Dupa o mica siesta, acum 2 zile ne-au dus la pescuit unde ne-am facut un pic de ras cu aruncatul navodului. Spre bucuria noastra nici localnicul n-a prins multi mai multi pesti asa ca pana la urma am mancat barbecue de pesti cumparati dar, a fost fun. In rest am stat in hamace, am mancat bine, am primit portocale si banane de la localnici, ne-am plimbat cu bicicleta pana la scoala, am facut lanterne de hartie pentru dat drumul pe apa si ne-au mancat tantarii. Si spre bucuria mea, ne-am intors iarasi pe motocicleta. Peisajele sunt frumoase, oamenii lucreaza linistiti pe campurile de orez sau asculta radio in hamace si isi vad de viata lor. Viata pare sa curga mai lin in delta, intre o baie in mekong si un stat la pescuit. Si nici un turist prin sate, mai putin noi bineinteles.

Ieri ne-am trezit iarasi la 4h sa mergem la o piata pe apa mai mica. Era sa nu ajung dar pana la urma m-am dus si eu. Am primit cadou tofu prajit cu, in loc de sare, monoglutamate de sodiu ( un fel de maggie pentru supa). Apoi 4 ore de autobuz pana la chau doc.

2 jours dans une famille dans le delta du Mekong. 1er voyage en moto jusque la, j’ai adoré d’ailleurs. Sur la route un marché flottant, une soupe au crabe, un temple autour d’un ficus tres vieux. Apres bon repas et petite sieste, depart en barque sur les canaux pour aller trouver le repas du soir. Heureusement qu’ils n’ont pas compté sur nos poissons car on s’est avéré assez nuls pour lancer ce qu’il faut pour les attraper. On a fini par manger un barbecue de poisson acheté. Sinon on a passé nos journée dans des hammacs, recu des bananes et oranges des locaux, on a fait un tour en velo, vu des rizières, visité un moulin a riz et une ecole, etc. Et on s’est trop fait mangé par les moustiques.

Hier matin on s’est réveillé encore a 4h du matin pour aller voir un petit marché flottant. J’ai failli ne pas y aller, un peu marre des reveils avant les poules. J’y suis allée, c’etait sympa puis on s’est fait offrir du tofu frit avec du monoglutamate de sodium. Puis 4h de route de can tho à chau doc.

It seems the division of labor has arisen naturally between me and Cristina. I handle English.

Ho Chi Min City(Saigon from now on) was a bogey man. We were told Saigon is Hanoi to the cube. Worse traffic, worse hygiene, less personal space.

The flight there was a semi-adventure in itself. Vietjetair pilots like to bend it like Beckham, their turns nice and tight. The pilot’s bravery was not matched outside the cockpit. The passengers were in different states of panic, our left neighbor energetically trying to stop Cristina to use her phone after takeoff, even in flight mode.

One hour later we landed safely in Saigon. We found the bus quickly and got started slowly towards downtown. The airport suburb looks much nicer than in Hanoi. No chicken or other live animals. The traffic, while lacking fluidity ‘ was no worse than Hanoi. We arrived one hour later at Ben Thanh Market and its famed mad roundabout
We crossed it like the pros we are and got to our hotel in one piece. I was beginning to like this city

The next days we discovered a city with a nice almost New York vibe. Richer, cleaner and spacier than Hanoi. We eat well and cheap (and got free beers) walked on large avenues surrounded by sky scrapers, listened to pricey jazz, saw the Cao Dai temple(Victor Hugo is a saint for them), the Cu Chi tunnels and more.

Its our last day before going to Mekong Delta. I liked this city and its never asleep yet somehow chilled vibe.