Phnom Penh to Chau Doc

28-08-09

Again the transport was late picking me and we got on a mini-bus for the two-hour drive to the boat on the Mekong River. Now I was expecting something like a smaller Greek ferry with a sun deck to lounge on. Wrong again – it was quite a small boat but looked solid enough and off we went down the Mekong at a great rate of knots for two hours. We had to fill in our details four times on separate sheets of paper and then a health check form and an entry/exit form. We got off at the Cambodian border where we were checked out of the country, got back on the boat for a short ride to the Vietnamese border where we were told to take off all our luggage and go through passport control. We were met by a very smiley lady who told us what to do, took all our passports and forms then told us to get something to eat while everything was checked. Easy!!

The next boat was even smaller with loose dining chairs for seats. We meandered down what looked like a canal, passing flooded rice paddies as we went. The lady told us that they were flooded from the July storms but luckily they had got all the rice before it happened. It was a lovely journey, passing small villages along the way. The lady just happened to have a guesthouse (don’t they all?) and would we like to stay there? It was only afterwards that I realised it was the one recommended by the Lonely Planet and I was going to stay there anyway.

Chau Doc has a terrific market for such a small town so I had a wander round but didn’t buy anything. It was time to eat, plenty of restaurants to choose from but it was easier to eat at the guesthouse.

29-08-09

I got up early as usual, had breakfast then went exploring. Chau Doc was a lot bigger than I first thought. I treated myself to a coffee at the best hotel in town (shouldn’t have as it cost me $3:60!), had a look round the Catholic church - all the saints had Asian faces – even Mary – then came back and booked a ticket to Ho Chi Minh City (I prefer Saigon really) for the next day. I was going to book a two day trip around the Mekong with a home stay overnight and then on to Saigon but the brochure showed little boats where the sides were barely out of the water so I chickened out!

Chau Doc to Saigon 30-08-09

I now know not to expect too much in the way of transport so I wasn’t too disappointed with a small cramped mini-bus! We had stopped in a village somewhere when the sliding door was slammed open and a crowd of people selling food poked their heads and wares in. When I looked up, I could see a river and we were waiting for the ferry to take us across. That was quite interesting. I thought there may have been more ferries but that was the only one. I don’t think our mini-bus had any springs as I was bounced around like nobody’s business. I’m sure the driver deliberately found all the potholes and ramps too!

I got a taxi from the bus station to Hotel 127 run by Mrs Cuc (pronounced ‘Cook’). She has several guesthouses in Saigon. The Lonely Planet says you get a warm welcome with the offer of tea, coffee or juice – and you do. I was taken to rooms over the road and shown a nice one on the 2nd floor at $20. I said I would prefer something cheaper, went up one floor to an even nicer room for $15. That overlooked the main street and had TV, fridge and HOT shower. Breakfast and evening meal were also in the price. I was quite excited about the free dinners - it turned out to be spring rolls and noodles every night – but as it bounced down the first night it was nice not to go looking for a place to eat!