Bike Tour in the Mekong Delta - Day 1

[Real time update: We been "resting" in Koh Samui, Thailand for last ten days and fell behind - more posts will be coming.]

T-shirt we liked

Our second day in Vietnam, we were picked up by our tour guide, Ha, who spoke wonderful English and was very likable.  He shared about himself, Vietnamese life, and the area we would be in and how were were to spend the next couple of days.  The Mekong Delta is known as the "rice bowl" of Vietnam and rice fields are everywhere.  In total, the delta contains over 3,000 KM of waterways stretching out like a spiderweb.

Workers in a rice field

Last year Vietnam exported 7 million tons of rice at less than $500/ton and the rice farmers get less than that, so it is hard to make a living as a rice farmer, and yet that is what many in this region do. Tiger prawn farming is more lucrative, but the initial investment is so high that many can't afford it. As we were exposed to many different jobs throughout our tour, it seemed to be that no matter how hard one worked or what they did, they ultimately made $4-5/day, and while that is significantly less than the minimum wage per hour in the US, few seemed to be in want.  Everyone we saw had shoes on and it was relatively rare to see anyone begging.

We learned about unique ways some make money, for example, building a house with special windows that swallows fly through to build nests inside. Music is played at certain times to attract the swallows.  Apparently swallows do not build their nests with twigs, but with their saliva, which takes roughly 10 days.  The swallows then lay their eggs and wait for their babies to hatch. When the nests are done being used, they are sold and considered a delicacy that is used in soup.  A nest sells for up to $2000!  Meanwhile others make coffee from weasel poo and sell it for large sums of money.

Our first stop was the Can Douk Market where we were exposed to roosters in cages that would be used for cock fighting, as well as a dry and wet market. Chicks were sold 10 for $4, there was an array of freshly caught seafood, and even the nasal system of a pig - from the ears to the snout (Vietnamese chop this up and add it to salads)!  Primarily women work at the market and they arrive around 4am and work until 3pm every day.

Being sold for cock-fighting

Tempting pig snouts...  Anyone want some in their salad?

G was given a baby chick!

Walkway in the live market section

Meanwhile, the men occasionally gather to build something, but can typically be found sitting at coffee shops.  Dad had his first Vietnamese coffee and thankfully our guide was able to show him the proper way to drink it.  The coffee here is slow drip so you let it sit several minutes after they bring it to you, then you add a small amount of sweetened condensed milk to the espresso-like beverage, and after one has finished the coffee (about the size and strength of an espresso), it is customary to drink tea to cleanse your palette.

Guys at the coffee shop!

Dad with his first Vietnamese coffee!

Vietnamese coffee setup. The grounds go in the small top container

Mom asked our guide if she could buy flowers to bring to the host family we were staying with that evening, but she was told they would not be appreciated as the family didn't worship their ancestors. A bit confused with what this meant, we learned that flowers are sold primarily as offerings to people's ancestors as "ancestral worship" is the prominent religion here.

Ancestral worship is the worship of three to four previous generations.  Pictures of these relatives are placed at a shrine in the home and there are four sanctuaries located around the home where the family gathers to pray once a day.  The kitchen sanctuary has a messenger or 'god' and on December 23rd a fish takes him to spend a week reporting to an 'ultimate god' about all of the families doings for that year.  This messenger is believed to return a week later, so the family gathers for 3 days with much feasting to celebrate his return and blessing for a new year.  Meanwhile, in ancestral worship, the ancestors are prayed to for protection and blessing from the deceased, yet reincarnation is also believed in.  So they are aware that the ancestors they are praying to might have already been reincarnated in a different form, but Ha explained that their minds still pray to them.

When someone dies they are carried in a funeral vehicle and buried underground with a cement box on top.  A fortune teller is brought in to read about the deceased person - the year he was born (tiger, etc...), month he died, year he died, and so on.  All of these details will determine the best hour and direction to bury the dead.  That is why coffins, which are buried in people's yards, are facing all different directions.  Ha explained that in reincarnations, most strive to be reincarnated as a human, and that there are actually charts that can help you work towards what one aims to be reincarnated as. For Ha, he would like to be reincarnated as a dog and live in the US because it's a good life, he can be lazy and lay around at parks.  He wants to live in the US and mentions that if he were to live in Vietnam as a dog, he would be eaten, but he's not sure how he will get to the US as he does not have a passport...

Note: Flowers are not for decoration or given
as a kind gesture, but use for sacrifices!

Ancestral Shrine in a home

After the market we visited Tan Hoa, a small village, where the local kids were just finishing the morning school session.  School is either from 7:00-10:30 OR 1:00-4:30 and four subjects are covered.  There are not enough schools so students are only able to attend a half day in order for all of the children to have the opportunity for education.  Primary school costs $50/year, secondary $150/year, university $600/year, and private universities roughly $1000/year.  Our guide attended a private university and was telling us about ways they keep the costs down, such as sleeping 3 people to a bed in a dorm room!  Most older kids work after or during secondary to pay for the education of their younger siblings. Therefore, the youngest child often has the greatest opportunity to attend university.

G rocked at this pool game where there are no holes on the table & the object is
to use the 1st ball to ricochet & hit the 3rd ball - the local school kids were impressed!

We headed out on bikes to explore the rice fields and learn about life for the people in the small village of Tan Hoa.  Everything was so green and beautiful!

Family photo in a rice field!

SJ got to ride on the scooter with Ha!

After biking, we drove for about an hour to have lunch at a beachfront restaurant where we had amazing giant prawns, spring rolls, rice, fish, pork, and for dessert we enjoyed custard apples, star apples (tasted like banana bread batter), and mangoes.  Out in the water were huts on stilts that are used for clam farming.  The tide here changes drastically, and low tide recedes over a mile from the restaurant on the water because the delta is so flat!

Huts for farming clams

We then drove to My Tho pier where the girls picked up some rice hats and we learned that during the rainy season, when the waterways are flooded, children carry their school supplies in these hats turned upside down as they swim their way to school!  We took a small boat cruise on the Upper Mekong and watched fishermen catching red snapper, were entertained by G on a microphone, and wound our way through coconut groves, stopping to hold a python and see a large jar of rice wine being infused by cobra (hmmm.. don't get any ideas for future limoncello flavors)!

G providing some cruising entertainment!

Canals off the Mekong in coconut groves

Enjoying the sampan boat ride through Tan Thach creek

We arrived at our homestay and were intrigued that not only was there a room with enough beds for our family, but there was an open Bible in front of a cross and several Bible verse posters around the building. Part of our tour is designed to experience Vietnamese home life. After resting and playing their version of hacky sack (several plastic chips attached to some feathers) we were taught how to cook a Vietnamese pancake served as a dinner appetizer.  Each of us got a turn and thoroughly enjoyed our friendly hosts even though we couldn't communicate too much. We were then served a huge meal that probably had twice as much food as we could eat.  It included soup, rice, pork, spring rolls, and our shrimp pancakes.  Everything was quite delicious and we were stuffed.

Scooter run to the market

What girl doesn't LOVE tea time?  Double fisting!

Dad & our oldest trying their first coconut!

G carrying pomelos the way the Vietnamese do it!  (MUCH heavier than it looks!)

Learning to make Vietnamese 'pancakes'

Mom & our host Tui

Following dinner we got the kids settled and were about to crash ourselves when we struck up a conversation with the owner, Mui, about his Bible and Christian pictures hanging around the house. This took a life of its own and with Ha translating we had a very engaging chat learning about him, his family, faith, and history.  He felt truly blessed to have other Christians to converse with and stated he wished his English was better and that we had more time, and that our conversation encouraged him to read his Bible more - humbling for us to say the least.

In 1962, when Mui was only one month old, his father was shot and killed, believing to be with the Viet Cong.  Mui means "ten" and he was his parents tenth child.  (However we later learned that he was most likely the ninth child as the first-born child is called second born.  The reason for this is confusing and we've heard everything from it is to keep the gods from knowing who/where the first-born is, to only one of the previous princes or kings is allowed the title of "first" anything.)  We learned that the area on his property where a small pond existed with a beautiful eating area set above it, was actually created by a bomb during the war.  After his father was killed, his mother remained on their property raising the children.  In 1968, as a small boy, he was sleeping in a hammock in one of the rooms we were staying in that evening, when a bomb came through and blew him off unconscious.  As his family ran to their bunker, they checked on him and thought he was dead.  After this event, his mom moved the children to a nearby city for the remainder of the war.

Man made pond filled in the crater left by a bomb during the Vietnam War

Mui was a 3rd generation Christian and his small village, made up of about 140 families, was actually about 1/3 Christian and there were 8 churches!  This was interesting to us as in Vietnam it is estimated that between 5-10% of the population are Christian, and Vietnam is listed as  #20 on the World Watch List 2016 for countries where it is most difficult to live as a Christian.  (We were surprised to learn that Vietname is the country experiencing the most persecution for being a Christian out of all the places we will visit in our travels this year!)  We asked a lot of questions and learned and that he doesn't experience any persecution for his beliefs and believes that God has truly blessed him and his family.  As a business owner and hospitality manager he told us how days can be long and stressful but his faith helps him to remain calm and not "sweat the small stuff" so to speak. It was fun for us to just sit and have an adult conversation (albeit with a translator) with no kids around.  It might honestly be one of less than a handful such experiences total in our trip so far, and it was encouraging that Jesus was our topic and that Ha, our translator, had many questions about Jesus for both us and our host.