PLAN YOUR MEKONG DELTA VACATION
The Mekong Delta (Cuu Long) is a destination like no other. Innumerable rivers, canals, tributaries, and rivulets overflow with fish, and the rich alluvial soil helps produce an abundance of rice, fruit, and vegetables. Lush tropical orchards, floating markets, quaint towns, delicious food, emerald-green rice paddies, and lazy brown rivers and canals add to the photogenic wonder of the place. Mekong delta tours Vietnam
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TOP REASONS TO GO
RICE PADDIES There's something uniquely soothing about the Mekong Delta's rice paddies. Whether they're photogenically brilliantly green or postharvest brown, there's usually a buffalo standing around, accompanied by a white water bird. Sam Mountain, just outside Chau Doc, is the perfect vantage point.
RIVER LIFE Get out on the water to see Mekong Delta life in action. Everything revolves around the water, which provides the region's main form of transportation.
FLOATING MARKETS Boats chock-full of locally grown produce congregate at certain points in the river to trade, advertising their wares by hoisting them up on a flagpole-like stick.
HOMESTAYS There are several upscale homestay options well off the tourist trail that make a great base for cycling, walking, or boating through Delta communities. South Vietnam travel tours
CHAM CULTURE The ancient kingdom of Champa ruled this region from the 7th to the 18th century, and pockets of Cham descendants remain, along with a smattering of beautiful temples
When to Go
The best time to tour the Mekong Delta is during the dry season, from October to May. During the rainy season, from May to September, a large portion of the region is under water and inaccessible. A number of interesting festivals are held in the Mekong Delta, but without a guide or a local to explain what's going on, these can be rather confusing spectacles. Attending one of these festivals should be organized well in advance, as accommodations book up early. The Khmer communities in Soc Trang and Tra Vinh hold the three-day Ooc Om Boc (or Ok Om Bok) festival each year on the 13th to 15th days of the 10th lunar month. The highlight of the festival, a combination of moon worship and prayers for a good harvest, is the racing of slender wooden snake-shaped Ngo boats. The Khmer communities in Soc Trang and Tra Vinh also celebrate the Khmer New Year, Chol Chnam Thmay, usually in mid-April (the date is determined by an ancient Khmer calendar, not the lunar calendar that guides most other celebrations in the region.) The celebrations feature a lot of good-natured water splashing as well as family feasts and pagoda visits.
