Reflections by Mandy and Sophie:
DAY 2: Tuesday March 25, 2014
We got an early start today by meeting in the lobby by 7:30 to make the two hour bus ride to the Mekong Delta. On the way, we stopped at a small deli to buy some lunch. At the deli, many of us got sandwiches like the ones from Bale in Hawaii (except these were authentic Vietnamese)! I personally got a chicken sandwich and a couple of sweet bread rolls to snack on. I enjoyed the sandwich; it was slightly different from the ones at home, but more or less the same. Once we made it to the pier, many of us bought hats to wear (for less than a dollar!). Once we took a short boat ride across the river, we got off and we able to try some fresh honey tea with kumquat juice and bee pollen. It was really tasty. They also offered some dried banana, ginger, and peanut candy, which most of us ended up buying after! The next thing we did was definitely one of those "check off the bucket list" kinds of experiences. We got to hold a living, large python around our neck!!! It was so insane! It's kind of hard to describe what it felt like, but it was definitely not soft like a teddy bear. After we all took pictures with the python, we got back on the boat and went to another part of the village where they made coconut candy. Our tour guide showed and explained to us how they made the candy, and we got to sample some that was hot and fresh! It was really good and I think we all bought some to take home, so you can look forward to that when we get home parents! J. This part of the village was also where we began to give out stuffed animals to the children. It was really interesting to see how many of the adults were even coming up and asking for something that many of us don't really think of as such a novelty.
Today we went to the Mekong Delta. We did lots of cool activities there like hold a python, learn how to make coconut candy, go on a row boat, and go on a carriage ride. We also tried many exotic fruits and teas. It was a very exciting day! Just from walking around the island I realized how different it was then from at home and even Saigon, where we are staying.
The boat ride was pretty long and two people from the village rowed the boat. The boat we were on was rowed by a young looking boy and a middle age lady. They didn't look very happy or even smile once. Since the village is poor they kept pushing us to give them a tip. The path the boat went on was very narrow, and along the river were the houses the people lived in. There were many variety of houses but all were very small. The boat ride was long and peaceful. The water was brown and muddy and we couldn't see the bottom. It looked like a scene from a movie.
The carriage ride was on the only paved road that I saw on the island. There was three different carriages for the fifteen of us. The carriage was small and fit five of us plus the driver. It was blue and looked like a smaller hay tide truck without hay. A small white horse galloped surprisingly fast. The driver was, in my opinion, very cruel to the horse because every time it slowed down a little, he would hit the horse and grunt something. It seemed very mean but I guess that is what is the normal there.
Today we went to the Mekong Delta. We did lots of cool activities there like hold a python, learn how to make coconut candy, go on a row boat, and go on a carriage ride. We also tried many exotic fruits and teas. It was a very exciting day! Just from walking around the island I realized how different it was then from at home and even Saigon, where we are staying.
The boat ride was pretty long and two people from the village rowed the boat. The boat we were on was rowed by a young looking boy and a middle age lady. They didn't look very happy or even smile once. Since the village is poor they kept pushing us to give them a tip. The path the boat went on was very narrow, and along the river were the houses the people lived in. There were many variety of houses but all were very small. The boat ride was long and peaceful. The water was brown and muddy and we couldn't see the bottom. It looked like a scene from a movie.
The carriage ride was on the only paved road that I saw on the island. There was three different carriages for the fifteen of us. The carriage was small and fit five of us plus the driver. It was blue and looked like a smaller hay tide truck without hay. A small white horse galloped surprisingly fast. The driver was, in my opinion, very cruel to the horse because every time it slowed down a little, he would hit the horse and grunt something. It seemed very mean but I guess that is what is the normal there.
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