Feb 14 – 16
Phnom Penh, Cambodia to Chau Doc, Vietnam
On the morning of our departure from the Anik Hotel in Phnom Penh, Nash discovered that someone had stolen $150 from his wallet and replaced the two bills with plastic counterfeits. We are positive that it happened during the short time we were all at the rooftop pool, when the clean laundry was delivered. Not much we could do other than report it to the hotel manager. Lesson learned is to use the hotel safe.
Our guide Ravuth and same driver delivered us to the boat docks where we could board our transport to Vietnam. As we parted, he said he hoped we would share our experiences in Cambodia. Our guides on this trip have been very attentive, making sure we get checked into our hotels, delivered to correct terminal at the airports and loaded onto our boats.
It was a long weary boat ride from Phnom Penh to Chau Doc. The boats are enclosed with bus like seating, similar to the the flying dolphins in Greece. Seat rows are too close together but the boat was not full so at least we could spread out. The windows were open and it was hot when we started but as we got moving the breeze was nice. The river was fairly wide for a lot of the ride but as we got closer to Chau Doc we had a closer look at life on the river. We saw many floating houses, barges, small and large fishing boats, sans mining operations. And lots of floating trash.
Biggest negative of the boat ride was an obnoxious ugly German passenger. He was fat, drunk and smelled bad. And he had bad teeth! We were hoping he would get detained at one of the immigration stops.
Immigration was interesting. Midway through the ride we crossed over from Cambodia to Vietnam. Their immigration control stations were about a mile apart. We had to first disembark at the Cambodian office, which was a dark shack. They stamped our passports, took our picture and fingerprints. The ship’s personnel kept our passports for the next stop.
We got back on boat, rode for about five minutes and disembarked again. Someone in a back room reviewed the pile of passports and Vietnam visa, stamped the passports and sent us on our way. After our gruesome tour in Phnom Penh, this process was a tad nerve wracking. We have collected a lot of passport stamps on this trip.
Our final destination for the day was the Victoria Chau Doc hotel and resort which sits on the Hau River. We arrived just as the sun was setting and were greeted with a cold wash rag and a cold drink. Our driver for South Vietnam met us at the dock and he and bellhops schlepped our luggage up the ramp. We have had such great service on this custom private tour. Someone meets us as we arrive at each new location and makes sure we get where we need to be.
The hotel is built in the neo colonial style with open hallways and reception. The restaurant and pool overlook the river. The rooms are huge but filled with too much furniture. A balcony overlooks the busy main street with scooters racing by. We arrived in Vietnam on Valentine’s Day and also in the midst of their Lunar New Year (Tet) celebrations. Throughout our visit in Vietnam we were able to watch the locals enjoy their holidays. Streets are lined with the Vietnamese flag (yellow star on red background). Every city has at least one big lighted display for 2024 new year and businesses have extra decor with lots of flowers. The Vietnamese typically travel home for this 10 day holiday crowding the roads but emptying the cities.
Silly us thought an early evening swim in the pool would be refreshing at the Victoria hotel. We didn’t realize that the bugs would have the same idea. We went flying out of that pool.
We had a great Valentine’s dinner at the hotel restaurant. The place was full of locals dressed up and celebrating with their families.
We tried the hot pot special which is like a fondue with a pot of delicious broth that boils at the table. The server fills the pot with fresh vegetables, herbs, noodles and proteins. This dish is a specialty of Chau Doc which we didn’t know when we ordered it. Excellent flavors and best beef we have had in Asia. A meal for four of us with drinks and desserts was less than $90 USD.
Chau Doc Hot Pot
We only spent one night in Chau Doc at the beginning of our journey through Vietnam. We are spending one night in five different towns until our last three nights in Hanoi. There are many wonderful destinations that we will miss but cramming four countries into a four week trip means we have to give something up. I think I would have liked to see more of the countryside in the North. Our guide Bao is from Hoi An which we decided to skip because it has become very busy with tourists.
Can Tho Vietnam – Feb 15th
Our guide for the next few days is Bao, a young man born in Hoi An who now lives in the Mekong Delta in south Vietnam. He is soft spoken with excellent English and lovely mannerisms. Our transportation for the next few days is in a nice air conditioned van with a very good driver and lots of room to spread out. We got a quick tour of the Chau Doc town on our way out of town. Streets were chaotic as visitors were making their way to the famous Hang Pagoda, a Buddhist temple. The 100 kilometer drive to Can Tho took about 6 hours instead of 3 because there was so much traffic for the Tet holidays.
We got a kick out of seeing how many people a family could load on a scooter or how much merchandise. The scooters weave in and out of traffic lanes, passing on the shoulder and in the middle of two lane road. We passed green rice fields, endless shops lining the roads, drove over many bridges. Here are some pictures of scooter life in Vietnam, some taken and shared by Bao.
Not too far from Chau Doc is the Tra Su Cajuput Forest. I wasn’t sure what to expect but we were delighted with this stop. This forest was destroyed during the Vietnam war and its restoration began in 1983. It is a lush ecosystem with many diverse plants and animals. We first walked through a botanic garden before boarding wooden boats paddled by locals. It was very peaceful except for the sounds of birds and frogs. We paddled through a stork sanctuary. There is a bamboo bridge that crosses over the river. At one time it was 10km long but during Covid no one worked or maintained the bridge and a big chunk of it collapsed.
The second highlight of this day was lunch at a restaurant owned by our guide’s family. Tiệm Kà phê Bảo An Nam is located in the town of Long Xuyên in An Giang province. The restaurant was decorated in their hometown’s (Hoi An) traditional style with colorful decor. We had the set menu and enjoyed every bit of it. My favorite was a sweet and sour soup and my first Vietnamese egg coffee. The photo below was of Bao’s grandparents – his widowed grandfather was turning 103 on the day I took this picture.
Our drive continued through the hordes of motorbikes and endless shops lining the road on the way to Can Tho.
The city of Can Tho looked a bit less ragged around the edges than Chau Doc with its wide avenues, decorated roundabouts and flowers everywhere. Their town center and market sit near the water with a riverfront promenade. We didn’t have time to see the town since the Eco Lodge is located a bit outside the city. The rooms are huge with modern bathrooms. The hotel has a beautiful pool which we enjoyed before dinner. The hotel restaurant was our only option and it was mediocre but we expected that after reading the mediocre reviews online.
Can Tho to Saigon – Feb 16th
Our day started with a boat ride from a dock behind the hotel to visit the Cai Rang floating markets. Before Vietnam had so many roads, bridges and motorcycles, the people used boats to buy and sell produce and other goods. Our guide predicted that these floating markets would be obsolete in 20 years.
Cai Rang Floating Market is the most famous and biggest floating market in the Mekong Delta. The market is unique culture of local people living along this mighty river. The market, which has thrived for over a century, was formed when road and transportation had not been developed yet. Mostly they sell agricultural products, breakfast foods, cakes and dried foods.
For many of these river merchants, the boat is not only their livelihood but also their family home. Some of the boats are also the homes of its traders and their families.
It was fun to see all the activity and colorful boats and vendors. Each boat advertises their wares by hanging a sample from a long pole at their stern. Some of the boats were selling produce and others are floating restaurants.
On the way back we stopped at a village on banks of the river to see a demonstration of rice noodle production. We walked through one family’s home, then under an overpass filled with trash, through the “village” on a paved walkway to the warehouse where the rice noodles are made. It was very interesting and we bought some dried noodles. It’s not really a village, just a paved narrow road backed up to a canal with homes and some businesses and gardens.
Occasionally people stop us and ask to take our picture. I think the number of Western tourists is a small percentage of travelers to Vietnam. Americans were only 10% of visitors last year. These little girls were interested in us. So we took their pictures too and practiced saying Good Morning in Vietnamese. Actually we have only managed to learn “thank you” in each of local languages on this trip.
Saigon
We had about a 5 hour uneventful drive to Saigon. These long rides provided time for our guide to explain his country’s history, politics and their customs and traditions. We did not get into the level of detail that our Cambodian guides provided but that was fine with us.
In Saigon we had lunch at a Pho restaurant (Phở Hòa Pasteur) that has been in business for four generations. It is supposed to be the best Pho and is definitely a locals’ only place. We thought the food was okay but enjoyed the experience. They specialize in beef and so far I haven’t liked Vietnamese beef. The same plate of greens and herbs, cut limes and sauces are left at the tables for next group of customers. Each person chooses their meat and a large steaming bowl arrives.
Driving into Saigon was better than we expected and our Vespa tour around the city at night confirmed our first impressions. Saigon is a big modern city. It’s a pity we didn’t get to explore Saigon’s museums and other sights.
Our final activity for this trip before our Utah friends fly home was an evening food tour on the back of Vespa scooters. We unnecessarily worried if it would be safe. We had four vespas with a driver to carry each of us plus a tour guide on her bike. We went to four spots and flew all over the city weaving through traffic. We crossed over a beautiful bridge, rode down alleys and on the highway. The weather was perfect and the traffic was not too bad. Nash videoed much of the ride with his phone.
Our stops included drinks at a rooftop bar (The Arrivals Hotel) with fabulous views of Saigon’s modern skyline. We had two food stops. The first was in Chinatown (Bánh Xèo Ngọc Sơn) for two dishes (fried spring rolls and bánh xeo which is a fried crepe that you roll in a lettuce wrap and stuff with bean sprouts, meat and shrimp filling). Our second food stop was at seafood place at the beginning of Vinh Khanh Food Street where we Sat on children’s chairs and samples crabs, mussels, fried noodles and frog legs while watching live seafood in their fish tanks.
The last stop was the Grand finale, a completely unexpected visit to Carmen, a Latin underground bar quite close to our hotel. Carmen’s had a six piece band playing beautiful Latino music as well as two vocalists. We so enjoyed this place and even did some dancing. And then the evening was over.
On Saturday, we say goodbye to our guide and our Utah friends start their long journey back to Utah. Bill and I have 6 more days in Vietnam.
