Today it was time for a 5 hour bus journey over the Cambodian-Vietnamese border to the Vietnamese town of Chau Doc. Chau Doc was under Cambodian rule until the mid-eighteenth century and still sustains a large Khmer community. The border crossing went of without a hitch even though the guy checking the passports was the angriest man ever. There isn’t much to see in the city other than the markets so when we arrived we decided to get two activities for the day in.
The first was a boat trip along the Mekong River to visit a fish-farm and a fisherman’s village. Only half the group went on this one because most were tired or were saving themselves for the next activity. We met up with our local guide who told us the history of the river and guided us into our vessel, a rickety old boat!He was a big Man United too so we liked him.After sailing down the Mekong we arrived at the fish-farm. It was run by eight people and it was cool to throw in fish food and have thousands of fish fighting over them!The fisherman’s village was further down the Mekong. We had to traverse our way along wooden planks that were not built to hold people like us (me). We made our way steadily along holding onto everything we could while kids ran and leapt from plank to plank. When we arrived at the house I had one more plank to get across, but unfortunately this one wasn’t going to hold, it snapped and I jumped to the concrete ramp! If it had been the previous plank I would be completely soaked and my wallet and cameras would be waterlogged! We all had a good laugh over it with the locals! The accidents weren’t going to stop there, on the way back to the port our boat broke down so we had to switch boats. We just about made it back dry!
The next activity was a moped ride through the crazy streets to the top of Sam Mountain to watch the sunset. It was crazy to say the least! The don’t traffic lights or pedestrians here and they drive on either side of the road! It was a bit of a race to the top between with Gary coming second to Renee from our group. From the top the views were amazing offering views of Chau Doc and the Mekong Delta. While there we chilled out by drinking beers and relaxing in hammocks. It was four peoples first time in them believe it or not. The way down was a bit a bit crazier because there was so much overtaking going on and you weren’t always sure what was around the corner!After this it was time to head to a local restaurant for dinner. Dinner seemed a bit dodgy after eating it but I wouldn’t know the full effects until a couple of hours later!One of the worst nights of my life is not exaggerating! I won’t forget Chau Doc in a hurry that’s for sure!Mike
The first was a boat trip along the Mekong River to visit a fish-farm and a fisherman’s village. Only half the group went on this one because most were tired or were saving themselves for the next activity. We met up with our local guide who told us the history of the river and guided us into our vessel, a rickety old boat!He was a big Man United too so we liked him.After sailing down the Mekong we arrived at the fish-farm. It was run by eight people and it was cool to throw in fish food and have thousands of fish fighting over them!The fisherman’s village was further down the Mekong. We had to traverse our way along wooden planks that were not built to hold people like us (me). We made our way steadily along holding onto everything we could while kids ran and leapt from plank to plank. When we arrived at the house I had one more plank to get across, but unfortunately this one wasn’t going to hold, it snapped and I jumped to the concrete ramp! If it had been the previous plank I would be completely soaked and my wallet and cameras would be waterlogged! We all had a good laugh over it with the locals! The accidents weren’t going to stop there, on the way back to the port our boat broke down so we had to switch boats. We just about made it back dry!
The next activity was a moped ride through the crazy streets to the top of Sam Mountain to watch the sunset. It was crazy to say the least! The don’t traffic lights or pedestrians here and they drive on either side of the road! It was a bit of a race to the top between with Gary coming second to Renee from our group. From the top the views were amazing offering views of Chau Doc and the Mekong Delta. While there we chilled out by drinking beers and relaxing in hammocks. It was four peoples first time in them believe it or not. The way down was a bit a bit crazier because there was so much overtaking going on and you weren’t always sure what was around the corner!After this it was time to head to a local restaurant for dinner. Dinner seemed a bit dodgy after eating it but I wouldn’t know the full effects until a couple of hours later!One of the worst nights of my life is not exaggerating! I won’t forget Chau Doc in a hurry that’s for sure!Mike
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