I love the smell of diesel in the morning

Hello friends,
I'm back in Saigon. Tomorrow I head to a beach town called Mui Ne. Hopefully it will be nice.
Today, I started out in a much more rural part of the delta, near the Cambodian border. The Khmer Rouge attacked this area in 1978, because historically it was part of the Khmer empire. The Vietnamese fended them off.
It was interesting to see a more remote area. There were endless rice paddies. We took a little boat ride again this morning and saw people fishing. There were little neighborhoods floating on the water. Neat little rows of houses.
We stopped at a Cham village. We looked at their mosque. I was interested to see the Cham weaving, but it was more trying to sell us stuff than looking at how they make things. They were selling very beautiful silk items for very cheap. Mom, you'll be happy to know that I decided not to keep myself from buying something if it really catches my eye. I'll just ship it home sea mail.
We spent a LOT of time on a bus today. I'm happy to be off it, even though I'm getting right back on tomorrow. We took a ferry across the river. People got on with their mopeds. We were waiting in a ceilinged area, and people let their engines run. I thought I was going to yak from the fumes.
Highlights of the last day:
1. I met a very nice couple of women from New Zealand who are coming from where I'm going. I had dinner with them and chatted with them for the afternoon. It was nice to be with people who already know the ropes. They told me all the nice things they saw in Laos and said they didn't care much for Cambodia. Anyhoo, it was very nice to meet them and hear what a nice time they've had.
2. It took me these 5 days to realize that people here are incredibly friendly and nice. I feel bad it took so long, but I've never, ever been to a developing country where people yelling at you just want to say hello and talk. It's so refreshing! The town we were in yesterday, Chao Doc, was full of little kids yelling, "hello, hello." They got so excited when you said hello back. They wanted to play and shake hands. It's so joyful. It took a while to realize they didn't want my money, because everywhere else I've been, if you give people yelling at you the time of day, they follow you around and won't leave you alone.
On a ferry over the river today, an older Vietnamese woman leaned over and started talking to me. She asked me about myself and then asked me to keep talking so she could listen to me and practice her English. It was really fun.
On the street, if people are trying to sell something, if you say "no, thanks," they go away. It's unbelievable.
I'm so used to getting harrassed by beggars, harrassed by men, etc abroad. It seems like people here just genuinely want to say hello.
I'm feeling better about being here. I was apprehesive about leaving home. It's taken a couple of days for me to feel relaxed and comfortable. I think the organized tour was probably a good way to let myself get acclimated to traveling. Now I'm excited not to be herded like cattle as I go up north.
I was eating dinner at a restaurant on the street today and someone offered to sell me marijuana, ecstasy and coke, in that order. I politely declined.
Next time I write I will be on the Pacific, perhaps holding a delicious beverage in a coconut.
Oh, and Mom, I keep trying to reply to your email and it won't go through.