The Mekong River is possibly the most scenic of the mighty rivers that run through Southeast Asia and nowhere more so than at its most southern point where it fans out to form the nine rivers that make up the delta flood plain. The area is the most agriculturally rich and is the centre of rice and food production, fishing and fruit growing. This area is how most envisage Vietnam, picture post card rice fields with farmers in pointed hats, stilt villages and a life style unchanged in decades.
Can Tho
The focal town of the delta region is Can Tho, a city rightly famed for its bustling and colourful floating markets, not like the tourist traps of Thailand but genuine local floating markets where locals assemble on a daily basis to sell their wears. Can Tho is accessed from Ho Chi Minh City via the busy Highway One, but it is possible to break off this faceless highway and explore Binh Hoa Phoc Island en route. Here you will see the farms that produce some of the best fruit in Asia such as lychee, pineapple, coconut and banana as well as numerous fascinating cottage industries producing anything from mud bricks, candy and fish sauce.
This remarkable area is best explored by boat and a number of day trip or longer river itineraries are available.