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We left Saigon early to join the tour through the Mekong Delta area, ending in Phnom Penh, Cambodia! The tour was three days long, and we were a little dubious about spending that long with no choice in the matter!
Day 1 involved trying tea wth honey and kumquat juice, fresh fruits from the surrounding area and honey wine! The wine was less like wine and more like vodka, a little strong for 10am but we drank it all the same! Next we took to small boats and were rowed down the river wearing the triangle hats the vietnamese wear, and looking rather silly! Next stop was a coconut candy workshop to see how it was made. They brought out a big snake hear, I think a python, which ollie got drapped around his neck! Lunch was eaten at another island in the mekong river, then we were back on the bus to Can Tho. In Can Tho we had the evening free, so we went out to dinner. Ollie tried one of the specialities - SNAKE curry...needless to say I stuck with vegetables! Apparently it tastes ike tough beef. We also tried the vietnamese wine for the first time (beer is cheaper!), and spent the evening with another couple on our trip.
It was a 6am start the next couple of days :( We visited the floating market in the morning which was good, but totally different from what we had expected! This market is only for locals, selling large quantities of fruit and veg. The river is really wide, and the boats more like house boats! They hang whatever they are selling from a stick on top of the boat, and those buying have an empty stick! Later we visited a rice noodle factory and a crocodile farm (yes, for making handbags :( ), then took the bus to Chau Doc. We were on the top floor of the hotel, again - im getting strong legs carrying my bag up hundeds of stairs! We visited the market, which is very similar to all the markets (wet, smelly, dirty and fishy!) Dinner consisted of a random selection of street food as we didn't ike the look of the restaurants - bread, bbq'd sweetcorn and bbq'd bananas! (all v yummy actually!)
The 3rd day wasn't so fun. We stopped at a catfish farm which smelt bad then took a noisy boat 3 hours to the border for a passport check - turns out our e-visas werent valid at this border so frustratingly we had to pay again! The noisy, uncomfortable boat then took nearly 5 hours to Phnom Penh, followed by 1.5hous of a minibus! We were knackered, but managed to find a v. cheap hostel and spent the evening with a Canadian called Bruno.
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