Just lazing along by the river...... the Mekong Delta

So, just to make everyone green with envy........

This is where I'm sitting right now and writing!! Sorry!!!

Last week we headed for a day tour of the Mekong Delta:

We left Saigon and headed south:

The Mekong Delta comprises a large portion of

south- western Vietnam and is where the Mekong

River and its tributaries, discharge into the South 

China Sea. The land in the Delta is highly fertile and 

is used mainly for agriculture. Fishing is also very

important in this area.

Our tour was led by the very personable and highly 

enthusiastic Tham:

By the end of the day, we were doing karaoke together!

Lotus pads growing in the ponds at the rest stop.

The drive down from Saigon took about two hours. We 

passed rice paddies......

pIneapple plantations, orchards and small hamlets.

I was interested to find out what these were, many

of them were located alongside the rice paddies:

and in the front yard of homes:

Our guide told us that the Vietnamese custom is to bury 

family members on their home property, what a great idea!

This large tomb obviously belonged to a V.I.P.

On arrival at My Tho we boarded a motor boat and headed 

to Dragon Island, Unicorn Island, Phoenix and Turtle Island:

We stopped off at the honey farm and handled live bees!

Enjoyed honey tea carefully prepared for us by this

lovely lady:

Held a real live Python:

Remember: "Nothing is to be feared but fear itself!"

I was surprised by how heavy it was!

Walked by the local market stalls.......

Coconut shell knick-knacks.....

And this exotic alcoholic beverage containing a scorpion

and a baby cobra! Drinks anyone?

We passed by fruit stands:

Durian, mango and so many exotic fruits, I can't remember

what they're called!l

Rambutan and longan fruits....

We enjoyed a fruit plate of papaya, pineapple, watermelon,

longan and rambutan.

Five dishes are served, as per Vietnamese custom, to

denote birth, coming of age, mid-life, death and rebirth.

The fruit is dipped into chilli and salt to balance ying

and yang.

The inside of a rambutan- a little bit disappointing and tasteless-

like gelatinous goo- but said to be full of anti-oxidants, anti- aging

compounds and is supposed to do miraculous things for 

one's sex life! Bring it on!!

We listened to traditional southern Vietnamese music......

Performed by these lovely ladies dressed in traditional 

Vietnamese dresses - the Ao Dai.

We listened to stories narrated by our guide, Tham

Walked by fruit trees......

Cockerels bred for fighting:

We boarded row boats:

And went for a ride along the canals of the Mekong.....

The water is brown due to all the silt deposits.....

The guide pointed out his home along the 

banks of the canal:

We sampled some rice wine:

Stopped off at a coconut candy factory....

Enjoyed a traditional Vietnamese lunch:

I've never seen shrimp this big!! They were delish!

We walked past exotic plants.....

And headed back to our boat where we were treated

to coconut milk- an acquired taste!

Our travel partners included a Scottish nurse, a Croatian

GP and her sports medicine husband, and a young couple

from Finland ( the ones at the back) who were quite aloof

and didn't mix. 

And of course, our great tour guide, Tham:

The Karaoke King!!!

 En route to our hotel, we stopped off at the Vinh Trang 

Pagoda:

The largest and most well- known pagoda in the region..

A ceremony was taking place.....

The couple were holding incense sticks to their foreheads

and the Buddhist monk was striking a bell....

And outside, the biggest statue of Buddha that I've ever seen!

Back in Saigon, it was rush hour.....

and manic driving again!!!

                                            Talk soon

                                                Zoe

And the winner is.......

One of the things on my to-do list while in Vietnam,

was to visit the CuChi tunnels. These tunnels, located 

outside of Ho Chi Minh City, were used by the Vietcong 

during the Vietnam war as a base for their operations.

They were used for concealment, military planning,

weapon caches and even contained hospitals.

They stretched for about 250 Kms around the 

Saigon area but, in fact, there were tunnels all over

the country. I think they were very instrumental in the

VietCong winning the war. They would hide in them 

during the day and then come out at night to tend

to crops, get provisions and engage with " the enemy."

Last week we took a tour of the tunnels........

One of the many concealed entrances to the tunnels.

The VietCong's great advantage in using these tunnels 

was their size. The Vietnamese people are very petite

and could fit into very small openings which the American

soldier could not. As a result,and also as they were often

booby trapped, American soldiers did not venture into them.

The Vietcong left signs for their people to show where

the entrances to the tunnels were, often a folded leaf or 

a stick.

The tunnels were built on three levels, the top for

quick concealment, the middle for hospital and living

quarters, and the lower layer for emergency escape.

The lowest level was often filled with water and all levels

had vermin, spiders,scorpions and snakes.

This was the size of one of the entrances holes.....

The ventilation vents were artfully hidden, can you see

where they are hidden?

The Vietcong in their uniform.

The Americans would try and flush out the VC

with boiling water, hot oil, tar and by throwing

hand grenades down into the tunnel to sea

the tunnels off.

We headed down into the tunnels....

but didn't get too far. A tourist can crawl for about

20 feet to the next opening, literally slithering along

the floor of the tunnel.

Last week, a Canadian woman got stuck in here

and required five people to pull her out!!

I didn't want to be the next Canadian statistic!

The hospital bunker, you can make out the outline

of a hospital bed.

Unfortunately the tunnels have now become a 

major tourist attraction and reminded me a bit

of Disneyland....

Lots of tourist tat - anyone for a bullet or hand

grenade key ring???

Or a used rocket shell?

And there's always someone with a selfie stick!

There was lots of laughter when the booby traps

were set off. I just found it all a bit disrespectful to

both sides in the war.

There was however, an interesting display on making rice

paper.. it looks so easy......

but I did feel sorry for this poor lady on a very,

very hot day in front of a very hot oven..

Drying in the sun.

Bougainvillea at the entrance to the tunnels.

Later on that day we headed to this museum:

in downtown Ho Chi Minh City. Prior to the war, HCM City

was called Saigon and the central core is still referred to

as Saigon.

The War Remnants Museum specialises in research,

collecting, preserving and exhibiting relics of the Vietnam

War. In this way, the museum intends to reinforce the

concept of peace.....

I could have stayed there all day.......

The most interesting feature were the photographs

taken by photojournalists from different countries 

during the war. Several of them lost their lives on

the battlefront.

I actually remembered these photos when they were

published during the Vietnam War.

And of course there is this infamous picture the world

has never forgotten:

Children running away from napalm bombing.

Fortunately this particular story has a happy ending....

This young girl ended up as an asylum seeker while on

a visit to Cuba and is now living in Canada.

And the whole world was horrified at the shooting

of four Kent State University students while protesting 

against the Vietnam War....

Images that showed the horrors of the war:

for both sides:

And even more horrors with the use of Agent Orange by 

the American forces for defoliation and deforestation of

the country, resulting in birth deformities and genetic

abnormalities which continue on in second, third

post- war generations on both sides. The US forces

also suffered casualties with the use of this chemical

which we now know as Dioxin, and is probably the

most toxic chemical known to man. Very little, if any,

protective equipment was worn with the handling

of Agent Orange and it was touted as " safe."

Interestingly, it was manufactured by Monsanto,

the same US company that has developed GMO's

that are touted as " safe" .............

Outside, military equipment left behind........

A Huey helicopter

A Chinook chopper used for transporting American troops.

And the winner?................

Neither side........

On the walk home, we passed the Reunification Palace

Site of the American Embassy during the Vietnam War. 

The embassy was razed to the ground post-war.

It brings to mind another iconic picture:

The evacuation of the American embassy in Saigon after

the fall of Saigon in April 1975.

The last S.Vietnamese to be evacuated from the rooftop

of the embassy.

And, in the present day, it appears history repeats itself

with no lesson learned...

                                         Talk soon

                                              Zoe