The alarm went off
at 6.30am this morning and we were packed and downstairs for the
7.30am minibus – but then the woman at reception told us that we
could go up and wait in our room. Eventually, she called up and
accompanied us out to the main road, where we were picked up by a
minibus that transferred us to the main bus station. There, we hopped
on a big bus to Chau Doc – the jumping-off point for boats up the
Mekong to Phnom Penh in Cambodia.
When we arrived in
Chau Doc, we hopped aboard another minibus, which took us to our
hotel. The hotel was located right beside the main market, and after
checking in, we walked into it on our way to the boat office. It was
a bit of a skanky market and as we walked around, it increasingly
became clear that Chau Doc was a bit of skanky town. When we got to
the boat office it was still closed, even though it was after 1pm, so
we headed off to a restaurant that had been recommended by
TripAdvisor. We've discovered in the past that TripAdvisor's maps
often bear little resemblance to reality and this was one such
instance, so we spent some time walking up and down streets and
alleys in search of the restaurant. Which proved to be an effort
wasted, as when we finally got our food, it was pretty nasty –
overcooked and poorly flavoured. What took the cake, however, was the
fact that our dishes came with truly meagre servings of boiled rice,
while all of the locals in the restaurant received huge steaming
bowls of the stuff, piled high with plump, white grains.
After lunch we went
back to the boat office, which was now open, to check on the sailing
times. The woman that Kate sat down in front of didn't speak English
and as she was drawing breath to launch into her simplified version,
a woman from the adjacent desk came and sat down, too. She listened
patiently to Kate's pidgin request and then replied in perfect
English. So, we bought our tickets and then went for a bit of a walk
along the waterfront, where a very persistent man attempted to sell
us a boat ride.
We then walked into
the heart of town to look for somewhere to have a beer and play some
cards. We came across a place called the Memory Delicatessen, which
seemed rather out of place in Chao Doc, possessing a near-European
level of sophistication, so we set ourselves up at a table outside
(they hadn't turned the air conditioning on, so it was cooler outside
than in). We weren't convinced we wanted to eat dinner there, so we
paid up and went looking for an alternative. Nothing presented itself
to us and we meandered further and further away until we reached a
central square with a park in it. Around the square were a series of
basic food stalls with tables and chairs set up. We were making our
way along these trying to see if any of them appealed to us when we
noticed something that instantly sent us scurrying back to the Memory
Delicatessen – at the feet of the diners already sitting at the
tables, a large number of rather large rats were feasting on scraps
that had fallen from the tables. After we ordered, it took forever
for our food to arrive, but Zoe was very pleased with her spaghetti
Bolognese (and watch out anyone who tried to take any from her plate)
and we passed the time chatting to an Australian family on a two-week
Southeast Asian trip who were taking a breather as they travelled
from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City in one go.
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