Vietnam - and a fish called Yorrick

I shall not dwell on the never, never city of Nha Trang (never, never again) - except to say that the best parts were gliding in at dawn and gliding out at sunset.

So, moving south to Phu My and a day on the Mekong River.  This was to be a full day's trip of over 9 hours in temperatures approaching 30 degrees. I found myself on Coach No. 6 with 13 other passengers.  This was more a mini bus than a coach and with room to seat 28 we found ourselves with 2 seats each - a real luxury.  The seats were comfortable and windows sparkling clean so we could wish for nothing better as we sped off into the Phu My and Saigon rush hour.  Journey time to My Tho and our "Mekong River Experience" was to be 3 hours so we settled back to enjoy the scenery with rice paddies and water buffalo a'plenty.  However, the over riding memory (as always when travelling in Vietnam) is of the millions of scooters on the highways.  Some with just one passenger, some with whole families.  Some carrying boxes stacked a metre high, some carrying a tower of eggs, and one carrying two HUGE truck tyres one either side of the driver - how he balanced is anyone's guess!  As an aside I might mention that being a pedestrian on Vietnamese roads is an experience in itself.  The stream of scooters is constant and I had learned in 2009 that when crossing the road the only thing to do is take a deep breath and GO FOR IT in a cool and very confident manner.  I am still here to tell the tale but it is not something for the faint hearted.

Bicycles are also used to transport everything under the sun.  Here we have a lady selling breakfast snacks.

Our 15 minute comfort stop was two hours into the journey at a tourist complex with European style loos (i.e. with pedestal style toilets rather than the Asian squat affairs!).  Coffee and ice cream could be purchased but as our guide had told us that coffee came with condensed milk in Vietnam I stuck with my bottle of water. 

We arrived at the town of My Tho at mid-day and boarded a tourist boat for a quick "look see" of river life. 

Boats laden with rice and rice straw chugged down the river and these boats double up as homes. 

Near the banks floating homes consisted of little more than a tin shack with perhaps a small sampan tied up by the side for transport needs. 

We disembarked at Dragon Island for a walk amongst the coconut palms and Jack Fruit trees.  Homes here were simple consisting of a kitchen, living area and bedroom - this lovely lady cooked us some chapati type bread made from rice paper and coconut - it was delicious. 

A stop was made at a Bee Tea Cafe where we were treated to tea sweetened with home produced honey and bee pollen.  Sweetmeats of dried banana, dried ginger and peanut brittle accompanied the tea.  A few steps up the shady path could be found a Tropical Fruit Cafe where we were treated to fresh mango, pineapple, papaya and jack fruit.  This was the first time I had ever tried jack fruit and my verdit is delicious! 

Next stop was a local restaurant - on stilts above a stagnent pond of water!  But it had a wonderful thatched roof which provided shade from the mid-day sun.  This is Yorrick (an Elephant Ear fish) the main dish of the day:

Yorrick was accompanied by prawns, rice, noodles, combination hot-pot and crispy pork.  Everything was delicious and three of us even went back to Yorrick to scrape his bones clean.  So after the meal it was a case of "Alas Poor Yorrick"!! 

After lunch there was no time for a siesta because a sampan ride awaited us but I did manage a very quick "selfie".    I should mention that I narrowly avoided a Vietnamese Granny with a huge python draped around her neck!!

The sampan ride through the tranquil canals was the highlight of the day.  3-4 tourists per boat with a Vietnamese paddler front and back.  Getting the balance right when stepping into the sampan was key - place a foot too much to the left or right and the little boat swayed precariously and threatened to tip everyone overboard.  Once centred correctly it was then a matter of slowly lowering yourself down to the wooden seat and getting cameras at the ready. 

The ride was a complete joy the only sounds being the swish of the oars and the singing of the birds - that is once the elderly lady behind me stopped whittering on about a similar ride she had enjoyed up the Amazon a few years ago!!!!

By 4pm we were back at our mini-bus for the 3 hour journey back to the ship. 

Au Revoir Vietnam