Today was the 40th anniversary of the fall of Saigon to the North Vietnamese and speeches,patriotic songs and a big parade had already started as we ate breakfast and replaced the normal football on the tv. Thankfully we took a trip to the Mekong river for a cruise and visit to the island communities in the Delta. First stop was to a bee farm where we sampled their wares,tea with honey,caramelised bananas from their own trees and peanut and sesame brittle. At an orchid farm Kate held a python before we visited a coconut candy and wine/spirit farm. At a fruit farm we tasted the local fruit and were serenaded by traditional Vietnamese music which at the end included "if you're happy clap your hands" and auld Lang syne. Who'd have thought it! For lunch we had a local tasting menu which included an elephant fish which we ate in pancakes washed down with a beer. To get from one island to another we were paddled along in dugout canoes which was a bit like all the old Vietnam war movies. When we returned the area around our hotel was no longer cordoned off for the celebrations but there were plenty of soldiers milling about looking demob happy. From the safety of our coach it was fun to see the pedestrians crossing the road.Thankfully we will no longer have to just step out and cross with all the scooters going by. You just keep going at a sedate pace never stopping or running!
In the evening we went out to mix with the crowds to watch the firework display that was the finale of the day's festivities .As all the central areas were completely closed to traffic and pedestrians we watched above a sea of scooters and buses that were more or less gridlocked with a mass of Vietnamese who were visibly impressed by the 15 minute show but we were rather underwhelmed.