Ấp Long Thạnh

We ordered room service because we needed to meet our group in the Chef's table by 8.

Bob was ready before me so I asked him if he would go and collect our passports at guest services because we were told that we would need them to check in at our hotel. He proceeded to guest services only to be told that the passports would be at the Chef's Table.

We gathered our overnight bags, day packs, and cameras and headed to the Chef's Table. Henry and Krystal had a table just inside the door so we join them. I asked where we needed to go to collect our passports and was told we didn't need them. Efficient communication is proving to be a continuing challenge in the excursion department.

We wheeled our bags out to the bus and began our adventure.

Our guide's name is Linh. She speaks excellent English but her singing leaves a bit to be desired (but adds to the entertainment factor of the tour).

As we were getting on the bus, we were given a traditional Vietnamese hat which is used by the rice farmers.

Since it is a Saturday morning, traffic is marginally better but still incredible. It took us about 3 hours to get to the Mekong Delta.

The drive was fascinated both because we got to observe life outside the City and due to the fact that Linh is very knowledgeable and entertaining.

When we got to the Mekong River, we were told to take what we wanted for the day and especially our hats.

Bob and I were some of the first people to board our boat. The stairs to the boat had no railings and the step onto the boat was really large. Bob and I got a front row seat to observe our fellow guest negotiate this obstacle. I am happy to report that only one gentleman stumbled onto the boat.

We made a quick trip across the Mekong River to a restaurant where we were served coconut and ginger candies accompanied by tea. We were also serenaded with classical Vietnamese musical instruments which was accompanied with traditional dances.

Next we walked through a garden/orchard. Here we saw many types of fruit including Rose Apples and Jackfruit. The area was filled with very uneven surfaces. Many of our fellow guests opted to wait at the border of the garden/orchard as we crossed precariously narrow, off-camber bridges and uneven surfaces.

Our next stop was a tributary of the Mekong River. Here we boarded a Sampan boat. These Sampan boats are typically small and have a flat-bottomed structure, which allows them to navigate through the shallow and narrow canals of the Mekong Delta with ease. I was thankful that I was on the Sampan with Henry, Krystal and Bob. Henry rowed for Yale University. Krystal and Bob have spent a lot of time on boats. As a result, our "set" was good. I could not imagine being on one of these boats with people who would overcorrect (swimming in the polluted Mekong River was something I desperately want to avoid!)

We next reboarded our boat (this required an immense effort to get from a squatting position back onto the boat).
Once we had all reboarded the boat, the ride from the channel where we rode the sampan boats to the restaurant was about 45 minutes.

We arrived at our docking location for the restaurant at about 2:30 PM. Upon docking, we had a bit of a walk to the restaurant. The restaurant was a lovely open air venue. We thought that we would just have a light lunch since it was so late and we would be having dinner at the hotel. Instead, we had 7 courses. I will admit that I was hungry and I may eaten bit too much but the food was delicious!

After lunch, we went to a 'factory' where they produced rice paper wrappings, moonshine infused with snakes (DO NOT View pictures if pictures of snakes are a issue), puffed rice, caramel rice, and coconut caramel.

Next on the agenda was a trip to the kilns.

On our way to the kilns, we saw fish farms. After seeing how polluted the Mekong river is, I can not imagine eating fish raised in this river (Bob and I both chose duck for dinner instead of fish).

Once we arrived at the kilns, we disembarked unto a very unstable surface (they had just thrown broken clay tiles on the river bank which resulted in another precarious surface). Bob and I are very able to navigate these obstacles. (Bob's hip and foot have healed. My husband is finding little problems in dealing with any physical obstacles-because he is Bob-the Rockstar. I do worry about other guests with mobility issues-we have one lady on the excursion who uses a walker-the ship categorized this excursion as demanding).

Next, we had a long boat ride to the location of the bus. Linh kept us informed and entertained.

We disembarked the boat and embarked on the bus for a drive to the resort's reception area. At the reception area, we had our luggage labeled and were given a welcome drink.

Next, we boarded a pontoon for the journey to the island resort.

Upon arriving at the resort, we were quickly given our room keys and directed to our rooms.

Similar to our location on the ship, Bob and I had the rooms which are the greatest distance from the reception area (there are even bikes for guests to use). I was happy for the walk to stretch my legs a bit after the long day on buses and boats.

Our room was absolutely beautiful!!

I immediately jumped in the shower to wash off the combination of sunscreen and bug spray.

Our luggage arrived quickly. I am amazed at the level of hospitality. There were about 70 of us all checking in at the same time and yet the hotel managed to get our luggage to us very quickly.

We then ordered a drink and met Henry and Krystal. We decided to take our drinks to the dining room. The four of us had a lovely conservation over dinner.

After a 2 hour dinner, we made it back to the room and totally collapsed.

As a side note, I have started taking doxycycline as a malaria prevention. This is also a drug that kills lyme. As a result, I know that I am killing lyme (a great thing) but the side effects of the toxins that the lyme organisms release when they die create what is termed a Herxheimer reaction. I am please to report that I believe that I have made great progress in my lyme treatment but it still adds challenges in the form of muscle/joint pain, cloudy thinking (so when, for instance, I type statute instead of statue...please forgive me), exhaustion and irritability (pray for Bob).

The night will not be long enough after this day.Read more