This day was all about environmental sustainability and our coming to grips with life in rural Vietnam.
A Vietnamese Breakfast Begins Our Day: We began our day, as usual, with a hearty breakfast in the restaurant at Harmony Hotel. I decided to try some Vietnamese coffee today—it came with its own interesting and very unique filter system. It is traditional to serve it with condensed milk which makes it ultra-creamy and sweet. Since I love pho so much, I had it for breakfast—which is when many Vietnamese have it. Of course, we also have fruit for breakfast when we are traveling and tropical offerings such as dragon fruit, pineapple and guava were available. The restaurant on the 12th floor offered picture windows with lovely views of the city and we made sure we sat ourselves at the corner for dual aspect views over Saigon.
Off On A Lengthy Field-Trip into Rural Vietnam: Breakfast done, we went down to the lobby to await our pick-up for a long trip away from Saigon. Pretty soon, our guide who called himself Peter arrived. I have to say that he was polite and kind but I could not understand a word he said. Llew fares better with foreign accents, but even he could barely understand as Peter’s accent was just so heavy. We expected to find our Filipino friends of the previous day on the bus, but it appears that they were assigned another group and another guide.
We made our way out and were quite taken by the large number of commuters on motor-bikes, all helmeted and moving in orderly fashion along special bike lanes. They did appear like an army riding towards war—so determined did they seem. Along the way, we passed by mile after mile of flooded paddy-fields in which many farmers were busy, water-buffalo were either working in the fields or wallowing in the many ponds that dotted the passing villages. Almost all villagers wear the typical conical bamboo hats and I shot many photos of them.
It was not long before we arrived at our destination—a trip of approximately two hours—when we were asked to transfer to a boat upon which we had our first taste of the breadth and width of the mighty Mekong river. The boat ride also gave us the opportunity to move to the prow of the boat to take pictures as we coursed through the river.
Just a little later, we were moved into a smaller boat that seated the whole lot of us, i.e. the entire bus load of about ten passengers, for our ride down a lengthy but very narrow canal that brought us to our first stop.
Walking Through Fruit Plantations: The outing began with a long walk through a fruit plantation on the first island we visited—called Unicorn Island. We passed by a number of fruit orchards and saw banana, pomelo, coconut and pineapple groves before we were invited to be seated in a rustic shack. Plates of fresh fruit were brought to us “for our breakfast”, as Peter put it. While we were eating, a musical duo played two traditional Vietnamese instruments and a group of four women, dressed in traditional costume, began singing solos and group songs including (if you can believe it) “When You’re Happy and You Know It…”. Truly, the music was nothing to write home about and was done in about ten minutes.The next bit of our excursion then began. We received barely any commentary from our guide who told us absolutely nothing about the manner in which farming and agriculture, the main profession of the island, is carried out. We stepped into a small row boat and were rowed through a canal that was very picturesque indeed and absolutely quiet.
I was introduced to water-coconut, a plant I had never seen in any part of the world before. This fruit is so-called because it resembles a coconut and grows on a palm, but the stems emerge from out of the water. These trees grow very low but the fruit—a large round object, divided into several little sections—droops often in the water. It provides food, water and milk (as in coconut milk) to the people of the region.
The boat ride was delightful mainly because it was so quiet and serene, although I was surprised by the noticeable lack of any kind of wildlife. Only at one stage did we see a family of ducks.
Lunching at the Mekong Delta: Sooner rather than later, we arrived at another dock from where we had a short walk to the place where we’d be lunching. En route, we passed by a crocodile farm and were informed that Vietnamese eat crocs and breed them as part of their sustainability efforts.When we arrived at the site where lunch would be served, we were surprised to see that it is perhaps the most popular eating venue in the area. Every tour bus brings its hordes to this spot which has developed into something of a recreation area for the two hours that visitors pass through.
We were told to climb up to the first floor of the restaurant for lunch. A table was laid out for our group with the most magnificent banquet you can imagine. We were informed that the star of the table was river fish that had been caught that very morning and brought to the kitchen. But, in addition to the whole roasted fish in the center, there was a huge variety of dishes such as a chicken soup with vegetables, chicken nuggets, fish on a bed of spring onions, large grilled prawns, a salad made with raw papaya and roasted peanuts, a huge ball of sticky rice. These dishes were placed, family-style ,on our table and we were asked to help ourselves. We were also supplied with rice paper wrappers and told to feel free to make our own fish spring rolls by using the roasted fish in front of us. This was fun to do. And for those who did not wish to try out their culinary expertise, there were several rolls already made for us. Orders for drinks were taken—Llew and I had a lemonade—and, at the very end, we were brought a large platter of fresh fruit. We ate much more than we usually do, but everything was delicious.
After lunch, we had a few choices: we could pick up bicycles and go for a ride to a nearby village. We could lie in a hammock under a tree and dream awhile. We could get a coffee while chatting with our fellow-passengers. But as it was just really hot and humid on this particular afternoon, all we wanted to do was sit in one place and fan ourselves. The more energetic members of our group got on bikes and went off with Peter, leaving us to our own devices for a half hour.
Leaving the Delta for the My Tho Marina: When they returned from the bike ride, our group set off again. We got on to small rowboats and continued down the canal until it reached the river where a larger boat was waiting for us. We got into it and had a second experience of the force and width of the Mekong. Peter served each of us a tender coconut and, given the heat of the afternoon, we were really grateful for its cooling water. About ten minutes later, we arrived at the My Tho Harbor from where we were able to board our bus that took us back to the city again. A Wonderful Visit to the Vinh Trang Pagoda: However, we had one more stop before we could kick back and take naps—a visit the Vinh Trang Pagoda, a really significant Buddhist temple noted for the humongous size of its Buddha statues that are featured in Standing, Sitting and Reclining position. Monks still live within the precincts of this building which has a really beautiful entrance. It is a tall gateway that is covered in ceramic and porcelain chips that feature figures from ancient China. The Pagoda itself is a beautiful yellow structure with red painted highlights. The altars inside were simply packed with gift hampers—offerings from the faithful. That it is old is very evident in the age of the decoration inside—painted, sculpted, etc. But truly, more impressive than the interior are the hulking huge statues outside, including one of the Maitreya Buddha—and we made sure we took a picture with each one of them.Another one and half hour later, we were approaching the outskirts of Saigon. Peter dropped us off close to our hotel but, as it was only 6 pm, we decided to spend the evening doing some shopping. Both Llew and I have realized that we basically live in cotton shorts in Bombay and neither one of us have enough. We definitely needed to buy some more. Uniqlo, a store with which we are familiar in New York, has a huge branch in Saigon and we decided to walk to it since it carries exactly the kind of clothes we need for year-round wear in Bombay. We reached there in about twenty minutes and spent the next hour buying several pairs of shorts for ourselves. I also picked up two dresses that happened to be on sale. Armed with all our purchases after what had been a very productive day of time well spent, we left the store and decided to set in search of something to eat.
A Make-Shift Dinner in our Hotel: But, frankly, after our long hot day on the water and our shopping spree, we simply had no energy left to eat. Instead, we merely crossed the street and found some sandwiches in a mini-mart. Armed with those and with prawn-flavored crackers and ice-cream, we went up to our room, had a couple of cold beers and the nuts and snacks we carry with us, ate our sandwiches and our ice-cream and followed, with growing horror and despair, the fate of the five adventurers who had spent a quarter of a million pounds each to go 12,500 feet to the bottom of the ocean in a flimsy submersible called the Titan to see the wreck of the Titanic! I think it was clear to both Llew and me that since they had lost both navigation and communication, it was almost certain that they had met a catastrophic end.Feeling really sad about the possible outcome of the international search operation, we had our showers, ate our ice-cream and went to bed.
The trip to the Mekong Delta, while being informational, was definitely the least fascinating part of our trip so far. I am pretty sure that the weather had a lot to do with it. Had it been more pleasant, we’d probably have enjoyed it a lot more. Had we a better guide, more knowledgeable and more fluent in English, we’d probably have had a better time. But I guess if there is one excursion I would probably leave out, it would be this and I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I now live in India where mango and banana trees are not a novelty for me anymore and lush, year-round, tropical greenery is something I can easily take for granted.
Until tomorrow…
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