Delta, Cu Chi, and Dalat

Sunrise on the Mekong Delta

The trip to Mekong Delta was nice. Out of all the places we've been so far, I would say that the people were the most friendly there. I enjoyed the scenery and peaceful atmosphere (except for the roar and exhaust of motorboats). We had a 20-minute sampan ride at one point (like a canoe), in which a woman wearing the famous conical hat rowed us down a canal, and we also got conical hats to wear. Cheesy but fun. I was a little disappointed with the overnight "homestay," though, because it didn't feel like a homestay. It was more like a camping lodge or private bed and breakfast, at a stilt house on the River, with Western-style bathrooms and hammocks for lounging. Our group was split between two big rooms with wooden cots and individual mosquito nets. We met the man of the family, who smiled a lot, but never the woman. I guess she was in the kitchen the whole time making our dinner and then washing up after. We didn't talk to the family about their life in the Delta at all. Maybe we should have been more assertive in initiating that conversation, but our group leader could have initiated it, too.
On the way back to Saigon we stopped at the Cu Chi Tunnels, a woodsy area where some Vietnamese hid from American soldiers during the war (BTW, called the "American War" here). We went through a portion of the tunnels that had been widened for Westerners, with some lights installed underground, and it was pretty freaky to be in there for just 5 minutes, let alone days or weeks on end. At the beginning of the tour we saw a film from 1967 in the Visitor Center about how the Vietnamese people of Cu Chi area geniusly designed the tunnels and set traps and other things to defeat the inferior Americans.
After another night in Saigon we head for the mountain town of Dalat. The weather was cooler there but in general there was not much to see, though the town is popular with the Vietnamese as a vacation destination. Actually, it reminded me of Niagra Falls without the Falls. The region is known for its strawberries, avocados, coffee, and artichoke tea. I had all of the above and they were delicious. I even had an avocado shake. I didn't like it as much as the mango or custard apple shake I tried a few days before. These fruit shakes are probably my downfall, as I have had some tummy upset...
In other news, in the past few days I've had my first encounters with a squat toilet. I don't mind it that much as long as there is a way to wash your hands afterwards, but there often isn't. Yeah...
Also, many women here like to wear matching sleeveless pajama sets as daytime outside clothes. Makes sense. They look cool and comfortable. But I'm still seeing people wearing lots of clothes even when it's sweltering. They don't seem to sweat much. And they prefer to dress modestly - usually knees and shoulders covered.

I'm rich?

The Internet connection here is slow and I'm unable to upload any of my pictures so far. But I wanted to post before we leave this morning for our overnight trip to Mekong Delta.
Sunday was an interesting day... I braved the Ben Thanh market for some shopping (you have to bargain) and a $2 lunch, then went to see the Reunification Palace, but it was closed for lunch time. There was no where nearby to kill time. I was approached by some motorbike drives offering to take me to a few other places then back to the museum later on. I was scared to ride the bike itself, but the driver promised to go slow. He took to very interesting pagodas and Chinese temples, where devotees were chanting and the air was thick with incense. After the museum he took me back to the hotel, where we had a slight disagreement on the price. I thought I had established a price of 50,000 dong ($3.30) for the whole afternoon, which was in line with what my guide book recommended, but he tried to tell me it was 50,000 dong for each leg of the trip and he wanted something like $20. I was pretty pissed and tried to stand my ground at $5, but he gave me the guilty treatment about how I was a rich foreigner and had so much money for hotel, so surely I can give him more money. See, the local people see all foreigners as the same (doesn't matter if you are American or Australian or from Singapore) and that we have loads upon loads of disposable income to spend. I ended up giving him $10, but he was very ungrateful with that. To me he seemed greedy. But, I dunno, maybe other foreigners do give him same amount for similar services. He did wait outside for me while I visiting each place on our route. And he drove safely. But his attitude or the misunderstanding kind of tainted the experience for me and I was a bit upset afterwards, but I'm over it now. I was also very sunburnt on my shoulders, and I understand now why many women cover themselves completely and wear face masks while riding the motorbikes. You want to protect yourself from the sun and pollution.
My group is a good mix of 11 people. My roomate, an Aussie girl, and I are the same age and we are the youngest. There are some other single women, a bit older, and 2 couples. Our guide is a Vietnamese guy about my age. I think he's been with the company for 3 years.
Yesterday we had a short tour of the city by cyclo including a visit to the sobering War Remnants Museum. I also had some delicious pho (pronounced almost like "fur"). I spent the afternoon napping, as it was pouring down rain. I had dinner with my roomate (more delicious food for less than $3) and on the walk back to hotel I was accosted to buy a t-shirt. Actually the sales girl was really sweet and entertaining and I enjoyed talking to her. And, she was an effective sales girl. I ended up with a $2 t-shirt I had not planned on buying. And again, I was told I was rich. Hmmm, I never knew this before. I guess it's all relative. Anyway, I needed the extra t-shirt. I am sweating buckets here during the day.
Most of the people in Ho Chi Minh City seem to be working class - there is not too much poverty from what I can tell (but what do I know?). And many people seem to be in their 20s or low 30s. It's a young city. I think the Mekong Delta will be a bit different.