"The Mekong Delta Monkey Blues & the... " a Can Tho Travel Page by richiecdisc

The Mekong River is a thing so entrenched in folklore that it is often hard to ascertain just how integral it is to local life that busies itself along its considerable flow. Emanating from the Tibetan Plateau and running through China, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Lao and Vietnam, it finds ample room to expand in the Mekong Delta before releasing itself fully out to the South China Sea.

Though there are many opportunities for travelers to explore the vast Mekong River, in each of the emerging Southeast Asian tourist destinations, the Mekong Delta region seems the most ripe for exploration. Once a stronghold of the Khmer kingdom, Vietnam now has control over it, and its considerable economic influence. So rich is the flat, though luxuriant landscape that it manages to teem with wildlife alongside a farming industry that runs the gamut from tropical fruit orchards to one of the world’s most vast producers of rice. Western tourists would flock here if it was in a pristine wilderness state, but this could not be the case in a country that would struggle to feed itself without its development. As it is, the Mekong Delta not only produces enough rice to feed the entire country with a surplus for neighboring countries, but it contains a myriad of other smaller industries that provide jobs for locals and one of the country’s strongest economic bases.

The icing on the cake is it has managed to draw tourists as well. It remains a physically beautiful place with a sizeable wildlife population but what people are coming to see are the people themselves. An industrious lot that know how to make a living from the water-entrenched land in what still seems relative harmony with their lush surroundings. They also understand the fine line of offering goods to a growing customer base in the form of tourists without being overly aggressive. But perhaps its most saleable gift is the locals themselves. They seem a very happy people, living what appears a paradisiacal life amongst the flowing rich waterways and fruit rich land. Beaming smiles come naturally from kids and adults alike and so far, not many seem to have learned the all too common art of exchanging money for such natural offerings. Let’s hope it stays that way.