26 April - 2 May 2010 - Siem Reap, Cambodia

Our Mekong Delta trip was up to Phnom Penh where we stayed for a day, and then took a bus to Siem Reap. There were many buddhist monks among us, enroute to Siem Reap. As we were told later, they headed to Angkor Wat to celebrate Vesak, or Buddha Day, a holy day observed by Buddhists in South East Asian countries (more about it in my next post). 

My favorite part of the city was French quarter. Located right in the city centre, it is a mix of Cambodian traditional daily life, and modern (sometimes upscale) restaurants and shops. Its wide streets are made of 2-storey buildings painted in pastel colours, and filled with scooters and auto rikshaws.  Some of them were particularly remarkable. 

24 April 2010 - Cần Thơ Bridge opening

This was unplanned and unexpected. We were going to Can Tho to continue our Mekong Delta tour when we noticed that traffic was becoming jammed. And then our guide announced: we were going to witness the opening of Can Tho bridge.
Some dry facts about the bridge: it is currently the longest main span cable-stayed bridge in Southeast Asia and the most expensive in Vietnam. It is 2.75 km long.
This is how it started:

23-26 April 2010 - Mekong delta trip. Chùa Hang Pagoda

It was day 3 of our Mekong Delta tour. I did not remember any mention of Chùa Hang Pagoda when booking the tour, so it was a pleasant surprise, especially after a few hours spent in the bus.
Chùa Hang Pagoda is located on Sam mountain, in Chau Doc, close to Cambodian border. Let me tell you, it was probably the most peaceful place I have been to...

23-26 April 2010 - Mekong delta trip, or life on the water. Rice noodles and coconut candies

During our trip along Mekong Delta, we had several stops. One of them was to demonstrate a traditional method of making rice noodles. Do you know how they are made? I had no clue. Now I do.

Once the 'dough' is prepared, it is spread in a large circular and super thin sheet:

Then it will be covered and left to be precooked for a few minutes:

23-26 April 2010 - Mekong delta trip, or life on the water. Part 2

As we were waiting for our boat, I took a picture of those boat operators enjoying their morning 'siesta'. It was already hot at 9 a.m.

Boats, scooters, and bicycles, everywhere, anywhere. Note pioneer's red scarves (hello from the Soviet Union!)