We boarded the minibus at 8:30 for a trip to the Mekong Delta. We had no reservations and no firm plans, just 4 days to wander the delta. I had a business card from the bus company and a brochure from the hotel at which I wanted to stay. The clerk at the bus company boarded the bus to tell the driver where to let us off and passed on the name of the hotel. I was pretty sure I could find the place since it was so close to where we got off the ferry. However a new bridge has opened and the ferry doesn’t run anymore. The driver told us where to get off and handed our bag to a motorcycle taxi with instructions and Joan and I were on two motorcycle taxis again. This time my driver ha,d our one large suitcase in his teeth. Okay not really the suitcase, just the name tag because it kept flapping in his face. We arrived at the hotel safe and sound and spent the afternoon biking through the delta. The Mekong Delta is the breadbasket of Vietnam. All of it seems cultivated and crisscrossed with canals and rivers. The Mekong River has 8 major and several minor outlets to the ocean. When biking you cross a river every 200 meters. We were riding along narrow roads, paved paths and dirt paths. The whole time we passed house after house. If we weren’t in a small village, each house had about an acre of garden or orchard. Some houses were poor - some seemed incredibly rich. These mansions were only accessible by motorbike, there was no way a car could travel these paths. We finished our day with a supper of elephant ear fish.
Note to TimG: The bicycle was a 1 speed, calliper brake, low tire pressure model that hadn’t seen an oil can in 5 years. On my second trip my front carrier basket fell off and dropped my yogurt and apples in the middle of the road. When I got it all collected and went to ride home, I discovered my back brake was broken. So I carried the basket in my right hand and used the front brake only.
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