Sam Mountain Mekong Delta

Hello, Vietnam! Crossing the border was relatively easy here at the furthest south border crossing. I was on a bus from Kampot, Cambodia to Ha Tien, Vietnam with a bunch of other tourists. In Ha Tien we all went separate ways and I was the only one who stayed in Ha Tien. In fact, I might be one of the few people who ever stays in Ha Tien. ( …

We left Ha Tien bound for Can Tho but the mini bus we were on went via Chau Doc so we decided to hop off there instead and spent 2 good nights. Jeff's foot is much better which is a relief. He's still keeping the dressing on it and sticking to wearing walking shoes but it's healing well.

We mostly ate junk food in Ha Tien but have sampled …

Monday
Another early start this morning, the only upside being that I got pancakes! We left the hotel at 8am sharp for the Cambodia-Vietnam border, and got to the hotel late afternoon. Charles took those of us who needed an ATM and to exchange money to a bank and then we went for a wander around the local market.

The amount of raw …

On Thursday, we had a quick breakfast at the hotel. Afterwards we went to find a nearby market to buy some water. Along our way we found a pagoda just behind our hotel. It was very nice and being used by the locals (which is not always the case). We took a few minutes to walk around and take some pictures. Once we found water we headed back to the …

While in Saigon, we booked a 3 day tour round the Mekong Delta through a smaller company and were stoked we chose this company as the three day adventure down the Mekong was fantastic!  Our guide was a 60 year old Vietnamese man who spoke English ...

... recommendations on our Mekong River trip in between slurs and losing his balance.  Sorry I digress again.....so off to the Mekong Delta for a 3 day adventure that ends in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The weather was beautiful as we rode in the bus towards ...

... all morning, it made the farmers happy, but not the tourists :) We were 'supposed' to visit a crocodile farm and then climb Sam Mountain, however we were ushered onto a boat destined to Chau Doc (the border) at this point it became apparent that our ...

... doors open 4 metres up from the river and the indoor plumbing consists of a bucket on a string. We stay at the bottom of Sam mountain. Feeling a need to stretch our legs (Jo's need more strongly felt than my own) we spiral up the mountain for a view of ...

... hotel. Quick shower, quick dinner and bed, ready for another early start. Six Oçlock wake up call to climb up Sam Mountain where a beautiful pagoda sits (cavern), over looking the Cambodian border. after this we all got into small row boats, for ...

... the correct price for the meal, and so then it didn't seem so bad. The next day we boated around more of the Mekong delta, visiting various sites. We saw a small weaving village and a bird habitat. We continued touring around that day by car to Can ...

... is the biggest river in Indochina, starting in China and running through Laos, Cambodia and then finally culminating in the massive Mekong Delta in Vietnam before meeting the South China Sea. The river is the life blood of the whole region, in places its ...

... , a tin-helmet is also worn in some instances. I suppose the heat renders full leathers redundant. We made our way up the 'Sam Mountain' for around 18:00 and arrived just in time to enjoy the spectacular sunset in a hammock and with a local 30p Saigon ...

... from Switzerland. Next bus leg is 4 hours in pretty heavy rain and includes a short ferry. Get to Chau Doc and see Nui Sam (Sam Mountain) and a pagoda at the bottom of the hill. Now a 20 minute drive to our hotel, Ngoc Phu. Seems quite adequate and ...

... with many boats selling fresh produce and we stopped to buy fruit which was quite cool. Leaving Vietnam and heading to Cambodia we stopped at SAM mountain with fantastic views of the local area and into Cambodia, the following days destination. The ...