Friday, January 12, 2007

Mekong Delta - Vietnam

Hello everyone, it's National Delurking Week, so if you've been visiting, please come out and say , "Hi." I've got a little trip for the extended weekend so I leave you to enjoy some photos from my trip to Vietnam in 2005. Would you like to take a virtual tour of the Mekong Delta with me? The Mekong Delta is often referred to as the bottom half of Vietnam's rice basket.
No, we're not taking Disneyland's jungle cruise.
Entering the floating market.

Despite the abundant rice and fruit harvest, the Mekong Delta is also one of Vietnam's poorest regions. Since the Mekong River continuously flows, locals believe the impurities flow downstream so they use the river water to cook, drink, bathe, and erm, do other things.
Those who can't afford to buy land, "squat" on the river's edge.

I'm amazed that clothes stay so white when river water is so brown. Aren't these darling?
The Mekong Delta lives up to its reputation with the most abundant fruit trees I've ever seen. Can you guess which ones they are? (Click on pictures for larger images.)
1. Jackfruit
2. Longan
3. Pineapple
4. Custard Apple
5. Avocado
6. Banana
7. Sapodilla
8. Rose Apple
9. Ambarella
This one's too easy. Coconuts.
Coconuts
Bye!
March 30, 2007 Update:
Since I now know how to upload videos, I thought ya'll might like a real "virtual tour."
Other Vietnam posts can be found in the tag Series: Vietnam, but I suggest reading the series in this order:
Mekong Delta - Vietnam
Com Lam (Vietnamese Sticky Rice in Bamboo) - Sa Pa - Vietnam
Tien Dung Chu Dong Tu Temple of Love - Binh Minh - Vietnam
Pho Cuon Ha Noi (Vietnamese Rice Noodle Rolls Hanoi-Style)
Hoan Kiem (Returned Sword Lake) - Ha Noi - Vietnam
Van Mieu (Temple of Literature) - Ha Noi - Vietnam
Cha Ca Thang Long (Vietnamese Hanoi-Style Turmeric Fish with Dill)
Sofitel Plaza Saigon Chocolate Buffet - Saigon - Vietnam
at

12 comments:

  1. AnonymousJanuary 12, 2007 at 7:16 PM

    i will try

    1. papaya
    2.longan
    3.pineapple
    4.custard apple
    5.mango
    6.banana
    7.chiku
    8.pomergranate
    9.guava

    most are my favs!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJanuary 12, 2007 at 10:01 PM

    I'll Give My Best Shot ^^

    jackfruit
    longan
    pineapple
    sugar apple
    avocado
    banana
    langsat
    water apple
    ambarella / golden apple

    ReplyDelete
  3. Melting WokJanuary 13, 2007 at 1:45 PM

    great pictures ! Ok, here goes.. a guess or two hehe :)

    1) jackfruit
    2) longan
    3) pineapple
    4) sugar apple
    5) mango OR monkey apple ?
    6) banana buds
    7) langsat
    8) water apple
    9) guava

    pheww.. need some fruit juice now :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. BelovedJanuary 13, 2007 at 3:58 PM

    Oh my goodness--I don't know the names of most of those fruits but I ate some of them when I was in the Mekong Delta area. I also remember a bright pink fruit with white flesh that had black seeds. Sort of like a kiwi but more colorful. Could it be #8?

    I'm looking forward to reading more of your blog--discovered it through TigerFish.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousJanuary 13, 2007 at 8:35 PM

    hopping here from melting wok. i envy you the fresh fruits!!! it's been a while since i've seen/climbed those. five of those we actually had in our backyard growing up... brings back good memories. so excited to have discovered your blog -- will be back sometime!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Christine D.January 14, 2007 at 2:44 PM

    1. jackfruit
    2. longan
    3. pineapple
    4. custard apple
    5. avocado
    6. banana blossom
    7. "sam bo che"
    8. malay apple ("trai man")
    9. ambarella, ("trai coc")

    mmm yum! my neighbor grows "trai man"

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wandering ChopsticksJanuary 15, 2007 at 8:36 PM

    Hi Everyone,
    Great guesses but only Christine D. seemed to have them all right. :)

    I've never heard of langsat but the leaves and growth pattern don't seem to fit the VNese sam bo che. Darn, and here I was hoping someone would help me find the English word.

    Hi Beloved,
    Are you thinking of dragonfruit?
    http://wanderingchopsticks.blogspot.com/2006/10/dragonfruit-can-you-believe-i-grew.html

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oishii EatsJanuary 17, 2007 at 7:03 PM

    Wandering Chopsticks...I'm sooo jealous. I didn't make it to the Mekong Delta when I was there back in 2003. My mom said the best food is around the Mekong. Sigh. I went to Vietnam with two high maitenance gf's...who only wanted to SHOP. Thus the reason I travel solo now. Anyways, love your pictures!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wandering ChopsticksJanuary 18, 2007 at 6:39 AM

    Hi Jeni,
    Shopping's good too! I did plenty of that. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousJune 26, 2007 at 2:05 PM

    Wandering Chopsticks,

    xa po che is called sapodilla in English. You can look it up on the wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapodilla

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wandering ChopsticksJuly 4, 2007 at 9:16 AM

    Hi Anon,
    Yay! Mystery solved. Thanks. :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wandering ChopsticksJuly 4, 2007 at 9:17 AM

    Oh! Realized Tigerfish had it right the first time, sapodilla is also referred to as chiku. :P

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for stopping by. I try to respond in a timely manner, but am not always able to do so. If you're awaiting a response, check the post in which the comment is made or click the "Notify me" option.

If you're not a blogger and you'd like to leave a comment, you can do so using your Google/Gmail account.

I welcome questions, discussions, and feedback, but please be mindful that this is my home online. I reserve the right to delete any comment that is anonymous or unknown, rude, promotional, or has a link.

Thank you for reading!