Red chillies

Well, that would have been the photo if I could have stopped the bus as that's my overriding magnificent memory of the day... An enormous front garden filled with a red carpet of drying chillies with narrow pathways between leading towards a wonderful dilapidated wooden house. 

We've travelled a long length of the delta today on our return journey to HCMC. It's been amazing and we've absorbed so many sights of everyday living on the River Mekong. People digging channels and sowing in the rice fields; water buffalo being used for farm machinery; stand after stand of road-side sellers sitting offering identical wares in different areas; and shops selling just one type of product, from motorbike seats and plastic tubes to coffins and giant teddy bears. And that's just on land. The waterways were a hive of activity as usual.

And then there's the roads themselves. Oh my goodness!

Where these vast numbers of people are going on their mopeds, I have no idea. The roads are a health and safety horror. Travelling with six heavy sacks on the back of your scooter or as a family of four becomes the norm as you spot wilder and more dangerous loads... Panes of glass held by people with their arms outstretched; people peering over the top of a load in front of them with their arms somewhere through the middle to the handlebars with a whole crop harvest to the rear; or balancing a good 20 of those huge water dispenser bottles on every possible part of your bike. And that's along with 15 other people in the same 20m stretch of road, being overtaken by cars which we were then overtaking in a minibus on the other side of the road with a similar 16 bikers coming the other way, just ahead of a truck. 

That is the norm. 

We're back safely with only a bumped wing mirror in a traffic jam. We treated the day as a sightseeing day rather than a return to the city and it's been an absolute feast for the eyes (even if sometimes our eyes were a little too round!)

At lunch, in the middle of the trip, we stopped at a hotel and were quickly into the colonial tourist protection area. We're glad we ventured further into the delta, despite the lengthy journey as, although lovely, this hotel missed the feel of being in the midst of real life, being set back from both the river and the town.

We've been out for a meal in Saigon this evening, enjoying wandering back and pondering on buying some art. I am hoping upon hopes that I'm back on track food-wise. I've lost nearly 2 kilos from simply being too nauseous to eat but dinner went down well tonight. I think my magic pink aperitif will continue as long as it lasts. Who needs a Blue Kamikaze when you can have a Shocking Pink Bismol?