The Mekong Delta turned out to be a very interesting and cultural experience. Although quite a lot of travelling was involved, it was nonetheless good fun...(in a group of 11 people!)

Day 1 meant leaving HCMC at 8am and catching a bus south for approx 3-4 hours. Here we got off in a city which was straddling the mighty Mekong river (sorry can't remember the town names). We all jumped on a boat which then took us up the river a fair bit, then we entered into some tiny cannels (bit of a maze really). Being in an organised tour, there were lots of planned stops along the way. First off a little village where we got to sample some 'oriental fruit' haha. Seemed a bit tame but nonetheless we enjoyed the break. Some local men played some 'traditional' music at the same time - although they looked as if they would rather be anywhere else. Despite being horribly out of tune and tempo, the singer was pretty good. Felt a bit sorry for them actually as the table beside them had some middle aged french people who were horribly arrogant and talked loudly the whole way through (actually this was a common thing we saw in Vietnam - there are many many French tourists and not wanting to be prejudice, I found most of them quite arrogant whenever we bumped into them...).

Next up we were put on 'traditional' horse-drawn carriages for an exciting 10 minutes (!). Despite the horses being terribly scrawny with owners treating them roughly, it was nice to breeze through a local village in between the maze of cannels on the delta. Then we were herded off to try some honey tea with bees swarming everywhere. Apparently this stuff was good for the skin - sounded a bit like manuka honey. Randomly there was a massive snake there so we all got to take turns in holding it and passing it on. It took quite a fancy to one guy's 'behind' which was quite entertaining haha. Then we had lunch which to be truthful was pretty bad (tiny portions, and it was instant noodles, so I had to go hungry (= gluten)...

Then we were all herded back into the bus for another 3 hours or so, taking us to another town further north-west. On arrival we had to get into a ferry to cross the river - apparently a bridge had just been completed this time last year when it collapsed, killing several people. So the boat it was for us...(taking another hour).

On arrival at our hotel we had a frustrating time trying to tell the reception that there were 11 of us, yet only 10 beds. Furthermore they were trying to cram us in into 2 rooms whereas everyone else on the tour had double rooms....after about 30mins of frustration it was all sorted...We had the evening to ourselves to walk around, though being pretty tired we weren't up to much haha. Of highlight however was trying some snake. Pretty yum - though as they say it tasted like chicken!!

Day 2 - at 7am we were off to see the floating markets in full swing! This morning was a lot of fun actually. Having one boat for 11 of us we had about 4 hours cruising up and down the river in the sun. We saw 2 markets (although one of them was tiny). Apparently the markets are gradually dying out as it is more of a traditional means of trading, whilst a land-based market nowadays is far easier. Each boat will principally supply one item (eg bananas or carrots) and would advertise this by tying one of their products to an end of a stick and then raising this high above the boat. Once all goods are sold, then the sticks come down. In between the big boats there are lots of people on canoes paddling around buying stuff. We had one stop at a ricepaper making factory which was pretty interesting (a very labour-intensive process). Later we got to see a coconut candy factory where literally coconuts are sweezed to draw out milk (not the juice) which was then cooked with sugar and malt, turning it into a ymmy caramel. We got to try these and they were yum! In addition we got to try some snake wine to those who were game (literally massive snakes are preserved inside massive containers). Tasted pretty much like swamp water...

By 1pm we were back in the bus on our way to a town bordering with Cambodia. Along the way we go to stop at a crocodile farm (there were HEAPS and HEAPS of them) as well as a temple which had pretty impressive views across the land, over to Cambodia! Pretty exciting. Apparently though the site had been used during the wars as a quite a good vantage point...

After another uneventful night, the next morning we were off again at 7am for a boat ride to the floating fish farms. As there are so many, the water was absolutely filthy, although there were a lot of fish (a mega frenzy of them when we got to feed them...). Then we cruised further up the river to a minority tribe village to see some weaving. It was nice despite the fact that the kids are endlessly trying to sell us stuff....! The next 2 hours we slowly cruised up the river, breezing past many many interesting houses (all are raised on 3m high poles as during the wet season, the flooding is immense so they all have to be raised up high) as well as children constantly waving and shouting 'hello' at us as we cruised past! Quite fun!

Then we were at the border! It was all done so seemlessly - our guide had stamped us out of Vietnam, so technically we didn't even go through customs on our way out! Entering Cambodia was just as easy, buying a Visa upon entry. The remainder of the afternoon was spent further travelling by boat up north. If it wasn't for the good company and the fact that we all brought several beers, this might have gone on too long...despite the sun shining we were all kept in the shade which was a bit of a shame haha. Thinking we were close, we then had another 2 hours by bus on a very rocky road, taking us into Phenm Penh by 7pm!!

So with that, Vietnam is over. We found it a bit sad leaving, having acquainted well with the culture, food and even the language! Both the Vietnamese coffees (cafe sua) and cheap draft beer (bia hoi) will be sorely missed....!