Mouth of the Mekong

By GRAHAM SIMMONS*

Is there anywhere on planet Earth that so teems with life and industry as the Mekong Delta? Anywhere where agriculture and fish farming are so intensively practised? In thinking that one day I'll come back here and find multi-storey rice paddies stretching to the horizon, I suspect I'm only partially dreaming.

Not for nothing has the delta of the Mekong River been termed the "rice bowl of the Universe". Six countries and well over 50 million people depend upon the Mekong for their livelihood. And in no country is this dependence so profound as in Vietnam.

Flying into Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) gives a good introduction to the wonders of the Mekong. From the air the landscape resembles an intricate anatomical chart, only in shades of green and brown rather than white and red. Every tributary of the Mekong River divides into thousands of arteries, veins and capillaries. Linking this vast drainage network are hundreds of manmade canals.

"Getting out into the Delta" is a popular day trip from Ho Chi Minh City. Some visitors go further afield, to the provincial capital of Can Tho - and fewer still to the city of Chau Doc, near the Cambodia-Vietnam border. But until last year it was impossible for foreigners to go by river across the Cambodian border.

This has changed. The Victoria Sprite and her larger sister vessel, the Victoria Princess, offer a river service from Ho Chi Minh City all the way to the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, a trip surely destined to become one of the world's great river journeys.

On this occasion, I travel by road from Ho Chi Minh City to join the boat at Chau Doc. This trip provides another take on Mekong life, which is fascinating in its ever-changing variety.

We take the near-empty Saigon Parkway, a multi-lane freeway to the new satellite city of Saigon South. Then, abruptly, we hit the main road to My Tho. Here, near the Mekong's ocean outfall, the river-drenched plains are hugely fertile. Women stand chest-deep in the water, planting rice. Ducks swarm in their thousands. Barely a square millimetre of potential cropland is wasted.

Religion is big in this region. The indigenous Cao Dai sect, with its strange "revelation through seance" philosophy, has impressive temples in Ben Luc and Long An, their near-psychedelic murals inviting inspection. The priest at the Ben Luc temple is welcoming, showing us some of the pantheon of French and Chinese saints that adorn the eclectic interior.

After My Tho (the furthest that most travellers venture), both the riverboats and road traffic head on through the impressive city of Vinh Long. From here, paths diverge. The Victoria riverboats take a channel to Can Tho. However, we decide to take a shortcut through to Sa Dec, on the Hau Giang arm of the Mekong.

It has just rained, and I feel like I'm inside a hot, damp sponge. We pass over numerous canals, where the steady flow of river traffic suggests that the region is on a totally focused export drive.

Indeed, Vietnam is set soon to overtake Thailand to become the world's leading rice exporter. Across the Hau Giang the big city of Long Xuyen, aglow with sparkling new hotels and apartment buildings, also finds the time to process more than 50cu m of Mekong ca tra fish (catfish) a day, much of it destined for the tables of Europe and America.

The city of Chau Doc lies right on the junction of the Hau Giang and Tem Rivers. Here, right near the Cambodian border, it seems that everyone has a story to tell. One such character is Luu Anh Dung, a Vietnamese who grew up and gained a French education in Cambodia. "I was expelled by the Lon Nol Government." he says, "with the help of the US Marines. By the time I got back to Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge had come to power, and I was nearly killed. It was only the Vietnamese invasion in 1979 that saved my life."

Anh Dung's story is far from atypical in this frontier town where the usually total divide between Vietnamese and Khmer cultures is a little blurred. It's up early the next morning to board the River Sprite. I get to ride on the roof most of the way, a prime opportunity that affords a great view of river life. However, the rooftop vantage point is not without its dangers. It probably won't be long before someone falls off, and the company bans roof-riding completely. So, the time to take the boat trip is now.

We sail up the Tem River towards the Bassac, the wide southern arm of the Mekong River. Along the way, the riverside teems with life and commerce. Floating shops, service stations and markets complement their land-based counterparts. Then, after about 45 minutes' cruising we reach the Bassac River junction.

Here the river widens, becoming nearly an inland sea. Again, I'm amazed by the industriousness of the people. Along the riverbanks, baskets of potatoes and other freshly harvested vegetables are loaded straight on to barges.

The border crossing at Tonle is a leisurely affair, as few people as yet cross the Vietnam-Cambodia frontier here.

The comparison between the two sides of the border could not be more pronounced. After the hard-working Vietnamese, the Cambodians seem positively indolent. And the results are evidenced in a much lower standard of living. In comparison with the cultured and sophisticated Vietnamese, I found myself thinking that today's Khmers are a sadly downtrodden group. Of course, I was wrong. Cambodia has a glorious ancient history to which it can look. This history, epitomised in the temples of Angkor, is a real anchor for a country that is slowly rebuilding itself.

At Neak Luong, an important town on the Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City road, we cut across the route of the vehicular ferry that crosses the Mekong. Neak Luong is the gateway to Prey Veng province, an agricultural district starting about 40km east of Phnom Penh. The name Prey Veng means "long forest" in the Khmer language; but today you see few trees, merely a landscape of vast fields of rich, lime-green rice paddies.

Prey Veng province is one of the poorest in Cambodia, but thankfully escaped the worst ravages of the Khmer Rouge. While agriculture is slowly returning to normal despite the disastrous floods of 1999, "agriculture" in Prey Veng still means "rice" and little else. This monoculture mentality is something the Government is trying to overturn, with extensive plantings of sugar-palms, a tree that yields sugar, fibre, building materials and fuel.

Finally, the high-rises of Phnom Penh's skyline become visible. Fronting the Tonle Sap River, Sisowath Quay (a landscaped boulevard and boardwalk), stretches for about 4km.

I'm totally stunned to see the transformation that has occurred in Phnom Penh. Sisowath Quay was in my memory little more than a dusty lane, a rubbish-strewn road with potholes so big that a bicycle-rickshaw could disappear into one of them without leaving a trace.

But Sisowath Quay is now emerging as one of the world's great promenades, with new cafes, boardwalks and landscaping making the whole boulevard one of those rare cityscapes that immediately invite you to linger and enjoy.

Opposite Sisowath Quay, the peninsula formed where the Tonle Sap and Mekong Rivers meet, is for now nothing but grazing land for cows and water buffalo. However, things are changing fast. Phnom Penh's Municipal Governor Chea Sophara dreams of turning this area into a "City of Tomorrow", which will attract tourists from around the globe. Work on the giant redevelopment project began in earnest in January last year.

In drenching humidity, I take a walk to the National Museum - one of the few cultural monuments to survive the Khmer Rouge era. The spires and roof cornices of the museum nearly seem to puncture the clouds, while the striking red ochre facade stands out starkly against the sky.

The museum's treasures include bronze sculptures from all over the country, particularly showcasing the riches of the civilisation that built the temples of Angkor. In pride of place is the uniquely Khmer figure of Harihara, a god said to be half Vishnu and half Siva.

In the evening, anybody who is anybody meets at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Cambodia, right on Sisowath Quay overlooking the River. All are agreed that, like Harihara, the Cambodian leader is a master at carefully balancing opposing forces.

A similar balancing act must surely have been the task of those who managed to get the Victoria Sprite service up and running. To travel from Chinese-influenced Vietnam to Cambodia (with its Hindu-derived Khmer culture) is just a short journey in terms of distance, but light-years in terms of bridging ethnic and religious differences.

* Graham Simmons visited Phnom Penh as a guest of Vietnam Airlines and Travel Indochina.

Case notes

* Getting There

Cathay Pacific flies to Ho Chi Minh City from Auckland via Hong Kong. Prices start from $1915 economy return.

Phone 09 379 0861

Travel Indochina

* Where to stay

In Ho Chi Minh City, the old colonial Grand Hotel (formerly the Dong Khoi) is superbly located on the fashionable Dong Khoi St, and near the River. Moderate rates.

Phone 0084 8 823 0163

fax 823 5781.

In Chau Doc, the Victoria Chau Doc Hotel is right on the Bassac River, and with a supremely relaxing garden and pool overlooking the "Three Rivers" junction.

Phone 0084 76 865 010

fax 0084 76 865 020

victoriachaudoc@hcm.vnn.vn

In Phnom Penh, the Hotel Sofitel Cambodiana is right on the Mekong, with its own jetty and no fewer than six bars and restaurants.

Phone 00855 23 426 288

fax 00855 23 426 392.

* For details of the Victoria Sprite riverboat service, contact Travel Indochina on 00612 9244 2037.

* Guidebooks

The Lonely Planet guide Vietnam (6th edition, April 2001) has a very useful section on the Mekong Delta. See also the Lonely Planet Cambodia guide.