Chau Doc

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The journey to Vietnam was a fairly pleasant and suprisingly organised one. The decision to travel by slow-boat to Chau Doc in the Mekong delta, as opposed to a bus straight to Ho Chi Minh, was justified by a pretty pleasant and comfortable journey with nice views along the Mekong. Having already arranged our Visas the border crossing was straightforward and our guide didn't run off without us which makes a nice change.

Chau Doc itself is a pleasant, albeit quiet, little border town with little of note apart from a colourful and busy market selling locally caught fish as well as every fruit and vegetable possible. First impressions of Vietnam were extremely good, particularly as the people seem so friendly. The first couple of times people spoke to me I was still on the defensive, having been used to people only talking to you if they want your money. We soon realised, however, that the people genuinely just wanted to help us get to where we wanted despite not speaking English. Refreshingly a "no" to a tuk-tuk or moto driver actually means no here and they then leave you alone straight away. The children are the most amusing as they shout "hello" and wave wherever we go. Rather than asking for money, all they want is for the strange pale people to acknowledge them with a wave (like tapping on the glass of an aquarium just to make the fish look) or sometimes to touch your hand to see if the white stuff comes off.

Gertting food in Chau Doc wasn't the easiest thing in the world as we struggled to find menus with vegetarian food to suit Monique, but they do understand the universal gesture for beer so I'm sure I'll survive at the very least. I was relieved to find that, once we found a place to eat, they supply a fork and spoon as well as chopsticks because anyone who has witnessed my chopstick skills (or lack thereof) know that I would lose a lot of weight otherwise.

On the afternoon of the second day in Vietnam (after the worst of the heat had disappeared, dropping it to the mid-thirties) we made the short moto ride out to Sam Mount - a nearby mountainwith dozens of pagodas and temples set into the rock. The climb was exhausting, due mostly to the heat and humidity rather than the actual height of the mountain, and we stopped several times before reaching the peak. The view, however, was well worth it as we could see for miles over the Mekong delta and Cambodia (over which we watched the sun setting). The walk down was much less strenuous, although slightly tricky in the dark, and we ate before heading back into town.

Our next destination is Ho Chi Minh (or Saigon as the locals till prefer to call it) and we decided to take a two-day trip which ends there after a number of stops around the Mekong delta instead of a direct bus.

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