November 15, 2008
Jonathan, Bert, Sherri, and I made a short trip to a town in the Mekong Delta named Rach Gia. Fulbright hosted an enrichment gathering and it was a great place to visit! We took a prop plane down-it was only 30 minutes from Ho Chi Minh City-and spent 3 days there. Flying in over the delta was breath-taking! The landscape is very flat with water-logged rice-paddies, canals, and small houses. In the early morning light it was incredible!
Our hotel was in a new, mostly undeveloped part of town to the south of downtown. The wide, divided, palmtree-lined streets are reminiscent of western neighborhoods but they are empty as the area awaits a development and tourist boom that has yet to arrive. We stayed 3 blocks from the Bay of Thailand: the beach was rocky and not yet ready for sun-bathing tourists, but construction is underway to make winding beach-front boardwalks that meander from street-side cafes and relaxing hammock-lined parks.
We spent our time exploring the area. We ventured downtown where we visited a temple, had wonderful street food: banh xeo-a crepe filled with shrimp and bean sprouts, and enjoyed an accent different from HCMC.
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