Leaving Cambodia, returning to Vietnam

In the evening I book my ticket to Saigon, purchase the books I wanted for 5USD and meet with Xuan for dinner at an African bar with a football player by the name of Smith. When we arrive, the owner, also Smith, greets us like long time regulars.

I eat African food for the first time a dish comprising of Juju, pidgin name for a rubbery mouldable substance similar to bread, some fried chicken and one of the most amazing spicy sauces I’ve ever tasted. African food, the Smith’s explain is eaten with the hands and I have a great time doing so.

Xuan and I part ways at the end of the night and I tell him if I’m in Beijing, I’ll pop by.

Moc Bai border between Vietnam and Cambodia (on the Vietnamese side).

The following morning on the bus, just after crossing into Vietnam, I see my first proper Vietnamese rain. Vietnamese rain is heavy, rapid and loud. It floods the streets and the shopfronts that I’ve grown to miss while in Cambodia. In a country with the most motorbikes in the world, it becomes incredibly uncomfortable to travel in the rain. Every time our bus passes a moto, water splashes onto the driver and I get the feeling the driver is taking a small pleasure from this.

I plan on meeting up with Vincent when I arrive (who I met on the way out of Saigon while looking for a bus to Can Tho) and heading towards the beach town of Nha Trang in the following days.