REPEAT WARNING: Once again, this is not a sailing related entry. This, as well as future entires through April/May 2025, reflect our effort to capture our experiences while we explore Australia, New Zealand and other places (now Southeast Asia) across the world from the country we call home by land with some air travel assists. We are metaphorically putting our memories in a bottle to savor on some future date. If you are not interested in reading an amateur attempt to document travel experiences you may wish to skip these entries. No offense will be taken. You were warned!
Greeting from Ho Chi Minh City! We just arrived here following our cruise in the Mekong Delta from Chau Doc to Can Tho. When we left off on our last blog entry we had just boarded our home away for home for the next 6 nights/five days, Dragon Eyes. As you may recall, we took a “speed” boat from Phnom Penh in Cambodia to reach Chau Doc in Vietnam. (Editorial note: the 5 hour trip on a crowded speed boat, getting on and off to check out of Cambodia and, later, clear into Vietnam, didn’t feel so “speedy”.) We were delighted when we found Dragon Eyes waiting for us at the end of our journey and were able to board Dragon Eyes directly from the speed boat. We were even more delighted when we stepped on board this beautifully built riverboat. But more on Dragon Eyes later after we give a brief tutorial on where the Mekong Delta is and why we wanted to see it from the water.
The Mekong Delta is in the Southwest Region of Vietnam where Vietnam wraps around the South of Cambodia. It covers a large area — about 15,600 square miles — where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of distributaries. Its wet coastal geography makes it an important source of agriculture and aquaculture for the country. As a result, the river and its canals is the center of life — some may say the heartbeat — of the Mekong Delta and the only way to fully experience the area is on the water, with excursions on land.
Of course, with a cruise being the best way to explore the area, as you might imagine, there are lots of cruise companies to choose from. One of Zack’s friends, a former container ship captain who has spent a lot of time in Southeast Asia, recommended Dragon Eyes to us. It’s owned by a local Vietnamese tour operator, Mekong Eyes. We liked their focus on immersive experiences and the fact that Dragon Eyes had only two cabins for guests. Since we were looking to do this cruise along with our rally friends, John and Susie from SV Casamara, that 2 cabin design meant that a cruise on Dragon Eyes would be a private one for the 4 of us. While we knew that this wasn’t going to be a 5 star luxury cruise, the many positive online reviews convinced us that the boat and the service would be more than adequate for our needs. We will get to the punchline and tell you we have no regrets.
First, the boat aesthetics are wonderful. Dragon Eyes was constructed and artfully decorated by local ship builders and artisans in the traditional style of the Mekong Delta riverboats. It is made of local woods and decorated with elegant carvings. Second, its design, slender with a shallow hull, enables it to cruise the secondary side canals of the Mekong River which are too small for the larger cruisers to explore. Finally, the overall space was delightful and comfortable. The large open deck had room for a nice sized table for 4, a small but beautifully appointed bar and 4 lounge chairs. Below deck, the passenger cabins are encased in rich wood and house a queen size bed and a large en suite bath appointed with brass fixtures that conjure vibes from the early 1900s. The final flourish was the 3 multi-course meals served aboard, all freshly made, delicious and beautifully presented with a focus on local ingredients and cuisine. Just spending 5 full days on the water, watching the world go by could have kept us happy.
Naturally, we did not just sit on the boat for 5 days. Again, one of the things that attracted us to Mekong Eyes was their itineraries. We were not disappointed there either. Here we should mention that in addition to a captain and three crew members to take care of us, we had a dedicated tour guide on board, Hoy, to lead us through activities. In the morning of our first full day (February 8), Hoy took us to visit the town of Tan Chau and its famous silk village. Tan Chau silk is known for its softness, durability and, most importantly, high absorbency making it cool in hot weather and warm in the colder weather. Though the weaving machines have been electronically mechanized (no more foot pedaling) they are the same machines from the early 1900s. In addition, they don’t just weave the silk at the village. Local residents are involved in every step of the process: they grow bushes for silkworms to eat and create silk, plant trees called “mặc nưa” (mac leua) to get fruit for dyeing — this fruit produces the signature black color village’s silk — and extract the silk strands from the cocoons. Each part of the process is labor intensive. The dying process alone is intricate, sometimes involving 100 dips into the dye to get the desired color. And then the silk must be sun-dried on grass stiff enough to hold the fabric up but not so stiff that it scratches the material. It was fascinating to watch these 100+ year old machines in action weaving the silk threads into ornate patterns.
On the way back to the boat through the village we stopped at a Dai Dao Tam Ky Pho Do (shortened to Dai Dao) temple where the people practice Caodaism. (Hoy is a member of this faith.) Caodaism was established in Vietnam in the 1920s. It is a syncretic religion that combines elements from various world religions like Buddhism (karma, rebirth), Taoism (mystical practices, superstitions and the principles of yin and yang), Confucianism (ethics), and Catholicism (hierarchical structure). The religion seeks to unite all faiths through worshiping a single God, “Duc Cao Dai,” represented by a divine seeing eye. It also integrates secular ideas like the Big Bang, as well as notable foreigners like Victor Hugo and Joan of Arc, to unify all mankind. We love learning about other religions and this one was entirely new to us so we spent a fair amount of time surfing the internet to gain more knowledge. According to our research, the majority of Vietnamese people do not follow any organized religion though most do follow local worship traditions like veneration of ancestors and adhere to superstitious practices. (Sounds like South Korea!) It is very hard to get precise recent estimates on the breakdown of organized religion within Vietnam. When you do a Google search you get a variety of different pie charts assigning the Vietnamese people into the various recognized religions. Though the exact percentages vary, directionally, they all agree that, of those who practice a recognized religion, the majority are Buddhist (~13-15%), followed by Catholics (~6-7%). After that you get to really small percentages starting with adherents of Hoahaism, a local form of Buddhism, (1.4%) and then Caodaism (1.2%). Still, that adds up to over 1 million followers of Caodaism in Vietnam (and we’ve seen estimates as high as 4.4 million followers which would place the percentage of the population practicing Caodaism at about 4%) — pretty impressive for a religion that is just shy of 100 years old.
In the afternoon, Hoy helped us work off our breakfast and lunch — as well as the dinner we had not yet consumed — with a visit to Hang Pagoda. Hang Pagoda (also known Phuoc Dien Pagoda) is a Buddhist temple built along the slopes of Sam Mountain in Chau Doc with the highest portions built into the rock giving them a cave-like appearance. It’s a sacred site that’s considered one of the holiest pagodas in the country. To get there you must climb nearly 1,000 feet up a series of stairs. The views from the top were spectacular — trees, flowers and rice paddies as far as the eyes could see — making the ascent worth the effort. The multi-headed, brightly colored and intricately carved snake (Naga) coiled around a human statue in the top most room was also noteworthy!
Following our visit to the temple we headed to Tra Su Forest with its series of canals. We explored the canals by both row boat and motor boat. Moving slowly through the narrow waterways allowed us to be immersed in the native foliage and spot a large variety of local birds in trees, in the water and on the water banks. Our favorite sighting was an exquisite kingfisher with bright turquoise wings.
We arrived back to Dragon Eyes exhausted and called it an early night after dinner. We were back at it next day though (February 9), albeit with a more leisurely pace. In the morning we took a walk on Cu Lao Gieng island (Gieng Island), a small island situated in the middle of the Tien River. We should mention here that just getting on and off Dragon Eyes at some of our stops was an adventure. It entailed balancing on a narrow piece of wood (~10 inches wide) that extended from the boat to the shore. Crew — one on shore and one on the boat — held out a metal rod (a makeshift handrail) that we used to steady ourselves as we walked the plank. This was repeated several times as we got on and off Dragon Eyes at various locations during our cruise and was a reminder that we were cruising with a local Vietnamese company. Definitely not the disembarkment protocol you’d expect from a Viking or National Geographic cruise! Of course, that was half the fun.
Our destination in Gieng Island was the historic Cu Lao Gieng Catholic Church though it was the walk through the village to get there that most captivated us. The island and its village are not tourist destinations so the locals, who were all out and about enjoying the day (it was a Sunday), were intrigued by these Caucasian visitors who spoke English. Most only spoke a few words of English but they all gathered around when those who did engaged us in conversation. They wanted to know where we were from, where we had traveled to and where we were going. They proudly showed us their shops that lined the narrow street — they were selling nuts, beans and many varieties of rice in large bowls made from slats of wood bound together. Most importantly, they wanted to make sure we knew that the people of that region were the friendliest in the world. (That was according to one man who seemed to be the unofficial “governor” of the village.) The children, who tended to speak more English than the adults (though there were exceptions), were particularly enthralled by our visit. They wanted pictures with us and, at one point, we had a small entourage of young girls following us down the street. It was a really authentic glimpse into village life in Vietnam.
After making our way through the village, we reached Cu Lao Gieng Church. The location of the church is significant. In the early 18th century the Nguyen Dynasty issued a strict ban on Catholicism causing some followers (including French priests) to flee to the island to hide. When the ban was lifted, the French built the church which is stunning with its Romanesque and Gothic architectural elements, a soaring bell tower jutting up from an elevated middle section and its pale yellow color with taupe and rust accents. Inside the large sanctuary is a series of pillars with highly ornate capitals — each supporting an arch and domed ceiling — that run down both sides. Cu Lao Gieng Church is famous as the bridge between the missionaries in Cambodia and Vietnam. It is the oldest Catholic Church in the area and though the exact construction date is subject to some dispute, if it was built in the late 19th century, as reported by the indigenous people, it would be the oldest church in the entire southern region of Vietnam. Between the village and church visits, it was a great way to learn more about Vietnamese culture and history while getting in some steps!
Our afternoon activity was a cooking class. We learned to cook “Bánh khọt.” Bánh khọt is a popular Vietnamese dish consisting of small (think half dollar size), savory pancakes made from a thin batter consisting of rice flour, water, onion and scallions. The batter is placed in shallow cup shaped metal molds in a hot frying pan (giving them a bit of a rounded cupcake contour) and immediately topped with the filling of your choice so that the topping sinks into the body of the pancake. Ours were made with bean and pork but they are often filled with shrimp and you can really use any topping. (Jill thinks mushrooms would be awesome). The pancakes are quickly cooked on one side, flipped and then cooked on the other side until they are crispy on the outside. Once cooked they are served warm and wrapped in lettuce with a basil leaf (creating a little burrito) along with the dipping sauce of your choosing. This dish is considered a specialty of southern Vietnam. Coincidentally, we finished our cooking lesson and were ready to serve our Bánh khọt just in time for happy hour!
On February 10 we woke up at 5 AM to the blaring sound of a loudspeaker. It turns out that the government uses loudspeakers to share important “information” with area residents since most of them don’t have radios or televisions. Today’s announcement was a reminder that rainy season is coming and the precautions they need to take to avoid flooding (like making sure dams are in good repair). Apparently, some of the announcements are of a more political nature — like reminders about upcoming elections. (We will provide more commentary on that in our blog covering Part III of our three part series on our Cambodia & Vietnam tour.)
Our first activity on February 10 was an excursion to Tan Thuan Dong islet. Surrounded by Tien and Hau rivers and a network of canals, it has a mineral rich soil perfect for fruit trees and rice fields. While we were there the local residents were picking and sorting mangos based on quality. They were also busy drying the stalks of the water hyacinth which had been cut and neatly laid along the side of the narrow dirt road. These were being dried to create textile for weaving baskets. Also lining the road were many small paper plates of food, flowers and incense placed there by the local farmers as an offering to the gods.
We stopped at a small local cafe for some fresh fruit — including the longans (similar in taste to lychee) that we have become quite fond of — before returning to the boat. While we were there Hoy shared with us that that are “50” rules of eating in Vietnam. Some are founded on politeness and respect while others are based on superstition. For example,
- Younger people eating a meal with older people must sit further back from the table than their elders to show respect.
- You must eat slow and deliberately so you don’t look like a person starved for food.
- Eating must be a quiet affair. Absolutely no slurping your noodles!
- Food is to be shared. Never eat directly from the serving platter and always use chopsticks to pick up food and transfer it to your bowl.
- When whole fish is served, save the fish head and stomach for elders and never, EVER, flip the fish on your plate. It is considered bad luck, particularly on a boat. (The Vietnamese believe that flipping the fish on your plate will cause the boat to flip over.)
- Finally, try a bit of everything offered and demonstrate respect for the cook by clearing your plate.
Following our brief stroll around Tan Thuan Dong islet we had lunch on the boat (another 4 course meal) and had some time to relax before visiting Sa Dec in the afternoon. Sa Dec is a large river port and agricultural and industrial trading center. Definitely not generally a tourist destination, at least not international tourists. That said there is a famous trader’s villa in Sa Dec that attracts the few international tourists who arrive in town. This villa was owned by the father of the man who is the subject of the semi-autobiographical novel, The Lover, written by Marguerite Duras. This novel tells the story of a forbidden (and somewhat torrid) love affair between a 15 year old French girl from a poor French family and an older and wealthy Chinese-Vietnamese man in the 1920s. The father of this man did not consider this girl a suitable partner for his son because she was not well off, she was Caucasian and the couple had engaged in sex before marriage. Eventually, the father breaks up the couple by arranging a marriage for his son. He marries and he and his wife raised their 5 children while residing in his father’s home which he inherited in 1917. Allegedly, as his children got older, he tried to reconnect with the now grown woman but she refused. He died soon thereafter in his mid-sixties and she then wrote a book memorializing their love affair — her first love. The house is now a museum.
Aside from its celebrity due to the book, the house, built in 1985, is famous for a unique mixture of East-West architecture. It looks like a French villa from the outside but inside it has the signature Chinese architectural style. The house is not large but it is ornate with lots of decorative gold cornices and beautiful furniture built out of dark wood and containing mother of pearl inlay. During the tour of the home, in addition to learning about the architectural design and furniture, you get treated the the true story behind the novel with pictures of the couple, the man’s later wife and children and of the actors that played the couple in the movie adaptation.
Following the tour of the house we wandered around the town for about 90 minutes weaving in and out of narrow streets that had been converted into a crowded market selling everything imaginable — from fish, snails, turtles and clams to vegetables, dry goods and sweets. We arrived at the market just as all the locals were getting out of work and stopping by to pick up that evening’s dinner. There were scooters and people on top of each other navigating the same confined space, trying to get around those who stopped to buy something. It was challenging to maneuver through the market as a group of 4 people without getting separated. We felt very accomplished when we made it back to the boat together and with all our limbs intact.
The next day, February 11, we were off to visit Xeo Quyt, the former base of the northern Vietnam army during Vietnam war. (To get there we had to take a small ferry across the river with the local scooter traffic — no seats, just a flat bed — in order to meet our van driver. Another bonus adventure!) Built in and among the series of swamps and canals that dominate the area, we explored the site by both a rowing sampan and walkways. Traveling beneath a beautiful thick canopy of trees and vines it is easy to see why it would have been so hard to find this army base unless you knew the area well. We saw the barracks where the soldiers lived, the kitchen, a communist party meeting hall and several underground bunkers, cleverly hidden under an earthen trap door. We were able to enter and walk through one of the bunkers. At about 3 feet tall, 3 feet wide and maybe 6-7 feet long it is hard to imagine 8 soldiers huddled in there.
After the tour of the army base we stopped for some water at the local refreshment stand. As we sat sipping our drinks we began talking about the large jackfruit we had seen hanging from the trees during our tour. Hoy then shared that jackfruit and dorian feature heavily into the punishments administered by Vietnamese parents to their children when they misbehave. For those of you who have never seen either of these fruits in their “on the tree state” (or IRL as our kids would say), they are both large with external surfaces that are hard and nubbly, as if covered by hundreds of tightly packed pebbles. The difference between them (as it relates to the outer surface) is that the dorian’s nubbles are more like spikes. Apparently when children in Vietnam are naughty they must kneel on jackfruit or sit on a durian for at least one hour. We asked Hoy how many times he endured that punishment and all he could say was “many.” Though his infractions varied, the most common was sneaking out of the house to jump off a local bridge and swim with friends. Given our children’s’ teenage hijinks they should be very glad they did not grow up in Vietnam! 😀
After returning to Dragon Eyes we cruised to Tan Phong islet. Tan Phong is a small island town located at the middle of Tien river in the Cai Lay district of the Mekong Delta. It is an off the beaten path green island with lots of canals and swamps to explore. We spend a few hours in the afternoon on a sampan with a local cruising in and out of its many narrow waterways admiring the blooming water hyacinth, dense foliage and traditional boats. We headed back to Dragon Eyes just as the sun was setting giving us some great shots of the orange sun dropping down into the clouds with a picture perfect mirror image reflected in the water. There is not a better way to end the day.
The next day — February 12 and our last full day on Dragon Eyes — we were still docked on the Tan Phong islet. Since we explored the islet by boat the day before, this day we did a land tour. We took a short walk through a residential area to reach the home of a local family who, along with neighbors, entertained us with their folk music (called Đờn ca tài tử”). These were songs about ordinary experiences that are part of the human existence: a husband coming home drunk after a night out with friends to a very angry wife, a tale of unrequited love between a boy and girl working together to collect food by the river and a husband building a house while his wife made it a home. These songs, of course, were all sung in Vietnamese but with the singers expressive faces, body language and movements, you didn’t need a translator to be drawn into the story.
Live music accompanied the lovely voices. This included an instrument we had never seen before: the Dan Bau (Đàn Bầu). The Dan bau is a one-stringed zither that originated in Vietnam and is considered a national treasure. It has a horizontal wood base that the string runs down and a long, flexible vertical rod to vary the tension of the string which produces the notes. It is played with what is essentially a guitar pick. The dan bau is known for its unique sound which is almost mournful. In fact, women are not allowed to play the dan bau because it is said that the sound is so sad that it would break a woman’s heart.
In the end, it was an adorable toddler that stole the show. This little girl, who was perhaps 18 months old, stood next the tip box at the conclusion of the performance. She accepted bills from the audience with incredible focus, ever so carefully placing each one into the top slot of a tip box. When her hand was empty she squealed with excitement as the next person in the tip queue started to hand her more bills. We should also mention that she had a small cameo appearance in one of the folk songs. As her drunken stage father stumbled and fell to the floor she joined her stage mother In reprimanding him with some gentle hits to the head.
After the performance we got into a wooden speed boat and headed to a local shop where they make a variety of Vietnamese specialties. We watched rice paper being made which (though this may be hard to believe) is quite an engrossing process. It starts with pouring the watery batter on a hot flat metal griddle and then carefully lifting the cooked rice paper (which looks and acts like a milky piece of cellophane at this point that just wants to stick to itself) and laying it out to dry in a perfect round shape — no folds or creases. Trust us, it’s an art form! Eventually, the rice paper becomes a thin hard but brittle disc, giving it the appearance of a wafer. You have to reconstitute the rice paper before using it to prepare rolls. This involves a quick spin in water — too much water and it falls apart. If you do it correctly, your rice paper becomes that sticky, almost gelatinous, substance we are all familiar with. We love fresh spring rolls and will now have a new appreciation for the labor behind them.
We also saw how rice cakes are made. In short, the husked rice is popped in a very hot large rounded pot filled with sand to provide even heat around the rice during the popping process. The rice pops just like popcorn, shedding its husks. When the popping stops, the puffed rice is separated from the sand using a fine sifter that is positioned over the pot. The puffed rice and husks are then transferred to a different area where the husks are separated out using a less fine sifter that allows them to fall through while retaining the puffed rice. The final stage involves pouring the puffed rice into an indented rectangular wooded table where it is mixed with various ingredients and rolled out until it takes on the rectangular form for hardening. Of course, samples were involved in this process and we could not resist taking some of the popped rice products back to the boat with us. They were a very nice semi-sweet treat after dinner.
At the risk of boring you further with too much detail, the rice popping process generates a lot of husk waste. Rather than discarding the husks, the Vietnamese use them as fuel for the fires that heat the pots and pans they use for making rice cakes, rice paper and rice noodles and their stoves are specifically designed to accommodate this. Specifically, they use a stove that is connected to a rectangular bin with a slightly sloped bottom leading to a small opening — similar to slanted bottom of a flat farmhouse sink leading to a drain. The husks are placed in the bin and as the fire starts to die down the cook feeds it by pushing the husks so that they go down the “drain” and into the fire chamber. It’s an impressive bit of ingenuity!
On a less pleasant, though perhaps more interesting (in a “you want to know but don’t want to know” sort of way) note, this shop was also known for its snake wine, a Vietnamese specialty that is particularly prevalent in the Mekong Delta. Snake wine (rượu thuốc in Vietnamese), is a liquor made by marinating snakes in rice wine or grain alcohol. The wine is very potent and the snakes are believed to give it medicinal properties. (Surprise: There is no evidence to supports that.) In this shop they make the snake wine using the cobra which is killed and devenomized before being placed in a glass bottle filled with the alcohol to marinate while the spirits age. The snake wine is sold with the snake still in the bottle. Zack tried a small taste of the snake wine though Jill was a strenuous conscientious objector.
In the afternoon we visited Cai Nhum village. Like all the villages we have visited as we headed south down the Mekong Delta, the village exists among a patchwork of rivers and canals, making some of the homes appear to be built on their own little island. We passed fruit trees and fields (and fields) of rice. Most roads are narrow with water (or swamp like rice fields) on both sides. Based on the favorable conditions, farmers in the Mekong Delta can get 2-3 rice harvests each year. When you see the plethora of rice fields throughout the vast area that comprises the Mekong Delta, and understand that each field yields multiple harvests annually, you can believe the estimates that the area produces 24 metric tons of rice each year. Given that volume, most of this rice is exported though Vietnam only exports the excess above what they need to first meet the needs of their people.
As we mentioned, this was our last full day on Dragon Eyes. As we got further south, the villages started to become increasingly populated with more churches, shops, homes and other buildings along the shoreline While we enjoyed our last post-sunset dinner aboard Dragon Eyes we were treated to a beautiful light display along the riverbank. One particular village had strewn colorful lights all along the street that ran next to the river with additional lights shaped like arches announcing the side streets. With a full moon brightening the sky, the hanging lights casted their reflection in the water giving the scenery a captivating festive look.
We woke up on February 13 in Can Tho, population 2 million, along the Cai Rang. This is where we would catch our van for the approximate 3 hour drive to Ho Chi Minh City. But before we did that, we had one more place to visit: The Cai Rang Floating Market, located 5 km (~3 miles) from the center of Can Tho. The floating market operates from 4 AM until about 9 AM. This is a combined commercial and tourist market. Locals come to the market to do their shopping between 4-5 AM and the vendors offer “wholesale“ pricing then. At 5 AM — just in time for the tourist to start their descent on the market — the locals are gone and prices go up to “retail.” (Prices are still incredibly reasonable by our standards.) This floating market was very different than the floating market we visited near Bangkok. Rather than floating shops built along a narrow canal, the vendors here sold their wares from their own boats anchored in the middle of the fairly wide river. You hop in a motor boat and cruise from vendor to vendor to make your purchases. Many of the vendors live on their boats and we were able to board one. The living quarters below deck were basically one large room with a tiny galley tucked under the bow. There was no furniture; not even a bed. Definitely lacking the creature comforts we are spoiled with on Che Figata.
As we traveled to and from the floating market, Hoy continued to share information about life in the Mekong Delta. He reminded us that boats in Vietnam, particularly in the Mekong Delta region, have eyes painted on the front. The local people believe that these eyes protect the boat from evil spirits and monsters in the water, essentially acting as a guardian to ensure safe passage. When the boat is not moving the bow can serve as an alter where the crew can give thanks to the gods for the safe passage. Interestingly, these eyes vary in appearance in terms of shape, color and positioning depending on the specific region in the delta they hail from. Hoy, who grew up in the Mekong Delta right behind the Cai Rang Floating Market, told us that he can tell where a boat is from by just looking at its eyes. (It’s like the accent of the boat.) The belief in the power of these eyes has consequences in terms of on board protocol. You never sit on the bow of the boat for fear that you will block the eyes and also to show respect to their area of worship. On a related note, by now you are probably getting the picture that the Vietnamese are very superstitious people. In addition to some of the superstitions we already mentioned, the Vietnamese believe it is bad luck to have cats, snakes or turtles on boats so you won’t find any of those on board — alive or in images.
As we mentioned at the start, just watching to world go by on Dragon Eyes could have kept us happy. We motored down the Mekong River and in and out of the labyrinth of connecting rivers and canals to get to each of our destinations. The journey was definitely a big part of the adventure. The landscape was quite diverse. We passed by very rural areas with endless rice fields, villages with houses and markets built up on stilts, water-based fish farms (lots of those — they looked like floating villages of small houses), and industrial complexes for processing rice. We got to peer into the daily lives of people who live and work in the delta, see the diverse river commerce as it went about its business — from the small local fishermen with their long fine nets to sand dredging operations — and observe the boats transporting sand, rice and other goods. Most of the boats, though used for different purposes, had a traditional look and we enjoyed watching the “Boats of the Mekong Delta” as Zack so aptly named them. (Interestingly, we also saw some miniature boats attached to floats that looked like a child’s toy — but they weren’t. These were memorials to people who died on the river made by their family members. They were placed where the individual was believed to have died and several that we passed contained offerings to the gods as a way to pray that their loved one would have a safe passage to heaven.)
We really enjoyed our Mekong Delta Cruise. Not only (as we mentioned at the outset) is a cruise the best way to see this river and canal centric area, but you really can’t get to most of the places we visited any other way. As we close Part II of our Cambodia and Vietnam tour, we look forward to Part III — our final installment — when we head north to Hanoi by land, with some great stops along the way, over the course of 8 days. We will publish our experiences during Part III after we arrive back to Che Figata in Australia at the end of February. Chào tạm biệt for now!
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