Day 7: at fresh bear gall chord sold
I typed exactly word for word what is shown on the sign into an online Vietnamese to English translation webbie and they returned, "at fresh bear gall chord sold". I think the shop sells some weird bear body part.

Granny and I were supposed to be at the airport at noon for our return flight to Singapore, she decided to stay in to pack and stuff. So after brekkie, I sent her back to the room and went out gallivanting on my own. I booked a scooter with driver for two hours to take me around HCM city. I decided this is the best way to navigate through traffic on a busy Sunday. The pic on the right shows Ben Thanh Market, one of the best place to shop.

At the Saigon river, with the pic on the right showing how dirty it is. I met some Chinese-Vietnamese exercising by the river side and they spoke to me in mandarin and dialect.

Some of the posh river side hotels and then the scooter guy took me back to more shopping at Chinatown where they sell rice, coffee and other foodstuff, and this army surplus market where you can buy camping gear, pouches and old collectibles.

There are little road side push carts selling sandwhiches everywhere, roast meat, a back alley bakery and wet market with live seafood.

Scouts, guides and normal folks enjoying their Sunday at the park. And tourist touts playing a game of chess.

Vietnam is not spared from the Harry Potter fever and some painted signboards.

Day6: Mekong Delta
Excuse me, but there's a dead man in my rice. I can't help but notice that the Vietnamese bury their dead in the padi fields. It is strange and I dunno what to make of it.

We got up bright and early and got on the tour bus to the Mekong delta. Along the way there are lots of farm animals, fields, power cables and Vietnamese people.

The Mekong Delta is pretty broad at certain parts and there are ferries that can transport vehicles across the river. There are heaps of strange floating plants. I think they might be water hyacinth. Our first stop was this place that make rice crispies.

We had our lunch and then continued on the boat ride into one of the narrower deltas. The water is murky and there are atap plants growing on both sides. At certain parts of the river, you can see fishing traps.

There are people living at the Mekong Delta. The land around it is rich as the river fertilises it and there are a wide selection of fruits available. The plant on the left is atap chee, bananas, some cactus thingy, jackfruit, lychee, jambu and pomelo.

We got to sample some of the fruits and I intentionally place my finger there to show how small the banana was. While we ate, they performed traditional Vietnamese folk music for us. I snapped a photo of the singers as they rode away on their scooter.

Kinda reminds me of Pulau Ubin or some rural parts of Malaysia, rustic and charming. We took a horse carriage ride to our next destination, which was a bee farm.

I was pretty disappointed as we didn't get to see the hives, but we got to sample some snacks and stuff. I think those are guinea pigs, but I'm not sure. I sure hope they are not meant to be eaten. After that, we took a sampan ride. It is really fun, but I was a little worried that it might capsize. The water is really deep even though it doesn't look it and I'm pretty sure there are crocodiles in it.

Above are photos of the rice crispies factory and below are photos of the coconut candy factory, which was our last stop before we head back to HCM City. We also got to sample coconut wine, it is kinda like whiskey, really hot down the throat.

When we got back, the gangway was kinda flooded, I dunno if it is due to the short downpour or high tide. And a shot to illustrate how much motorcycles there are in Vietnam.