The Mekong Delta

We were a bit drunk last night and ended up staying in the hotel sky bar until the live band finished; we became typical westerners, drinking beer and cocktails and eating pizza for dinner! This pizza was actually good.....

The next day we had to get up for 9.45am, pack and check out of the hotel as Hoàng, and another driver, were transferring us to a different hotel, the Intercontinental; we were then to be transported by bus to the boat terminal for the beginning of our cruise up the Mekong. There appeared to be various nationalities including British, Canadian, Swedish and German but as usual, we were the youngest by far. It was a 2 hour drive to the port, My Tho, and after we got on the highway, I fell asleep, only waking when the guide announced we were 5 minutes away.

We boarded the boat and settled into our cabin; number 204 on the main deck.There was the usual swan decoration and flowers on the bed, very beautiful but a pain to clear up! We were also given a complimentary bottle of sparking wine called “Fat Bastard;” we were unsure if we should be offended or not. It was just before 12.30pm so we needed to attend the usual introduction and safety briefing first; it lasted 30 minutes and we got a non-alcoholic welcome drink, but by far the biggest cheer was when we were told beer, local spirits and soft drinks are included in the package! 

After the introduction, it was time for lunch! Today there was a buffet for lunch but normally, it will be a la carte; at breakfast, we will choose our main meal for lunch and then at a lunch, we will pick our main meal for dinner! Lunch was beautiful; I had soup, salad, BBQ tiger prawns, stir-fried beef, vegetables in a chilli sauce and fresh fruit. After lunch, we returned to our cabin and to slightly less cold fat bastard....plus it was time for a nap!

At around 4.30pm, we decided to move up to the sun deck and be sociable and watch the sun set. We had a few drinks then before we knew it, it was cocktail hour; this happens every day between 6 and 7pm and the cocktail is complimentary along with a few snacks (a mini scotch egg and some beef salad)! The following days activities are also explained so you can plan your day in advance. As it was our first night, a local family came onboard to entertain us; I’m not sure they were particularly talented but some of the performance was hilarious and it was great seeing some local instruments! 

At 7pm, dinner is served on the dot; we were a tiny bit late as we went to change out of shorts and into something more respectable. As this was our first dinner, we had salad, followed by soup and then there were four sharing dishes put on the table for main course; we were all given coconut rice and could choose between duck, pork belly, beef or very spicy morning glory. We were sharing a table with some Germans and Canadians so we all piled in and had a bit of everything! I was sitting next to one of the Germans, he was a bit older and his English was terrible so I ended up speaking German half of the night. It turns out they were from Mannheim, the other Germans from Berlin and the Canadians from Vancouver; quite a mix! 

After dinner, we went back to the sun deck; even though it was now very dark, we didn’t fancy watching the movie so we sat and drank until the early hours with a couple of other Canadians...All in all, a lovely first day on the Mekong Delta.