Vietnam Part 3 : Mekong Delta!
Posted: May 17th, 2009 | Author: faddy | Filed under: Travel | Comments Off
From the third day onwards, we decided to get out of Saigon and experience the different parts of Vietnam. Even though the whole itinerary was planned by Sinh Cafe, we specifically told them that for out trip to Mekong Delta, we would not be using their services, but rather those provided by Delta Adventure Tours.
The reason was simple. Delta Adventure Tours gave us more options, like riding on small canoes and cycling around a village whereas Sinh Cafe’s was a more ‘looking’ tour, just sitting in boats looking at the scenery. This is the reason why for every tour, you should always ask exactly what you are doing, and shop around looking for other options. Different operators do different things, so it’s best you choose the one which fits you (and your budget) best.
Unfortunately, the tour guide we had for the day wasn’t as cute as Moe, the tour guide we had on Day 2. What he lacked in looks, however, was compensated with a better grasp of the English language, a penchant for saying “Yes Ok, Ok Yes” and asking people to call him ‘Stiffler’ (as in the American Pie’s Stiffler).
We began the bus ride to the Mekong area early in the morning at around 8am, where Stiffler gave us a long documentary about Saigon in general – about the prices of the motorbikes, why things were named the way they are, etc. I found him to be very knowledgeable, smooth in his speech and damn hilarious so that’s a definite plus point.
After the two hours journey (if I am not mistaken hehe), we transferred to a bum boat, much alike to the ones we have over at the Singapore River. Cruising along the Delta with the sun shining brightly overhead, we again listened on as Stiffler talked more about Mekong Delta.
Did you know that the Mekong Delta is actually a stream of water which is not only in Vietnam, but in Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia as well? Each country has different names for the body of water, but in Vietnam, it is called the Mekong Delta :)
After the ride on the bumboat, we switched to riding small canoes paddled by people from villagers who lived on the island that we were going to. We were given hats to wear, even though each brightly coloured canoe entered a waterway which was fully sheltered by trees.
It was truly peaceful and different from the hustle and bustle of Saigon and I found myself feeling more relaxed and happy with the choice of going to Vietnam. Singapore is already a buzzing city on its own, so to me personally, the ideal holiday would be somewhere that allows me to escape from the same atmosphere here in my country.
As we were going down the waterway, we passed by many different canoes going to and fro, and found that most were paddled by women. I think our canoe was the only exception – it was rowed by a boy barely in his teens upfront, and a man at the back whom we presumed to be the father. Along the way, we passed by an old lady sitting on a canoe smiling at us, going “Tip more, tip more!“
We were then dropped off at the epicenter of the village, an area where tourists were aplenty, along with lines of souvenir shops. Our group was led into a big sheltered area, where we were treated with a feast of fruits while being serenaded by people from the village – children, men and women alike.
Whilst chomping on the array of fruits on the table, we made friends with a Korean couple who sat with us and resisted our very best from singing Nobody by Wondergirls HAHAHAHA (song still stuck in my head, bloody hell).
We were then led to a bee farm, where I think we were ripped off as we were not brought around the farm (I saw tourists inside the farm being showed the hives etc) but instead straight to the ‘cafe’ where we were given samples of honey products. Nevertheless, we were not really upset over it as the food on the table was nice (hehehe) and because…
We managed to take photos with a snake! A BIG BIG snake! hahahaha. Yeah, we look happy and excited in the photos, but you should see how we squirmed and became all nervous before and after the shot hahahaha. Good fun! Good fun! (Oh by the way, taking photos were free, unlike in Singapore Zoo hahaha)
Next up was another boat ride to another part of Mekong Delta, the Ben Thre province. There, Stiffler brought us around a place where coconut candy was made and even showed us a complete process from A – Z.
According to him, in the whole of Vietnam, the coconut from Ben Thre province was the best as they were very, very sweet and perfect for making coconut candy. People have come to the island to try and take the seeds and plant it elsewhere, but the tree can never grow as well as they can on Ben Thre.
We were then given samples to try, and later to buy (duh) but I didn’t get any as I didn’t quite like it but the girls bought some. Got flavouring like chocolate, pandan and even durian some more ok? Hahaha…
Yet another short boat ride later, we arrived at Hoi An for our lunch (included in the tour prices). Unfortunately, because we did not inform Stiffler before the tour that we cannot eat any pork, chicken or beef/mutton, we were served with a plate of rice, vegetable and pork.
Thankfully, Stiffler was very accommodating and got the restaurant to serve us another plate, this time replacing the pork with tofu. As it wasn’t enough for our hungry tummies, the three of us ordered a dish of fresh Elephant Ear fish which had been fished from the Mekong Delta itself.
I have to add here that in Vietnam, it is almost impossible to find a Muslim, much less a Halal food outlet. So throughout the trip, the Totots and I just tawakkal and stuck to seafood as well as vegetable and plain white rice.
Accompanied by the big white dog walking to and fro next to our tables and finally resting a few feet behind us (which made Peah damn paranoid hahaha padahal I am next to the dog and she was next to me), we tucked into our delicious food and rested for a bit after all the boat taking and walking around earlier in the day.
Seeing that we had around an hour of free time, Totots and I grabbed the free bicycles made available by the tour company and proceeded to explore the village. Our initial plan was to cycle in the coconut tree farm, but as we rode along rows of houses and over bridges, we found that we had taken a wrong turn and there wasn’t much time left to find the farm so we entered a picturesque abandoned house just so we could still have our sense of adventure.
Hahaha sawi je masuk rumah tengah-tengah hutan. Luckily we didn’t encounter any ghosts or drug addicts or things to that effect hehehe.
Earlier during the start of the tour, Stiffler gave us a choice of returning to Saigon from the Delta either by bus (included in the tour package) or by boat (add an additional US$10). Because the Totots and I wanted to arrive back in Saigon early as we had to catch an overnight bus, we chose the boat option :)
And because we are the Totots who get excited over the smallest of things, we asked to sit outside at the back of the boat even though it was going to rain, as hey!, when else can we experience the wind blowing into our hair and faces as we cruise along the Delta right?
Oh and let me introduce you to Peah’s boyfriend in Vietnam hahaha! Damn funny lah! This guy actually poked at her, and in hand signals, communicated across that he wanted Peah and him to be together HAHAHAHA. Woman almost died from the shock, while Atikah and I almost died laughing.
It was quite a long boat ride, and we passed by a million and one things, like endless forests lining the river to slum houses and even shipyards. The wind coupled with the gentle rocking of the boat drove us all to sleep, only waking up when droplets of water splashed onto our faces or when our butts felt to sore.
I think of all the things I saw, the image of the starkness in the difference between the rich and poor stuck to me the most. Lined along the river as we got nearer to Saigon were endless rows of slums with dilapidated roofs and tin walls, with kids running about playing in rubbish or murky water, while behind them were rows of clean high-rise apartment buildings or lavish bungalows with white paint gleaming in the sun.
It was amazing and humbling to me to see many different people in the slums waving and smiling at us, or their children laughing as they flew kites atop piles of waste. I just cannot imagine the thought of myself living in such conditions :’(
We finally reached back to our Luan Vu guesthouse in the evening, packed our bags and gave our goodbyes to Luan, who had been such an awesome host. Giving her hugs, we made her promise to call us when she will be in Singapore this July for a Karate competition. Cool or whaaat. Don’t mess with this small petite lady (or steal the towels in the toilet), she’ll chop you to death I tell you. hehe.
We ended the day by hopping aboard Sinh Cafe’s sleeper bus (which got us excited because omg they’re all literally beds and not seats which can recline!) at 830pm which would bring us to Nha Thrang the next morning.
Atikah’s doing a sad face because somehow her bed was retarded in the sense that there was no hole for her to put her legs into due to its positioning. So kids, avoid getting seat number 28 hahaha.
Lullabied by our respective mp3 players or the voices of our boyfriends, we slept on throughout the night as the bus rumbled through an 8 hour journey to the north of Vietnam. It was comfortable enough for me that I only woke up the next morning :)
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Thus ends our adventure on our third day at Vietnam – away from busy buzzing Saigon and out to the peaceful rivers and villages at Mekong Delta. Next up? Nha Thrang, somewhere in the central of Vietnam full of islands and friendly smiling Vietnamese. Hold on for the next entry, kids!
Related posts:
- Vietnam Part 1 : Ho Chin Minh (Saigon)
- Vietnam Part 5 : Mui Ne!
- Vietnam Part 4 : Nha Thrang!
- Bye Singapore, Hello Vietnam!
- Vietnam Part 6 : Back at Saigon!
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