Drifting the Mekong River Day Away

From Feb 15th:
Poetry wanders in and out of my mind in the beautiful Mekong River Delta. Drifting down the river and basking in the simplicity of life: the quiet riverside soothes my mind and brings me back down from the crazy streets of Saigon. Even in the center city of the Mekong, Can Tho, the pace is much more quiet (and crossing the street is not a death defying task!).
The muddy waters lap against the side of the boat. I wonder how much history these river banks have seen? How many lives have began and ended here? How am I to keep the simplicity, the quiet traditional ways of the people who call this wonderful river home, from seeming "cute" or "quaint?" Despite the beautiful pastoral imagery that this scenery evokes, I cannot but also think of the suffering that has troubled these waters for years, decades, centuries. War after war; conqueror after conqueror; expansion; communism living in stride with capitalism. And given the completely laconic way that they care for their environment, I worry that the people who live here have not yet seen the end of troubled days.

Today we took a bus ride into the Delta, drifted up the River, had lunch at a family restaurant right off the river banks, visited a coconut manufacturer, listened to some traditional Vietnamese music, and enjoyed dinner with new friends. All of this sounds rather lovely, and it certainly was, but it also highlights both the problems and the new way of life that is developing for the citizens of Vietnam.
Tours like the one I am on generate income for those who a) sell the tours, b) welcome the tours into their homes and businesses, and c) for those who run the tours. The problem is that foreigners come in and out so quickly, and display such affluence, that corruption takes root rather quickly. Our tour guide today warned us to please keep a careful eye on our belongings and to please take off any jewelry that would suggest money because wandering hands have become a problem in Can Tho. He was also very quick to suggest that this is a new phenomena to Can Tho, and Vietnam at large, and not one that has always existed. Translation: Please do not judge the nature of my people by those who cannot help themselves when foreigners come snapping with their cameras and wallets. And this is an attitude that I am trying very hard not to adopt. How do you be careful and aware without becoming suspicious and paranoid? It can be a balancing act to be sure.

From Feb 16:
I am starting to see some semblance of organization in the chaotic Vietnamese traffic. There is a system of honks, though I cannot completely figure out what they mean. I have some guesses though:
I) I like to call this one "Existential Honking." This is the honk that merely assures the honker that he or she does in fact still exist. I see it demonstrated mostly on roads where all of the traffic is traveling in the same direction and there is no one remotely close to the honker.
II) This second honk lets other drivers know that the honker is either a) behind, b) to the right, c) to the left, or d) in front of the honkee. This is another form of existential honking I suppose, but more for surrounding traffic.
III) This honk says "I realize that you have the right-of-way, but I wish you didn't so I will honk to express my displeasure and to let you know that I am going to go anyways.
IV) And this last honk is for those who are driving recklessly. It is basically a long, continuous honk that lets those around know that the honker is coming through very quickly and will not stop for hell or high water.

I think I am getting the hang of this crazy, crazy Vietnamese traffic. [Yeah... not really].

From Feb 17:
Today we arrived in Hanoi. Beautiful Hanoi. We love it exponentially more than Ho Chi Minh. I will blog about our first day and our Halong Bay trip when we return in a few days. No, the Halong boat disaster that killed 12 tourists did not affect us... we are going out tomorrow night so apparently everything is kosher. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12490523
Ah the craziness of travel.