Day 9 - continued part 2 - Kenh Ga

The trip to Kenh Ga could have been very disappointing except that I saw BUFFALO! I do love them, and there they were, tethered on the river bank, later wallowing, all black and silver in the sun and quite grumpy. 

Kenh Ga is a village on the river.  When the water levels get high enough the villagers take to the water on floating islands and stilt houses. Apparently. The hotel reception had led us to believe we would see this, however it seems it is too early in the rainy season, so while we did see the villagers from the water, we were on a boat and they were most firmly on land! 

It was a nice afternoon none the less. On the way we spied the tallest pagoda in Asia, clearly visible from a distance of course, built in 2009 I think. We did not visit however. Took a motorboat of a type similar to that which I crossed the Nile to my balloon ride one dawn a while back. This boat was in worse condition however we did at least have chairs to sit in. Narrowly avoided going with the bunch of French backpackers, which would have crowded the boat. The boat driver was kind enough to let us each have a go steering, for photos, I clonked my head on the roof when it was my go and now have a small egg on my head. It was very hot. Saw more white ducks and an incredible bridge contraption that opened the way to Kenh Ga, by land or sea, and seems to be the way they regulate access. Saw sluice gates and levees and a huge church in a village, apparently called 'house', behind the levee. Saw more black and white birds and there was apparently an osprey in the area but we did not see it.  At the furthest point of our trip there was an island used for Christian worship with a full sized marble replica of the Michelangelo Pietas statue (have I got that right?) in St Peters. Pretty stunning to suddenly come across that. 

Turned and headed for home. On the way back Thao took us for a sugar cane drink, which was quite nice and sang a song by Sting to us. As you do. Took final showers at the Legend before heading back to Hanoi in the same minibus for $15 each. Worth it! Peaceful trip back, plugged in in the back seat, taking occasional photos of Blade Runner type new, abandoned, skyscrapers on the outskirts of Hanoi. They just ran out of money. And we were out of time.