So Long Vietnam

28 August - Started my journey out of Vietnam today with the two day Mekong River tour exiting in Phnom Penh. When we got on the bus we were told by our friendly guide, Hai (or Hai Fatman as he asked us to call him) that we'd be stopping at the markets to see a dazzling variety of fruits, a honey making place and a special coconut candy factory. After about 2 hours we stopped and the one day tourists disembarked and then we carried on for another four or so hours. After this we stopped for luncheon. Then we got on a boat for another five hours until we came to Chao Doc. I'm still waiting for the honey. Slightly disappointing day in the fact that we have done nothing but travel all day but I did expand my epicurean explorations slightly and had a Cobra stir-fry for luncheon, which was okay (kind of like slimy chicken), apparently snake is supposed to be nature's viagra and if I eat it regularly I will have the ability to satisfy 3000 wives and as many concubines as I want.
A mainly English (and some French) crowd today including a travelling group of six very pretty very young British girls whom I'd met briefly on Cu Chi tunnel tour yesterday. I've forgotten their names already but i've already proved my manliness to them by removing a cockroach and a dead spider from one of their rooms.
Nothing really to do in Chau Doc except eat in the reasonably priced (but reasonably awful) restaurant and go to bed. The hotel that's provided on the ticket is 4k out of town and for once it appears that there are no excited moto taxi drivers desperately trying to take me somewhere (on the one day when i'd quite like to get out). However, a six am wakeup is going to mean I should at least attempt to get some sleep so I might just have to go to bed early.
Also, on the mammoth journeys today I finished off The Time Traveller's Wife, which i've been putting off for weeks. One of the better explorations into the paradox of time travel and a very nice, if somewhat twee, love story as well. I heartily recommnend it. Also struggling through The English Patient, which is reminescent of me falling asleep whilst watching the video. It gets better near the end though.