We try to stick to our budget. Really, we do. But sometimes, we can't resist a little luxury. And then there are other times. Times when we stumble into an extravagant situation purely by accident. Maybe it's a four star hotel that was deceptively cheap on Agoda. Maybe it's a unique dining experience we couldn't not try. Or maybe it's a two night cruise in a private boat on the Mekong River. 

So, we admit, this didn't fit in with our backpacker, budget traveler style. Was it too nice for us? Probably. Did that stop us from enjoying it? Not at all. 

We lived like the kind of people who rent private boats. (I mean, it wasn't a yacht or anything, but still.) From the sundeck, we waved to children and read books while the captain maneuvered around local fishing boats and huge barges carrying rice.

We walked through villages and explored their market offerings, even buying fruits we'd never heard of before (with some help from our guide).

We toured a brick factory and learned how to make rice paper. (And Mike drank disgusting dead snake alcohol.) 

We enjoyed meals that could have easily fed four people but were served only to two (Vietnamese people love to over-feed you...).

To cap things off, we watched the sky change from blue to purple to pink to bright orange to a faint red - sunset colors that were reflected off the glimmering river water. It was easily the most extraordinary sunset I've ever seen. The photos barely do it justice. 

While some elements of the Mekong River weren't exactly what we had expected*, it was still very interesting to observe how vital it is for trade and transportation. 

Spending nights on a boat floating in southeast Asia's most famous river was an experience we (and our wallets) won't soon forget. 

* in case you can't see it in these photos, the boiled-down version of our perception vs. reality is that the river is huuuge, with more factories and industrial buildings than jungle-y villages along its banks.