We headed south right along the highway, because it's just us and a sea of scooters with a few trucks and buses in the mix. Lots of room. At times we were riding side by side, no problem. Lots of noise! Our little bicycle bells can not compete with the continual honking of horns. Note that the horn-honking in Vietnam is not angry horn-blaring like it almost always is in North America. It's just a "hey I'm behind you coming through, don't change your lane" kind of sound. However if you're on a fully loaded bicycle on a busy street in Saigon everybody is 'behind you coming through' so it's really flippin' loud most of the time.
The day's tentative rest stop town of Ben Luc was reached by mid-afternoon. We inquired about accommodation at a bank only to find out there was nothing even close to a hotel there (but the teller was kind enough to give us the bank's wifi code!) so it was onward, making for a long day on the asphalt. A plus about travelling in a developing country is the cost of living: A budget hotel room will be around $10-$20/night. A minus about said travelling is the low standards for said hotel, if you can find one. There will be a bed, a sink, toilet and shower, A/C and perhaps a little fridge but all may not be good as new. Best to keep the expectations low. We booked into such a place and got our money's worth: 1 night for 200 000 Vietnamese Dong = $10.00 CDN thank you very much! Mỹ Tho (pronounced Mayj Tah not My Toe) is known as the entrance to the Mekong Delta. No sooner had we turned into our hotel parking lane we were booked for a three-hour tour of the local islands. The hotel room was good but the boat tour - just us and the driver - was fantastic. A community of floating fish farms, traditional music (performed by tourist-tired locals), tea and a tour of a bee farm, a river trip in a traditional Vietnamese row boat and a firefly adventure. Our guide was very informative. It was an eye-opener.
Every once in a while we have an experience we could have done without. It was another long ride on another hot day as we made our way to Cai Be. After manoeuvering our way through the small streets packed with buyers and vendors and dodging awnings protruding from stalls at shoulder height we found something resembling a hotel. As soon as we paid for two nights the nice little Vietnamese girl at the front desk tried to double the price by claiming a misunderstanding. After some heated dispute we settled on 500 000 VND ($25.00 CDN) for two nights but the beds were rock hard, the shower was broken and we were concerned about the safety of our bikes stored outside so we left the next morning. But our experience went from not-so-good to outstanding in a few hours. Situated in Ah Binh on the island across from Vinh Long city centre we found a bit of paradise that was right up our alley. Nam Thanh and his family have opened their home up to visitors looking for something different. This type of accommodation is called a Homestay and is the perfect blend of authentic local life with enough personal space and amenities to make it comfortable for those seeking an alternative to a hotel. The island is fairly large and sparsely populated and the little windy paths that link everyone together are numerous and fun to navigate. We had a good boot around, ate some amazing food, took lots of photos and video, and almost booked a few more days but decided to continue on, to go a little deeper.
That brings us to the Nyugen Shack near Can Tho. We are excited to arrive here on our seven-year anniversary. We couldn't be further away from anything familiar, so when the staff dimmed the lights and brought out a candle-lit cake with Celine Dion singing from a laptop we were almost brought to tears. This is the kind of atmosphere they have here: personal, friendly, sincere. We're in the middle of the middle of nowhere but the restaurant menu selection is substantial, the food is excellent, the fridge is full of beer, wine, soft drinks and water, and it's just us and a few other guests finding themselves waaaaaaaay off the beaten track. So far off that we couldn’t even find the place at first and had to call for an escort to guide us there!
It's National Geographic 24/7/365 around here, real present-day village life of South Vietnam. There is no 'day off' for the locals. They come and go quite casually on the river, never rushed but always purposeful. The general standard of living is barebones but most seem content. It's quite the wake-up call to be up close and personal in a developing country, to spend some quality time in it. We are constantly greeted with a big loud 'hello' from almost every child and at least a smile from anyone we make eye contact with. We took a bike tour of the village with Alice, a local staff member of the Shack and hostess extraordinaire who taught us so much about village life and culture. The tour was topped off with a visit to meet the local female Buddhist monks at their pagoda. An incredible morning for us, just another day in the village for them.
According to Alice roads started appearing in the Mekong Delta around twenty years ago. Prior to that all travel was by boat. Every family had to have one. Certain areas became gathering points for farmers to sell their goods and purchase necessities. Thus floating markets emerged as centres of local commercial as well as social activity. On day two of our stay the alarm went off at 5:15 am for our guided trip through the Cai Rang floating market. We arrived around 6:00 am in the height of action as the boats start to congregate at around 3:00 am, the market usually wrapping up before 9. Dozens of watercrafts of all sizes carrying goods for trade are either anchored or weaving through the maze. We headed to the land market for a view of the retail end of the process where goods from the floating market and local farms are purchased by locals for daily consumption. Very few villagers (if any) have a fridge or freezer. Food is purchased and prepared same day. No washing machines here either. The river is used for washing everything and everyone. Luckily Nyugen Shack offers a slightly higher level of comfort for us westerners. So what about the mosquitos? There are more mosquitos in our backyard than there are in southern Vietnam. Hardly any bugs to be seen although we're not exactly tromping through the wetlands. Unfortunately, the few that do buzz around carry a lethal weapon so I'm happy we invested in immunizations and Deet. With the birdsong coming from the trees upriver and the gentle breeze blowing through the restaurant patio we would stay here for longer if we could but a beach hut on a tropical island west of here is calling to us. We're headed to Phu Quoc Island, a Vietnamese vacation hotspot. I can't see how this can get any better, but that seems to be a reoccurring theme.