Blogs from Chau Doc, An Giang, Mekong River Delta, Vietnam, Asia - page 10

Asia » Vietnam » Mekong River Delta » An Giang » Chau Doc August 5th 2006

When we arrived at the border in Vietnam there were lots of kids that came to greet us many of them providing money changing facilities with massive wads of cash on them. I changed some of my dollars into Dong and played about with the kids for a bit. They all seemed pretty friendly and inquisitive and all wanted to give us a karate chop style massage! After some quick refreshments we got back on the boat and headed to the small fishing town of Chau Doc which wasn't far from the border. After checking into the hotel a couple of us went for a quick walk round. We headed to some of the street markets where the locals looked at us like we were from Mars, but as we walked further around the place people ... read more

Vietnamese kids providing hairdresser services at the border

Good afternoon, Việt Nam !

Asia » Vietnam » Mekong River Delta » An Giang » Chau Doc July 22nd 2006

Rush hour...

Will and Alex

Today we head across the border into Việt Nam, a country neither I nor Alex have visited before. I am looking forward to this part of the trip immensely, in spite of warnings I have been given regarding travel in this country (on which more in the next few entries). We have slightly more than three weeks here, as we have a flight booked out of Hà Nội to Bangkok on 12th August. There are three land border crossings between Cambodia and Việt Nam, of which one is located on the Mekong River. Crossing the border at this point involves a combination of bus and boat travel and is reputed to be a particularly scenic way to enter Việt Nam. Many travel agencies in Phnom Penh can arrange this crossing very easily and cheaply. After yet ... read more

Vietnam

Asia » Vietnam » Mekong River Delta » An Giang » Chau Doc July 21st 2006

Local Buffalos

Mark and Lorna

We arrived in Chau Doc in a boat, having travelled down the Mekong River. Chau Doc is a traditional Mekong town with floating houses and people wearing conical hats (called Poem hats). From Chau Doc we went to Ho Chi Minh City, or Saigon as the locals call it. We visited markets, the Reunification Palace and Notre Dame Cathedral (not THE Notre Dame, obviously). On the way back from one of the markets we got in a cyclo which was very cosy and very scary, weaving in and out of the manic motorcyclists! We took a trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels from which the Viet Cong fought during the war. We saw the way of life for those people and Mark went into the cramped tunnels to see what they were like. For westerners like ... read more

Brief history of Vietnam

The conquest of Vietnam by France began in 1858 and was completed by 1884. It became part of French Indochina in 1887. Independence was declared after World War II, but the French continued to rule until 1954 when they were defeated by Communist forc...more history

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