Mytho-Ben Tre-Cantho-Chau Doc to Cambodia

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Trip Start Aug 24, 2008 Previous
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  Cantho, Vietnam
Friday, January 2, 2009

We left Saigon early in the morning and drove to Mytho, which is in the Mekong Delta. There we took a boat over to one of the islands in the delta. We passed lots of fishing boats and people in their wooden houses backing on to the river doing the washing in the water. We moored by a small channel and changed to a smaller boat. We were then rowed by two rowers down this small channel. There were huge palm leaves all around so it felt like we were going through a tunnel. There were also lots of lungfish jumping around (fish that can breathe air). We felt like we were on some kind of Amazon exploration! We arrived in a tiny village where they showed us how to make coconut candy by grinding up coconut and mixing it with sugar. We got to try some and it was quite nice, like toffee. After this we left to have some lunch, passing some tombs in the middle of the forest. Apparently people like to be buried near their houses so you often pass tombs in the river or in a rice field. Next we visited a place where we got to try all sorts of strange tropical fruits and listen to some traditional music, which was not to everyone's taste. It reminded us of cats... Anyway, at this point the heavens opened and the daily tropical storm began. We ran through the rain to a beekeeping farm where we got to try some honey tea and some candied fruit. The farm also farmed snakes to make snake wine so we got to try some wine (banana wine, not snake) and also we got to hold the massive python that they had. He was very heavy and very strong. After this we got back on the boat and headed for Cantho, arriving in the dark. We had to take a boat in the dark to a tiny village where we were staying with a family for the night. We helped them make spring rolls for dinner, although ours fell apart, and we ate lots of rice pancakes with fish. Yummy! We had a room made of coconut leaves where we could hear all sorts of jungle noises all night including a strange squeaking coming from the roof...
 
On New Years Day we got up early to go for a walk around the village. We took a boat over to the market where the local people were selling fish, shellfish, fruit and vegetables. They all stared at us as we wandered around. After breakfast back at the house we took the boat to a floating market. This is where the people bring their wares in boats and other people in boats can buy from them. It was very interesting watching them go about their daily business. To advertise what they are selling they tie them to a long pole and attach it to the boat. So if I am selling bananas I tie a banana to the pole and put it up so everyone can see. Genius! After this we took a longboat ride past all the houses on stilts. People were having baths in the river, and washing their pots and pans. All the little children screamed with excitement at seeing the white people and waved at us. It was very cute. We took the boat all the way back to Cantho where we took the bus to Chao Doc on the Cambodian border. We stopped off at a crocodile farm and climbed a mountain with a temple in it to see a view over the rice paddies and the Vietnam-Cambodia border. That night we stayed in Chau Doc, a tiny border town. There were very few places to eat so I ended up having fried frog which was delicious! I recommend it to anyone.
 
The following day we took a boat to a fish farm. The fish swim under the house and when they need feeding they lift up the floor panels and throw food down. It was very clever. Then we went to a Cham village where the houses were on stilts due to the flooding. From here we took a boat to the Cambodian border. Again we were greeted with screams of excitement from the local children eager to wave at us. At the border we hung around waiting for visas and then crossed into Cambodia. The border consisted of a hut. We took the boat from the border to Phnom Penh, the capital, which took 4 hours. The people all waved and smiled at us and the children ran to greet us.
 
We were sad to leave Vietnam, because we have loved this country. It is so beautiful and the people are so welcoming. We hope that we will enjoy Cambodia as much as we have enjoyed Vietnam.

Post your own travel photos for friends and family Pictures

A boy feeding a dog	A lungfish. Can you spot it?	A view over the Vietnam-Cambodia border	At the crocodile farm
Baby asleep in a hammock	Boys selling bananas	Bridge to a cham village	Candied fruits
Children wave at us	Coconut candy	David at the border	David being hassled to buy cake
David making spring rolls	David with the python	Fish living under the floorboards	Fishermen with their catch
Floating houses	Floating petrol station	Floating seller	Fruit for sale
High quality bridge!	Houses by the river	Houses on stilts	Houses on stilts due to flood
Inside the Cham house	Inside the temple	Little children wave at us	Me cooking spring rolls
Me crossing the bridge	Me eating frog	Me on the boat	More snake wine
One of the small channels	Our feast	Packaging the candy	People in the Cham village
Piglets	Rice paper drying. This is then cut into noodles.	Rowers on the river	Rowing down the river
Snake wine	The Cambodian border	The children try to sell us cakes	The crazy fruits we tried
The floating supermarket	The local market	The python and me (that's rain on my T shirt!)	The temple on the mountain and David
The village where we stayed	This is how the boats advertse their wares	Traditional Vietnamese music	Where we spent the night

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