Vietnam

Before I left on this current trip I toyed with the idea of doing a weekly summary of what I’d been up to for friends, family and anyone else that was vaguely interested. It didn’t happen. No problem, I thought, a fortnightly synopsis is probably a better option anyway. Indeed it would have been, had I written one. Hmm. Oh well, never mind – at least a monthly review will let people know that I’m alive and give them some idea of the things I’ve been doing lately, even if it’s not particularly up to date. Yup. I guess it could have. Stuff it. Without further ado, hello and welcome to my not-on-any-schedule update. Take a seat, make yourself comfortable. Sorry the popcorn’s burnt.

As I mentioned in my last post, life in the Mekong Delta is dominated by water. For the people of Cambodia and southern Vietnam who live beside, on and in this vast waterway, the Mekong and its tributaries provide food, transport, sanitation and a whole lot more.

Having had the opportunity to spend many hours on the river myself in recent weeks, I’ve put together this photo essay to provide a brief insight into life on South East Asia’s largest river.

No trip to Vietnam would be complete without spending a few days checking out the mighty Mekong Delta. Easily accessible by bus from Saigon, the towns and villages on the Mekong River and its tributaries give you a glimpse of a way of life that has been largely unchanged for centuries. To get a better picture, however, you need to leave the safety of the shore and spend some time on the river. One of the best places to do this is in Can Tho – the largest town in the delta – by checking out its well known floating markets.

Of the many things I love about travelling solo, by far the best is that unless you really can’t get enough of your company, you are pretty much guaranteed to meet new people every day. When the only conversation that you’ve had all day is saying good morning to the hostel receptionist or ordering a monosyllabic breakfast, you tend to make a much greater effort to strike up a conversation with a random stranger than you otherwise would. Sometimes you might get little more than a grunt in return, while other times you might have a friendly chat over dinner and not much else. Occasionally, however, you meet some great people that you end up spending a lot longer with than you anticipated, sharing crazy times and amazing experiences with along the way.

On the list of dumb things to do while travelling, losing your passport has to rank pretty close to the top of the list. Depending on where you are in the world the cost and hassle of replacing it can easily run into several hundred dollars and days or even weeks of ruined travel time. Knowing this, I have always taken particular care to know where my passport is at all times and as a result, have never really come close to being permanently separated from my little blue travel companion. Never, that is, until yesterday.