Can Tho - Saigon, Vietnam : 22 Apr 07

Last day of Mekong Delta tour. Went to the whole sales market of vegetable. I think this parts is really a small reflection of the current world. Everyone relies so much on the river for living and yet polluting it with human waste and rubbish. Doesn't this look like the world now? Everyone of us 'contributing' in a way to the pollution of our mother Earth.

Nothing great about the trip. Went to fruits farm and padi processing factory. However the French couple in the group have been in a way really taken care of me. Sharing their dinning table with me and we talked from time to time. When we hugged said good bye, i really feel sad that i had to part with them.

After 2 days of not getting proper meal in Mekong Delta, i really hope to get some decent nice vegetarian meal. i took a vege fried rice for lunch in a restaurant that the bus dropped us at and the Vietnamese girls at my table was very kind to help me to ensure that i got something that i wanted. Basically i found most local people here were helpful. The food was not great and with my bleeding nose (i always got nose bleeding problem when i got 'heated'), i really hope to eat some noodle soup! But i did not want to risk for eating something unsure.

So i sat with a Polish guy in the bus. He is working in Vietnam and taking the opportunity to travel around too. It was just another short encounter and no hooked up. i wonder, where does all Asian gone? i did not see even single Asian traveling around until now.

We got to Saigon at around 7pm. i get rid of the tout and got to the hotel recommended by Alice. It was triple more expensive than what i am willing to pay, but I will see what to do then. Found the vege restaurant that i wanted to go, got the bliss of eating a proper meal and yes, i am very tired now. Time to back to hotel and rest.



Floating market. But mostly for whole sales.



The fruists plantation.



The rice processing factory.



The local market. I like Vietnamese markets. They are lively and you can get anything from real gold to vegetable to toiletaries just at one place.

MONEY MATTER:
1.)Food: 58,000 D
2.)Accommodation: USD 8
3.)Trip: USD 5 (one day Chi Chu Tunnel trip with Sinh Cafe)
4.)Others: Vietnamese Hat - 10,000 D + India Lonely Planet Book - USD 8

Chau Doc-Can Tho, Vietnam: 21 Apr 07

The breakfast started at 6am. We took breakfast and there was a guide from Saigon to entertain us. After all logistics and bla bla bla, we set off at around 7.30am, if i remember correctly. We took rowing boat to fishing farm and Cham (a muslim ethnic group) weaving village. Then it was almost 1.5 hours bus ride to an incense making 'factory' (it doesn't look like a factory at all) and crocodile farm. After this, another hour of bus ride to Can Tho. It was 1pm by then. Free and easy (you are one your own) for the rest of the day.

My first lesson learnt in Vietnam, if you write the price, don't write "D". It will be mistaken as "0" (zero). Just write "Dong" or just ignore the currency sign. The story went by (short version), i lost my way after i went inside to a market and used different exit to come out. So i hired a moto driver to bring me to river side. He lost his way but managed to send me there by getting another driver to lead us the way. Upon arrival, he demanded 30,000 Dong. i said we agreed on 3000 Dong! So it was ten times the price! Then i finally realized that, he got my "D" mistaken as zero. For such a short journey, i was really a great over charged (around USD 3). Since he got me to the place and obviously he couldn't understand me, so i saw no point to fight over a few dollar. i just paid him and walked away. Learnt my lesson with 2 USD, not a big deal.

i took some kind of pan cake and drink at the river side restaurant. i wasn't willing to pay that much of money for my meal again, main course was around 90,000 Dong (USD 5, while the normal meal could be 10,000 Dong, less than one USD). The breeze from the river was a bliss to the heat. i then took an hour's walk to walk back to the guesthouse. Went to two modern shopping malls on the way. Not very big but i wonder in a place like this, can supermarket survive? i personally would prefer to get the vegetable from market rather than supermarket. May be aircon is the selling point then.



A buddhist cum taoist temple in Chau Doc town.



Rowing boat.



"Kelong" or fish farm on the lake.



The Cham girl weaving clothes.



Incense making.



Well, the very touristic crocodile farm.



Can Tho town.


MONEY MATTER:
1.) Food - 35,4000 Dong
2.) Transport - 30,000 Dong
3.) Others: Internet - 3500D