My last day at my beach paradise on Phu Quoc Island. I was able to spend about an hour and a half on the beach before leaving for the airport. The hotel manager informed me I should leave at 10 AM for my 11:30 flight because I needed to arrive an hour earlier. First he wanted me to leave at 9:30. The ride took all of 15 minutes, so there I was entertaining myself in the airport for all that time (when I could have been on the beach!) The flight was uneventful to the Can Tho airport. My prior research when I had stayed in Can Tho indicated that I should take the ever reliable Mai Linh taxi to the bus station to purchase a ticket for Chau Doc. In this airport with few services, there was actually a Mai Linh taxi desk. I approached and told the woman where I wanted to go. She indicated I should go to the front of the airport (about 50 feet away) and apparently called the woman outside who was organizing the taxis. I told her where I wanted to go and she then communicated in Vietnamese to the taxi driver. Off we went; the drivering on his cell phone for most of the way, stopped more or less in the middle of a street that was filled with local buses all saying Can Tho. I knew this was the totally wrong place - no bus station, no long distance buses. So I pulled out the little piece of paper the woman in my Can Tho hotel had written out for me for the bus company that stated in Vietnamese that I wanted two bus tickets to Chau Doc and asked when the bus would leave. He looked at it, then drove off and got me to the correct place, fortunately less than five minutes away.

So this bus station was a row of little offices along the street, each with the name of a bus company over it. The bus company recommended by the hotel and written on the paper was where we stopped. The woman there spoke some English and indicated the bus had just left and the next bus would leave at 2:00, over an hour later. I did have the name of a second bus company from the hotel in Chau Doc which was next door so I showed the person there my little paper and that bus was leaving in 40 minutes. I opted for the second bus company (although I have a feeling that bus company #1 had a better bus!). I bought my two tickets for $6 total - why two? My internet research indicated this is what to do so I would have a seat and my luggage would have a seat. Fortunately I was early enough that my luggage got on, next to the window, and I got a seat next to it.

So this bus was a large van of some ancient vintage with the front seat and four rows of seats behind. When we actually departed I believe there were 22 people in the bus + my luggage, most sitting, but a few standing in the back behind the last seat. One man stood in the tiny space next to the sliding door; his job was to search the sidewalks at presumed stops to see if people needed a ride or plan for departures, rapidly slide open the door (with the bus possibly stopped) so people could jump off or jump on. I had read the road was not good and the ride should take about 3+ hours. The road was no worse than most other roads and even with all the "stops" we made it to Chau Doc in 2 ½ hours. This could be attributed to the amazing skills of the driver. This man honked the horn almost continuously during the drive. Honking the horn in Vietnam is a warning signal to any motor scooters, bicycles, slow vehicles that your vehicle is behind, intends to pass, and the other vehicle which is often close to the middle of the road should move over. (Now there is no indication as to how far over the other vehicle should move, but the idea is that somehow it should get out of the way.) So like holy terror we went down the road like this. Passing is often on the opposite side of the road in the face of oncoming traffic. At one point, I looked out the front and saw a large standard size bus coming directly toward us (my bus was on the wrong side of the road). I had no idea how we would avoid a crash, but my bus driver was able to maneuver at the last minute and get back over to the right side of the road. So that is how the trip only took 2 ½ hours!

So, arrival at the Chau Doc bus station - a large dirt field with a few small offices and some cycle drivers (motor cycles pulling a small cab). The e-mail from the hotel in Chau Doc clearly stated not to use these people and call for Mai Linh taxi. So I went in the little office for the bus company I had used, showed the woman there my ticket, distracting her from her job of peeling vegetables, and stated Mai Linh taxi. She got the message and called for a taxi and a few minutes later one showed up and off I went to Trung Nguyen Hotel. I checked in and settled briefly in my fourth floor (no elevator) room which is really the fifth floor because the ground floor is G.

The hotel was just across the street from the central market. I walked around the market, always finding something new and different. I bought some tangerines for the boat trip the next day. I saw a man making some candy from sugar in large vats so bought a package. It looked like is was a brown sugar candy, but later when I tried it, it tasted like burnt sugar and wasn't very good. Down by the river, there was a park-like setting. Early evening many local people were out jogging or walking briskly, obviously for the purpose of exercise. There were small playgrounds for children. It was nice to be in a city where one had something of a good feel for people living there. I couldn't really find anyplace to eat, so went into the upscale Victoria Hotel (this chain is an upscale chain and upscale cruise line in Vietnam). The dining room served French and Vietnamese food and was a bit pricey for Vietnam. I ordered a seafood dish which was good and then left. On the way back along the street, I saw a woman cupping a young man. He was lying prone on the sidewalk and had his back covered with small glass bowls. She then took a device that looked like a blowtorch and heated up the glass bowls and then placed a blanket over him and then began fanning him. Because it was dark out, I didn't have my camera out and by the time I got it out, he was covered with the blanket.

Back to the hotel, to bed and ready for next morning's early departure on the boat for Cambodia.