The bus ride from Can Tho to Chau Doc neared the top of my "all-time worst transportation experiences" list. We were the last to be picked up in a 15-passenger minibus, though at one point I counted sixteen people. About ten minutes into the ride, Allie realized she had to pee, and we knew we wouldn't be stopping for hours. We were in the back row, seperated from the driver by about twelve Vietnamese people, none of whom spoke English. Eventually she communicated her issue to the driver like a bad game of telephone, and he pulled over a few minutes later.
While we were stopped, I thought I might as well take a restroom break too, and followed her to a small concrete building with three stalls. I definitely chose the wrong one, which had a large dog sleeping on the floor who upon seeing me, went into attack mode. All of a sudden he was up and lunging at me, barking and snarling. Fortunately at the last possible second he was restrained by his chain, and I ran screaming into one of the other stalls. This temporary refuge turned out to be one of the most disgusting bathrooms I'd ever seen - and I thought I'd seen some bad ones. Every inch of it seemed to be covered in some kind of brown or green film, and a tub of green pond-scum water with a little bucket was there with the expected use of manually flushing the squat toilet. I ran back to the bus, dog still barking after me, feeling thankful for his chain.
Most of the journey was down what would be a two lane road, if lanes were at all regarded. Our driver felt the need to pass every truck, motorbike, and vehicle we came upon, honking his horn at each one to make his presence known. Every time I looked to the front, I saw that we were heading straight toward oncoming traffic, which we would inevitably dodge - but after a while I just tried not to look. The road was full of bumps and potholes, which sent us flying out of our seats on a regular basis. At one point our driver caused someone to skid out and fall off their motorbike, but he continued on without noticing or caring.
Feeling stiff but in one peice, we arrived in Can Tho. We were pleased to discover a place on our street that offered full body massages for about US$2, so we were all over it. It was actually an employment center for the blind, so we were able to treat ourselves, have an interesting experience, and support a good cause all at once.
The next morning, I awoke at 5am to find Allie sick to her stomach, saying she'd have to miss out on that day's outing. A few minutes later, still groggy, I was alarmed to discover I'd just used her toothbrush by accident - though fortunately I didn't get whatever she had!
I met up with Tobias and Katia, our new German friends, to take a boat ride to the floating markets the area is famous for. As the sun rose, we made our way down the river in a small motorboat. The floating market consists of a series of boats, each filled with a different kind of produce advertised by a sample bound to its tall mast. Around 6am, the market was lively - locals row their boats up to each other, buying and selling food and wares, chatting, eating fruit and steaming bowls of noodle soup.
The Mekong Delta is an intriguing and lively place, and there is no better way to see it than floating down the river. Shacks on stilts line the banks, made of wood, corrugated metal, and reused tarps. Boats of all kinds pass by - barges full of bricks and building materials, wooden boats packed full of produce, and small rowboats carrying a single person. The boat rides have been one of the highlights of Vietnam; an experiences that gave me a taste of a life so completely and beautifully different from my own.
