Waking to screaming geckos

We arrived last night in Soc Trang (city and province), in the Mekong delta after an eight hour car ride from Ba Ria Vung Tau province, which was a two hour ride from Ho Chi Minh City. In Ba Ria Vung Tau we went to Minh Phu farm to view their operation. We had a lovely lunch outside sitting under a pineapple roof during a thunder storm. 

The hotel was very different than the Saigon Towers, but very charming. As I walked down the hallway to my room, I noticed several geckos on the ceiling. They are very common here and as Michael pointed out very necessary to mosquito control. I also had a small one in my rooms. As I was unpacking, I heard a strange sound coming from around the curtains. It sounded like a big animal, bit it was the gecko. It made a few more noises, but then subsided until about 5 am as a wake up call. I've woken to many strange sounds, but none quite like this one. 

After a cold shower, I went out on the deck (7th floor) to take a look at the view. Even there, with a breeze, the air is thick with humidity.  Breakfast was out on a deck and consisted of strong Vietnamese coffee on ice with a a bit of milk. I also had an egg and a baguette. I normally do not drink iced coffee, but it was good and strong, with no sweetener, so I enjoyed it more than I expected. 

I realize that you may be thinking that I talk a lot about food, but it is a very big part of the Vietnamese day, regardless of the situation. The Vietnamese people are proud of their fresh seafood and enjoy sharing it. I have tried it all, much to my surprise, even squid yesterday and lotus root. 

We left Soc Trang at 8 am to visit a large seafood processor and exporter, Stapimex. After speaking with company representatives, we drove to one of their farms an hour away.

It is interesting to see the differences in production and options from small to large farms and processing facilities. I have been surprised at how willing they all are to share, including their texting processes, issues and How they deal with them. 

I think the level of cooperation on both sides will be very helpful for the quality and production of shrimp in Vietnam in the future.

In my next post I will tell you about the children we met on a bridge. cho đến sau này

Faye