Saturday, January 21st :

This morning we boarded trishaws through the town of Tan Chau. They are carts without back supports drawn by a bicycle. A few of us got separated from the main group and went around several streets before we got with the group. We saw a lot of little kids that kept waving and saying high to us.

Eventually we made our way to a silk factory. A representative explained the silk making process and showed the coccoons that were consumed in the process. It takes quite a few of them to make one kilo of silk. Apparently this area is good for growing the Mulberry trees that the worms thrive on. He also showed some native fruit that is used to make the dyes and described the multiple step process to dye the fruit.

He kept showing a picture of Angelina Jolie in a silk dress. Apparently she was important in reviving the interest in high quality silk amongst film stars.

I got a close look at how the pattern was being made from the paper similar to the old playing piano.

We got back on rickshaw and headed to a mat weaving shop. Mats are still important here, due to humidity and cost of air conditioning that would be required to use regular mattresses. We passed several other silk shops and other small industry on the way.

Then we walked through the town passing several vegetable gardens and ended up back at the boat.

That evening there was a demonstration on how the staff folds towels. I just caught the final end of that demo. I was really going up there for the presentation on local fruits and vegetables.

That evening we had our special dinner at the Chef Table.

Sunday, January 22nd :

Sunday morning we took another boat ride to the shore. First we visited a Sa Dec local farmer's market. There were all kinds of live fish, snakes and eels on display there. I also got a glimpse of chicken's feet and some kind of rodent. Looked like a little rat.

From there we visited the Huynh Thuy Le or "Lovers House". The French writer Marguerite Duras apparently had an affair with this rich Chinese man which became the basis for her novel.

On the way to Xeo Quyt we passed by some brick factories. I got a pretty good photo of one of them. Our guide explained that there is quite an art to stacking the bricks and cooking them the right amount of time.

Xeo Quyt was a communist camp located 1.8 miles from an American military base, but was never discovered. The jungle is pretty thick there. There is a marker where a bomb was dropped when it was suspected. We also saw their dug in homes with hideaway entrances. While we were touring the AmaDara sailed to Cai Be.

Next we visited a candy factory where we saw demonstrations for making rice candy, snake wine etc. Also saw them make rice popcorn. He did this by heating up some sand in a big wok, then pouring some rice into the sand and watching it pop. Then he screened the sand out and bagged the product.

Monday, January 23rd :

Next we visited the former Presidential Palace. It has a nice water fountain in front. As we exited the bus there were replicas of tanks that pulled up to the palace as the Americans evacuated. I got to push Remy up some long ramps to enter and then special elevators instead of the narrow stairs that everyone else took.

Inside were some rooms used as the war planning rooms during the war with maps they used on the walls. We got to see the elaborate furnishings and chandeliers, etc. Guide pointed out how the dinnerware differed for officials and royalty.

Then we visited the War Remnants Museum, which used to be called the War Crimes Museum until the failure of Communism. The guide warned every one of the graphic nature of some of the displays, especially with the ones with photos relating to the usage of napalm and other defoliants by the Americans. Those were pretty bad and the descriptions were not very flattering references to the Americans and French fighting the war.

There were no elevators so Remy stayed on the first of the three floors of displays. My interest was more on the displays of the weapons used to fight the war. Outside were tanks, planes, helicopters, etc. There was also a replica of a prison/torture chamber.

When I returned for Remy I couldn't find her in the crowd even though I looked down all the main aisles of the complex. When it got time to be back at the bus, I looked to see if she returned early, but she hadn't. We looked for her for another half hour before we found her slowly making her way back. The other tourist we not pleased.

Tuesday, January 24th :

We needed to catch a 9:30 am flight to return to Manila and with the increase in traffic due to the New Year's being a risk, we were advised to leave for the airport 3 and a half to 4 hours early. We had Than set up a transfer for 6 am. We were getting concerned when no one was yet at the desk at 6, but he finally showed up and we got to the airport and on the plane in plenty of time.

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