MEKONG DELTA

ids=”11972,11969,11968,11967,11964,11953,11951,11949,11941,11938,11927,11911,11905,11891,11874″]This was a last day of sight seeing while we are in Vietnam and it was a wonderful day. We left Saigon and traveled south to the Mekong Delta which played such an important role in the war. These drives prove that the Vietnamese live their lives on the sidewalks. Small shops, cafes, repair places, the butcher, baker and candlestick maker all make a living on the sidewalk. The family wash hangs from metal racks and children play beside their mother and father while the family pet is tethered in the door way. This is true of large cities and small villages. After about two hours we stopped for a visit in the largest city in the province. We visited a popular pagoda which serves as a place for the elderly, homeless and poor children to go for a rest or a meal. This pagoda is very active in the community and a testament to the Buddha’s philosophy. A quick stop at a market where ladies shopped for the evening meal and flower and we reached the Mekong known as the Mother of Rivers. We took a boat ride across the river to visit a bee farm, eat some local fruit, listen to some bad music and take a horse cart ride down a country road. Poor horse looked terrible, but so did all of the horses on the path. We then boarded another tiny boat and were paddled down a swift little stream to our restaurant. I promised God I would be good for the rest of my life He would just let us arrive safely. I gave the lady rowing the boat wed wipes, and hand sanitizer as well as a generous tip. Lunch was Elephant ear fish, soup, egg rolls, rice and watermelon. They served the fish whole and perched on a little wooden rack. Delicious. Boarded a larger boat and came back to Saigon. Days outside the city are always a favorite. Interestingly we saw a showroom of Christmas trees on the way back. Though Christians are a minority, there are still pockets of Catholicism throughout the country. The Portuguese introduced Christianity to Vietnam about three hundred years ago, the French really established the Church here. Tomorrow will be a long day. We need to find some way to be entertained until out flight to Japan. Then back to Houston.