Never mind the Mekong....

It was a bit confusing getting to My Tho (pronounced Me Tow) as we had to get local transport, they're not used to tourists going there in mass. We had our first honest taxi driver in Vietnam on the way to the wrong bus station and then the right bus station, what a refreshing change! We got a bus after haggling from 65,000dong to 24,000dong, we were crammed on with out rucksacks but it was fun sitting with locals.

When we arrived we got two motorbike taxis to Rang Dong Hotel, although we later found out that it wasn't the Rang Hotel we thought we were going to, it was a hotel a mile down the road with the same name. After a long unexpected walk into town we settled in a cafe for an iced coffee, although it was more like coffeed ice.

Our first impression of the Mekong Delta was just how friendly everyone was; practically everyone we passed on the street would say "Hello" and smile, all of the kids would shout it and giggle when we replied. One little boy who couldn't have been older than five was riding his bike along the river side and biked passed us a few times, each time saying hello and then speeding past, the final time he zoomed past and said "Are you well?". It was lovely seeing how genuinely friendly the Vietnamese people are, especially when they're not trying to sell you something.

That evening we went to a restaurant that had English menus, the only one we knew of, but they didn't speak English and instead of trying to understand what we wanted they kept ignoring us! It was quite funny daring each other to try and get their attention in different ways. Eventually we managed to point to a few things and had a very satisfying meal, even if we had to work for it!

The next day instead of catching a ferry to Ben Tho which is what we had originally planned, we headed to Vinh Long instead. We got completely ripped off but we could do little about it. Our moto drivers didn't take us to the bus stop, they took us to their friends mini-bus stop, meaning we had to pay more so it cost us (100,000dong) for the same length journey we'd done the previous day! We were under the impression that we'd also paid for the locals who were getting on that weren't paying! Never mind.

We arrived in Vinh Long at another roadside, not a bus stop and walked the mile and a half into town. Our guesthouse had a beautiful view of the brown flowing Mekong, it doesn't sound nice but after living by the brown North Sea it kind of reminded us of home! We went for a coffee and then to dinner across the road. Dinner was interesting, we both ordered different things and yet they brought us the same meal. Never mind.

The next day we had planned to get up early and get a boat ride along the Mekong, although morning Phil had different plans and decided to stay asleep! We eventually got out to find that the tours had left, we bought some bread for breakfast and a boat tout found us with little persuading. We managed to charter our own tour with just the two of us for half the price of the normal tours... (Phil - that doesn't mean you can have lay-ins more often!).

Our guide didn't speak a word of the queens and she was hilarious! She would ramble on and crack up as we looked at her bemused. She was great fun. After a long ride along the river and through the canals of the surrounding islands, we arrived at the largest floating market in the area. It was a nice sight, although it was really raining so most of the sellers and their goods were under cover. Again, never mind!

Our guide then took us to a Bonsai Garden and treated us to some fruits. She managed to teach us the names in Vietnamese for bananas, dragon fruit and the other one... we only know what the fruit is called in Vietnamese and I won't embarrass myself by trying to spell it. We had a lovely Pho lunch (Pho meaning noodle soups with bits).

On the way back we saw more canals and stilt houses, and even had to fill up for petrol at a stilted service station. Last stop was a coconut candy workshop; although the lady there told us that she'd given up for the day but normally she'd show us how it was made. Never mind!

That evening we found a lovely restaurant where we got given what we ordered, yum! The next day we said goodbye to the lovely Mekong people and headed back to the hustle and bustle of Saigon... It was nice to get away for a bit but we needed to head back, never mind.