The AmaDara dropped anchor in the middle of the Mekong River near Sa Dac, a "small" town of 160,000 in the heart of the Mekong Delta. This part of Vietnam has some of the richest farmland in the country as evidenced by the huge market we walked thru this morning. We recognized the basic fruits and vegetables but ur guide had to tell us about a lot of them like Durian, milk apples, snake fruit, tamarind,dragon fruit and Jack fruit. They eat all parts of the lotus plant from roots to flowers and buds. We saw live eels escaping from their pan, live fish and shrimp swimming in their buckets, skinned rats, all parts from a pig including the tail, chickens - live and dead, feet & head, and lots of flowers. Very lively place!
We also visited a 120 year old house that was the home to French author Margarite Duras who wrote "L'amant". (I'm not familiar with the author or the book). It was a beautiful place.
We then took an hour long bus ride to Xeo Quit (prounced 'Sao whit') where the Viet Cong had a secret encampment during the Vietnam War (in Vietnam it is called the American War). The Mekong Delta was bombed extensively and hit with Agent Orange and several other exfoliants and set on fire. Xeo Quit was a Viet Cong communications base. The narrow path took us through the jungle past bunkers, spider holes that used bamboo tubes for air, bomb craters, reconstructed huts and fields of cleared boobie traps and land mines. We got a feel for what it may have been like for our soldiers during that conflict.
Because its the end of the Tet holiday, the traffic was horrendous and it took over 1-1/2 hours to get back. We enjoyed an afternoon of cool A/C.
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