We cruised to My Tho on the northern arm of the Mekong. After transferring to a small barge (maybe 30 feet long and 9 feet wide? With a motor, chairs, life vests and a driver) we traveled down the canals to the city. A small bus met us at the docking point and we traveled to the Vinh Trang Pagoda – a Buddhist pagoda. Surrounded by enormous statues of the Buddha, the pagoda itself is beautiful and we followed Thuyen, our Road Scholar tour leader, through the temple and grounds hearing about Buddhism and the architecture.

Off to the Cai Dai temple next. Perhaps you’ve never heard of the Cai Dai religion? I hadn’t either. It is a mixture to be sure! Buddha, Lao Tze, Moses, Mohammed, Jesus, Joan of Arc, Confucius, Sun Yat Sen and, oddly, Victor Hugo and Shakespeare are important figures, even saints. The founders cherry-picked the best parts of all these religions and wordsmithery and made a new one – there are levels to be attained and many followers here.

Next stop, a small, family rice noodle factory – not an olfactory treat due to giant vats of fermenting rice starch, but the results are chewy and delicious.

Afternoon took us through a floating market, again on the small barge. This market is just a collection of boats and is for locals, not tourists. Each boat ties a bit of whatever it has for sale to a long pole or mast and sets it up as its advertising. We saw rice, bananas, cocoanuts, something like sweet potatoes.

Our little barge continued on a much smaller canal, past schools, houses, and finally to a plant nursery – filled with exotic (to us, anyway – a coconut palm isn’t unusual here!) plants and trees. We had a chance to try some fruits and lotus seed tea.

Today’s last stop was a brick/pottery kiln, also a family business. The fuel is almost all rice husks – which are of course easily available here! After returning to the Toam Tuev, we cruised to our overnight anchorage (mid-river)

Our last day in Saigon included lunch at a popular pho restaurant (that’s pronounced fuh, with a rising intonation at the end). Oh yum! A richly flavored broth, with star anise, green onion, chilis, cilantro, meats and I don’t what else, heaped with rice noodles, chicken, onion and a plate of garnishes (lime, more cilantro, thai basil, bean sprouts). If you have a chance to try the real thing, do!

Food is a big deal here. The meals on our little boat are always interesting and include many of the unusual (to me) fruits that are grown in Vietnam. We’ve sampled several colors of dragonfruit, jackfruit, guava, mango – lots of mango, pineapple, custard apple, rose apple. So far no one has offered durian, which smells like rotting garbage, and I’m grateful for that! We are also getting lots of local fish, rice at every meal and interesting vegetables such a morning glory (sort of like spinach). A tour of the galley on our little ship today.

Two traditional local dishes I am also glad to avoid – first, snake. I’ve eaten rattlesnake meat and it’s okay but why bother? Here the snake is often cobra and the heart will be given to the most elderly man present while the blood is drained into some sort of liquor and then the liquor shared by the other men (a reputed aphrodisiac). Uhm, no. Okay, how about barbequed rat, anyone? We saw quite a number of people selling rat in the food market. It’s popular local fare but fortunately the crew on the Toum Teav knows that Americans would probably not be happy with it!

Today was almost an overload of information. After breakfast at the hotel we began with a lecture at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities on the history and culture of this country. So, beginning in 221 BC. . . .  basically China has always been a presence and wars are not a new thing. We had a lot of questions about current attitudes towards America of course and honestly, here  Americans are friends. Our group guide collected bullet casings to sell as a child and has relatives affected by agent orange, yet it’s all about the future, without resentment of the past. A remarkable attitude.

We wandered the Post Office building, designed by Eiffel, and it totally looks like a train station! But it never was – and now houses a post office and lots of souvenir shops.  We could see the building where those last helicopters took off at the fall of Saigon. Not actually the embassy but a CIA building – apparently the media got it wrong at the beginning and no one remembers the corrections. Lunch at Propaganda Restaurant and then on to the Reunification Palace. Here one sees the tanks that pushed down the gates as the North Vietnamese entered the city along with the residence and official rooms for the current government. Very 1960’s still.

Also visited the War Remnants Museum. This is filled with photos of the war as well as some planes and weaponry. Very intense, very disturbing.

Now, resting and preparing for departure tomorrow – on wards to our small ship and exploration of the Mekong.

Just a note – not that you will find this in the news at home – Vietnam won a big soccer match last night – I think vs. Syria – and this put them into the semifinals (I think) of the all-Asia soccer tournament. So, at midnight there was a huge celebration with thousands of people waving flags, riding motorbikes, honking horns, yelling with happiness, holding cellphone lights etc. – walking in the streets in a spontaneous parade that lasted a couple of hours. It was joyous, it was peaceful, it was LOUD!

After 26 hours of flying, 3 times through security, shuttle buses, airport trains and choosing the slowest line at immigration, I’m here! Saigon (everyone seems to still call it that in spite of the official name being Ho Chi Minh City) is PACKED. With people, houses, smells, sights, moterbikes that park on the sidewalk when they are not driving on the sidewalk. Monday was spent arriving, unpacking, meeting the others on this tour (we are a group of 12), and the orientation talk and dinner here at the Grand Hotel Saigon. The other solo traveler (Judy from Florida) and I ventured out for a couple of hours walking around and taking our lives in our hands with the traffic but it was great getting a first look at the heart of this city.

Today, Tuesday, we will visit the National University for an intro to the history and culture of Vietnam, the Re-Unification Center, the cathedral, City Hall and the Post Office. Pictures as soon as I make some.

It’s finally about to start! On Friday, August 24th I’ll drive to Washington Dulles and early on Saturday begin the marathon that is travel to Vietnam. Washington to LAX, LA to Singapore and finally Singapore to Ho Chi Minh City (that’s Saigon, oldsters). Three days in Ho Chi Minh City will be followed by  a meandering 8-day boat trip on the Mekong and Tonle Sap, into Cambodia and ending at Siem Reap. Time there will include sunrise over Angkor Wat – which is pretty much my reason for this journey. The return begins September 8 and I’ll be back in Charlottesville sometime on the 10th. Watch this space for pictures and commentary!

Debbie