After an annoying bus-scam incident which found us kicked off a bus and walking aimlessly for a couple of kilometres in the hot, sticky, city-smelling heat, we managed to arrive in the somewhat quieter riverside town of My Tho in the Mekong Delta. A treat to be out of the city. Coconut waffles, fresh market fruits and a steaming bowl of the local specialty 'Hu Tieu' were all culinary highlights...though these tend to be happening on a daily basis now, no complaints here.
Rivers, canals, ponds, streams,puddles and of course, people, characterise the Delta region. You can get everywhere by boat and bicycle, and every inch of land above waterlevel seems to be cultivated and ultilised. Longans, Bananas, Durian, Jackfruit, Mangoes, Pineapples, Lychees and other unidentified fruits abound, and every household has their own ponds where they raise fish to a delectable age. Most family plots of land are self-sufficient, everyone seems to have what they need and make extra money by selling the surplus, operating a food stall or making goods. Life slips by at the pace of the pedal or the oar in the rural regions, and quickens to the hum of the motorbike or the outboard motor nearer the towns.
From My Tho we skipped across a limb of the Mekong to sleepy Ben Tre, and stayed in a quiet rural guesthouse well out of town. A boat trip through the canals with Houng (see pictures) and visiting his family the next day was awesome...such amazing hospitality, and as is vietnamese etiquette, lots of food offerings. We were a little uncomfortable eating all this food when they seem to have so little, but it is the polite thing to do, so when in rome....
The touristy town of Can Tho was next, and touristy it was, though I'm sure it can be worse in the busy season. A trip to the floating markets in the morning was pretty cool, with people trading their produce from boat to boat, though sometimes being an observer (and a foreigner at that) can be an uncomfortable feeling. Some of the best fresh springs rolls were sampled here...love it!
Hot, sticky bus rides have become familiar already. Even seeing the woman in the next seat spew into a plastic bag and flung it out the window, doesn't draw the reaction it might do back home! But the buses are a cheap way to travel and get us from A to B, safely, so far.
We are currently a world away from the Mekong Delta (or so it seems) on the tropical island of Phu Quoc in the Gulf of Thailand...blissful! We have a bungalow on the beach, we eat with our feet in the sand and have watched some incredible sunsets from the beach-front restaurant. Thunderstorms have been spectacular, the air is clear and it rains regularly, keeping the temperature in check. We've whizzed through the villages and rainforest on a motorbike, managing to stay upright on some ultra-slippery roads. The island has a big fishing industry, and at night the oceanic horizon is sprinkled with lights from the squid boaters. Needless to say, we are loving it and don't want to leave, but Cambodia is calling and we must get a move on. So tomorrow we depart from Ha Tien and attempt the border crossing the following day. Wish us luck and wish you were here!
Ciao G & C
