Uhn was our guide again today as we set off at 7:15 for the 2 hour drive to the Mekong Delta. Again it was interesting looking out the window as we drove through large areas of rice paddies. We arrived about 9:30 and boarded a long thin boat powered by a car engine as our trip through the delta. The Mekong is the 12th largest river in the world and the delta, or mouth of the river is huge. We motored along one channel passing by shops, homes and lots of other boats of various sizes and shapes. The passed through a floating market where boat people sell all sorts of food stuffs. There are families here who live and work on boats. They can't afford land so they do everything on the water. Because they are sort of water gypsies, their children don't go to school.
We motored through a couple of channels before heading off a very wide part of the river to reach the other shore, where we sailed up another channel beside the largest island in the delta. He we landed and had a tour of a village area. We visited a couple of homes or shops that made rice paper, puffed rice candy, coconut taffy, and rice wine (and snake wine – dead snakes fermenting in a jar – people tried it but I didn't!). It was interesting to watch and see the ingenuity of people as they learned to make yummy things from basics. All were cottage industries and done by hand not machine, including the hand wrapping of the candies.
After that we separated into groups of three for a half hour ride in a 'canoe' type boat paddled from the rear by a woman. It was a nice relaxing ride. Right at the end of that, and as we stopped for lunch, it began to rain. Just before lunch we were entertained by three musicians on traditional instruments and a male and female singer who sang us some Vietnamese folk songs. For lunch I ordered the fish in the photo. It was part of a meal that also gave me rice paper, lettuce, mint leaves, and cucumber to make fish spring rolls. They were delicious.
After lunch we completed our tour of part of the delta and reboarded the bus for the ride back to Saigon. When we arrived I went to my room to type and have a shower. Tonight was a free evening, so I headed to the soup restaurant by myself for dinner and then spent the rest of the evening just walking around the neighbourhood exploring a night market and walking along a couple of streets watching the local people going about their lives and marvelling at the chaos of the traffic here. Again it works, but you have to wonder how as you watch motorcycles and cars weaving in and out and narrowly missing each other and pedestrians. Really fascinating.
Then to the room for an early night, in preparation for an early morning.
Hiya Joe!
ReplyDeleteI think you have finally found the right hat! Scrap the Tilley, this is definitely your look!
Don't worry back in Toronto when people laugh or make comments, this is the New Look!