Day 6 Vinh Long to HCMC

James vomiting had stopped by this morning.  Ni came in pretty early and spoke to me about what time we'd like breakfast.  I was mortified as my hair was everywhere and I had to sit up in bed braless and speak to her.  My bosoms are near perfection of course, but everyone has a level of common decency they like to keep with strangers.

We ate breakfast and after a goodbye to our lovely hosts we were off.  We were all very happy to be on our way.  We caught a ferry back across the river to Vinh Long where we were met by another driver.  We jumped in and we were soon on our way to My Tho, a town in the Mekong Delta that is way closer to HCMC than Can Tho.  It was thriving and clean with a huge number of tourists taking boat rides from the wharf.  Perhaps it would have been better to decrease our travel and stop at My Tho to glimpse the Mekong.  I'm not sure.  We only went on a few small boat rides today, so it was nothing compared to our 7 hour journey with Linh and Hung around the Mekong.

We hopped on a boat and travelled to an island across the river.  Ni didn't know where we were, so I looked it up in my Lonely Planet and eventually worked out we were on either tortoise or Unicorn Island.  It was hugely commercial and we we shown to a table where locals were making coconut candy.  We were given a taste and then directed to a table to buy the finished product.  From there we were herded through a market that makes things from the coconut shell and from there we were sat at a table and given some fruit and (I can only describe this as torture) forced to listen to local Vietnamese singing and instruments while we ate our fruit.  A hat was then passed around for donations.  From there we were herded towards some boats for a short trip up the canal.

The coconut candy "factory" on either Tortoise or Unicorn Island.

Painful to listen to, but we were very polite.  They sang us a special song at the end:
If you're happy and you know it clap your hands (in English).  We had to clap our
hands and stomp our feet at the correct moments. 

The herding towards the boats begins.

Tourist gridlock!

We also visited another island that Lonely Planet tells me was Phoenix Island.  Some Coconut Monk lived there led a group of people there in an attempt to make the north and south Vietnam live together peacefully.  Apparently he only ate coconuts for 3 years and he liked to meditate.  And that is why they called him the Coconut Monk. Anyway, don't go there.  The island is decrepit with a festering and cruel crocodile enclosure and a dangerous lookout that is waiting for a fatality to happen.  Lonely Planet call it "seriously kitsch", I call it seriously boring and ruined.  I did pick up some ridiculously cheap coconut cooking instruments so all was not lost.

The safety standards here are an eye-opener.  The crocodile enclosure on Phoenix Island had a waist high fence.  When we went to Ho Chi Minh City Zoo, we could have climbed a small fence and reached into the cage and patted the lions if we wanted to.  The giraffe was able to eat from your hands!  Now that is frigging scary coming at you from a height.  

The water was rancid and the enclosure was small for the 8 or so crocodiles...or are they alligators?

The walk up to the scenic lookout.

Pretty easy to fall through as you're taking a photo.  Long way down.

From Phoenix Island we took a boat back to My Tho and hopped in the car for the drive back to HCMC.  We were all so relieved to be back.  I had booked a room in the same hotel we stayed at when we first arrived.  The doorman welcomed us back.  He's so nice!  He likes Max a lot.  I said my goodbyes to Ni and the driver and scurried inside to the plasma TV, foxtel and cold beer in the fridge.

My Tho

On the way from My Tho to HCMC we tried to capture on camera the loads they carry
on their scooters.

Apparently cars have only been around in HCMC since about 2003.

Drew and I went out this afternoon to buy the bus tickets to Da Lat.  Not sure if that is one word or two as I've seen it written both ways.  Once we had the bus tickets we decided to speed our journey up a little for the walk back to the hotel.  We asked one of the motorbike drivers to give us a ride.  Drew sat up closest to the man, and I hung onto Drew and away we went through the traffic.  Fantastic fun, but if the boys ever find out we did that they'd kill us!  I keep telling them it's too dangerous.

The doorman likes Max a lot.  

They upgraded us to a suite as the other rooms were full.  

View from our balcony

Our balcony.

INTERESTING FACTS:

1. We didn't get to cook dinner with the family at the home stay like we were meant to.  Maybe I should have offered to help, but it was really beyond me after that bike ride.
2. My Tho looks way more interesting than Can Tho if you need to take a quick trip into the Mekong Delta for a look.  My Tho is also closer to HCMC so it's probably easier.
3. I hate package tours.
4. The motorbike rides are fun as long as you don't crash.
5. You need about 1 week to see Ho Chi Minh City properly.