After a 1 hour delay, we finally boarded the Hang Chau express boat to take us to Chou Doc along the Mekong River. A compact, 12 seater boat. A steady ride, only choppy at points when the rain set in. After a 3 hour journey, we reached the Cambodian "exit" border... Somewhat sleepy and primative! A wooden stepped plank to get to the building to get our passports stamped . Dogs ( very skinny ones) everywhere .. Jake and I, very nervous .
Passports stamped and checked and back onto the boat.
15 minutes later and we hit Vietnam passport control. This building is FAR more sophisticated :-)
Another hour later and we finally arrive at Chau Doc!
No taxis... No tuks tuks... Only way to our hotel is via motorbike or cyclo or on foot!
On foot is not an option .. too far to walk.
Cyclo was the next best option..basically a man on a pedal bike
pedalling you and your luggage while you are sat in a very small space! Emma and I were not happy but it was either this or a motorbike at which I definitely drew a line!!! Very relieved
and only at a cost of $4 for 2 cyclos, we arrive at our hotel, The Satisfy 15 minutes later.
Hmmmm. I think we were the only guests! No restaurant in the Hotel or nearby, we refer to our trip advisor APP, The victoria hotel does a decent dinner. This time we order a taxi.

An early night. The family room we booked is being renovated so 2 separate rooms tonight. The room is basic but clean , but the feel of mosquitoes everywhere . I did not sleep well... Neither did Damian or Jake, they had a geccho in their room!!!
Breakfast was interesting. We were told noodles would take 45 minutes. This we cannot do as we have a bus to catch. We opt for easy bread with jam and butter.. We got bread with a tomato salsa and slabs of cheese instead. Emma and I gave up trying to explain :-)

We arrive at the bus station at 9am ready for the next leg of our journey to take us to Ho Chi Minh city...a 6 hour bus ride.
A journey that went quickly. My only complaint would be the awful vietnamese music they insisted on playing! Kids watched a movie on the iPad, I caught up on some sleep and Damian did more Lonely planet reading. At midday we stopped for lunch at a big depot which served food . Our bus drivers were not the friendliest .. All announcements in Vietnamese. The "foreigners" , 8 of us in total, stuck together...none of us had any idea how long the break would be!
The cost of the journey was only $9 each so we can't really expect any personal service. Damian reminded me this was significantly cheaper than the $20 elephant ride per person in Siem Reap which lasted 20 minutes!

At 3.30pm, we finally arrive safely at HCM. Another large city, but the most sophisticated and developed so far . Tall offices, hotels, designer shops and motorbikes EVERYWHERE!
We love our hotel, The Nikko. We are in room 2012 :-)
The toilet has been a topic of conversation... The seat is heated and it has a set of buttons for you to press when you have finished doing your business! You can select "a rear clean spray " , "a front clean spray " and even a " dryer" to complete the cycle of cleanliness!!!! Bizarre and only in a Japanese hotel chain.

A 5 minute walking trip from our hotel to buy a phone Sim card ended up with us walking back to the Hotel to get a taxi to take us there.. Just IMPOSSIBLE to cross the main road! No man to help us across this time...

Visit to the central market, Ben Thanh where we stocked up on mangos and rambutans .
Dinner at Nha Hang Ngon, a restaurant set in a leafy garden ringed by food stalls . As the Lonely planet recommended, we " followed our nose and browsed each stall"

Now looking forward to a mosquito and geccho free night of sleep ...

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