Mekong Delta

Mekong Delta is the region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of distributaries. The Mekong delta region encompasses a large portion of southeastern Vietnam.

As all deltas, it receives the bounty of the siltation from the upper Mekong, and as such is a very rich and lush area, covered with rice fields. It produces about half of the total of Vietnam's agricultural output, and is the place for timeless sceneries of farmers planting or harvesting rice.

The Mekong splits in Cambodia into two main rivers, the Bassac and the First river, then in Vietnam into a more complex system, creating a maze of small canals, rivers and arroyos interspersed with villages and floating markets.

Life in the Mekong Delta revolves much around the river, and all the villages are often accessible by river rather than by road.

Most of the interest of the place resides in its floating markets, and the life around the rivers criss-crossing the area; also the national parks and nature reserves.