Mekong Delta …..touring around the Chau Doc countryside

December 5th

After breakfast we await the the arrival of San who will take us to a variety of sights…after perusing a bunch of online reviews we had reserved her services for the day some months ago. It is a beautiful day and she is there before 09:00 …the owner assures us she will do a good job, as she is one of three guides they use. Our driver rolls up in a  late model, sparkling clean Toyota and we are off to Sam Mountain to visit the hilltop pagoda. Not so much a mountain as a big hill, but the only one around for miles in the delta. The pagoda is built into, as well as being on the mountain i.e. caves inside the mountain. As we head up the stairs, we seem to be the only Westerners and San says that it is mostly Vietnamese who come to visit here…..in the pagoda, she is keen to point out the meaning of some of the Chinese characters carved into the wood panels surrounding the Buddha figures….having a guide does give one a deeper perspective on what is a complex and ancient philosophy…

…then a bit of a drive to visit the Tra Su Sanctuary which is some 50 km from Chau Doc where we will visit a submerged mangrove forest and bird sanctuary. On the way we learn a bit about San, a determined woman who is trying to be a one “woman” travel agent, the difficulties and successes, all self-taught and built > the English and the website could use improvement, but the will to succeed is impressive.

The Tra Su Sanctuary, by our standards, is a tad rough around the edges, but it is an attempt to preserve it while opening the park to tourism (primarily Vietnamese and Chinese) ….whether it will stand the test of time is open to question, but for us, it was an interesting window to look through. These mangrove forests were destroyed by Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge during that dark period of Cambodia’s recent past when they made many incursions across the border. The area was designated a National Park in the nineties when the government replanted 90-plus hectares with mangroves in an attempt to restore this fragile ecosystem. It is a terrific example of what can be done with the environment if only there is the will…

….we went by motorized sampan, then were rowed by a lady through the mangroves and after a break for fruit and liquids (it was getting hot) San, noting our interest, got us another lady rowed sampan to reach some roosting areas…well worth the time and effort…

Afterwards, we started back stopping in places to get some pics of typical delta countryside including some rather complicated fishing contraptions….

 

….before driving to the top of Sam Mountain to get a panoramic view (in the pic below the fields are all dedicated to growing rice, the green areas were planted several weeks ago, the dark grey is ready to plant and the beige/gold still needs to be prepared) ….then back to the Murray Guesthouse.

A pleasant guide, San did her best to ensure we had a fruitful day and we were appreciative of her efforts. Then time to freshen up, and enjoy some conversation & brews with a very well-traveled couple from Ottawa, before venturing onto the streets of Chau Doc in search of dinner.