"Live the Cover!" Contest: Spain

Great Travel Moment

Three friends and I were in Saigon in 1999. The previous day we had done the Cuu Chi tunnels, and Cao Dai Temple“tour thing”. Cool photos, but…a very packaged and very generic touristy day. We decided to head into the Mekong delta on our own, much to the protestations of the travel agent/owner of our guest house; who was looking for more commissions, but claimed dangerous conditions! The next morning we headed to the public bus station, and found the bus to My Tho, a town in the Mekong delta. By the looks we received, we had just ventured a little ways off the beaten tourist path. All the kids crowded to the back of the bus and laughed and giggled at us. A couple of ducks were tied into bamboo baskets and stuck under the seat in front of us. Old ladies with Beetel nut smiles offered us snacks and food. As the bus bumped and wheezed down the road blowing hot exhaust fumes up through the cracks in the floor we realized we couldn't have been happier. These photos are from that bus ride.