5000 Dong to Pee in a bush
Trip Start
Jul 05, 2009
1
6
16
Trip End
Jan 29, 2010
Mekong Delta, Vietnam
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Another tour day means another burgeoning stand-up comic guide to show us around. This time we had Duc ("or you can call me Duck - same same") and he also plays guitar and sings for you. Don't really know what he was singing but we could tell by the giggles and winks that he thought he was funny.
We were taken to various places to try coconut candy, snake and scorpion wine (packs a punch - 32% alcohol) and fruit (not a fan of jack fruit but pomelo and some others were nice) and were rowed through the canals of the delta with the rower saying something under his breath that Luke says sounded very much like "money, money, money".... but we couldn't understand unfortunately.
At the end of the day we left the rest of the group with Suzie from Leeds for our homestay thinking we would be driven there by taxi. The catch was, the taxi was three motorbikes. Suzie even had to ride with her 15kg pack on her back. Getting in amongst the crazy bikes was a once in a lifetime experience. Fun but stupid all at the same time. I've included a photo to prove i got there in one piece.
They lived right on the river and have built seperate little huts for guests. They are clean with mosquito nets provided but the 2 inch thick mattresses are on top of a cement block so I guess you couldn't quite call it comfortable. The grandmother had cooked a lovely fish meal which she served up in rice paper and offered us all beer out in a cute little courtyard setting. Not wanting to be rude I actually drank some of the beer and asked for water later. Unfortunately she didn't understand so smiled politely and said "no, no, ha haha". Would love to know what she thought I said.
When it started to rain they just poked their heads outside and obviously thought we didn't look too wet so went back inside. It stopped a short time after. We can check 'eat dinner in the rain' off the list.
After an early 5am rise we cruised down the river to the Cai Rang Market - hundreds of boats selling fruit, etc. We boarded a boat and the lady chopped up some pineapple for us which looked more like iceblocks with the top part left on to hold on to. The markets were one of the best parts of the trip. On the way back Suzie and I needed to pee so our guide took us to a small house/shop on the side of the road. The little girl took us to the toilet but it was a tarp around some tiles on the floor. We weren't sure where we were meant to pee so ended up peeing in the bush whilst the other stood guard. Our guide paid 5000Dong each for the privilege.
We were ushered in to a private air conditioned room again for a banquet lunch which was really nice until we were told that they had rats, snakes and frogs on the menu. We were told we had fish and pork, so fingers crossed.
We were driven back to Ho Chi Minh City for a final night and are now in Nha Trang. There are loads more little stories we will share when we get back but time for dinner now. As you can tell we are having plenty of laughs along the way and really having our eyes opened to the Vietnamese culture.
Jen and Luke
xx
Comments
Hat
Hehe, nice hat! :)