Can Tho is a major hub of the Mekong Delta in Southern Vietnam. It also features a huge tin statue of everybody’s favourite uncle, Ho Chi Minh. It’s supposed to be a six hour drive south of Saigon (we made it in four). Its also home to two fabulous floating markets. And it’s the reason we are as red as beetroots right now (which oddly enough, you can get in tiny Can Tho but I’ve not seen anywhere since living in Asia). I conveniently left that hat in the top picture on the bus...first time I'd worn it during this trip and I manage to leave it in the minibus. Figures.
And Jason bought me an ice cream. Isn’t he the sweetest? Even though he can’t eat it, and knows I wouldn’t get it myself, he bought me two tiny little Vietnamese ice cream cones from the bicycle ice cream cart with a cute little bell. I was very happy. Well, actually he had to buy two and tried to give the extra one away to a little boy who’s parents had apparently very effectively taught him never to accept ice cream from strangers (especially strange, tall, white men with jaunty caps and Ray Bans on) so I got two ice cream cones instead of one. I’m proud of that little boy.
The best way to see the markets is to take a little boat, obviously. At 5 in the morning. Which is getting surprisingly easier to do, the more we do it. Problem is at 5am it’s a little chilly and with all the rain we’d had, neither of us remembered sun block and didn’t think about it while we watched the sunrise in a sky painted with a thousand different shades of orange and pink and purple. We weren’t thinking about it when the rays kissed our vitamin K deficient faces after months of rainy season. It was the least closest thing to our minds as the gentle waves lapped against the sides of the boats laden with all kinds of fruits and vegetables, making the early morning sunlight dance on the water. It didn’t even cross our mind as we made our way in our little boat up and down the natural canals with our little Vietnamese woman as a guide. The thought of sunburn, I’m sorry to say since I’m an Australian and should very well know better, didn’t dawn on me till about 11am when I knew it was already too late.
Yup. That’s gonna peel. Our white legs were really red now – a perfect way to start the sunny portion of our trip to Kep in Cambodia. But does the sun ever burn someone at a convenient time? And on the upside, now I have my Chaco ‘Z’ tan back on my feet – the downside is that no one will ever believe I’m an Australian because I’m not blond and can’t use the ‘I don’t tan – I just burn’ excuse. Only Brits and blonds get burned. My legs are going to hate me for the next few days. I’m the only one sitting on a beach in Cambodia with my towel over my legs…how embarrassing.
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