My day in Rach Gia.....

           Travel is not just about seeing the Manhattan skyline, the Pyramids or that tower built by some

More rain for the rice paddies....

guy named Gustav Eiffel. It is about passing through and stopping for a day in a place called Rach Gia (pop: 210,000), on the coast line of the Mekong delta. To paraphrase Lonely Planet, 'few tourists linger'. The city has a thriving port due to its location at the mouth of the mighty Mekong and is a high speed ferry location to an island that I can see in the mist from my hotel window, called Phu Quoc. Unless I have specific reason, I generally don't 'do' islands, as it is my experience that they are over priced and over-rated. Anyway: first, the weather update--strong sun, very hot & humid. A definite step up from the miserable rain that has dogged my travels for the past couple of weeks, so no complaints.
             

Phu Quoc island at sunset.....

Rach Gia appears to be a relatively featureless town--- I did not even see a worthwhile statue to Ho Chi Minh. It is constructed on the grid system with wide avenues lined and identical small shops. Most aspects look relatively new and even down the smaller streets there is little evidence of older building, or even traces of French colonial architecture, common in most Vietnamese towns. In Vietnam, one hears frequent reference to post 1975--that is after the 'American War' and the growth of Rach Gia would seem to definitely fall into the post war period. Apparently there was much fighting in the Delta region during the conflict, with the Americans having much trouble chasing the Vietcong around all the natural barriers that this low and waterlogged delta affords, resorting instead to heavy pounding of the local population with B-52s, from 5 miles overhead.

Making a spectacle of himself again.....

                 Noticeable to me today in this 'end of the road' town, was the absence of foreigners (as in western tourists)----I think that I could lay claim today to being perhaps the only foreigner in Rach Gia. Certainly this tall white guy, with camera hanging from the neck, garnered his share of stares and "hello's" from locals, especially young people. Friendly, yet reserved would be how I can best describe them----obviously not used to tourists parading down the streets with cameras intrusively pointed at their everyday lives. In contrast to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Hue etc., where the locals were almost aggressively friendly in the

Guys washing day......

expectation of being able to provide some sort of service. Of course, there well could be Chinese, Thai and other oriental tourists, here but there are rather more difficult to identify.
                   Mosquitoes. I came prepared to battle the pests-- pills and repellent at the ready. Have to report so far in Vietnam & Laos that I have not seen, been aware of or been bitten by the insects. I would have thought that a water logged, hot & humid place like Rach Gia would have been awash in them. Let's hope the absence of them continues as I proceed into Cambodia.