Blogs from Can Tho, Mekong River Delta, Vietnam, Asia - page 9

In Can Tho ließen wir uns dann doch darauf ein, und starteten eine Bootstour bereits morgens um 5:30 Uhr. Der Hotelmanager hatte uns wie in Vietnam so üblich direkt nach dem Einchecken die Tour ans Herz gelegt. Angeblich sei es ein buddhistischer Feiertag und wir müssten uns innerhalb einer halben Stunde entscheiden, da er danach weg müsste und auch sonst nirgends die Tour gebucht werden könne wegen des Feiertages (Aber klar doch!). Nach einigem Überlegen sagten wir aber dann doch zu. Mit 20 $ war die Bootsfahrt zwar etwas teurer, aber da wir fast 8 Stunden unterwegs waren, relativierte sich der Preis wieder. Im Gegensatz zu Vinh Long und My Tho, nahmen wir diesmal in einem kleinen Boot mit Rudern und Hilfsmotor Platz. Unser Guide war ein witziger, junger Bursche namens Dung (jedenfalls sprach er sich ... read more

Caitlin woke up to a new dress, bag and swimmers. She was very excited it was her 3rd birthday and couldn't wait to start the day. Unfortunately for Caitlin, after the buffet breaky, it was straight ona bus to the Mekong Delta. Bus trip forgetable, however once in the Mekong, we jumped aboard a boat and toured the area which included a watching local ladies make rice paper / coconut candy / rice wine(metho) and puffed rice. Fred was especially taken by the lady arduously making rice paper. We also had a good lunch on an island and then lazed around in hammocks. After lunch we listened to some hideous local traditional music. I will try to add the video to this blog and you will know what Im talking about. After lunch we toured around ... read more

Morning rush to reach the Sinh Cafe booking office. Thankfully we can keep part of our luggage here, so we carry one bag with us and leave the rest here. Good airconditioned bus, a nice guide - its comfortable even if both Anu and I hate package tours. 3 hours to Cai Be and the rain god plays with us. We buy very flimsy raincoats - 7 dongs each. On to a boat in Cai Be and on the Cai Be river, passing the Cau Be floating market. The banks of the river are houses, with stilts into the river, and people's lives play out unconcerned about the tourist boats that peep into their homes. Here a girl cleans up her front room - there a mother is feeding a child. All around loading unloading of ... read more

Can Tho We took an early bus to Can Tho, about four hours away from Ben Tre. Ben went in search of a hotel while I looked after the bags, and a lady selling goods on the street invited me to sit with her. I watched as people came and went on their motorbikes to buy drinks, or even a single cigarette. One lady came by and said she thought I was beautiful, pointing to the fact I had a pointy nose and not a flat one! It’s funny what other people notice! We had a cracking dinner in Can Tho - I went in search of a bargain, and came back with a two course dinner (that tasted really good!) for 10,000 dong - about 40p. We had a rice dish with meat and a ... read more

Day 394: Tuesday 28th July - On and off various modes of transport all day For the next two days I am on a tour to the Mekong Delta. I’ve changed my mind about whether to go to the Mekong Delta several times over the course of the last few days in Saigon, but in the end I chose to pay $23 for a two day tour. The case for was not wanting to miss out on seeing an example of Vietnamese agricultural life and after tracking the Mekong’s progress through Thailand, Laos and Cambodia I felt drawn to seeing it in the final country it flows through before discharging into the South China Sea. The case against was that I had been told by Maria - the Spanish girl I met on the slowboat down ... read more