The alarm went off early as we had to be at the pier to catch our boat at 7am for the second day of the Mekong delta tour. The first stop for the boat was to take us to the floating market. At the floating market vendors pulled their boats up alongside ours selling all kinds of fruits, souvenirs, hot soup, and coffee. The tour guide was busy translating prices and announcing what was being offered to make sure the group did not all run to one side of the boat. Some of the bigger vendors let us bored their boat for a better view of the river and to better enable them to sell their goods. Overall a fun experience, and we look forward to checking out another floating market when we return to Thailand.
The boat then brought us back up the river a bit where we were able to rent bicycles and go for a ride winding through the farms and houses of one of the villages. The ride was pleasant and the people of the villages were friendly and waving as we passed by. After about an hour we returned to the boat and set out for a rice noodle factory. As we left the mekong to a smaller tributary our boat ran out of fuel. The driver refilled from one of the many fuel containers on board but proceeded to flood the engine on restart. 10 minutes of drifting later the engine was running again with one more story to tell. The noodle factory was as interesting as a noodle factory can be, and we were soon back on the boat for the final bit before the bus took us back to Saigon.
The bus dropped us off in Saigon near a market that Tori had argued with a lady about a knockoff purse a couple days prior. Surprised when we returned the lady managed to get Tori what she wanted at a price they were both ok with. Bartering tip. When you start walking away the price will drop in a hurry. From what we've gathered most items will start out at least three times as much as you should pay for them.
We found a couple of beers and dinner on the way back to the hotel and called it a night as the rain had started to fall.
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| Water coconut tree |
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| Ted, Dustin, have you ever kept your dinner fresh on the boat? |
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| Gentleman that ran the bike rental place |
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| Massive walking tree off the side of the bicycle path |
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Black Peppercorns
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| noodle machine |
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