I don’t have enough time and energy as I thought I would when I started my trip. So that’s why I haven’t updated this blog for a few days. Also the weather is just too good to be sitting inside sorting through pictures and checking email.
My two day trip to Mekong Delta was awesome. Despite long delays with ferries, being stranded on the side of the highway and other unforeseen events, I had a wonderful experience. I met a nice Aussie couple from Sydney who were in Vietnam to celebrate their tenth year wedding anniversary.
We went to two floating markets- the largest and smallest- in the delta and took numerous boat rides on the upper and lower Mekong Delta. A bamboo stick was fasten to the end of the stern and at the tip of the stick was the piece of fruit that was for sale. So you could see pineapples and other fruits swinging freely in the wind.
At night some stayed in either a hotel in the city or a home stay with a Vietamese family. I chose the home stay. Most of my group stayed in bungalows alongside the river. I slept in the main house with the family.
We enjoyed a wonderfully prepared homemade Vietnamese dinner that included tofu, elephant fish, rice noodles and other wonderful treats. My dinner mates were from Germany, Australia, South Africa and France. We had some good laughs over dinner.
What I enjoyed the most was crusing along the rivers and seeing the riverside villages. What I enjoyed the least was the lack of washroom facilities that exist on a motorboat and the tremendous need I felt for one at the beginning of my journey. Most of you will agree that when travelling there’s always the dilemma choosing between dehydration and a full bladder. Either way you can’t win.
Our guides were Fong and Hung. Both had very strong Vietnamese accents so it was slightly difficult to understand them when they spoke. We stayed with Hung’s family in his village. Since I was the first one up in the morning, I walked around with him a bit and chatted. He even put on some English music on for me. While on the boat rides, I asked him to tell us stories about his family and his life. He was very accomodating as he told about his arranged marriage, his family and his business.
As the youngest son in a family of 10, he taught himself English from a book and started a home stay business six years ago after listening to the suggestion of a tourist couple. He has never looked back and his business is booming.