Today we woke up to the sun shining through the open windows of our home stay rooms. The air felt cool unlike the weather we had been experiencing in the village. We got ready in the open areas outside and headed off to breakfast. Sitting at the breakfast tables with people laying in hammocks, soft singing and ukulele playing by Mr Tudor, gave today a relaxed start. We had an amazing view of the Mekong river whilst sipping jasmine tea and eating fresh bread and jam. The mixture of the trees, river and decor of the accommodation all came together to create a tropical paradise.
We said our final goodbyes to the owners of the home stay and got aboard the boat which took us through the floating markets to our first stop, the fish sauce factory. We were all hit with the smell as soon as we stepped off the boat but once getting over the initial shock, we listened intently and were interested in what the fish sauce meant in the Vietnamese culture. Our next stop was the Vietnamese lolly factory which we all enjoyed thoroughly. On our way in, we were given a demonstration on how rice paper is made then we were all surprised at how they created pop rice, a Mekong delta specialty. It is just like popcorn except rice and hot sand is used and instead of oil. This was then mixed by hand with caramel and ginger, and we then all took a piece to try. Everyone went a little overboard in the lolly factory gift shop, so there’s something to look forward to when we get home!
We got to the bus back to Ho Chi Minh and had to say “tam biêt” to our fun loving Mekong tour guide Han. We finally made it back to Ho Chi Minh city and checked back into the Bong Sen Hotel Saigon. Sunny (nickname for our tour guide Xuyen) took us all on a walk to the big markets where we all split off into groups and navigated and bargained for ourselves. Some of us may have gotten a little excited at the variety of things to see…and buy.
For our last night in Ho Chi Minh City, we again split off into groups and found our own places to eat dinner, many sticking to the familiar Vietnamese dish ‘pho’, as we prepared ourselves for another busy day in Vietnam.
Hope your final exam went well Katy (thanks for the notes in my bag) and happy anniversary Mum and Dad for the 11th, missing you xx – Jess. Mum and May hope you haven’t missed me too much, and don’t worry I haven’t bought heaps… yet. Love you xx – Tilly
Jess & Tilly
(More orphanage comments in the next blog post!)
Photos: visiting the fish sauce factory; traveling through the floating market; making rice paper in the Vietnamese lolly factory; watching how ‘pop rice’ is made.
