What a day in the Mekong delta region, it started at 7am with a 3.5 hr ride to our boat were we got into the Mekong river, in the Ben Tre Canal, in a beautiful but hot day we got to the river around 10:30am and we went up river towards a brick manufacturing location.

The place was overall interesting the combination of soils to give the brick shapes its forms, I signed one day of the fresh ones so someone is getting my name on their house that’s if not breaks before hitting its final journey. Then we went to the ovens so a picture best describes what I saw.

Brick Factory in Ben Tre Canal Vietnam-Mekong Delta

After the brick building place we got on the boat again towards our guides family home were they make all sorts of coconut candy, white coco wine and Snake Wine…. Snake Wine what in the world. So I took it easy and started by tasting coco candy and it was awesome, very sweet and close to the ones we have in Costa Rica. The coco “Wine” was very far far away from what I would call wine one glass of that and I would be swimming with the pythons. So the time came of Snake Wine I was thinking this very very seriously since it’s such an impacting aspect, but what the hell a doctor once told me that our stomach acid can kill anything so I took less than a 1/8 of a shot, and it was the biggest and nastiest flavor and smell I have ever experienced I believe there is nothing that would taste worse, but let me present to you snake wine. “What a delicacy”….

Snake Wine in the Ben Tre Canal at Candy Coconut Factory

After our delightful experience of alcohol tasting (that would impact my stomach for the rest of the weekend),  we met our tour guides family that was performing a few new 20+ second songs about love, and all I could understand about love as aaaayouuuuu weeee shiiiii heyyyyy yaaaaa what ever that is, it’s all about love I guess.

As our journey continued it was time to drive on the tuk tuk and well you know I am 6’0 feet tall 185 pounds before the snake wine after… I’ll let you know. Well the tuk tuk driving attempt went as expected.

Couldn’t get to drive it….. easier if the locals do it , 5’0 feet or smaller heck its a Yukon for them me i guess i would need to strip it down to see if i can make another run at it.

So they drove us to lunch to eat a local dish of a Elephant fish that only grows in this region of the world.

Overall food was way better than Snake Wine and Coconut Wine. The fish great taste with a mandarin sauce, and they have a girl that comes and creates rice rolls with the fish. And of course it was a large meal maybe the largest one that I had so far.

A little bad of planning in the tour cause after the lunch we go on a Tuk Tuk to a river, and the Tuk Tuk’s go fast, and since i am a tall giant in this part of the world, well i got in a Tuk Tuk with no roof, so the story gets better,  with no roof the palm trees branches are across the roads so you are constantly avoiding the branches all over until you get to the docks. So when you ride a no roof Tuk tuk get ready for left – right heads down heads up for a few quite entertaining moments.

Once I got to the river I realized that they were all women with the paddles most be crazy strong. Here a live experience of the adventure.

 

Video of down the Ben Tre river

So tomorrow wait for my new activities at the floating market and watch me make some rice noodles….

Cheers have fun enjoy life and “KATE IS GREAT”…. and until next time.

Luis Cruz….