Today I had a relatively regular start. The shipboard community only had to get our landing cards from immigration. We did not have to have face to face immigration like many other countries we have visited. So I was up at 8 and off the ship by 9am. I walked around just for a few minutes with a group of friends. Then our plans changed a little so the group split in half based on what we wanted to do.
My group decided we wanted to go to Mekong Delta; a small group of islands around the Mekong River. My small group of friends consisted of me, Keyla, and Alexa. We found a very nice taxi driver who gave us a great deal to take us to the river and back which was about an hour and a half each way. The drive was unique. I was able to see all sides of Vietnam from the city, the rural areas, and the almost untouched natural landscapes.
The ride did not seem to take that long as I stared out the window trying to soak it all in. Even though I was in a nicely air conditioned car I could still feel the heat from the sun. The weather while we are in Vietnam is supposed to be in the mid to upper 90’s, very humid, and thunderstorms all week. It was barely 10am and the sun was already almost at its highest temperature for the day. We all hoped that the river would help cool it down some for us as we were about to spend the day on the water.
Once we arrived at the Mekong Delta we could tell we were going to have a great day. We got into this small engine boat that would hold about 8 people plus a driver. The three of us got to sick back and relax with our taxi driver and the tour guide of the Mekong. The first thing we did was go eat lunch. The river ride took about 20 minutes to get to this Island called Phoenix Island. As we stepped onto the island we were rudely awoken by the site of tombs everywhere. Our guide told us that the tombs are from people who died during the Vietnam War. This was our first encounter with the remains of the war. It struck us all hard I think. I could not believe that there were no cemeteries. There were just tombs in the middle of a piece of land with people’s names on them. It was definitely a wakeup call.
At the place where I ate lunch I got to see tiger prauns which come from the Mekong River, and Elephant fish. This is a huge fish that are gray in color and other than that I have no idea why they are called elephant fish. This is actually what Keyla and Alexa ordered for lunch. I would have tried it but they cook it in peanut oil so there went that meal choice. While I wait for my Pho, which is a very popular soup in Vietnam, we held a python! He was huge; I bet he weighed over 20 pounds. It was scary but really cool only because he just chilled on my shoulders and didn’t try to eat me! Lunch was delicious and gave us full belly’s to explore the other islands on.
After lunch we took a donkey ride. Instead of using horses (which I have not seen any of) to pull carts, they use donkeys. So we took a 10 minute donkey ride back to the water. Here we got to see another part of the island; a more developed side. I think one of the best parts of the day was being able to see almost any and every form of living in Vietnam. Once back on the water we went to another island. On this island we got to see how coconut candy is made. They grind up the coconut, add sugar and milk I think, mix it very well for 45 minutes and then let it cool. Once it is cool they cut it into long stripes, then into squares, and finally package it to be sold. I tried the chocolate coconut and it was delicious! I bought some to bring back to the states. After seeing how the candy was made we walked over a bridge to another island. On this island we only walked around to see another island. This one was very underdeveloped; it looked as though no one actually lived on the island unlike the other ones.
Our last island that we went to was Unicorn Island. To get to Unicorn Island we had to take row boats. This was a blast. Two women rowed a boat with the five of us in it. The smaller part of the river that we went down was totally shaded by trees. It reminded me of a scene from The Jungle Book. The one where Balu and Mogly are swimming in the river and there are trees and wild animals around. Well it was exactly like that only not quite as much of a jungle as a tropical forest. I think that just traveling down this part of the river was my favorite part of the day. It was near silent, shaded, secluded, and in the heart of Vietnam culture.
Once we arrived at Unicorn Island we were once again greeted by a few tombs. Walking in a little further we came upon this cool little café style restaurant. Here we were able to listen to live Vietnamese music and try some of the local fruit and tea. This was a great cultural experience. We were the only “non-locals” in the place so it felt more natural than if I had been with a huge group of tourists. It was just overall a very enjoyable part of the day.
Our last stop on this over 4 hour excursion was to stop and see some honey bee farms. Here we once again, were offered the opportunity to try some Vietnamese tea with fresh honey in it. Oh my, it was delicious; almost my favorite tea of the trip to date. I decided to also buy some fresh honey to take back to the states to use in a similar style. I just love natural sweeteners! This sweetness meant the end of our tour though. We got back into our small engine wood boat and traveled a half hour back to the mainland where we got back into the taxi and went back to the ship.
Once we arrived safely back to the ship we decided to grab some dinner. We ate at this really neat sushi place. I’m not a sushi fan so I had a Vietnamese chicken dish, but the atmosphere was fun to be in. The three of us sat at dinner discussing all the cool things we had just witnessed at the Mekong Delta. It was a delicious and relaxing dinner. Then after dinner I was able to Skype not only my parents, but also my California family! What a great surprise to get to see them.
I know it seems like an early night, but in reality I was up for quite a while. I went back to the ship in a great mood and ready for whatever the next day would bring!
No comments:
Post a Comment