March 7th, 2017 - Vietnam Tour

This was another early morning as we needed to make the long journey back to
the ship in Phu My. A lot of time spent in the vehicle in order to get back
in time, no interstates in this part of the country.

Along the way we drove through Sa Dec, known for all the flowers they grow
and supply to the surrounding regions and the "lovers old house", from a
novel about a romance between a Chinese man and French woman with an unhappy
ending.

The Delta towns along the Mekong River are known as the breadbasket of
Vietnam connected by the water highways and byways of the Mekong Delta which
after meandering through Southern Vietnam empties into the South China Sea
through nine branches known as the Cuu Long - its rivers, channels and
canals irrigate an area as large as Holland, spreading over rice fields that
produce three crops a year.

The people were lovely and work hard, but when they rest, they really rest -
laying in a relaxing hammock instead of sitting in a chair at the sideway
cafes. It was lovely to get a glimpse of life and customs here and spend so
much time actually on the river watching as the barges, ferries and sampans
sailed by. In many ways it was like taking a step back in time.

March 6th, 2017 - Vietnam Tour

This morning we headed to Chau Doc via Long Xuyen through the rich and wet
delta rice fields.

Along the way we made a stop at an alligator farm. There were so many, that
in some of the enclosures, it looked like a mosh pit. Pretty exciting to
watch these bad boys scramble for the food - they are not in to sharing.

Chau Doc is seven miles East of the Cambodian border with a mixed population
of Vietnamese, Khmer, Cham and Chinese people. Consequently this region has
a bizarre mix of pagodas, temples and mosques. This frontier town was one of
the last to be settled by the Vietnamese and is said to still retain some of
its "wild wooliness" with smugglers on motorbikes blazing through town. We
visited a Cham community here famous for their weaving and beautiful
fabrics - some of the children here definitely were on their way to being
hooligans!

This evening we stayed at a lovely resort built in the side of the hill
about halfway up Sam Mountain. At the top of the mountain one can take in
the views at an old military base with some shrines cared for by locals.

At the foot of the Sam Mountain is Tay Au Pagoda, a colorful, traditional
Buddhist shrine dating back to 1847 and restored in 1958. Further up the
road is the Ba Chua Xu Temple where many make the pilgrimage to pray to a
local goddess known as the Holy Lady. This lady is on no diet, evident by
the abundant amounts of food being brought to her. I always wondered what
they do with all this food at these temples when so many around these parts
of the world seem to be needy. I finally asked and was told that the gifts
of food do not go to waste and are donated to feed starving children.

Headed back to our lovely accommodations halfway up the mountain, had the
first "Western" meal since leaving the ship in Hong Kong and sat by the pool
watching the sun go down.