This morning we were driven to the bus station by our hotel where we purchased our $5 tickets for the 3 hour ride to Can Tho, about 80 miles from Saigon, in the Mekong Delta. We didn't know what to expect, but were pleasantly surprised to find the bus was very clean and new. The air conditioning worked great and they passed out cold towels and water to each passenger, plus a certificate for $1.00 off lunch at the rest stop. That may not sound like much, but it's actually more than half off the price of a lunch.
We arrived at the Can Tho station about 15 minutes ahead of schedule, so we asked one of the clerks to call Hung to let him know we had arrived. We were told he was on his way. He showed up a few minutes later on his motorcycle and gave us the choice of riding with him and a taxi motorcycle or hiring a cab. We decided to live dangerously, so I hopped on the back of Hung's bike and Augie got on with the taxi-cycle and off we went on the 8 kilometer ride to Hung's house. Luckily, Can Tho is not as big a city as Saigon, so it wasn't very scary at all.
When we arrived at Hung's place, he directed us to Cabin #5, across the street from the main house. There was one other couple there already, from Austria. After settling in and taking some pictures of our surroundings (the cabins sit right on a busy river) and greeting the local children who come around to check out the western visitors, Hung came to collect us in his boat to take us on a cruise up the river to visit some of the local craftspeople. First stop was to a shop where women were weaving the mats they sleep on. They can whip out 6 to 8 mats a day, depending on the quality.
Next we visited a knife maker. He hand made the handles from wood and the blades from spring steel. He was using the bottom of an artillary shell as an anvil.
The last stop was a family who makes rice wine (happy water). The family was celebrating the anniversary of the death of the grandfather. We were told they don't celebrate birthdays in Vietnam, but rather the death date of family members going back several generations. They were having a feast and kept handing us tangerines and glasses of beer and shots of rice wine. Good times!
About the time we arrived back at the cabins, another group had arrived. There were 2 Australians and some Dutch and Germans. We all went to our cabins and relaxed a bit, but Augie and I were invaded by a couple of imps from the neighborhood who came into our room and climbed all over Augie as he lay on our bed tinkering with his camera. They made him take their pictures, then they wanted to see the pictures. Then the boy wanted to learn how to operate the camera and he caught on pretty quickly. Soon he was scrolling through all of my pictures from the whole trip, ooohh-ing and ahhh-ing at what he saw.
At 6:45 we were all invited to the outside dining area where we were all instructed on how to roll egg rolls. We shared a table with the two Austrians and the two Australians. The egg rolls were fried up for our dinner and plate after plate of goodies were brought out for us to enjoy. First, they showed us how to take a slice of rice paper, load it with lettuce, green beans, and fish, roll it up like a burrito, dip it in some sauce and enjoy. It was delicious. There was also chicken, tofu, and rice. Later, Hung broke out the Happy Water. It was in a plastic bag, and he showed us how to puncture the bag with a chopstick and fill the shot glasses without spilling a drop. We all drank a toast to our host.
Hung asked us how we thought the locals were able to get clean clothes from the dirty water of the river. He brought out a pan of water from the river which, of course, was brown in color. Then he showed us a chunk of rock with looked like crystal. He said it was Alum, and he began to swirl it in the pan of water. Within a few minutes, the water began to clear. The Alum makes all the dirt particles clump together and sink to the bottom. Then you can skim off the clear water and use it to do your laundry. You still have to boil it to drink it, though.
Hung is a lot of fun and full of information. His English is excellent. We all turned in early because tomorrow he says we start our day at 5:50 am!
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