Our exit from Vihn Long put us onto yet another bus which didn't quite go to our destination. Fortunately, this time we had a heads up. A Couchsurfer we'd contacted from Can Tho informed us that we could catch a ferry nearby. After shoo'ing off the Xe-om's (motorcycle taxi drivers) who'd told us they would take us over the river for a heavy price. We found that the ferry was actually right over corner and costs a mere 500 VND per person.
Upon completing the crossing we were met by A., a nice Vietnamese girl who makes her living as a travel agent and is chock full of information. As it would be highly inappropriate for a girl in Vietnam to have two single guys stay with her and her parents, she directed us to a nice cheap hotel and we agreed to meet for lunch. One of the other things that R. and I had found in common was our love of trying the local food, the more exotic the better!
Sitting down to a lunch of spicy chicken and soup we informed A. of our desires to eat something strange. With a laugh, she told us that there was a place not too far away that serves rat! Naturally, these are field rats who feed mostly on rice and not the disease-ridden street rats that eat everything ... or at least so we were told and want to believe to this day.
Come evening we were joined by a few more people, both Vietnamese and travelers, and were led down some dark streets to what looked like someones living room. A. assured us that this place belonged to a friend of hers and that we'd be well taken care of.
We'd inquired and were told that they did indeed have some of the meat we were interested in as well as a few other dishes we should try. While sipping on some local beer and chatting we got a few other small dishes but satisfaction was not to be had. All were waiting and imagining that special rodent delight that was up next. Suddenly, out of the kitchen comes a big plate with a bed of lettuce and what looks likes fried, marinated cubes of pork surrounded by mango's. Could this be our furry treat?
Funny enough, each of us that hadn't had this dish before, was expecting a full size rat, tail and all on the plate. Instead here were chunks of what could've been any other meet. However, upon taking the first bites and crunching on the multitude of little bones that couldn't be removed, we were quickly reminded as to exactly WHAT we were eating.
The verdict? It tastes somewhat like pork only slightly more chewy. Kind of like the difference between chicken wings and frog legs. To the chef's credit, it was well prepared and the spices perhaps helped the taste buds to conjure thoughts of other more familiar dishes. However, it was of course the little bones which when crunched sent sharp reminders of little rodent skeletons. Despite that, it was a good dish! We were also told there was some good snake in town but alas we couldn't locate it in time.
Next morning we woke up before dawn to go and arrange a row boat with a nice girl from Hong Kong that we'd met the day before in order to go check out the famous floating markets up river. Quite popular in these parts, since so many people actually live on boats. These markets are essentially a docking of many boats. Each boat will be jam packed with a type of fruit or a variety. The locals then go from boat to boat haggling for deals. Aside from that, there are a plethora of little boats going around providing breakfast, tea or coffee for both the shoppers and sellers. The result is a veritable bazaar on water.
Nothing is quite as refreshing as having fresh coconuts and pineapples being brought to you from an adjacent boat while being paddled down the river and taking in the sites. We loved the experience so much that we'd asked our amazing rower to take us further up to the next market and then through some more jungle canals. Once again, R. and I reflected on the sheer bliss and sunburns that a life on the water could provide.
Alas, these were to be our last days in Vietnam for we were about to make the journey up the river to Cambodia, a place that would excite our senses and wallets! Tune in for the next posts to find out the strange creatures we ate there!
Evidence of crimes referenced can be found here:
http://public.fotki.com/Dimakay/travel/cn-th
und
http://public.fotki.com/Dimakay/travel/chau-doc
