The Mekong Delta is famous for Cho Noi, the morning market on the river. The closest town to the market, a few kilometres downstream, is Can Tho.

The floating market is best seen early in the morning - the earlier the better! Unfortunately the day we went we woke at 4:30am to a storm. After phoning the lady who, the night before, had offered to take us in her boat for a good rate, we delayed our start until the storm eased off. But the market probably wasn't quite the same.

After stopping for breakfast on a floating shack we cruised around the market and bought a plethora of pineapples for a mere 40,000 VND (around $2 USD).

Then onto the nicknamed 'fruit island' where you can wander around a water apple and jackfruit orchard, and for a small entrance fee, eat whatever you can pick.

Beside the floating market, there's not an awful lot to see in the town - one day is enough to take in the morning market, fruit island and wander round the small town on foot. To explore the famous 'Mekong Delta' and the different pace of life, head elsewhere in the region.

An afternoon's wanderings took us to:

A Khmer pagoda on a short stroll to the north (and the delicious avocado shakes on the street just next to the pagoda - so good we came back the next day just to have another).

The old market building next to the river full of clothes and souvenirs.

Passing a couple of hours playing games and karaoke at the arcade in the supermarket complex. Popular with the local young people for a mere 2000 VND a pop it was a cheap way to wile away time.

And simply an evening stroll along the river followed by a cool beer on a pier...

Last week I took an early morning flight to Singapore then caught a bus to Malaysia - meaning I passed through immigration in three different countries in one day!

Perhaps a bit much for a 3 day getaway (come visa-run) but the delicious cheap street food - take your pick of Malay, Chinese or Indian for 3 or 4RM (around 1USD) a meal - and cute 1RM earrings in Malaysia made the bus ride oh-so worth it. That and the chance to speak a little Bahasa again!

It was a nice change of pace from the vibrant but chaotic Sai Gon:

Followed by an evening taking in the Christmas festivities in Singapore:

Although I've occasionally been mentioning this in person, I've never admitted online that five months after arriving in HCMC, my toes still curl at the thought of backpacking again. 

My interest in exploring this diverse world of ours hasn't waned and I'm continually adding new tidbits to my artfully named 'Places To Go' text file. And I frequently daydream about going back to Indonesia. But it's all for a vague point in the future.

I sometimes get strange looks when I tell people I have done anything touristy in Saigon, or that I haven't left this sprawling city since I arrived. While I do want to see more of Vietnam while I'm here, I just don't have the enthusiasm for it. Instead of soldiering on half-heartedly like I did in the last couple of months of my travels, I'm still taking a hiatus. Not just for a week, a month or five but for however long it takes to get my travel joie de vivre back again.

If I'm really honest, I've been feeling guilty for feeling this way. Here I am in SE Asia. I've been fortunate enough to have travelled around the region before settling to work and in general, I'm a positive person so I'm loathe to complain. I know I'm lucky, but I wanted to point out that what's paradise for one person is not everyone's idea of bliss. We're all different. The internet is full of blogs claiming you too can live their dream of travelling full-time. And if that's your dream, go for it! I'm rooting for you. But if there's even a flicker of doubt that it's your dream, test it out first - go somewhere for a month or two. See what you like and dislike, find your travelling style, see how happy you actually are. Some of us have the capacity for long-term travel and some don't. And that's ok, we have other dreams and other passions. Fulfilling your own core desires, not someone else's ideas of what you should want, are what you should be striving for.

Over the past couple of weeks I have noticed some of the little changes I've made in my habits and mannerisms: a bit of Asia that's creeping into my disposition.

First off, It is essential to adapt to the local way of crossing the road else you will be waiting forever to cross most roads and you'll never get anyway. Basically, the method is just to walk across as confidently as you can and let the motorbikes weave round you (if however it's a car or bus that's approaching, stay well back!). For a visual, here's a video of a typical man crossing a typical busy street in Saigon as picked up by UK tabloid The Sun as so-called 'news'.

Soon after arriving in Vietnam I subconciously picked up the Vietnamese 'go away' hand wave (like the gesture you'd use to shoo someone away) which I began using for pestering touts without even registering I was doing it. Though I feel awkward using it when I'm walking along the street, when chatting over lunch with a friend I flap my hand without the blink of an eye. I've recently learnt there's another one that's a more polite 'no thanks' and added that to my arsenal.

Then last week while eating at an establishment whose target is tourists, I was geniunely flummoxed when presented with a knife and fork. I surreptiously switched the knife for a spoon before anyone could notice my confused attempt to eat rice with such Western implements.

But what made the change really hit home was when I decided to use my umbrella as a parasol as I was melting in the heat on the way to work one morning.

I wonder how many of these are temporary habits and how many will stick with me after I leave? In the meantime, I'm working on adding the local ubiquitous exclamation 'troi oi' into my set of natural reactions.

Have you ever picked up local customs when travelling? Share your experience!