Sa Dec, Xeo Quyt, Cai Be

Good morning, Vietnam: Day 2.

We spent the day exploring three different areas off the Mekong Delta. In the early morning, we wandered through Sa Đéc, an agricultural and industrial trading center with tree-lined streets, French colonial villas and outdoor markets. Between 1928 and 1932, it was also the home of French writer Marguerite Duras, whose mother ran a school during colonial times. As a teenager Duras met Huynh Thuy Le, the son of a wealthy Chinese family, and the two carried on an illicit love affair that became the basis for Duras’s 1984 famous book The Lover and later a steamy film by the same name. The place today has a romantic aura; the huge market that surrounds the property is nicknamed the “Lovers’ Market” because many young people come here to meet potential soul mates. As a tradition, cooing couples purchase symbolic, chewable areca nut in betel leaf packets, important symbols of love and marriage: The two compounds stick together like glue. The tradition of chewing areca nuts also starts the talk between the parents of the groom and the bride about the young couple’s marriage – if their lunar signs are harmonious. The market vendors also sell fresh fish, meat, produce and crafts of the Mekong Delta. It is a bustling hub of commercial transactions. Because the locals were preparing for Lunar New Years (called “Tet New Years” in Vietnam), the town was festively decorated and very busy.

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We then took a long bus ride to a Xeo Quyt on the outskirts of Sa Dec. This area was the former military base where the Viet Cong found shelter during the war. The dense jungle was planted in the late 1950s after the treaty in 1956 that divided Vietnam into two countries. Near the Ho Chi Min Trail, it was created for those living in the south that didn’t believe that they would be able to freely travel between the two countries as originally promised. These folks were the beginnings of the Viet Cong and used this area as a base to wage war against the South Vietnamese and American armies. This base was the HQ for 19 Viet Cong Generals, who commanded operations against Saigon. Today the area is an ecological site maintained by the Vietnamese military with little change since the war.

After a late lunch aboard the Amadara, for those of us who hadn’t had enough sightseeing, we spent the late afternoon in Cai Be. As we entered town, we passed another floating market, this one offering wholesale produce. The rural town featured a large Catholic church and allowed us to tour a packaged food factory and a place that sells cobra venom (supposedly good as a salve for aches and pains) and cobra wine. We passed on samples. The Delta is home to many varieties of venomous snakes such as the green pit viper, rattlesnake and king cobra, which can kill a human in as little as a half hour if left untreated. Snake venom antidote is a good product to have around! Because some of the venomous snakes can swim, boats paint huge eyes on their fronts to scare them off. You won’t see us anytime soon swimming in the Mekong River.

Back on board we were treated to a performance of traditional music and dance of the Mekong Delta.

Tomorrow we disembark for our visit to the big, hip city, Saigon.