Pass the salt and Praise the Snake

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Greetings Fellow Actuaries,

This is going to be a long one so strap yourselves in.

So on the 21st I dragged Saartje out of bed 6.30am (I had been up for over an hour and had completed my daily 15km sprint), packed our belongings into our trusty plastic shopping bags, headed down stairs for breakfast and waited for the arrival of the taxi that had been booked for us at 7.20am. Our bus to My Tho left at 8am from the Cho Lon bus station over the other side of town so we thought we wouldn't chance anything and get there early. So when the taxi arrived at 7.40am we thought we were in a spot of bother. What followed was the most hair raising taxi ride either of us had ever experienced. There was traffic everywhere but this didn't seem to bother the taxi driver who went flat biscuit all the way there never seeming to take his hand off the horn. That is one thing that will always stick in my mind about Saigon, the constant use of the horn by every motorised vehicle in the city. It is never quiet. Anyway the driver managed to get us there on time only to have Saartje amuse everybody at the bus station by trying to enter the bus via the drivers door. Most amusing.
The drive to My Tho took about 2 hours; 2 hours of rapid deceleration followed by rapid acceleration with a constant beep of the horn by the bus driver and we even stopped for fuel! And when we did there were a throng of people with all sorts of things to sell to the passengers on the bus; they just rushed towards the bus shouting and showing people their wares. Having spotted the only two westerners on the bus all their attention was directed towards us, most embarrassing particularly when there is no way we were going to by an inflatable Santa (Saartje had already purchased hers in Saigon before we left. She just loves the festive season).
After topping up the tanks it was a relatively uneventful trip the rest of the way, aside from seeing two young ladies on motor bikes collide head on (both were uninjured I'm happy to say). When we arrived at the My Tho bus station there was another throng of people waiting. This time they were dudes who wanted to give people a lift into town on their motorbikes. When they saw us two westerners well lets just say it was like a shiver of sharks circling a couple of wounded Seals. We had people asking us "Where you go, where you go?" "You want motor bike?" They were grabbing us and touching us and we were trying to fend them off with our rudimentary Vietnamese, most took the message but there was one dude who was very persistent (and very nice mind) telling us he was a tour guide and he would take us on a tour of the Mekong. I called our friend Van who came down with his brother in-law and took us to a very nice Hotel that was VERY cheap, $13 a night for something that you would pay at least $80 for in Aus.
After that they took us to Kieu and Loan's parents house where we were welcomed like family. Very, very lovely people. Loan and Kieu cooked us an absolutely smashing meal of fish soup, noodles and dog! I have to say fellow Ice Skaters that it was AWESOME! They didn't actually tell us what it was, they told us it was Goat (back in Canberra I had told Van that I wanted to try dog meat) because they weren't quite sure how we would feel about it. Sarah LOVED it! She thought it was awesome! Van told me a couple of nights later what it really was and in-turn I simply had to tell Sarah. She couldn't believe it, but she got over it and is now interested in setting up a puppy farm when she returns to Australia.
That night we were invited to a family dinner at a restaurant to celebrate the birthday of an uncle. What a feast! So much laughter, so many smiles, so much food! We ate pigs womb, field rat, giant snails and mussels. It was lovely.
The following day we hired motorcycles from the hotel and set about exploring the city of My Tho. My Tho has a population of about 110,000 and is right on the Mekong. Being so close to Saigon you would think that it would be relatively affluent, but it's not. It is a very poor area. Most of the tourists they get here come down from Saigon just for the day to take boat trips up and down the Mekong and as a result most of the money stays in Saigon. All the tourist agencies here are owned by the local government and consequently all the prices are set pretty high. However there are many dudes who wait on the river offering you personal tours for a MUCH cheaper rate. These, however are illegal and they (and you) risk being fined if you are rumbled and additionally their watercraft aren't all that safe.
Riding the streets here in the 'Nam are difficult. No one gives way, no one. If you want to turn across the traffic you just have to get in there and do it. Sarah had a head on with another lady at an intersection which resulted in both of them landing on their arse. No damaged to either person or bike was caused however (aside from Saartje's extreme embarrassment) and we continued on or way.
The next day I was up early and did my usual 35km morning swim in the Mekong while Sarah was content to do a body balance class, followed by an aroma-massage conducted by a troupe of traveling Nepalese tupperware Saleswomen. After that we set off on our motorbikes into the Mekong country side. This was simply breath-taking. We were cruising amongst rice paddies, banana plantations, mango trees, and all other types of orchids. We crossed many rivers that fill the delta and traveled through some very, very poor villages. But every where we went or stopped we were greeted with smiles or very confused looks. We assume we traveled to and stopped in places that don't see many westerners. We stopped at a cafe in a place called Cai Lay to have some refreshments. We copped a plethora of stares and odd looks as we strode into the place, but we were greeted by an older gentleman who spoke very good English and he invited us to sit down. His name was Du and he had learnt English in Saigon during the war so he could work on American military aircraft. He was a lovely man and told us that he was grateful for the chance to speak English again. After the war he was lucky not to be placed in a re-education camp but as a result of him working for the Americans he was not allowed to continue working as an Electrician so he was forced to work as a farmer. After that he became a driver and three years ago he opened his cafe. We were only the second westerners to stop at his cafe and he was very happy receive us. His wife was very lovely as well and offered us fruit juice, Vietnamese Coffee and Ice Cream and refused to let us pay! But I managed to convince them to let us pay something and eventually I was able to pay them $1. Ridiculous, people who have nothing are willing to give so much to rich Westerners, it just makes no sense to us. It makes you feel very humble and somewhat guilty. Sarah took some photographs of them and she intends to get them developed, frame them and send them back as a gift.
We headed home after that back along the same route we came. In Vietnam it is only compulsory to wear a helmet if you ride on a highway. We were aware that were in fact on a highway but we had no access to a helmet. The punishment for not wearing a helmet is a fine and having your bike impounded for 3 days. So we were feeling pretty good about the day we had just had when we passed a traffic cop. He scowled at me and pointed to his helmet at which I just shrugged, shook my head and flattened it down the road. I thought we were for it and was expecting him to chase us but he didn't. Lucky for him as mine and Sarah's exceptional skills as world class motor-cross riders would have made him look a little silly.

Now our story turns to Christmas eve. Now don't be thinking that the Vietnamese don't celebrate this day. The in thing here is to dress your little kids up in full length Santa outfits (despite the heat) then parade them around the streets on your motorbike. Absolute InSantaty. And the streets of My Tho were chockers with people, push bikes, motor bikes and mini santas everywhere. We thought we would go for a gentle cruise through town in the cool night air, savouring the quietness of the night. Well we seriously misjudged, what usually is a 10 minute ride in and out of town turned into 45 minute ride into Christmassy hell! But we survived and managed to buy a couple of gifts to take to the dinner we had been invited to.
We arrived at Kieu and Loan's parents house to be greeted by the biggest feast we have yet seen. But before we could Ho Ho Ho in....the seating arrangements had to be decided. Apparently all the women and children sit down to eat in the back of the house while the men all eat out the front (or with room permitting at least at separate tables). So Sarah was seated out the back with the women and Children and I was seated out the front with the men. We feasted on baby water fowl, freshly slaughtered chicken, grilled pork, amazing spring rolls, vegetables and the main course of SNAKE! And let me tell you fellow Herpetologist's is was wonderful...and yes it tasted just like chicken. I have no idea how the Vietnamese eat so much food and stay so thin...
Christmas Day was again spent with the family this time at an uncles house. There we feasted on crab, giant snails, fresh fish caught that morning out of their own pond, giant king prawns and fish soup. It was a wonderful day, we were made to feel like part of the family and in a strange way it was kind of like Christmas back home minus our own families. Mind you this Vietnamese family is Catholic so the way they celebrate Christmas is probably an aberration. The only thing that I am missing ( aside from loved ones) is settling down in front of the T.V. and watching the Boxing Day test, which by the way I am keeping eye on as I am writing this entry.
We have been invited to the wedding of one of Kieu and Loan's cousins on the 28th but apparently there is to be a Ceremony for the brides family in Can Tho tomorrow (the 27th) which we have been invited to. Can Tho is a three hour drive from here and we have to cross the Mekong a few times so we are really looking forward to it. We shall let you know how it is.

We are looking at returning to Saigon for the New Year and looking for some work there for the next couple of months. Fingers crossed.

Slightly hazy with the chance of rain. 2006 Hectopascals and falling.

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