The Mekong River is the second longest river in Asia. It starts deep in the mountains and runs through Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The Mekong Delta is that big pile of mud created by the mighty river. It’s about 150,000 Square Kilometers of land interlaced with millions of tiny waterways. Actually some are pretty good size and all are the roadways in the region. One thing is for sure, all of the water of the Mekong Delta is coffee brown. In the seasons it changes from that muddy brown to a lighter yellow but it’s still brown to me.
Life in the Delta is a lot like South Louisiana, it revolves around the water. My favorite place is the floating morning market just outside Can Tho city on the Mekong. Each morning hundreds of boats bring all sorts of vegetables to the market. The morning market is only veggies. You can tell what each boat sells by the product on top of a long bamboo pole above the boat. People live on these boats all their lives and very young children rarely set foot on solid ground. But don’t worry. All the important stuff is there. Mobile starbuck's coffee vendors and the midday lunch or breakfast boats are at your just a shout away. You can even get a shot of something in your coffee if you can negotiate with the barrista. I have no idea what it was but it wasn’t Baileys I can tell you that. It’s easy to forget how many different ways there are to live in the world. Being happy may be just as simple as a good cup of coffee and nailing a big ram ra fruit sale.
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