Another early start to the day began with breakfast and a tender ride to Sa Dec. Sa Dec is a small river port and an agricultural trading center. We walked through the market which was filled with a variety of fresh vegetables and numerous types of fish. The fish were still swimming and very much alive. We then walked to a house known as The Lover’s House.

The story behind The Lover’s House dates back to 1928 when a fifteen year old French girl met and fell in love with the son of a wealthy Chinese family. It was a love story that was not meant to be and was the subject of the 1984 Grand Goncourt-winning novel, ‘The Lover’. We continued on to the Cao Dai Temple. The Cao Dai Temple is an interesting temple that incorporates different aspects of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and even Catholicism.

Following lunch on the ship we boarded the tenders and saw the floating market en route to Cai Bei. Our first stop was the French Gothic Cathedral and we continued on to see the rice paper making factory. Here we watched first hand how they made rice paper for spring rolls and also rice wine. Once back on board the AMA Lotus we were treated to a traditional folklore performance by local musicians and dancers followed by a farewell cocktail reception and the farewell dinner.