Phnom Pehn to Saigon by Buses, Boats and a Lot of Good Luck

We're here in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) and I'm still not sure exactly if we arrived on a tour or by a giant overactive people moving company.
We booked a tour which promised air con buses and comfortable boats. Well... the first bus had air conditioning in 1968 when it was built. Does that count?
We really had a good time so I hope I don't sound like I'm whining. The mantra I adopted last year still holds true. It isn't the destination, it's the journey. And this was a journey. The trip across this border hasn't been open all that long so they are still working out the kinks. We left on a short bus ride to the pier. Three hours later we were in another city at their pier. We just thought we were leaving from Phnom Pehn..... by boat. Then we walked down a slippery muddy slope to board a boat that was probably used during the second world war. It did have padded seats but backs... well, I guess you don't really need them. This boat took us to the border where we went up another slippery slope (?!) and were whisked through customs only to wait half an hour or more to get back on the same boat. Then we went to Vietnam and climbed another slippery slope only to wade through the money changers and pop sellers to have our passports taken away while we were all herded to a cafe for lunch. God help you if you wanted to go to another cafe. The people movers want to know where you are at all times. An hour later half the passports were returned and, you guessed it, Shane and I were still sitting there watching the first group leave in yet another boat. Eventually we were on our way, passports stamped and stowed. The trip along the Mekong was pretty lazy. The water level is way down so there was not much to see along the wide expanse. We eventually turned on to a tributary where it got quite interesting. There were villages along either side of the river now. Lots of fishing boats and freighters going back and forth. The larger boats have eyes painted on them for good luck and most of them also had yellow crysanthamums (sp?) as well as incense sticks. Made for quite a colourful picture. Eventually we landed in Chau Doc for the night. We opted for a guesthouse in the country so the ship took the 7 of us off for another half hour ride. It was a good choice. Up on a rocky hillside overlooking the Mekong Delta with it's beautiful rice fields. Quiet but not any cooler. The temperature here is in the high 30's with a high humidity to match. I miss the temperate climate of Burma.
Next day we headed back in the boat for what we thought was to be a full day. Nope... we saw a fish farm and a Cham minority village (read: weaving store), then we were put off for a walk to a hotel where we waited for an hour till we were shuffled off to a local bus. There they wanted to charge Shane and I 100,000R because we couldn't find where I had put the ticket. Thinking we were on a tour I wasn't too concerned. Anyway, having a menopausal woman shoot daggers from her blue eyes made him cower to a corner with no more mention of money. I spent the next 5 hours with a Vietnamese man trying his best to take over my seat on the bus. It was better than one of our group that was literally crushed by a woman smuggling cigarettes under her clothes. He has a bruise on his leg from the sharp boxes. Suffice to say this was not a tourist air con bus but what I like to call the 'chicken' bus. We did arrive alive to a town called Can Tho. Really nice little town on the water. We did a little walking tour and were very impressed by the people and the laid back atmosphere.
Next day we were on the bus/boat again. This time we were joined by a group from Saigon doing the Mekong Delta tour. That meant a real air con bus (yeah!!) and an actual tour guide that spoke English. Did a boat tour of the floating wholesale market as well as a retail market. Very (!!) different from the tourist markets in Bangkok. This was the real thing. We did enjoy this day on the water. Visited a small village, saw rice noodles being made, walked across narrow bamboo bridges on a walking tour and got some good information. The people in the country are lovely. Friendly and not out to get anything from you. Back on the real bus but it only lasted for a while before we were herded on to another smaller but for the last three hours to Saigon.
So, all in all, there were about 6 boats and 7 buses (including the SUVs used to transfer us to various buses).
Here we are in Saigon. Found our hotel which is in a great part of the city and plan to stay here for three nights. Then north through south central highlands to Dalat. We have decided to spend a month here in Vietnam and skip Laos. Sad, but there isn't enough time to do it all 'right'. Will have to combine Laos with a trip to China in the future.
Oh, I forgot to mention, we were most impressed with Vietnam for decorating everything in honour of our visit. It could have something to do with Tet (new years) but we prefer it is just all for us. Everywhere you look things are painted and flowers are everywhere. Many businesses are closed all week in Tet's honour and there are still Dragon dances going on daily. Very nice of them, don't you think?
That's all for now............