First day of tour sees us up and ready to go for our Mekong Delta cruise and homestay.

After meeting our guide Si and jumping on a boat our first stop was Unicorn Island to see and taste a variety of tropical fruits. This was awesome for a variety of reasons, but also because I had skipped breakfast and was starving!
We were told the pineapple was sour in taste and were given salt and chili to dip it in to even out the flavours. None of us found the pineapple to be that sour but we gave it a shot and it was delicious. The chili was far too hot for me and ended up just eating Pineapple on its own.
I got to try jack fruit for the first time along with Sapodilla - I had never heard of it before today but now it is my new favourite fruit! Sapodilla is probably one of the greatest things I have put in my mouth in a very long time. I wish I had the words to describe the taste so you had something better to run with, but I don't, so you'll just have to trust me on this one.

A quick walk around the corner and we were sat down to try some honey tea. It contained a squirt of cumquat and a sprinkle of bee pollen. I love honey usually so this was no exception. We were also given some banana wine and royal jelly to toss around our taste buds.
The opportunity to purchase what we had just tasted arose but none of us were interested, we politely declined and continued chatting while our tea friend stood there in an awkward anticipatory silence. Saved by Ngoc and Si sending us on the next part of the trip.

Back on the boat towards another island which was home to the Coconut Candy makers. First up Si demonstrated how the different elements of a coconut are gathered by the local people. This is no easy feat with nothing but sharp implements and hand wound machines.
They have a small factory on the island in which, if I remember correctly, each worker can churn out 2000 candies per day, completely by hand. Amazing stuff!
We were given a sample of the warm coconut candy, similar to eating caramel, before being shown a selection of flavoured candies to try. The candies are wrapped in edible rice paper to stop them from sticking to your teeth. Coconut wine was next on the tasting plate, followed soon after by a shot of snake wine. Yes, snake wine. It isn't as crazy as it sounds kids, it's just rice wine infused in a bottle with a whole snake.... sometimes accompanied by a scorpion.

Si then demonstrated how fresh rice paper is made. It was essentially a crepe made from rice flour to begin with, but once left to cool down it hardens and becomes more like a wafer. The ones mixed with condensed milk and egg were the best!

We all piled into Sampan boats next, given conical hats to keep the sun away, and rowed down the winding paths of the Mekong to our lunch spot. This was so relaxing and a great way to see the river. Those Sampan rowers are super fit and strong!

Lunch was a delicious medley of soup, prawns, chicken, and a whole crispy Elephant Ear Fish straight from the Mekong, cut and prepared in rice paper rolls right in front of us. After lunch we chatted about our travels and future plans and spent some time lazing around in hammocks. Truely a very relaxing day.

An hour after lunch we were on our way to our homestay village. Having done a homestay in Peru I was expecting something similar, but had private dorm rooms and a restaurant to eat in along with a fridge full of beer we could help ourselves to.

After another hour or so of hammock lazing and beers we gathered ourselves up for a bike tour of the village. Being able to see the landscape and the few dozen smiling kids excited to yell out hello was definitely a plus. This is the Asia I fell in love with!

After some more lazing in hammocks and general chats it was dinner time, and oh my lordy was the food amazing!
Our homestay 'dad' poured us all a shot of rice wine and Ngoc taught us the Vietnamese equivalent of 'Cheers'. After 4 rice wine shots and two beers Ngoc told me I was his hero, referred to me as master, and said I am exactly what an Aussie should be. I think that's code for 'you're a drunken aussie bogan' but it was definitely amusing.

Following dinner we were given some playing cards and Hannah taught us all how to play f*** your Neighbour. We played a few rounds and decided to bring the rice wine in as punishment for losing. Janaka ended up losing pretty much every round and drank all but one shot of what was left - that last shot was mine!

Bed time rolled around and we were all out like a light. But not for long. Apparently roosters crow whenever they feel like it in Asia... every half hour from about midnight we were woken.

The next morning I was up for breakfast fairly early. One of the resident dogs is definitely not a fan of me and growled and barked everytime I walked by. There's a reason why I'm a cat person!

Overall the Mekong trip was amazing! I would definitely recommend everyone give it a go. When in Vietnam.... do as the Westerners do.