Chau Doc, Vietnam
We weighed anchor early this morning in preparation for our day in Chau Doc, a large commercial center located near the border of Vietnam and Cambodia. Our arrival was obvious because we began to see a tremendous amount of vessel traffic moving along the river. Large, commercial ferries were transiting passengers across the channel while boats filled with rice husks and sand moved up and down the length of the river.
We began our day with a boat ride to visit the floating market of Chau Doc. A bit different than our visit yesterday, this market was bustling as we passed. Watermelons seemed to be the commodity of choice and a few of the merchants were kind enough to let us aboard their floating homes and shops. Our explorations continued with a visit to one of the multitudes of fish farms for which the city is famous. Raising mostly tilapia and basa (a local name for pangasius catfish), these farms are large-scale operations. Dropping food pellets into the water created a feeding frenzy of fish, clamoring for morsels.
Next, we arrived to the heart of Chau Doc: its vibrant market. This is a local market, filled with colors, sounds, and smells which are foreign to most of us. In the fruit and vegetable market, women sing out their wares and products. Meanwhile, the fish and meat market is a lively place where it is not uncommon to see things advertised while still alive, which are then immediately dispatched for sale to waiting customers.
A highlight of the visit, while not exactly the most comfortable aspect of it, was a ride on the wheeled cyclos known locally as trishaws. Riders sit in back and are pedaled around by a driver on a bicycle and this is undoubtedly the best way to experience the bustling city as locals do.
We returned to Jahan for lunch and cruised along the Tan Chau Canal toward the upper branch of the Mekong River. Our immigration and customs clearance at the border took some time, which gave us an opportunity to relax on deck, to learn a bit about Khmer cooking, and to hear an introduction to King Sihanouk and Phnom Penh by Gordon Longmuir and Paula Swart.
