Cai Be floating Market and Binh Thanh Island, 2/11/2018, The Jahan
Aboard the
The Jahan
Vietnam & Cambodia aboard The Jahan
Our first morning on Jahan and Mekong Delta commenced with a longboat excursion amongst fascinating floating markets. There was considerable excitement and energy at these markets leading up to Chinese New Year. We continued to an authentic home workshop at Phu An and learned how they made rice paper, pop rice, coconut candy and even home brew rice whiskey.
After lunch we again set off on longboats through narrow channels of the delta to a small island of Binh Thanh and witnessed daily life in this small community and even met and chatted with some of the locals. Tom O’Brien, our expedition leader, took advantage of the local hairdresser for a cut and shave for only $1.
Martin grew up in Melbourne Australia playing cricket and Australian Rules football. While growing up, to his parents’ dismay, Martin brought home and kept a menagerie of wildlife including frogs, lizards, turtles and even poisonous snakes!
Doug grew up hunting in the woods and fields of Iowa before moving to Montana where he developed a deep appreciation for the fragility and beauty of nature and he put away guns and picked up a camera.
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As the Jahan dropped anchor near the small town of Sa Dec in the Vietnam Delta, merchants crisscrossed the early waters while fishers pulled up nets and traders loaded rice and bran to make fish food, fuel, and rice for export to the rest of the world. After breakfast, guests boarded sampans to visit the island of Binh Thanh. We disembarked at a dock that is also used by local ferries to transport locals to and from the island to mainland. This island is known for fruit, reed mats, and rice candies. The shoreline is dotted with mango, jackfruit, and papaya, and while the men are out fishing, the women tend to the families and weave reed mats that are sold in local markets. Locals invited guests to visit their houses, and they demonstrated how the mats are woven and finished. Afterward, we stopped at a local temple to meet village elders. They shared remarkable stories of survival and rebirth during and after the Vietnam War. Returning to the Jahan , guests learned from presentations. Linda Burback, photo instructor and naturalist, spoke on the use of Seek, a plant and animal identification app. Then we had the final recap of the voyage and a disembarkation briefing. Lunch was served, and Linda began collecting photographs for the Guest Slideshow. After lunch, guests went on their final excursion to visit Cai Be, a fruit and vegetable hub of the Mekong Delta. The sampans toured the busy channels before docking at a local rice candy shop. Here we saw how rice paper is made, in addition to rice popcorn, rice wine, coconut candy, and rice noodle treats. There was something for everyone in the souvenir shop where guests shopped on their last day in the Delta. The evening finished with a farewell dinner, presentations by the crew, and dancing on the sun deck. This was all followed by the world premiere of the Guest Slideshow. It was a wonderful finale to a memorable voyage down the Mekong and Tonle Sap Rivers through Cambodia and Vietnam.
We have traveled from Cambodia to Vietnam, using the Jahan as our vessel of exploration, but this morning, we added yet another vehicle. Chau Doc has hybridized the cyclo into their own version of transport, a trishaw. Everyone boarded their own trishaw and bicycled around the downtown area with our destination being a local market. Pans, tanks, trays, and baskets were filled with live fish, prawns, dried fish, pounded seasoned fish, fish paste, and all manner of familiar and not so familiar vegetables. A floating fish farm was next on our docket with a new mode of transport: a sampan. Each day of our journey as we explore the diverse sights, sounds, and flavors of Cambodia and Vietnam comes with a unique and innovative vehicle of exploration as well.
Our day aboard the Jahan started at dawn with a morning photography excursion around the city of Phnom Penh. We visited Wat Ounalom and discovered large fruit bats, or “flying foxes,” near Wat Phnom. Guests returned to the ship for Tai Chi and breakfast before we pulled anchor and crossed the confluence of the “four rivers” of the Tonle Sap and the Mekong. A special guest, Jean Michel Fillippi, gave a spirited lecture on modern Cambodian history before, during, and after the Khmer Rouge, and during the Vietnam War. Guests peppered the professor with questions, extending this most popular talk right up until lunchtime. After lunch, while the Jahan was clearing customs and immigration for Cambodia and Vietnam, David Brotherson, culture specialist, gave a highly informative lecture on the historical and cultural differences between Cambodia and Vietnam. As the Jahan approached the Tan Chau Canal, tea and a cooking class were offered to guests. The Jahan entered the Tan Chau Canal, linking the Mekong and Bassac Rivers. Transiting the Tan Chau Canal offers a fascinating look into the Vietnam Delta. The canal is teeming with fish and rice processing factories. Boats of all sizes carry rice, husks, fish, sediment, and people. It is a drastic change in tempo from the quiet Cambodian countryside to a bustling, complex array of living and highly functional waterways. At sunset, the Jahan reached its destination for the evening. We docked at Chau Doc, and guests dined and enjoyed a screening of “Good Morning Vietnam.”
