When you cannot speak, point!




The tourist boat

Mekong River. This was just a famous river detailed in school books until today when I got to personally experience it for myself. There was no where that the day tour could cover the whole river; in fact, we just had a tiny bit of it and its tributaries. I'm no geography expert but I gathered this information for I tried to listen intently to the local tour guide who spoke in his best English. The river reminded me of our very own Pasig River, though.



The Mekong River



What was amazing was that it was so long that industries seemed to have sprouted along it.We were brought to a honey factory, coconut candy factory and rice-products shops. Floating markets were there, too, although we did not get to see much since it was noon when we got there. The market activities peak in the early morning, we have been told.  The stops that we had in these places were marketing strategies to buy their products. Too bad, I had my eyes on "Saigon Square" which is their version of Greenhills Shopping Center. The goods here are just way cheaper than in Manila. Later, we will be heading there and we will see if it's not a disappointment. But from the looks of it, disappointment seems to be a foreign word to me now like all the words in Vietnamese.

Anyway, they were making plenty of money off tourists for taking the "adventure-seekers" to the brown and murky waters of Vietnam. But it was a pleasant experience. For a river who has breathed life into much of Southeast Asia, it's just proper that due recognition and visit should be given to it.

Later, as it is a little past twelve now, we should be going to the famed Cu chi tunnels. We will all do this without our expat host since he has work. We'll see how pointing to maps and addresses will work for us, commuters, later.

I'm off to bed now. Good night!

A law enforcer in Ho Chi Minh