Our short weekend getaway to the Mekong River/Delta region started with a 3 hour bus ride at 7:45 AM to get to our resort in Can Tho city. On our way there and on our way back, we stopped at a large and busy rest stop so we could get drinks, snacks, and go to the restroom; our guide Tuan often refers to this as “singing a song,” and he also refers to us crossing the road as a group as “sticky rice,” since we all have to stick together and move as one. Once we got to the resort, we immediately headed to its restaurant for lunch – the food, per usual, was delicious! We fed our leftovers to the numerous fish in the little river surrounding the dining area, and I got a little freaked out by just how many fish were swimming towards us for food. We then checked into our rooms and rested for a couple of hours before we headed over to our first activity of the weekend: underwater team-building games!
We had to change into áo bà ba, which is a traditional southern Vietnamese outfit, mostly associated with the rural Mekong Delta region, and I believe it is also what farmers there usually wear. All of us were incredibly sweaty because of the combination of the heat, humidity, and the áo bà ba’s long sleeves. Our first game, after we had been separated into 2 teams, was to play rock paper scissors, and whoever lost had to jump into the murky water. I was put up against my peer, Daphne, and lost the first round. I have to be honest, I was not the biggest fan of the squishy and wet dirt that was the ground of the pool – it was a sensory nightmare for me. After everyone on my team had lost rock paper scissors, we moved onto the second game, where we have to balance on a bridge while trying to push an opponent from the opposite team off of the bridge. At first, we weren’t allowed to use hands, but that proved to be very difficult for us, so they changed the rules so that we could use hands. I was fine at keeping my balance, but my biggest struggle was pushing my opponent off whilst keeping myself on. We played this game twice – the first round was won by the opposing team, the second round was won by my team. Our third game was to cross the pool by treading on a rope. This was by far the hardest and most confusing activity for us, as we all kept pulling the rope into the water and falling into the water, but alas, my team won! Our fourth activity was a swim race, and the competition was to be the first boy and first girl to reach the finish line. My friend Chris, who was on the swim team with me in middle school and high school, and I won in our respective competitions. Apparently, a lot of people’s pants were falling down and some even came off while racing – that is quite unfortunate! Our final activity was optional: it was to fish using traditional Vietnamese fish traps(see picture below) and I decided to participate with my friend Olivia. It took everyone a while to catch the fish, but they caught a few! After my morale went down, I asked Olivia what the telltale signs of a fish would be (it was my first time fishing haha), and approximately a minute later, I saw a fish and caught it! I did not grab it and put it into the bucket though, because it was very slimy and scared me. We headed back to the changing rooms, where everyone rinsed off the dirt and mud, and then we went back to our rooms to get ready for dinner. Our dinner was also at the restaurant, with yet again lots of options and lots to share. We ended dinner with some very entertaining karaoke, where our program’s associate director Becky and I sang “No Scrubs” and some of the boys sang an… odd, but funny song. I was exhausted after dinner and so excited to shower and go to bed.
Day 7 started bright and early at 5:30 AM so we could visit and explore the region’s floating market. The floating market is such a unique and cool concept that is very personable to this specific area and culture. Most vendors sell their products from their boats, and customers also have to take a boat to them/the rest of the market. The vendors displayed what they were selling and if we flagged them down, we would head towards each other and tie our boats together so we could make the purchases. We then docked our boat at a floating house sort-of market(it was not a boat), and walked around there. I, as well as a few other students, got a tasty milk coffee. After a few more minutes, we had to return to our boat so we could go back to the resort. On the boat ride back, we shared and ate a delectable, juicy mango, which made me question how I was going to survive the return to the western lands of not-usually-fresh fruit. Everyone grabbed breakfast, which was an omelette and bread, and then we went back to our respective rooms to pack up and check out. On our ride back to Ho Chi Minh City, we stopped at a market area in Can Tho to get some pineapple, durian, and drinks! I went to get a mango sundae from a chain store called Mixue and then met up with others at Lighthouse Cafe. From there, we got back on the bus and continued our voyage back to the Victory Hotel in HCMC. We stopped at the same rest stop as before(but on the other side of the road!) to sing a song and get more coffee, and then for the last hour of the bus ride, we sang karaoke(again!)!
This excursion was very enjoyable, but also gave us a look into the lives of rural southern Vietnamese people. Tuan told us that the people in this region are very friendly and kind, because the area has the potential for so many natural disasters and such; they believe that life is too short to not be kind. I think that this is a beautiful sentiment. To share your culture, your products, and your life with all kinds of people, whether they are local or tourists, is conducive to success (both spiritual and economic).
To end the day, my friends and I went to Pizza 4P’s and had lots of delicious food, such as crab tomato cream pasta, salmon miso cream pizza, tiramisu, and more!
