Ben Tre is a little town clearly off the well-worn tourist trail. It took about an hour and a half to get here by bus, then over a little ferry and we had made it. Not being sure how to get from th ebus station from town we stood wih our packs on our shoulders looking confused. Of course, two motorbike riders started closing in with big grins on their faces. They both lifted thei arms in front of them and did the international sign for motorbike, grinning all he while and nodding their heads enthusiastically. Meka and I burst out laughing at their silly faces and for a moment they reminded me of my dad. Perhaps if he was born here he cold have pulled off these moves equally well. The bus driver quickly tired of them and puhed us back the bus. He delivered us to our hotel for free. The two xe om drivers sloped away.
The hotel was run by the communist party and it showed from the careful scrutinising of my passport- I had to point out the blurry visa extension stamp- to the large ceilings and bizarre furnishings, chairs with their backs enclose in fluffy pink covers, plenty of vinyl couches and sparse yet decrepit rooms. We loved it.
A wander into Ben Tre town revealed to us just how little they see of foreign tourists. Every, and I mean every, motorbike that passed us had a little set of eyes staring at us interestedly. One lady even slowed her bike right down and travelled alongside us, her children perched on the bike behind her, eyes wide open, a little afraid, a little excited.
We sat down in a roadside stall where noone spoke english. As we stumbled over the phrasebook the owner approached us said a few things in Vietnamese, mimed 'two' and despite our confused faces began preparing us a meal. It turned out to be Pho, the basic Vietnamese meal of noodles and (usually) beef but I'm not sure if the whole pigs trotter is standard.
Near the ferry we had met the only tout in Ben Tre who had recommended his hotel to us. Confused by the official government hotel and lack of English in Ben Tre the next day we called him and he picked us up and whisked us back to his hotel on his motorcycle. He had many 'exciting' tours to offer us and in the end we relented. We are going on a personalised tour of the Mekong Delta.
First off was a boat trip down the many canals including a visit to a coconut candy factory which was closed and we got stuck at because of a particularly furious downpour (yes Halszka, hot and wet and sticky). We lost our boat driver at some point and got soaking wet waiting for his return. Then we dropped into a 'honey bee farm' and looked at pythons (big) and their 
produce (buy, buy, buy), and ate many varieties of fruit (yum). Then we transferred into a little rowing boat and became mesmerised by the passing foliage and gentle water and disappeared into our own thoughts. But soon we were woken as we were nearly at Coconut Island, named after a famous littlemonk named Coconut Monk. I think it is fair to say that he was a little crazy as he lived off coconut juice and believed he was Buddhas reincarnation and other such interesting beliefs, see here for more details. He also built a fantastic pagoda that resembles a fairground. Be warned though, Coconut island has a monkey on a chain and crocodiles in small quarters and ostriches that are funny to look at but don't look too well.
The final and mostr exciting part of our journey was the capturing of many tiny fireflies along the darkened riverside. Or that is our tour guide and boat driver leapt to the front of the boat and collected almost an entire trees fireflies and put them in a plastic bottle for us. Sweet but unneccasary. They really do light up the trees like farylights. Beautiful. Sadly by the time we got home and let them free most had stopped blinking and may have been dead.
But wait, there's more. And this is for you Ken. At the coconut candy factory 
we ha seen a pond of Elephant Ear Fish and fed them coconut shreds. When we returned to the hotel our dinner was prepared and it was, naturally, Elephant Ear Fish. Wait for the photos Ken, you will love it.
And so it is morning and we are about to head off on a day trip to other exciting things such as those mentioned above. Be excited people.
