Mmmm...what can i say about Chau Doc...not much!!!

During the loooooong drive through the infamous Mekong Delta and along the vast river, i caught more than a glimpse into life on the river. The Mekong Delta vibrates with colour - bright green rice shoots, yellow and electric-pink incence sticks drying along roadsides. Theres a constant slow, yet buzzing energy through the Mekong byways. Passing by Vietnam's agricultural workforce makes you aware that this is how the nation is fed. For miles the delta-plain is lush with rice paddies and fish farms.

After hours of driving, we finally reach Chau Doc...a small border town on the river.... we are close to Cambodia but not close enough... It's going to take a stay over in the town before it's time to catch the long boat trip to immigration in the morning.

At first glimpse Chau Doc is an absolute dump....not a westerner in sight and by the looks of it we'l be lucky to survive the night here. Even the skies were grey and bleak - don't think sunlight ever got through!! Not much to do in the town, a few mosques, a couple of pagodas and of course lots of temples....other than that nothing. Checked into a really shady looking guesthouse but it was from the back of the place the boat would be leaving in the morning so that was the plus of the whole visit! At reception we were advised of the local market which was only a few streets away. Sick to death of markets but there wasn't much else to do so myself, clare and rebecca decided to go for a wander whilst miles, rachel & ben had a kip.

.....oh dear god..... as we walked down the streets we were hurled abuse by locals, children would run up to us, point, laugh and run away and to make matters even worse, we took the wrong turn and didn't have a clue were to go. All the streets were like mazes...they all just seemed to intertwine with each other. Old men sat on the streets and drank their rum, woman sat on plastic chairs at their front doors shouting in what i think was Vietnamese. Eventually got back onto a street that looked kind of familiar. Decided if the market wasn't at the end of this street it was time to try head back. Unfortunately the market was staring us straight in the face....damn! As we drew closer, the local vendors just looked at us as if we were alien. They would turn away and snigger or whisper to their friends... it was so obvious we were so out of our depth never mind out of place. In the past few hours that i'd been in Chau Doc, i did not see one person who looked even remotely from out of town....just us. I was definately starting to get a bit apprehensive, strange men started following us and shouting to us from behind in Vietnamese... but the girls wanted a quick look to see what last minute souveniers they could pick up from Vietnam.....eh...no chance....it turned out to be a local market selling fish, cows, pigs, rice, grain..... thanks miss reception lady for telling us.... no wonder the locals were wetting themselves...what the heck am i supposed to do with a pigs head!!!! Just as well it was starting to get dark so we decided to make a sharp exit and try not make any more fools out of ourselves....

Luckily Miles has been to Chau Doc on numerous occasions crossing over from Vietnam as his dad works in Cambodia. So he took us to this very quaint restuarant on the water. Was actually more like a few planks of wood tied together sitting on the river with a few tables and chairs. The menu was completely in Vietnamese and the girls working there couldn't speak a word of english...Miles to the rescue again. He knows the local lingo and basically ordered family style. Food was really good and really cheap which always helps! Next was the highlight of Chau Doc....and Probably Vietnam... I even went over and above expectations.......

Miles asked if we were up for trying some local specialities....home brewed beer and "stuff".... of course we were all up for it....nothing better to do. So off we went, jumped in a few cyclos and followed Miles. We stopped outside what looked like someones house with the front wall knocked down...seems to be a running theme here in Vietnam that people open up their homes for business. Back to the plastic tables and chairs and out came 3 large bottles of home made beer....they were in 1.5l water bottles. Wasn't actually all that bad. Did leave an awful aftertaste because it hadn't been distilled but we seemed to finish the lot!!! Now was the interesting part.... Miles had ordered some food for us to try.... out it came..... RAT, BAT & SNAKE..... aaaagh....

So i don't know if you'll be proud of me or distgusted but I gave it all a go...well you only live once. And to be fair, the rat wasn't all that bad. Had a rib and a thigh. Bat wasn't to tasty... more bone than anything and because they basically catch it and through it in a deep fat fryer it still looks like a bat... well a cooked one... with the head and wings and feet and stuff. Think Ben managed to chew into its brain or something....wasn't totally enammered with that one! Last but not least was the snake....bit black and chewy but def tasted better than the bat. Since we were all feeling brave we decided to go for some tarantula.... they guy disappeared for about 15 minutes (clearly out the back looking for one) but came back to say they had none...they weren't in season! Damn!!

Next stop Karaoke bar....this was karoake with a difference....

Off we went again with our little cyclo drivers to have a little sing song.... must have been about midnight by this point. Not a soul on the streets...was absolutely silent and still. All you could here were the creaks of the rickety old cyclos. I was just expecting the usual style Karaoke that you get anywhere else abroad but no.... you actually get your own private room and a keg of beer...nice! You can pick and choose your songs till your hearts content. Aw, what a laugh. We were all jumping about to Bon Jovi, Elton John, David Bowie, Bananarama......At one point me and clare even had a dance routine going to some ACDC. Rebecca has to be the funniest though....can't hold a note never mind a tune... but actually thinks she's not bad! She was horrendous.... have caught everyone on camera so will def need to work out how to upload the monstrosaties...... ! By the end of it, the cyclo drivers had come into join us but they were taking it waaay to serious and singing Vietnamese songs, closing their eyes and giving it the whole head action....very very funny!

As you can guess...the next morning wasn't to pretty.... we were all kind of hung over and had a 7 hour boat ride ahead. I was feeling really dodgy...don't know whether to blame the illegal beer or the disease infested rodents.....

Cambodia here we come.....but not without a few hiccups along the way at immigration......

til next time..........

Cxxxxx