Mekong Delta and Ho Chi Minh with a Little Help from Strangers

The next day was meant to be our last day in Ho Chi Minh.  We had booked the Mekong Delta tour for the day, and then were going to hop on a bus or train (as of yet, unbooked) out of town.  We naturally woke up early again, which was convenient, because our tour started at 7:30am.  We were out in front of the tour agency, breakfast in hand on time…and then had to wait 30 minutes until the bus arrived.  There were about ten other people on the bus, and we made our way south for a few hours to a small motor boat, where we were all shuttled out to Unicorn Island.  Everyone hopped off the boat into Tourist Central.  We all followed the crowd meandering through market stalls where locals showcased their handicrafts, fruits and veggies, and we sat at a table and ate some tropical fruits, listening to traditional music until we were ready to go.  The group waited in a bit of line to board smaller motor boats on an outcrop of the Mekong Delta while I strolled up and down the river a bit looking at all the boat traffic, and it was comically ridiculous.  There were a massive amount of boats all cramped into this teenie part of the river, going every which way, bumping and slamming into one another in an attempt to get passed.  When our boat arrived, Nicole, myself, and two other people boarded and were provided fun traditional Non la hats while we slowly boated down the river flanked by palm trees to Dragon Island.  We all disembarked our boats and sat at small tables to sample local foods from the island.  The people on Unicorn Island were known for their bee products, so we tried a tea with honey, lime and pollen (which was very strong and I thought didn’t have a great flavor), and some coconut wine.  We also tried and then bought small bags of dried banana chips with sesame seeds and coconut.  The locals got everyone involved, allowing us to hold a honey tray covered in bees, and lastly a Boa…Constrictor…the snake.  Nicole held the Boa first, saying she had done it before and took it like a champ. 

I then got the nerve to hold the stupid thing, which I handled less like a champ.  The pictures are pretty comical, but everyone just giggled as it started to wrap its head up around my neck!  I could feel the snake’s head by my neck, and no one grabbed it!  It felt like an eternity, and I was half a breath away from hyperventilating, but finally the locals grabbed the snake and took it off.  Soooo funny guys!  For our last stop of the day, we got back on the motor boat and floated over to Coconut Island, where we got to try rice wine, snake wine, and some handmade coconut candies before lunch.  We hopped up into a horse drawn cart and trotted through the town a bit to a restaurant on the other side of the island for a simple meal of rice, sautéed veggies, chicken and spring rolls.  After lunch, we had about 30 minutes, during which we grabbed some of the free bicycles the restaurant provided and rode through town and some of the back streets, until we approached a house and two crazed dogs bolted out toward us, barking and snapping their teeth as we hauled A** as fast as possible back out of the neighborhood.  That was sort of the end of our riding around, plus we didn’t want to get too lost meandered through all the little walking paths, so we headed back to the restaurant to leave.  Despite the bikes being free, I think we were the only people that took advantage, so we all rounded up and headed back to the boats and over to the mainland where our bus waited.  Everyone seemed to nap on the ride back to the city, arriving around dusk. 

We had already checked out of our hostel, and headed over to a tour company to arrange an overnight train or bus up north.  What we did not anticipate was the huge tourist migration around Vietnam due to the holiday.  We tried several different agencies and every one informed us that buses and trains up north were booked for close to a week!  There was no way to get out of the city that night.  There was also no chance of being able to stay in the city, because everything was booked out.  Oh, nooooooo.  O Lord.  Plan?  :/  And then, salvation!  For the past few days, I had been in communication with...this may be hard to follow…a friend of my third brother’s childhood best friend’s older brother, who happened to live in Ho Chi Minh.  Did you get that?  You may have to read that a few times.  Anyway, her name was Elizabeth and she had initially offered to host me when she thought I was traveling by myself, but felt more comfortable when she found out I was with Nicole.  Apparently, the exchange between the family friend and her was something along the lines of “you can’t let her stay in that area.  She comes from a good family!”  I didn’t seem to think anything was overtly wrong with the area where we stayed, but we were also going to bed at 9pm.  Anyway, we had been playing email tag for the past few days, and were supposed to meet for a drink that evening before our bus/train out of town.  I was able to phone her, and asked if she wouldn’t mind housing us for one evening, seeing as how everything was booked.  She immediately agreed, even saying “is it ok if you share a king sized bed?”  Teeheehee, silly rabbit.  The poor woman was basically a hostel for a few days anyway; apparently, her daughter’s tennis coach had been staying at a hotel on a weekly basis, but had been kicked out for the weekend for higher paying customers to come.  I felt pretty bad springing it on her at the last minute, but was thankful she was so hospitable.  We quick ran back to the tour company and booked a flight for the next day and a hotel for one night that was a bit more expensive than we wanted to pay, but we agreed it would probably only be for one night, when we could walk around and find something cheaper.  We then hopped in a cab with our bags.  I had zero idea where the area was, and after trying to repeat the exact phrase Elizabeth told me to the cab driver, it was clear he didn’t either.  The cabbie did allow us to use his phone though to call Elizabeth, and she was able to explain the directions to him.  We drove outside of the heart of the city, and had to ask directions several different times, with a few U-turns before we found her house, or villa as it’s actually called.  Her husband, Matthew came out to meet us and showed in to their huge beautiful home.  We got to stay in a big room with a big bed and a nice bathroom.  What luxury!  And only three days into our trip haha.  We met the homeless tennis instructor, and with Elizabeth and Matthew’s daughter Luxi, we all sat down to a nice dinner of burgers and fries from their favorite hamburger joint.  After dinner, we sat around the table chatting for a few hours, sipping on some of Matthew’s Johnnie Walker before calling it a night. 

We were supposed to spend the night on a bus, so I think at least for that night, we definitely upgraded thanks to the overwhelming generosity of strangers!