It was a quiet start to the day on the Mekong River, Vietnam with another superb sunrise on the funnel bar. The mood of the river was a little different today as it was cloudy with quite a strong breeze gusting ever now again. It did, however, keep the temperature down a few degrees.
Just after breakfast we left on local Sampans, navigating through some narrow channel until we docked at a little village called Sadec on Binh Thanh Island. Here we watched and learned how to weave rattan mats and discovered that it is much more difficult than it looks! As we wandered around this small community village we were allowed a rare, but fascinating glimpse at the genuine lifestyle of Vietnamese people. Imagine our surprise when we passed by the local barber only to find our expedition leader getting a haircut for 75 cents! We finished wandering at the local community temple and chatted with two elders who told us about their lives and happily answered our questions.
Back on Jahan for lunch and some down time, before heading out again for an afternoon tour on board Sampans to Cai Be, known as the fruit and vegetable hub of the Mekong Delta. First we past a floating market and then a beautiful French gothic cathedral, before arriving at an authentic home workshop in the little hamlet of Phu to see how rice paper, rice wine and coconut candies are made.
The day ended with a cruise down the Tien River to our destination of My Tho. The sunset farewell cocktail party and dinner was tinged with sadness as it made us realize that this was our last evening on this lovely ship.
Wow! What a wonderful voyage so far.
