Today was a free day for us to relax in the sun. The day started with a ride on a hydrofoil on the Saigon River. We went through the Mangrove Forest which is an area of dense forest known as the lung of Saigon. The Mangrove trees, with their spindley trunks, sit atop a mass of entangled roots that seem to have strangled the life out of most other plant life. They are so dense that the forest looks as dark as night under the canopy of the forest. The Mangrove trees are clearly the masters of parts of the brakish swamps that surround parts of the Saigon River.
We arrived in Vung Tau and visited religious shrines in the area. We went to a Buddhist temple where we had to take our shoes, hats, and sunglasses off before entering. I rubbed Buddah's belly and ran my fingers over my head for good luck. We climbed to what the Vietnamese claim is the highest statue of Jesus in the world. I am unsure of the truth of the claim but it was a nice hike up the the hill with the unevenly carved stone staircase. There were religious scenes etched into the stone walls and marble statues of Christian figures along the path to the top.
We finished the day on the beach in Vung Tau. The water was warm and shallow extending far out into the South China Sea. The waves were gentle as we threw a frisbee and splashed about. After a while Mr. Tin called us over to play a game where we held small banannas between our legs, hopped around, and then passed the banannas to our teammates using only our legs and ingenuity. Mr. Tin told us that it was easier if we held the banannas between in our crotches as we played, a kind of perverted concept by American standards. Whatever, I held them between my knees. He cautioned us not to damage the banannas during the game. I am not sure why he said that. Maybe he expected us to eat them at the end. In the natural American way the banannas that were left over at the end were destroyed in a fit of mob-like madness.
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