Ho Chi Minh City and The Mekong Delta

Yesterday we spent the day exploring Ho Chi Minh City. It is a HUGE and crazy city. Very modern though. Much more developed and spacious compared to Hanoi.

We went to the War Remnants Museum. It was such an eye opener. Very disturbing and more informative than the War Museum in Hanoi. There were lots of pictures of people born in the 80s and 90s with severe birth defects from the Agent Orange sprayed by the Americans. I hadn't realized before our trip to the museum that many of the people we have seen begging on the streets and working in some of the bus rest stations are disabled as a result of the war. It really made me realize how lucky I am to have been born where I was. In addition to some very graphic pictures there was even preserved fetuses with defects. I found this the the most disturbing.

We explored the city a bit more and called it a day! We decided to skip the Cu Chi tunnels because they are apparently quite similar to the Vinh Moc tunnels we saw in the DMZ but MUCH more narrow and small (40cm wide and under a metre high...underground). No thanks! The Vinh Moc tunnels made me uneasy enough!

Today we were awakened by what we thought was a marching band at about 5am! Later on in the day we found out it was a funeral procession...don't know why it was so early, but it was nice to find out what was going on!

We did a day trip today to the Mekong Delta. It was a long drive in a tiny bus...with minimal A/C and air. It was hell. We had a boat tour of the floating market when we arrived. It was really interesting! All of these big wooden boats that look like they have seen better days come to this floating market with produce to sell (wholesale - not for tourists...they sell it to the markets in the cities). They all hoist an item of the produce up a pole they have on their boat, (sweet potatoes, watermelons, squash, etc.) so all of the buyers know what they have for sale. They will apparently live in the market for quite some time and then head back home to where they live/farm eventually. Totally different lifestyle!

After our market tour we took smaller boats, each paddled by a Vietnamese woman. I felt bad for them having to paddle the boats in direct sunlight in the middle of the afternoon and the temperature being well over 30C. We had lunch and then took the larger motorized tour boat back. It was a nice day, and we were lucky that on the way back we got a bigger bus! :)

Oh! I almost forgot! Matt and I have had several experiences with the Durian fruit. I dont know what it is, but people INSIST on eating this absolutely stinky fruit in confined spaces (such as buses...we have experienced it twice now!). The people here absolutely LOVE it, however we do not. To me, it smells a bit like vomit...and boy is it pungent! You can smell it when it is cut from across the street! We tried some Durian flavour ice cream, just to see if it would taste better than it smells....who knew there would be ice cream I wouldn't like. :p

Tomorrow morning we are flying to Singapore and then to Jakarta. A full day of travel! The next day we start our first project. We have had an absolutely fabulous and eye-opening trip through Vietnam. I would love to come back one day and I recommend it to anyone looking for adventure! They have just about something for everyone though, from war history to ecotours and trekking. I would have to say though that the Vietnamese people are my favourite. They are all SO friendly, always smiling and extremely helpful. Nothing is ever too much to ask. The people combined with the beauty of Vietnam make it truly a fantastic place!

Until next time!