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Mekong Delta - The Floating Life

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Anyone who had been to rural Tay Nam Bo (Southern Vietnam) knows that the best way to get around is by do duc, or riverboat. In the Mekong Delta, these boats are simply known as do.

The simplest boats are thuyen doc moc, a type of dugout canoe made from a hollowed-out log. Khmer-style boats, called nghe ngo, feature curved prows that slice through the waves. Even to this day, the town of Soc Trang in Mekong Delta hosts an annual nghe ngo race.

Since it is hard to find trunks large enough to fashion truyen doc moc, river dwellers now build xuong ba la, a small boat made from three planks of wood. These slender boats are well suited to narrow canals and strong currents. The image of a Nam Bo girl rowing a xuong ba la has been immortalized in a song by Tran Thieu Thanh:

"A loose-fitting blouse on a very deep river
A small, fleeting boat appears vaguely ..."

Made from five wooden boards, the ghe nam la is larger than xuong ba la. These boats are often referred to as xuong or junks. Larger craft are called thuyen, or boats, while the Vietnamese word for ship is tau.

Today, river dwellers often travel by vo lai, small craft propelled by motors. Designed for speed, these boats are long and narrow with flat bottoms. Vo lai with stronger engines and longer bodies are known as tac rang. These craft can handle big waves and are even used on the sea. In northern Vietnam, speedboats are called bo bo, an onomatopoeic word derived from the slapping sound made by the waves against the boat's prow.

In the Mekong Delta, goods are often transported by chet, flat-bottomed ferryboats with curved sides. When used to transport passengers, these boats are called do ngang.

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