"I would like to eat local food please," I said to my (female) Vietnamese guide jotting notes in my book as we ate. It was 7.45am in the already bustling Vinh Long market and we were eating steaming bowls of Bun bo hue. "Boy, thats such a satisfying dish," I thought, slurping the clear liquid whilst "chopstikking" the noodles and pork meat.
"Tran," was going to have lunch with me too.......but not dinner.
She recommended her (single) sister "Chau," to dine with me that evening. Sensing I was not the average "burger and chips man," she ensured that Chau was well drilled on some dishes I should try. One of them was......RAT!! I mean rat!................."How romantic," I thought.
After breakfast we headed to a long motorboat for a trip to Minh island in the Mekong. The day's agenda included a pottery factory (very hot in there), cycling (worth a go), bonsai garden (boring) exotic fruit tasting (excellent) and snake hunting. (joke)
Changing boats for a smaller vessel (Sampan), I had sympathy for the OAP working the oars. She was strong though. From her standing position she pushed hard as the oars crossed near her chest. We were propelled in squid-like bursts down the Mekong and into a haven of fruitful growth.
Water hyacinths bobbed by in lincoln clumps, (they were introduced to stop bank erosion) as I attempted to photograph mudskippers before they darted back to their bankside holes. Cute, very cute.
As the waterways drew closer together the boat occasionally became stuck in the vegetation floating on the surface. I didn't mind; this was another opportunity to photograph the biggest butterflies I had ever seen. One species was velvety black with a blue hue on the base of its wide wing tips. When it flew it looked surreal, like a fluffy ball of black and blue.
We arrived at around 11.00 in the middle of Minh island where we rode bicycles along the narrow river paths and over precarious hump-back bridges with no sides. It was exhilirating. Everywhere I looked there was life. The fruits I had witnessed in the market were all growing here. So many colours, rich floral smells and the plop, plop of ripe rambutans hitting the water and floating alongside our boat.
There were kharki clusters of longans, baby mangosteens that were not yet purple, drooping, green, teardrop-shaped mangoes, vibrantly lime-green Jackfruit bulging in their reptilian cases, glossy red rose apples, huge congregations of tiny figs resting close to their woody tree trunk, nobbly skinned pommeloes in every stage of development and the ubiquitous bananas, small but fat like swollen fingers.
Lunch on the island consisted of Elephant-ear fish, fried spring rolls and vegetable soup. The fish was eaten in rice paper with other veggies herbs and a dipping sauce of Nuoc mam with chilli (from Phu Quoc of course)
The fish flat sided fish was succulent, light with a detection of earthiness. Its fried skin had more flavour having benefitted from caramelisation. It was ok but I much preferred the more flavoursome snake-head fish I devoured with "Thai," in Can Tho.
After more cycling we found a fruit tree nursery where we ate some of the exotic fruits. I had already sampled many of them in the UK but was pleased to find a new one. "Kalabash," is a medicinal fruit that looks like a coconut from the outside. They had made whisky from it which was said to cure rheumatism. "yes, yes," I thought knowing that the Asians attribute anything that grows to some wonder cure. The whisky was the best I have tried in Asia, far better than that muck they gave me in Thailand. Urggghh! I also tried gooseberry wine which is apparently a digestive for women. It was bitter as you'd expect, sweet and a touch flat. Give me the whisky burn!
Before we departed the island, Tran was determined that I capture a butterfly on film. She pointed them out but they were shyer than a Japanese woman. I was pleased just to have seen them. One guide told me of a butterfly (that lived more in the interior) with wings the size of hands! I may return.
and on to dinner.......
19.00 came and Chau turned outside my hotel on a scooter. (well what else in Vietnam?) I knew her English was not as good as Trans but that was not going to spoil the evening.
She took me to a restaurant of open bamboo structures where parties could sit in privacy. It was a cosy affair! There was man singing to traditional music no0t dissimilar to the mandarin-orientated stuff from China. His winey voice made me think he was in some pain and I offered to take him some paracetamol.
By this time Chau had told me she was a music teacher and seemed very passionate about her job. Two of her compositions had even appeared on TV sung by a Vetnamese pop star. No comment.
The dishes had already been decided. We were having mouse, not rat, fried tofu in breadcrumbs and cabbage stuffed with pork and fish paste.
The waiter asked how many mice we would like. Chau turned to me - I had no idea!!!! Its not a decision I've made before. "Errr.... two"???
"OK, one mouse for you and one for me." Glossy brown quarters of mouse with small bones (no surprise) came on a bed of lettuce. Chau tried to get me to eat the bones (she was muching them with fervour)
Call me old fashioned but, I prefer my mouse without bones!
The meat was delicious. Ok not much meat but excellent. Similar to roast pork it was sweet yet savoury, dark and meaty, not gamey at all. I would eat mouse again cooked in this way.
Chau was asking what time my hotel closed?! I had no idea. "Did I want to sing Kareoke?" Errm, lets see. I had drank one beer and was in a town where I knew no-one. "Well maybe."
We were supposed to go to another restuarant to eat roast goat but Chau said she was full. She seemed quite a strong willed woman so I agreed to go with her to an internet cafe. There she enthusistically showed m,e her website details. After 30mins she asked if I'd like to go to another cafe. Little did I know it was also a Kareoke bar!
There was no beer at the cafe!!!! Noooooo, I needed alchohol. I could not drink the fruit shakes as the ice had given me frequent trips to the bog and there was no way on earth I was drinking Lipton tea, so Chau ordered for me.
A gold can with a straw appeared. I thought that the name on the side, "BIRDS NEST," was just that (a name) Apparently not. I was actually drinking bird spit!!! I suppose there's worse things you can drink.
Ingredients as specified on the can. "water, sugar, white fungus, agar, sodium bicarbonate, birds nest."
The flavour was similar to cold milky tea except it was full of bits like wet pasta. The liquid was very glutenous. Luckily I was drinking it through a straw. An experience for sure.
Suddenly 3 of Chau's mates turned up! They were all very young looking (not illegal or anything) and I started to feel out of place. They wanted me to sing, speak Vietnamese and tell them all about myself. Do I look like a performing monkey?? (Don't answer that anyone who knows me)
It was 10.30 and after a couple of Vietnamese songs (the girls sang) it was time to retire. Chau took me back to the hotel followed by the 3 girls on other scooters. This was wierd!
As I began to contemplate the eastern culture more, I realised how different we are, yet I was so happy to be out with them. Their food, hospitality and warmth was something we can learn from in the west, although I can never see mouse catching on!
