This morning we woke up in Peaceful Island on the Mekong Delta in our homestay. We woke early and got ready for breakfast which featured strawberry jam, omelettes and an array of squishy coconut jellies. After swinging in the hammocks and reading a book we boarded the boat which would take us to the floating market. When we arrived at the market we learnt that locals sell their produce by attaching what they’re selling to long bamboo poles on their boats. We then made our way to the fish sauce factory where we smelt (or tried not to smell) the strong vegemite-like smell of the fish, salt and vinegar concoction. After that, we floated to a rice paper factory where we watched people make rice paper, pop rice (like pop corn), coconut lollies and fried noodles. After purchasing some sweets for ourselves we bid one of our guides, Hiêú goodbye. We got on the bus and drove towards Ho Chi Minh city for around an hour. By then, it was time for lunch and we stopped at a Mekong rest stop and enjoyed a vast variety of food including vermicelli soup, sticky rice, spring rolls and fish. When we had finished, we drove for another 2 hours and arrived in our old hotel Bong Sen. We then walked to the market, decided our meeting point and were told we could roam the market until 5 o’clock. This experience was very different to shopping in Australia not only due to the extreme difference in price but also the fact that the shop keepers come to you not the other way around. A few of us found ourselves in difficult situations where shop keepers begged us to buy there products. For dinner, we were allowed to choose where we ate in groups of three. While some of us stuck to the Vietnamese food we had grown used to, others hit up Subway or KFC for a change only to find that their Kentucky Fried Chicken was actually Kentucky Fried Fish. Our leaders efforts to avoid the other Vietnam group failed as we saw them twice on the streets of Saigon. All in all, it was another great day. Tomorrow, we will leave the south and catch an internal flight to Hoi An where we will go from a city of nearly 10 million to a city of 10 000 people. (Photos on the way)
Polly and Marvin
P.S. Thank you so much and I miss you.
