Mekong Delta (near Saigon)
Our guide for this trip is a local Vietnamese guy called Loc, or LC (I thought it was Elsie!) for short. He and various other people / experience taught me many things:
1) Don't buy a Chinese motorcycle if you want to be able to break going downhill
2) It's ok to smash bridges to get a dredger through
3) You are required by law in Vietnam to wear a helmet
4) If under fire from the enemy, you can cross a river with a snorkel and a clump of water hyacinth
5) To determine what each boat in a floating market sells, look at the wares attached on bamboo poles high in the air
6) 100% DEET seems to be quite effective
7) Rice husks are an amazing fuel
8) I never want to hold a snake
9) Snake wine is quite nice though
10) I can fit in a 20 x 40 x 150 cm hole, but putting the lid on makes me feel claustrophobic
11) Jackfruit and duran fruit smell and taste like trash
12) Elephant fish taste nice and can jump a long way towards your face
13) I will be getting many recitals of 'Eternal Flame' from the guide, who cannot sing
14) Rowing here appears to be a standing-up sport
15) Hammocks are very comfy, wearing shorts on chairs with wooden slats is not
16) The WC/toilet is consistently referred to as a 'Happy Room'
17) 14-year old boys can get very drunk on 45% Snake Alcohol (unsurprising, but then they can also vomit for the entire next day - when I was 14 hangovers were non-existent, although I was probably pissed from about three alcopops)
I'm now off to experience my first Asian sleeper train, so far all is sounding good with only 4-per compartment, rather than 6! However, apparently the Happy Rooms on the train are not so happy :S
Our guide for this trip is a local Vietnamese guy called Loc, or LC (I thought it was Elsie!) for short. He and various other people / experience taught me many things:
1) Don't buy a Chinese motorcycle if you want to be able to break going downhill
2) It's ok to smash bridges to get a dredger through
3) You are required by law in Vietnam to wear a helmet
4) If under fire from the enemy, you can cross a river with a snorkel and a clump of water hyacinth
5) To determine what each boat in a floating market sells, look at the wares attached on bamboo poles high in the air
6) 100% DEET seems to be quite effective
7) Rice husks are an amazing fuel
8) I never want to hold a snake
9) Snake wine is quite nice though
10) I can fit in a 20 x 40 x 150 cm hole, but putting the lid on makes me feel claustrophobic
11) Jackfruit and duran fruit smell and taste like trash
12) Elephant fish taste nice and can jump a long way towards your face
13) I will be getting many recitals of 'Eternal Flame' from the guide, who cannot sing
14) Rowing here appears to be a standing-up sport
15) Hammocks are very comfy, wearing shorts on chairs with wooden slats is not
16) The WC/toilet is consistently referred to as a 'Happy Room'
17) 14-year old boys can get very drunk on 45% Snake Alcohol (unsurprising, but then they can also vomit for the entire next day - when I was 14 hangovers were non-existent, although I was probably pissed from about three alcopops)
I'm now off to experience my first Asian sleeper train, so far all is sounding good with only 4-per compartment, rather than 6! However, apparently the Happy Rooms on the train are not so happy :S
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