Mekong Delta,
Vietnam
Monday, October 29, 2007
Time to move on, our Vietnamese visas are up and we need to get out of the country (otherwise you can be jailed). We decided to cross into Cambodia via the Mekong Delta, it is one of the largest rivers in S.E.Asia and crosses 5 countries...it also has the brown-est water I have ever seen! We took a three day trip on the water. There isn't much to say about it other than we got a real opportunity to see how people live on the delta and make a living from it. We got to visit the 'Floating Markets' where fruit is sold wholesale. While you are sitting in the boat, smaller boats pull up beside you selling tea/coffee, fruit, basically anything you want. We docked for the night in a small town. Everyone on the trip decided to go for dinner together, so we went upstairs and took showers. When we arrived down, ready to leave the whole place outside the hotel was flooded (in literally 20 minutes)...Another day we stopped at a little village market, we all got off the boat to take a walk around. As these countries are really hot, we are always drinking water...sure to be sure, I had to go to the toilet (you try to hold for as long as you can, then maybe you'll get to a western toilet, less smell), anyway we walked and walked and couldn't find it. I asked this girl and she took me to it...without doubt or exaggeration this is to date the worst toilet I have even been in. It resembled a cattle shed where you line up with cows to milk them. I had to pee next to whoever would be beside me - lucky for me there was no one except the woman who you pay, she just stood there watching me. If I could have held on longer I would....I had to grin and bear (literally)!!!!
All the way up the river you pass peoples homes, the children shout out 'hello, hello' and are waving frantically at you. Once you reply they get even more excited and nearly kill themselves waving.
Eventually, after three days on the river we reached the Cambodia border and we got our visas for entry!
