Two days of travel

So yesterday we bussed it from saigon to Chau Doc a Cham town near the border of Cambodia. Basically the bus trip was fairly heinous as it was a mini van not really intended for backpackers but just locals with no luggage and it was a 7 hour trip over raod that barely exists. Probably the bumpiest so far and being wedged in between Tim and two Vietnamese men with limite air con was less than fun. But we arrived in one piece and quickly found our way to the dodgiest hotel we've stayed in so far but I suppose at 8 US dollars per night you can't complain too much. Chau Doc is sort of in the Mekong Delta and so very much about fishing and other watery revenue. We didn't get much of a chance to look around but I don't think we missed out on a lot.

Today we woke up at 5.30 am as we had to be on a boat at 7am to look around the waterways before heading up the Mekong to the cross the border into Cambodia. This proved to be a very entertaining little journey. Tim and I were alone in a long boat steered and rowed by a very fit odler lady. We were guided through the floating villages where children laughed and waved from their floating shacks. Eventually we came to a Cham village. Cham people used to occupy a larger portion of Vietnam but now live mainly in the Delta - they are Muslim but seemingly a slightly different more laid back version of the religion. When we wandered through the village we had about ten kids trying to sell us waffles "Madam, madam 6 waffles, 3 coconut and 3 banana for one dollar, you buy from me, you buy from me please!"

Steph: No thankyou

Tim (silent and skillfully storms ahead)

Children: Maybe later, maybe later, not now for you madam maybe later you buy from me, you have to buy from me.

This chorus continued the length of the street up the the Muslim mosque. Then started again when we reemerged

Children: Madam Madam maybe later 6 waffles! Maybe later maybe later

ME: no thankyou

Children" You make me cry Madam, madam maybe later. You make me cry!

I can't express how funny this actually was and I wish I could have secretly video taped it!

Anyway we then left on a slightly larger (only slightly) boat up the Mekong River taking about 3 hours to get to the border. Aside from the uncomfy board seats we had a good time- there is a lot of life along the Mekong- its too much to describe here and we have some good video.

Crossing the border was kind of weird. We surrendered our passports to this guy who went an got our visas for us along with those of many other people crossing over. But eventually we got across not mcuh stress. Then it was another 2-3 hours on the boat and another 2 hours on bus to get to Pnom Penh where we are now. Very tired.
We had dinner at this great restaraunt called "Friends whihc is a charity restaraunt with all profits going to help orphaned children and street children with education and development of skills etc. Reall great stuff. Anyway too tired for more detail. tomorrow the killing fields, orphanages and torture museums- as Tim would sarcastically put it "uplifting stuff"!