Part I: Vinh Long
After five buses of varying sizes and a worrying half an hour in the middle of nowhere, we were asked by the final driver which hotel we were staying at. Quickly looked in the Lonely Planet (which is mainly full of crap) for a guesthouse name and found the text "don't stay in the town". Balls.
Fortunately I had a name in my phone and soon after we were at the door. The room was nice enough, huge views of the Mekong and a balcony complete with its own bee's nest! I'm not what you'd call a fan of bees or wasps.
Vinh Long was a very local place for local people but we did find a restaurant with some English on the menu. The restaurant also had a bat flying around and a rat scuttling around. Steak was good though!
Went for a coffee in the morning at a roadside cafe. Very nice plus got a free pot of tea. Had a wander and found nothing so just returned to the hotel and listened to the god-awful kareoke from the bar opposite.
Left the next day by local bus and a ticket seller tried to fleece us. We've become used to this so told him to shut up and got a properly priced ticket to Can Tho for five times less.
Met an old Kiwi on the bus and helped a local girl with her English. Bus went over a huge bridge and dumped us off at a bus station in the middle of nowhere.
Part II: Can Tho
Hot it most certainly was so we grabbed a coffee at the bus station and tried to work out where the hell we were. Googlemaps on a Nokia 5800 aint too good but I came to the conclusion that the town was about 1.5km away. It was 6km away.
On the walk we passed a barbequed dog and many locals laughing at me due to the fact that I was so sweaty my clothes were literally dripping wet.
Claire, not too happy with my map reading, took the first guesthouse we looked at. Bit mouldy but had a fridge so happy enough.
Went for dinner at Italian place and ordered pinenut pizza. Pizza came after a long wait and had no pinenuts on it. Owner knocked 15% off after much moaning.
The next day we walked around trying to find a place for breakfast which was a real struggle. Opted for a posh place and had gorgeous fry up.
After breakfast we went exploring and found nothing of any particular interest except a huge statue of Ho Chi Minh and some pretty big rats.
Had dinner at a very white diner and got offered a massage. No thanks, just some dinner please.
Found out where a nearer bus station was and walked the 1km (this time I was spot on) and boarded what would be our final bus in Vietnam.
Part III: Chau Doc
Rather manic bus driver dropped us off at a bus station and we boarded a free minibus into town. Met a nice old local guy on the main bus who told us about the free minibus.
Found a posh hotel with all the mod cons so took it even though it was a bit pricy. It was our last place it Vietnam after all.
Went for some veggie noodle soup at roadside place which was really tasty. Bought a few Bia Saigons and headed back to our balcony to watch the busy night market in action.
The next day we walked through a grotesque market. Blood stained alleys and lots of half dead creatures a plenty. Booked boat tickets to Phnom Penh, Cambodia and sorted out some dollars for the Cambodian visa.
Had more noodles at a different stall and were accompanied by some giant rats. There was also a depressing sight of some young kids sniffing glue in the rain and begging. Later on we saw the kids again from our balcony doing the same thing around the market.
Woke up very early for breakfast (more noodles) then boarded the fast boat bound for Phnom Penh. The boat zoomed up the Mekong giving us our final views of the amazing country of Vietnam before soon arriving at the border.
The Vietnam side was pretty slow at stamping us out but got the chance to swap our remaining dong at very average exchange rates. The Cambodian side was really pleasent. A little garden area with puppies and friendly officials made the process very painless. The guy did take a rather long look at me due to my beard but let me in eventually.
And that was that, back on the boat and up the river through the lush Cambodian countryside.
To be honest, the Mekong Delta was disappointing. The scenery was nice enough but it was all just a bit samey.
Vietnam is simply awesome. So much variety, so many adventures to go on, odd, weird, spectacular, crazy, manic, fun. I'd definitely return here as even a month in the country does not seem enough. Top marks.
No comments:
Post a Comment