Saturday (22:23 Nov 3) - Today was mostly spent on the road. We went to see some of Anh's relatives. We just got in and are bushed. Will fill in the details later. God answers prayer. We made it back alive.
All rested and coffee'd up; here's a recap of Saturday.
Our day started out slower than expected. The ride we had arranged didn't show. So we had time to drink Cafe sua da (Iced coffee) and meet people on our little back alley. Cafe Sua costs about 5,000 VND or 30 cents US. Starbucks will never make it here!
We visited with a woman who has been selling food on the street corner every day since she was nineteen. That was in 1970. So she has been there on that same corner everyday since about the time I went into the Navy. Her existence is meager by our standards, but she was cheerful and kind.
I also met a couple of Australian tourists on their last day here. He is a retired history teacher and his companion was an adviser in the gov't.
The van arrived and off we went around 11:00. Getting out of town takes a fair amount of time what with traffic, construction and all. Mostly it's the traffic, but I can't describe it; you must see to believe. There is so much construction going on here; bridges, roads, buildings and levys.
We went SW to Me Tho province to a place called Dong Tam where we met one of Anh's cousins and picked up one of her aunts to accompany us on the day's journey. There I saw a 'fish egg tree' and ate some of its fruit. It was good. They also harvested a clump of what turns into seeds from a low growing palm tree. The fruit was white like a Lichee and they scooped it out with a spoon. The one clump yielded a pint or two of the edible stuff.
Then we went to Dong Thap province to a place called Thien Ho It is remote, and right on a river. To get from the town (I guess you'd call it a town) to Anh's Aunt's house there is a narrow trail. To far too walk; so we ride on the back of a Honda. At one point I was pretty certain my driver and I were going in the river, but grace prevailed. We visited this place last year too. Her aunt is in her 80's and showing the miles, but she was glad to see us and a gracious hostess. She is surrounded by kids, grandkids and great grandkids.
Leaving there we went to Vinh Long province thru the city of Vinh Long (where Anh gave birth to Tony) and proceeded to a city by a river. I think the name of the city was Long Ho, but I'm not sure. We were there to see Chi Hanh's floating fish farm.
To get there we boarded a narrow motor boat and he took us across the river. It's an interesting operation. It has TV and a place to cook and sleep. They even have a dog which looked like it was starved for attention to me. When they throw the fish food into the pen, it erupts into a feeding frenzy. They are raising a fish called Dieu Hong. It is a white fish and they feed it Tilapia food. Can't imagine living there 24/7 just to feed fish 3 times daily. I'm told the fish mature in about 4 months and a crop yields in excess of 6,000 kilos on the fin.
The sun was setting as we lingered there.
Sunsets and sunrises are so beautiful here! Then we motored back and left for our dinner. Dinner for six cost us about $12.00 USD. Our driver was golden; stuck with us all day long and was thoughtful of our comfort. His name is Sum. I fell asleep on the return trip. I was glad to be out of the van, one gets weary of riding after a while. Our transportation costs yesterday were 1,000,000 VND plus 100,000 VND tip and his meals (in USD that's about $65.00. FYI, before the fall of Saigon in 1975 the exchange rate was approx 500 VND to 1 USD.
Sum will be driving us to Phat Thiet today. He will stay with us at the house and then tomorrow drive us to Nha Trang with Max and Yoly.
All rested and coffee'd up; here's a recap of Saturday.
Our day started out slower than expected. The ride we had arranged didn't show. So we had time to drink Cafe sua da (Iced coffee) and meet people on our little back alley. Cafe Sua costs about 5,000 VND or 30 cents US. Starbucks will never make it here!
We visited with a woman who has been selling food on the street corner every day since she was nineteen. That was in 1970. So she has been there on that same corner everyday since about the time I went into the Navy. Her existence is meager by our standards, but she was cheerful and kind.I also met a couple of Australian tourists on their last day here. He is a retired history teacher and his companion was an adviser in the gov't.
The van arrived and off we went around 11:00. Getting out of town takes a fair amount of time what with traffic, construction and all. Mostly it's the traffic, but I can't describe it; you must see to believe. There is so much construction going on here; bridges, roads, buildings and levys.
We went SW to Me Tho province to a place called Dong Tam where we met one of Anh's cousins and picked up one of her aunts to accompany us on the day's journey. There I saw a 'fish egg tree' and ate some of its fruit. It was good. They also harvested a clump of what turns into seeds from a low growing palm tree. The fruit was white like a Lichee and they scooped it out with a spoon. The one clump yielded a pint or two of the edible stuff.
Then we went to Dong Thap province to a place called Thien Ho It is remote, and right on a river. To get from the town (I guess you'd call it a town) to Anh's Aunt's house there is a narrow trail. To far too walk; so we ride on the back of a Honda. At one point I was pretty certain my driver and I were going in the river, but grace prevailed. We visited this place last year too. Her aunt is in her 80's and showing the miles, but she was glad to see us and a gracious hostess. She is surrounded by kids, grandkids and great grandkids.Leaving there we went to Vinh Long province thru the city of Vinh Long (where Anh gave birth to Tony) and proceeded to a city by a river. I think the name of the city was Long Ho, but I'm not sure. We were there to see Chi Hanh's floating fish farm.
To get there we boarded a narrow motor boat and he took us across the river. It's an interesting operation. It has TV and a place to cook and sleep. They even have a dog which looked like it was starved for attention to me. When they throw the fish food into the pen, it erupts into a feeding frenzy. They are raising a fish called Dieu Hong. It is a white fish and they feed it Tilapia food. Can't imagine living there 24/7 just to feed fish 3 times daily. I'm told the fish mature in about 4 months and a crop yields in excess of 6,000 kilos on the fin.The sun was setting as we lingered there.
Sunsets and sunrises are so beautiful here! Then we motored back and left for our dinner. Dinner for six cost us about $12.00 USD. Our driver was golden; stuck with us all day long and was thoughtful of our comfort. His name is Sum. I fell asleep on the return trip. I was glad to be out of the van, one gets weary of riding after a while. Our transportation costs yesterday were 1,000,000 VND plus 100,000 VND tip and his meals (in USD that's about $65.00. FYI, before the fall of Saigon in 1975 the exchange rate was approx 500 VND to 1 USD.Sum will be driving us to Phat Thiet today. He will stay with us at the house and then tomorrow drive us to Nha Trang with Max and Yoly.
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