Today, we had another exciting adventure visiting the Mekong Delta and shopping in Vietnam. Waking up at 6:00 in the morning, everyone slowly made their way to breakfast to have a nice buffet. I, personally, was happy that there was some regular, American food aside from the pig’s womb, stomach, brain, and ear last night. After eating a plate full of pastries, scrambled eggs, and fried rice, I went back up to my room and got ready for our trip to Mekong Delta. The bus ride, to the delta, took about an hour and a half but wasn’t as dreadful as I thought. Soojin and I got the honor of being able to sit at the front of the bus and saw all the traffic. Vietnam, I would say from the traffic, is an exciting country. With hardly any proper traffic lights and signs, the staggering numbers of mopeds and cars just go about honking and weaving around the streets.
After driving for some time, we finally reached our destination: the Mekong Delta. Coming to the delta, we arrived at port and were told that a boat was coming to take us on a tour. While waiting, a lot of us decided to buy traditional, Vietnamese hats for 15,000 VND and boarded the boat. Walking to the dock, I noticed that the boat we were riding was made out of wood and had a simple motor. While taking a seat on the benches in the boat, we were greeted by a Vietnamese tour guide who introduced herself as Flower. Speaking English fairly well, our tour guide briefed us about the Mekong Delta and said that the delta was constituted of four islands: unicorn, dragon, turtle, and phoenix. Yet, due to our schedule, she told us that we were going to only visit Unicorn and Dragon Island to the see a coconut factory, drink some honey tea, and take boat ride down the Mekong River. Arriving first at Unicorn Island, we were given the opportunity to see an actual coconut factory and learn about the process to making the candy. I, in particular, took notice of how fast the workers were able to wrap and package the candy. Looking at one of the woman’s hand, she wrapped the individual candies in the rice paper within a matter of seconds. Looking around the factory, our tour guide then turned our attention to table stacked with candies and asked if we were willing to buy some. With everyone wanting to buy some candy, we crowded around the tables and asked about the different flavors they had. Explaining the various type of candy, our tour guide recommended that buying five packages of candy was a good amount because then you would get a sixth package for free. As everyone took up the offer, we all came out of the factory mostly with six packs of candy.
Shortly after coming out of the factory, we headed over to the next hut on the island to try some honey tea. I must say that the tea was extremely good and tasteful, even though I am not much of a fan of sweet things. While sipping some of the tea, Mr. Dang decided to hand out some of the dolls and clothes we brought. It was a matter seconds before people starting crowding and peeking over Mr. Dang’s shoulder to see the items that were in the boxes. As Mr. Dang began distributing the items, the people got more and more excited and started to dig into the boxes themselves. Sitting at a table and drinking my tea, I was amazed at how desperate and happy the people were to be getting dolls, clothes, toothpaste, and other objects as well.
Moving on with our tour, we went down to the Mekong River to ride boats similar to that of a gondola. With three people per boat, we systematically paddled out into the water. The boat ride was very peaceful and took about fifteen minutes. Going down the river, we were able to appreciate the natural environment and see some of the rural houses that were built over the water. After coming out of the river, we then hopped onto to our tour boat and sailed back to the dock. On our way back, the tour guide entertained us by telling stories and even got a couple of the kids to sing with the microphone on the boat. We had Miranda and Courtney sing Beyonce and got Courtney and Leilani to sing Hannah Montana. Arriving at the dock, we thanked our tour guide and boarded our bus to go back to the hotel.
Back at the hotel, the chaperones allowed us to break up into groups and go shopping. My group decided to the go to the market place. It was during our shopping that I learned that bargaining with the Vietnamese is not easy. At one shop, my group decided to buy some pirated DVD for a dollar and bargained with the owner to reduce the price. We repeatedly handed each other the calculator to show the price we wanted and even threatened them that we weren’t going to buy the DVD if they were unwilling to give us a discount. It took about thirty minutes before the owner decided to give us the price we wanted. Overall, I would say that my Vietnam experience has been great and am looking forward to go ostrich riding tomorrow!
The trip to the Mekong Delta on our second day was a very memorable experience. The bus ride to the river took around an hour and a half and we took a tourist boat to two islands, Unicorn Island and Dragon Island. On the first island we visited a coconut candy factory where we learned the process of cutting the coconuts, making the actual candy, and the packaging process. Everyone in our group ended up buying coconut candies because they was so tasty and were a good deal. The friendly locals greeted us and this year we decided to bring some of the collected items to give to them. Mr. Dang gave a stuffed animal to one child and within a matter of minutes, kids and adults started swarming up to Mr. Dang to get a stuffed animal. It was interesting to see that the locals, even the adults and the elders preferred stuffed animals and dolls to personal hygiene products and more practical items. When Mr. and Mrs. Dang passed out the stuffed animals, the villagers’ were overjoyed to receive these items and they constantly expressed their gratitude. I was surprised to find out that the profits the villagers earned from our candy purchases were the equivalent of almost a months profit. This experience to the Mekong Delta made me realize how fortunate I am to live in a place where education and living essentials such as food, shelter, and water are available to almost all people. These locals seemed content with their stuffed animals and I was welcomed with open arms. I was also amazed to find that the Vietnamese could withstand the hot, humid weather. While everyone in the group wore short sleeve shirts and shorts and were constantly fanning themselves when they were not in the air condition, the locals wore long sleeves and long pants while outside in the sun. Most of people in Vietnam ride mopeds instead of cars and the road stoplight system here fascinated me. Everyone seemed to know how to avoid certain areas of the road and weave in and out of the other cars and mopeds. The stoplights are not advanced but people seemed to know what to do in difficult, and rather sticky traffic situations. This trip has definitely opened my eyes to the things I took granted and it has humbled myself. Even the most minute things I consider trivial hold great value and significance to the Vietnamese and this made me appreciate everything I have in my life that most people in the world lack.
Thoughts by Stanley:
Today (March 23) we went to the Mekong Delta, a couple hours away from Ho Chi Min city (though I’m not too sure; I was sleeping on the bus the whole time). Among the more notable things we did there were visiting a “coconut factory” place and taking a relaxing drift down a small side river. Several boxes were donated to the residents of the islands we visited as well. One word can effectively describe my experience in the Mekong Delta (and I think the others will agree): HOT. It was basically a sauna, and I think it’s safe to say that everybody had waterfalls of perspiration cascading down their faces.
The coconut factory we visited was on Unicorn Island, but there were other factories on the other islands as well. The coconuts are made into small bite-sized candies, and nothing goes to waste. Everything from husk to coconut milk is used to make something, whether it be scrumptious candies or a coconut milk drink. The candies are all handmade— no assembly lines involved—and the creation of a single candy takes hours of delicate work and constant attention. No wonder they’re so delicious! I bought 12 packages yesterday, and sorry, mom, but I don’t think any candies are going to manage to enter the USA save for the ones that will be in my stomach.
After the coconut factory and a small bit of walking, we were all able to drift down a small side river to the main river. It was very relaxing and similar to gondola riding in Venice, but for some reason I liked the sweltering hot ride on a Mekong side river compared to a nighttime ride around Venice.
On each of the islands we visited, residents flocked toward us when they saw our boxes of donations. They were so excited to see small stuffed animals and other items. What we take for granted put huge grins on everybody there; from infants to adults. It was a humbling experience, and one that I would be more than willing to relive.
Finally, when we were on the bus about to head back to Ho Chi Minh city, Mrs. Dang told us that the coconut candy sales we contributed to matched previous monthly sales. So not only did we donate boxes of happiness, but we also greatly aided their local economy.
For lack of better words, the pure awesomeness of the day made up for any downfalls (like the deathly weather), and now, I’m going to eat.
Thoughts by Lauren:
Today we took a riverboat to visit the Mekong Delta, and visited several islands along the river. Visiting the Mekong Delta was an amazing adventure, and allowed us to get a taste of what it really is like to live in Vietnam.
Our day started with a delicious buffet breakfast at around 7:00. Then by 8:00 we all boarded the bus to take us to the Mekong delta. The ride was about two hours, in which time we all either took a nap, watched the moving landscape, or talked with some friends. When we finally got to the delta, we had a bit of time before getting on the boat in which we all took turns buying some refreshments or a traditional Vietnamese hat to protect us from the sun, all of which were under 17,000 VND (or about 1 US dollar).
Our first stop on the delta was a coconut factory, where we got to see how to make the delicious Vietnamese coconut factory, and had a chance to purchase some of the candy. Most of us bought about five or ten packs of candy, because for every five we got one free, which only cost us either 100,000 or 200,000 VND, which is only about 7 or 14 US dollars. We later found out that because our party was so large, and we had bought so much, our purchases alone made the coconut factory’s quota for the month. Although we hadn’t really bought very much by American standards, it had obviously been a lot to the villagers, who were living on the bare minimum, so our purchases really meant a lot to them, especially in the global economy crisis, which had lowered the number of tourists who came to Vietnam. Going the factory, not only showed us how hard the Vietnamese people worked for every Dollar, or in their case Dong, and how poor the country was, but it also showed how the economic crisis has spread through out the world, not just affecting us in America, but also those in Vietnam, who were already living in poverty.
After the coconut factory, we went to several other places on the island. First we had some honey tea at a little teashop, where they made their own honey. Then we had some local fresh fruits, while watching some of the villagers sing and dance for us. Finally we meet up with the boat by taking a gondola like canoe along a river on the island, getting to see much of the island’s foliage. Along the way Mr. Dang passed out some of the donations that we collected for the trip, and every time he opened a box or unzipped a suitcase, the villagers quickly crowded around the area, calling their friends and family over to get something. It was amazing to see how thankful the villagers were to get any type of donation, some cloths, or a little teddy bear, no matter what it was they seemed so excited to receive it.
On the next island, we took a horse drawn carriage, and visited a Buddhist grave sight. The donkey that was taking me must have been pretty excited, because once the last person in my group got on to the carriage, he just took off going about 20 miles per hour, or should I say about 32 kilometers per hour (since Vietnam, like most of the world uses the metric system). This island seemed to be quite peaceful, and relaxing, especially as we walked through the Buddhist grave sight.
As we rode back on the riverboat, our tour guide explained to us that the Vietnamese have a tradition of singing, during any activity, whether it be working in the fields, or using the WC (restroom), the Vietnamese used song to pass the time away. So because of this tradition she invited us to sing, while we rode back, and a few of us sang a wide range of songs, from Beyonce to Hannah Montana.
Over all the experience on the Mekong delta was quite fun, we all got to learn more about Vietnamese culture, and see more of the Vietnamese lifestyles.
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