Welcome to Vietnam!
We crossed the border from Cambodia to Vietnam on a boat via the Mekong Delta...it was a really fantastic tour and included loads of side-trips that otherwise might have been difficult to arrange. We took a bus from Phnom Penh to a boat dock at Neak Long. From there we cruised on a boat to the border, and had a surprisingly easy crossing. We transferred to the Vietnam boat and met our really nice tour guide, San, who was informative and smiley all the time! Arrived in Chau Doc and got checked into the Mekong Guesthouse near Sam Mountain. We climbed up there for sunset - it was a bit cloudy but the views were nice over both Vietnam and Cambodia!
Day 2 and we went to a fish farm - they float under houses that people live in, usually held up by bamboo. About 100 000 fish are held in a relatively small rectangular box (18m x 8m x 6m deep). Next stop was Cham minority village, to see a towel weaving workshop - I was made to try on some hilarious sarong and sash combination...needless to say I wasn't quite tempted enough to buy it. Then a bus trip to Can Tho, another town on a tributary of the Mekong. We were able to extend our trip for an extra day and decided to a homestay. Along with our new friends Stephane & Elisabet (from France & Quebec), we met one of the hosts and went to his house by bus & moto!
It was definitely an experience - he told us that they were having a family party that day/night, commemorating his Grandfather's death 16 years ago. They obviously celebrate rather than mourn these anniversaries in Veitnam. On arrival we met an enormous number of his extended family - siblings, cousins, parents, uncles & aunts, grandparents.
We were given a traditional Vietnamese lunch which was great, and loads of green tea which they seem to drink all the time! We realised quickly that the festivities had started early that morning - kept being offered rice wine in shot glasses by some of the men, and it seemed a bit rude not to go "50-50" with them as they kept saying!
We managed to escape after a while to take a walk and explore with one of the brothers. He had broken English but really showed us loads of fascinating things in the area. We crossed monkey bridges (basically one or two sticks of bamboo held up by other sticks which locals use to cross small rivers), and saw local people collecting vegetables and fruit from the area. We saw the local primary school, and visited a noodle-making factory, then strolled back by the river to the house.
We had a swim in the river, which looked really muddy but once you get passed that it was really refreshing - he even gave me shampoo to wash my hair! 3 more people arrived that evening, and two Danish guys had decided to stay an extra night so it ended up being way more than they usually have, but there was room for us all with blankets and mosquito nets in the main living area! We had another great meal, relaxed in the hammock reading, and played cards - a really nice chilled evening. The extended family had obviously all drunk too much rice wine earlier and disappeared to sleep! They also drink loads of green tea all the time, again in shot glasses!
Day 3 and we took a small boat to the large floating market in Cai Rang - fascinating to see. Basically a business market, they advertise what they are selling by hoisting up one of each item on bamboo sticks at the end of the boat. The families live on these boats, so there is a "supermarket" boat that cruises round and sells them whatever they need. A "drinks" boat floated by and attached to our boat to sell coffee/tea and soft drinks...it was great! Next we stopped at a rice factory and saw the four stages that rice goes through from when it is picked to when it is packaged for sale. After the boat trip ended, we transferred to a bus again from Can Tho to Saigon, stopping briefly at an incense factory on the way there. It was a really great trip.
On arrival in Saigon, we were able to leave our bags at the tour office and find a place to stay - very pleased with the guesthouse we found just of the main street (Giang & S'on). It's really clean, has a balcony just outside our room, a desk & fridge, A/C and free internet access downstairs. They even gave us a glass of juice when we got into our room - nice touch!
Day 2 and we went to a fish farm - they float under houses that people live in, usually held up by bamboo. About 100 000 fish are held in a relatively small rectangular box (18m x 8m x 6m deep). Next stop was Cham minority village, to see a towel weaving workshop - I was made to try on some hilarious sarong and sash combination...needless to say I wasn't quite tempted enough to buy it. Then a bus trip to Can Tho, another town on a tributary of the Mekong. We were able to extend our trip for an extra day and decided to a homestay. Along with our new friends Stephane & Elisabet (from France & Quebec), we met one of the hosts and went to his house by bus & moto! 
It was definitely an experience - he told us that they were having a family party that day/night, commemorating his Grandfather's death 16 years ago. They obviously celebrate rather than mourn these anniversaries in Veitnam. On arrival we met an enormous number of his extended family - siblings, cousins, parents, uncles & aunts, grandparents.
We were given a traditional Vietnamese lunch which was great, and loads of green tea which they seem to drink all the time! We realised quickly that the festivities had started early that morning - kept being offered rice wine in shot glasses by some of the men, and it seemed a bit rude not to go "50-50" with them as they kept saying!
We managed to escape after a while to take a walk and explore with one of the brothers. He had broken English but really showed us loads of fascinating things in the area. We crossed monkey bridges (basically one or two sticks of bamboo held up by other sticks which locals use to cross small rivers), and saw local people collecting vegetables and fruit from the area. We saw the local primary school, and visited a noodle-making factory, then strolled back by the river to the house.
We had a swim in the river, which looked really muddy but once you get passed that it was really refreshing - he even gave me shampoo to wash my hair! 3 more people arrived that evening, and two Danish guys had decided to stay an extra night so it ended up being way more than they usually have, but there was room for us all with blankets and mosquito nets in the main living area! We had another great meal, relaxed in the hammock reading, and played cards - a really nice chilled evening. The extended family had obviously all drunk too much rice wine earlier and disappeared to sleep! They also drink loads of green tea all the time, again in shot glasses!
Day 3 and we took a small boat to the large floating market in Cai Rang - fascinating to see. Basically a business market, they advertise what they are selling by hoisting up one of each item on bamboo sticks at the end of the boat. The families live on these boats, so there is a "supermarket" boat that cruises round and sells them whatever they need. A "drinks" boat floated by and attached to our boat to sell coffee/tea and soft drinks...it was great! Next we stopped at a rice factory and saw the four stages that rice goes through from when it is picked to when it is packaged for sale. After the boat trip ended, we transferred to a bus again from Can Tho to Saigon, stopping briefly at an incense factory on the way there. It was a really great trip.
On arrival in Saigon, we were able to leave our bags at the tour office and find a place to stay - very pleased with the guesthouse we found just of the main street (Giang & S'on). It's really clean, has a balcony just outside our room, a desk & fridge, A/C and free internet access downstairs. They even gave us a glass of juice when we got into our room - nice touch!
posted by Mhairi
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