Today our group went on a river tour of the Mekong Delta and it had to be the most fun day this trip. Being able to relax and enjoy the Vietnamese food and culture with everyone was amazing. It’s going to be hard to leave Vietnam in just 36 short hours.

The Mekong Delta is probably the most important economic region for Vietnam, as so many products are produced and exported. A major issue that this region faces that we learned about, though, is the fact that dams are being built upriver and are causing negative side affects. For example, when taking to a Vietnamese professor that gave us an environmental lecture, they said that the dams are reducing the productivity of fish farms. With enough dams built, this decrease in productivity could have serious ramifications for the Mekong Delta region and ultimately for Vietnam. Due to this possibility, the Vietnamese government has some climate change regulations in place for all companies to follow.

What was interesting about the tour our group went on was that we were actually able to visit multiple islands that each have their own product specialty. For example, we were able to visit fruit producing farm, a chocolate producing farm, a bee farm, and a coconut farm. At the first stop, the fruit we ate was amazing and the traditional music they played and sang for us was beautiful. It seemed like the whole ordeal was run by just one family, which was really interesting because it showed how the Vietnamese culture emphasizes the family. After that, we walked to the chocolate farm and got to try some traditional Vietnamese chocolate and actually hold a snake that they happened to have there! Next, we walked across the way to a bee farm and tried some honey tea which was amazing, although the bees that were swarming around me were not. Later, we rode to a coconut farm and tried coconut candy and saw the production of it. Finally, we ate a traditional Vietnamese lunch and headed back to the hotel.