Tuesday, March 3rd
We were picked-up by Lee and Thi at 8:00am - perhaps a bit early again, but these tours are jammed packed.
It was busy on the street outside the hotel, as it is most times of the day, except perhaps between 3:00am and 4:00am.
After an hour or so of driving we stopped at a roadside restaurant to visit the Happy Room (toilet). Clearly eel was on the menu in the restaurant.
And the ubiquitous French and German tourists also thought the Happy Rooms looked good. There wasn't time for anything but a photograph and back on the road.
Further on we stopped at a Cao Dai temple - this religion is a fusion of most other main religions, and is apparently the third most popular in Vietnam, after Buddhism and Catholicism.
The inside of the temple was not only colourful, but the breeze through the open sides made it a cool oasis from the outside heat.
After another half hour or so, we came to the first of the nine great arms of the Mekong delta. We would spend the next few hours on the river and various tributaries.
Being a two person group, we always get our own boat and relative peace and quiet at most venues. Life jackets were mandatory, although we noted that neither the boat driver ot our guide thought them necessary.
We traveled along the main arm of the Mekong always in the company of other tour boast, or locals going about their business.
And everywhere something was happening everywhere on the banks.
I had told our guide about my interest in Durian, and when we found a boat selling fruit we stopped by.
That's a look of pleasure, not pain...but they are an acquired taste!
By this time the life jacket was getting hot, and so mine wasn't going to stay on much longer. I'm sure we were the only ones on the boat who could actually swim, as well.
We visited a candy factory where they make caramels and sweet rice pops (just like a chocolate milkshake, only....). This has been one of the few places where we bought the local product and we're still finishing the packet.
Oh, this is caramel before it's put into the mold, dried, cut and (manually) packaged.
Next stop, a small restaurant on an island where the locals put on a little musical comedy and serve tea and fruit. It was also another opportunity to visit the Happy Room.
We were then transferred to a sampan piloted by a "little old lady" (probably much younger than us) and two oars (just like a gondola).
After a couple of kilometers of very small canals we thought our oarswoman was beginning to struggle, but she wasn't puffin or sweating, so she did much better than we could have. The most interesting part of this detour was the snake that crossed our path somewhere near here.
Back in our power boat and on a larger branch, we passed a rice barge which reminded us of the Canal du Midi, for some reason.
Then it was time for lunch (again), and as usual everything was well organised, and the location of our table thoughtful.
Unfortunately, although the food was excellent, the quantity was starting to catch up on us, especially because neither of us usually has much for lunch.
This deep fried local specialty (Elephant Ear Fish - like a bream) looked and tasted delicious and was served with vegetables wrapped in rice paper and dipped in chilli sauce.
Because wine really isn't an option, I've taken to drinking beer and Prue either coconut juice, or (on this occasion) Coca Cola!
What we didn't eat was recycled to feed to next round of fish for the next round of tourists.
And in the next pond, bizarrely, a large number of small crocodiles or alligators waited their turn. We think there might have been a zoo or aquarium here at some time...who knows.
The view from our hotel in Can Tho was lovely, looking out over the second of the nine main arms of the Mekong - to think there are another seven further south.
The river front was lovely, and there were lots of people out for an evening stroll. Even Uncle Ho made an appearance.
An at the end of another long day, we finally found a nice, cool, relaxing place to have out G&T (unfortunately for me, without ice).
And as the sun went down, we agreed we had no room for another meal and after our drink had an early night - tomorrow we have a 7:30am start!
Wednesday, March 4th
We met our guide in the foyer at 7:30am because we were going to visit the local floating (wholesale) market and apparently they only operate fro 5:00am to something like 10:00am. I didn't realise that "holidays" were such hard work.
The boat trip from the wharf near our hotel was about 30 minutes, and most of the trip had houses and business, or both, along side the river. Near the centre of Can Tho there were the occasional high-rise hotel, office block or apartment building.
We were told that the river bank building would eventually be replaced by a "dyke" (a wall, really), mainly to stop pollution, make it easier to maintain, and give the poor better housing conditions - I actually think this is true.
Most of the boats at the floating market are owned by farmers who specialise in one or two porducts. The usually come for a few days, or until all their produce is sold, and they often live on the boats.
On this occasion, both the boat driver and the guide wore their life jackets - I think it was company "policy" (don't want a tourist falling into the Mekong, for several reasons).
This couple were selling drinks and making tea and coffee for the vendors.
The boats were moored in the middle of the river, but there weren't as many as I expected.
Along the bank of the river, and we'd already seen this many times, were piles of acacia trunks. These are used in building - I thought for scaffolding, but we only saw them lining small canals as a kind of fence. The wood hardens when wet and has long lasting properties, so perhaps it's a bit like the foundations of Venice.
After we left the market, we went up a side canal to visit an orchard. This enterprising family had turned its land into a visitors centre, and instead of selling fruit in the markets, it charged tourists to walk around and learn about the local fruit types. You also got to sample the produce and have some tea.
They have all sorts of fruit growing, including a local (tropical) kind of apple:
Pineapple, of course:
Dragon fruit:
Jack fruit:
Papaya:
Coconut:
And mango:
OK, so you've all seen fruit before, but never so many varieties all producing at the same time. We're told that the locals have developed techniques to delay the ripening of some fruit so they are available year around.
The orchard also has ponds where the owners cultivate fish, and especially catfish, a local favourite. The water lilies are also spectacular.
Here's Lee (our guide) and Prue sampling the fruit, washed down with more tea.
Off the boat and into (yet) another market. Here's some catfish, and some live frogs which for some reason I felt sorry for.
And various kinds of squid and octopus, garnished with a few Dong (the local currency).
While inflation has made one Dong almost worthless (A$1 = 16,000D), the currency has the benefit of having no coins at all, the smallest note being 1,000D (A$0.05).
Before leaving Can Tho we visited the "oldest house" in town. Actually, I doubt it's the oldest, but it was built over 100 years ago by the wealthiest man in Can Tho at the time, and it is still one of the most ornate houses. It was also used in the French movie of the 1990's called Les Amantes.
On our way back to Saigon we crossed the Australia - Vietnam Friendship Bridge, built in 2000 with Australian aid money. The bridge crosses the first arm of the Mekong and replaces a ferry service that could take two hours. There'll be no more Friendship Bridges if Tony and Jule have their ways.
Almost home, but still time for a late lunch. This one was probably the best, and even Prue thought so!
There was another Elephant Ear fish, but this one was a little smaller than yesterday's! The waitress said I should take a picture, so I did - I couldn't tell her we had them every day...
Back in Saigon we returned to the hotel we'd been in earlier. Now that we're "regulars" we get an automatic upgrade when the standard rooms are full!
We went off in search of a G&T and found a bar underneath the restaurant we had chosen for dinner. Unfortunately, it seemed designed for "hip" young Vietnames, rather than "old" foreigners! There were cocktails on the menu, but no G&T's. After some discussion the barman said he could make some - one measure of tonic in a glass accompanied my one measure of gin in a separate glass! Whatever...we paid the overinflated, "happy hour" price and left.
The "hip" decor of chairs with the names of "famous" people on the back should have been a giveaway - I hope Adolf Hitler ended up between Bill Clinton and Brad Pitt was by chance.
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