Once we had collected our passports from the Indian High Commission we had a few extra days in Phnom Penh to sort our Vietnam Visas then it was off down the Mekong towards the Cambodian border.
Our first stop down the mighty Mekong was Chau Doc. On arrival I felt a little under the weather so missed out on any opportunity to explore the small town and we only saw the inside of our room of the floating hotel. We had opted for a two-night-three-day cruise taking in a variety of sights and the next day I felt a lot better.
In the morning we were shown around the local fish farms which were very stinky however the local cats loved the awful smelling fish food. After that we were given a tour of a small town in the An Giang province famed for its large Islamic mosque then had a chance to snoop around the houses of the locals. As we walked through the lanes nearly everyone smiled and waved or said hello. The people in this part of the world are so friendly and welcoming and their smiles are infectious.
Once the morning tour had finished it was time to continue down the river to Chan Tho where we were shown to our next hotel then had the rest of the day to explore the town. That evening we had a delicious table BBQ (little ceramic pots) on the riverside.
Another early start the next morning saw us wandering through the streets of Chan Tho to the dock and onto a small boat for a tour of the floating market. I managed to clean my teeth that morning in the hotel, the chap above decided the river water of the Mekong to be a better option.
The floating market of Cai Rang was quite a spectacle with boats as far as the eye could see each displaying the wares dangled from a vertical bamboo pole. We had to disembark onto a smaller launch to navigate the ever changing waterways through the market.
We stopped next to a boat piled high with freshly picked pineapples and had ours prepared for us to enjoy on our boat. So juicy and sweet; I think any pineapple from Tescos will now pale in comparison.
Our last part of the tour took us around a rice paper/noodle factory then onto a rice husking plant. After a very busy morning we chugged back upstream into town and waited for our bus to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City)
Our first stop down the mighty Mekong was Chau Doc. On arrival I felt a little under the weather so missed out on any opportunity to explore the small town and we only saw the inside of our room of the floating hotel. We had opted for a two-night-three-day cruise taking in a variety of sights and the next day I felt a lot better.
In the morning we were shown around the local fish farms which were very stinky however the local cats loved the awful smelling fish food. After that we were given a tour of a small town in the An Giang province famed for its large Islamic mosque then had a chance to snoop around the houses of the locals. As we walked through the lanes nearly everyone smiled and waved or said hello. The people in this part of the world are so friendly and welcoming and their smiles are infectious.
Once the morning tour had finished it was time to continue down the river to Chan Tho where we were shown to our next hotel then had the rest of the day to explore the town. That evening we had a delicious table BBQ (little ceramic pots) on the riverside.
Another early start the next morning saw us wandering through the streets of Chan Tho to the dock and onto a small boat for a tour of the floating market. I managed to clean my teeth that morning in the hotel, the chap above decided the river water of the Mekong to be a better option.
The floating market of Cai Rang was quite a spectacle with boats as far as the eye could see each displaying the wares dangled from a vertical bamboo pole. We had to disembark onto a smaller launch to navigate the ever changing waterways through the market.
We stopped next to a boat piled high with freshly picked pineapples and had ours prepared for us to enjoy on our boat. So juicy and sweet; I think any pineapple from Tescos will now pale in comparison.
Our last part of the tour took us around a rice paper/noodle factory then onto a rice husking plant. After a very busy morning we chugged back upstream into town and waited for our bus to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City)
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