trip that will take us from Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh in Cambodia, through the Mekong Delta, known in Vietnamese as Nine Dragon river delta because of the river’s numerous branches.

Our journey begins in Ho Chi Minh City where a shuttle bus battles the congested early morning traffic to collects us and other passengers from our hotels for the two-hour drive to Cai Be, a colourful riverside community of fishermen, early morning markets and fruit farmers. Anchored in the bay, our unique wooden river cruise boat, with its Vietnamese flag flapping in the breeze, is waiting.

Aptly named ‘Mekong Eyes’ the large distinctive red, black and white eyes painted on the front of the boat are an important customary tradition, part of the ‘eye opening’ ceremony performed on all new boats to protect them on their journey. The ‘eyes’ are a familiar sight on the many boats that are plying their trade along the river. This refurbished river boat, built from an old traditional rice barge using long standing building traditions, brings with it a unique heritage of what it means to travel this great waterway.

On board we are greeted with a welcome drink as sociable introductions take place with our fellow travellers.  There is an air of excitement about the journey. This is a unique opportunity to learn about the lives of millions of people who live along the banks of the river and on the river, a way of living that has remained unchanged for centuries.

However, we know we will never be part of their world, their understanding and their experience of what this mighty river brings to their daily lives and how essential it is for their survival. We can only ever be interested observers who are offered a glimpse into their world.

And there is plenty to see. We set sail and join the river traffic as children call out and wave to us from the riverbank. A floating convoy of battered wooden boats laden with supplies of fruit and vegetables on their way to market, ferries transferring passengers and their motor bikes across the river, fish farms and men in fishing boats, women powering themselves along the river’s edge with an oar in their skiffs, petrol sellers in tiny boats and small floating supermarkets servicing the local river communities  all competing for space with tourist boats and massive transport barges churning up the water on this chocolate brown river.

The Greater Mekong, a crucial source of water, food and energy is said to be the ‘fish basket’ and ‘rice bowl’ for the many millions of people who live along this river system with it also being an essential source of drinking water, and crucial for growing rice and farming endeavours.

Later in the afternoon, our boat pulls into a riverside community. A young guide is waiting to give us an insight into the importance of the river as we follow him on a walking tour of the thriving rice fields. Plots of land are handed down from one generation to the next, so it is usual practice, he tells us, that when a family member dies, they are buried on their own land which explains why seven bright pink raised graves are perched in the middle of a rice paddy.

As we stroll along a furrowed track dense with coconut palms, taking in information on fruit, flowers, and farming techniques there is a sense that what we are hearing has been preserved through the ages; generational family practices continue. Our guide ushers us to a nearby home where a young woman has prepared a delightful afternoon tea displaying the local produce. Slightly unnerving is an introduction to the family pet – a large boa constrictor, kept in a cage nearby.

Back on the boat, the sky grows yellow with the setting sun as we are invited to the top deck for evening drinks. A group of travellers who started out as strangers are now all best friends thanks to a couple of rounds of potent cocktails breaking down the barriers! Laughing and chatting we make our way to the dining room to experience a traditional Vietnamese meal expertly created and designed to impart the wonderful flavours of Vietnam.

As the night draws to a close, I sit on the small balcony of our river boat and take in the inky blackness of the night. We are anchored somewhere on the river. Silhouettes and indistinguishable shapes appear as the lights of small fishing boats move through the darkness. From the depths of the riverbank comes the low rumbling of frogs while the bewildered cry of small animals can be heard in the night.

Early morning, we set sail with a cloudless sky and shining sun that is heating up the day. The river is humming along with busyness and it’s a very relaxed group that sits down to a sumptuous breakfast on the top deck. We are at a juncture of the river that shows the enormity of this body of water which looks like an inland sea.

This water life is laid bare as we come to see the communities’ connection to the river, where communal life replicates the past and gives a road map for the future. Women wash clothes and themselves in the river, toileting occurs in the river, children swim at the water’s edge, their food comes from the river and supports their crops and the river is often their sole means of transport.

So many communities are built right on the water’s edge, their corrugated iron houses clustered together and firmly anchored on bamboo stilts which look quite spindly but are strong and flexible especially during monsoon season when water levels are high and the current is swift.

Floating villages are prevalent, houses on floating pontoons, house boats and tiny houses clinging precariously to oil drums, their washing hanging from makeshift lines. It is a lesson in recycling to see the way people on the river use whatever they have at hand to add to the structure of their houses – some bricks, sheets of iron, tarpaulins, plastic, chicken wire, and lattice. Nothing is wasted.

Further along the river, we transfer to a sampan to explore the waterways of Cai Rang, a riverside community of floating markets, and today, bright yellow marigolds are being transported in wooden sampans along the waterways to the markets. The fragrant smell of lemongrass, used to keep the mosquitoes away, permeates the air as we leave the sampan to join a walking tour of the busy wholesale market in nearby Can Tho.

Barrows of melons, coconuts, potatoes and rice are trundled around to stalls while women lop the heads off river fish, scale and gut them and throw them in buckets of water ready for sale. A couple of fat grey eels have given up the will to live and lie forlornly in a bucket. Make no judgments, I tell myself, there is no room for sentiment or faint-heartedness in this noisy and energetic market, this is about survival.

But surprises often occur in the most unlikely places, and this was the case with our visit to the Duong family home in Can Tho. This beautiful home of cultural and historical importance is now a national heritage combining Western and Oriental influences in the architecture, design and decoration of the home.

It was one of the settings for the movie ‘The Lover’ (l’Amante), a semi-autobiographical story by French writer Marguerite Duras who lived in nearby Sa Dec with her widowed mother and older brother, and as a 15-year-old began a love affair with a 32-year-old wealthy Chinese businessman. Due to cultural influences from both families, the love affair did not last.

At Can Tho, we leave the Mekong Eyes and transfer to the vibrant, lively river town of Chau Doc, deep in the Mekong Delta. Home to an array of cultures – Vietnamese, ethnic Cham, Khmer and Chinese communities – Chau Doc is also close to the Cambodian border and a hub for river trade and transport. From here a speedboat will take us the final leg of the journey to Phnom Penh.

We are staying at the Victoria hotel, situated on a tributary of the Mekong, the Bassac River. It is an imposing structure, very much influenced by French architecture and culture. The French were in Vietnam for 100 years so many aspects of French culture are still evident today, and architecture is one of them. Our overnight stay is an opportunity to practice our limited French as all menus are in French as is the hotel information.

It’s also a night for celebration as we are in Chau Doc for Tet, the Vietnamese New Year, and excitement is building for the street party about to take place. In front of the hotel, trucks line the street in readiness while four bold, wobbling dragon heads sit expectantly on the truck cabins. As festivities gather pace, parents arrive with children bubbling with excitement, while small dragons appear from the crowd to take place in the parade.

The dragon choirs arrive on the back of trucks all banging out a frightening din on cymbals and drums and the parade is underway as the hotel puts on a dazzling display of dancing dragons much to the delight of the crowd. This is a night of festivity and celebration that is equal to Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year all rolled into one.

The following morning, we join a French couple as the speed boat waits at the hotel’s pier to take us to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. We make two stops along the river, at Vietnamese Immigration to be checked out of the country and at Cambodian Immigration to be stamped into Cambodia. 

A feeling of freedom is the only way to describe the excitement that comes from the energy and power of speeding along the Mekong. It’s such a contrast from the leisurely pace of the river boat. Tiny villages, floating housing pontoons, fishing boats and river barges all flash by in blink-and-you–miss-it moments until the scenery changes and we are looking at the skyline of the city of Phnom Penh. Our journey along the Mekong is complete as we arrive at Sisowath Quay International Port.

While it is an amazing experience to have the opportunity to travel the Mekong Delta it comes with an awareness of the hardships of life for people on the river. The subsistence farmers and fishermen whose lives are impacted by decisions made further upstream through extensive damming of the river has had a significant effect on the fishing and water flow to the lower regions of the Mekong as has deforestation and climate change.

The Mekong River Commission is working to strategically address the social, economic, political, and environmental issues of the river.

Header image: © Jillian Huntley