Day 12 - Mekong River, Vietnam

Today we toured the Mekong River Delta, a fertile region responsible for much of the country's rice, fruit, and fish. Our day was characterized by four modes of transportation. First, we took the car an hour and a half south of Saigon to the city of My Tho, where we boarded a small, but motorized, boat. At this section of the Mekong, the river is very wide and home to many fishing villages.

The water is fairly murky because all of the silt and sand being carried over 1000 miles and deposited here. We saw many barges carrying sand up river to be used to make cement.

There are many natural canals and small islands in Mekong, and as we entered one, I started to feel like I was at Disney World on Pirates of the Caribbean.

Our first stop was a honey bee farm, and Brian had the honor of holding a hive of bees. Don't we look at ease?

Next we boarded a mule-drawn ox cart for a short jaunt down the road to a fruit farm. There we had another pleasure of holding a python.

At the farm we sample some pineapple, dragon fruit, milk apple, mango, and jackfruit while listening to some live local folk music.

Next we boarded a very small, human-powered, sampan to navigate the narrow canals. We were really in the jungle now.

Along the way our guide caught some large river prawns. I also finally donned a typical conical hat (after continued urging from Brian throughout the trip).

We boarded our larger boat and then visited a local candy factory. Much to Brian's chagrin, they were making coconut candy (Brian hates coconut, which is very pervasive here).

After arriving back to Saigon, we visited the night market and had dinner at a large open air restaurant. For our friend Bill, you'll notice Brian is enjoying a local beer alongside his local fare.