Day 38 (Thu 22 Oct): Phu Quoc to Can Tho

Great hotel, but was really looking forward to moving on, via van:

… and “Superdong” (that’s the name of the boat, by the way).

The two-and-a-half-hour crossing would have been quite nice (had an upper-deck seat this time, so could enjoy the view), apart from the very loud, poor-quality Vietnamese “music videos” that played constantly throughout (even my very good earplugs weren’t able to save me).  Lu’u Chi Vy and D’u’ong Hong Loan (maybe YouTube them?) were the only two artists, samey songs, with backing dancers from a (poor) local dance school. Lost the will to live.

Is this the Virgin Mary?  Certainly looks like it from this distance:

And then the tourist bus from the Rach Gia port (pronounced “reck zah” – yeah exactly, not easy this whole Vietnamese thing).  Here is, nominally, a photo of a biscuit, but note the legs behind (he was absolutely tiny, with large hands and ears; I wondered whether, like a puppy, he’d grow into them.  A nice lad, but freaked me out when he wanted a selfie with me.  No, I don’t know either):

Driving through the Mekong Delta was amazing – worth the bus ticket in itself.  Shacks similar to those in Cambodia lined the road which backed right on to the main waterway:

 

And cables.  Lots and lots of cables.  I reckon you could quite easily take out large parts of the region with a few choice cuts:

Buildings are similar in style to Cambodia, but made from more robust materials (much more brick and less wood).  Roads are narrow, but in fairly good condition.  But it was slow going as there’s only one road. Motorbike laws are clearly observed: only one adult and one child passenger per moto and, most importantly, helmets are required for all (and it’s actually enforced, whereas in Cambodia they’ll have the odd day when they warn the locals and then sting the tourists/ex-pats for an $8 fine). Oh, and petrol is 51p per litre:

Eventually arrived in Can Tho at 4pm – nine hours to travel 268km.  But it was a really interesting journey 🙂

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I felt the adrenaline flood my body. I’d hit the night market in search of street food:

It looked pretty good:

And then “Hello, do you have some time?” from behind me and I turned to see the smiling face of a lad, maybe 13 years old.  But out of the corner of my eye, I also saw another four pairs of eyes looking at me.

“No, sorry – not now,” I said and turned my head back in my direction of travel to see another two on a scooter in front of me. Get out of this situation right now, my brain screamed.  They left me alone. They may have had honest intentions, but the sweetness in the voice, the distraction from behind (when I carry my bumbag at the front for obvious reasons) and the inexplicable request for some time from the only tourist still makes me wonder…  But all is well, and I ordered a rice “pancake”:

I gave her a 10,000 VND note.  “One,” she said, pointing to my pancake, “10,000 Dong”. I shook my head – I’d watched three others buy one and they’d all received change from that note.  “Change”, I stated gently but firmly and made it clear that I wasn’t going to budge.  She repeated.  I repeated my response.  Then the lady with her said in Vietnamese “She’s seen the others get change.”  I can’t speak Vietnamese, but this is exactly what she said.  And I got change.  Well actually I got short-changed – the right number of notes but the wrong value.  But it was close enough.  I know the money is worth more to them, but it’s the principle.  Why do they have to try it on all the time – it’s just so wearing?

I also bought a wrap, attracted by the yummy-looking fillings and the clearly displayed prices.

Total paid: 50p.