Can Tho & The Mekong Delta (part 1)

After we left the tunnels, it was time to head over to the Mekong Delta. But before we departed, we met up with our pen pals at Can Tho University. We ate lunch at what it seems to be a French-Vietnamese restaurant, and while some students chose Vietnamese cuisine, some decided to ease their home cravings with pizza. It was great that after lunch we had a chance to see the Can Tho monument of Ho Chi Minh, which is supposed to be a landmark of the area. The decorative red tiles of the monument complimented the gold statue of Ho Chi Minh, and the surroundings were neatly fashioned. After we ate lunch, we stopped by to the University. The school obviously isn’t as fancy as we are accustomed to, but it did look beautiful with its white buildings and huge campus. As we got out of the bus, our pen pals were welcoming us inside. Although it was a little awkward for both us and the pen pals, we were able to hit it off in the activities designated for us, like learning some Vietnamese phrases, decorating 'non la' (hats) and touring around the school. The pen pals were extremely kind and cool. It’s great that we also had iced coffee with them and exchange our gifts for them. It was sad that we had to leave afterwards, but we were able to add them on social media. 

After our bus ride to Mekong, we had to travel to our homestay by boat due to that our homestead was located on an island. The scenery of the river was awe inspiring, coming from a long bus ride to see the breezy scenery was definitely rewarding and as we reached our destination we were greeted by our kind hosts.

After a great breakfast in our homestead, we once again traveled by boat towards the market. As we were passing by the river, we saw a floating market in which locals were trading with farmers selling their crops. It’s astonishing that most of the local economy relies on farming, and its definitely humble. After we landed on shore, we stopped by to see the production of several Vietnamese candy and rice paper, all in which is made manually. The people producing were also kind enough to give out samples, and I have to say that the caramel coconut was personally my favorite. We then headed out to the market in which we had to compete in two teams in a scavenger hunt for products, and we had to bargain with the farmers that spoke zero English. It was quite amusing trying to communicate with the farmers, but it was possible to. The market itself was different. With our customs of buying food, it was interesting to see all the veggies and fruits fresh and even the fish were alive. It was certain that all of the products were not a day old. 


After the market, we met up with a captain of the Vietcong. Seeing Mr. Tim Tam was honorable, noting that most veterans don’t want to talk about their war experiences. As Mr. Tim was speaking, we felt his sorrow and his pride fighting in the war. We don’t really see why the people of Vietnam fought for the Vietcong, but Mr. Tim was a teacher and an American bomber killed 20 of his students in an elementary school and he felt that he had to prevent more chaos. He spoke about his connection with American veterans - who raised money to have him speak at NYU and their conference for peace, and have built two new schools for Mr. Tim in Vietnam - and his life after the war dedicated to promoting peace. After the conversation with Mr. Tim, we headed out around the local area with our bikes. It wasn’t a long trip around the river island, but it was more of a taste of what was to come tomorrow.  

- Brandon