Mekong delta, Vietnam
Posted date 13/07/2009 on 04:31:15 (Viewed 1048 time(s))
Earth and Water
In Vietnamese, you refer to the land of Vietnam as "Đất Nước Việt Nam", litterally "Vietnam''s Land and Water", which does evoke the major role that the river and its delta play in everyday life.
Fantastic Mékong
The Delta shows varied landscapes: from ricefields to shaded coconut tree woods, to mangrove, to orchards, interspersed with timeless villages with their handicraft and even traditional industries of fruit drying, sugar cane processing, brick cooking...
Natural extension of the Mekong basin, the Delta is essentially made of the silt drained by the river. The Mekong may carry up to a few kilograms of dry earth per cubic meter of water during the periods of high waters, that go and fertilize the whole delat area.
The flow of the Mekong inverts back all the way up to Cambodia with the tide, hinting at a very flat slope. One may thus figure out the formidable volume of water in the Mekong, whose peak flow reaches 150,000 tons of water per second.
The evaporation of the river and flooded areas, as well as the lush vegetation, have a noticeable effect on the climate of the Delta, which is especially nice. The temperature in the Delta is always a few degrees less than in Ho Chi Minh city, although the city is very near.
Rural life
Far from the pace of the city, the rhythm of life is that of a rich and bountiful nature, and even if fieldwork is hard work, it is gratifying labour, as both earth and water bring into the peasant''s basket rice and fruit, fish and shrimps.
It is a hard life, lived by the peasants, but also a quality life, all made of attention and care for the fields, the stock and the village community. The animals are well treated, and often will one see stables covered with a mosquito net.
The same is true of the warmth of the welcome. In the Delta, you will often be invited for some tea or even for some fruit by the peasants.
Vietnam''s rice basket
The Mekong Delta is the most ecologically productive land in Vietnam.
Half of the rice of the country is produced in the Delta in three crops per year, as well as hundreds of thousands of tons of catfish, sugar cane, fruit and vegetables.
This formidable production —Vietnam is the second largest rice exporter in the world— is still today mainly made by hand, according to traditional techniques.
Life in the delta is still rhythmed by nature. |
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