Mekong - River of Nine Dragons

Greetings,

I've just returned from three days in the Mekong Delta. It was marvelous to be on the water, this swirling powerful natural endless flow of time - past, present and future. To realize it's source in Tibet. It runs 4500 kilometers through China, between Myanmar and Laos, through Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. 

Travelers shared their short sweet stories. Icelandic, German, English, and French. The majority were on quick 2-3 week vacations through Southeast Asia. I felt their anxiety and time schedule pressure, some had adjusted in some small measure to the rhythm of the Asian way. Others were suffering from sensory overload and in a hurry to get somewhere else. So it goes.

The Icelandic team of two brothers and their sister left Reykjavik in August and landed in Mumbai where it was 40+. I'm melting!

They stayed with boats and buses, reached Kathmandu, flew to Beijing and overland to Saigon. They left by boat to Cambodia and eventually Thailand. Two will continue to Sydney for New Year's. 

I took an Open Tour to My Tho, Ben Tre and Can Tho. It included a home-stay with a family deep in the jungle along a tributary. The tourist sites on small islands in villages included: a coconut candy production operation, honey bee processing, a python wrapped around your neck, fish farms, an alligator farm, a floating market, a rice paper making village, a Cham weaving village and a climb up Sam Mountain offering 360 degree visions of the huge delta and Cambodia to the west. Stunning and sublime.

At the home stay I awoke at 4 to sit by the river with the crescent moon and stars reflected in water. 

An extensive Saigon color gallery is up for your visual enjoyment. 

Metta.

Release birds to gain merit.