Day 8
After a fabulous night, we awoke to the sounds of local karaoke across the river and roosters. We fare-welled the home stay family and the Mekong delta but not before visiting the local clay, lolly, rice,fish sauce factories and floating market. Each factory as different to the last, and had a unique look, amount of traffic and vibe to each one. The candy market for example had hand made lollies being made, and many of us brought a few for home. The brick factory in particular was interesting due to the economics of the wages. Some of us wanted to bring back a brick but unfortunately as it is made of clay we were unable to. It was interesting to learn about how the industries were formed around the Mekong delta and how the Mekong Delta area depends on their industries. We said goodbye to our much loved local tour guide Han and continued our journey back to Ho Chi Min City. For lunch we stopped at a traditional but touristy Vietnamese restaurant with a French influence. As it is 11/11 we partook in the remembrance of the fallen soldiers by listening to a poem written by Laurence Binyon called “For the Fallen” and also sharing a minute silence together, it was especially important as Vietnam and Australia have a powerful bond made by the Vietnam War (which we learnt that the Vietnamese call it the American War).
On arrival to the hotel we fare welled our fabulous pink bus which took us all around the south of Vietnam for the past week. We were looking forward to a hot shower as we had been having cold ones for the past 5 days. After an hour of chillaxing, we went to a local market and further built our bargaining skills and lowering our parents bank accounts <3. Some of us walked away with some presents for home and some seriously developed bargaining skills!
For dinner, many of us chose to eat western food, like burgers and pizza – as we needed to re-charge our ambitious stomachs with more familiar tastes. We were paying for our own dinners, meaning we had to monitor, and budget, our meals. As we are leaving to the North tomorrow, it meant we had to be very wary of the time. This meant that we had to enjoy our meals, while our minds were saying dude, move. You’re gonna be late!. After supper, we were prepared for tomorrow, including what to pack and what to expect culturally up north. We then ventured up to our beds in our AIR CONDITIONED rooms. Looking forward to travelling to the North, tomorrow! 🐾
Tash A, James K and Max S
P.S. Hey Ma, I’m wearing sunscreen don’t worry xx -chomp
P.P.S Hey Dad, Mom, Abby, and Albert, I didn’t wash my hair for 4 days, Max. 🐾
P.S Hope your enjoying a well deserved rest while I’m away, I’m having an amazing time x -Tash