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Mozzies, Motorbikes, Motorboats - Welcome to the Mekong Delta
With more than a week before the arrival of an Aussie friend (ex Kiwi but gave up that title and became an Aussie to vote!!) I decided to head south and explore the Mekong Delta region. Known for its many thousands of kilometres of waterways I felt that I could fill my time exploring a few of them.
My first challenge in getting there was getting to the bus station. It was quite a few km's out of the city and so I had to figure the best means of transport (without getting ripped off too much) to get there on. Was it to be a) a taxi that would cost a fortune, b) the local bus that could take forever or c) a motorbike that could be classed as the next adventure thrill ride at Dreamworld. Well it actually turned out to be d) none of the above. Whilst having a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs (noodle soup every day for breakfast is just a bit too much - especially if you end up having it for lunch and dinner as well) I was approached by a tourist guide waving his trusty little book with tourists comments. I decided to give him a chance to sell me a tour as I knew that I had an escape goat with my soon departure to the bus station. Well it wasn't to be so - even though I expressed that I wasn't interested in a tour at this time and advised that I would be doing the Mekong Delta on my own (due to budget restrictions) he still managed to get some of my money. He advised me of a bus that went to My Tho (first main Mekong Delta town outside of HCMC) that he could take me to (it wasn't part of the bus station as it was illegal - has to be good if its illegal) and for 30,000 dhong he could take me there. This sounded like a good plan to me so I told Dat (name of guy) that I would meet him back here in 45mins. Soon I was on the back of his bike with my pack (thank God for my small backpack) and off to the bus. Once at the bus it was about a 30 minute wait so I had time to give away some more of my money. It was time to try iced black coffee. I was a bit unsure about the ice but Dat advised me that there is no problem (10 years ago yes but not any more). It cost me 10,000 Dhong which I thought was reasonable (I have since found that they should only cost about 4-6,000 Dhong and a bit more if it is a milk iced coffee) anyway aside from paying too much it was bloody beautiful and I cannot stop drinking them (even the iced milk ones which condensed milk is used and hence them being very sweet). Once I had finished my coffee my glass was then filled up with Vietnamese tea. I thought this a bit strange but that is how it is done. I suppose its too cleans the palate after the coffee.
Before I could give any more of my money away it was time to get on the bus. Into a garage we go (remember it's illegal so needs to be inconspicuous and out of sight), onto the bus and heading south. The trip took only a couple of hours (the first hour just getting out of HCMC).
Once in My Tho it didn't take very long to be approached by a local selling boat tours. It was something that I was going to do for the afternoon (pretty much the only thing to do here) but I wasn't ready to haggle just yet. First I checked into a hotel and then went in search of a bite to eat. Thanks to my trusty travel guide I found a place selling veggie soup. 'Hu Tieu Mi' is a specialty of the region and my 'Hu Tieu Mi Chay' (vegetarian) version was yum yum and only 50 cents a bowl.
Once I had devoured my wonderful lunch I went for a walk to see about a tour. Well it wasn't long before I was approached by the same lady again. Since we had last spoke I had asked at my hotel how much I should be paying for a tour and the lady knew of this and offered me a tour just under this price so I thought why not. After a short wait I was picked up at the pier by my boat driver, a boy of about 11- 13 years old. On I got and off we went across the main river to the islands and the mainland acoss the river. My 3 hour tour involved visiting islands and sampling their sweet delights such as honey tea and coconut candy and then making our way through the many small canals. Just as my tour was coming to an end the heavens opened up (again). Down came the rain and I was caught without a raincoat. Oh well at least it is not cold. By the time I made it back to my hotel I was pretty well looking like a drowned cat.
The following morning I spent an hour at the markets before heading to the ferry to make my way to the Ben Tre Provence. My trusty little tour guide from HCMC 'Dat' had given me the name of somewhere to stay so once on the other side of the river I showed my piece of paper to the guys with the motorbikes and off I was whisked. I was aware that the township of Ben Tre was about 12km's away and I thought I might be in for a 5-10 minute ride but within minutes I was at the doorstep of what was to be my lodgings for the night. Within seconds of arriving at this place I felt that I had been here before and believe it or not I had. The previous day on my boat tour we had stopped here when it poured down with rain.
The next day I said farewell to my hosts and caught a motorbike into Ben Tre town. I was not sure what I should do, stay a night or move on. I walked around and looked at the markets and sat and had a coffee (always excellent - never a disappointment - not like drinking coffee in Darwin where it is always a disappointment and a $4.50 one at that!!!).
I then decided that I would head on to the next town 'Vinh Long'. I made my way in the direction of the bus station stopping to have an excellent bowl of noodle soup from a very friendly lady. I then continued my way to discover that I had been given the wrong directions at the last intersection so I had to retrace my steps. The bus station really didn't look that far on the map but proved otherwise when I walked it. Finally there I was to discover that there were no more buses to Vinh Long today or really any other place (at this stage I just wanted to get on a bus and go somewhere). Luckily for me there were some young uni students who could speak some English. They were heading back to HCMC and one of them was heading back on his bike and offered me a ride to where I could catch a bus to Vinh Long. So on the back of his bike I got and off we went only to end up with a flat tyre just a short distance down the road. Luckily we didn't have to walk far until we found a tyre repair place and we were back on the road. I was now retracing my steps back towards My Tho - will I ever get out of this place. As the rain started to come down we made it to the road where I could pick up a bus to Vinh Long - "yah I will be getting somewhere today at last". The guy who gave me a lift informed my bus driver that I was going to Vinh Long and to drop me off at a hotel.
Just under a couple of hours I reached my destination. The bus stopped and the one perosn on the bus who could speak a little English advised me to get off here and to go up that street. I thought it must be the main street for Vinh Long and so proceeded along. I found a hotel and was a bit suspicious of it being a brothel becuse of the decor. I first looked at my room before agreeing to stay. It was quite spacious and clean and had TV and a fridge. It also had a beautiful picture of a house above the bed that actually lit up (very tacky). After a shower I headed out for a bite to it. I tried to work out on my map and where to go for dinner only to soon figure out that I was 4km's out of the main town. How funny - oh well. Walked around for a bit before deciding on a roadside restaurant. They were just getting ready for the night so everything looked nice and fresh. I explained that I was vegetarian (toi ung chay) and they brought me out some rice with tomato and cucumber, a couple of boiled eggs and a broth. I was a bit concerend about the eggs as they were peeled but looked like they still had there skin on. Hmmm should I or shouldn't I - I didn't want to offend anyone so I took a bite and it was yum yum. The broth was also very good and I left the restaurant feeling very content. It would of been nice to finish my evening with a good movie but there were no english chnnels on my tv - damm, so I had to settle with reading my book.
The next morning I arranged a bike to get me into the township. I was unsure of what I should do. I enquired about a homestay on the river and a floating markets boat trip but eventually decided on a walk around the markets, a coffee and then the bus to Can Tho. If I was going to a floating market trip then this would be the best place to do it.
Once finding a hotel in Can Tho it wasn't long before I had someone approach me about a boat tour (and I hadn't even managed to get out the front tour). I agreed on the 8 hour tour and leaving at 5:30am.
At 5:30am the following day but tour guide was waiting for me outside the hotel with some breakfast consisiting of some banana's and a baguette. It was then just a short walk to the river and on to my boat. It was about an hour before we reached the first of the two floating markets. First contact though was with the drinks boat. Yep you can buy everything on the water even a coffee!!! I bought a coffee for me and a soft drink for my boat driver. Of course the guy didn't have change so I bought a bottle of water as well. They know how to get your money one way or the other.
Both of the floating markets were really beautiful. So many different fruits and vegies were being sold (hopefully my photos give you an idea). After seeing the markets we proceeded along some smaller canals. Here you could see how people lived in the Mekong Delta. Their houses were either built near the water or half on the water and half on the river bank. A lot of their daily life involved the water from the river. They bath in it, wash their clothes in it, wash their vegies in it and their plumbing goes into it, they sell their fruit and vegies on it and get from A to B on it, unfortunately they also litter in it.
Along one of the canals we stopped for lunch. A restaurant that catered for the tour boats. I had a very nice lunch of fried tofu and stir-fried vegies and rice.
The tour went for exactly 8 hours and it was a very nice experience although I had a very numb butt by the end of it. Oh and did I get caught in the rain??? - yes several times. It just seemed to be a day that it rained on and off for a couple of hours. Fortunately my time at the markets was rain free and it was only just after we left them that the rain came down.
The following day I made my way to Rach Gia. A port town known to travellers only as a passing point to catch a ferry out to Phu Quoc Island. I didn't have time to visit this island so spent 2 days drinking coffee and eating yummy street food.
I haven't mentioned the mozzies. I would of thought being near the water that there would be a mass of mozzies but fortunately there was only a handful or maybe they just don't like me as much anymore.......................
On my arrival back to HCMC I had to get from the bus station that was several km's out of town to my hotel in the middle of HCMC. How was I to proceed, why option c) of course - the motorbike ride that could be the next adventure thrill ride at Dreamworld - I made it back - JUST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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