It was yet another early start today and either the manic door kicker checked out yesterday or he changed rooms, but I woke up naturally with no alarm, which is always a good way to wake.

A good shower and hair wash and I felt ready to face the Toaster.

I met up with Celia in the lift so we sat together for breakfast. I deftly slung a couple of pieces of bread into the gaping mouth of the Devil's Toaster and grabbed some pineapple. Out slid the toast, not even warm, never mind toasted. Back in you go. Four times I did this and then I saw the queue behind me, so I gave up and retreated to our table. Toaster 1- Jill 0

Do Dyson make toasters I wonder?

8.30 and we are on our way to the city of Can Tho for a trip along the Mekong River. It is a 3 hour journey with a stop for a coffee and a crouch - no western toilets I'm afraid. We are staying one night in Can Tho so we can visit the floating market on the Mekong. It is actually a wholesale market, so unless you like dragon fruit or durian by the 100 kilos, you better not try to buy anything.

We stopped for our coffee and crouch but the coffee was horrendously sweet. The Vietnamese way of taking coffee is to recline in a hammock and have a snooze. The crouch wasn't tempting me either. I have nothing to prove, I have managed the bush toilet with dry trousers!

I made friends with the most beautiful puppy, he wouldn't go to anyone else but clearly liked the taste of my fingers and eventually allowed me to tickle his tummy whilst he wriggled with delight. As we were leaving on the coach, he was looking all round our table for me.

A little further on and it was time for a change of transport. We were going on a boat down the Mekong.

It was a nice little boat, no fixed seats, just some folding wooden chairs with bits of tyre nailed on the bottom to stop them sliding. Oh and we had a tiny western toilet in a shed on the back of the boat, still not tempted!!

The lady who was our guide was very pretty and spoke excellent English. Our first stop was to see how a family made their living making snacks. They popped rice by mixing it with black river sand and then heating it over an open fire. It was then sieved, getting rid of most of the sand, then they added flavouring, a bit like popcorn crossed with Rice Krispies, quite tasty. They also made some chewy toffee from malt, sugar and other stuff, in all different flavours, including ginger, coconut and durian, that rotting cadaver fruit. Not forgetting the peanut brittle, which Nam appeared to like as he bought 3 kgs!

Oh, did I mention the Rice Wine? They infuse the rice wine with different ingredients. How do you fancy Banana Rice Wine, Coconut Rice Wine, Cobra Rice Wine and a Mixed Snake Rice Wine?

Back on the boat and we carried on following the tide. Soome of the bigger boats were still marooned in the shallow water. The Vietnamese are amazing people, very hard working and keen to use every resource they have until it's no longer viable.

The cost of wood is high, for obvious reasons, Agent Orange destroyed their jungles, all the trees growing now are young and immature, making wood more scarce than in other tropical areas. So, they fire their ovens, kilns, domestic fires etc with rice husks, coconut shells and any woody seed casings that are surplus to requirements, once the fruit has been eaten. After it is burnt, the ashes are used as compost.

Now it was time to stop for lunch with a family living on an island in the middle of the river. It was a pretty little place to stop. The fishy people had deep fried Elephant Ear fish in rice spring rolls, I had pork spring rolls. Then there was a tasty chicken casserole and rice and fresh fruit. It was nice to see that they had a couple of very happy well fed dogs. The fish were actually collected from a pond in the garden, so were really fresh. Ugly b*****s though!

We then crossed over the river by boat to visit a fruit tree nursery. At low tide, our guide said you could walk across, but I think you would disappear into the mud! The nursery trees were all grafted onto local root stock which meant they would be able to bear fruit commercially within a few years, which is important for the export industry.

We were landed at a small jetty and once again boarded the bus for a further hour to Can Tho. The skies looked a bit ominous over Bill's Mother's but we were heading slightly away from there, towards the blue sky. Maybe we have finally reached the end of this wet spell. The forecast for Cambodia is a little better but we will have to leave Nam behind. He has been a good guide, lots of fun and enthusiasm.

Can Tho is a nice quiet town, after the horrendous crush of Saigon. We are staying in a comfortable little hotel in the town centre and this evening we walked about 5 minutes and dined by the riverside. So far, no mozzies on the whole trip, so I'm really happy.

Whilst we were waiting for our meal, a little girl started playing the recorder, really badly. I just casually wondered out loud if she would be able to play it up her backside. Celia dissolved into those kind of silent, shoulder shaking giggles that make everyone else laugh too, even if you don't know why. Real tears and everything.

Then I noticed the name of the boat moored next to us .... PHUC DUC 2.

More tears, more shoulder shaking, a good night, all in all.

Another early start tomorrow, 6am alarm, out of the hotel by 7.30 to go to the floating market. Then three hours back to Saigon with a side trip to visit a new religion's church. It seems to be hedging its bets as the congregation worship the Christian God, Allah, all the Hindu gods, Uncle Tom Cobbly and All. I suppose they figure that, just in case one of them turns out to be real, they've got it covered. Weird