Saigon to the Mekong Delta - 30th Jan

This morning we went to Cholon, the Chinese district of Saigon to have a look around the ornate Thien Hau Temple, dedicated to the Goddess of the Sea. It was beautifully decorated with lots of ornate carvings. As it was so near Chinese New Year there were lots of people coming in to burn incense to clear the air of evil spirits. The smell was quite powerful. There were several incense spirals hanging from the ceilings with people's personal messages to the Gods attached.

Child seat on the bike

Thien Hau Temple

Spiral Incense burners hanging from the roof

Next we visited the Binh Tay wholesale market. This was a bustling place made up of lots of small stalls where sellers demonstrated the products they had to sell on a wholesale basis. As well as fish, meat and vegetables there were some unusual delicacies such as pots of seahorses, bags of dried prawns and stacks of sparrow's nests. There were also stalls selling ornaments, table decorations and lanterns. The stalls were family owned and had been passed through generation after generation. It was funny seeing the youngsters there and knowing their careers were already dictated as they'd be taking over the running of the stalls. Within the market there was also a big kitchen where people could buy their food – it looked really good but we were advised that our stomachs probably wouldn't cope with the hygiene. Washing up involved dipping the bowls in a bucket of water. Outside we could see all the motorbikes stacked full of boxes and packages, they speed pretty unbalanced as people drove off.

After this we boarded the mini bus for the 2 hour drive to the Mekong Delta. Unfortunately it was the last Saturday before Chinese New Year and the roads were packed with people leaving the city to drive to their family homes in the country. Leaving Saigon was quite busy but things cleared up when we hit the motorway as bikes weren't allowed which freed up the traffic congestion considerably. After an hour we stopped at the most beautiful service station I have ever been to. It had little thatched restaurants and shops and a large lily pond in the middle.

Beautiful Service Station

We boarded the bus again for the final hour however as the motorway had ended we had to go on the normal roads which were heavily congested. Fortunately our driver was in mobile contact with other drivers and was able to detour to getting us around queues (his ring tune was Abba 'Dancing Queen' which was quite amusing). However everyone needed to cross a large river and there were a limited number of bridges so queuing became inevitable at points. The police were out having to control the traffic and once we were over the bridge the rest of the journey was fine.

We finally arrived at Cai Be and boarded our boat for the journey up the Delta. The Mekong River is one of the world's greatest rivers and originates in China passing through Laos, Thailand and Cambodia before getting to Vietnam. It is known as the 'rice bowl' and provides the country's main source of rice and tropical fruit.

Homes along the Delta

First we passed by a floating market where boats were selling fruit and vegetables. We then docked at a small village and saw people making sweets, rice paper for spring rolls and popping rice – all to be sold in the markets. We were given some tea and were able to try the sweets.

A failed attempt at making rice paper

After this we boarded the boat again and sailed through the Delta to our destination for lunch. We should have been here at 12pm but because of all the traffic delays we finally got there for 4pm. Our host had made us a lovely meal including the regional speciality 'Elephant Ear Fish' which looked horrible but tasted great. We ate it as part of a spring roll.

Surprisingly tasty

After our late lunch we travelled on to the village of Vinh Long. We got some lovely photos of some Vietnamese paddling their boats and they were all friendly and waved to us. The driver of the boat offered us a coconut to drink and I tried it but didn't really like it.

Not that keen !

Our boat

At Vinh Long we boarded our minibus again and were driven to Can Tho for the night. The sunset on route was amazing and probably the most beautiful setting sun I've ever seen.

At the hotel we freshened up before going to the bar at the top of the hotel for our complimentary cocktail. Andy and I then headed out for a look round the town. There was a night market right outside the hotel which was full of people milling around. There were some tourists about but not many and it was the first time I felt some people staring at us. One little boy tugged my coat and shouted 'hello' but everyone was very friendly. After a walk around we went to a restaurant for some cheap beers and spring rolls before heading back to the hotel to bed.

View from our hotel

Dinner