The next morning we woke up a little bit early to catch our tour around the Mekong Delta. We met at the TNK travel agency and then we all got on our little maroon colored tour bus. Our guide, who’s name is still a mystery to me, took our tickets and then he told us briefly about the Mekong Delta and that it is shaped as a triangle. The people on the tour with us consisted of two Americans that were doing a program called semester at sea. They were really nice. There was also one Danish family that was traveling around Vietnam for a couple of weeks. We really liked them too. Another person that was there was someone who was half Israeli and half American. He was very strange and negative. There were also three people from New Zealand. Two were married and one came on his own. They all seemed very kind. After the hour and a half drive to the boat port, we all got on to our boat and then we arrived about 30 minutes later at the coconut candy island. When we got there, our guide told us the process that the coconut goes through to become candy. First they drain the coconut of its juice, then they cut out the ‘meat’ and save the shell for handicrafts. After that they shred the ‘meat’ in to small pieces. Next, they compress the pieces of shredding together to make coconut milk. After that they melt it together forming a chewy, soft, and warm candy. Lastly, they rap it in two papers. The outer layer is wax paper and the inner layer is rice paper, which is edible.
If they want to add other flavors they mix them in to the melting coconut shreds. They were delicious - especially when they were warm. After the coconut candy island we were on our way to another island that specializes in Honey Bees and honey making. They made us tea with their honey, but I personally thought that it was too sweet; it tasted like liquidy grass mixed with honey. Before we left the island, they took out their python. Some people held it; I passed on that part. After that we headed to another island which we stayed at for a delicious lunch. We had a mysterious watery soup and a very good and tasteful noodle dish that had chicken and tofu. After that scrumptious lunch, we got back on the boat on we were on our way to the last stop of the day. It was an island were they served us delicious fruit and sang traditional Vietnamese songs. After that the local village tried to sell us some of their handicrafts, then they had us get on to Vietnamese boats, which are like dugout canoes. Along with the boat they lent us typical Vietnamese hats for the ride. They are cone shaped hats made out of straw. They have a wide rim and a point on top. To keep them on, they have ribbons and different colored string that you tie under your chin. In between a lot of the Islands there are different canals that come from the Mekong Delta. We took a ride through them which ended right at our boat. From that, we went back to the port to get on our bus for the long ride home. We stopped at the bus station where my parents treated Emma and I to ice cream. (One of the few words of Vietnamese that I learned was So-co-la which means chocolate because it was on all of the ice cream.) After that we got back in to our bus and we were on our way back to the TNK travel agency.That night we went to a spiffy little restaurant called the Temple Club. We had very good food there. After that we walked around the many markets of Ho Chi Minh City and then we went back to our hotel to get a good night’s rest for the next day of adventure in Ho Chi Minh City.
The next day after breakfast we were picked up in private car and we began our last day in Ho Chi Minh City by going to a Handicapped Craft Lacquer. Some of the people that work there are handicapped. We got a tour of the factory. We were told that there are many ways to make lacquer and many different steps to them all. The three ways are glass, painting, and eggshell. It was very interesting. When we were done with that, we got back into the car and we drove to the site of the Cu-Chi tunnels. The Cu-Chi tunnels are where the Villagers of Cu-Chi hid during the Vietnamese war (which is known as the American war in Vietnam). They run for 2,000 kilometers (1,242.7424 miles) and they end at the border of Cambodia. Different parts of the tunnel lead to different things. One part led to the health area, one to the kitchen, one to the weapon making section and different parts like that. For part of it, we actually went into the tunnels. It was very hot, dark, and stuffy.
Around the area of the tunnels, there are many B-52 bomb imprints that the Americans dropped. They reminded me of mini-craters. When we were walking around, our guide pointed out many air-holes that were around the area. There are 15 meters between the entrance and the tunnel. Inside the tunnel you have to crouch, but it is not necessary in the entrances. Everything in the area is camouflaged with leaves and other things. Anther thing that the Vietnamese did to get the Americans was make traps. They showed us these and they are all very painful. Another trick that they did was put chili peppers around the tunnels so that the American’s dogs couldn’t smell them. When we were done there, our driver took us to the airport so we could catch our flight to Hoi An. The whole time that we were in Ho Chi Minh City, I was amazed by how recent they were in a dreadful war and much they have improved their county.When we arrived in Hoi An we got in a taxi to take us to our hotel, called the Hoi An Beach Resort. This is a very nice hotel with a good restaurant, a nice pool, nice rooms, and it is right on the beach. We first got settled into our room, then we went to the pool for a little bit. After Emma and I had a good and refreshing swim, and then we went to the restaurant for dinner. After we sent back our food about three times they finally got our cheeseburgers right. After dinner we checked e-mail and then we went to sleep. The next day we spent the morning in and around the pool and then we went to town. It is a very cute little town. First we took a little stroll, then Emma, my mom and I got dresses made because one of the things that Hoi An is known for is seamstresses. Emma and I got white dresses and my mom got a black one. After a delicious Vietnamese dinner, we went back to the hotel to go to have another night time swim and go to sleep. For our third and last day in Hoi An we went into town in the morning to pick up our dresses which we ended up being really happy with. We got some snacks to prepare ourselves for the 4 hour bus ride that we were taking to get to Hue at 2:00pm. We spent the rest of the day by the pool until we left to Hue. We really liked Hoi An. If we had known, we would have stayed in town, but we still had a lot of fun. It is a pleasant little town where the people are all so nice and generous. It was very small and charming. It was also right on a river, so it was fun to do walks on the river when we went to town. We all loved Hoi An and we were sad to leave, but excited to see a new place.
In Hue, we planned to stay at the Asia Hotel which reminded us all a lot of the Ha Hien, where we stayed in Ho Chi Minh City. It was a little hotel with seven floors and a cute little pool on the roof looking over the city. It was a very enjoyable stay hotel. The first night that we were there, we went out to dinner at an Indian restaurant (against my will) which ended up to be pretty good. After dinner, we went to the Mandarin Café and we got desert and organized a tour on the perfume river for the next day. After that we went back to the hotel to have a good night’s rest. We woke up the next morning and we were pleasantly surprised by the delicious rooftop breakfast-complete with chocolate croissants. It was very good. After that, we made our way over to the Mandarin Café and then we were redirected to the boat that we would call ours for the day. The boat was like a house boat in the sense that it was a square. There were two dragon heads on the front and a little balcony. Inside they set up plastic chairs for each person. We went to many different tombs, visited a pagoda, and went to a village. It was fun to see how the ancient Vietnamese tombs were built. They were built in Hue because it was the old capital. A lot of the tombs have Chinese characters on them because the Vietnamese used a dialogue very similar to Chinese before the Vietnamese language was developed. One of the pagodas that we visited was right on the river and it had many beautiful structures, but it was under restoration when we were there. For lunch we had rice with green beans and spring rolls. We ate it on the boat on mats on the floor. It was fun. One of the tombs that we visited was right near a conical hat (typical Vietnamese hat) and incense making village. We just rode motorbikes past the village, but of what we could see of it, it was beautiful. The incense was all different colors, so it was very beautiful to see, and the hats were also laid out in a lovely way. After a full day of adventure, we were ready to go back to our hotel and relax and swim for a little bit before dinner, but when we got to the Asia Hotel, they told us that it was booked, so we were going to have to find another hotel tonight. We had gotten some warning of this, but my parents seemed to think that we would be able to stay. After a lot of researching, thinking, sitting, and discussing, my parents decided to go to the five star hotel, called the Imperial Hotel, in Hue. It was very nice, but a big jump from the other places we were staying. One thing that I really liked about were how especially nice the people were. We ended up getting there around 5:00pm and we settled in to our room and then we went for a swim in the Imperial Hotel’s freezing swimming pool. After that we went out to dinner at a place called Little Italy where we had delicious pizza. After dinner we went on a walk under a beautiful bridge and then we went back to the hotel. The next morning we were VERY happy with the delicious breakfast and we spent most of the early morning in the hotel. After that we went to visit the old capital on the other side of town. It was beautiful and fun to see. There was a flag tower and a mote, many pagodas and temples. It was a lot of fun.
We hung out in the hotel for a lot of the day and when it was time for dinner we went to a little French restaurant called Le Carambole. Emma and I got pasta and my parents shared Vietnamese dishes. After that we walked back to our hotel for our taxi to pick us up to bring us to the airport. When it was time, we got on our plane to Hanoi.Our last stop in Vietnam was Hanoi, which is the capital city in Vietnam. We got in at midnight to our hotel called Hanoi Paradise. After we got to our dainty room, the first thing that I noticed was a cockroach. I said to my parents, “Look, it’s a rat!”. The towels were stained and the beds were dirty, but all I wanted to do was go to sleep (and get rid of the rat sized cockroach). When they finally got it, we went to sleep. It took me a while to fall asleep because the hotel crept me out. The next morning, breakfast was not that good and there were ants in the sugar bowl. We ended up walking around looking for a new place to stay for our remaining two nights in Hanoi. (which was hard because almost everyplace was booked) but then we found a travel agency called Exotissimo which my mom describes as a “fancy travel agency.” When we got there one of the agents told us about a new hotel. She said that she had never been, but her colleagues had and they all loved it. She told us that she couldn’t promise anything. When we arrived at the hotel we all ready really liked the vibe of it, so we asked to see a room. All of the rooms had wood floors with black lacquer furniture and white sheets. It was beautifully decorated and clean. There were no cockroaches! After a crazing morning of moving our luggage to the other hotel, we had worked up our appetite by running around the city all morning. Because my mom was also on a search for a good map, we found ourselves in another travel agency. They pointed us upstairs to a Vietnamese noodle restaurant. It was very good. After lunch we did a little bit of strolling. We walked around the main lake in the center of Hanoi, looked at the times for the water puppet show, and we figured out which of the tourist attractions we wanted to go to. After getting a little bit of a feel to the city, we headed of to dinner at a place called the Hanoi Gardens. We all shared different Vietnamese dishes.
The next morning we connected our laptops to the internet and we all had some good Skype, iChat, and AIM time that morning. When my parents finally made me go eat breakfast we went to the top floor for a delicious French toast. After breakfast we walked back into town to see if could visit the Ho Chi Minh Museum. It was closed, so we planned to go the next day. After that we walked to the Temple of Literature which is a temple that was also the first University in Vietnam. After visiting the beautiful and old structures, we went to a restaurant called KOTO. KOTO stands for know one, teach on. It is a program that was started by an Australian Vietnamese man for street kids. Its idea is to help kids that were living on the street with no family, reform their lives. The program gives them a place to live and a job to help them earn money. After a short training program they begin to work in different parts of the restaurant. They can be waiters and waitresses, or cooks, or hosts and hostesses. Not only was the program amazing, but the food was just as good. After the meal, we got two cyclos, which are like bikes with wheel chairs on the front. My mom and I were in one and Emma and my dad were in the other.
We rode down a very nice street that my mom and I went back to shop on. When we arrived at our destination, which was the water puppet theatre, we bought tickets for later. Emma and my dad walked around and my mom and I shopped for a bit. When we met back up it was time for the show, so we went in the theatre. The show was very cool. It was puppets dancing and doing other things in a pool of water. It was worth it and fun to see, but I was glad when it was over. After the show my parents needed backpacks so we got those and then we went to the Stop Café for dinner. At dinner we all got burgers which hit the spot. After a long day of walking and schlepping around Hanoi, we went back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep. The next morning we got up to go to the Ho Chi Minh Museum and Mausoleum. The mausoleum was a big dark building with lots of stairs and security. In the middle is Ho Chi Minh’s (Uncle Ho’s) dead body. It was a little creepy to see it, but when in Rome…. After that we went to the museum which wasn’t as creepy but just as boring as the mausoleum, so we left quickly. We were in our hotel a lot that day after the Ho Chi Minh things. 
When we started to get hungry, we took a long walk and we found an Indian restaurant to my dismay. We ate a big, late lunch that would hopefully hold us over for our plane ride that night. It was time to say goodbye to Vietnam.At home every time I heard the word Vietnam, it made me think of dark times and war. Before we went I was a little nervous to go because I am American. I wasn’t scared, I was just a little bit nervous, especially after what I saw in Cambodia. Both countries had been war struck not that long ago, so I didn’t know what to expect. Phnom Penh had beggars everywhere, but Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and the other cities that we went to had some obvious poverty, but not
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