Charlie Spotted!

Hi every one. Let me begin by passing along something a little funny. Last week I made a comment about coming to Vietnam to find Charlie, referring to the Vietnam war of course. Well…I found him, our tour guides name is none other than Charlie! Just found that a little humorous.
Now on to todays adventure. Today was one of those days where a world traveler is reminded as to why they travel. Today we spent the day cruising around the Mekong Delta. It was every bit as impressive as one would imagine and then some.
We left our hotel this morning at 7:30 and boarded a bus for the 2 hour drive to Cai Be. Here we boarded a boat, much like the Felluca’s I traveled on in Egypt and sailed about the mighty Mekong and down some its many tributaries. First we visited a floating market which consists of many boats, each selling something different. You simply pull up to them and make your purchase. We then moved on and docked briefly to sample some locally made candy and honey. From there, it was on to a rice hut where we watched rice be turned in to rice chrispies. It was definitely a neat process……and tasty as well. We then boarded the boat to make our way across the Mighty Mekong headed towards toward the island. Along the way we see the locals out picking rice or catching fish. Did you know that the average pay for a family living along the Mekong is just $200 a month? However this is enough to sustain them as they fish and grow all their own food.
The River itself has such a strong current that it carries and delivers setiments at the base of the Delta causing Vietnam to grow 8 meters bigger every year!
Once on the island, we transferred 4 to a little wooden boat and we were taken by a local on a short but scenic row. It was great to experience the local way of transportation. From there we boarded our bigger boat again and headed for a local restaurant and dined on some tasty local fare and enjoyed some live entertainment. We then boarded our boat and headed back to the dock where our bus was waiting to drive us back to Ho Chi Minh. One we arrived back at the hotel, we had a brief meeting with Charlie about tomorrow and then we all parted for the evening. Two friends from Atlanta and myself went for some dinner and the took in the outdoor markets. I then retired to my room as I needed to write this blog, upload pics and get my things together for the drive to Phnom Penh tomorrow. Should be a great drive! Well…..after rambling on and on about today’s events, I will end this now. Hope you enjoyed it, I will write again soon!