Thought I would take advantage of a little downtown (and the hot afternoon) to post quickly a bit about what I've been up to this past week! Unfortunately I forgot to bring the charger for my fancy iPad charger which means I can type about half as slowly as usual, so this post may be less eloquent than usual. Bear with me! 

I did an overnight tour of Mekong Delta from Saigon last week, which was fun although REALLY touristy. We left early from Saigon, drove for a while, stopping to see a few big Buddhas at a pagoda, then hopped in little boats and paddled down a canal for lunch, then bigger boats where we cruised to other islands to see coconut candy being made and to drink honey tea and watch a musical performance. Fun, but like I said, definitely a touristy experience where you feel like you're being trotted out to see "Vietnam" in a kind of inauthentic way. After the tea, we were back on the bus and drove further south, where those of us who'd opted for the homestay got to get on tiny little boats and traverse a canal in the dark with bats swooping overhead to our riverside bungalows for the night. Definitely my fave part of the experience! Probably because it was a little daring and crazy feeling, which I am missing from my days in Cambodia. At the homestay (probably not a real Vietnamese home but still), we got to help make dinner and feast on homemade spring rolls and the best tofu I've ever had (fried and topped with a yummy tomato sauce) and some delicious fresh river fish. The next morning we were back on the tiny boat and motored to My Tho, where we got off and wandered around the city market while the homestay owner looked for our connecting boat.