The Mekong Delta

After returning from Phu Quoc, we stayed one night in HCM City before setting off into the Delta. It's certainly 'classic' Vietnam, with rice paddies and small jungle outcroppings everywhere. We went through a floating market and then set out up river to a small village for lunch. As we set off, we were warned 'keep hands and arms inside at all times, and if rain, do not lower blinds as wind will catch boat and you swim across instead'. And as the guide finished saying this, it started to rain. To quote Forrest Gump (who seems to have a good handle on this)


"We been through every kind of rain there is. Little bitty stingin' rain... and big ol' fat rain. Rain that flew in sideways. And sometimes rain even seemed to come straight up from underneath"

All in the space of an hour boat trip... It got so bad that our Captain told us to lower the blinds, she obviously hadn't listened to the guide. I'm glad she did though, I don't think I've been that wet for a while. Swimming is a drier pastime than that boat ride.

After lunch we were transferred to a coach to get us up near the border to overnight before another boat trip up the Mekong to Cambodia. Before that, we were taken by rowing boat through some floating villages. It's incredible, entire families live in tiny boats, complete with government issued TV's (they discovered it lowers the average number of people in a family if there's a TV around!) We were then transferred to a converted houseboat to travel up to Cambodia. As it was a converted houseboat it didn't have proper seats, so we ended up floating up the Mekong River on garden chairs in a converted houseboat. I think Michel Palin would be very proud...

Crossing the border, we transfered to a 'speed boat' which, well I'm sure I saw water buffalo overtaking us on the banks. But it was an incredible day and we sat on top of the boat whilst soaking up the vast scenery before us. A further transfer to a coach for our first taste of Cambodian roads (imagine being in a tumble dryer for and hour and a half and you've just about got it) and we're now safely in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Some Stats.

Number of forms of transport yesterday - 4.
Time taken to travel about 200 km - 12 hours.
Number of children waving along the river banks - in excess of 200.