Today promised to be a busy one, as we had 2 planned excursions. I, mistakenly, believed that the first one started at 7:30 so I had us up nice and early. Turns out the start time was 8:30. Once again, we enjoyed a continental breakfast in our room as we got ready for the day. We boarded sampans and were taken to Sa Dec island for a tour. On our way, we sailed up river passing by stilt houses which were owned by local fishermen.
Some had a, shall we say, rustic appearance from the outside. 
We disembarked and did a short walk through the town of Sa Dek . Preparations for Tet were in full view. All businesses had flowers and offerings to the ancestors in front of their shops. 
Along the way we passed a shop that sold rice to farmers for seed. We had no idea how many different varieties of rice there are. 
We next stopped at an historic house in Sa Dec. It is the site of where a book and movie originated. It, apparently, was a very passionate love story and the movie is banned in Vietnam due to its content.
It’s based on a true story and we were told all about the story. It’s called L’Amant if you’re interested. We then made our way to the market. It was an experience. It was more busy than usual due to preparations for the Tet holiday. We weaved our way through stalls of fresh fruits and vegetables along with motor scooters. 
The produce looked outstanding. Pretty much any kind of fruit or vegetable you could imagine. We then made our way to the wet market where pork, fish, squid and shellfish were available.
Also available were frogs which we watched being skinned alive. There was also a selection of fresh rat.
Finally we passed by the poultry area where chickens and ducks could be purchased live or dead. It is very interesting to us that these markets have no smell to them and we never saw a fly or insect anywhere. We exited the wet market and made our way to the flower market. It was very difficult to keep up with our guide, but we all made it through. Then it was back to the sampans for the return to our ship and lunch.
Our next outing left the boat at 3:00. Once again we took sampans to an island. This time My An Hung island. One thing we noticed was the reverence for the ancestors. Lots of places have tombs of their ancestors in front of their houses or in their yards. 
This is an old tradition and has not been continued, but many houses have an altar to the ancestors. We noticed much evidence of this on this island. We were escorted to a local farm house for some local music. The singers were locals and amateurs. The music was called Vietnamese opera and was very expressive. The local instruments were also very interesting. 
We then headed into the yard where some young ladies were preparing small pancakes and tea. 
After enjoying our snack, we walked across a bridge to a coconut plantation and were given coconuts to drink from. The host also cracked the coconuts so we could enjoy the fresh coconut.
The village currently has three bridges across the canal. One is wooden, one is concrete and one is a throwback to older times before the more modern bridges. It is a bamboo affair called a monkey bridge. Apparently bridges similar to this were very common. Now I think it’s kept as a tourist feature. I decided to give it a try. The middle part was a bit too swingy for my liking, but it was fun.
We then returned to the sampans for the short journey back to our boat. When we got back to our room we found a note inviting us to the chef’s table for a special dinner. We immediately confirmed that we would be there. After a quick shower, we dressed and made our way to the lounge. The staff were dressing in traditional wedding costumes for Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar and serving traditional snacks and drinks. 
One shot of Vietnamese vodka was enough for me, but the fashion show was fun. Then we made our way to the dining lounge for our meal. It was a group of 12. The table was set beautifully with a card explaining the food and wine pairing meal.
We enjoyed every bite and the conversation was fun. The chef stopped by to explain each course. The wine was free flowing and by the end of the 8 course dinner, it was time to retire for the evening.
This featured blog entry was written by Basebrown from the blog Southeast Asia Adventure.
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