Blogs from Mekong River Delta, Vietnam, Asia - page 84

The Mekong Delta, rich in diversity, people, vegitation and oh yes WATER, lots and lots and lots of water. The quote for the trip "man we have crossed so many rivers", by one, Luke Matthews ... like duh!... read more

Today we did a day trip along the Mekong Delta to give us a glimpse into the way in which this region affects the lives of the Vietnamese People. A very green region, we also learnt that it is the silt in the riverbed which provides the much needed minerals for the cultivation of rice, fruit and other food products and gives the water it's muddy colour. We passed the four major islands of the Ben Tre district: Dragon (virility), Phoenix (femininity), Tortise (longevity) and Unicorn (luck). First stop was a coconut product making "factory". Whilst basically a cottage industry and obviously very tourist oriented it was interesting and the coconut lollies very addictive (my tummy aches...). Next up we visited an apiary where we had delicious tea with lots of honey and lime, it was ... read more

So, we arrived in Chau Doc, Vietnam today, from Cambodia. OUr journey was all of 5 hours on a boat that seated about 16-26 people. It was HOT! but manageable. Our arrival at the immigration port was greeted by some very aggressive children who offered everything from massages, to food items, to baggage handling, etc. It was something to see, they moved so quickly from one offer to the next, particularly if the first offer was greeted with resistance. So, for example, if we refused to buy the food, then your shoulders immediately got the pleasure of being massaged...and so forth and so on...until finally, they get the message--NO THANK YOU! Our backpacks were so heavy and we received no help to disembark the boat--oh yes, there was help from the kids, no more than 10-13 ... read more

So crossing the border from Cambodia to Vietnam via Tinh Bien proved to be a slight challenge but we made it. First thing to understand is that this border crossing is the newest and apparently was only recently opened to foreigners due to the fact that the area is not the most secure, in that the road cuts through rice paddies where on one side it is Cambodia and on the other Vietnam. For a time they had problems with people sneaking over. Or so the story goes. Still these days very few westerners go this way, we certainly saw none while we were there, nor in the small border town of Tihn Bien. CROSSING FROM CAMBODIA TO VIETNAM VIA TINH BIEN Even though it's open to foreigners now, most take the other crossing, leaving from ... read more

OK we made it off the beach and are now in Vietnam trying to figure out the curency, where to go, what the custums are and all the other confusing things that go along with visiting a country for the first time.... OFF THE BEACH Leaving Khins shack was hard...well not for me, but more for Leigh, they coaxed us into staying one more night, but I was determend to leave the next day...having your bed room 20 meters away from beach and water with cheap drinks and good food is a hard thing to get away from...We organized a Share taxi to take us to Kampot for 8 in the morn...the girls all got up early to see us off, made us presents (bookmarks) and we left... We thought that we were leaving but, of ... read more