We've had such a busy time and unreliable access to the internet since arriving in Cambodia so most of these blogs will be drawing on my equally unreliable memory.

The trip up the Mekong was wonderful, though we were a little bit paranoid as we haven't been taking any Malaria tablets and part of the river is in the 'red zone'. So, well sprayed with insect repellent off we set, completely bewildered as we were being spoken toeither in Vietnamese or completely intelligible English which we nodded to in what we thought were the right places, making a vow to just follow everyone else. That seemed a good idea until we found out that half the passengers weregetting off a bit further up the river onto different boats going in different directions and the other half hadn't understood either and thought the same as us about following the herd. Remarkably we made it on to the right boat and chugged up the river admiring the view and marvelling at the floating villages and floating markets on the way. It's incredible to think people live their daily lives on the river, Sleeping, eating, trading, bringing up their children.

Further along we saw and visited riverside villages, we saw the locals doing their laundry, washing their cows, bathing and Shi****g in the river [Some of their toilets are a hole in jetty type structures over the river with a shoot straight into the river]. Apparently once they have 'been' there is a ferocious thrashing about as the cat fish come up for their breakfast. Nothing is wasted!

We had an overnight stay on a floating hotel which was lovely. Before we went to bed we fancied a night cap so we headed for the hotel floating bar which was reached over a floating platform [you wouldn't want to drink too much having to cross back over that!] We were the only Westerners in the bar and there was obviously a private Chinese New Year party going on [Karaoke of course] We were just about to slink out when some cat with its tail caught in a gate finished singing a song, we clapped and were immediately welcomed into the fold; made to sit down, given free drinks and I was given yellow flowers which are traditional for the New Year and are symbolic for longevity. We managed to glean that it was a 'works do' and that the revellers worked for a Vietnamese bank. We were introduced to the bank manager who smiled and bowed at us throughout the evening. [Why can't English bank managers be like that?] When we had had enough free drink and my face ached from smiling and bowing and pretending I understood what they were on about, we retired to our insect killer sprayed room, climbed under our mosquito net and nodded off to the swaying motion of the boat.

We breakfasted on the boat and caught a smaller boat, with a very low ceiling and a very big sign saying 'Mind your head'. We both managed to whack ours then sat back and watched everyone else whack theirs as they got on. Our little boat was to take us on to the fast boat to Cambodia!!!!!

Part of the trip included lunch and a walk around a Cham village along the riverside. Our boat drew up towards a much civilised looking jetty and about 10 feet away, got stuck in mud. We had been delayed earlier and the tide had gone down on the river. There we were, completely stranded for ages, I was just imagining being attacked by swarms of malarial mosquito's or even worse, starving to death when another boat came along and pushed us out of the mud [how come that boat didn't then get stuck?] we chugged a little further up the river and moored up in some obscure place where the driver literally fished a narrow plank out from under the seats and placed it between the boat and the bank.I was convinced I wouldn't be able to 'walk the plank' I don't like heights, I don't like dirty water with catfish and got knows what else thrashing about in and I don't like planks that bow in the middle. I don't like banks covered in vegetation which might be harbouring all kinds of creatures that bite, sting, jump at you or drag you into the river and I don't loke being watched as I face my fears. Everyone else was convinced I could do it and we were all starving at this point so over I went, very gingerly, to rapturous applause. We had to do the same again later in the day and this time we had to carry our 2 big back packs, and our day bags!!!!

Laura's words, from when we were planning our trip, once again rang in my ears. 'You can't take a suitcase mum, you'll be jumping on and off boats, you'll need ruck sacks. You'll look like right saddo's [or words to that effect] with suitcases! At the time I was convinced I wouldn't be jumping on and off boats but certainly didn't want to look a right saddo so duly purchased the very same ruck sack I had just jumped off a boat and struggled across the gang plank with, dangling smaller back packs and a hand bag on each shoulder.

Just as a foot note, other people had suitcases which the driver of the boat carried up for them and they didn't look like saddo's to me; rather, they looked quite calm, collected and refined!