October 14, 2025
This morning we had a 3 hour drive from Saigon out to the Mekong River delta. Ollie was pumped to get a ton of Harry Potter time while Len seems to have gotten into a Paw Patrol podcast. As we approached the village, we saw many roadside coconut processing operations with thousands of coconuts in various states of breakdown. When we arrived to the hotel, it was pouring rain and we worried our afternoon bike ride might be cancelled. The hotel team greeted us at the van and brought each of us huge golf umbrellas to hold on the ~200m walk from the road to the villas. Len was so excited to be holding his own umbrella, “My own umbrella I can’t believe it!!” The walk to the hotel was lined with coconut, cacao and papaya trees and we saw hundreds of coconuts scattered on the ground. There will be no coconut points game here!
We checked into our family villa and scoped out the big room on stilts and its humongous open air bathroom and shower. The boys then scooped up one of the many fallen coconuts and attempted to smash it open on the walkway. Kyle and I had a chuckle watching them attempt to open it on their own and listening to their ridiculous idea, “Lenny lets try smashing it on the grass instead!”
After lunch (pumpkin soup, sautéed morning glory and mackerel) where the boys ate mostly rice, we had a bit of downtime at the villa before heading out on our bike adventure. Thankfully the weather had cleared and the hotel was able to put a few kiddie seats on the back of bikes so our ride was on. Ollie briefly considered riding his own bike but after a quick trial on the narrow hotel path he opted to ride on the back of mine instead.
We stopped at Mr.Cong’s house— a local who makes pop rice the traditional way. First he took plain, dried rice and put some inside a small pressure cooker then he rotated the pressure cooker over an open flame for ~ 20 minutes. He then alerted us that the main event was coming and we gathered around to watch as he opened the cooker and the popped rice then flew out of the opening and into an awaiting sack. The noise really did sound like an explosion! The boys enjoyed a bowl of plain pop rice but the majority of it was then added to a big pot where sugar, peanuts and candied ginger were added to make a sort of Vietnamese rice krispie treat.
The host asked our guide, Khai, why the boys have long hair and Khai told me he relayed that haircuts are very expensive in the US. Khai said this was an easier answer to give that wouldn’t lead to more follow up questions since many in Vietnam don’t agree that boys should have long hair but if he blamed it on price then they would understand.
Our biking adventure then continued in the hot sun along the Mekong River delta. Since we did not have E-Bikes, Kyle and I were really feeling the heat and the fatigue setting in while we towed the kids around. We stopped briefly at a rice field to try the bamboo “monkey bridge” before completing our loop to end at another local’s home close to our hotel.
At Mrs. Chien’s home, she demonstrated the making of “poon sticks” or natural candles where they use fruit pulp instead of wax to make candles. The kids enjoyed helping with the fruit pulp smashing and like many Vietnamese people we’ve met so far, she enjoyed stroking the boys’ hair while she helped them. She then walked us through her yard where she kept pigs and water buffalo. The purpose wasn’t to introduce us to her animals though, but to show us how she collects their waste and sweeps it into a reservoir where it then ferments to make methane gas that she then uses in her home for cooking. The entire operation is called '“biogas collection” and was delivered into her house via a gardening hose.
In Mrs. Chien’s yard along the water, Khai pointed out the water coconuts. He somewhat jokingly said that these were the preferred beating utensil that parents along the river use to reprimand their children. He joked that Vietnamese youth would remix Dua Lipa’s “One kiss is all it takes” to “One hit is all it takes” to emphasize the intensity of a water coconut beating.
Before dinner, we met Mr. Hai Luong, a war veteran who lives on the hotel property. He told a few stories about the war (via our guide, Khai) and played a few songs on the guitar for us– he had impressively fashioned a guitar pick that would fit into his grenade-damaged hand. Khai also shared a story about his last tour group where the group of Singaporean men specifically requested to go to a snake farm so they could eat the snake testicles. Khai is a self described “city guy” so he was super creeped out by this request but he did help them fulfill it. Ollie was confused by this story but once I clarified that testicles were the same thing as “jellies” he was extremely freaked out, “OH MY GOD! People eat animal jellies?!?”
After a very long day, it was finally time for dinner. Or so we thought. First we would actually be doing a min cooking class and learn to make Bánh xèo (Vietnamese pancake). We saw the kids’ faces and told them they could go play at the pool table while Kyle and I did the mini class. We were then served the pancake at our table and the chef came over to help the boys wrap their pancake in rice paper. I think having someone besides me or Kyle encourage them to try the new food was the trick because they both gobbled up multiple portions of pancake wrapped in rice paper.
Already feeling full, Kyle and I stood to go back to the room when the owner came over to ask, “Where are you going? That was just the appetizer!” The boys returned to their game of pool that they played with their hands instead of cues and Kyle and I sat back down to continue the feast. At one point Len was playing pool alone and somehow flung one of the pool balls in the forest. Luckily it hadn’t rolled in the water and Kyle was able to retrieve it with his phone flashlight.
During Len’s birthday eve bedtime, he chose the Paw Patrol theme song, Ollie requested Somewhere Over the Rainbow and I played Other Side of Paradise again. Kyle and I then did a bit of prep so we are ready to surprise the birthday boy in the morning!
