March 1 Ben Tre (Mekong Delta)

This morning we took the bikes and went out for a ride again. In the afternoon we took a boat trip through the delta. There were only the 2 of us, but we had a crew of three: A captain, a young boy who was jack of all trades, and a young girl who spoke English. The captain was a bit shaky, the young girl could speak English but she couldn’t understand a word we said, and the young boy was a delight to watch. Before we even got to the boat he was knocking fruit off the trees for me to eat. We cruised some of the smaller rivers and then stopped at a tourist spot where they made coconut candy. Again it is similar to maple sugar. They boil the coconut milk down to fudge. Because it’s so sticky they wrap it in rice paper and you eat the whole thing, rice paper and all. At the same spot I had my picture taken with my pet boa constrictor and we had a singing group give us a concert. About 8 musicians for 2 guests. Next we looked for water coconuts and the young boy put on a show. He was hacking, testing, and jumping on and off the boat until he found the perfect ripeness. He then cut off a bunch, but they fell into the water so he jumped in after them. Then because he was wet he went under the boat to do some work, then he hacked open the water coconuts and fed us. Ten kilos of water coconuts gives enough to feed 2 people. We visited fish farms, museums, shrines and then the sun set. We motored slowly home until we found a tree full of fireflies. Then the young boy hopped into action again and filled a jar full of fireflies for Joan. Either he’s fast or the fireflies are slow. We slept the next 2 nights with the bottle of fireflies in our room.