Ho Chi Minh City - Day 2

day 2 was mekong river day. we started off early by taking a bus ride from the city center to the mekong river.

 

the trio at the boat. jake in his japan japan pose.

 

the river bank

 

and then we started sailing through narrow canals reminiscent of the pantanals in corumba, brazil. wow! i haven't been to brazil. i only read about in in grisham's 'the testament'. bwahaha!

 

this is our happy tour guide. i unfortunately forgot his name. he shared that marian rivera is a big star in vietnam, and that his mom has seen all her movies and teleseryes dubbed in their native language.

 

after the boat ride, we found ourselves semi-immersed in this little village. this is our group on our way to the 2nd boat ride that will take us to our lunch place. like a philippine procession, isn't it?

 

we boarded horse kalesas. some of the german tourists had issues riding the horse carriages because they said that they find it cruel. our guide debated that it's the culture and that they should adjust to the culture of the foreign land they are visiting. left with no choice, they boarded the kalesa with sour faces and reached the destination after all. cheers to them for standing by their principles. cheers to our guide for keeping calm and having the power to persuade people.

 

and finally the boat ride and our cool hats!

 

 

we had our lunch and visited some of the local merchandise spots.

 

after the tour, we had our dinner in the night market then did some more pasalubong shopping. we capped the night with a heart-to-heart talk and heart-palpitating coffee.