Today we’re all taking a quiet minute to remember those who put their lives on the line so many times throughout history. Their sacrifice has provided us with the opportunity to do what we’re doing today. <3
It’s been a very full past two days as we explored the Mekong Delta in grand style. Thanks to our friend Kim here in Ho Chi Minh City....we had the best tour ever! It was designed just for us and was exclusive for us as well so we were the masters of our very own tour. Wahoo!
Our guide Thuy (pronounced Twee) met us at our hotel at 7 a.m. and we were off in our private 14 passenger van. Yep....that meant that we had seats to ourselves for at least part of the journey which is really really nice when you’re hot and tired. But even when we weren’t laying down we had room to stretch out and lots of room for our bags and when you’re the only clients in the car....you can pretty much stop whenever you want and wherever you want. But in truth....there wasn’t a lot we wanted to stop for (other than the occasional toilet break) as the itinerary they’d set up for us looked amazing and we were excited to get to it.
Our first stop in the delta was in My Tho and it was here that we had our first up close and personal experience with the Mekong River. Yep....we were right in it. Well, not really in it....but in a small boat that was in it. Once again we had the boat all to ourselves. Others had to share their boats with at least a dozen others but ours was just for us so again...lots of room and a real sense of freedom. While we’d enjoyed air conditioning in the van out here on the water we were treated to natures version of air con. Wind....lots and lots of beautiful breezes created by the speed of the boat skimming across the water. To add to the cool factor there was also the occasional splash that found it’s way onto your skin and when the breezes hit that wet skin...yep...that is the best air conditioning of all.
Our boat carried us to another smaller boat (a sampan) that was then able to take us down small canals that run off the river. Those little canals are GORGEOUS! The palms are hanging overhead and it feels like you’re in a really cool movie. The temperature is comfortable and the scenery interesting as well as beautiful. That sampan took us to a coconut candy manufacturer along the rivers edge. Here we disembarked once again and I should mention that getting on and off these boats is not as easy as you might think! You have to remember that the boat is floating and tippy and so you MUST step off or onto it in the middle of the pointy bit that the driver has bumped up against the dock like structure. Those drivers are outstanding! They can drive that boat up in between two others like threading a needle and they cut their engine at exactly the right moment so that the nose of their boat settles gently up against the dock or land. You kind of have to see it to believe just how good they are at it.
But back to the coconut candy stop. This place smelled sooo sweet and delicious I wanted to bottle the scent! They were in the midst of pressing coconut milk out of bags of coconut meat/pulp. So much milk came out of that pulp! From there the milk was poured into a pot that was constantly being stirred and that was over a fire. I think there might have been some sugar added to that milk but couldn’t ever get a straight answer on that so.....am not 100% sure on that front. The milk was “cooked” for one hour and by that time it would have turned into a toffee that was then mixed with any additional flavour (or not) and the blob of toffee was pressed into long lines till it cooled and hardened. From there it was cut into little squares (all by hand) and then wrapped in rice paper and paper (again...all by hand). The fingers on those women who were working that candy wrapping line were flying! And...one of them was even watching a movie on her phone to pass the time! How she was able to wrap AND watch is beyond me!
The other treat that we got at this stop was to see our first ever coconut baby. There was a coconut that had a small green finger poking out of it. Thuy explained that this was a baby. We all knew that coconut palms grow from a coconut so this wasn’t that surprising but when Thuy broke the coconut open and showed us the pulpy ball that was the end of that green finger we were all excited to see this “new” thing. And....we got to eat it! Who’d have though that inside the coconut there would be another little round ball (that is the baby) and that you can eat. It is a little bit sweet and a little bit spongy but crunchy at the same time. We all agreed, It was delicious.
Back into the sampan and back down the canals to our slightly larger boat that continued along the wide and mighty Mekong River. There is so much to see on the Mekong. It is a major thoroughfare for traffic of all kinds. We saw honeymoon boats (rounded boats that are just for one couple on their honeymoon), we saw fishermen working, we saw men and women bringing their full boats to market, we saw barges, and houseboats, and houses that were strapped to the top of two boats, and big boats and small boats,, and well.....we saw everything while we were making our way down that river. Along the edge of the river we also saw a lot of piles of wood. Many of them were piles of mangrove (wood that can grow in brackish water (mixed salt and fresh)). The mangrove wood is not straight or pretty but it is very very strong and hardy and can be used as supports under water as it is resistant to rot. There were also piles of massive hard woods. These hard wood trees had come in from Cambodia. It’s not that Vietnam doesn’t have its own trees....its just that it is so much easier to access the ones from Cambodia and float them down the Mekong than it is to access the trees in central and northern Vietnam. Saigon is where there is huge demand for that lumber and Cambodia is just so much closer and more accessible.
The Mekong is also very muddy looking. The water is a thick chocolate brown. It’s not really dirty....it’s just that the type of jungle loam and vegetation that finds it’s way into the river colours the water that way. I’m pretty certain that all rivers in these jungly parts of the world are that same colour. So many people live along the Mekong too.....we could see their homes lining the waters edge and many others live on their tiny boats. It is hard to fathom just what that would be like but the faces that greeted us when we passed by their homes and boats were all smiling so they seem to be very happy with it.
Next stop was a rice noodle factory. Here we watched a man make round discs of rice “paper” by pouring a ladle of ground rice and water mixture (with a little tapioca flour added into it) onto a muslin cloth that was atop a fire. That very thin “pancake” of rice water was then covered with a lid so it could steam and cook. The fire below the muslin cloth was fuelled by mountains of rice husks. Once they were burned and black they were retrieved from the ash bin to be further used in making fertilizer. Nothing is wasted here! Once the rice “pancake” was steamed enough the man would then pick it up with a large airy “rolling pin” and then lay it on a bamboo mat to dry in the sun. What a LOT of work! None of us will ever be able to eat a rice noodle again without having a whole new level of appreciation for the work that went into making it! Once the “pancake” was dried in the sun....it was fed into a machine that would cut it into the desired thickness of noodle. This was the only machine used in the entire process! Wow! What an interesting stop!
From watching the man make the “pancakes” we went inside to see some of the other stuff that is made, packaged, and distributed at this place. One of the items was dried frogs. YUK! They were actually whole little skinny frogs with a spine and legs and a head....and Lynda tried one! YUK! Fortunately I did not have to try one as right when it was going to be my turn....Gail and Darlene saw the tail of a rat under one of the shelves and that was it for me....I was out of there in a heartbeat and headed back to the boat and the safety of the river.
With all the busyness of the morning we were hungry and it was not yet time for lunch so next stop afforded us the opportunity to walk through an “orchard” where everything from durian and jack fruit to papaya and longan were growing. We were given samples of everything at the same time as we were entertained by some traditional music and song. The fruits were delicious and helped tide us over till our lunch stop. Of course everywhere we stopped there were shopping opportunities to be had as well. LOL. Fortunately none of us have any room in our carry on only bags for much shopping.
Back to the boat for the trek to our lunch stop. From the boat we had to get into the back of a tuk tuk (this one was like a tiny pick up truck with seats on either side of the truck bed). The tuk tuk took us part way and then we walked the rest. What an interesting place that was! Before we found our way into the actual restaurant there were so many obstacles that you could try if you wanted to. None of them really appealed to me as they were ropes hanging over pools of water and logs (or ropes) pulled taught across small lakes that you were supposed to balance and walk across. Darlene, Gail and I weren’t willing to risk falling into the very muddy water so decided to pass but Lynda was willing to give one of them a go and so she represented our group well by making it all the way across without falling in. :-)
Finally we were seated for lunch and what a lot of food there was! It just kept coming and coming! We ate till we couldn’t eat any more and then we were off for our final stop before heading back to our boat. On the way out of the property where the restaurant was located there were also several cages. One of them was home to several fresh water crocodiles. Another was home to some porcupines. There were also a couple that were home to snakes. We didn’t spend much time at any of those!
Before we got back to the boat we had another stop at a bee farm. Here we learned about the local honey bees and got to taste their raw product. They even made a delicious little drink for us out of honey, fresh lime juice, hot tea, and bee pollen. We could all feel ourselves getting healthier and feeling revived. :-)
We were ready for the open air and the breezes on the boat for our final trek back down the Mekong as we headed back to the city of My Tho where we’d begun our journey earlier in the day. From the dock in My Tho it was back to our van for the drive to Can Tho, the city where we’d spend the night.
Our hotel was right in the middle of this vibrant little city that is the hub of the Delta. We had a little time to clean up and then were off to dinner on a floating restaurant. What a treat! The city is pretty and easy to walk in. The trek to the restaurant took about 10 minutes and that 10 minutes took us through the newly renovated centre park area which I’m certain the city is very proud of. Our floating restaurant was so brightly lit that it felt like we were in the middle of the midway at a fair. What fun! Our table was on the upper deck so we had open air and views of all the lights of the city and the bridges that criss cross the Mekong River. All the major bridges in this country seem to have lights on them....they are really pretty.
By the time we’d wound our way back through the night market and to our hotel we were done! What a wonderfully full day and morning would be here in no time!
It was another 7 a.m. start with breakfast and then back into the van and off to another boat ride. This time our destination was the floating market that is the largest in the Delta. Here all the vendors are on boats. The farmers sell directly to these boat vendors and then the boat vendors sell directly to the retailers. You have to be buying in bulk to be able to buy from the boats in this floating market. Purchasers know which boat to go to as each boat has their product hanging from a tall pole at the front of their boat. If they sell more than one item...there will be multiple items hanging from that one pole. It is a really clever system as the poles are visible from quite a distance away.
Thuy had made arrangements for us to be able to board a pineapple boat. We all climbed up to the top of that boat and it didn’t take long to realize that this was a pretty tippy place to be. Lynda and Gail chose to sit up there on the roof of the boat while Darlene and I opted to climb back down the ladder where we could then stand on the main deck and easily see and be a part of everything from a vantage that felt much more stable! Our hosts treated us to the most delicious pineapple I think I’ve ever tasted. We each got a spear that had a section of the crown as a handle. I ate every bit of my fruit right down to that crown. It was delicious and not acidic at all....just the perfect amount of sweetness and juiciness, and well....it was just perfect!
After another full morning on the river we headed back to the hotel in Can Tho where we had time to clean up and check out of our rooms. There was time for yet another lunch and then we hit the road headed back to Ho Chi Minh. It was a four hour drive and so once again....we were grateful for the fact that we had this 14 passenger van just for us!
By the time we were settled back in our hotel in Saigon we were feeling the need to find something for dinner and so tonight we opted to go for something western to get Gail and Darlene ready for the trip home on the 12th. We found a place called Chuck’s Burgers and it was a hit. On the downside....you know when you get something that tastes really good....you sometimes eat it too fast.....well, that might have been the case for us tonight. It is likely that we might pay the price of gluttony at some point in the next few hours. We all fell into bed once back at the hotel. It’s been a full couple of days and our adventures in the Mekong were amazing!
On the 11th we decided that the best plan would be to stay pretty close to the hotel. Gail and Darlene have a very long journey ahead of them tomorrow and so taking the time to relax and put our feet up seemed like the right thing to do. We did go out for one meal though....today we located a little sandwich shop called Journey and it too was a major hit. Thank you Mr Google...you did good two days in a row. :-). Other than that one outing it was a day for cards, repacking, relaxation and an early night. Robert (front desk here at the Ace Hotel) has ordered a car to take Darlene and Gail to the airport at 7:30 a.m. for their 11:00 flight so morning will come early tomorrow!
For the last time,
Darlorlyngai
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