Julie and Harold Head to Southeast Asia, 2018: Mekong River Delta (May 31)

Today we headed for the Mekong Delta. Our guides wanted us to get the flavor of the vastness of the Mekong River, so this excursion was a follow-up to the day we spent on the upper Mekong in Laos, and of course, the Mekong Delta figured largely in the Vietnam War.

We left at 8:00 am and rode our bus for about an hour to the Mekong Delta area. Then we walked on a concrete path through a wooded area until we reached one of the delta streams. It was rainy and slippy. Unfortunately, Marge slipped and fell, but happily she didn’t get hurt. Whew. The pathway was formerly clay and was very muddy when wet, but the Grand Circle Foundation sponsored the area to put in the walkway. It has tremendously increased the financial capabilities of those who live by it.

Mai, our guide, telling us her dramatic family history story. Her father was a supporter of the Americans in the war, and because of that, he and the entire family was treated very badly after the war, and the discrimination is still occurring.

When we got to the river canal, we all got on a "sampan," a traditional boat mode of transportation. It’s a long skinny boat with one person at the boat who rows and steers. Three people to a boat, and we were all given the Chinese bamboo hats to wear. It was a nice ride.

We then got to another larger water area where we walked a bit and then boarded a bigger boat to take us to a restaurant. We rode for about 45 minutes gliding through the Mekong River Delta area before we arrived at our restaurant where we had an excellent lunch including “shrimp butter,” the fat from the head of the shrimp, a food that Anthony Bourdain said must be on the bucket list of exotic foods to eat. Done! It was a tasty, small bit. The prawn was excellent! What follows is various scenes from the Mekong Delta when we were on the larger boat.

rice farmers hard at work

a fish farm

fish traps

the prawns -- delicious

the "shrimp butter" a delicacy to be sure.

We headed back to the hotel by boat and bus, and hung out in the bar with some of our compadres. We have an excellent group of fellow travelers and have thoroughly enjoyed all of them. We opted not to have dinner because we have had so much food on this trip (and today). I have gained a ton of weight. . . .

We rested a bit and then a few of us went on a special excursion. First we went to a beer garden and had some local brew but were also served something exotic and weird looking. It turned out to be marinated and roasted duck tongue. Who knew ducks had tongues? I had the very tip which was quite soft and mushy. Harold chowed down though, and the 8 of us had a good time. Next we got on “cyclos,” the modern-day rickshaw with the cyclist on the back and one person riding in the front. We headed through the rush hour traffic of Vietnam. Scary at first, but then it was fun.

Would you have been able to guess what this is? Not us. Duck tongue. soft and squishy at the tip, which is what I tasted.

our drivers were waiting for us. These individuals all supported the Americans during the war. As a result, this was the only way they could make any money after the war (and even until now). Mai's father drove one of these bikes. Hard work. All really ice guys who pointed out to sights to us as we drove by. We were concerned about the traffic, but we all lived!

some of the sights along the way

There we were, right in the midst of Saigon rush hour.

Anyway, we made it to the water puppet theater and sat down ready for the water puppet show. It’s quite amazing what they can do with these water puppets. Man, our guide, had summarized the stories that were presented – about 16 of them, and despite the fact that it was in Vietnamese, we could still follow the action. There were even smoke, water, and fireworks that would come out of the mouths of the water puppets. All in all, an enjoyable experience.