Mekong Delta Tour, Day 1

It's tour time, and we drag ourselves out of bed pretty early to make our way for the bus, in what is going to be the start of a long few days. The bus is crowded, mostly locals as it's a weekend, and it doesn't make the two hour ride any easier when the Swiss guy in front of me decides to lean his chair back so he can have a sleep. As long as he is comfy it doesn't matter about anyone else obviously.
The bus stops halfway at a small factory which makes small artwork from egg shells. It is a factory made to provide victims of agent orange with work, and the product of their work is really great. We get to watch them crushing up the egg shell and delicately applying it to their pictures, before seeing the process of colouring and drawing. The shopping area showcases the talent they have, with hundreds of pieces they have made.
After that we make our way to a pretty impressive pagoda, with three giant Buddha statues. The fifteen minutes allowed to us is a bit short but it's a good stop.
After that we headed on a boat on the river, to unicorn island. We were given some tea (honey, orange, water and bee pollen??) Which was very sweet and got a taste of some honey which was even sweeter. I also got a chance to hold a snake which was enjoyable until it started to wrap round me.
After that we ate some locally grown fruit and listened to some local singing (and a bizarre rendition of 'if you're happy and you know it') before taking a small boat ride down a very cramped river. It was a nice ride, but would have been nicer without the nagging for tips.
After the small boat ride we took a ride on a horse drawn carriage back to the big boat. It was a fast ride, but the state of the obviously overworked and starved horses took a bit of the fun away from it.
Next up was dinner on a different island, before we had an hour to explore. An hour seemed a long time, until we saw the crocodile enclosure. We spent most of the time watching them being fed, and I even did a little bit myself. It was then time to get back on the boat and head back to the bus.
We managed to sit on the back away from the annoying Swiss bloke, but then more people got on, making the 4 hour journey to our hotel (would have been shorter but a crash on the road ahead delayed us) rather tedious.
We arrive at a surprisingly nice hotel though and turn down the offer of a trip to town, instead opting for a pizza hut and the premier league on tele. A good end to a good day.もっと詳しく