When we planned this vacation we decided to spend our short time in Vietnam touring the Mekong Delta. The original plan had been to spend two days biking but that had to change after my accident so we switched to a walking and boating tour instead. The disadvantage of the tour was the travel time to Can Tho (it took 4 hours to travel back to Saigon today), the advantage was that we didn't spend two extra days in Saigon. (Note: the official name of this city is Ho Chi Minh City but nobody here calls it that.)

When we got up yesterday (Sunday) morning we went for a walk and my first impression of the city was this: hot, humid, frenetic, a bit dirtier and edgier than Kaohsiung. The traffic is truly insane. There don't appear to be any traffic lights at even the busiest intersections and according to our guide there are about 10 million scooters in a city of 11 million people. The people, the businesses, the sidewalks, everything seems more crammed together with accompanying noise.

We found a park and a little cafe to get a cup of coffee, although at first we were a bit stymied on how to drink it.

The little metal pieces on top of the cups hold the grounds and the water slowly seeps through the filter into the cups. The resulting coffee is a delicious, rich brew that set my heart racing.

After our walk we went back to the hotel for a delicious breakfast then off in a taxi to meet up with our tour group. The other folks were two young couples, one from Norway and the other from France. I enjoyed their company for our short time together. Our guide was a young man, aged 25, full of enthusiasm and honest opinions of his home country.

After a couple of hours driving we made a stop at a temple. It's from a relatively new religion, based in Vietnam that combines elements of Buddhist, Catholic, Hindu and Tao religions into one church called Cao Dai.

Next we hopped into one of many boats that we would take on the Mekong River as well as little side rivers in the next 24 hours. We visited a tourist spot where they make puffed rice snacks and coconut milk candy, visited a fruit farm for fresh mangoes, papayas, guava and rose apples, and ate a fabulous lunch of vegetables and fresh caught fish on an island in the river.

Tourist boats at the snack shack

The other half of our group in a second row boat.

Walking to the fruit farm.

Jack fruit

Lee and a banana tree.

For our night out on the Mekong we stayed at a homestay, a rustic set of bungalows that a family runs from their home. It was a lovely setting.

The dining area

The path outside the homestay.

The thatched roof huts are for people that come by boat to have lunch overlooking the river.

In the morning we took yet another boat to visit the floating market. This is our guide, Duong, relaxing in the front of the boat:

The floating market:

Now we're back at the hotel getting ready to face the chaos of the city and find ourselves someplace to eat dinner. Tomorrow we fly to Cambodia.