After 2 nights at Nguyen Shack, it was time to move to Ben Tre. The shack organised a prepaid taxi for us to get to the next hotel. I was anticipating that the journey would take about 2 1/2 hours, but it was probably closer to 5. A long 5 hours in a very small hatchback with a driver who didn't speak a scrap of English and was obtuse at best. However, it was an interesting ride, often through small country roads. This day was characterised by us being pretty much the only white people in sight.
We barely stopped along the way, but at one stage did get to cross one of the branches of the Mekong on a vehicle ferry.
Once we got to the Hotel, the Ben Tre Oasis. We had the requisite iced coffee and the kids had a swim in the pool. Then we got some instructions from the staff on what there was to see and set off on the hotels bikes. We cycled around small villages and never got where we aimed to go, but we had fun shopping at the market and the small local stores, where yet again we were the only tourists around.
Back to the hotel for more instructions from the incredibly helpful staff, and we were off again into Ben Tre itself to check out the night market, buy a top up of credit for my phone, and then find a noodle house for dinner. By now our Vietnamese was upgraded to hello, goodbye and thank you, and with that and a lot of handwaving and pointing, we managed to enjoy our evening where once again, no one spoke a scrap of English.
Everywhere we went Mia's white skin, blonde hair and the fact she was female with short hair (unusual in Australia, unheard of in Vietnam) was a source of attention. At the noodle shop the locals sitting eating struggled to refrain from touching her hair and skin. She bore it all very well.
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