Day 3 started bright and sunny.. with us reluctant to leave dreamland.. haha.. but we have loads of programmes planned ahead~ with no time to waste, we had our fill and off we went.. to our beloved Sinh Tourist to board our bus which will bring us to Mekong Delta =)
And we were pleasantly delighted to know that we had the same tourguide that we had the day before! haha.. though his english is hard to understand, but it's the familiarity that he brings along, which makes the trip more interesting.. haha..
How can we not take a shot with him.. haha.. Just to remember how he looks~ Honestly, I think he looks like the rounder version of uncle ho.. haha..
We were squinting coz it was very sunny! haha..
About to board the boat behind lo!
We spent a good 45 mins on the boat which basically brought us ard the village.. I'm not good with names of places, so I'm not sure where we were.. haha.. all I could say is that we were going towards, touring ard, or at Mekong Delta.. HAHA! yes.. I'm very bad with names =P
Very sunny day...... Very glaring too!
After being on the boat for quite some time, I definitely welcomed the idea of stepping on land (or boardwalk) and do some nature hike.. haha.. reminds me to the nature reserves in Singapore =)
We walked along and followed the guide, even though we really had no idea where the guide is bringing us to.. hahaha.. like some treasure hunting walk..
Of course, we never fail to stop and take some shots along the way.. hahaha.. we have to be real quick in doing that as there were ppl behind and in front of us, we didnt want to cause too much of a disturbance to them..
We we then led to this small hut, where a vietnamese lady was sitting aside make rice paper.. she was demonstrating how it's made, all from scratch.. quite interesting, but I've already seen it the day before at Cu Chi tunnel attraction ma.. so it's nothing new to me.. HAHA!
The tourguide called for a volunteer.. and I thought, why not? HAHA.. no one will remember me anyways.. haha.. except for ppl who captured me on their cams.. =P
And so... I did.. haha.. grind the rice into some milky pulp.. haha.. which will then be poured over a traditional steamer to harden.. and dried under the sun to.. tadah.. rice paper =)
After which, we were asked to walk again.. haha..
I'm lost in a forest.. haha..
We walked more... and were led to a small hut selling local (village)-made souvenirs (which I hope they are telling the truth, coz I think I see the same things retailing at different parts of Ho Chi Minh.. haha..).. and it was time for lunch!!!
I had to capture this fish... as it was impressively huge! hahaha... Looks pretty ugly, but I'm sure they have a way to make it taste good.. =)
Rice paper roll again.. haha.. fried and steamed.. you name it, they have it.. Feeling very satisfied after lunch, we strolled around the village and made our way back into the boat again.. to where? I was not very sure then.. haha..
Just hop on and continue with the adventure.. haha..
After 15 minutes of boat ride, we arrived at another small village.. haha.. apparently, the guide told us that he's going to bring us somewhere to hear the local people play musical instruments and sing~ =) Something very traditional which I was looking fwd to..
Turn and say cheese!
This is very funny =P I was about to pose when my hair got in the way.. haha.. and the camera clicked when I was flipping my hair away, and out comes this classic silly and sluty pose =P
We finally arrived at a little hut, where we were entertained with the local people singing with their melodious voices, and a plate of tropical fruits on the table.. haha..
Enjoy~
After which, we were taken on a horse ride, which lasted 10 minutes or so? hahaha.. I never expected that, and I felt sorry for the horse as it was carrying 4 adults and it must have been tiring! But it was something we would never have done back in Singapore.. haha.. and we got local straw hats to wear too! =)
We were on the horse 'carriage'... haha..
It dropped us off soon after.. and we were led to this small river at the back of the village.. where we were given another surprise! haha.. we were going on a sampan ride~
Can you see the little sampans at the back? We were excited!
Row and row for a good 15 mins =) Like the locals.. and snap snap snap my camera went...
Mr Koh got a chance to row the boat too.. haha..
We got back to our original boats.. and proceeded to a local coconut candy factory.. haha.. not exactly a factory, but more of a facility =)
Here's our guide again, showing us how coconut candy were made.. =) We bought a few packs home as well.. haha.. though I think it was quite pricey..
This little girl was the darling of the trip.. haha.. she's korean.. and she's so cute.. I need to take a picture of her =)
After which, we went back to our coach and that marks the end of our mekong delta trip.. hahaha.. It was a long morning+afternoon.. but it was definitely enjoyable! =) Makes my whole trip so much more enriching.. full of heritage and culture.. haha..
Thankfully, it only started to rain after our boat trip around mekong.. haha.. and I must say Vietnamese are well prepared for wet weather.. ever ready!
We headed back to the hotel for a good wash, before we dash off for a good dinner... stomachs were roaring by then! haha.... We walked to this magnificent looking building (which we passed by every night when walking back to the hotel from Ben Thanh market.. haha), and decided to at least take a few shots of it (with it too) before we leave HCM.. haha..
Feels like we're in Europe.. haha.. HCM has quite a number of french-flavoured buildings..
I took a picture with Uncle Ho too! =)
Finally, we decided to fill our stomachs and let our cameras rest for the night.. haha.. We proceeded to Vincom Centre.. and we immediately felt like we're back in Singapore coz everything seems so familiar.. urbanization and all the global brands in the shopping mall made it feel like home..
Quite posh~ while the surroundings of the building were starkly contrasting..
There's an arcade that was humungous too! haha.. there's an area for bumper cars too..
And a shop named after Fanny~ haha..
We finally settled dinner at Kichi Kichi... which has operations in SG too.. haha.. just that we didnt try in back at home coz it was too pricey.. =) There, it was just less than SGD 15, compared to when we eat at Singapore, it would be ard SGD 25?
It's buffet steamboat time! hungry hungry~ Though selection was not wide, it was still nice dipping raw food into steaming hot soup.. haha.. We had our fill soon after.. We cannot waste time eating away~
We went back to Ben Thanh Market again~ at my request... haha.. coz I want to buy more dri-fit, and to satisfy my shopping crave! hahahah... Thank you Mr Koh =)
We had desserts at this cafe overlooking the junction.. and it was nice just to watch the bikes and ppl go by us as time ticks away.. this is life! =)
I love Ben Thanh! hahaha........
Await my final post on my Vietnam Trip..... as we bade goodbye to HCM...
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