Sunday, 21 January 2007 - The Mekong Delta

After breakfast, we got back in our boat for a visit to a floating market.  So many different craft on the river once again!

At the market, the big boats were wholesalers, and as they were covered, you couldn't see what they sold.  To overcome this, they had a sample of their product hanging from a bamboo pole.   We saw water chestnuts, watermelons, taro and pumpkin.  

Walking through the "on land" market where we saw a huge range of produce.  Every possible type of vegetable, lots of different varieties of rice and even some gloves (for covering the arms from the sun when riding your bike!).  

And then there were snakes, tortoises, and toads for sale, as well as a pig or two.

Next stop was a popping rice factory where we saw how the rice is poured into very hot sand, which pops it. It's then sieved to separate the popped corn from the sand, husks, etc., and eventually added to a sugar and gelatin mix and poured onto a table to be rolled, cut and bagged just like a breakfast bar.  Quite yummy.

And of course they had souvenirs.  Just what we needed.  Another T-shirt.

Tonight we are staying at Mr Hung's Homestay in Can Tho on the water.  The first photo below is our accommodation. 

We were there quite early, so after settling in, we relaxed on the verandah for a while while Thang tried to teach us how to play Chinese chess.  We failed.  So complicated.  We didn't have any difficulty managing the medicinal wine, though.

Had a walk before dinner.  Walked along a narrow track through the village.  Had to walk in single file so bicycles and motorbikes could pass us.  Lots of children calling out hello as we passed each home. Many of the homes were quite new, with sparkling tiled porches where families were sitting/squatting and eating and feeding small children.  A group of young men, two of whom held roosters under their arms, were gathering in a clearing opposite the hotel (which had a pool table, a pinball machine and some sort of soccer game). We hurried by so as not to see the cockfight.  Luckily, it was over by the time we headed back.  It was starting to get dark at this stage.  Crossing a bridge (less than a metre wide) was a bit of a challenge when we met a motorbike coming the other way.  A little boy checking his fish traps.  Lots of babies being encouraged to wave and say hello.

Dinner at Mr Hang's was elephant fish eaten with cucumber, beans, wrapped in rice paper and dipped in fish sauce (with lemon juice, chilli and sugar) - yum.   There was also a salsa and tofu dish and rice.  Fresh pineapple to finish up on.  “Một, hai, ba, - yo!”, we say with our rice wine before eating.  (Translation: "One, two, three- cheers. ")  Alex and Richard also tried a new beer - the local Can Tho beer.

We thought we had monkeys outside our room during the night.  Turned out to be just the geckos.