Blogs from Chau Doc, An Giang, Mekong River Delta, Vietnam, Asia - page 3

The journey from Saigon to Phnom Penh took 2 days and was allegedly a 2 day river cruise to the Cambodian capital. This included a night in a “froating hotel” and having some flunky do all the boarder legwork and us just having to fill out a form but the reality was somewhat different but great fun and an amazing way to see the country. We left Saigon at 7am and boarded a bus and headed to a small town on the Mekong Delta to go out in a boat and see some villages and the river wholesale market. Once again in my ignorance I did not realise the sheer scale of the Mekong river. The river starts in China and runs all down through the Thai/Lao border to Cambodia, through Cambodia and then through Vietnam ... read more

Taiwan General Impressions: Taiwan is full of friendly and overwhelmingly hospitable people with human rights. Everyone seems really happy and they really just want you (as a tourist) to enjoy your time there. Do’s and Don’ts: Don’t wear your shoes inside someone’s home, and after that it’s pretty much the same do’s and don’ts of mainland China. Favorite Place: Taroko Gorge (specifically riding mopeds and hiking through it) Favorite traveler met: Canadian who gave me a lift from the airport to Taipei. He was from Vancouver, really easy going, loved the outdoors and the environment. Favorite phrase: “Ok le ba?” Literally meaning “Ok (completed action) (rhetorical question)?” Massage: Head Massage – 9 out of 10. Oils, salts, and shampoos rubbed in your hair with a stone for 30 minutes. Heavenly. Local Beer: Taiwan Beer - the ... read more

Vang's Riverside, Countryside and Sam Mountain Tour Around Chau Doc Next morning at 8:30, Vang and a colleague were there with their mopeds ready to whisk Monk and Saavas off to the riverside where they climbed on board a small boat piloted by an old lady - Vang's mum thought Monk - but no, just a friend said Vang later. Monk mentally nicknamed her Madame V. Whoever she was, she was an expert boat woman and handled the boat through some tricky situations during the 4-hour morning trip. Vang's trips usually cater for groups up to 4 people and today, 2 French Canadians joined Monk and Saavas. At the Chau Doc floating market Madame V skillfully manouevred through the traders' boats moored on the river, gently colliding at times with other boats, some containing tourists, others, ... read more

Phu Quoc to Ha Tien and Chau Doc On Sunday Nellie, Monk and Saavas said their goodbyes to Gerard and Mai and left the tranquility of Mai House on Phu Quoc to catch the 13:30 boat for Ha Tien on the mainland. When buying the tickets, the agent said it would be the moden 'Superdong' hydrofoil. It turned out to be an old rust bucket called the Can Tho which looked like the rusted fuselage of a 747 minus its wings. The real 'Superdong' was leaving just as we turned up but it was going to Rach Gia instead - further south on the mainland. The Can Tho was jammed full of the usual crowd of fun-loving (read - raucous) Vietnamese holidaymakers. The 'in-flight movie' this time was a series of bizarre pop-videos, one where the ... read more

The red evening sun turned to burnished copper the woman rinsing her shampooed hair in the muddy brown water. A berg of brilliant-white soap bubbles drifted downstream with the current and broke into floes against the legs of the Water Buffalo standing beside her. An old woman presided over them on a rickety wooden pier cleaning fish for dinner. Welcome to the Mekong. It is born of snow flakes falling in the Himalayas 4,900 Kilometers to the north. By the time the trickle reaches the Gulf of Thailand it has split into nine wide separate tributaries known to the Vietnamese as the ‘Cuu Long’ or the Nine Dragons. The Mekong drains over 300,000 square miles of land and passes through China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The Mekong Delta produces over forty-percent of Vietnam’s food. ... read more