8th March (Week 12 Vietnam - Can Tho, Ho Chi Minh City, Phu Quoc)

It turned out that our guide on our Mekong River cruise is a believer so we chatted for hours and over the next couple days got to visit some churches in Can Tho. We were really surprised/impressed with the size and beauty of the church in Can Tho. We were invited to attend a weekly bible group in a meeting room downstairs which was also beautiful. We spent the next couple of days visiting our new friend’s family and other churches. One day we went out to see our friends’s uncle in a  remote village where access was by boat along a river or by a narrow trail. We had to double on motorbikes and Ryan and I followed on a bicycle. Well, the bicycle gave out, partly due to my weight (well mostly) and partly due to the steep bridges crossing the river. Well, the back sprocket started spinning - it is supposed to stay fixed to the back wheel - and we could go no further. In the process of ferrying us back and forth to the uncle’s place Jemma burned her leg on the motorbike muffler. It is bad enough that we needed to get it cleaned up and bandaged.The next day we went to another church for a special dedication service for a new pastor and his wife. We had to leave at 6:30am so we left the kids at home as they ere exhausted (so were we!). It was like a wedding. Everyone was dressed up. The mens with shirts, ties and pants and all the ladies wearing dresses. The church was even decorated. There must have been 800 people there. The service was long and all in Vietnamese but our fund was able to translate some of the sermon and prayers for us. The service was followed at 11:30 by a huge lunch of stir fry beef and a hotpot.
The next morning we took the bus to Ho Chi Minh city sad to say goodbye to all our new friends and Ms Ha our guest house landlady. While Jenny and I were away the previous morning she had assumed responsibility of our kids and then them for breakfast and an hour later a huge lunch. Jemma is so polite she nearly burst as she struggled to refuse the hospitality. Maybe that led to the next day’s super high fever in Ho Chi Minh city (HCMC).
The next day I popped in to a pharmacy, they are on every corner, and asked if they had Silverdene, a good ointment for burns. Next thing I know I have 9 packets of pills, three packets day for the next three days for 64,000 Vietnamese Dong, or $4 CDN. Jemma took one pack and we carried on our way to a huge water park. Of course Jemma cant go in the water so Ryan and I start by tackling the Kamikaze water slide. Jenny had read some reviews that said that the park is not maintained terribly well and many people have reported injuries. That being said I looked down the kamikaze slide and thought ‘that doesn't look too bad’ and Ryan and I went for it. The slide wasn't too steep but as I put my arms out at the bottom I felt them wrench backwards. Ooh, not doing that slide again! No serious damage, on to the next slide. A tube slide. I’m not sure what caused the back slamming as the tube slide is completely dark but it felt like I was going over corrugated plastic. All I could do was try not to feel claustrophobic and the slide would end soon. I asked Ryan ‘Did you enjoy that?’ he said ‘Not really, but I want to do it again’. That kind of sums up the water park. Now add 10,000 people to the lazy river, seriously, how can you float when you cant move? I didn't take any photos as we left the phone at home as we were warned not to take anything valuable with us.
By now Jemma is feeling worse so we went back home. Jenny had been googling the antibiotic that Jemma was taking and did not like the look of the side effects and toxicity warnings. We decided that she would not take any more pills and I took her to a vietnamese hospital to get her would checked and have a doctor prescribe medication. I guess I assumed that the pharmacist was actually a pharmacist. Hmm. The vietnamese hospital was more like an ER with people groaning and bleeding from various places. Not a single person spoke English but a doctor (I assume that was his qualification) cleaned up Jemma’s would and put a clean dressing on it. I tried to ask about the medicine I had been given and with very poor communication he wrote a prescription for some new antibiotics which turned out to be Amoxicillin.
Jemma was still feeling quite weak but w managed to get her back up the five flights of stairs of our new accommodation which was an $8/day room in the city. Large metal creaking doors with huge padlocks it felt a bit more like a prison cell than hotel room but what can you do when you are on a budget?
An hour later Jemma started burning up. She had a super high fever and had the chills. Jenny was googling like crazy all the meds trying to understand what they were so we decided to go to a western clinic. We had called our insurance provider and they had advise several clinics in HCMC. Jemma was in no state to move but we had no choice. We were now quite worried about her so we careful helped her back down the 10 flights of stairs (five floors) into a taxi and took an hour to go about 10km across HCM City.
It is a sea of motorbikes there.
It was awesome seeing Jemma get so well looked after. They took her vitals, took some blood an tested her for everything. All tests came back negative which is good news but it left us wondering what to do next. We were scheduled to fly to Phu Quoc the next day at 8:30am. She was feeling a bit better because the tylenol was reducing the fever so we went home (cost was $630USD - thank you Pacific Blue Cross). The next morning, negotiate the 10 flights with bags, help Jemma into a taxi and off to Phu Quoc. Jenny arranged a wheel chair for Jemma, deja vous, and they got priority boarding while Ryan and I toured the airport shops.
Thank you Jesus, Jemma is a lot better today (we arrived yesterday). No fever, a bit of a headache and her leg is looking great. Unfortunately for Jemma she cant swim so even though we are in a tropical paradise Jemma cant enjoy the water. Oh. well. That as a very long post.
Here are some photos.

Out at the village. The man in the middle is 9 and his wife is 84. 

They live in a hut with dirt floors.

Ms Ha on our bicycle tour. She and Ryan led and we followed on bikes.

A church in Can Tho.

Downstairs for Tuesday night bible study.