Good morning Vietnam

We left Phnom Penh early in the morning and travelled to the place where we would start cycling to the border with Vietnam. We cycled through loads more villages and spent the day waving, shouting hello and making many a local child scream and giggle, unable to contain their excitement at seeing this strange procession of westerners pass by.

We passed through one really pretty village on a dirt track that then turned into a bit of a mountain bike trail where I was in my element whizzing through the mud to catch up with the group after stopping to take a photo or two.

We arrived at the border, a strange no-man's land with nothing else around for miles and got on with the necessary paperwork. We said farewell to our bikes (after spending so much time getting used to that damn saddle!) and greeted our new, slightly less shiny ones over the border. After a few adjustments, we carried on cycling to our hotel in Chau Doc.

It was amazing how instantly everything changed entering a new country. The strong influence of the French and Chinese on everything was evident. The people, temples, dress, food and language seem more Chinese. Some of the architecture, bread and pastries, and some names and words are contrastingly French.

The traffic is even more crazy but people don't really drive cars or vans here. Apart from a few trucks transporting goods everyone rides a motor or push bike. Andd they're everywhere.

We arrived at the hotel and despite the heat decided to play a game of tennis before dinner. It loosened up one very tight shoulder after cycling but didn't do much for the other! It was good fun though none of us on our court were particularly professional. We decided we were just the pisstakers!

After a delicious meal, the food is definitely much tastier than the slightly bland Cambodian food, we played cards and had an early night.