Today we woke up bright and early for our day at the Mekong Delta! I have been very excited for this day since we got the itinerary for our trip. The bus ride was 2 hours, but it went by very fast because we spent it singing karaoke. When we arrived to the dock, it was pouring rain. We all were given ponchos to keep dry, but they didn’t work much and I still got fairly wet.

From the dock, we boarded a boat to cross the river. The boat gave us a great view of the river and the surrounding landscape. From the boat we sat down at these tables for honey tea and dried banana, which was delicious. During our tea break, there were honeybees and very large snakes that we were able to hold. When I put the snake around my neck, he tried to reach his tail into my shorts!

Next, we walked through a marketplace where locals were husking coconuts to make coconut candy, which is one of my favorite things I have eaten on this trip so far. It was so good that I bought a pack of it to bring back with me to the states. There were also these really cool bottles of wine that had snakes and scorpions in them!

Next, we headed to another seating area where we enjoyed more honey tea and fresh local fruits. My favorite was the guava. After, we got on a horse and buggy, which reminded me of Amish people back home, and rode to the area where we boarded canoes to ride around on the river ways. When we got off the buggy, we saw a chicken!

The canals were so beautiful and it was very peaceful to ride around and see all of the scenery. After our canal journey we walked to our final destination: lunch. As we were walking, was saw these big bubbles that tourists could go into on the water, like a hamster ball, which looked like a fun time. When we got to the restaurant , the tables were packed with incredible looking food, and as I was starving I couldn’t wait to dig in. There was a whole fish, Vietnamese salads, squid, chicken, eel, and other amazing Vietnamese dishes. Everything was so fresh and delicious. My favorite dish was the noodle salad.

With full bellies, everyone was eager to try the big bubbles that we saw earlier. At first, I just sat back and watched everyone else fall and stumble around on the water. I was reluctant to go, but after convincing I caved in and went into the bubbles. It was so hot and stuffy in there, but it was still a good time to try and stand up in the bubble. Then, it was finally time to go. We walked back to the dock where we boarded a boat to go back across the river to the bus. On the boat, we drank from coconuts and sang even more karaoke.

Overall, today was my favorite day thus far, and it was an incredible experience to see what we have been learning about. It was a little bit of a culture shock to see where these people live because it is so much different from what I am used to in Pennsylvania. The Mekong area is very beautiful, but also very underdeveloped. With the rainy season coming, it is easy to see how it will affect the amount of revenue that the locals will earn, with less tourists to come and buy their goods and go on tours.

Visiting the Mekong delta was an eye opening and very fun day. I can’t wait for tomorrow, where we will visit the Cu Chi tunnels!