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January 22, 2005
Mekong Delta
Waking up at 7h30AM, shouting "putain c'est pas vrai!" (a french bad slang), i jumped out from my bed. The bus was supposed to depart at 7h40! Thanks god tour buses are never on time. I arrived at the departure place at 7h45 and waited for the bus with Beth till i finished two vietnamese pancakes as breakfast.
Both Beth and i loved today's tour in the Mekong Delta.
We firstly arrived in Cai Be by bus, where we were showed how people produce rice crispies. And then a boat took us to see the floating marcket. It's a real pity that we could not be there during the busy hours, to see people bargining and exchanging their goods from their boats. (Only two-days tour provides such an opportunity)
We had a dilicious vietnamese lunch. We rolled Elephant Ear Fish and mixed vegetables with a piece of rice paper, and tasted it with fish sauce. I ate a lot again... (Always like that, i just could not control myself sometimes ) After lunch, we went cycling in the town. We found a wonderful place where there are plenty of Lychee fruits. We were kindly offered a bunch of lychees and did enjoy them.
During all the day, our boats crossed green paddy fields stretching towards the horizon. It was so peaceful and tranquil everywhere. People kept smiling and saying hi. Beautiful life. I feel sorry that i don't have enough time to explore this place. It would be great if i could stay several days here.
We met a lot of friends today as well. A japanese couple of my parents' age from Osaka, many Australian people, a girl from Danmark travelling alone, a Japanese guy who married a vietnamese girl several days ago, an italian guy with his "temporal" vietnamese girlfriend, another italian living in Califonia for 30 years... A lot of discussion over all kinds of subjets, that's what makes travelling such an interesting thing in life.
Beth is leaving tomorrow morning for Da Lat, while i'm taking the night bus at 8PM for Nha Trang Beach. We had a glass of beer together and hugged each other tightly, wishing each of us a safe trip. We promised to keep in contact by email for the rest of the trip.
Posted by claire at January 22, 2005 12:23 AM