Vietnam 5 - Can Tho Floating Markets

Thursday we three got up and onto a boat at 5:30, lots of stilt houses and boats selling giant fruit.  Our guide didn't speak much English but was cheerful enough.  Ate lots of fresh fruit from the market, bought sweet coffee from a boat, our guide made us some insects and flowers out of leaves.  Think plant origami.  Grabbed lunch (and beer), stole some milkmelon from the restaurant garden and saw lots of other fruit growing - did everyone else realise pineapple grows straight up out of the ground?!  Maybe I'm the last to know..

Got talking to another boat group by the market when one of the other boat ladies started hitting me!  So here I am, floating along a river in rural Vietnam, being slapped by an old toothless lady boat driver, despite the language difficulties I decided to deal with this carefully and quietly.  Not.  I actually started shouting to her about our children and that a bad honeymoon night wasn't the end of our marriage.  I don't know if she understood but next time she saw us she hit me again.  I think that means she liked me :-P

Next stop was the rice paper factory where we found out how they make the round wraps.  Lots of the kids only go to school in the morning still so they can help out their parents at their work.  It was cool to see the rice paper drying out in the sun.  Back onto the river and we made our way back into town.  
Grabbed a couple beers and then got a late bus back into Saigon and immediately went back for beer and DELICIOUS PUMPKIN JUNGLE CURRY!  Wow, it was good.  Sat in the warm evening drinking cold beer and fending off street venders - whatever they offered first they'd switch to something else if you refused.  "You wan book?" Nope "Lady?" Nope "Marijuana?" Well....  The restaurants and bars in the backpack area had set up kids tables and chairs along a road, it was  fun and super busy for a Thursday.  Until the police showed up and everyone scrambled!

Vietnam 3 - Phu Quoc Christmas

Tuesday - we got up bright and early and exchanged presents.  Enjoyed the sunrise from the balcony and the hot weather while eating a quick snack breakfast.  A van picked us up super early then to head out snorkelling.  First stop on the way was a pearl farm - I hadn't realised that they open them up when they're young and insert a "nucleus bead" around which the pearl shell forms.  After a couple years they open them again, remove the pearl and insert another bead.  That's it for this weeks Pearl Farming Lecture!

Next we hit the boat, headed up to the top to sunbathe and went out to a few floating villages.  At one we stopped and hopped onto a floating market boat which had big nets floating out in the water full of fish.  Our guide got us sea urchins and we headed out to this lovely bay to fish.  For first time fishermen Matt and I weren't bad - he caught 2 and I caught 4!  Guess the little fishies wanted to be on my little dishie!  

It was a first for me snorkelling too, felt great to be out amongst the reefs and to see all the fish in their natural habitat.  Lunch consisted of honey glazed fish (including those we'd caught) and sea urchin (if you don't know it's that prickly thing).  I don't know whose idea it was originally that the animal inside might be delicious with peanuts if you manage to cut it open without spiking yourself in the hand.  It was certainly tasty.  We moved around, saw more floating villages, scuba diving and then landed back on shore.

Last stop for the tour was the south-eastern tip called Sao Beach.  It was spectacular, took a couple funny panoramic photos, had a beer on the beach and relaxed.  A little swimming to cool off and it was back to the main town.  
Again we went to the night market, met up with a fellow traveller (he'd got himself in a motorcycle accident and definitely needed a beer!) and enjoyed the best fish and chips I've ever eaten.  Walked along the beach at sunset and booked a moped for the next morning.  Update: Worked out how to upload panoramic photos. Enjoy!