Final Days - Saigon Part 2

After getting back to Saigon in the evening we were planning on having a few at Apocalypse Now - unfortunately it didnt open til 8pm - and it was now 5pm and we were thirsty. No problem - went to Bob & Hein's bar about 50 metres away.

At first we were the only to people in the pub and we proceeded to play Jenga (let the record show i won the series 1-0). Midway through our second game we got talking with another couple that had walked into the pub Andrew & Mary-Beth (living in Melbourne) - then it started raining so we had to stay a bit longer. Then we saw 2 Finnish guys, Lasse & Ari who were on the train to Nha Trang with us. I considered the Nha Trang train trip the toughest journey we had throughout Vietnam but Ari & Lasse told me that they had a worse trip on a sleeper bus that broke down for an hour. A heap of beers later we went to a restaurant a few doors down and had pizza for dinner. After that we all headed our separate ways and we headed to Apocalypse Now - got there had 1 beer and went home.

The next day was hot and muggy and we were heading to the Cu Chi tunnels with hangovers which wasnt ideal. I tried both the crouched walking as well as crawling on my knees techniques but I wasn't sure which was less uncomfortable for going through the tunnels. Even going short distances got a bit of a sweat up. After the tunnels watched a video which was a few years old and talked about the history of the Cu Chi tunnels and praised local civilian "American killer heroes" - was tempted to walk out halfway through the video but just tuned out instead. Our last night in Vietnam we had cocktails on the top floor of the Sheraton and enjoyed the spectacular view of the city at night.

Day 15 & 16 - Mekong Delta

About 20minutes into our drive to My Tho our car driver gets a call and asks us if we have our passport. Damn left them at the hotel in Saigon. Damn - at least we are going back there. Finally arrived at our hotel - and yep - it was a dump in which nothing looked clean. Oh well - of to our first place of interest and it was basically a temple which had a giant statue of  Budha and a giant statue of some one that looked like the priest "tripitaka" from the TV show 'Monkey' magic - I really should have paid a little more attention to our guide, Tuyen, on our way over here.

After that boat ride to tour the 4 island - dragon, Unicorn, phoenix & turtle islands. Saw coconut lollies being made, had some honey straight from the bee hive as well. One of the staff got stung by a bee so considering it didnt seem like the staff had control of their animals i turned down the opportunity to hold their snake.

Lunch was great - 'elephant ear fish' rish paper rolls followed by a lie down in hammocks. In the afternoon we were given a bike that looked about 20 years old and we went on a heltmetless bike ride through rice fields and on public roads. I wasnt keen to give the roads a try but it wasnt that bad and i felt as though the cyclist on a road is given a lot more respect that cyclists on roads in Australia after about an hour i wished id chosen a bike with a softer seat. scenery was great and I cant get over how friendly everyone is as they yell out 'hello' as you ride by. After our bike ride a quick beer and then back on our boat which took us to see some fireflies for about an hour.

The complimetary dinner which was including in our tour package was rubbish - basically a big restaurant, all tables have dirty table cloths and its empty. After the 2nd rubbish dish was served we told the waitress we were full and left and went to the pub a few doors down from our hotel. Stayed out as long as possible to minimise the time we had to spend in our hotel room.

Woke up the next day and went to the pub for breakfast rather than the place we went last night. New day brings us a new guide "Leung" who took us to Cai Be floating markets, then to some food factories where rice paper rolls and peanut lollies were made, lychees were shelled and tinned, and salt was made purer. Lunch was good and after it we went to a snake farm - very interesting - but i didnt buy a bottle of the snake wine, even the one with a king cobra and 2 dead birds in it didnt take my fancy....

This was followed by our 2 hour drive back to Saigon.

Saigon Part 1

Arrived in Saigon and traffic isnt as bad/crazy as Hanoi.

Checked into out hotel room, nice but windowless (booking specifically said it had a window) showered, after the train ride and went for a big walk.
Walked past the reunification palace and went to the war remnants museum. the war remnants museum was intense and emotional with some graphic imagery and displays. I wouldnt say it was 100% balanced - nor does it have to be (are any movies) - but still very much worth going. After lunch we went to the Ho Chi Minh museum.

Sunday night in Saigon was amazing - I think everyone one goes out on their motor bikes and this combined with the Xmas decorations that were still up made for a great spectacle. Pre-dinner drinks at an Aussie pub called the blue Gecko followed by dinner at a German pub 2 doors up from our hotel (sometimes you have enough spring rolls and just feel like a 'western meal' for dinner).

The next day we walked to the Jade Pagoda which had heaps of turtles. I thought turtles were sacred or lucky but we saw the maitenance guy clearing out the dead ones from the big pool - he threw the dead ones about 3 metres out of the pool onto concrete - Perhaps they are only sacred when they are alive. After that we walked to the botanical gradens, it has a crappy zoo that pretty much lets tourists throw food and annoy animals as much as they like. We didnt stay there very long.

Dinner at a place that employed street kids (i forget the name) was great - and we were lucky as they were turning away other 'westerners' - followed by rooftop drinks on the roof of the Rex Hotel.

Tomorrow we have booked a 1 night trip to the Mekong Delta.

Day 13, 14 & 15 - Nha Trang

First impression of Nha trang is that it has a lot of natural beauty & very touristy.
After the long day of travel we sought out the local drinking holes the best ones were the louisania brewhouse @ the sailing club. Both had great beers gardens that extended well onto the beach.
On the first day we went to the Mud baths, basically you soak in mud, jump out and let it harden, was it off, then soak in hot mineral baths. A relaxing few hours.
The usual evening activity was to sample a few jams jars at the sailing club, the are either very strong & high in alcohol or they have used flavored metho - judging by the hangovers I had. Also I did notice a bottle shop selling bottles of johnnie walker blue ($300+ usually) selling for $100 - after a bit if googling I realize there's a fair bit of counterfeit alcohol sold in Vietnam, so I decide I'll stick with beer for the rest of the trip.

We also taught an English class one day basically it's just talking to students in English about anything so they improve there skills.

New years eve entertainment was similar to what you'd get at a leagues club back in Oz. Also I broke the above rule about sticking to beer, so had a new years day hangover.

Overnight sleeper train to Saigon was good except for the snorer we had in our cabin (I guess it could have been worse - he could have sniffled). Slept that night with the iPod in.


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Saigon - HCM City

Day One: We arrived in Saigon around 8/9am after taking the overnight train from Nha Trang. While I did sleep, it was a looonnnggg journey, mostly due to having to share a sleeper carriage with a shocking snorer - I'm sure he is in need of medical help, his snoring was horrifying!

After a shower & breakfast we hit the streets. Our first stop was Ben Thanh market. We ran the gauntlet of t-shirt & souvenir sellers and did a little bit of shopping. We caught our first whiff of durian fruit - it's so horrible & overpowering, I wonder how anyone would be able to eat it. 

Next stop was the War Remnants Museum (The Museum of Chinese & American War Crimes) It was an interesting but heartbreaking experience. The photos & exhibits were intense & brutal,  I fought back tears the whole time we were there. 

Outside the museum we re-grouped with a cold coconut juice (served fresh, in a coconut) from a street vendor.

The weather was hot & humid so we spent a little while sitting in a park outside Reunification Palace. While we were sitting in the shade Anthony had his shoes cleaned by a passing shoe shiner - his Converse sneakers now have a bright white sole. 

Lunch was at a cafe, inside out of the heat. We had chicken satay, rice & Bánh mì (Vietnamese meat sandwich) washed down with Anthony's first Coors Light beer. 

After lunch we headed over to Ho Chi Minh's museum were we leant about the life of "Uncle Ho". By now the heat had pretty much done us in, so we headed back to the air-conditioned hotel to cool off. 

We had pre dinner drinks at an Aussie bar called The Blue Gecko. After a few pints of Fosters, and feeling a little boozey, we decided we had better eat. Huong Lai was fully booked so we settled for a rather uninspiring Westernised dinner the The Beir Garden near our hotel. 

We wandered home through the sparkly festive lights dripping from trees and buildings, gorgeous. Being Sunday everyone was out and about - families out for a motorbike ride, playing in the park & most just simply sitting and watching the world go by. The atmosphere was amazing - everyone was having fun, happy. 

Day Two: Today we popped into the Ben Thanh markets again for some more shopping. It gets very hot in there and stuffier & stuffier as the day goes on, so a few short early morning visits, seems to be the way to go to see & shop it all.

As we had our walking shoes on we enjoyed a walk out the see the Jade Pagoda - where the air was thick with incense and there were lucky (live) turtles for sale -  and then on the Botanical Gardens. We hadn't realized (even though it's clearly stated on the Lonely Planet! Ha) that the zoo was part of the Botanical Gardens. It was lovely to sit and have a cold drink in the shade of the trees, however when we wandered over to see the animals, we become rather upset. The animals were not housed in nearly adequate conditions. I was increasing distressed as we visited swaying, bored elephants and orangutans that were being fed lollies by the visitors. We didn't stay long. 

Today we enjoyed a fresh, light lunch of lotus shoot salad and self rolled pork rolls with iced green tea. 

We have started to adopt the Vietnamese way of resting after lunch. In this heat a siesta is needed to recharge for the rest of the afternoon/ evening. 

So now it's nap time... 

Jess x

Hoi An - Jess

Hoi An

We are adoring Hoi An. While it is rather touristy, with the shops & restaurants geared towards the international guest, the Old Town is quiet ("primitive" transport - motorbikes, bicycle & walking traffic only) at this time of year & easy to navigate. Lanterns & fairy lights line the buildings at night and the whole place has a real old worldy feel to it.

We visit the Japanese covered bridge and tour past the assembly halls and old houses.

We join the tourist crowds and get some clothes tailor made. We are a bit swept up in the friendly service and pretty much order through the first shop we come across - located in the cloth market. The girls are lovely (they pour on the flattery and it's easy to forget they are only working on their sales when they are so friendly and cheery) but professional when it comes to sales & sewing skills. Anthony orders two suits (with vests) and some business shirts. I order a blazer and a dress. It's a bit nervy waiting until the next day to be fitted but we are really happy with the products and I end up ordering another dress. We also have some shoes made up - Anthony gets a flashy pair of sneakers & I get 2 pairs of leather sandals.

I can only laugh as the girls measure us up - they fawn over Anthony "Oh you're sooo tall" and pat him on the butt as he tries on suit pants.  They comment on my measurements ( I already feel huge and awkward standing next to these gorgeous tiny girls) "You tall but chest so small".... Oh dear. As I try on my dress one of the girls bends down, grabs my chest and lifts "Here!" So not only is it too small but also located incorrectly! Double Oh dear!

Flattery and smiles work wonders on Anth & he falls into exchanging Aussie dollar coins for some of the girls - they have already worked out a healthy exchange rate (in their favour) - first time I don't hear him haggling over rates!! Haha!


We are recommended the Blue Dragon restaurant (Read about the Blue Dragon Foundation http://www.bdcf.org/) by a lovely couple from Canberra, and so we try it out for an early dinner. The food is as delicious & fresh as they describe and we wash it all down with (yes, more) Tigers.
* Six course seafood dinner for two people & 3 long neck beers = US$15

We decide to return to Blue Dragon the next day for the cooking course (US$12 each). Most restaurants seem to offer cooking classes based around their specialty dishes. It turns out that we are the only ones booked in for the day so we enjoy the essentially private lesson with Leung. Leung teaches us preparation skills, about different ingredients and how to make spring rolls, pork skewer And lemon fish in banana leaf (we had tried this dish the day before & we were excited to learn the recipe). Leung is a great teacher & we cook well - sooo delicious!

We take a day trip to My Son - once the centre of the kingdom of Champa. Time, weather & American bombing has damaged most of the structures but an area remains (has been restored). We spend the morning visiting the site - surrounded by lush rainforest, & bump into Jim (Newtown, Sydney) who we met on the Hue city tour. We spend some time chatting - it turns out we were on the same flight over from Aus.  In the afternoon we travel back to Hoi An by boat. We also visit a wood carver & try a (slightly shifty looking) nasi goring lunch as provided.
* Tour US$6 including lunch & boat ride. (Another couple tells us that their hotel tried to book this tour for them and charge $40 - ouch)

We have taken to enjoying the Happy Hour(s) provided by the bars and restaurant everywhere. After a day of sightseeing it's nice to sit back and slip into cocktail hour.
* Two for one cocktails US$1.25

The only downer in Hoi An is that our first hotel is a fail. We knew it would be quiet out of town being off season, we were looking forward to staying on (and digging our feet into) a stretch of China Beach, what we didn't count on was the staff, service & cleanliness being "off season" too. While $50 a night is not really much for a hotel room, here it is a lot & should get you a fantastic hotel & room standard.

The cats in the dining area, our complimentary impractical, large, whole watermelon (provided with a teeny-tiny little knife) and playing hide & seek with the staff (I wont worry you with food & hygiene grossness) could only keep us amused for so long so we made the move into town for our third night in Hoi An.

Ah, Glory Hotel, you are a wonderful change. The staff greet us with warm smiles, sort our luggage, bring hot, sweet tea and provide us with local information. Our room is spotless and fresh, the bed is decorated with flowers, the view spectacular. Clean kimono robes call my name. The staff are fantastic and organise our transport to Nha Trang for the next day without any hassle and minimal (if any) mark up. For US$1 more than the cost of our room last night, we are very happy!

Travelling Hoi An to Nha Trang (not 1st class)

Woke early in Hoi an to catch the bus to bus to danang. Greeted by the driver who screamed 'take your shoes off' upon our entry to the bus. Also the bus had sleeper berths, not seats, so there were 2 aisles, 3 'beds' across (aisles in between), a top bunk all through the bus and a broken toilet (that's what the sign written in faded permanent texta said) As mentioned before about taking your shoes off upon entry, the whole bus smelled of feet. 40 minutes later we were in danang.
Travelling to the train station made me glad we didn't stay in danang - it didn't seem like the place had much natural beauty nor did it look like it offered tourists a lot (this i worked out in the 90 min I spent there)

Waited a while at the railway station for our train to arrive (from my experience of 2 times - Vietnam trains aren't punctual) and once it arrived it was a bit of a dump. Crowded, old and a bit of a stuffy smell. Yep this 10hr trip should fly by. The entertainment for the trip on the tv consisted of replayed news in Vietnamese, a Vietnamese comedian in Vietnamese, the transporter 3 in English but pretty sure the copy was pirated (I could see it was a div-x file when it loaded up), a David Attenborough doco redubbed in Vietnamese, Home alone 2 in Vietnamese and jingle all the way (starring Arnie, Tom hanks wife, the kid who played annakin skywalker and comedian sinbad) in Vietnamese. Top shelf.
The prawn crackers we bought tasted and smelled a little too much like prawns and we didnt dare try the hot chicken wheeled out on a trolley and served from a large cardboard box - also served (& probably cooked) by the guy who checked my tickets.

Enough of the negative - i got used to the cabin smell & we still really enjoy traveling on a train and seeing the Vietnamese countryside including going past Quong Ngai which is near where the Mai Lai massacre occured during the Vietnam-American war and despite my whinging about the conditions on the train I'm still pretty sure we will continue to use the rail system.


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