The Mekong Delta

Entering one of 5 remaining Communist countries did not go smoothly.  Our new guide, Toan, slipped the border police $30 to get us through after 2 hours and it's gone better since.
We rode 108km to Can Tho along the network of waterways criss-crossing this region at 3' above sea level.  
I had to duck under a bunch of bananas at one point!
Uncle Ho greeted us...
and we now walk around with millions in our pockets.
[Insert obligatory food pix here]
Today we had a morning tour of rice noodle "factory"/souvenir shop,
floating produce market (for real),
And cacao farm specializing in tourist visits.
Our initial impressions of Vietnam are that it's much more prosperous than Cambodia.  The towns/cities are more vibrant, there's much better infrastructure and much less trash, and rural people don't seem to be living on the edge.
There are many fewer temples and we haven't seen any monks so far.  

We ride 200km to Ho Chi Minh City next with a homestay tomorrow night about halfway.  Riding into Can Tho was busy enough we won't be riding the last 20km to the hotel in central Ho Chi Minh City.

Comments

  1. mauriceJanuary 19, 2026 at 8:53 AM

    I had the same impression regarding the relative prosperity of the two countries. Uncle Ho Is everywhere! Notice that he’s on every single denomination of currency? Out of curiosity - what’s the name of the tour operator you’re using?

    ReplyDelete
  2. JzolaJanuary 19, 2026 at 8:20 PM

    Will you get to see "Our Uncle Ho" in his mausoleum? Quite the experience. Prices are pretty nice, eh.

    ReplyDelete

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