Days 14-15: River cruising and Tra Su Forest

 Day 14: Relax on the river cruise and cross into Vietnam

Today was a relaxing day just watching life on the Mekong as we traveled south from Phnom Penh and into Vietnam. 

Leaving Phnom Penh

Leaving Phnom Penh

Life along the Mekong

Sunset as we anchored mid-river for the night.

Day 15: Tra Su Forest and Sanctuary

Today we had an early morning excursion to visit Vietnam’s no Tra Su Forest and Sanctuary. We first took a tender from our river cruise ship

Then traveled by bus though several villages

and past rice fields

before reaching the Tra Su Forest, an inland waterway. This region includes cajuput trees, lotuses, water lilies, and bright green moss along with 70+ species of bird species.

We were supposed to take a sampan (small row boat) but as I entered, I realized the seat was too low and I worried I wouldn't be able to get back out, so Steve took the boat and I wandered around on the ground 

I was "attacked" by pigeons (it was terrifying)

Saw fishing nets

Saw all sorts of interesting sculptures 

And enjoyed a walk across bamboo bridges.

When the small row boats returned, we boarded slightly larger motor boats, which I was able to take 

After we finished the boat ride, Steve had to show off by crossing the "monkey bridge" without using the handrails 

We returned to our ship for lunch, then spent a relaxing afternoon cruising further south and enjoying the scenery.

Day 16: Sa Dec and Cai Be

 Day 16: 

This morning we took a tender from our boat for a short ride to Sa Dec.

Once in the town, we walked through the local market where we saw various items for sale.

seafood

dried fish

produce and crabs

Roselle calyces (Hibiscus sabdariffa)

From there, we walked to the "the Lover's House" where French author Marguerite Duras's paramour lived 

from there, we headed back to our ship 

After lunch, we took another excursion to visit a local shop where we learned how to make rice paper.

I even got to try making them.

We also watched them make coconut candy (and sample some)

And we saw how they made popped rice, then turned them into bars, similar to rice crispy bars

And finally, we saw how rice was distilled into "wine" 

with jackfruit, bananas, or snakes 

and I couldn't leave without buying some of the snacks

Days 17-18: Ho Chi Minh City / Fly home

Day 17: End of river cruise. 

After breakfast on the ship, we disembarked at My Tho port and we're bussed to the Sofitel Saigon Plaza.

We decided to stay at the Sofitel instead of moving to a cheaper hotel, since we were only spending one night in Saigon/HCMC.

I'm glad we did, since it was pouring rain when we arrived. Luckily, we were able to get early check in, but in a slightly lesser room. Since it was raining out, we went to the room and napped. 

A few hours later, it seemed like the rain let up, so we left the hotel to go exploring. Nope! Got to the end of the block, saw more rain coming, and made it back to the hotel as the downpour hit. 

So we decided to book massages (although there weren't any openings until early evening).

Around mid-afternoon it was only lightly sprinkling, so we went to the pool area to check out the area from above.

At this point, the rain stopped, so we headed downstairs to go for a walk in the area.

We found a busy restaurant (lots of to-go orders) and stopped for a late lunch/early dinner.

After eating, we walked a bit further before then heading back to the hotel for our massages. 

Steve had a really good massage and extended his, then needed to come back to the room for more money to pay. When I went down for mine, they treated me like a deadbeat/potential criminal and made me pay in advance. My foot/leg massage was just mediocre and disappointing, since it was the most expensive one on the trip.

Night view of the city from our hotel 

Day 18: Fly home.

Today was an early morning. We left the hotel at 4:30 am to arrive at the airport for our 8:00 flight. While it took awhile to get through check-in, immigration, and security, it was quicker than anticipated. We were past all the checks by 6:45.

Leaving Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon airport. 

We had an uneventful flight to Tokyo and enjoyed a beer in the airport 

We then had a 4-hr layover in San Francisco before flying home.

After 26 hours of travel time, we are exhausted!