22.10. River life

As we wanted to head towards the Mekong River today, we got up a bit earlier, as the place we wanted to visit was about two and a half hours outside of Saigon.

Once we arrived there, we boarded a small boat, too small to be called a boat, and sailed up the river a little bit. Like all the waters here, the Mekong also has very murky water, which often has a lot of plastic floating in it or washed up on the banks. Overall, there is not much environmental awareness here. Many things are simply burned on the street or thrown over the shoulder "quickly" and end up in nature, where no one will take care of it anymore.

On the river, we had the opportunity to buy fruit at a floating market, many of which we didn't even know. It was downright embarrassing.

At the first proper stop, we got off our boat and had the opportunity to have a look at Vietnamese and traditional candy production. For example, we could watch how edible wrapping paper and coconut candy were made or get a little bit of a popcorn shower when the corn exploded. This popcorn was offered in many different flavors: from incredibly spicy to curry to the sweet one we know in Germany. Finally, we were offered a taste of rice wine, although the alcohol content definitely did not speak for the term "wine", as after just a tiny sip, our throats burned. Let's call this drink rice grappa instead...

Next to a pretty café, which also housed a beekeeping facility, we sat down and enjoyed the popular honey tea here, enjoying the shade. Interestingly, you could also buy pickled snakes in the beekeeping facility, arranged and displayed in a glass container. Why and for what purpose someone would need such a thing remained a mystery to us.

We then got back on a boat and continued up the river. At one stop, we had the opportunity to switch to traditional and smaller boats, which reminded us a bit of the gondolas in Venice, and were steered by locals through the narrower and more picturesque side channels. Sitting in these small swaying gondolas and enjoying the peace of the river was incredibly fun after the beautiful but noisy city of Saigon and was simply the highlight of the day for me.

In the small gondolas

After having lunch at the final stop of the gondolas, we rented some very rickety bicycles and rode through the village and the surrounding area. In the afternoon, we were kindly invited by a family for tea and were also overwhelmed with fruit, so that we now at least know what the unknown fruit looks like and tastes like. In addition to the food, the hostess also sang songs in her language, which we didn't understand, but the emotions and feelings were clear through her performance. The family also owned a wonderfully traditional house made of dark wood with decorations made of mother-of-pearl-like sequins.

After drinking tea, we found our way back to the river and sailed it a little further up to the next larger stop, where we strolled through the local market and then got on the next bus to Saigon. It was very fitting to the weather, as a torrential downpour had started again, which we could comfortably observe from the bus.

After the rain had subsided a bit, we went to a rooftop bar. The one we climbed to was on a high-rise building, but a cocktail there already cost around ten euros. For Vietnam, that's a small fortune. So we ordered probably the most expensive cola of the trip and made ourselves comfortable with our cards in front of the illuminated skyline of Saigon.