Last day

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We departed for the Mekong delta tour at about 8am. There were 13 of us all up and it took about 2 hours to get there. We went for a boat ride and saw some very interesting things. They make some coconut lilies here that are really excellent. We bought a heap but we are not sure if they will let us take them into Australia. The trip was pleasant enough but it soon dawned on us that it was just a way of them taking us to a range of places where the locals can try to flog us some stuff. This began to wear thin after a while and by the last stop where under the pretext of getting some coffee it turned out to be a very expensive foreigner only gift shop, I was over the whole thing. I had considered giving the tour guide a tip earlier in the day but he had worn his good will with me down dramatically.

Once we got back we decided to book into another half day trip before we fly out tomorrow to go and see the tunnels the Viet Cong used during the war. We had heard that this was very interesting and a worthwhile trip. No doubt there will be lots of stops for us to buy stuff again but I guess we will just have to live with this.

As a general observation, I think the Vietnamese are significantly wealthier than the Cambodians but they are also much more interested in trying to make a $.

You have got to love to communist system. Unless you have money in Vietnam you cannot go to school. So some kids don’t ever learn to read and write as their parents cannot afford to sent the kids to school and then to spend the extra to teach them more than just the basics. I don’t quite get how a socialist state cannot have universal education.

Once back to our hotel at about 2.30 we will be on our way to the airport to start our journey back to Adelaide. We will land at 8am on Friday morning and we are both looking forward to seeing everyone again.

The trip was really excellent and I thing we are both glad to have done it. We have learned a great deal on our way and hopefully got a good dose of humility and contrast to give us a perspective on our incredibly fortunate life at home.

Cheers

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