On the search for Kurtz

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Today we entered the Mekong Delta. It is not really what I expected. I blame movies like Apocalypse Now for leading me to believe it was some kind of agrarian-only, primitive landscape. It is actually very built up and developed. For example, I'm using wi-fi right now if that gives you any indication. It is a far cry from being the isolated jungle that I imagined. We are being guided through the delta by a man who calls himself Jason SuperStar. He's an interesting fellow to say the least. Throughout the course of the day, we broke just about every rule in terms of safe foods to eat. We went through a market and Jason SuperStar kept picking up various fruits and food items for us to eat. We felt awkward turning them down, so we ate everything - including a fish that Greg caught - and I killed. Yeah, sh*t gets crazy in the delta - I'm a changed man now.

Of course, we didn't just spend the whole day eating questionable foods and beating the hell out of defenseless fish. Hopefully PETA doesn't come after me after what I did today. Fortunately I'm in Vietnam, where earlier today a man was prepping a rooster for a cock-fight, so such crimes as bludgeoning a fish are pretty mundane in comparison. We also walked around a buddhist temple, where I was touched by a baby (scary). We also took turns at driving a boat through the delta. Greg has since changed his mind about photography altogether to pursue a career as a cockswain.

But I digest...
It would seem by following our blogs, that Greg and I are just drinking beer the entire trip. This is true, but needs to be qualified with the following: We know only about 60% of what we're eating. The other 40% could be contaminated with water or some sort of bacteria. Beer is not only cheaper in most instances - it contains a vital ingredient that kills aforementioned bacteria. And today, we were especially nervous - convinced that untreated tap water had made its way into our systems. Accordingly, Greg and I did shots with a man in the Delta. We don't know his name, his story, or really anything about him other than that he makes his own fruit wine. Greg estimates that it was around 110 proof. I liked it so much, I bought it off him to fend off any other bacteria that may assault me in the next few days.



The moral is this: neither of us got sick. I would say we dodged one hell of a bullet. We did, however, get sleepy and laid out on hammocks for a while - passing time by taking slow-shutter pictures of ourselves. Even you will feel a little buzzed after looking at them. Check out Greg's page for an example.

We are now in Can Tho, a town in the delta that is significantly larger than I expected. I don't know how often we can expect to have Wi-Fi in the future. Hopefully we will be able to update again in Rach Gia, and again on Phu Quoc Island.