Can Tho

We left our hotel at 7am for the 8am ferry and arrived in Hat Tien at about 10.30am. It was then a very long and confusing trip to Can Tho. Even though other people on the ferry said they were going to the same place we all ended up on different buses. We ended up on the local bus, this was actually quite good fun, it was half empty and we must have stopped at every market on the way to Can Tho. Finally just as I was talking to my dear sister on the phone, wishing her a Happy Birthday they told us to get off. This was definitely not Can Tho, it was a very dusty road with a couple of drink stalls and not a lot else. After about twenty minutes of wondering what was going on a minibus pulled up and a man shouted Can Tho at us, so we were on our way again. The journey although a little hairy and much longer than it was supposed to be was nice, because it took us through the middle of the Mekong Delta.

Eventually we were told to get off again in a residential street and told that yes this was Can Tho, when we asked them where in Can Tho we were, suddenly no-one spoke English.

Anyway on the bus we got talking to a German guy called Sebastian, so the three of us stood on the street for about 20 minutes trying to figure out where we were. After Saigon I was so determined not to get ripped off again, we wanted to try and walk to the hostel. I had already booked somewhere to stay, and i believed that i knew where it was so myself, Craig and Sebastian started walking in the direction of the Riverside which we managed to establish from a man who had recovered his ability to speak English once he realised we were not getting on a bike or in a taxi. After about 5 minutes i started to have doubts and stopped a motorbike taxi, just to find out if we were going in the right direction for our hotel. It turns out that no we weren't and in fact our hotel was 4km in the opposite direction, and he could both of us on two separate bikes for 60,000 Dong (£2). Result, so we piled on the bikes with all our luggage, which to be honest is quite precarious, and ten minutes later we were at our hotel.

The hotel was nice and the staff were very helpful, after dumping stuff and showering we set off a little dazed and confused (you will start to see a pattern here, always dazed and confused after bus journeys, strange but they seem to have that effect) to find something to eat. That was not as simple as it may sound as in fact we were not in the tourist area of Can Tho. Sometimes this is a good thing but when you cannot find a menu in English in about 10 different restaurants this is not such a good thing. There was not a motorbike taxi in sight so somehow we managed to walk the 4km to the Riverside, where we ended up having Italian - Random.

The following morning we had booked a trip to see the floating markets. As the market starts at 6am you have to be picked up from your hotel at 5.30am. After all the lovely, if a little changeable, weather we have been having when we woke in the morning it was absolutely belting it down. There was thunder and lightening, the whole lot, and I am not ashamed to say that my enthusiasm for this trip was seriously waning. But Craig bucked me up and off we went to meet out boat lady at the ferry dock.

The market is about an hour away by boat, by the time we got there it was starting to get light but still raining. The market was quite incredible there were boats of all shapes and sizes selling all sorts of stuff. Most of the boats have tall sticks protruding from the front with whatever they are selling hanging off, so that you can see them from a distance. There were lots of vegetable and fruit, as well as ladies on tiny boats cooking up noodle soup amongst other things.

Here is a little video montage of the market. When we got to about halfway through the market the camera decided to stop working. So I didn't actually take any photos.

It was really nice to see the market and all the houses that line the river, its a crazy place to live. I am sure to live there when the sun is shining is lovely, but in the rain all the people standing in their pyjamas in their doorways looking out did not look happy bunnies.

We finally made it back to dry land at about 9.30am and had some breakfast, then the 4km walk back to our hotel. In the Lonely Planet it said that there is a waterpark at Can Tho, which we thought would be a nice way to spend an afternoon. As it turned out after asking at the hotel, it closed a few years ago, so we had booked tickets back to Saigon for 12noon that day.

By that point Craig had gotten a migraine, so i sent him to the hotel room for a nap, and set off in search of snacks for the bus. Now, ever since we have arrived in SE Asia we seem to get a lot of attention. When i have asked some people, mainly Cambodians they have said that "You are a white person, but you don't look like a white person". They seem very confused how I can be darker than them, but still be white. Anyway when walking to the bakery in Can Tho, i must have had 25-30 people say hello to me and an uncountable number just staring, it was really quite bizarre, its a bit like i imagine being a celebrity would be like. Weirdly tough although this is probably the 3rd or 4th time this had happened, usually when i go out on my own, its not in the slightest intimidating. Everyone is smiley and happy and just very curious, its pretty funny, the children and the old people's facial expressions especially can be really priceless.

So the gauntlet run, it was back to the hotel to wake up Craig and off to the bus. There was just time to have a quick look at the roof garden, and i had not realised what a big city Can Tho was.

We were only going to Saigon as you have to go there to get the bus to the next destination, Mui Ne. We got on the bus at 12noon, and arrived in the outskirts of Saigon at about 3.30pm. We has been told that after the main bus there would be another bus to transfer us closer to the centre of the city (but still not near where we needed to be). As we pulled into the bus station I spotted a local bus going to Ban Tranh station, which was about a 2km walk from our hotel, we had done this walk 3 or 4 times last time we were in Saigon, so i thought it'll be a doddle. So on the local bus we hopped, and about 40 minutes and some very crazy driving later, and having just got on the phone to mum (my timing is inpeccable!), we were dropped at Ban Tranh station. Now 2km is not far to walk, even with handbag or one rucksack, but no Craig has the massive bag and the wet bag. I have the red rucksack (which gets heavier by the day), the handbag and the food bag, believe me 2km felt like 20. We finally arrived at out hotel a wet, dripping mess. Thank god for the air-con!!! About an hour was then spent trying to find our what was wrong with the camera, after discovering that it was a sensor and more expensive to fix than buy a new camera, off we went.

We had seen a massive electronics shop on our walks before so we set off for that. We thought it was going to be like a discount place as they had so many special offer posters outside, but no as it turns out it only stocks the brand new models of everything. Despite our reservations when we realised this we managed to buy a new model Sony Cyber-Shot for about £65. Task completed we wandered back to the hotel only stopping to buy a Kilo of roasted pork . There are food stands all over the place, but the ones that really look the best have big slabs of roasted pork which they slice up and put into baguettes. The lady seemed very amused that we did not want a baguette but just a kilo of pork, but let me tell you it was awesome and the crackling was amazing!

Then we crashed so that we were ready to be up bright and early for our 8am bus to Mui Ne in the morning, so until then.................

(By this point the camera was obviously on its last legs!)