Chengdu to Hanoi
After finding a local bakery for breakfast we packed up our bags and then jumped on the Metro for a couple of stops and then onto the bus to the airport. We were concerned when they kept pushing our flight back, as we had a connecting flight in Hong Kong but eventually our plane was underway. As we landed in Hong Kong it felt like we really were getting closer to New Zealand. Hong Kong had been the first place we had visited on our trip. The fog and low cloud were exactly as we remembered them. The plane arrived in time for a quick (expensive) sandwich and then we were boarding the plane to Hanoi.
We arrived in Hanoi and waited for our luggage...and waited...and waited and after a while it became clear that our, along with about 20 other people's, luggage was not arriving. We joined the baggage queue and what should have been a simple exercise took an eternity as the five different English women shouted and gesticulated about how completely unacceptable this all was and how put out they all were, without actually letting anyone else near the front to provide their details. Their husbands stood by flacidly, looking defeated. We finally made it to the front to lodge our details. They told us we would have to wait a day...so we made our way out into the main airport hoping our transfer had not left. Luckily he was still there and he whisked us away along with two Canadian girls who were teaching English in China. We knew we weren't in China anymore as the roads were much emptier coming into the city, however once we got into the city they became more and more packed with people riding scooters. The closer we got to our hostel the denser these scooters became. Our driver started to stress out as we weren't really moving and time stood still when his car clipped someone...Luckily everyone was OK and we got to the hostel without further incident. The hostel was concerned that we might not be coming and that we seemed to be traveling light (perhaps we really liked Vietnamese Fashion?) . We explained our luggage troubles and they immediately understood. After a long day we decided we weren't in the mood to go out so immediately collapsed into bed.
HANOI - DAY 1
We didn't really enjoy changing back into our dirty clothes from the day before but after a good breakfast and friendly hostel staff we got going. We were staying close to the Hoan Kiem Lake, the heart of old town, so decided to spend the morning going for a stroll around it. (This did not take that long as it is more of a pond than a lake.) There are a couple of islands on the gate. One of them has a multi-tiered gate, with the tortoise tower on top of it. The other houses the Ngoc Son Temple which you can visit across a bridge. It is full of Buddhas and sacred objects as well as people worshiping them. We then went for a wander in the streets of the old town looking for lunch. Along the way we were stopped by a guy with a basket and before we knew it he was gluing up Marcus' shoes. It must be a bit of a scam because before long there were another four trying to glue up Jess' shoes. We kept them at bay but allowed the first guy to continue on Marcus' shoes because they actually had some quite major holes in them. He got his twine out and was carefully stitching away, gluing up all the holes. Eventually his work was done (more than he bargained for we're sure) and he quoted a very high price for the work. We assumed this was part of the game and offered him a price we thought was fair. However, he wouldn't budge and when he nearly started to cry we felt uncomfortable and paid him what he asked.
Newly hoofed and starving we found a restaurant where they served us some sort of mixture wrapped in steamed parcels of noodle like material. They were incredibly tasty and we were happy that the hostel had recommended the place to us. Nice and full we walked back to the lake, where we had tickets for the performance of the water puppet show. We didn't know what to expect so came with open minds. The stage was a pool of water with curtains at the back, through which came a series of puppets of all sorts of things, from peasants and fish to water buffalo and dragons. The whole thing was very entertaining with lots of swishing and splashing. Turns out it was invented in the countryside and initially performed in the rice paddies to entertain the farmers. By this time all the walking around in the heat in grubby clothes was making us feel yuck. Our bags had still not arrived so we went and bought some new clothes and essentials like toothpaste so that we could clean ourselves up. Might as well use our travel insurance eh? There wasn't a lot of choice but we managed to find what we needed. Getting a receipt wasn't always an option so we will see how the insurance claim goes...After getting cleaned and changed we felt much better.
Refreshed we went out again and checked out the local night market. It stretched block after block but all the wares were pretty standard. We decided that dinner was more tempting to went hunting for 'Cha cha la vong'. After wandering a few streets and alleys we eventually found a cha cha la vong house. We sat down and they handed us cards telling us they only served spiced fried fish so we knew we were in the right place. Soon they brought us out a hot brazier and frypan filled with fish and various bowls filled with noodles and veges. We had looked around when we arrived and saw that you throw everything into the pan and get cooking. (The other white people who arrived later needed to be shown what to do...) The food was tasty and it was pleasing to see that our tip was all given to the young pregnant waitress by the other ones. After stopping for a drink we made our way back to the hostel, happy with our first day in Vietnam.
HANOI - DAY 2
Happy having checked out the old town in Hanoi we decided to venture further afield. We headed in the direction of Ba Dinh Square, the main square of Hanoi. We met a couple from Singapore who were also going to the square, but they were heading in completely the wrong direction. We walked with them after setting them the right way round and then left them to visit the Temple of Literature, Van Mieu, a huge Confucian Temple built 1000 years ago, and Vietnam's first university, hence the name. It was busy, but not packed like in China, and as always very peaceful. It was full of statues of scholars and floral representations of books and scrolls.
We grabbed a water to combat the heat and went in hunt of lunch. Across the road is a restaurant called KOTO, a restaurant in the style of Jaimie Oliver's Fifteen. It was set up to help disadvantaged young people. The food was great, tasty, fresh Vietnamese rolls and noodle dishes. It also felt good to know we were doing something to help the people who the restaurant supports. Full of food and a bit cooler we continued on to Ba Dinh Square.
We passed a random statue of Lenin and passed the Hanoi flag tower before arriving at the square. The main feature of the square is the large Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, containing the body of Ho Chi Minh, preserved like Lenin and Mao. We didn't complete the trio though because it was closed for Vietnam Independence Day (Independence from America). Behind the Mausoleum is the Ho Chi Minh Complex which was also closed but we did get to look at the One Pillar Pagoda, so named because for some reason it has been built on the top of a pole.
A trip through the square to the tunes of "Ho Ho Ho Chi Minh!" with the guards sparkling in white looking on and we wandered up to West Lake, a much larger lake which looked to be a site of some prime real estate in Hanoi. It is also the site of another temple, this one, Chua Tran Quoc, was multi-tiered and full of Buddha statues. It was nice to check out but the heat was starting to get to us so we decided to wander back to the old town. It was a bit of a walk past pro-Vietnam statues, risking our lives as we stepped into the streets full of scooters. They don't stop, even at a red light, so you just have to step out in the middle of them and pray that they will drive around you. We decided that we had earned some "Fanny." That is the name of the ice-cream shop just down the road from the hostel. Green Tea and Mango flavoured ice-cream did the trick. The place was packed, and with the heat we understood why. The lady at the hostel was sad that we hadn't brought any back for her however.
With it being a public holiday, half of Hanoi seemed to have come down to the lake by our hostel. Whole families, Mum, Dad and kids were all packed onto scooters (the same scooter) and were busy doing the laps around the lake. There were also a series of stages set up where performers were busy entertaining the people. We wandered around for a bit before stopping for some dinner. It was time for an authentic Vietnames Pho. That is noodle soup with meat. Then you add your own chilli and salad. It was hot hot hot but tasty tasty tasty. You get it like you would buy McDonalds but it was definitely better for you. After checking out some more of the performances we decided it was time to rest our weary legs for another day.
HANOI - DAY 3
We had looked into going on a day trip out to Halong Bay but experience had taught us that day trips out places far away usually involved a lot of time on a bus and not much time at the place you were going so decided to give it a miss and have another day in Hanoi. We decided to check out a landmark which had been made famous by Americans and the Vietnam war, the "Hanoi Hilton". Contrary to its name it was actually a prison called Hoa Lo Prison, although now serves as a museum. In fact it had been set up by the French and used to house Vietnamese revolutionaries before being used by the Vietnamese to house American POWs. There was a lot of information and as always some of it was pretty grim but interesting to see how people can behave to each other. You had to take some of the presentations with a grain of salt because according to them the Vietnamese were perfect and always treated the prisoners well and it was the French and the Americans who had behaved terribly. We expect the truth is somewhere in the middle.
We wandered back to Old Town. It was a pretty quiet day again so lots of things were closed, but we
saw the French style Hanoi Opera House. We then had a look at the big statue of Ly Thai Tho, a former Vietnamese emperor. The square where the statue was situated also seemed to be a popular place for kids to drive around in little battery powered cars. Unlike in China there were children and families everywhere. We managed to find a restaurant that was open (and air conditioned...phew!) and got some tasty fresh prawn rice paper rolls and a sweet Vietnamese curry. After that we were pretty happy with what we had achieved in Hanoi so decided to sit down by the lake and read a bit in the sun. After a rest we found a local supermarket and then picked up some supplies for the next leg of out journey. We were back on the trains again.
We made our way to the train station and waited for our train to arrive. It looked similar to the trains we had taken across Russia, Mongola and China although perhaps a bit older. We were sharing our cabin with two English women who were traveling through Vietnam with one of the women's 3 year old son. Braver than us. This train had trolley service with a man selling snacks and drinks. It was still stinking hot so we grabbed some cool beers and chatted with our cabin companions as the train made its way out of Hanoi before eventually deciding to call it a night.
HUE
It was a bit of a rough sleep. Where the cold train in Russia had overdone the heating the hot train in Vietnam overdid the air conditioning so we had spent the night freezing. Our train came in to the ancient imperial city of Hue and we left our cabin companions who were continuing on to Hoi An. After being selected by a taxi driver (they fight over you) we made our way to our hostel and checked in. Although it was early our room was ready so fortunately we were able to check in and pick up a couple of hours sleep before heading out to see what Hue had to offer.
We had big plans to see the Purple Imperial City and then head down the river to check out some Emperor's Tombs. We had not reckoned with the heat. We walked down to the Perfume river and then across the bridge to the Imperial City. There were lots of Cyclo drivers offering to give us a ride, but we stubbornly continued by foot. The Imperial City is a big walled Citadel with a number of residences and temples throughout and had been where the Emperors had lived from the early 1800s until the mid 1900s. Much of it has been destroyed following the Vietnam war but there are steps underway to restore it. We walked around in the heat finding shelter where we could. The buildings were impressive but with the heat it was hard to take it all in. We stopped for an ice-cream but it was so hot that the freezer wasn't working properly so our ice-creams were pretty soft. After several hours walking around in the heat we came to the conclusion we would be mad to try and go see the temples too so retreated back to the air-conditioned safety of our hostel for a couple more hours sleep.
We ventured out again to try and find some dinner. There was one straight a couple of blocks away that seemed to be packed with restaurants and ladies dressed in long Vietnamese dresses encouraging you in. We picked one which looked good and found ourselves a seat. The food was a combination French Vietnamese fusion and we had some tasty spicy seafood and Vietnamese greens. Jess decided to get into the swing of things and ordered a cocktail made in a hollowed out coconut. One way of combating the swelter.
We wandered back to the hostel for some more sleep. Unfortunately something in Jess' dinner (or possibly the cocktail) had not agreed with her and after weeks of traveling we finally appeared to have out first case of food poisoning. It didn't help things when a giant flying cockroach managed to find its way into our room and we had to chase it around until eventually managing to get it out the door. So much for another good night sleep.
HUE TO HOI AN
After breakfast at the hostel we shared a taxi with an American couple to the train station. It was only a few hours on the train today so we were traveling in seats instead of beds this time. The train was packed full of people heading home for the holidays. We were a bit worried when our seats seemed to have a Vietnamese man in them, however, after some gesticulating and talking to the guard we worked out that he was in the right seat but there were two Australians in our seats, so we managed to get them to move. There was no room for bags so we had to pack them in around us. It was also stinking hot again which didn't help with Jess' delicate tummy. This stretch of the train journey is apparently famous for its coastal views on one side and mountain views on the other. We had managed to score coastal side seats and got some great views of the beaches and little fishermen huts on poles over the water.
The train pulled into Da Nang and we were happy to get up and get some fresh air. As we exited the station we were again selected to take a van on the half hour drive to Hoi An. We shared the van with the Americans from the morning and the Australians from the train (no hard feelings). We were the first to be dropped off, which suited Jess as she still wasn't feeling great and decided to have some sleep. Marcus had some lunch next to the pool before going for a walk to see where the nearest shop was. After walking around many local streets he managed to find a place with soft drinks and local chippies. It was lucky he made it back because the clouds quickly gathered and all of a sudden it was pouring with rain. We decided that it was a good sign that we should take it easy for the rest of the day and leave heading into to town till tomorrow.
HOI AN - DAY 2
Jess was feeling a bit better the next day so we decided to get up reasonably early and caught the hotel van into the town. If there is one thing that Hoi An is famous for it is tailors and when you go there you really appreciate why. Every second shop seemed to be a tailor. We had done a bit of research before coming and settled on Mr Xe. Marcus had intended to get two suits and some shirts. We wandered the streets for a bit resisting the requests from other tailors to come into their shops until we got to Mr Xe's. We went inside and the ladies swarmed around us asking us what we were after. Before we knew it there were fabrics out and pictures of suits and shirts all over the place. While Marcus was selecting his fabrics and designs, they had taken Jess next store and she was working out which dresses she would like to get made. Once it was time to get measured up they got on the phone and five minutes later Mr Xe showed up on his bike. He whipped out his measuring tape, slapped Marcus on the bum and before we knew it he had the measurements he needed and then he was off again. We left the ladies to carry on with their day and we went for a bit of an explore around Hoi An.
The town centre is quite small but it has been done up quite nicely for the tourists with lots of shops, restaurants and, of course, tailors. We decided to check out the Diep Dong Nguyen House. It is a private house which is open to visit and was originally built for a Chinese Merchant in the 1800s. It was very black inside and had furniture and ornaments from its history. We also got introduced to our Vietnamese Star Sign, which was very close to the Chinese zodiac. Marcus was still a monkey and Jess was still a doggy. We wandered down to the waterfront which was lined with palm trees and full of traditional fishing boats before we grabbed some lunch.
Hoi An has a lot of Japanese influence and the most known symbol of Hoi An is the Japanese Bridge
(Chua Cau). It is a covered bridge with a Buddhist Pagoda in it. There is also a statue of a Monkey at one end and a Dog at the other so we felt we had a special relationship with it. (Hope you were paying attention earlier). We spent the rest of the afternoon checking out various other Buddhist
temples, where the shade was a welcome respite from the heat, and we
checked out some cool features like paper lanterns with moving shadow
figures, Buddhist drums, beautiful garden sculptures and detailed
murals, all very much open to the beautiful weather.
After heading back for a relax at the hotel we came into town again for dinner. It was the celebration of Buddha's birthday so the place was humming with people. We walked along the river and there were lots of families selling paper lanterns. Apparently the idea is that you buy from them so their family will get good luck and then you light the lantern and send it down the river, which brings good luck to you. Everyone is lucky. It was pretty cool watching all the lanterns drift off into the night. We wandered back into town where we had arranged to meet our friends from the train for dinner. Unfortunately they didn't show up but we still had a tasty Australian/Vietnamese fusion meal. The food in Hoi An is definitely catered towards the tourist market rather than the local market. There was still plenty going on in town after dinner so checked out what appeared to be some sort of live game show going on in the street. This was geared to the locals with singing and audience interaction and all sorts of jokes from the presenters. The jokes were in Vietnamese so we didn't get them but it was cool to see everyone having such a good time. We also went back to the river where many more people had sent out their lanterns and the river was full of little lights floating away. Magical.
HOI AN - DAY 3
We still had plenty of time in Hoi An so decided that we would just take it easy. We had to make another trip back to Mr Xe's to see how our tailoring was coming along. It was stinking hot again and even hotter in the tailors shop, even with all the fans cranking away. The shop ladies had the right idea as they sat around in their Pyjamas. Marcus tried on his shirts and suits but he was all hot and sweaty so not sure if they fit properly or not. To make extra sure they got him to jump on a push bike and, with a Vietnamese lady sitting on the back, he rode a couple of blocks to the suit making factory for another measure up. The men were all working away at sewing machines, cranking out the suits, all of them just wearing shorts. In the heat that was a smart idea. Then it was back to the main shop again to talk to the ladies, where they convinced him even though he had ordered two suits he actually needed two more. Who were
we to argue at that price?
Although the central part of Hoi An town was geared towards the tourists , after only a couple of blocks you were in locals territory again. There was a local market with low hanging tarps everywhere keeping the sun out off the vendors. We ducked our way through, finding a few souvenirs, but otherwise not looking to buy the local produce.
Deciding that we didn't need another whole day walking around in the heat we decided an afternoon reading next to the pool at the hotel was the way to take it easy.
HOI AN TO DA NANG
We were pretty happy we had seen all there was to see in Hoi An by our last day. However, we still had to pick up our suits. One last sweaty try on and we were happy with the fit (although there wasn't much room to put on any weight). They even shipped them back to NZ for us. Beats lugging them around in our packs.
We had a last wander around the town and a visit to the old fashioned wood panelled post office to send some postcards before making our way back to the hotel to chill out a bit. We had a car booked to take us back to Da Nang. When we got to Da Nang, we booked into our hotel before taking a wander around the city. You could see why most tourists went straight to Hoi An, avoiding Da Nang altogether. It was a big city without the pretty old world charm of its neighbour. We wandered the streets, helping some students with a marketing survey, before coming down to the river. The riverbank had been done up with a promenade all the way along. This was busy with people walking, running, dancing or just relaxing. We took our time people watching for a while before heading back in hunt of some dinner. We found a restaurant just around the corner that served a tasty platter of Vietnamese dishes. They also had great service and air conditioning so we were left happy and full.
DA NANG
The Hotel arranged a driver for us for the day to take us wherever we wanted to go. Fancy eh? After having some breakfast we made our way in the air conditioned car to check out the Marble Mountains. They are five marble and limestone hills just south of the city named after the five elements, metal, wood,
water, fire and earth. The locals had certainly been making the most of the resources. There are hundreds of shops selling marble statues, from tiny little items to go on the mantlepiece to gigantic statues bigger than a person. We weren't there for souvenirs though the Marble Mountains are also apparently home to a number of Buddhist and Hindu temples. It was a hard climb in the heat up the steep stairs that had been carved into the side of the mountain. It was a welcome relief at the top and fortunately there were benches for us to rest and have some water. The temples were ancient but still in use with the Buddhas well looked after and draped in fine silks with incense burning. Our favourite was definitely where you go through a stone gate and into a tunnel where stairs go down into the mountain. When you reach the bottom you come into a big cave and across from the stairs is a big Buddha carved into the side of the cave wall with the sun streaming down through a hole in the ceiling just like you are Tomb Raider. Up and over the top of the mountain and back down the other side were more temples, this times more Chinese in style with hexagonal towers and pointed roofs. The other side seemed to be a bit less well used and there were beggars asking for money. In fairness they weren't exactly beggars because before they asked you for money they took you around through the temples and showed you where all of the Buddhas were, even if you didn't want them to.
After a couple of hours climbing it was time to descend back to the air conditioned coolness of the car. We got the driver to take us to My Khe, also known as China Beach. Before chilling out on the beach it was time to get some lunch. There wasn't a lot of restaurants around but we eventually found one that looked like it was geared for the big Chinese tour buses, with row after row of tanks with live fish you could choose before eating. We went for an old fashioned ordering off the menu but it did the trick. We then found a guy to rent us some chairs on the beach where we caught some sun and went for a swim. The beach stretched for miles but it was pretty empty. The car took us back to the hotel and we went for a last walk along the riverfront before heading to the train station for another night in the sleeper. This time were sharing with all Vietnamese people and they were already in bed so we climbed straight into our bunks and hit the hay. Fortunately today they seemed to have the temperature about right.
NHA TRANG - DAY 1
Another early arrival, but after a short taxi ride we checked into our hotel. Fortunately we were able to get our room on arrival so we caught up another couple of extra hours sleep in a non-moving bed. Nha Trang is a beach town so we decided that the best way to deal with the heat was to grab a lounger on the beach, get some sun and relax. The town itself didn't look to be very picturesque with big multi-storey buildings that you could see in any other city around the world so we didn't feel like we were missing out
on anything by hanging out on the beach. The beach was nice but when you got up to the water it wasn't the cleanest, with bits of rubbish around the place. If you wanted some refreshments there was a local lady doing the rounds with her chilly bin along with calls of "Pineapple! Mango! Happy Hour!". We think that was probably the extent of her English but we were happy for the cool drinks in the hot weather.
It looked like there were a few streets which had some restaurants, so when the sun went down we went wandering looking for somewhere to eat. You could tell it was a tourist town because most of the restaurants seemed to sell standard fare or be bars geared towards going out and getting drunk. We stopped at one place and had a drink but decided to move on and managed to find a restaurant that donates a lot of its money to the local orphanage. They brought us out a bucket filled with hot coals and a grill for us to cook our own dinner. There was a tasty selection of seafood and meat and some yummy fresh salad. We finished our first day in Nha Trang very happy.
NHA TRANG - DAY 2
We had booked in a boat tour of the islands off the coast for today. We were picked up after having breakfast on the roof of the hotel and taken to the port. There were lots of boats and lots of tourist, both foreign, like us, and also Vietnamese. Everyone started piling on to the boats and before long it was our turn. We were a bit worried we might be on the wrong tour as we were the only white faces but the boat guides were happy to have us and they spoke English and by then the boat had left the wharf anyway.The boat headed out under the gondolas to Vinpearl Resort on Hon Tre Island.
Our first stop was a little island where the boat docked and everyone came ashore. The idea was that we go snorkelling so we grabbed the gear and took to the water. There were a few small reefs and some fish swimming around. It was no Great Barrier Reef but it was good to get into the water, it being another scorcher of a day. There weren't a lot of people swimming, with most of the boat passengers just hanging out under the shade of the trees on the beach. After swimming around for a while we spent some time drying out on the rocks before it was time to head back to the boat.
The boat journeyed out again and the crew brought out lots of bowls with various Vietnamese dishes and massive bowls of rice. The old ladies on the boat encouraged us to try the local specialties of yummy meats and veges. After lunch it was time for some entertainment, so the crew brought out a full band kit, including drums, and before long they were rocking out. The young tourists seemed to be enjoying it, but the older tourists and Buddhist monk on board looked bored. We docked at a floating wharf along with another boat from the same company. All of a sudden things stepped up the next level when one of the crew whipped off his shirt, threw a towel around his waist, somehow stuck some cups of jelly to his
nipples and started dancing like a crazy person. He flipped over some benches in the middle of the boat and boogied away, pulling up members of the audience to dance with him, including Jess who was lucky enough to be chosen to shake her groove thing. Apparently the next part of the cruise was the swim up bar. We weren't quite sure how that was going to work, but the crew threw a piece of plastic with metal handles in into the water and then dived in after it. One of the crew jumped up on top of it and continued to dance and then told everyone who wanted to to jump into the water. An American Vietnamese lady grabbed Jess by the hand and before long she was swimming in the water and swimming up to the bar where they were handing out cups of some orange soft drink mixed with some unidentified booze. Marcus joined them before long and took part in the festivities. We met another New Zealand couple who were heading off on their OE, as opposed to us on our way home so it was nice to share some experiences travellers wisdom. We assume it was welcome...
After that surreal experience the boat carried on to another island, this time to what was basically a private resort, with a pool, bar and beach loungers. After the craziness we had just been through it was nice to find a lounger, sit back and get some sun. It was still hot though so it wasn't long before we were swimming in the sea again and then drying out again on the lounger. Before long we were off again to the last stop on our tour, Trí Nguyên Aquarium. It was sure a different sight as we came into the bay where the aquarium was. There was a giant shark and other giant sea creatures all along the shoreline and the boat carried on past them to a giant pirate ship, which housed the aquarium. The whole thing was carved in the concrete inside and out and the tanks were filled with all manner of fish, some of the massive, and there were even albino sea turtles, which were pretty cool. There was also a big pool outside where you could buy food to throw in. We didn't buy any but plenty of the other people were and as the feed hit the water the turtles came up to grab some, but before long they wandered off and were replaced by sharks who were feeding with frenzy.
We piled back onto the boat after a great day out and made our way back to Nha Trang before being dropped back at out hotel. We changed out clothes and ventured out again looking for dinner. Nha Trang seemed to be a popular destination for Russian Tourists, with many of the restaurants having menus in both English and Russian. Marcus was wearing a white short sleeved that night and must have been looking Russian because a number of people tried to speak to him in Russian. Unfortunately his limited vocabulary he had picked up in Russia meant he couldn't say anything back. The various menus weren't exciting us though so we did something we rarely do and went back to the same restaurant as we had last night (SIN!). It was just that good and again it didn't disappoint as we had some more tasty seafood for dinner before going for a nice stroll and then off to bed.
NHA TRANG - DAY 3
We decided that we should probably try a bit of sightseeing on our last day in Nha Trang. It was still hot but we figured we could walk where we wanted to go. Before checking out the sights we decided that we would go and get breakfast at the Banana Split Cafe. We had read that it was the place to have a tasty breakfast. We got a good appetite from walking to where the Banana Split Cafe was supposed to be, unfortunately we walked all around checking where we thought it was and looked high and low until eventually we had to give up and just grab something to eat from a local bakery. Not what we had in mind but at least we were fed.
We carried on in search of the Dragon Mountain/White Buddha Pagoda to check out the giant white
Buddha statue there. It was a long walk but at least we found it this time. It was pretty quiet by the time we arrived but we were met by local "students" who told us we needed to buy some postcards to support their studies as an entry "fee". We were pretty sure they weren't students and it wasn't an entry fee but they were pleasant enough so we played along and bought the cards. We carried on toward the Buddha only to discover that it was closed with no visitors for another two hours. There wasn't really anywhere to wait that wasn't in the sun and the monk on duty was adamant that we weren't going in.
Disappointed with the lack of success we decided that this was a sign that we were trying too hard and instead we should be taking it easy. We made our way back to the beach and grabbed some loungers at the Sailing Club, a bar and restaurant on the beach. This was much better, with shade, cool drinks and food. They even served banana splits! We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing, drinking their locally brewed beer and reading our books in the shade. This was definitely a better way to spend the rest of the day. Our friend from the other day Pineapple, Mango Happy Hour! was still doing the rounds. There were also other people selling various trinkets and we did end up buying some artwork off a man who said he had a gallery but liked to meet the people on the beach to sell it too.
After dinner at the Sailing Club we packed up our gear and made the way to the train station for the last night on the reunification express. We were joined in the waiting room by some people who seemed to be on an Intrepid Journey tour. We were pleased to be on our own as much like the other group on the train in Mongolia, these people seemed to be stressing each other out and generally having a much harder time than they needed to. We got onto the train no problems and gently rocked ourselves to sleep.
HO CHI MINH CITY - DAY 1
Our train rolled into Saigon, now known as Ho Chi Minh City, the biggest city in Vietnam. We were well into our trip now, so not so excited about the adventure. Instead we jumped in a taxi to our hotel and they took us through the streets to get there. We were able to check in and catch up on some sleep again before heading out the streets. The streets were bustling with traffic and people and the buildings were much taller than what we had seen in other Vietnamese cities. We came across the Tran Nguyen Han Statue in the middle of a huge roundabout. He was a Vietnamese General and the statue has him riding
on a horse, nothing like Chingis Haan though...The statue is outside the Ben Thanh market so we decided to check out what was going on inside. It was the usual wares, cheap clothes, electronics, general souvenirs etc. If we hadn't been to 100 markets already on our trip it would have been great but there wasn't really anything we hadn't seen before. We carried on through the city checking out the Opera House, and the Buu Dien Central Post Office, which felt more like a train station inside but had a big picture of Uncle Ho looking over everyone and the Notre Dame Cathedral which shared a square with the Post Office. It was impressive, although not like its Parisian namesake. We continued to walk through the streets, avoiding scooters and Cyclo drivers trying to take us for a ride. The usual shoe fixers and coconut sellers were around although not as active as their counterparts in Hanoi. Probably because it was that much hotter down here. Nearby the hotel there was a park, so we decided to go for a walk through it to catch some shade. There were various playgrounds and the bushes made up to be like animals. Not always sure what type of animals but still pretty cool. After grabbing a cold drink we continued on back to the hotel. Our timing was pretty good as the rain decided to make itself known, so we chilled out a bit before heading out again for some dinner. We found the local Pho restaurant and grabbed out tasty broth where we showed up the other tourists by knowing to add your own herbs chilli and nuts. The rain was still coming down outside, so we made our way back to the hotel to turn in for the night.
HO CHI MINH CITY - DAY 2
There wasn't actually a lot that we wanted to see in Ho Chi Minh City but there was still on major sight on the agenda, the Reunification Palace, formerly the home of the South Vietnamese President during the Vietnam war and French Governors before that. It is now a museum to the Vietnam War. After entering the ground you travel around a huge fountain the front yard to go to the entrance of the palace. It is a strange collection of meeting rooms and offices on the inside, almost identical to how it was when the
last US helicopter fled from the roof as a North Vietnamese tank crashed through the gates, marking the end of the Vietnamese war. There is even a helicopter on the roof although this one is for show rather than evacuation. In the basement are all manner of listening devices and spying equipment. It all looks a bit dated now but was cutting edge at the time. Outside there are jets and tanks on the lawn although they don't let you drive them.
After our visit we continued wandering around the streets of the city, but there still wasn't much we wanted to see so once the heat got to us we retreated to the hotel again for a relax. The rains came again in the evening so we decided to head up to the roof bar and restaurant of the hotel. It was nice to have a drink and something to eat and look out over the lights and roofs of the city.
CU CHI TUNNELS
For our last full day in Vietnam we decided to head out of the city on a tour. They picked us up at the hotel before driving around the block a couple of times and then dropping us at the tour bus. Sometimes it might be better to walk? Our tour guide was reminiscent of the tour guide we had at the Great Wall of China. Round and jolly. The first step on the tour was a lacquer factory staffed by victims of Agent Orange and land mines left over from the Vietnam War. It was pretty sad seeing all the people with missing limbs and deformities but they seemed to be happy and getting on with their work. We spent some time looking around their shop but just couldn't find anything that we liked or that we thought would survive the remainder of our journey in our packs.
The bus continued on to the Cu Chi district. This is another Vietnam War museum, only this time is outdoors and demonstrates all the ingenious inventions the Vietcong used to defeat the USA in the
Vietnam War. There was some nasty stuff, with pits filled with spikes where not only do you get stuck on the spikes but the roof of the pit continues to spin around, bashing you in the head and pushing you further down onto the spikes. The area is also full of tunnels. The Vietcong were renowned for appearing out of nowhere, raiding the US troops and then disappearing into thin air. One of the ways they did this was by having a complex network of tunnels under the ground that they could travel around in and holes in the ground with lids covered in dirt so they could hide till the US troops had passed.When you see the holes you wouldn't believe you could fit a person down there. Certainly not a big burly American soldier. There are tunnels which whitey can go through, although they have made them substantially bigger to fit our hulking frames. We decided to give it a go, duck walking our way along. It was still pretty tight and apparently it got tighter the further you went along so there were escape tunnels throughout for the claustrophobic, when the top of Marcus' head was touching the roof and each of his shoulders was rubbing along the side of the tunnel he decided to pull out. Jess was tougher and made it through until the end. There was an opportunity to go off and shoot machine guns at targets, but we decided to spend our money on a cool drink instead while we drunk it in the shade.
The bus took us back to the city again where we found a place for dinner before a cruisey last night in Vietnam.
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After finding a local bakery for breakfast we packed up our bags and then jumped on the Metro for a couple of stops and then onto the bus to the airport. We were concerned when they kept pushing our flight back, as we had a connecting flight in Hong Kong but eventually our plane was underway. As we landed in Hong Kong it felt like we really were getting closer to New Zealand. Hong Kong had been the first place we had visited on our trip. The fog and low cloud were exactly as we remembered them. The plane arrived in time for a quick (expensive) sandwich and then we were boarding the plane to Hanoi.
We arrived in Hanoi and waited for our luggage...and waited...and waited and after a while it became clear that our, along with about 20 other people's, luggage was not arriving. We joined the baggage queue and what should have been a simple exercise took an eternity as the five different English women shouted and gesticulated about how completely unacceptable this all was and how put out they all were, without actually letting anyone else near the front to provide their details. Their husbands stood by flacidly, looking defeated. We finally made it to the front to lodge our details. They told us we would have to wait a day...so we made our way out into the main airport hoping our transfer had not left. Luckily he was still there and he whisked us away along with two Canadian girls who were teaching English in China. We knew we weren't in China anymore as the roads were much emptier coming into the city, however once we got into the city they became more and more packed with people riding scooters. The closer we got to our hostel the denser these scooters became. Our driver started to stress out as we weren't really moving and time stood still when his car clipped someone...Luckily everyone was OK and we got to the hostel without further incident. The hostel was concerned that we might not be coming and that we seemed to be traveling light (perhaps we really liked Vietnamese Fashion?) . We explained our luggage troubles and they immediately understood. After a long day we decided we weren't in the mood to go out so immediately collapsed into bed.
HANOI - DAY 1
We didn't really enjoy changing back into our dirty clothes from the day before but after a good breakfast and friendly hostel staff we got going. We were staying close to the Hoan Kiem Lake, the heart of old town, so decided to spend the morning going for a stroll around it. (This did not take that long as it is more of a pond than a lake.) There are a couple of islands on the gate. One of them has a multi-tiered gate, with the tortoise tower on top of it. The other houses the Ngoc Son Temple which you can visit across a bridge. It is full of Buddhas and sacred objects as well as people worshiping them. We then went for a wander in the streets of the old town looking for lunch. Along the way we were stopped by a guy with a basket and before we knew it he was gluing up Marcus' shoes. It must be a bit of a scam because before long there were another four trying to glue up Jess' shoes. We kept them at bay but allowed the first guy to continue on Marcus' shoes because they actually had some quite major holes in them. He got his twine out and was carefully stitching away, gluing up all the holes. Eventually his work was done (more than he bargained for we're sure) and he quoted a very high price for the work. We assumed this was part of the game and offered him a price we thought was fair. However, he wouldn't budge and when he nearly started to cry we felt uncomfortable and paid him what he asked.Newly hoofed and starving we found a restaurant where they served us some sort of mixture wrapped in steamed parcels of noodle like material. They were incredibly tasty and we were happy that the hostel had recommended the place to us. Nice and full we walked back to the lake, where we had tickets for the performance of the water puppet show. We didn't know what to expect so came with open minds. The stage was a pool of water with curtains at the back, through which came a series of puppets of all sorts of things, from peasants and fish to water buffalo and dragons. The whole thing was very entertaining with lots of swishing and splashing. Turns out it was invented in the countryside and initially performed in the rice paddies to entertain the farmers. By this time all the walking around in the heat in grubby clothes was making us feel yuck. Our bags had still not arrived so we went and bought some new clothes and essentials like toothpaste so that we could clean ourselves up. Might as well use our travel insurance eh? There wasn't a lot of choice but we managed to find what we needed. Getting a receipt wasn't always an option so we will see how the insurance claim goes...After getting cleaned and changed we felt much better.
Refreshed we went out again and checked out the local night market. It stretched block after block but all the wares were pretty standard. We decided that dinner was more tempting to went hunting for 'Cha cha la vong'. After wandering a few streets and alleys we eventually found a cha cha la vong house. We sat down and they handed us cards telling us they only served spiced fried fish so we knew we were in the right place. Soon they brought us out a hot brazier and frypan filled with fish and various bowls filled with noodles and veges. We had looked around when we arrived and saw that you throw everything into the pan and get cooking. (The other white people who arrived later needed to be shown what to do...) The food was tasty and it was pleasing to see that our tip was all given to the young pregnant waitress by the other ones. After stopping for a drink we made our way back to the hostel, happy with our first day in Vietnam.
HANOI - DAY 2
Happy having checked out the old town in Hanoi we decided to venture further afield. We headed in the direction of Ba Dinh Square, the main square of Hanoi. We met a couple from Singapore who were also going to the square, but they were heading in completely the wrong direction. We walked with them after setting them the right way round and then left them to visit the Temple of Literature, Van Mieu, a huge Confucian Temple built 1000 years ago, and Vietnam's first university, hence the name. It was busy, but not packed like in China, and as always very peaceful. It was full of statues of scholars and floral representations of books and scrolls.
We grabbed a water to combat the heat and went in hunt of lunch. Across the road is a restaurant called KOTO, a restaurant in the style of Jaimie Oliver's Fifteen. It was set up to help disadvantaged young people. The food was great, tasty, fresh Vietnamese rolls and noodle dishes. It also felt good to know we were doing something to help the people who the restaurant supports. Full of food and a bit cooler we continued on to Ba Dinh Square.
A trip through the square to the tunes of "Ho Ho Ho Chi Minh!" with the guards sparkling in white looking on and we wandered up to West Lake, a much larger lake which looked to be a site of some prime real estate in Hanoi. It is also the site of another temple, this one, Chua Tran Quoc, was multi-tiered and full of Buddha statues. It was nice to check out but the heat was starting to get to us so we decided to wander back to the old town. It was a bit of a walk past pro-Vietnam statues, risking our lives as we stepped into the streets full of scooters. They don't stop, even at a red light, so you just have to step out in the middle of them and pray that they will drive around you. We decided that we had earned some "Fanny." That is the name of the ice-cream shop just down the road from the hostel. Green Tea and Mango flavoured ice-cream did the trick. The place was packed, and with the heat we understood why. The lady at the hostel was sad that we hadn't brought any back for her however.
With it being a public holiday, half of Hanoi seemed to have come down to the lake by our hostel. Whole families, Mum, Dad and kids were all packed onto scooters (the same scooter) and were busy doing the laps around the lake. There were also a series of stages set up where performers were busy entertaining the people. We wandered around for a bit before stopping for some dinner. It was time for an authentic Vietnames Pho. That is noodle soup with meat. Then you add your own chilli and salad. It was hot hot hot but tasty tasty tasty. You get it like you would buy McDonalds but it was definitely better for you. After checking out some more of the performances we decided it was time to rest our weary legs for another day.
HANOI - DAY 3
We had looked into going on a day trip out to Halong Bay but experience had taught us that day trips out places far away usually involved a lot of time on a bus and not much time at the place you were going so decided to give it a miss and have another day in Hanoi. We decided to check out a landmark which had been made famous by Americans and the Vietnam war, the "Hanoi Hilton". Contrary to its name it was actually a prison called Hoa Lo Prison, although now serves as a museum. In fact it had been set up by the French and used to house Vietnamese revolutionaries before being used by the Vietnamese to house American POWs. There was a lot of information and as always some of it was pretty grim but interesting to see how people can behave to each other. You had to take some of the presentations with a grain of salt because according to them the Vietnamese were perfect and always treated the prisoners well and it was the French and the Americans who had behaved terribly. We expect the truth is somewhere in the middle.
We wandered back to Old Town. It was a pretty quiet day again so lots of things were closed, but we
We made our way to the train station and waited for our train to arrive. It looked similar to the trains we had taken across Russia, Mongola and China although perhaps a bit older. We were sharing our cabin with two English women who were traveling through Vietnam with one of the women's 3 year old son. Braver than us. This train had trolley service with a man selling snacks and drinks. It was still stinking hot so we grabbed some cool beers and chatted with our cabin companions as the train made its way out of Hanoi before eventually deciding to call it a night.
HUE
It was a bit of a rough sleep. Where the cold train in Russia had overdone the heating the hot train in Vietnam overdid the air conditioning so we had spent the night freezing. Our train came in to the ancient imperial city of Hue and we left our cabin companions who were continuing on to Hoi An. After being selected by a taxi driver (they fight over you) we made our way to our hostel and checked in. Although it was early our room was ready so fortunately we were able to check in and pick up a couple of hours sleep before heading out to see what Hue had to offer.
We ventured out again to try and find some dinner. There was one straight a couple of blocks away that seemed to be packed with restaurants and ladies dressed in long Vietnamese dresses encouraging you in. We picked one which looked good and found ourselves a seat. The food was a combination French Vietnamese fusion and we had some tasty spicy seafood and Vietnamese greens. Jess decided to get into the swing of things and ordered a cocktail made in a hollowed out coconut. One way of combating the swelter.
We wandered back to the hostel for some more sleep. Unfortunately something in Jess' dinner (or possibly the cocktail) had not agreed with her and after weeks of traveling we finally appeared to have out first case of food poisoning. It didn't help things when a giant flying cockroach managed to find its way into our room and we had to chase it around until eventually managing to get it out the door. So much for another good night sleep.
HUE TO HOI AN
After breakfast at the hostel we shared a taxi with an American couple to the train station. It was only a few hours on the train today so we were traveling in seats instead of beds this time. The train was packed full of people heading home for the holidays. We were a bit worried when our seats seemed to have a Vietnamese man in them, however, after some gesticulating and talking to the guard we worked out that he was in the right seat but there were two Australians in our seats, so we managed to get them to move. There was no room for bags so we had to pack them in around us. It was also stinking hot again which didn't help with Jess' delicate tummy. This stretch of the train journey is apparently famous for its coastal views on one side and mountain views on the other. We had managed to score coastal side seats and got some great views of the beaches and little fishermen huts on poles over the water.The train pulled into Da Nang and we were happy to get up and get some fresh air. As we exited the station we were again selected to take a van on the half hour drive to Hoi An. We shared the van with the Americans from the morning and the Australians from the train (no hard feelings). We were the first to be dropped off, which suited Jess as she still wasn't feeling great and decided to have some sleep. Marcus had some lunch next to the pool before going for a walk to see where the nearest shop was. After walking around many local streets he managed to find a place with soft drinks and local chippies. It was lucky he made it back because the clouds quickly gathered and all of a sudden it was pouring with rain. We decided that it was a good sign that we should take it easy for the rest of the day and leave heading into to town till tomorrow.
HOI AN - DAY 2
Jess was feeling a bit better the next day so we decided to get up reasonably early and caught the hotel van into the town. If there is one thing that Hoi An is famous for it is tailors and when you go there you really appreciate why. Every second shop seemed to be a tailor. We had done a bit of research before coming and settled on Mr Xe. Marcus had intended to get two suits and some shirts. We wandered the streets for a bit resisting the requests from other tailors to come into their shops until we got to Mr Xe's. We went inside and the ladies swarmed around us asking us what we were after. Before we knew it there were fabrics out and pictures of suits and shirts all over the place. While Marcus was selecting his fabrics and designs, they had taken Jess next store and she was working out which dresses she would like to get made. Once it was time to get measured up they got on the phone and five minutes later Mr Xe showed up on his bike. He whipped out his measuring tape, slapped Marcus on the bum and before we knew it he had the measurements he needed and then he was off again. We left the ladies to carry on with their day and we went for a bit of an explore around Hoi An.
The town centre is quite small but it has been done up quite nicely for the tourists with lots of shops, restaurants and, of course, tailors. We decided to check out the Diep Dong Nguyen House. It is a private house which is open to visit and was originally built for a Chinese Merchant in the 1800s. It was very black inside and had furniture and ornaments from its history. We also got introduced to our Vietnamese Star Sign, which was very close to the Chinese zodiac. Marcus was still a monkey and Jess was still a doggy. We wandered down to the waterfront which was lined with palm trees and full of traditional fishing boats before we grabbed some lunch.
Hoi An has a lot of Japanese influence and the most known symbol of Hoi An is the Japanese Bridge
After heading back for a relax at the hotel we came into town again for dinner. It was the celebration of Buddha's birthday so the place was humming with people. We walked along the river and there were lots of families selling paper lanterns. Apparently the idea is that you buy from them so their family will get good luck and then you light the lantern and send it down the river, which brings good luck to you. Everyone is lucky. It was pretty cool watching all the lanterns drift off into the night. We wandered back into town where we had arranged to meet our friends from the train for dinner. Unfortunately they didn't show up but we still had a tasty Australian/Vietnamese fusion meal. The food in Hoi An is definitely catered towards the tourist market rather than the local market. There was still plenty going on in town after dinner so checked out what appeared to be some sort of live game show going on in the street. This was geared to the locals with singing and audience interaction and all sorts of jokes from the presenters. The jokes were in Vietnamese so we didn't get them but it was cool to see everyone having such a good time. We also went back to the river where many more people had sent out their lanterns and the river was full of little lights floating away. Magical.
HOI AN - DAY 3
We still had plenty of time in Hoi An so decided that we would just take it easy. We had to make another trip back to Mr Xe's to see how our tailoring was coming along. It was stinking hot again and even hotter in the tailors shop, even with all the fans cranking away. The shop ladies had the right idea as they sat around in their Pyjamas. Marcus tried on his shirts and suits but he was all hot and sweaty so not sure if they fit properly or not. To make extra sure they got him to jump on a push bike and, with a Vietnamese lady sitting on the back, he rode a couple of blocks to the suit making factory for another measure up. The men were all working away at sewing machines, cranking out the suits, all of them just wearing shorts. In the heat that was a smart idea. Then it was back to the main shop again to talk to the ladies, where they convinced him even though he had ordered two suits he actually needed two more. Who were we to argue at that price?
Although the central part of Hoi An town was geared towards the tourists , after only a couple of blocks you were in locals territory again. There was a local market with low hanging tarps everywhere keeping the sun out off the vendors. We ducked our way through, finding a few souvenirs, but otherwise not looking to buy the local produce.
Deciding that we didn't need another whole day walking around in the heat we decided an afternoon reading next to the pool at the hotel was the way to take it easy.
HOI AN TO DA NANG
We were pretty happy we had seen all there was to see in Hoi An by our last day. However, we still had to pick up our suits. One last sweaty try on and we were happy with the fit (although there wasn't much room to put on any weight). They even shipped them back to NZ for us. Beats lugging them around in our packs.
We had a last wander around the town and a visit to the old fashioned wood panelled post office to send some postcards before making our way back to the hotel to chill out a bit. We had a car booked to take us back to Da Nang. When we got to Da Nang, we booked into our hotel before taking a wander around the city. You could see why most tourists went straight to Hoi An, avoiding Da Nang altogether. It was a big city without the pretty old world charm of its neighbour. We wandered the streets, helping some students with a marketing survey, before coming down to the river. The riverbank had been done up with a promenade all the way along. This was busy with people walking, running, dancing or just relaxing. We took our time people watching for a while before heading back in hunt of some dinner. We found a restaurant just around the corner that served a tasty platter of Vietnamese dishes. They also had great service and air conditioning so we were left happy and full.
DA NANG
The Hotel arranged a driver for us for the day to take us wherever we wanted to go. Fancy eh? After having some breakfast we made our way in the air conditioned car to check out the Marble Mountains. They are five marble and limestone hills just south of the city named after the five elements, metal, wood,
After a couple of hours climbing it was time to descend back to the air conditioned coolness of the car. We got the driver to take us to My Khe, also known as China Beach. Before chilling out on the beach it was time to get some lunch. There wasn't a lot of restaurants around but we eventually found one that looked like it was geared for the big Chinese tour buses, with row after row of tanks with live fish you could choose before eating. We went for an old fashioned ordering off the menu but it did the trick. We then found a guy to rent us some chairs on the beach where we caught some sun and went for a swim. The beach stretched for miles but it was pretty empty. The car took us back to the hotel and we went for a last walk along the riverfront before heading to the train station for another night in the sleeper. This time were sharing with all Vietnamese people and they were already in bed so we climbed straight into our bunks and hit the hay. Fortunately today they seemed to have the temperature about right.
NHA TRANG - DAY 1
Another early arrival, but after a short taxi ride we checked into our hotel. Fortunately we were able to get our room on arrival so we caught up another couple of extra hours sleep in a non-moving bed. Nha Trang is a beach town so we decided that the best way to deal with the heat was to grab a lounger on the beach, get some sun and relax. The town itself didn't look to be very picturesque with big multi-storey buildings that you could see in any other city around the world so we didn't feel like we were missing out
on anything by hanging out on the beach. The beach was nice but when you got up to the water it wasn't the cleanest, with bits of rubbish around the place. If you wanted some refreshments there was a local lady doing the rounds with her chilly bin along with calls of "Pineapple! Mango! Happy Hour!". We think that was probably the extent of her English but we were happy for the cool drinks in the hot weather.It looked like there were a few streets which had some restaurants, so when the sun went down we went wandering looking for somewhere to eat. You could tell it was a tourist town because most of the restaurants seemed to sell standard fare or be bars geared towards going out and getting drunk. We stopped at one place and had a drink but decided to move on and managed to find a restaurant that donates a lot of its money to the local orphanage. They brought us out a bucket filled with hot coals and a grill for us to cook our own dinner. There was a tasty selection of seafood and meat and some yummy fresh salad. We finished our first day in Nha Trang very happy.
NHA TRANG - DAY 2
We had booked in a boat tour of the islands off the coast for today. We were picked up after having breakfast on the roof of the hotel and taken to the port. There were lots of boats and lots of tourist, both foreign, like us, and also Vietnamese. Everyone started piling on to the boats and before long it was our turn. We were a bit worried we might be on the wrong tour as we were the only white faces but the boat guides were happy to have us and they spoke English and by then the boat had left the wharf anyway.The boat headed out under the gondolas to Vinpearl Resort on Hon Tre Island.
Our first stop was a little island where the boat docked and everyone came ashore. The idea was that we go snorkelling so we grabbed the gear and took to the water. There were a few small reefs and some fish swimming around. It was no Great Barrier Reef but it was good to get into the water, it being another scorcher of a day. There weren't a lot of people swimming, with most of the boat passengers just hanging out under the shade of the trees on the beach. After swimming around for a while we spent some time drying out on the rocks before it was time to head back to the boat.
The boat journeyed out again and the crew brought out lots of bowls with various Vietnamese dishes and massive bowls of rice. The old ladies on the boat encouraged us to try the local specialties of yummy meats and veges. After lunch it was time for some entertainment, so the crew brought out a full band kit, including drums, and before long they were rocking out. The young tourists seemed to be enjoying it, but the older tourists and Buddhist monk on board looked bored. We docked at a floating wharf along with another boat from the same company. All of a sudden things stepped up the next level when one of the crew whipped off his shirt, threw a towel around his waist, somehow stuck some cups of jelly to his
After that surreal experience the boat carried on to another island, this time to what was basically a private resort, with a pool, bar and beach loungers. After the craziness we had just been through it was nice to find a lounger, sit back and get some sun. It was still hot though so it wasn't long before we were swimming in the sea again and then drying out again on the lounger. Before long we were off again to the last stop on our tour, Trí Nguyên Aquarium. It was sure a different sight as we came into the bay where the aquarium was. There was a giant shark and other giant sea creatures all along the shoreline and the boat carried on past them to a giant pirate ship, which housed the aquarium. The whole thing was carved in the concrete inside and out and the tanks were filled with all manner of fish, some of the massive, and there were even albino sea turtles, which were pretty cool. There was also a big pool outside where you could buy food to throw in. We didn't buy any but plenty of the other people were and as the feed hit the water the turtles came up to grab some, but before long they wandered off and were replaced by sharks who were feeding with frenzy.
We piled back onto the boat after a great day out and made our way back to Nha Trang before being dropped back at out hotel. We changed out clothes and ventured out again looking for dinner. Nha Trang seemed to be a popular destination for Russian Tourists, with many of the restaurants having menus in both English and Russian. Marcus was wearing a white short sleeved that night and must have been looking Russian because a number of people tried to speak to him in Russian. Unfortunately his limited vocabulary he had picked up in Russia meant he couldn't say anything back. The various menus weren't exciting us though so we did something we rarely do and went back to the same restaurant as we had last night (SIN!). It was just that good and again it didn't disappoint as we had some more tasty seafood for dinner before going for a nice stroll and then off to bed.
NHA TRANG - DAY 3
We decided that we should probably try a bit of sightseeing on our last day in Nha Trang. It was still hot but we figured we could walk where we wanted to go. Before checking out the sights we decided that we would go and get breakfast at the Banana Split Cafe. We had read that it was the place to have a tasty breakfast. We got a good appetite from walking to where the Banana Split Cafe was supposed to be, unfortunately we walked all around checking where we thought it was and looked high and low until eventually we had to give up and just grab something to eat from a local bakery. Not what we had in mind but at least we were fed.
We carried on in search of the Dragon Mountain/White Buddha Pagoda to check out the giant white
Buddha statue there. It was a long walk but at least we found it this time. It was pretty quiet by the time we arrived but we were met by local "students" who told us we needed to buy some postcards to support their studies as an entry "fee". We were pretty sure they weren't students and it wasn't an entry fee but they were pleasant enough so we played along and bought the cards. We carried on toward the Buddha only to discover that it was closed with no visitors for another two hours. There wasn't really anywhere to wait that wasn't in the sun and the monk on duty was adamant that we weren't going in.
Disappointed with the lack of success we decided that this was a sign that we were trying too hard and instead we should be taking it easy. We made our way back to the beach and grabbed some loungers at the Sailing Club, a bar and restaurant on the beach. This was much better, with shade, cool drinks and food. They even served banana splits! We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing, drinking their locally brewed beer and reading our books in the shade. This was definitely a better way to spend the rest of the day. Our friend from the other day Pineapple, Mango Happy Hour! was still doing the rounds. There were also other people selling various trinkets and we did end up buying some artwork off a man who said he had a gallery but liked to meet the people on the beach to sell it too.
After dinner at the Sailing Club we packed up our gear and made the way to the train station for the last night on the reunification express. We were joined in the waiting room by some people who seemed to be on an Intrepid Journey tour. We were pleased to be on our own as much like the other group on the train in Mongolia, these people seemed to be stressing each other out and generally having a much harder time than they needed to. We got onto the train no problems and gently rocked ourselves to sleep.
HO CHI MINH CITY - DAY 1
Our train rolled into Saigon, now known as Ho Chi Minh City, the biggest city in Vietnam. We were well into our trip now, so not so excited about the adventure. Instead we jumped in a taxi to our hotel and they took us through the streets to get there. We were able to check in and catch up on some sleep again before heading out the streets. The streets were bustling with traffic and people and the buildings were much taller than what we had seen in other Vietnamese cities. We came across the Tran Nguyen Han Statue in the middle of a huge roundabout. He was a Vietnamese General and the statue has him riding
HO CHI MINH CITY - DAY 2
There wasn't actually a lot that we wanted to see in Ho Chi Minh City but there was still on major sight on the agenda, the Reunification Palace, formerly the home of the South Vietnamese President during the Vietnam war and French Governors before that. It is now a museum to the Vietnam War. After entering the ground you travel around a huge fountain the front yard to go to the entrance of the palace. It is a strange collection of meeting rooms and offices on the inside, almost identical to how it was when the
After our visit we continued wandering around the streets of the city, but there still wasn't much we wanted to see so once the heat got to us we retreated to the hotel again for a relax. The rains came again in the evening so we decided to head up to the roof bar and restaurant of the hotel. It was nice to have a drink and something to eat and look out over the lights and roofs of the city.
CU CHI TUNNELS
For our last full day in Vietnam we decided to head out of the city on a tour. They picked us up at the hotel before driving around the block a couple of times and then dropping us at the tour bus. Sometimes it might be better to walk? Our tour guide was reminiscent of the tour guide we had at the Great Wall of China. Round and jolly. The first step on the tour was a lacquer factory staffed by victims of Agent Orange and land mines left over from the Vietnam War. It was pretty sad seeing all the people with missing limbs and deformities but they seemed to be happy and getting on with their work. We spent some time looking around their shop but just couldn't find anything that we liked or that we thought would survive the remainder of our journey in our packs.
The bus continued on to the Cu Chi district. This is another Vietnam War museum, only this time is outdoors and demonstrates all the ingenious inventions the Vietcong used to defeat the USA in the
The bus took us back to the city again where we found a place for dinner before a cruisey last night in Vietnam.
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