Saturday

Saturday morning we got up at about 6 and headed to the Mekong Delta, which is where the Mekong River flows into the south of Viet Nam and down through Cambodia.  It was about a 2 and a half hour bus ride, where Hui (check spelling) was our guide (Hui has been our guide throughout our trip, driving us to the sites and stuff.  He is the man).  We were able to see the Vietnamese countryside for the first time.  It was really cool to see farms and stuff.  Plus we stopped at a couple awesome places like a cemetery for those that died in the war against the French colonists and in the Vietnam/American War.  Then we stopped at a temple that was a place of worship for Buddhism, Christianity, Taoism, and Confucianism.  The architecture was really something else, because it just had the very traditional Asian design, with the curved roofs and bright colors.  Then when we got to the Mekong Delta, we hopped on a boat with just a driver and us and then started our journey along the river.  We then stopped at a tiny village on the river, where Hui took us.  We walked along a path in this tiny, hidden village, where we saw a bunch of tiny children and dogs.  It was incredible, because it was the first time I have been to a habited place that was so detached from society.  It was just so interesting to experience the small villages on our boat ride that lead us far into the Mekong Delta.  We stopped at another small village that made these coconut candies from scratch.  Right as Hui was showing us how these children made the candy, a monsoon came with some of the strongest winds I think I’ve experienced.  It tore off the roof of the hut/pavilion and threw dust in all our eyes.  The funny thing was the local kids didn’t really duck away.  After that we hopped on the boat to go to another village, which was where we were served a late lunch at this outdoor restaurant.  For the lunch we had to use chopsticks to pull the meat off of these fish.  It also had these shrimp, soup, and these pork rolls.  The best part was I had a dog chilling at my feet the entire time.  They had just a ton of dogs and chickens throughout the delta.  When we got back from the visit, we hung out in the usual spot, Steve and Anthony’s room.  Mike and Lauren were gone for a while, and when they got back they said they were walking around Ho Chi Minh City looking for a birthday cake for me.  They got me some delicious ice cream so I was pretty happy.  Then we went out with Khoa and Chi for my birthday.  So it was the best day really to have my birthday, because it was such an awesome experience.

 

Happy Mother’s Day Mom!