Pocahontas Party in Vietnam

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Our two-day, one-night tour of the Mekong Delta was touristy but pretty good. We took a 3-hr boat ride down the Saigon River early the first morning and started the activities off with Unicorn Island where we tasted local honey, banana wine, tropical fruits and listened to traditional Vietnamese music. We enjoyed rowing in row boats down a skinny canal wearing the pointed cone hats that you imagine of when you think about Vietnam. We went to Ben Tre to look at fruit orchards, watch the making of coconut candy and taste it, and ride bikes through the town. We took a few different boats to Can Tho where we stayed for the night, which is the 5th biggest city in Vietnam. The following morning we took a boat to the biggest floating market in the area where they hang the available produce from poles high in the sky. If a boat was selling pineapples, a pineapple would be hanging from a tall pole as advertising. Our final stop was a risk husking factory where we learned about rice and its many forms.


We returned to Ho Chi Minh City in the evening of the second day only to find that our hotel (where we had stayed for 6 days) did not reserve a room that we had asked for. They took us to a different hotel, but the room was smelly and the shower was no good. We walked around and eventually found a place that had really comfortable beds and was perfect for the night. The following day we flew to DaNang in central Vietnam.


We found DaNang to be cute but fairly boring. Our first night in the city as we walked along the river in search of dinner memories of our first weeks in Trang haunted us. Everyone was starring at us and yelling hello with no follow up. A man with a small child in his arms ran up to us to give his kid a closer look. At the restaurant we found, we struggled to order. The waitstaff knew no English and we had no Vietnamese to offer. Overall in DaNang we struggled to find good food. The places that would have the best local food likely did not have a menu and we had no idea what to order.


We met up with a friend at the local bar Seventeen Saloon, which was very much a cowboy and indians kind of place. The band was Filipino and sang some wonderful American hits. We were planning on heading out of DaNang the following day, but after learning there would be a Pocahontas Party the next night we decided we had to stay and check it out. After our first night at Seventeen Saloon, we went out for some late night food, fresh seafood on the beach. We had clams, steamed squid, frog and fish lettuce wraps. The food was incredibly fresh and delicious. We also had some locals with us who knew where to eat and what to order.

The Pocahontas Party was simply stunning. When we arrived there was a bonfire and a teepee at the front door. Inside we found that all the staff were wearing Indian costumes. The men were shirtless with their chests painted and the women where wearing little burlap and pleather outfits with their faces painted. Even the band was decked out with Indian garb. The night included some themed activities and competitions: face painting, fish spearing and a raffle drawing. I was volunteered for the face painting competition, so I painted a 40-year old Vietnamese guy's face. We ended up winning the contest and I now have a black tshirt with a horse on the front and the back! It is quite a terrible shirt. Patrick tried out the fish spearing and we had no luck with the raffle. At one point 4 of the waitresses did a dance routine in their outfits to Shakira (which is not quite Indian music). The whole night was quite amusing! We do have pictures, but I will not be able to post those until we get back to the States.

We are currently in Hoi An, a city 45 minutes South of DaNang. It is a World Heritage Site and it is known for its tailor and shoemaking shops. We are having a few things made. Pat designed a pair of UNC hightop basketball shoes that should be ready this morning and we are also having some clothes made (shorts, pants, and a dress). We will let you know how those turn out. The center part of Hoi An is the "ancient" city and no motorbikes or cars are allowed to drive through, so it is really peaceful to walk through. The ancient city is very quaint and the shops are very cute. I think today we will spend some time at the beach because it is really hot and the beach is only 3 km away.