Traveling is not for sissies! It takes a sense of adventure and a spirit that is open to new and, shall we say, different experiences. From the itinerary, it seemed like it was going to be a rather bland day, but bland would not be the word to describe November 8, 2013.

As the only non-spousal guest along on this wonderful trip, I want to first express my gratitude to the Women 4 Women women. A very special thanks to Judy Hirschman for inviting me to be her roommate. It's been a delight traveling with Judy and getting to know this wonderful group. Each day brings new adventures and surprises. Today was no exception and could be titled: Planes, buses, boats, bikes, horses, row boats (all before lunch) and, then last but not least, ferries.

Planes. The itinerary said an early flight. We had to be ready by 4:30 am. Yikes. Needless to say we were up but not quite lucid. The hotel gave us a continental breakfast for the 45 minute drive to the airport. Flight boarded at 6am and off we went to Ho Chi Minh (HCM) city. We were greeted by our tour guide who was named Loi.

Buses. After gathering the increasingly heavy suitcases from baggage claim we piled on to our new bright yellow bus and headed off to the Mekong delta region. We hit HCM city at rush hour and hundreds upon hundreds of motor bikes were jockeying for position to get to work on time. It's amazing how adept everyone is at navigating the traffic. The city is incredibly expansive and seemed to go on and on. Saigon is still used and now primarily refers to a section of HCM. I think the two names are essentially used interchangeably. Loi spoke about his family and all his brothers and sisters. He's 44 and the war touched his family directly. They lost 3 homes during the course of the war. He talked about seeing bombs dropping when he was 4 or 5 and even has a scar from some bomb shrapnel. I appreciated his openness talking about his country and it made the time fly.

Boats. After a two hour drive we arrived at My Tho city which is the closest town to Mekong from Saigon. We got on a Sampan and went to a tropical island. We were entertained by our local guide with songs and jokes. We have grasshoppers and bracelets made from bandam (sp?) tree leaves. He even threw in a couple of choruses of jingle bells.

Bikes. We were given bikes to explore the island. This was challenging because we had to share the road with the motor bikes. Road is a euphemism in this situation. Think narrow concrete path with muddy ruts. Making a left hand turn across traffic was scary even though we gained some false confidence crossing the Hanoi streets. We saw water coconuts and grapefruit trees. Water coconuts grow in the swamp and turn the water a coconut milk color.

Horses. Once the bike ride was over we got onto horse carts and further toured the island. One had to be careful moving around on the cart because it was rather tipsy--thank goodness for our Tai Chi lesson. We were dropped off at a local tourist area and were immediately given a piece of coconut candy. It tasted a bit like coconut taffy, but not quite as sticky. We also saw how the candy was made. A woman used a machete to cut long strips of candy into bite size pieces. She then passed them on to a table of women who hand wrapped each piece. Following a tropical pathway, we then proceeded to wind our way through different stations. Some of them sold coconut souvenirs and others sold hammocks and clothes. One station was a demonstration of how to make rice paper and rice candy. It's very hot work because it is cooked over a fire which makes the tropical heat even more intense. The pathway ended at an open air shelter where we had honey tea and tropical fruits. Local musicians sang Vietnamese love songs accompanied by guitar and traditional instruments.

Rowboat. After our snack we were escorted to a fleet of row boats. We carefully got on with 2 or 3 people and headed down the tropical river. Loi sang a beautiful love song that fit perfectly with the tropical environment. Stan and Stacy got into the spirit and started paddling to help out the local navigator. Thankfully the rowboats ended at a park with thatched roof shelters where we had lunch. We were famished! The centerpiece of our table was a whole grilled elephant fish sitting upright in the stand. The waitress, wearing a lovely Vietnamese outfit, made fresh spring rolls right at our table. Then there was the usual 4 or 5 additional courses. With full bellies we got back on our sampan and headed to our yellow bus for a 4 hour drive to Chau Doc.

Ferries. I didn't know what to expect in Chau Doc. When we arrived the city was bustling with people getting off work trying to start their weekend. It was exciting to see until that bustling also translated into a very, very long line at the Ferry Dock. We were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to visit a local 'happy' room. While I personally passed on this particular happiness, some were brave. I'm naming no names.

The ferry boat wait was about two hours and once we got closer we could why. They were only able to take about 10-12 cars at a time. Some of us got out of the bus to check out the ferry boat--it was less than glamorous and the bus was much more comfortable. A few people came back a little green around the edges. You might think that I'm making a reference to indigestion, but that couldn't be further from the truth. But, I will leave you with the mystery...

Made it to the hotel around 9:00. I hit the wall and had granola bars and peanuts for dinner. I understand that the others made it to dinner where the day's adventure turned to giggly punchiness. Yep--it was a bland day.
Traveling is not for sissies.
Sally Kandel