A night on the Mekong...
Trip Start
Sep 18, 2010
1
30
51
Trip End
May 01, 2011
Mekong Delta, Vietnam
Friday, November 19, 2010
The bus is full and it's a mix of Czech's Aussies, Canadiens, Japanese and English. We drive out for about an hour until we reach My Tho, which gives us opportunity to use the Happy Stop, otherwise known as the toilet. Then its time to leave the bus behind and take to the Mekong on boat. Both surprisingly and thankfully I seem sick free as we float down the calm waters of the canal, so I sit back and enjoy the paddy fields and swamp lands of the Delta as we head to Thoi Don, the largest of the 4 islands in the Mekong.
Mooring up, we jump off and take a visit round the island. Stopping for honey tea and fresh fruit whilst the locals entertain us with bizarre vietnamese renditions of Auld Lang Syne and 'If you're happy and you know it'! Next it's back to the water but this time on little rowing boats down the narrow waterways. A very relaxing and scenic ride, complete with our own hats!
Before heading for lunch we stop off at a coconut candy island, for an opportunity to taste the sweets and watch the manufacturing by the locals. Lunch is next as we are taken by horse and cart to a little restaurant on the other side of the island and tuck into more rice/spring rolls and vegetables. We share a table with the other English couple and decide to sample the local seafood between us; fried Elephant Ear Fish. Particularly gross looking but tastes delicious, served in little rice pancakes with salad. With our stomachs full we have time to relax before finally heading back for the boat and back for the bus. Other than Tim and I and 4 Aussies schoolies, everyone else is on a one day tour so are heading back to Saigon. We take the bus and get dropped off 30mins later to a waiting coach of 30 others also doing an overnight stay. Its onwards to Can Tho as we head for our accommodation for the night. What is apparently a 2 hour trip turns into a 4 hour trip as the torrential rain starts to fall, by which time everyone is ready for beds and food.
Arriving at the hotel, the 10 of us opting for a home stay are left hanging around as everyone else seems to be checked in and already in their rooms. Eventually we are picked up in taxis but left with no instructions from our guide other than 'see you in the morning' as he disappears into the hotel. As it turns out we have to take a taxi for 20 mins and a boat for 15mins in the pitch black before even arriving at our supposed homestay. At this point we're all a little dubious but eventually we arrive to the smiles of a grandmother and baby and shown to the 5 little rooms/huts whilst the mother of the family finishes preparing our home-cooked dinner. It's suddenly looking promising! The evening gives way to a night of drinking shots of Happy Water, otherwise known as rice wine, which tastes a lot like vodka. The Aussie schoolies embrace being only 17 but being able to drink here and get bang on the shots, Tim in tow! It's a good night all round and as The Happy Water runs dry we eventually crawl to bed..
The next day is another early start as we head for the boat at 6:30am. We spend the morning taking in the floating markets and pretty much a similar layout to the first day. We visit a rice noodle shop, a local village Market and eventually head back to Can Tho for lunch before taking the bus back to Saigon. A cramped mini bus where I luck out with the pull down seat makes for a long journey when the rain comes again and the 3 hour journey in fact takes 6!
Once back in the city, we head to a new hostel at only $10 before checking out the Ban Thae Market. A hugh disappointment.. Maybe we've just seen too many markets at this point now! We also seek out a couple of bars from recommendations only to find both; Cyclo Bar, a live music venue, and Allez Boo, both empty. We instead head back and decide to get some sleep since it's already gone midnight.
