Vietnam

Sooo, I think that I last wrote sometime when we were in Phnom Penh. Since then, we have gone to Vietnam and have been spending a lot of time in the Mekong-delta region, which has been a really interesting experience for me. As many of you know, I am from Stockton, which has a huge South-East Asian population. This is partly because the landscape is so similar to that of the area around the Mekong river, which means that people could adapt easier when they came over. So, having grown up there with so many Vietnamese/Cambodian/Laosian people around me, I've always wondered what there side of the world actually looks like and what their lifestyle is like compared to ours. And now, I am finding out!

We entered Vietnam by slow-boat, the first half of the time on the Mekong river, and the other half passing through cannals and tribuataries once we crossed the border. The boat was tiny, and the canals provided for some really cool sights. At times they were only 10-15 feet wide, guiding us through the occasional village full of waving children and curious adults. I got some great pictures of these massive water buffalo that like to bathe in the river occasionally a couple of feet from the boat. Eventually we docked in a small town called Chau Doc. The town doesn't see many tourists, so it was a breath of fresh air and we stayed here for about 3 days and just relaxed. While there we went on this crazy bike ride through the country side to another smaller village based on a Mountain side. From the top of the Mountain you could see all around the valley with all of it's rivers and deltas, etc. I think it was probably one of the better experiences I've had before. Afterwards we ate at this little family retaurant where not one single person spoke english, and the menu was entirely in Vietnamese. When Kyle Tried to explain that she is a vegetarian, she was served a plate full of Chinese sausage which I gladly ate for her.

After Chau Doc, we went to another small city called Can Tho, where Kyle's friend Evan is studying at the University. Kyle and I were on our own at this point, which was actually somewhat of a relief. Not because we don't love our friends, but just because its nice to get a breath of fresh air everyonce and a while. Got that Trenton! When we finally met up with Evan, he tooks us to a Monk's restaurant for some vege food which was interesting. I think got some stomach issues as a result, but who knows. The next day we helped teach an English class he has, which was amazingly fun.

Now we are in Saigon which is insane. Gotta go!