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Water please!
We were picked up at 7:45am and driven to the port just around the corner. We thought this was odd because we were told we had a four hour bus ride then a two hour slow boat ride into vietnam, but here we were boarding a boat. I asked the staff to check our tickets, they told us no one else was going on the slow boat so they put us on a faster route (I like to think they upgraded us because of the visa trouble yesterday).
So we spent four hours on a long speed boat taking us to the border, enjoying the sun from the deck and the views of the river along the way. Fishing communities lined the banks with their boats, it was still early so we saw people coming down to the river to wash themselves and their clothes. Some homes had fences put up in the river so there children could play safely in it. I saw one young boy washing his cow in one.
Once we got to the border we had our visas stamped and then we changed to another boat. Without the cool breeze on us we suddenly realised we were sun burnt. Everyone tried to stay in the shade on the second boat, I felt like a vampire desperately trying to avoid the sun.
We could tell we were in Vietnam the further we went up river. Homes were built over the water instead of on stilts on land. Whole villages were floating on the water! There were no paths leading to the front of their homes, they would need to take a boat! The staff on the boat were very friendly and always smiling, much like the people we passed on the river. One small child must have seen our boat in the distance so raced down the muddy bank just to shout and wave hello to us. Even the fisherman gave a friendly smile and wave to us, we felt very welcomed.
An hour and forty minutes from the border we arrived into Chou Doc, our final destination. We grabbed our bags then jumped aboard a floating restaurant. There isn't much to do in Chau Doc so we ate then decided to get a mini bus straight to Can Tho only three hours away, and what an experience that was! Firstly we were picked up by two bicycle taxis, these consisted of a man riding a bike while pulling what I would describe as a tray on wheels! I held on tight as we wizzed passed speeding motor bikes and huge coaches. We lost Chris and his rider as soon as we left, Chris told me later that his rider decided to stop and have drink! I hated being separated especially while we were going through crazy traffic. Everyone was honking the horns at each other to move out the way. The buses and coaches seem to have priority and the motorbikes just weave in and out. Some how it works though and the traffic never stops moving. When Chris caught up I was already at the bus station. He turned around and bent over infront of me to show me the large tear he made in his shorts! It was so funny you could see everything!
At the bus station there was a mini van already there waiting to go, the driver took our bags and stuffed them in the back of the van. I went to get on but there were no seats available. Chris looked and asked the guy what's going on. He replied saying its ok and get on. We were like where??!! He kept repeating himself so I grabbed our bags and Chris demanded a different bus or our money back. The driver pointed at the boot to us.....he wanted us to sit in the boot with the back doors open!! We wouldn't have any of it so eventually the driver made two local people at the back of the bus get off. He put a plastic stool in for one person to sit on and made the other person share a seat. We squeezed into the back and watched in amazement as more people got on. There were two people sharing the drivers seat and others sitting on the floor or sharing. Twenty three people squeezed into the van in the end it was crazy! The bus was built for fifteen! We could feel the weight in the bus shift from left to right as the driver swerved past motorists at high speeds. I crapped myself! I was literally squeezing Chris's arm in terror of us crashing, we were in a death trap. The story we were told yesterday about the crash kept playing on my mind too!
Thankfully we made it to Can Tho safe and sound. We had no idea where to go so we just checked into the first place in sight called Mai Huong Hotel for $7 a night.
It was getting late and we were both hungry so we went out for dinner. We didn't realise Can Tho was going to be so built up! There were plenty of nice looking restaurants where we were, we didn't see any tourists though and barely anyone spoke English.
We decided on a restaurant and flicked through the menu, they sold Ostrich, Wild Boar, Poisonous Snake, Sparrows, Pigeon, Field Mouse, Frogs, Eels, Crocodile and loads of different types of fish! We didn't feel like trying something new tonight so we shared a huge red snapper fish, it was good!
The young waiter who served us spoke to us for a while afterwards, practising his English language skills. We asked his name and he said Phu, but his English name was Chris! He was very good but had trouble understanding me. When we ordered drinks he offered us coke, seven up or mineral water. I asked for water and for about a minute he asked me to repeat myself. I looked at him confused then tried saying it in different accents. Then Chris said 'Mineral Water!' and he understood. Water doesn't exactly sound like coke or seven up lol!
We will go to the floating markets tomorrow, we have to be up at 5am to get there early enough. It's gone midnight now and we are very tired, I'm not sure how we will manage tomorrow morning, plus Chris has come down with a cough and cold. Time to hit the pillow.
Charlotte & Chris
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Maureen Looool that literally had me in fits Get in the boot Lool