I arrived on Friday evening in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam where Julie and Jouke were waiting outside to pick me up. I haven’t seen Julie in 8 months and Jouke even more.
But as it was late and we had to get up early for our booked Mekong Delta tour. So we decided to catch up on the bus to the Mekong.
The Mekong tour was organised by Mr. Ban. A kind man, who has no clue about interpunctions. So his texts were always hilarious. Nevertheless, it became clear that in addition to the normal itinerary, we would visit his nephew’s first birthday. Why not? Three awkward Dutchies with no present for the birthday boy. This was also the very first activity and it was to be our lunch as well.
There were only 2 scooters so Julie and me arrived first and a few minutes later Jouke. We were extremely early, they expected 100 guests (for a first birthday ??) but currently, it was just us 3 and Mister Ban.
Eventually, we were set at a table with Mr. Ban’s sisters to eat a 15-course lunch. Honestly, it did not stop! And all the sisters wanted us to eat everything! First of all, it was way too much and secondly Julie and especially Jouke are more adapted to eating weird food than I am. So I hid the food that they put on my plate. Not sure if that is polite, but I saw no other
Besides the food, there was also karaoke and they begged us to perform. Of course, the one with the best voice felt really embarrassed. So it was Jouke and me. Obviously, I cannot refuse a performance. Yes, it was horrible and yes 90 of the 100 people of course arrived when it was our turn. Luckily I’m blessed with very little shame!
After the birthday we visited a beautiful temple. Very nice and quiet and very new. Only a few years old. The thing that surprised us most, was the fact that they used the temple for 3 different religions: Buddhism, Christianity, and hindoeïsme. How lovely to see that they can share rather than fight.
After that, we visited a small local market, where we could see all the raw meat and flies that we probably just ate. Not the best place for me, so I stayed at the fruit and veggie sellers. The only good thing was that there weren’t any snakes that they sold. Dead or alive, it doesn’t matter I’m truly phobic for snakes.
After the market, it was already time for dinner! They still had to cook it, so we went for a walk. A girl decided she wanted to join and didn’t understand that we just wanted to be by ourselves. Moreover, she was intentionally doing weird stuff to get our attention and she decided we wanted her in the picture we Juul and me.
The walk didn’t do much for our appetite. So none of us could eat much rice. So we slipped off to our bedrooms. Did some chatting and reading and went to bed.
On Sunday we had rice for breakfast. Yum. And then of we went for a boat tour over the Mekong Delta. That was really nice and as the Mekong Delta was used during my Masters, it was nice to actually see it. On the river, we stopped at a fish farm. Mr Ban explained how they raised the fish and sold them. The most shocking is how often they have to eat (after a few hours also during the night if I remember correctly). But that is then all you have to do.
After the boat, it was time for one last rice lunch before getting to the bus. Or so I thought, but directly after lunch, we went to a small local restaurant to try local food. What?! Why?! Not the best itinerary. With an overloaded belly, it was time for the bus. Luckily it wasn’t too bumpy.
Overall a nice weekend, but also with a lot of awkward moments.
Zilla-in-the-wild 