The Mekong Delta

Last week, I went on a three day, two night excursion, otherwise known as a "tour" in the travel business, to the Mekong Delta region. Damn, there were a lot of commas in that last sentence. I hate that!

Anyway, it was a bad tour with a even worse tour guide. I mean if you have a good tour guide, a bad tour can at least be somewhat redeemable. But this one was not. There were, however, some memorable moments from this tour that I will highlight here for your viewing enjoyment. Please sit back, relax and enjoy the scenery.

A lot of green on the banks of the Mekong. The river itself was quite green as well, a darker, dirtier green, but green nonetheless. I think the amount of pollution, petrol and pee contributed to it's current state of being.
We had to cross by ferry at one point. There were tons of bridges in the Delta region, but not here. The motos piled up and I watched in amazement at the sheer number of them. As usual.
The only relaxing boat ride we took was to and from our homestay the first evening. Probably because there were only three of us and a relatively quiet crowd we were. I'm done with the "herd 'em in, herd 'em out" mentality of package tourism.
We had the opportunity to see one of the many floating markets. The only thing we really could have purchased were overpriced beverages from the boats that catered to the tourists.
This is rice paper drying in the sun. Makes me want to make my own spring rolls just looking at them.
Jackfruit, called mit in Vietnamese and pronounced 'meat', is the largest tree borne fruit in the world. It's the only meat I eat.
Typical homes along the Mekong. I did see some really nice homes too. It would be like taking a picture of a home in South Central Los Angeles and alluding to the fact that it was a typical home in LA. Not the case, but the region is certainly home to a larger percentage of poor people.
The crocodile farm. Not the best place to bring me, but it was still interesting to see the plight of these creatures. I can't say I'd recommend it as a "must see" on the tourist trail of Vietnam.
Neither was this place, but I got a decent photo out of it. It was a "hike to the top of Sam Mountain" near the border of Cambodia. We actually just climbed some stairs up to this pagoda on a hill, but marketing is everything. They had a way with words on those brochures and even though I can't say they lied, they certainly polished a turd.