Mekong Delta, some animals and on to Cambodia

After our excellent few days in Saigon we booked ourselves on a three day trip around the Mekong Delta ending with a boat trip over the border into Cambodia and up into the capital, Phomn Penh.

We seem to be recording only the dodgiest moments of our trip on this blog but this one was truly the funniest start to any tour thus far. Our LP recommended tour company was due to collect us at 7.45am from our hotel to begin the tour. We sleepily but promptly arrived downstairs in our hotel for collection and thought nothing of a half an hour delay putting it down to a relaxed attitude to time. Hey, no problem, it's early and we're in no rush and the tour office is only down the road anyway!

An hour went by.

We start to think maybe there's something wrong. Emma kindly volunteered to go and ask after our bus. She returned with an exasperated tour rep screaming into her mobile some very shrill and unintelligible words. The bus had left without us!!! All four of us and our bacpacks were bundled into tiny taxi and we were forced to share the back seat with the still screaming tour rep in the front as we hightailed it after our bus! Cue the Benny Hill chase music and 15 minutes later we were safely on our bus sheepishly muttering to our perplexed fellow passengers that no, we hadn't overslept and yes, it was the tour company's fault!

Thankfully the rest of the day quickly got better and we spent several hot and humid hours navigating around the river channels of My Tho, taking in a bustling market and lunching at a Cham minority village, then transferring into smaller boats motoring up narrower channels to taste some local specialities and play with a giant python. Yes, that was play with a giant python!

Grem and Monty the python (sorry!)

The next day we went to a bizarre floating market and afterwards saw rice noodles being made, as well as chancing upon the largest pigs I have ever seen. Strangely enough our guide informed us that these were 'Jersey pigs' - no comment!!

Fruit & veg seller at the floating market

A large 'Jersey' pig!

Some small 'Jersey' pigs!

As if we hadn't seen enough diversity on the animal front already, on our way to the border town of Chau Doc we stopped by a crocodile farm and saw rows and rows of crocodiles in varying shapes and sizes ready for export to China and other countries, for meat, belts and to play bit parts in the next 'Crocodile Dundee' movie (no, not really).

I've never been that close to any crocodiles before let alone that many in such a small space, and as they basked with gaping jaws in the sun I felt decidely uneasy behind the rickety fences surrounding these evil looking animals!

The next day crossing over the border into Cambodia was a surreal experience in itself compared with our other land border crossings! After only three hours on a surprisingly small boat we were at the border. We stopped briefly to purchase our Cambodian visas and to have our Vietnam visas stamped on exit. We then hopped on another boat leaving Vietnam and before we knew it we had arrived in Cambodia! As easy as that! I think Russia could learn a thing or two from these guys! Onwards to Cambodia then!