Entering the Mekong Delta

On the move, from the Mekong to our hotel
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We left our guesthouse expecting a short bus ride to the river, instead a couple of guys had to get their passports back from being issued visas. They couldn't find their receipt and mysteriously, the passports suddenly appeared when they finally found the receipt. Other passengers were picked up and Cambodians were squashed into the van (a bit of extra pocket money for the driver) for our 2 hour ride to the boat (we almost thought we'd paid to take the boat but got the bus). When we finally did arrive, we found a boat that wouldn't start. Thankfully some bananas, incense (and a prayer) to Buddha solved this problem.

Lots of fish at the fish farm... really exciting...
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We were on our way, playing card games and tricks with fellow passengers to pass the time. The Cambodian customs took little time (no bribing the authorities this time) and we were back on the boat for the short trip to the Vietnamese customs. Here we paid VND2,000 (NZ$1 = D11,000) for the health check (which was a form) and ate lunch while it was processed. Our bags were even x-rayed before we boarded a new and much more comfortable boat on it's way to Chau Doc. We were in the Mekong Delta, floating houses and all.

Thankfully some bananas, incense (and a prayer) to Buddha solved this problem.

A view of a Mekong tributary
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We took our first cyclo ride from the pier to our guesthouse, Vinh Phuoc ($4 - they use USD here too). David, a fellow boat passenger, was also staying there, so we all took a walk to the market to find some dinner. We gound fruit, but dinner appeared in the form of a stall further from the market. What we were really looking forward to was the beer. Vietnam has some of the cheapest beer in the world. We found bottles (600mL) for D10,000 - we'd have to wait until Saigon for the really cheap stuff.

A fish boat - transports fish live
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We wanted to explore the Mekong Delta a little, so booked a 3-day tour ($32) that started the next day with a short trip to visit a floating fish farm. What looked like thousands of fish swarmed to the surface of the pond when food was thrown in. Actually, what was probably more exciting was balancing on the walkways getting between the boat and the farm. There was no way we were falling into the Mekong!

The Cham are a minority people who live in the Mekong Delta, so we visited a village of theirs. Really, we gained little insight into their lives except that they're Muslim, they showed us how they weave silk and the kids tried to sell us cakes. So, it was back to the guesthouse to pick up our gear for the next leg of our tour.