Blogs from Chau Doc, An Giang, Mekong River Delta, Vietnam, Asia - page 8

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Asia » Vietnam » Mekong River Delta » An Giang » Chau Doc February 26th 2008

Day 8 - 10: Mekong Delta - Chau Doc - Ho Chi Minh City Day 8: we depart in the morning from Sihanoukville to Chau Doc, Vietnam. At the border crossing, Barbara and Harry 'decide' to embark on a side adventure and rendezvous with us the next day in Chau Doc. We continue on from the border to Chau Doc, and at this point in the trip, half of the group is walking wounded from gastrointestinal problems...Those of us who are not stricken take mopeds up to Sam Mountain to view the sunset. Tet festivities are going on at full swing, and we have dinner in a nearby public square. The last 2 intrepid adventurers standing continue on with one of the guides they met earlier on the ride up to Sam Mountain and partake of ... read more
view from the back of my head of smartass Harry sitting behing me on way to Vietnam
our hotel in Chau Doc
my first lunch in Chau Doc

Asia » Vietnam » Mekong River Delta » An Giang » Chau Doc December 31st 2007

Day 6 Arrived: Chau Doc Gone.. Go Trippin' It's about a 6 hour drive from Ho Chi Minh City to Chau Doc where we were visiting some family and spending the night. ... read more
Front View of House
Family Kitchen
Lunch

Asia » Vietnam » Mekong River Delta » An Giang » Chau Doc November 23rd 2007

Our last port of call in Vietnam was Chau Doc, and we just spent one night here on the way to Cambodia. Chau Doc is a small fishing village on the Bassac river in the Mekong Delta and it is surrounded by farms and rice fields. We were only here for a short time so we didn't really get much of a chance to see the town, however in the evening our group took a motorbike trip up a nearby mountain, Mt Sam. We should be used to this kind of thing by now, but again, a lot of the local kids jumped out when they saw us riding along, shouting HELLO and trying to give us high fives! We enjoyed a beer at the top of the mountain, watching the amazing sunset across the countryside, ... read more
Life on the Mekong
Life on the Mekong
Life on the Mekong

Asia » Vietnam » Mekong River Delta » An Giang » Chau Doc November 5th 2007

Our journey by boat to vietnam was the best so far. The boat was similar to a canal boat even though it was raining it made a nice change not to be bumped around on the roads! We had no problems at the border, obviously we didnt look that dodgy!! Was interesting journey along the smaller rivers to Chau Doc where we saw many local people living and working on the river. Met a mad Isralian couple and a american lady on the boat who kept us entertained! Chau Doc's a sleepy little town close to the Cambodian border with not much to offer except a room for the night. We made our way to the hotel by moto and cyclo only to find that the mad israilies were staying in the same hotel as us! ... read more
Our driver
A local fishing along the river
At the border

Asia » Vietnam » Mekong River Delta » An Giang » Chau Doc November 1st 2007

Dalat a ete un petit oasis de fraicheur apres la chaleur moite de la cote. Situe dans les montagnes, au centre du Vietnam, Dalat est une destination populaire pour les Vietnamiens et doit sa prosperite au tourisme interieur et a la culture maraichere. Ce n'etait pas les rizieres qui decoupaient le paysage, mais plutot les champs de salade, de tomates, de fraises et aussi de fleurs. Plusieurs minorites ethniques habitent egalement les environs dans des petits hameaux. Les easy riders font la loi a Dalat. Alors qu'il y a quelques annees ils formaient un groupe d'une trentaine de guides a moto proposant aux touristes de les amener dans les environs pour + ou -10$, l'idee a fạit boule et les prix aussi. Ainsi, aujourd'hui c'est plutot 20$ par jour et 50$ par jour pour les plus ... read more
Easy Riders !
Minorites ethniques - Dalat
Dan retourne aux sources

Asia » Vietnam » Mekong River Delta » An Giang » Chau Doc October 22nd 2007

Brochure Text Day 22 Chau Doc: From Ho Chi Minh City travel through the countyside of Vietnam to the town of Chau Doc. Monday 22nd October For some reason, keep waking up early - 620 this time. Try the eyemask/sheet over head routine, but clearly am awake so decide to go and see the early morning city. Showered and leaving the packing 95% done, I take my boots up to the Post Office. The bit I go to opened at 7am so must be just the front part which is 24-7. My boots are customs inspected, packed in a sturdy box (the leaflets are returned as she says is 2kg already?!... So I guess I won't post them then!) - which costs me about 1000 Dong (bargain, that's about 5p!), then I head out to find ... read more
Breakfast crowds from the bus windows...
Thought we were going to have to wait for the bridge to be built!
Experience the bumpy roads...

Asia » Vietnam » Mekong River Delta » An Giang » Chau Doc October 14th 2007

September 29th - October 9th -- 1478.4 KM to date There are certainly things to see in Phonm Penh, from the peaceful gardens of the Royal Palace to the haunting Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and Killing Fields. But my attraction to the city lay in it's more sinister applications. In the ride throughout Cambodia I had been frequently passed by the honking horns of Lexus' and Rangerover's. I found it strange that in a country as poor as Cambodia there would be such an abundance of expensive vehicles. I wasn't surprised to find out that these are driven mostly by corrupt government officials ($30 a month is not going to afford them such luxuries, believe me) or NGO and foreign aid workers. Wandering the streets and chatting with random people I found myself running into more ... read more
Lady
On The Road
Bokor Hill

Asia » Vietnam » Mekong River Delta » An Giang » Chau Doc September 22nd 2007

It's been one whole year since Sofie and I had our marriage ceremony in Hoi An and we decided to get out of Dodge and head into the wild Mekong Delta, as far as the bustling Cambodian town of Chau Doc. Chau Doc was a real breath of fresh air in more ways than one. For one, the people are friendly, happy. They're border people like just like me (Warren). It's a long way from here to Monaghan but something in the ordinariness of the place hit home. It's not a tourist town except for the pilgrims who flock to nearby Sam Mountain (we didn't bother!) We stuck to relaxing and ambling and reading and eating to religious extremes that would be considered fundamentalist in other circumstances. So we splashed out on some four or five ... read more
Balance
Arrival
What Warren doesn't know..

Asia » Vietnam » Mekong River Delta » An Giang » Chau Doc June 21st 2007

Chau Doc When you cross the border between Cambodia and Vietnam, an invisible line is passed and the kramas disappear only to be replaced by conical hats, flowing ao dais and mono-print pyjamas. The river's banks become more industrious, and then, as we take a right to head south from the Mekong to the Bassac River somnolent Cambodia is left behind and boisterous Vietnam arrives. Chau Doc sits at the junction of this bridging canal and the Bassac River. A thriving trading hub, Chau Doc is incredibly brightly coloured -- as if a container-load of pastel paints were dumped on the market and the population went mad. The town is a decked out in bright hues of pink, baby blue, purple and the occasional pastel green. Down on the ground, it has a boister... read more

Asia » Vietnam » Mekong River Delta » An Giang » Chau Doc May 22nd 2007

url='/Videos/3604.html' onclick='dialog("/Videos/3604.html?popped=1","tbvideo",600,600);return false;'Cambodian Rain Finally, leaving the land of Nguyens, Quocs and Dungs and into the land of Khmers. The boat trip to the border was enjoyable enough with lunch served on board and plenty to see on the banks of the Mekong, although my fellow passangers didn't seem to have much interest. The border crossing itself looks tiny, until you remember that it's more to control the river traffic than the motorbikes that pass through on the red dirt road. A short wait and then on to a smaller vessel, a few curt formalities and stamps, $20 handed over and we were chugging up the river towards Phnom Penh. THe difference along the banks of the river were immediately noticeable - first of all no people. Vietnam has a population of nearly 80 million, but ... read more
First glimpse of Cambodia
The last of my Dong
Waiting for our boat




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