Bed bugs in the Mekong Delta

Well we had been prepared for mosquitoes in the Mekong Delta, but not what we found. Never having seen a bedbug before in real life, we weren't sure what the little beetle crawling across the bed in Can Tho was, but I had my suspicions. I took the photo thinking that I could later check to see whether it matches. Of course what we should have done is go to the reception and demand to be moved, but we weren't sure enough. The next morning an online ID check proved redundant: a good few splashes of blood on the bed and a really itchy bite on my ankle confirmed what we had suspected. The next night in Chau Doc, Joanne was covered in lines of bites, although we never saw the culprits there. A chat to several of the other people on the tour confirmed that both hotels were hoaching with the beasties, probably because the tours that TNK runs mean that they have guaranteed visitors, so they don't need to make the effort. Of course when one hotel has them and everyone who stays there is moving to the other hotel the following night, it is no surprise that both hotels are infested. We intended to complain, but haven't got around to it.

Joanne on the Mekong

Anyway, the tour itself was quite pleasant, and the tour guide was pretty good. In the bus on the way he pointed out all the new building around Saigon. Apparently they are building to Singapore standards and the government have a plan for the city to be "better" than Bangkok by 2020. Certainly the rentals he quoted are aimed at international city levels. He also told us that, not only is Vietnam the second exporter of coffee after Brazil, but it is also second rice exporter after Thailand, and the biggest exporter of both black pepper and cashew nuts.

Mekong transport

When we first arrived at the boat there was a slightly scary moment as it seemed like it was going to capsize when all the first few people filed in and sat on the same side of the boat, when the captain intervened and indicated that some people should sit on the other side, returning a less worrying camber. I had memories of boat accidents on the Mekong Delta news stories flashing through my mind, and it's quite easy to see how it could happen. All it took was for one person to decide to sit on the other side to take a better photo and the boat would lean massively in that direction.

We had been advised to buy a traditional hat each as sitting in the sun all day on the boat would be very hot without it, but we were herded onto the boat so quickly we didn't have a chance to fall prey to the hawkers. It turned out that the boats were all covered and there was no need to look silly after all, but that didn't stop some people, least of all the Vietnamese.

In the first day they took us to a coconut "candy" (I think they mean sweet) factory in Ben Tre province, which was just a little cottage industry business really. It was all done in the one room from juicing the coconuts to packing the finished product, and all using simple hand-operated machinery. Everything of the coconut is used: the milk and the flesh go into the sweets; the shell is used to fuel the fire that boils up the liquor; the ash is used to augment the soil the tress grow in; building is made from the leaves and branches; and so on. We bought some sweets at the end of it since they seemed to be quite tasty. Of course I couldn't resist buying a packet of the coconut and durian sweets, since my quest for actual durian was still unfulfilled. Joanne was not please about this, as the crisps had made her ultra-sensitive to the heady aroma of durian.

The factory itself wasn't really all that interesting, and I'd have been happy enough with all the chugging around the rivers in various motorised boats, and schlurking around the narrow tributaries in the little oar-powered boats.

Bees at the honey wine factory

Anyway, after that we were taken to a honey tea and banana wine farm, which was even less interesting, although I did buy some banana wine based on a tiny wee taste they gave us. I thought they were just being stingy, but later I realised that the wine is disgusting if you have more than half a thimble of it; then it was on to a crocodile park (if you've seen one you've seen them all; "this is what you do on a rainy day in Natal" said Joanne); then on to see a show of traditional music and sampling some tropical fruits. Great! I thought... durian, surely? But no, it was just dragon fruit and other relatively mundane fruit everyone must have already tried if they'd been in Vietnam more than a day. So we actually had a really nice day, relaxing of various boats as we were chauffeured around the Mekong Delta, but I could have done without all the activities really.

Sunset waiting for the ferry to Can Tho

On the way back we got chatting to a couple when the girl asked if I was Scottish. Hollie is from near Loch Tay and travelling with her English boyfriend, Allan. After we'd visited all the proscribed sites we docked and (disappointingly) got on a bus to travel to the ferry crossing to Can Tho, where I ate snake curry, and then I was eaten by the first batch of bed bugs.

Snake Curry

Bed bugs in the Mekong Delta

Can Tho, Vietnam