Mekong Delta 3 Day Tour

I opted for a three day tour through the Mekong delta to make my way up to Cambodia. The first day was filled with coconut candies, honey bees, opera singers, and small boat rides through the winding waterways of the mighty Mekong.

For those headed to Vietnam, a word on the tours: Vietnamese group tours are definitely a bang for your buck, but if you have more time, do it yourself. There is nothing great about being herded around like sheep from destination to destination filled with things that would never be found in the actual lives of the Vietnamese people (e.g. 3$ for a water). If I could do it again, I would do it without all the tours. I might even buy a bike and just go down with my feet and the wheels. If you don't have enough time, tours are your bet, however.

On the way to our first night's destination, Cam Tho, we passed beautiful delta valley and houses that seemed enormously wealthy for Vietnam. On the road, I saw what looked to be a father with his 13 year old boy. They were transporting inventory, maybe some livestock or metal. Both were smoking, and the son was telling a story, making himself laugh.

The second day was spent floating down rivers, looking at traditional markets. The boats each had a wooden post stuck to the the hull speared with the goods that each boat sold. Crabs, watermelons, dragon fruit, and onions were just some of the things I saw. The rest of the day happened a little like the day before, filled with postponed ferries and random stopovers (including a crocodile farm...).

The third day we went to Cambodia. When they say slow boat, what they mean is small boat. 20 of us crammed onto a very skinny light voyage boat for 19 people to travel the three hours to the Cambodian post. Ignoring the cramped quarters, miliary chairs, and the heat, we could palpably feel the difference in Cambodian people and tribes from the Vietnamese. The faces on the sides of the river began to hold bright teeth and pure smiles, posing next to their huge white cows for our pictures.

We changed boats at the border, which was pretty pathetic as far as I'm concerned. The police boat ''patrolling' the water looked like it hadn't been turned on on ages. For those of you true voyagers, you could probably just swim across if you weren't afraid of the murky brown water.

Our boat into Cambodia was even more uncomfortable, but I expected this, so I let the whines from the now sardined group lull me to sleep. I played hearts with some boys in the back of the boat.

We finally finished our boat ride 4 hours later. Then we took an hour long bus to the center of Phenom Penh. Wow. I made it to Cambodia.