Home Visits on a Pleasant Island

Wow, I have been typing for 30 minutes and lost it all!! I am so upset. It was a good entry. The screen froze, and I hit "escape." All the print disappeared. What a catastrophe!!! I'll re-type it and and hope that I do almost as good a job as I did the first time around.

Sunday, Sept. 17, 2006--Saigon to Vinh Long

It took two taxis for me to get to the bus station this morning. One picked me up at the local travel agency beside my hotel and took me to a local bus station. Then another taxi took me from there to the regional bus station out on the edge of town. From there, we took a mini-bus to Vinh Long. I sat beside a Japanese tourist who is only here for 5 days and was going to another town beyond Vinh Long. We visited together, and we ate lunch together (steamed bun with ground meat and a boiled bird egg inside) when the bus stopped.

We were passed on the highway by an interesting funeral truck. The bed of it had a carved wooden structure. The wood was painted gold, red, green, etc. From the top of each of the four corners hung long strips of colorful fabric which had been tied into knots every few feet and were dangling in the air. In the center of the bed was a casket. And on each side of the casket were 3 men sitting in attendance, I guess.

The bus arrived at the station about 3 km (2 miles) outside the center of Vinh Long. I walked to town rather than deal with a motorcycle driver who wanted too much money. Besides, walking allowed me to get my orientation and to see the sights along the way. It was a hot day, however, and my shirt was wet with perspiration by the time I got into town. Later in the day, a motorcycle driver who had apparently seen me earlier asked if I wanted a ride. When I declined, he said I was cheap. That didn't bother me. Why should I let the drivers take advantage of me because I am a westerner. I really do see more when walking, interact with people more, and get more exercise (resulting in my losing more wieght).

My third-floor room overlooks the Co Chien River, one of the tributaries that the Mekong River breaks into within its delta. The Co Chien is a wide river, however, on its own. It's not nearly as wide as the Mekong was when I crossed it to Vientienne or when I boated up it from Vang Viang in Laos a few years ago. It has the same murky orangish-red color, however, and a rather strong current. The market is just behind my hotel, and it overspills onto the area streets. Just below my window are many women selling fruits and vegetables on the sidewalks. So the overall view is quite interesting to watch.

After taking a nap, I went out around 3 p.m. I was hungry, so I bought a sandwich at the market. It was filled with nice, crispy pieces of pork (including the skin sometimes) and wonderful pickled vegetables. This is the first area of Vietnam I have visited where everyone has big pots outside their homes like in Korea for pickling vegetables. I've seen them everywhere here.

Around 4 p.m., I ended up at a covered sidewalk cafe beside the river. I ordered iced tea, and the waiter misunderstood and brought Pepsi. Of course, the reason for the misunderstanding is that westerners do not normally have drinks with ice here. But I have been served them so many times without any consequences, that I have given into just having them anytime I want. When he understood the error, he brought the right drink--a tasty glass of iced green tea for me to drink as I watched the river and its traffic. I could see the ferry that crosses back and forth between here and An Binh Island. There were sampans going up and down the river transporting goods. There were boats going along the shore with fishermen trying to net fish. Only one other westerner (who looked as if he could be a former American soldier) was at the cafe. A Japanese tourist came in later. Most, however, were Vietnamese people enjoying the river themselves.

Just before 6 p.m., I left the cafe to walk along the riverside promenade. I had noticed a large crowd had come out to observe the sunset, so I thought I would walk among them and be friendly with them while watching it myself. It's nice that so many people still come out for such a natural event. Of course, the cool breeze coming across the river is probably a factor in bringing them out, too. I said hello to many people, but I really visited with only one--a young guy dressed as if he may work at a hotel. He didn't speak much English, however. We stood together and watched as the sky turned pinkish-orange with blue clouds on the sides. He suggested when he thought I should take a photo--when a pair of sampans were crossing the river just ahead. I had already taken a couple of good photos. Unfortunately, it was too late for this one. Maybe, however, I can correct it with my computer when I get home.

Monday, Sept. 18, 2006--Vinh Long

It's now been one month since I left Texas, and it is 2 2/3 months before I will return. I have adjusted to the routine of traveling by now; at first, I wasn't that motivated. Now, I find each day interesting and look forward to it. I have also lost almost all the weight I had gained in Texas--probably 15 lbs (7 kg). I feel much better because of it. Besides the exercise I have been getting, the loss is due to having no sodas and eating well.

Today, I crossed the river on the ferry. An Binh Island is an interesting place. It has no roads. Instead, there are trails and canals. Some of the trails are paved with concrete, and others are just raised dirt tracks. The paved trails, however, are only the size of sidewalks--just wide enough to let two motorcycles pass at once. The trails are lined with houses, and almost every house backs up to one of the canals. There are also lots of fruit orchards on the islands. So the canals allow the boats to enter to pick up the fruits and take them out to the river to go to the markets.

I stopped first at a temple recommended by my guidebook. It had an interesting mural showing what hell would be like. There are drawings of people being tortured in various ways--boiling water being poured down throats, people being placed in pots of boiling water, a man having his tongue cut off, a woman having a stake driver through her middle, a man being sawn in half, etc. It was quite exciting!

I took a side trail for my explorations so that I would not be going where other tourists normally go. But most tourists don't walk anyway, so probably anywhere I would go would be a novelty. Most tourists either take a boat tour down the canals or they ride either a bicycle or a motorcycle. Either of the latter two ways, they pass too fast for people to interact with them. And the former way, they are too distant to the people to interact. Everyone was friendly with me, however. They would say hello and wave. They would giggle in excitement.

Two women asked me to take their photo. They were nice looking women--more prosperous looking than most on the island. I obliged them and walked a ways with them. One quickly left the trail to enter her home. Just a little ways further, the other went off on a dirt trail indicating that her home was there. I went just a little further on the trail I was following until it came to an end at the river. Lots of houseboats were in the area. I turned around and decided to take the dirt trail the woman took. Just a few houses down, she was there and motioned for me to come to her home. I took off my shoes outside where all the shoes of the family members rested. She indicated I should sit at the table. It was a simple home. There was no ceiling; I could look directly up to the metal roof which rested on the stuccoed brick walls. In the front room was a dining table with 4 chairs, an entertainment center with a TV and a stereo, and a big wooden platform in one corner which is the combination lounging area and sleeping area (according to the time of the day). I imagine the back room was only the kitchen, and that was probably all the house. She brought out a pot of tea and some small glasses and served it. We drank it and she showed me the photos of her children. Instead of pouring more tea from the pitcher, she went to the kitchen and came back with everything to make coffee. It is a unique drip system for making one glass at a time. There is a metal saucer with holes which fits over the top of the glass. On the saucer sets a small up with holes in its bottom. She spooned the coffee into the cup (3 scoops for me and only 2 for her). Then there is an insert for the cup which she used to press the coffee down (as is done for making expresso). She left the insert in the cup and poured boiling water into the cup. She placed another fitted lid on top of the cup and let it stand as the water drained through the coffee into the glass below. Eventually, the fitted lid, when turned over, became the base for placing the cup and all the other parts on the table leaving the glasses uncovered for us to drink the coffee from. It was a nice, strong coffee and an interesting experience having it in a personal home and watching it being made. Her husband and another man arrived and shook my hand. I excused myself, thanking her profusely, and continued my walking.

I passed the school for the island just as it was lunchtime for the kids. They were all lined up at stalls across the street buying snack foods to eat--banana fritters, ice cream bars, egg rolls, etc. All of them were excited to see me and wanted to say hello and ask my name. I slowly made I way through the crowd saying hello to those who wanted to talk.

Just past the school was a crossroads. I knew that going right would take me back to the ferry, so I went left to explore further away. This trail took me into older, and poorer areas of the island. I passed a small village with a few shops. There was a barber shop where the barber was working wearing no shirt--only pants. There was a butcher shop which was really just a covered outdoor table with slabs of meat placed on it. There was a small market with 4-5 women selling various fruits and vegetables. Continuing onward, the houses became shacks make of old discarded wood or of woven bamboo. Eventually, a young girl who spoke English well asked me where I was going. I told her I was just walking. I asked what was ahead, and she said I would get lost if I kept going that way. I knew I wouldn't, but I was ready to turn around anyway. The only way out was to go back the same way to the crossroads, so I did. A little ways down the path, a man motioned for me to come to his home. I removed my shoes again and stepped inside. He handed me a twig with many small, hard fruits on it. I didn't know what to do. He took a fruit and used his fingernail to split it open. The hard hull was thin and covered a grape-like fruit with one large seed in the middle. I used my teeth to extract the fruit and bite it off the seed, then I discarded the seed. I ate several of the fruits while I tried to visit with the men and women who were standing around by now. But no one really spoke more than a few words of English. The man who brought me the fruits also brought me a glass of water 3 small bananas. I knew I had to be careful with the water; I took one sip and never went back to it. But he insisted that I eat the fruits. Finally, I thanked them and excused myself to continue on the trail. It had been another good experience, however, except that I left with the feeling that maybe these people had wanted me to give them money for entertaining me.

I had been walking for 3 1/2 hours and it was already 1:30, so I took the ferry back across the river to town. I went to a restaurant my guidebook recommended, and the menu was all in Vietnamese. I asked the lady what was good. She suggested rolled chicken. So I had that. It was chicken which had been compressed into a sausage-like roll and battered and fried. It was cut into small rounds. Along with it came lettuce and slices of tomatoes and a small dish of sauce. I took a round of chicken in my chopsticks, dipped it in the sauce, and placed it in my mouth. Then I took a lettuce leaf and a slice of tomato to go with it and chewed. They served me iced green tea to go with the meal. I was so thirsty that I drank the first glass almost before the food arrived. On the third refill of my glass, they brought a pot to the table! The meal was good, and the tea was so refreshing.

I will probably remain here in Vinh Long for another day. If so, I will go back to the island and take another route tomorrow, I think. It is such a quiet, pleasant place. It's like a jungle over there. And the narrow trails really give it a nice atmosphere. It would be a good place for someone who wants total peace and quiet to stay.