23 March 2007
22 March 2007
From Alice in Ho Chi Min City
It's our last day in Viet Nam now and then we're off to Singapore for two days then to India. Well I have to say, Viet Nam has been good and fun, but not as good as Thailand. It has been hard to get stuff to do with interviewing and filming, but in the end it has been nice just seeing this different country. My highlight was going on the Mekong river on a boat trip. The scenery that we saw from the boat was really interesting, I noticed that there was a lot of erosion happening along the banks, but it was good to see that people had planted trees, built brick walls and placed sandbags along the bank to try and prevent this from occurring.
From Lena in Ho Chi Min City
After Thailand we all knew that Viet Nam would be hard in comparison because we didn't have as many connections or any set itinerary. Even though we didn't meet as many good people to interview and film, it was still worthwhile to come here.
The last couple of days we spent further south of Ho Chi Min City, formerly Saigon, in the Mekong Delta area. I liked it heaps cos it wasn't as hot and humid and even if it was, we usually had a breeze to cool down. We had a guide and driver and it was basically like in Hue, just taking our chances when meeting farmers.
Dad especially had to work real hard to get the right sort of information out of people. We noticed that although a lot of farmers were noticing changes in terms of hotter weather, we didn't meet anyone who was doing anything about it. Yesterday, our last day there, we talked with a guy who grew fruit trees along with his mother.
His mother said it was hard for farmers to find solutions to their problems because whenever they went to the government with their problems, the government people wouldn't listen to them. So the farmers don't go to the government anymore and nothing is really done about the problems they are experiencing.
The last couple of days we spent further south of Ho Chi Min City, formerly Saigon, in the Mekong Delta area. I liked it heaps cos it wasn't as hot and humid and even if it was, we usually had a breeze to cool down. We had a guide and driver and it was basically like in Hue, just taking our chances when meeting farmers.
Dad especially had to work real hard to get the right sort of information out of people. We noticed that although a lot of farmers were noticing changes in terms of hotter weather, we didn't meet anyone who was doing anything about it. Yesterday, our last day there, we talked with a guy who grew fruit trees along with his mother.
His mother said it was hard for farmers to find solutions to their problems because whenever they went to the government with their problems, the government people wouldn't listen to them. So the farmers don't go to the government anymore and nothing is really done about the problems they are experiencing.
From Karen in Ho Chi Min City
Hi, back in Ho Chi Minh on our last day here, then we fly to Singapore for 2 days, then onto India to Nepal. We have had an interesting few days down on the Mekong Delta. The highlight was going on a boat ride on one of the "nine dragons" of the Mekong river and along one of the many canals. The local name for the Mekong is the "nine dragons" river, which refers to the nine branches that feed out from the Mekong river to create the delta.
It was interesting walking around on one of the islands and visiting a durian tree grower. We also saw a floating market, but were too late to see many of the smaller boats that would have been there very early in the morning. It was relaxing sitting by the Mekong in the evening in a hammock, drinking coconut milk , watching life go by, an endless assortment of boats and produce.
During our time in the delta we were able to film and take photos of the whole rice harvesting process from harvesting by hand, machine threshing, drying it out on large concrete pads, following the sacks of rice as they get put onto boats to go to the storage sheds and then trucked to the main cities. When we eat rice, I never realised there was so much work that goes into producing it.
Love to all Karen
It was interesting walking around on one of the islands and visiting a durian tree grower. We also saw a floating market, but were too late to see many of the smaller boats that would have been there very early in the morning. It was relaxing sitting by the Mekong in the evening in a hammock, drinking coconut milk , watching life go by, an endless assortment of boats and produce.
During our time in the delta we were able to film and take photos of the whole rice harvesting process from harvesting by hand, machine threshing, drying it out on large concrete pads, following the sacks of rice as they get put onto boats to go to the storage sheds and then trucked to the main cities. When we eat rice, I never realised there was so much work that goes into producing it.
Love to all Karen
21 March 2007
Viet Nam 21 March 2007
We hired a boat, with a boat driver and local guide, from the hotel. The plan was to travel through some of the canals, visit a durian tree farmer on one of the islands and then to a floating market before meeting up with our van.
For the first time in the Mekong I felt as though I could relax and enjoy myself. Karen and the girls all noticed the change in my energy as I became absorbed in filming, talking to the local guide and taking some photos. Driving through the Mekong delta had already caught my imagination… a region with a population of 18 million in 2000 and currently estimated to be 21 million by 2010. A place of people, rice, water, fruit farms, endless bridge crossings over the many canals and larger crossings over the “nine dragons”. Being on the water totally fascinated me.
We eventually came to a bank where we disembarked to visit the ‘wise’ durian grower. As it turned out this was a young businessman and his mother, the Sau Ri family (name of the father), who had converted from rice to durian production about seven years ago with the help of Thai technology and Australian aid. They were extremely nice people, growing durian trees for fruit as well as a large durian tree nursery on their 10 hectares of land.
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For the first time in the Mekong I felt as though I could relax and enjoy myself. Karen and the girls all noticed the change in my energy as I became absorbed in filming, talking to the local guide and taking some photos. Driving through the Mekong delta had already caught my imagination… a region with a population of 18 million in 2000 and currently estimated to be 21 million by 2010. A place of people, rice, water, fruit farms, endless bridge crossings over the many canals and larger crossings over the “nine dragons”. Being on the water totally fascinated me.
We eventually came to a bank where we disembarked to visit the ‘wise’ durian grower. As it turned out this was a young businessman and his mother, the Sau Ri family (name of the father), who had converted from rice to durian production about seven years ago with the help of Thai technology and Australian aid. They were extremely nice people, growing durian trees for fruit as well as a large durian tree nursery on their 10 hectares of land.
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A happy durian tree grower
These people have clearly acted positively by diversifying away from rice to a very productive fruit crop. The mother talked about the many problems in the area, pollution of water from heavy chemical use, erosion problems from river boats, insect pests in the rice. She commented that the weather is more erratic than in the past, but they don’t have any major issues as durian growers.
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20 March 2007
Viet Nam 20 March 2007
It had only been the previous afternoon when I learnt the full story about the counterpart of our Thai friends who had offered assistance with contacts. We were now in a situation of having committed to the expense of a car with driver and guide, but no plan ahead of us. Doing his best to help us the guide had made contact with a local vegetable grower but this didn’t hold a lot of interest. So I asked for us to be driven to the next province, Vinh Long, where we hoped at the very least to enjoy a boat trip on the Mekong.
The main artery of the “nine dragons” river flows through Vinh Long province, which is one of the lower lying parts of the Mekong Delta. On arrival in Vinh Long we found accommodation, then lunch, and then out to the countryside. We stopped at a couple of households and talked to people. The two main things that we heard here were that water isn’t a problem for them, because it is in such abundance in this province, and that they are also now experiencing insect pest problems with their rice. When asked if there were some good local farmers worth talking to they said yes there were, but they were about 7km walk away!
By mid afternoon we’d all had enough. So we headed back to our hotel, a sort of resort complex by the river… where we sat outside to enjoy a fresh breeze and the coolness of the air as a thunderstorm passed nearby. Then to a room where the power didn’t come on until 5.30pm and even then the air-conditioning didn’t work properly!
That evening I asked our guide, Nhon, if we could somehow try and find some wise people to talk to along the river. This inspired him to call a TV station who gave him some contacts. It sounded promising for what we had decided would be our last day on the Mekong.
The main artery of the “nine dragons” river flows through Vinh Long province, which is one of the lower lying parts of the Mekong Delta. On arrival in Vinh Long we found accommodation, then lunch, and then out to the countryside. We stopped at a couple of households and talked to people. The two main things that we heard here were that water isn’t a problem for them, because it is in such abundance in this province, and that they are also now experiencing insect pest problems with their rice. When asked if there were some good local farmers worth talking to they said yes there were, but they were about 7km walk away!
By mid afternoon we’d all had enough. So we headed back to our hotel, a sort of resort complex by the river… where we sat outside to enjoy a fresh breeze and the coolness of the air as a thunderstorm passed nearby. Then to a room where the power didn’t come on until 5.30pm and even then the air-conditioning didn’t work properly!
That evening I asked our guide, Nhon, if we could somehow try and find some wise people to talk to along the river. This inspired him to call a TV station who gave him some contacts. It sounded promising for what we had decided would be our last day on the Mekong.
19 March 2007
Viet Nam19 March 2007
What initially held a lot of promise became yet another challenge to us, particularly myself. More about this later, but basically a counterpart of our good Thai friends offered to assist with contacts on the Mekong but ultimately failed to provide any useful assistance. So it was left to our very good tour guide, Nhon, to do his best to help us out.
We began our Mekong journey travelling south from HCM city (which many here still call Saigon) to Tien Giang Province. Our destination was a rice farmer in Go Cong Tay district, about 15 km from the coast. We had lunch with Mr Pham Van Tu and his family and then talked with Mr Pham and his son. These two farmers and others we met that day talked about a number of challenges they have to deal with. In the past Mr Pham only grew one rice crop per year, then it increased to two, now many grow three crops per year. Even with two crops they have to manage the second crop carefully, to time the harvest before water levels drop too low and salt water intrusion destroys the crop. Now they are also experiencing hotter weather, problems with an invasive insect pest and generally poorer rice.
We began our Mekong journey travelling south from HCM city (which many here still call Saigon) to Tien Giang Province. Our destination was a rice farmer in Go Cong Tay district, about 15 km from the coast. We had lunch with Mr Pham Van Tu and his family and then talked with Mr Pham and his son. These two farmers and others we met that day talked about a number of challenges they have to deal with. In the past Mr Pham only grew one rice crop per year, then it increased to two, now many grow three crops per year. Even with two crops they have to manage the second crop carefully, to time the harvest before water levels drop too low and salt water intrusion destroys the crop. Now they are also experiencing hotter weather, problems with an invasive insect pest and generally poorer rice.
Mr Pham Van Tu and his son, with Gavin and our guide Nhon. They talked about the various challenges they are facing.
We then went out into the field, along red dirt roads where many people were drying their recently harvested crop, to film farmers at work harvesting. It is a time of communal effort, with everyone working together to harvest each others crop.
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A happy farmer with her crop harvested
The crop bagged from the field to be taken for drying before sale
Hand harvesting of rice
Threshing the rice in the field
Rice being delivered for sale
We learnt quite a lot about the challenges of growing rice in this coastal area of the Mekong. It is clear that farmers have to manage their crop carefully, particularly at this time of year when salt water intrusion becomes much more of a problem. Intensification of cropping, increased fertilizer inputs, invasive insects and poorer crops, are all interconnected problems that are clearly made worse by higher temperatures and drought.
18 March 2007
From Hue to Ho Chi Minh city and beyond
As Karen has already talked about we had a long train journey from Hue to Ho Chi Minh city. With more time we would have stopped at a couple of places along the way, but with only 4 full days left in Viet Nam our focus now is to get down into the Mekong Delta.
The first part of the train journey, between Hue and Da Nang, was quite spectacular as we wound around the coastline, in and out of tunnels and with stunning views. Along the way we saw a few bunkers, obviously from the Viet Nam war. In our 4 berth sleeper compartment we had a power connection so were able to plug the laptop in and watch a DVD to while away part of the afternoon. Then it was a fairly short sleep and a very early wake up call!
Ho Chi Minh city has a real buzz to it, which we are all enjoying in our one full day here, although Karen is being affected by the heat a bit at present.
After working very hard to do things in Viet Nam things seem to be coming together for our trip to the Mekong Delta. A contact through our Thai friends is assisting with people to visit and we have a very good guide who is presently organising things.
As I think I mentioned in an earlier post from Hanoi, one of my main goals in Viet Nam has been to do some good work down in the Mekong. This region, the rice basket of Viet Nam, is presently being affected by drought, fire risk and salinisation in some places. I have been partly inspired to go here by a New Zealand farmer, Doug Avery. Doug came here about 2 years ago and when down in the Mekong spoke with a Vietnamese farmer. It was at this time, talking to another farmer about changes in the weather and water supply that he was experiencing, that Doug became convinced that climate change was a reality.
The first part of the train journey, between Hue and Da Nang, was quite spectacular as we wound around the coastline, in and out of tunnels and with stunning views. Along the way we saw a few bunkers, obviously from the Viet Nam war. In our 4 berth sleeper compartment we had a power connection so were able to plug the laptop in and watch a DVD to while away part of the afternoon. Then it was a fairly short sleep and a very early wake up call!
Ho Chi Minh city has a real buzz to it, which we are all enjoying in our one full day here, although Karen is being affected by the heat a bit at present.
After working very hard to do things in Viet Nam things seem to be coming together for our trip to the Mekong Delta. A contact through our Thai friends is assisting with people to visit and we have a very good guide who is presently organising things.
As I think I mentioned in an earlier post from Hanoi, one of my main goals in Viet Nam has been to do some good work down in the Mekong. This region, the rice basket of Viet Nam, is presently being affected by drought, fire risk and salinisation in some places. I have been partly inspired to go here by a New Zealand farmer, Doug Avery. Doug came here about 2 years ago and when down in the Mekong spoke with a Vietnamese farmer. It was at this time, talking to another farmer about changes in the weather and water supply that he was experiencing, that Doug became convinced that climate change was a reality.
Hi from Ho Chi Min City
Hi everyone, we here in Ho Chi Min city in Vietnam, after a 20 hour train ride from up north in Hue. We had a mad scramble to get off at 4.30 am as we thought the train got in at 5 am. We walked around to find breakfast and will send some photos for blog. We saw the big church. I have not typed for the blog for a while, as we have to pay by the minute and have only 1 computer at times, and time is often scarce.
HCM is VERY busy like Hanoi, lots of motorbikes, markets selling EVERYTHING imaginable. We managed to get some interviews with people back in Hue, a family where the 2nd youngest son stays at home to help his parents tend the family farm and also a community of farmers who had never had European people visit them in their homes before.
No doubt the girls will mention I was so desperate for some jam I wasn't leaving a cafe until I had managed to open a jar of mango and pineapple jam to go with a croissant, which no one else could open ( The girls thought this was really funny).
It was nearly 40 degrees in Hue but luckily a bit cooler in HCM. We saw amazing landscapes from the train, marble mountains, great boulders with houses nestled into the steep slopes, broad flat landscapes, deep forests and yesterday the train went right beside the beautiful coastline, we all stood out in the passage, looking at the sea washing over big boulders as our train went in and out of tunnels.
We are off to the Mekong river delta for 4 days tomorrow, so will continue later Hi to all, we are all well, we all say hi to Emma too. Cheers Karen
HCM is VERY busy like Hanoi, lots of motorbikes, markets selling EVERYTHING imaginable. We managed to get some interviews with people back in Hue, a family where the 2nd youngest son stays at home to help his parents tend the family farm and also a community of farmers who had never had European people visit them in their homes before.
No doubt the girls will mention I was so desperate for some jam I wasn't leaving a cafe until I had managed to open a jar of mango and pineapple jam to go with a croissant, which no one else could open ( The girls thought this was really funny).
It was nearly 40 degrees in Hue but luckily a bit cooler in HCM. We saw amazing landscapes from the train, marble mountains, great boulders with houses nestled into the steep slopes, broad flat landscapes, deep forests and yesterday the train went right beside the beautiful coastline, we all stood out in the passage, looking at the sea washing over big boulders as our train went in and out of tunnels.
We are off to the Mekong river delta for 4 days tomorrow, so will continue later Hi to all, we are all well, we all say hi to Emma too. Cheers Karen
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