Day Twelve,

up early for breakfast,

our first in the hotel,

we chose a table overlooking the river,

yogurt for those that like healthy food,

cold cuts,

salads,

and freshly baked bread and rolls, in abundance,

lots of garnishes in front of the egg/omelet station,

plus a series of hot dishes,

all set eyes down and tuck in,

we were early this morning, 

as we have more than a few miles to travel,

so off we go,

I took a few pictures on the way,

of street scenes as we passed them, 

and some of the items that street sellers were selling,

we were going to the Can Gio Biosphere Reserve,

it is only about 35 miles from Saigon,

but if it is busy,

and it was,

it can take over an hour,

just waiting to get the ferry,

and it did,

a barbers shop,

hold still!

like many places in the Far East retailers take over the pavements,

or become mobile,

at last,

our turn on the ferry,

the crossing takes hardly any time at all,

but being a Sunday,

everybody wanted to be out of town,

soon we were off and on our way again,

I am not sure what this building was, but it did look a little strange,

in the distance nipa palms, it is the leaves of these that are used to thatch roofs and make the sides of huts,

all set for a family day out,

this is where we are headed,

worryingly the clouds had started to build up, hopefully it will stay dry,

and this is something I have never seen before, the seed pods of a nipa palm,

another family out and about, it was surprising how many people were out and about on motorbikes today,

we were now on Monkey Island, so called because, wait for it, there are lots of monkeys there,

we had only gone a few yards on foot when we saw some,

they were everywhere and some had developed a taste for tea!

this one with a baby was at a disadvantage, it only had one rear leg,

hopefully both will survive,

at the time we visited it was low water, so we could see the mangrove roots,

there were lots of small streams leading into the main channel,

along which boats passed,

taking tourists for fun trips,

we were making our way to see the salt-water crocodile reserve,

over the bridge,

as another boat approached,

and over the next bridge, which rather worryingly seemed a bit shaky,

there was an observation area,

with crocodiles circling underneath,

a slip here,

could be fatal,

we were now back on the road, I am guessing this is the leader of the pack,

this one the young pretender,

we had a guide and driver with us,

and whilst the guide was not fazed out by the monkeys, Diana was not quite so sure,

but in the end,

all was well,

Diana did not mind the monkeys at all,

I tell a lie!

as the man with the bread disappeared,

so did the monkeys,

we made our way back to the car,

as lots of school children came into the reserve,

they were in for a fun day,

when we left the car the guide said to be careful of losing cameras, sunglasses, bags to the monkeys, well some one some where is minus a hat!

we continued to our next stop,

we were going to a bat reserve,

as we made our way there a chicken fight was taking place,

tickets purchased,

then wait for the boat,

I wandered across to the jetty,

to look at a brilliant piece of recycling, making a bath into a boat, when I noticed something in the water,

which hopped up onto a piece of plastic sacking,

and it was a,

mudskipper,

whose a pretty boy then?

well, somebody thought so as he was joined by a second one,

then quick as a flash they were both gone into the young mangrove trees,

as our boat approached,

walk the plank,

all set,

and away we go,

past a few boats on the river,

I had thought it was going to be a short trip,

but 15 minuets later we were still going strong,

and then we arrived,

at the bat sanctuary,

we walked through the jungle on a path,

past a couple of fishing pools,

and into our boat,

it is rowed, 

as it is important not to disturb the bats,

we made our way quietly into the mangroves,

it was as if we were entering a magical place,

other than the sound that paddling the boat made nothing could be heard,

the small stream we were on opened into a lagoon,

which we made our way across,

before disappearing into the mangroves again,

then we heard,

rather than saw them, fruit bats high in the trees in-front of us,

try as I might I could not get a good picture of them,

so we made a move back to the jetty,

the waterways the boats travel though are slowly getting narrower, these hanging roots,

will soon hit the water and bottom of the lagoon and make the passageway smaller,

our boatman waves goodbye,

the sign says it all,

on the way back we tried our luck fishing,

I thought for fish, but I was wrong, we were fishing for crabs,

and there is one, by my feet,

OK you would need a few to make a meal,

but as we say when we are fishing at the lake with Nick and Maureen, big or small it still counts as one!

and then a second one,

but evidently the ones in the pool are a lot larger,

we had no luck catching a big one so off we went,

to our next port of call,

a bird and salt-water crocodile reserve,

in the distance one of two bird watching towers,

so into the electric car,

we passed some wood or vines being dried in the sun,

I then realised why the car was electric, so as not to scare the birds,

we stopped at a covered over area, I could not help thinking, 'what if the monkey chews through the cable?'

in this area there were crocodile eggs,

and hatchlings,

and some very large Mums,

'I've got my eye on you',

in the main enclosure,

they were everywhere,

big they were too,

and we were going in a boat with them,

life jackets were not an option, if we tip over they would not save us, now there's a cheery thought,

so lets bait up the rods and catch a crocodile,

Diana nearly pulled it on-board,

then my turn,

easy does it, but it got away,

try as we might although they were biting,

we just could not land one,

which was a great relief for all concerned,

we made our way back to where the other boat was moored,

we were soon back on land,

and in the company of monkeys,

we walked past more mangrove forests,

for quite some way,

if it appears that there are no tall or old trees here it is because there are not any, all of this entire area was reduced to waste land when Agent Orange was used, the good news is that the area was replanted after the herbicide was removed and wildlife is retuning,

we crossed an even more rickety bridge than the last one, now are we sure the salt-water crocodiles are all accounted for?

Diana safely across,

our guide pointed this plant out to us, evidently it is used to control fevers, we were told as part of the replanting process many herbs had been replaced in the park,

another group of tourists takes the easy route,

then another bridge,

we finally reached the observation tower,

it was a long way up,

and this was as far as Diana was going,

but I was determined to get to the top,

and I did, here is a panorama of the tree tops, unfortunately for us the birds are here only in the breeding season, but it was still a impressive sight, 

then the tricky bit, for me, getting down again,

we passed back over,

the two bridges we had crossed earlier,

on the way back this made us jump, at a quick glance the pebbles in the concrete almost looked like a crocodiles head, and at the back of it a small yellow fruit,

that this little chap was eating,

back to the bus,

and to reception,

for our meal,

first course,

crab,

'yummy!'

the crab off of it's head, the sauce used is a mixture of salt, pepper and lime juice, we had never tried it before and was surprisingly nice,

next pork on a stick, spring rolls, vegetables and rice,

followed by soup,

we made our way back to the jetty,

passing a few boats on the way,

after a long drive we were back,

and on our way to the hotel,

lots of locally caught seafood for sale,

luckily there was not much of a queue,

for the ferry, so we were soon on-board, but the same as the way over, the cars were so tightly packed we could not get out,

but through the front window we did see these nipa palm seeds being taken to market,

and in the distance,

a boat in dry dock,

one of the many flower shops in the dockside area,

as we neared town the sails of one of the Mandarin boats could be seen on the sky line,

our driver and guide for the day,

we decided to have a drink in the mezzanine,

a latte coffee for Diana, naturally a beer for myself,

then with hardly any warning the skies opened up, it was raining so hard we could not see the other side of the river,

as quick as the rain started it stopped,

a shower and a change,

and we were on our way,

to the hotels seafood buffet, musicians played traditional tunes during the evening,

but it was the buffet we came for,

it was everything and more,

the displays were topped up over and over again during the course of the evening,

there was just so much to chose from,

one the chefs making sure all was well,

there were of course lots of accompaniments,

more salmon and tuna had arrived before Diana had sat down,

and as Diana was taking these a quick look at the desserts,

crabs, lots of them,

and rock lobsters,

the biggest we had ever seen,

the noodle station,

and other side of the dessert section,

then it was time to tuck in,

the agony of choice,

decision made,

'Cheers!',

eyes down and tuck in,

for my next course bearded clams,

which were delicious,

for Diana a lobster,

followed by a crab,

as I said before, delicious,

my tiger prawns had by now arrived,

and rock lobsters,

they were huge,

Diana started on her crab,

as her next lobster arrived,

one of the Mandarin restaurant boats sailed past as we ate,

what looked like the results of an undersea battle between crustaceans was removed and desserts followed,

ice cream and cake,

dessert over the lure of the lobsters became too much,

so Diana had another one,

rum and raisin ice cream for myself,

what a great meal and the only seafood buffet we have been to where unlimited lobsters are on offer,

a restaurant ship moved slowly past us,

we then made a move up to the bar,

and pool area on the top floor,

with a nice view of the Bitexco Financial Tower, it's helicopter pad standing out from the side of the building,

relax!

with a couple of cocktails,

and some nuts,

what a great day we had,

but it was not over yet, drinks finished,

a last look at the pool, 

and it was downstairs to the mezzanine, the table top football challenge was on!

I will not be ungentlemanly and say who won, but Diana lost, with that we were off to bed.