Nine-dragon land

The fanciful beauty of Ca Mau, Vietnam's southernmost province, amazes most visitors to Vietnam. Its coastal green forests stretch as far as the eye can see, and sea winds bring wonderful feelings to tourists.

Vietnam is ranked first in the strategy of tourist destination development in Asia. In fact, seven unique tours have been initialized in the Mekong Delta including tours to the neighboring countries and to Phu Quoc Island, religious - cultural tourism in Chau Doc, Can Tho, Soc Trang and Ca Mau, and coastal travel to Ben Tre and Tra Vinh.

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 (Hậu Giang) and the First river (Tiền Giang), 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.

The high times of life in the Mekong delta are the lunar new year (Tet, or Tết), and the mid-autumn festival (Tết trung thu), where children will set hundreds of candles on their way on the river on as many tiny skiffs.

If you know how to take your time, or are guided by an exprienced guide, you will certainly enjoy your stay in the Mekong delta.