We left Cambodia in the dust and crossed the border into Vietnam, this time with no hassles or scams - although we did have to pay a guy for a piece of paper and for one dollar it wasn't worth the argument - that border official just made twenty bucks from the bus load of people. We stayed the night in the quiet border town of Ha Tien, located on a river just off the ocean. Although there wasn't much activity it was a great introduction to Vietnam, plus our hotel room had a huge balcony overlooking the river, which brought in the salty breeze and was perfect for doing some much needed laundry.
We strolled through a brutal fish market - ladies with cleavers beheading exotic fish relentlessly, beautiful clams, oysters, and conk shells with membranes still squirming inside, and a few sharks cut open to reveal the pink meat inside. Live fish, live eels, live snakes, live squids, you name it, this market had it.
After using the ATM for the first time we realized that Vietnam might be the only place where we could call ourselves multi-millionaires...20,000 Vietnamese Dong equals 1 dollar. Its nice to see your balance with several extra zeros added.
Since we were so close to the border with Cambodia, there were a few Khmer New Year celebrations parading through the streets (similar to Holi in India...a water festival complete with talcum powder, but without colors). We watched from the safety of our third floor balcony. The next morning Paul had his first Vietnamese coffee, a strong espresso like blend with sweetened condensed milk (which Madeleine actually enjoyed!) and we boarded our bus to Cantho - the beating heart of the Mekong River Delta.
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