We flew into Ho Chi Minh from Angkor Wat to a very modern and busy airport. The city is clean and bustling with activity. Motor scooters everywhere. There are 8 million people in this city and 4 million motor scooters. We were caught in a traffic tie up trying to reach our ship and were mind boggled at the traffic on the streets. The adults were wearing helmets (it is a law now) but the children were not. There would be 4 to sometimes 5 people on one scooter hanging on, or catching a nap on the backs of a parent. The guide said his family sleeps on the scooter when behind him but foreigners hang on for dear life. 12,000 motor scooter deaths a year previous to the new helmet law.
The next day we were booked for an 8 hour tour of the Mekong Delta. We had a 2 hour bus ride through the city and countryside and saw beautiful lily pads in the ponds in the centre boulevards, rice paddies being harvested, cattle eating on the roadside, small poor restaurants on the roadside with hammocks for free use by the motor scooter traveller. It is difficult to drive a long way on a motorized bike so you grab a bite to eat and jump into a hammock and take a nap before you jump back onto your bike and proceed with your journey.
Our guide spoke wonderful clear English and was very funny. He liked the communist government and said they are number one. They are good, help people, help the country to advance and grow. He spoke alittle about the war. There are still hand grenades, and unexploded bombs in the fields and underground. When there is new construction in the city, it is not uncommon to strike a bomb and have it explode and kill workers. Children find the grenades and play with them and they also die. So sad. The city is growing and Saigon has become one of the fastest-growing retail markets in the world.
We arrived in the Mekong Delta and boarded a longboat. We proceeded up the delta and saw many longboats with produce for sale on the boat. The owners of the boat have their laundry drying, and they may be sleeping in a hammock, while the buyers come by in their boats to purchase the fruit, veggies, and fish. We loved the longboat experience because it was so nice and cool to be on the water in the 38 C weather. We then came to a farmer's house and toured it. After the tour, we entered his garden and sat under the many fruit trees and had tea with fruit. There were mango, plum, pommelo fruit, lemon etc. We then walked to the back of the house and walked through the back of a village to see some of the homes on land. After this, we took a tour of a roasted rice factory that made sweet popcorn rice. It was fascinating to see how they popped the rice, cleaned it, added coconut juice, honey and sugar and mixed it with the popped rice to make a great treat that sells in the market places. We also saw how they made rice paper. Then off to the restaurant to have a typical Vietnamese lunch. Along journey home and called it a day.
Next day we took a city tour of the city. The other people at our table went to see the underground tunnels used by the Viet Cong. They had tour guides who said that the communist government is not so good but they can only say that on the bus. The people who went on this tour also had to listen to some propaganda film showing the bad side of the Americans. It was quite embarrassing for them to listen to.
It was very interesting to see how far along this country has come and is moving at a great pace. Our guide said they want to become another Singapore. They sure are doing a good job of it. It is a much cleaner city, not as much poverty and very modern in the new areas. The countryside is poor but many houses have TV antennas. In fact, most homes that have electricity have TVs and they are experiencing faster growth than Cambodia. But we must remember that Cambodia just finished a 30 year civil war and has only been at peace for the last 10 years.
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