Welcome To Phnom Penh

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Dale left on a bus to the Mekong Delta at about 7.30 and Mark and I checked out of our hotel at around 11 and walked the 500 metres to the travel office to catch our bus. After waiting for half an hour we were crammed into a minibus and then driven 480 metres back towards our hotel to get onto the real bus!! Fubn start to the day. The bus trip was easy and uneventful. The border crossing into Cambodia was so easy it was unreal. We just handed our passports to the bus people, climbed off the bus a few hours later and they had filled out all the forms for us and done everything neede to ensure we got into the country.

Arriving at around 6 in the evening we commandeereda Tuk Tuk and headed towards the hotel area. Checked ourselves into a nice guesthouse and retained the services of our chauffeur for the following day.

After sorting ourselves out we headed out for a meal at the 'Happy Herb Pizza' restaurant and then went for a little walk along the river front before heading back to the hotel absolutely exhausted and ready to turn in.


meanwhile....

somewhere in the mekong delta (acually My Tho City), Dale was floating through canels aboard a very small motor boat. Luckily, I had been sensible enough to hit the hay a little earlier than the other two the night before and was relatively awake for the 8am bus! The first day of the trip was actually very facinating! We saw lots of the local rivers and villages and sampled local coconut toffee, rice wine and had an insight into honey tea which was delicious! Luckily I made quick friends with two sheffield lads, which made the trip alot easier.

The evening was very entertaining! to save a few dollars, i declined the option of a single room and gambled on having a young swedish model as a roomate. Unfortunately, this was not the case. Instead I ended up with a barking mad, but loveable (in case he reads this) german guy. We quickly bonded, and after a well needed shower, we hit the town together. The bus had now taken us a few hours further into he delta to the main cit, Canto City. As we were looking for some food, we decided to hit the river front and find a nice location. A beautifully lit up floating restaurant came to our attention and after briefly looking at the menu, we decided on it! the view was lovely from the top which is where we plonked ourselves. 2 beers down and maincourse over, the restaurant becomes very crowded very quickly and suddenly music fires up! Not only that, Peter noticed the table was vibrating; something he pointed out was not happening before. A few seconds later the "boat" was floating upstream. BIG SURPRISE

Content with the fact we were stuck for at least an hour or so, we rode it out! There was a magic show and plenty of performers. The beers flowed and it was a great evening all round. Apart from the 6am start the next morning!

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