Today we visited the Mekong Delta. Last year, we also visited the Mekong Delta, but we went to different places. This is not all that surprising as the Mekong Delta is three times the area of the State of Israel. The route we took today provided a series of experiences. We very much enjoyed seeing the puffing of rice– an amazing process whereby the rice is heated in black sand in a very large wok over an open flame. The rice pops very quickly. The sand is then shaken out of the rice and voila! Then we saw the making of coconut candy- fascinating! and of rice bars (like granola bars) and rice paper like what is used to make spring rolls (what most Americans call egg rolls). Chinese egg rolls have a thick covering, spring rolls have a delicate rice paper covering that is also deep fried. <\/p>\n
We also went cruising along the small waterways, saw the floating market, ate some new fruits (jack fruit and rose apples), and attended a performance of Vietnamese music. We had a pleasant, relaxing day.<\/p>\n
Tomorrow, we go to Cu Chi where the Viet Cong hid out in tunnels during the war. From there we will go to a Cao Dai Temple. Cao Dai is a new religion that has elements of Taoism, Confucianism, Christianity and Islam (among others.) Their rites and rituals are very colorful and interesting. <\/p>\n
This part of the trip is running by very quickly. Before we know it, we’ll be heading home. It’s hard to believe.<\/p>\n
Pictures when I return.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Today we visited the Mekong Delta. Last year, we also visited the Mekong Delta, but we went to different places. This is not all that surprising as the Mekong Delta is three times the area of the State of Israel. The route we took today provided a series of experiences. We very much enjoyed seeing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ramblings","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t