What a beautiful, sunny day on the Mekong River! We started out at
8:00 am down the bumpy roads of Saigon towards the Mekong River Delta where we
took a boat to one of the river's four major islands. Apparently they have
farms out there! They grow cocoa, pineapple, jack fruit, coconut, bananas,
water apples, and a bunch of other fruit. They even have 13 different varieties
of orchids.
Once on the first island, we were treated to local music, a variety
of fruits, and tea. They also have honey bees on the island, which are supposed
to be friendly but actually ended up stinging our tour guide on the eye! Ouch!
Though maybe not so friendly, the honey bees did produce some pretty great
honey. The tea prepared for us contained honey, pollen from the honey bee flowers,
kumquat, and green tea. The tea was served with peanut and banana chips that
were also pretty delicious. It was here that we also had the opportunity to
hold a snake (and many of us did). After we left the island we took tuk-tuks
through the coconut trees and eventually stopped for lunch where you'll never
guess what we ate.
Today was a very special occasion (today Lindsey turned 22),
so to celebrate we ate rat...oh, and some birthday cake, too. Apparently this
is the first time in thirteen years of doing tours that Thai (our tour guide)
has convinced his group to try eating this "treat". Thai says he
likes rat better than chicken...that's debatable. However, when in Vietnam, do
as the Vietnamese do. You have to live a little and be an adventurous eater
every now and then!
After lunch we went on paddle boats to our main boat and
drank fresh coconut milk straight from the coconut. The boat guide cracked the
coconuts open for us so we could eat the coconut "meat" as well, yum!
We quickly stopped off at a floating fish farm and then found our way back to
land. That was the majority of our day, and now, we are headed back to Saigon
where we are free for the night! I know a lot of us are craving some pizza, or
just American food in general, and some of us may even go to the night market
to work on our bartering skills. Here's to another great day in Vietnam!
Amos and Selena
Complete your Vietnam travel and choose an adventure with Mekong delta tour , with a great selection of hand picked cruise tours from the Ho Chi Minh City in Southern Vietnam. The Cruise tours are running between Vietnam to Cambodia and in Laos. In Southern Vietnam you may combine a Mekong Delta cruise with a journey toward the Phnom Penh that will be ended it in Siem Reap with a visit to mysteriously captivating Angkor Wat.
ReplyDeleteAfter your Myanmar itinerary 2 weeks, you may think of buying some souvenir for your friends. What to buy in Myanmar? This is not a difficult to answer. When coming to Myanmar, tourists are especially interested in gemstone pictures or sand pictures with the image of monks are asking for alms or the image of famous revered temples in Myanmar will be a good choice for you to store interesting moments in Myanmar. Besides, the products which are made of wood or bronze are favorite souvenirs of tourists. You can buy them from the locals market or from directly in traditional villages you visit. One thing you should remember, you can save at least 30% of the price if you are good at the bargain with the seller.
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