Chau Pho Hotel Chau Doc

Got picked up at 630 by minibus to cross the border into Vietnam, I had decided to do part of the journey by river boat. After about 2 hours the minibus pulled into a small town and we were asked to get out in the courttyard of a building backing onto the river. There were a couple of boats and we sat around for a wqhile. Then some of the people got into one of the boats and it went off leaving 2 of us behind. Another hour went by and still ...

I am now in Vietnam, i stayed in the border town of Chau Doc,<br>This town is not a tourist town, it is on the Mekong Delta - so took a trip on the Mekong on a longtail boat, taking in the scenery (just layed out at the front of the boat and felt completely relaxed) visited a fish farm and even fed the fish - woh when these things feed - you do not want to be in the water ...

... and checked into the Vinh Phouc Hotel. That evening we met a cyclo rider outside our GH and he took us to a restaurant along the river.<br><br>The next day we went to the market and wandered up the river and stopped and where we thought we had been the previous night, but it turned out to be a random local's guest house, where they spoke little English, we managed to get by with the extensive Vietnamese vocabularly we'd ...

... We slept peacefully for a few hours until the rain woke us up so we went in to our cabin. The next day we left the tour as arranged, to stay on Cat Co 2, on of the beaches on Cat Ba Island. The beach was very pretty, but spoilt by many plastic bags floating in the sea. In the evening we got a small boat out to one of the floating fish restaurants, where they pluck the fish out of the cages built into the deck after you have ordered. It was an unique experience but in all a bit of a ...

... idea of taking a boat all the way up the Mekong into Cambodia was quite appealing, considering alot of travellers take the bus from Ho Chi Minh City, we were desperate to do something different. Similarly with My Tho there wasn't an awful lot to do besides booking ourselves on the boat and getting dollars ready for our visas. We watched a few more movies, caught some noodles for tea and then to bed early, ready for our boat trip to Cambodia!!!

Travel Stats:<br><br>- No of Motorbike accidents witnessed: 2 (involving Emma... 1)<br>- People with three nipples: 1<br>- No of Mosquito Bites: Paul (22) Emma (20)<br>- Part of the body most bitten: Paul (Ankle) Emma (Bum)<br>- Types of beer drunk: 21<br>-Types of beer: Saigon, 333, Huda, Festival, Hue, Larue, Tiger, Heineken, Bia Hoi, DQ Beer, Qui Nhon, Lowen, BGI, Nha Trang, Dai Viet, San Miguel Pilsner, San Miguel Light, Lion Brewery ...

... for the two of us while we were away. We sat down and were excited to see what was on offer. Two giant plates of food arrived; prawns and beef with steamed vegetables and rice, followed by pineapple. We ate at a snails pace with the rain providing our romantic ambiance. We would<br>be sailing now for a few hours, which gave us plenty of time to take photographs through the gaps in the windows of the passing life on the Mekong, and maybe a siesta ...

... was a bit odd, no extortion, no 'fees' and you just get dropped off in Cambodia and walk down the road into Vietnam, very strange! My first impression of Vietnam was pretty good, I got a free Vietnamese lesson and a smile from the first person I met. The border official! If you've tried to have a laugh with immigration at Heathrow you'll understand how rare this is &amp; it's much more serious over here, I think they might have botox in their cheeks to stop ...

... something else but I'm not sure exactly what. Rumours started to circulate about what it was we were supposed to be seeing. We had a cup of tea and had our pictures taken with an enormous python around our necks. Annette had wandered off to a gift shop (surprise, surprise) when the tea was served. Consequently, when she finally turned up she decided to pour herself a drink from something on the table. It turned out to be a very strong spirit. We arrived back at town at about 5pm and ...

... cheap and very pleasant! We then went to Mount Sam up a terrible road but had good views to Cambodia which was very close - monkeys in cages - yuck :-( At last - the hotel - Amazing - so gorgeous! Right on the riverbank - we were upgraded as they were quiet - so we got river view room - so nice :-) Pool fantastic - we spent ages sat by it and ages in it!! We showered and went out for a walk hoping the market would have lots of ...