After a delightful stay at Madame Cuc's Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, we were ready to set off on a new adventure to the Mekong Delta, located in southern Vietnam. We were picked up at our hotel by bus from our tour company and were postponed for a few minutes by what looked like a parade. Only, the people in the "parade" looked pretty somber and they definitely weren't throwing candy to the crowd. We learned from our tour guide that this was actually a Vietnamese funeral procession. The deceased went first, carried by several people in an elaborately decorated and draped carriage. Next walked the person's spouse and eldest son, followed by other clergy and family members in a very specific order. Monks also joined the march and were placed ahead of the second and third born children in the line-up, which I thought was interesting. Our tour guide could tell who was who by the head wear and colors that each person was wearing. The processions are typically held in the morning and if people are postponed by a procession on their way to work, it is a sign of good luck for them for that day. We felt very fortunate to have someone there to explain this to us.

We finally boarded our bus for the first leg of our journey. The Mekong River is considered one of the world's great rivers. It originates high in the Tibetan plateau and flows 4,500km through China, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam on its way to the South China Sea. The river is so large that it has two daily tides and at one point is over 1km in width! The Mekong Delta region is known as Vietnam's "rice basket." The region yields enough rice to feed the entire country plus a sizable surplus. In addition to rice, crops such as coconut, sugarcane, fruit and shrimp are also cultivated here.

After a few hours on the bus, we arrived at My Tho and got on board our first boat. The boats were all very long and skinny so they can navigate the river and its many canals with ease. After a short trip on the water, we got off at a stop where locals cultivate honey. We tried some delightful honey tea and several Vietnamese snacks, including banana chips, dried & smoked coconut, dried ginger and a type of peanut brittle. From there it was back on the boat to our next stop. Right before we arrived, the skies opened up and we were caught in an enormous downpour! Within two seconds we were soaked from head to foot, but it was welcome relief from the heat. We made it undercover at a small cafe where they had multiple plates of fresh fruit waiting for us. We tried pineapple, papaya, jackfruit, dragonfruit, pomelo (a huge grapefruit) and rambutan. We were also treated to Vietnamese musicians performing and singing traditional songs for us.

Next we arrived at our favorite stop - the coconut candy factory! Since Jonny and I both love coconut, we were in heaven. The candy is basically like a coconut flavored taffy that is flattened into long strips and cut into uniform 2" x 1" sized pieces. We were able to watch the process of making the candy by hand and were offered several pieces of the fresh, warm candy on a plate to taste. It was so fantastic!

From here, we took a hand-rowed boat called a sampan down a quiet canal. We got to wear a typical cone-shaped Vietnamese hat called a conical as a local rowed the boat for us. (We found out later just how difficult rowing these boats can be!)

We again boarded our original boat which took us to Ben Tre where we enjoyed lunch at a secluded little restaurant in the jungle and then had a few hours of free time. Jonny and I decided to explore the small city by pedal bike. We had a ton of fun on this little excursion. Each time a motorbike would zoom by and honk at us, we would respond back by ringing our little bike bells like crazy which would cause us to end up in a fit of laughter. We enjoyed hearing the locals shout "Hello!" to us as we rode by and we also bought a fresh pineapple along the way for a mere 30 cents - what a delicious bargain!

We next got in a van and drove for 1.5 hours to Vinh Long and took a boat to a small island where we ended the day with a family homestay. We were welcomed by a wonderfully warm Vietnamese family and spent the night with them. There were 8 people in our group - a mixture of English, German and French and we all got along really well which added greatly to our wonderful experience. We felt so fortunate to be with such a nice group of travelers.

The family had two children, ages 14 and 4 years old. I gravitated toward playing legos with the 4-year-old and I quickly learned that he was extremely anal-retentive! He would arrange the large legos in a very specific and consistent pattern. If I tried to move a lego to a different location, I was scolded by the boy (in Vietnamese) and the lego was immediately returned to its proper position! This happened over and over again and I think the little guy actually enjoyed scolding me as if I were the child in the situation. It was very cute! With his intense precision regarding construction, my prediction is that he will probably be an engineer some day!

We helped the family prepare dinner that evening and Jonny was also scolded by the Vietnamese mother who apparently liked her carrots cut a certain way. Despite his best effort, Jonny just couldn't get it exactly right and she looked at him with a mixture of frustration and disappointment. We ate our meal in the yard with white linen tablecloths and candle light. Despite the odd-shaped carrots, the food was amazing and the conversation was wonderful! After dinner, the kids wanted to spend time playing with us some more. My new little anal-retentive friend came over and crawled on my lap to sit which warmed my heart!

After a shower, we spent the night sleeping in a small bungalow-style building with individual mosquito nets over our beds. Being so far away from the city on a remote island with the only light coming from candles, it was so quiet and peaceful. Overall, it was a magical experience!