Journey to the Mekong Delta
Tuesday March 6, 2012
Before I start about today I need to make a correction from yesterday. It is called the Reunification Palace not the Independence Palace. Need sleep!!!!!!
Okay we had to be up at 6am this am after an all day tour yesterday. We had a quick breakfast and were in the van by 7:15 on our way. It is a two hour journey to the town on the Mekong Delta. Although it was a freeway it was only two lanes. But compared to the roads in Indonesia and Cambodia it was great. We were suppose to stop half wa for a “happy room” (potty break) but one of six of us on the bus needed to use it so we stopped a couple of minutes sooner.
I need to remember to wear dresses from now on. Here were are and the toilets are holes in the ground. Ceramic holes. Now picture this. I am trying to roll up the long pants (sun cover they told us) to the waist and roll down from the waist. Now I have to step up a step and try to maneuver myself to get into position. This is not an easy task! Mission accomplished I head back to the van. Instead of tour buses we had nice vans that held 9-12 but they only put 6 of us in there. It was quite comfortable. We had one women on the bus in the beginning and Becky, Joanna, and I were talking and introduced ourself to her and she said “Oh it’s too early” Then she said “I see my friend in the other van I am going to changer vans”. We all laughed when she left. So Phyllis and Mickey joined us and they were delightful so we had a good group.
All too soon and I really mean this we were at the river. The line for the ladies room was so long that they took some of us women and put us on line in the men’s room. A youngish guy walked in saw al the women walked out and looked at the sign. Then an old man came in and started to yell that we should go back to our own bathroom!
Now it is time to make our way down to the boat. Memories of Igauzui Falls starts creeping into my mind. These are concrete, steep steps and no railings. The water looks yucky so I don’t want to fall in there. Will I be able to get down there. Elephants in Bali, pedicab in Saigon and now this..... What the hell am I thinking. Well with the help our guide and two more men they got me down. They would not let Bill help. Yes, I am on the boat. now the boat is starting to move so we need to distribute the weight better. Oh Crap I don’t want to wind up in this water! So we are settled and off we go. The Mekong Delta is home to over 30,000 people and there are more with their floating markets. It was truly something to see and we rode up or down no sure which way we were going. We stopped at a rice candy factory but I couldn’t make it up the steps so I stayed on the boat. They watched them make puffed rice it pops like popcorn they said. They made candy and they had SNAKE WINE and SCORPION WINE... All the rest on my boat went but there were two other Crystal people on the boat next to us. It was pleasant on the boat with a small breeze. They returned with samples for me of the candy. We go along again and they stop now at a farmers house. Now this looks like a ladder not steps so Becky and I both opt out of going. I told Becky to give her camera to the tour guide... They had tea and fruit. They returned and the tour guide had Jack fruit for us and small bananas. The Jack fruit kinda looks like a yellow pepper but I can’t put my finger on the texture. It was sweet and good! I am posting a picture. We then for a long ride where the river was quite wide. The Mekong River flows from Thailand through Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia. It is really important in these parts. As we were traveling you could see the landscape change there were no “houses” close together there were now farms along the river. All at once we came to a beautiful resort where we had our lunch. I am posting the menu. I did try the Elephant Ear fish they wrapped it in rice pancake but I was not a fan or the greens they used (mint for one) They gave us each two small spring rolls which were good. Then they came out with the biggest prawns I have ever seen. The waiter cut the heads off and peeled them and gave each of us one very large shrimp. Bill and I both passed so two people had two. Next came a soup with fish dumplings. They also had a salad bar and dessert bar. My lunch.. A bite of the fish to say I tried it. stir fried veggies, rice and bread. Seems I am eating this a lot lately. After lunch we were rushed back to the boats and taken back to the buses. We needed to be back to the ship for a 3pm sailing. We arrived back at 2:45pm..... As I write this blog I am totally exhausted but we did see so much in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) so that is all that is important. I must go dry my hair as I have taken my shower and will get ready for dinner!
Good Night and God Bless!
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