27th October 2011
Sam mountain wasn't that spectacular but it did show some rather serious flooding in Cambodia.
The ride to the top was, err, exciting? I multi tasked like a pro, clinging on for dear life, trying not to pee my pants, succeeding in not crying (it was effing scary I tell you!) and prating to God all the while to get us to the top and then safely back down. I had to change scooters because the guide's bike wasn't strong enough to get two people up there, Djalma's guy didn't wait and so my new driver and I played catch up the whole time, zooming up the hill round sharp bends and over rough road, it's a miracle we made it.
Feeling a bit nauseous when I arrived the views didn't hold as much appeal as I thought they would but we took some pictures and then went back down at a much slower pace, it was actually rather pleasant when I didn't worry about falling off and into the path of oncoming (and also speeding) motorbikes.
We stopped off at Tay An Pagoda which was baby pink on the outside and sporting neon lights on the inside.
Leaving the brightly painted temple behind our drivers took us through some rice fields, we went the scenic route as my Nan would say (except we weren't lost). We drove along tiny little footpaths and across narrow rickety wooden bridges, we passed quiet homes and duck farms and lots and lots of rice fields, it was probably the best part of the mini outing.
We were dropped off with our bags (they were tucked between the drivers legs while they drove) at a private minibus stop, got out tickets waited for the 12 o'clock bus, got on it, drove a little way out of town, waited while some dudes fiddled around with mechanical things and then drove back to the same bus stop exactly one hour later where we picked up more passengers. Another little wait and then we were finally on our way. This turned out not to be such a good thing because the driver had the road sense of a chicken, always leaving it to the last minute to do anything, bloody idiot. Its worth a mention that people here drive the same way they do in Cambodia - they drive but don't really look, people pull out into traffic and expect room to be made, it's frustrating and dangerous. People let their scooters wander about all over the road and it was one of these guys who was leisurely driving across the road that we swerved to avoid hitting, it was a very close thing but I'm happy to say we didn't kill him. My praying to God to get us all to the end of line in one piece (not in a big messy pile up one piece, but everyone with their limbs attached one piece) continued. Four hours later we arrived in Can Tho where we promptly got another bus to Vinh Long. After negotiating a couple of one dollar motos to a cheap hotel we eventually arrived at a place that didn't cost the earth.
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