The Mekong Delta
Yet another early morning - with a delicious 'free' breakfast of a banana muffin and fruit salad at Sozo - and we were aboard the 8am bus for a bumpy one and a half hours journey to My Tho on the banks of the Mekong River. Our guide told us that in 100 years the Mekong Dekta will all be Saigon, which would make it a bloody huge city!
The day consisted of:
- Coconut Candy - watching the locals manufacture coconut candy - and of course, sampling some of it whilst it was still warm - and drinking Snake Wine and Coconut Wine. I'd had 3 shots of hard liqour and it was only 11.30 in the morning.
- A bicycle ride around the island to a bee farm were we had some tea served with lemon and some of the honey. It was absolutely delicious.
- Holding a bloody great big python! Great fun.
Hard at work making the delicious coconut candy - Finally, my first taste of 'proper' Vietnamese food. Springrolls with rice - not good - served with pork - which I'm always a little wary of eating.
- A ride in a rowing boat - the 'paddler' on the back fell in the water after only a minute or so which didn't fill me with confidence. It was a nice relaxing time though.
- A fresh fruit feast and some 'traditional' music which was very enjoyable.
***
During the ride back to Saigon there was an outbreak of torrential rain, accompanied by a thunder and lightening storm. Within minutes the roads were flooded.
I had to remove my shoes and wade through the knee-deep water back to our guesthouse, where we dropped off our bags before venturing back out into the water to find somewhere to eat: some potato wedges - bloody 'Western' menus!
By the time we had finished eating the water had receded so we decided to take a walk to the market. One and a half hours and plethora of conflicting directions later, and we were back where we started!
Dinner that night was Vietnamese rice with shredded chicken plus a fruit shake, which was tasty but dry. Maybe it needed a soup or a curry to accompany it? (Don't worry, my complaining about the food will soon stop!)
Walking back to the guesthouse we bumped into Neil and Jess and arranged to meet up the following night for a drink and some dinner. Gaby should have arrived by then then, also.
