Day 11: Mekong Delta
So apparently they love kareoke in Vietnam. There were wailing vocals until about 4am!! Ridiculous, but thank god I brought earplugs for us both.
We got smoothies for breakfast and waited on the steps of our guesthouse for our bus to the Mekong. Someone around the corner was coughing and spluttering and hacking super loudly…so we didnt finish our smoothies.
We got on our little tiny bus and out guides name was Lionel Ritchie and whenever we were leaving or he needed us at a point he would yell LIIIIOONEELLLL! On the way we stopped at a local handicap artists workshop where they make paintings using eggshell and seashell. Some of them were really cool but they definitely put the price up because it was a tourist stop.
When we got to the Mekong we got on a big motorized boat to go across to one of the islands. It was a very poor area because most people are farmers. Our guide told us that most people have no electricity only candles so they go into their dark rooms and it’s hot and there is nothing else to do but make babies, haha! When we got to the first island we did a fruit tasting which included dragon fruit, jack fruit, pomello, pineapple, and baby bananas. The pineapple was probably my favourite, so much less acidic and sweeter than Aus.
After that and some green tea we got on our little wooden boats paddled by ladies in pointy hats and set off down the narrow muddy canals of the mekong river! The water level is very low at the moment so there were a few traffic jams on the water. It was really cool though, the locals were waist deep in mud catching little fish with their bare hands, and we were just paddling by - i even had a go paddling!
Once we left the canals we got back on our motorized boat and went to another island where we learnt how they made coconut candy - and we got to try some that was still warm! It was alright, pretty coconutty. We also tried coconut wine (more like vodka) and it was really strong and icky.
Back on the boat to yet another island to see a bee farm! We drank honey pollen tea and tried Royal Jelly. Its the food that the Queen bee eats and its meant to be really good for you, make your skin really soft and give you longevity. I bought a small bottle for $10 so we will see how we go.
Theeeeen we headed back to land and got our bus back aaand Crouton and I went to the markets briefly before they closed and got some yummy dinner of Viet spring rolls and a veggie noodle dish. Mmmmmm
Aaand the kareoke started again at 10pm. If it wasnt all in Vietnamese I would have joined them!
