Can Tho & Chau Doc 28/5/16 – 30/5/16

Day 12
Picked up at 7.45am by coach for the first of our 3 day trip to the Mekong Delta. Today’s trip we were joined by a couple of Germans, a few Chinese and 17 Americans made up of 2 professors and 15 students aged 19, who were on a 3 week tour at the end of their studies of Vietnamese history. Today we visited Vinh Trang Pagoda, which was beautiful with 3 very large statues of Buddha in its grounds, we took a leisurely boat trip along the Upper Mekong river viewing authentic stilt houses, fruit plantations and fishing villages, again fantastic. Actually the Americans were very overweight and the boat had an alarming list until the guide moved them around, seriously, why would a bunch of obese people all sit on the same side of a thin, well worn large canoe! After our 7 course lunch we got into hand rowed Sampons (local rowing boats), 4 in each (we were free of the Americans on these) and was rowed along the inlets under the shade of the water coconut tress, which was truly amazing and a visit to a local village who made the best ice cream from coconut along with coconut wine and coconut sugar free lollies, all very delicious. We were then driven by coach to the city of Can Tho, which is the 5th largest city in Vietnam, where we arrived at 7.15pm, (yet another long day).
Yesterday we met a great couple from Melbourne, Stuart and Myda, who were doing the 2 day trip to the Mekong Delta today. They were on a different coach to us, but we still caught up with them once or twice En route, so after finding out they were in the same hotel as us tonight arranged to go out for dinner.
We were informed by the hotel staff where to find the best restaurants in town, which were along the river side. We found one of them and had a great time chatting to them for more than a couple of minutes, a great night guys and thank you. Can Tho is a bustling city where old architecture stands side by side with relatively new. It sits along the banks of the lower Mekong river, with many boats mostly moored up, some were set a sail as restaurants. It also has a great night market, which we meandered through, and appeared to have lots of bars along its grand promenade. It was great strolling along the shoreline and we came across another huge statue of the man himself – Ho Chi Minh, my oh my how the Vietnamese loved this guy. We were informed by our guide today, that there are around 90 million people living in Vietnam, and 10 million living in Can Tho. He added that 8% follow Buddhism, 7% follow Catholism, the rest follow Ho Chi Minh, who taught the locals about ancestry. He was that good that the majority see him as a faith!!??
A really nice day today, although we are finding the coach trips to be a little excessive and long. Also getting into a city around 7pm and once showered and changed we don’t appear to have much time to see each town/city.
Day 13
Today we were picked up at 6.45am for a tour of the Mekong River. Firstly we went to the floating market, which was like nothing we had ever seen. We were informed that this was a market for locals and when we got there it was pandemonium on the waterways. If the roads were bad, then this stretch of water was as busy as. Boats of every description and size were battling the best spot and when the tourist boats arrived, small rowing boats and powered boats appeared from nowhere all selling every form of food and drink imaginable. However this time there was no hiding place for any of us! The boats wouldn’t pass any motor inspections in any other part of the world but here. They were ram shackled wooden vessels, and if asked I doubt we would have got on one.
We then went further down the river and ended up in a place for morning coffee. This place was rat infested with all manor of smells, so bad I nearly puked. Every place we have visited in Vietnam has usually included food, but no where included drinks, so it’s been up to us the tourists to buy them. Here this morning I couldn’t drink anything for the smell of rotting fruit. Looking around our guide invited us all to look at what was on the BBQ. Tina being inquisitive joined the queue, whereas I just stayed put. The guide then announced we should try it, it was only BBQ wild rat, YUK, YUK AND TREBLE YUK. Neither of us ventured into this activity, but bless our rather large American Co tourists were straight in. Oh the smell, it was disgusting and we endured it for 45 minutes in the mid morning heat. Next we were taken to a place where they make rice noodles and given a demonstration. I stayed on the boat, stomach still turning whilst Tina was in there……….

Next back to the city for lunch, again my stomach still aching and the wrench of that rancid smell still in my nostrils, but was able to have some chicken soup. Today we sat with 4 Vietnamese ladies who had returned for a holiday as they had left Vietnam for America before Ho Chi Minh had done his stuff for the country mid 70’s. It was great talking to them. After lunch 9 of us got onto a separate bus for a 4 hour trip to our next destination – chau Doc, (as we had booked 3 days tour of the Mekong Delta). Nearly there our guide informed us of our last activity for the day. We went to a bird sanctuary just outside the small town of Chau Doc. To get here we took a small motor boat down one of the rivers inlets. Once there we transferred to smaller rowing boats. This place was amazing. We thought we were still Enroute to the sanctuary but no we were actually in the middle of it. So we were rowed through it. It was pretty spectacular, going through the mangroves, water lilies and giant lotus flowers whilst watching the many birds flying around in their natural habitat. We were expecting large walk through cages but no it was all out in the open. No footpaths, no cars, no nothing but sheer silence. Sheer beauty. We finally arrived at our hotel at 6.30pm. Quick shower, and a bite to eat and yet again we were shattered so in bed by 8pm. Overall we were not impressed with the Mekong Delta, it was full of rubbish and seeing the toilet on board our boat which was a square box with a hole in the floor the river must also be full of shit. Not eating fish again.