We could have taken a relatively easy bus from Phnom Penh to Saigon but we opted instead for the more scenic route of a boat to the border town of Chau Doc sitting on the Mekong River. After phaffing around with bus transfers for over two hours we got on our rather worn looking boat at around 10am. It chugged away for a couple of hours untill we got to the border which was quite the most leisurely and rustic crossing we've had. We didn't even have to bother taking our passports to the Vietnamese side of the control, our guide took care of that, during which time we were escorted into a restaurant for lunch which obviously involved a nice little commission kickback for all concerned but we weren't too bothered. We then switched boats to another equally rickety one and made our way to Chau Doc in not terribly good weather. This was just a one night stop but we used our time here productively to book our open bus journey all the way from here to Hanoi, in the north of the country for a ridiculously cheap $29 each. We can stop in a number of different destinations and stay as long as we wish. Sounds too good too be true and no doubt we'll be hussled into various hotels and restaurants for commission! We made our way to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) the next day.