After firing the AK-47, I was done with Cambodia and ready for Vietnam. I purchased a bus ticket to Ho Chi Minh city (aka HCMC and Saigon), and while waiting for the bus, started talking to an Israeli guy called Golan. As it so happened, Golan’s seat was the one right next to mine, and we continued talking about a whole lot of stuff during the journey. Based on what I had read on the internet, I was under the impression that I wouldn’t even need to get out of the bus all the way to HCMC. But this was not the case. Everyone on the bus needed to alight both at the Cambodian side and at the Vietnamese side. But the process itself was quite smooth, and we reached Vietnam without any problem.

Leaving Cambodia

Once at HCMC, Golan and I decided to share a room, and found a decent, not-too-expensive one after searching for a bit. Prices of accommodation in Vietnam was way more than in Cambodia.

View from the room. It'll be a pain if they need to someday track a single wire

The next morning, we booked a single day tour of the Mekong delta. I had imagined sprawling green paddy fields in the fertile soil of the delta, but most of the time we were traveling in boats either through the wide river or through narrow channels with dense vegetation on both sides.

I may have a big grin, but I was scared shitless holding all those bees

Paddling through the dense rainforest

During the lunch break, some of us took bicycles to explore the surrounding villages. I rode into a narrow remote road for a long time, and finally found the green paddy fields I was looking for.

Biking through narrow village roads

The landscape I was looking for

On the way back, I met a friendly German girl called Sarah, with whom I had a long conversation, which made the two hour return journey seemed like a short ride. Golan & I also made friends with an Australian couple, Lisa & Peter, with whom we decided to go for a half day tour of the Cu Chi tunnels the next day.

At dinner, we were joined by Lisa, a couchsurfer from Italy with whom I had exchanged a few messages. Golan, Lisa & I went for a drink later; and came back late into the night.