Up to the Mekong Delta to Cambodia

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We decided to make our slowly to Cambodia and booked a three day tour up the Mekong Delta from Vietnam. The weather was gorgeous and chilling out on a boat, taking in the fabulous scenery sure beats a long bus ride! The journey was broken up by little stops along the way, rowing down small canals under the shade of coconut trees, a visit to crocodile farm and going to see the floating markets where the trading is crazy busy at six o'clock in the morning!
Past the floating markets, we went into some of the local’s floating houses. Their business was fishing and they had fish farms under their homes with about one hundred thousand fish inside. To feed the fish they'd lift up the floorboards and throw in the food. It was really amazing. These families were quite wealthy and lived on the river during the rainy season and then moved into their other houses in the town for the dry season.
As with all of our trips in Asia to date, nothing ran completely according to plan. We had to take a three hour bus to our last village in Vietnam, before crossing the boarder. However, after an hour and a half we got held up in some pretty bad traffic and were told that it would be quicker for us to get off the bus, walk to the ferry port and get the ferry across to our destination. So that's what we did. The pictures speak for themselves!
Our last stop before reaching the Cambodian boarder was to the Cham minority village, where the people there still earn their living from traditional weaving. When we arrived to the village there was a wedding ceremony taking place. Arranged marriages are the norm here.
We were so excited to cross over our first boarder. Cambodia was like stepping into the set of Disney's Jungle Book! The wooden houses all along the banks of the river were up on stilts; there were all sorts of animals next to the houses, pigs and cows (so skinny that you could see their ribs!) ducks and roosters. The kids were playing alongside the animals and as soon as they heard our boat they would come running and line the banks of the river waving us on until we were out of sight. We felt like celebrities!
Phnom Pehn was our first stop in Cambodia. It was another big city but it did have it’s charms. There were some nice little side streets to explore away from the hustle and bustle of the crowded streets. We had our first experience with a tuk-tuk when we rented one for the day to take us to the S21 prison and the Killing Fields. S21 was the largest centre of detention and torture in the country and seventeen thousand men, women and children were transported from S21 to the extermination camp, known as the Killing Fields. Often they were bludgeoned to death to avoid wasting precious bullets. This all happened less than thirty years ago. We left in silence, feeling seriously emotional, down and depressed.
Travelling in Cambodia isn't as easy as it was in Vietnam. Although the Cambodian people we have met and talked to so far have been nothing but helpful and friendly, the poverty here is unbelievable. Begging is very common wherever we go, from children looking up with their big brown eyes and runny noses, to older men and women who have lost limbs to land mines. It's really tough going and very sad. Most of the children can speak English fluently from a very young age, with their most used phrase being "open your heart, open your wallet".
From Phnom Phen, we headed for the quiet seaside town of Kep. Unfortunately the bus driver never told us which stop Kep was and just kept driving onto the next town! We kept our mouths shut and just got off at the next stop and looked for accommodation there. Kampot was a sleepy riverside town with not a whole lot to offer, so we stayed just the one night before moving on again.
We hadn’t swam in over a week and were missing the water so we headed for the beach town resort of Sihanoukville. It was just what we were looking for. We sailed out on a boat to an island two hours away and did some diving out there. It was amazing, just the two of us with the dive master. The water was so warm and clear. We saw really spectacular fish but the best part about the dive was that Paulo could complete it without any pain at all. His ears seem to be fine! We spent a few more days relaxing on the beach but now we are ready to move on again!

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Comments

[clare and aoife]

getting better
Hi Meadhbh and paulo, We are really enjoying your blog, you write it so well the picturs are brill, keep safe and keep enjoying yourselves cant wait for the next one. love Clare and Aoife ps Aoife back in school next week i cant wait

[J.J.]

Hey Meadhbh, sounds absolutely brilliant. Great stuff. Hope things are well anyway. Just spare a thought for yours truly here heading back to Malachy's in a week!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGH!!! Love hearing about the travels (you're making me jealous!!) Keep having fun n be safe! Say hi to Paulo 2

[Miguel]

Class hats!
Awesome picture on the Meknong Delta guys, love the hats! Mebs, I can't believe you ate snake. Puddles, your picture with the snake is cool. Go boy!