Mekong Delta

Met in lobby at 7 am to officially begin our trip. The full photo gang is here. There’re 12 of us including Joel. We drove to Cai Be Village in the Mekong Delta about two hours away. There we boarded a boat to explore the river and the floating markets. There was so much was going on. Boats were selling all kinds of produce, rice and carrying sand they had dredged from the river. We climbed onto one boat that was selling pineapple. Then we got in small traditional sampan boats and were paddled along narrow canals by women standing on the back of the boat. Wow they’re strong. We went ashore and strolled along a dirt path through fruit gardens and woods, visiting local families along the way. We passed several houses and each family invited us into their home and offered us rice whiskey and snacks. Joel was really partying with the locals. Think he had five shots with them. It was really cool meeting the local people and seeing how they live. It was very authentic. One of the homes had a dirt floor. The people are very warm and friendly. We had lunch at the last home in a traditional garden house. They served us many, many local dishes including Elephant ear fish, which we wrapped in homemade rice paper, Vietnamese pancakes, vegetables served with tamarind dipping sauce and local fruit like jack fruit and papaya. After the multi-course lunch served in an outdoor thatched hut, we got back in the big boat and continued back along the river. We went ashore again where we saw local families making popped rice, coconut candies and rice paper. I got to try making rice paper. It’s a lot harder than it looks. Mine didn’t come out so good. I also tried on a giant snake. It was very heavy and a little scary. Later that evening we went on a dinner cruise along the Saigon River. It was kind of touristy and the entertainers were from the Philippines. They sang a lot of American songs and ABA songs. It was fun being cruising on the river. The breeze felt fantastic, especially after the beastly hot but fun day in the Mekong Delta.