This is the main beach resort in Cambodia. Gaz hasn't had much time to go exploring yet and had freed up the weekend and I was also keen for some beach action. Needed a bit of respite after some of the horrors of Phnom Penh and a weekend of beaching and boozing sounded good to me.
Day 1: Gaz came to meet me and Hannah at our guesthouse for the bus pick-up. She was also heading to Sihanoukville so it made sense for us all to book on the same bus. Journey took about 4 hours and we arrived at the bus station in the early afternoon. Hannah decided to go stay on the main beach (Serendipity Beach), whereas Gaz had a recommendation for a place to stay on a quiter beach (Otres Beach), so we headed there.
Settled into our accommodation - ''Wish You Were Here Bungalows''. Very appropriate. We then got some food and spent the afternoon on the beach. Was mid-afternoon so wasn't too hot but was nice to just chill out for a few hours after the bus journey. Some guys were in the sea trying to balance and then push each other off this made-up podium, which was quite funny to watch. The victor was often the one who could just keep his balance, rather than actually pushing each other.
Got some nice local food that evening (Shrimp Amok - very nice) and we then headed up to a place a few kilometres away, that had some bars. Spent the rest of the evening drinking beer, playing pool and watching the footy. A nice laddish evening where we both ended up pretty pissed. Nothing like a white-knuckle ride home on the back of a moped to clear your head afterwards though. It does the trick.
Day 2: Much the same I'm afraid, except it was MUCH hotter this time. We spent the whole day on the beach and the heat was weird. It seemed very overcast for most of the day, yet the heat was so strong and I could feel myself burning even when the sun was hidden. Despite our best efforts (about 4 applications of sun cream for me and plenty of time spent in the shade), we both ended up burnt. Gaz worse than me though - unlucky considering he didn't even come out of the shade all day. He is pretty pastey though so I suppose it's no surprise (sorry mate).
That evening, we headed into the main town to check out the nightlife. Went to a restaurant offering a traditional sunday roast, which we took all of 2 seconds to decide upon. Exactly what was needed. We then found a bar and settled down for some more beer and footy and again, ended up quite pissed. My sort of weekend.
Really cool few days with Gaz and we had a great laugh. Was good to catch up after so long. Bus back to Phnom Penh in the morning - he needs to go to work, I need to continue my travels. I know whose shoes I'd rather be in!
Sunday, 22 January 2012
Phnom Penh
Day 1: Up early to get the bus to Cambodia's capital city, Phnom Penh. Hannah is doing a similar travel route to me so we both booked on the same bus, picking us up at 7am. The journey took a few hours and we met a nice Cambodian guy on the bus (Tina), who was relieved to be getting out of Vietnam and away from the food. I had quite enjoyed the food there so it must be even better in Cambodia! We managed to get across the border pretty smoothly, which is always a relief. You never know what is going to happen on the borders out here or what charges they are going to spring, so it's always a relief when you get through without any hassle. The bus company had provided a border assistant, which we were quite pleased about.
At the border, I met an older American guy called Randy, who was also waiting to cross. We got chatting and he revealed a quite amazing story of how he had ended up in Vietnam. 7 years earlier, he had been diagnosed with a terminal disease and had visited Vietnam as part of his bucket list. While there, he ended up going to a hospital in Hoi An, where they managed to correctly diagnose what was actually wrong with him and adminster a cure. He hasn't been back to the US since. So much for western medicine I guess! Restored my faith in Asian hospitals a bit as well, considering some of the stories that Andreas had told me earlier in the trip (he's not even a qualified medical student yet but sounds like he was basically running Saigon hospital!). Pretty amazing story by Randy. Chatted to him a bit longer and he gave us some tips for Cambodia, including a place to stay in Phnom Penh.
Quick stop after the border to get some food - it was horrendous. I had ginger chicken and the chicken bits were about 95% bone. Hope it's not a sign of things to come. I didn't have the heart to tell Tina.
We arrived in the capital early afternoon and checked into the hostel Randy had recommended. Pretty nice, cheap and loads of other travellers, which is also always a bonus. Hannah and I went halves on a room to make things cheaper still. That afternoon, we went to visit the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda, which are both nice and incredibly detailed. The level of detail that goes into the Temples, Pagodas and Palaces in Asia is quite staggering at times. The Palace was tucked behind a perfectly kept garden, which made it all even more scenic. Entrance ticket was a bit more than usual for this sort of thing but it was all worth seeing.
That evening, I met up with Matt, who is the son-in-law of Tony from my work. Tony had swapped our contact details (cheers mate) and Matt kindly agreed to meet me that evening for a few beers. He has lived in Phnom Penh for a number of years and gave me some good advice on places to visit and the best way of seeing Angkor Wat when I reach Siem Reap. Matt's two daughters were there too and I had a cool couple of hours hanging out with them all. He even offered me a game of golf for that upcoming saturday but sadly, I'd already made plans. Really nice guy though and I was very grateful for him taking the time to meet me. Thanks for sorting that out Big Guy (could somebody please pass this onto Tony - I don't think he can work out how to access the blog. Bless!).
I then went out for a curry in the city and it was delicious. Maybe Tina was right about Cambodian food after all!
Day 2: Took a walk around the city and along the Tonle Sap river in the morning. The main city centre is pretty small so you can walk from one end to the other in about an hour. Hot here but not as hot as I was expecting. The city is pretty nice but the hassle levels are the same as Vietnam unfortunately. Thinking of getting one of those t-shirts that says ''I don't want a Tuk-Tuk, I don't want drugs (etc) just to save my breath.
In the afternoon, I met up with Hannah and we got a Tuk-Tuk ride to the killings fields of Choeung Ek. I didn't know much about Cambodian history (apart from what Tony had told me) so I did some more research before going there. If you don't know the story of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, google will do a better job explaing it than I can. In basic terms, in 1975, Pol Pot led the Khmer Rouge into Cambodia and over the next 4 years, mass genocide took place and an estimated 3 million Cambodians were killed. As the name suggests, this was one of the fields where these killings took place.
The tour around the fields took a good couple of hours and there was an excellent audio guide to take us round, stop us at the important sites and also give eyewitness accounts and history of the whole thing. I did the tour quite slowly because I wanted to take it all in. Its truly horrific and heartbreaking. The tour included stops at all the key parts of the fields, including mass graves and numerous areas where the deaths took place. There are countless items of old clothing that has been stored and one part of the field actually had teeth on the ground, which have risen up through rainfall. It's quite unbelievable and really hard to take in. When you're going round, you think it can't get any worse and then the next stop, it does. I won't go into too much detail because it's so bad.
The last stop on the tour, which needs mentioning, is a large memorial stupa that displays more than 8000 skulls of victims and their ragged clothes. There's so many skulls in there, that they have to be seperated into categories. It really has to be seen to be believed - shocking. We finished the tour and then went to the nearby museum, which displays some more historical elements. Once we had finished everything, I said to Hannah that the killing fields was the worst thing I'd ever seen and I haven't changed my mind since.
Obviously, this wasn't enjoyable in the slightest but it's something you need to do if you come out here. The audio tour is excellent and seeing the field is very humbling if at the same time, horrific viewing. There were a few people crying on the tour and I could understand why.
After a pretty quiet journey back to town and a few hours chilling, I went to meet up with my mate Gaz (Birmingham), who also now lives in Phnom Penh. I didn't know this until my trip had already started and he got in touch and we made arrangements. Spent the evening on the beers with him and having a good catch up - we worked out it had been about 7 years since we last saw each other so there was lots to catch up on. He hasn't been to the killing fields yet so I told him all about the day and that he needs to go asap. We also made some arrangements for our trip down to the beach at Sihanoukville for that coming weekend. Cool evening with him.
Day 3: After a pretty lazy morning, I went to visit another key part of Pol Pot's genocide against Cambodians - Tuol Sleng Prison (AKA S-21). Hannah had done this in addition to the killing fields yesterday (how she did both in one day, I don't know), so I went to check it out alone.
This was one of the prisons that Cambodians were detained and tortured at, before being taken to the killing fields. It used to be a high school but was converted into a prison when the Khmer Rouge took power in 1975. I joined up with some other tourists and we shared a guide. This tour is pretty much as horrifying as the killing fields. It included visits to old cells, torture chambers and other key sights from its time in use. The most horrifying sight was actually a room that included masses of pictures of Khmer Rouge soldiers - so young, about 13-15 years old some of them. Hardly seem capable of the brutality that took place.
The tour guide had actually experienced Pol Pot's invasion of Cambodia herself and members of her family were killed during it. Very difficult to listen to and another pretty uncomfortable, if well done, tour. Also there was a guy called Bou Meng, who had actually survived the prison because he was a good artist, able to draw good images of Pol Pot. We all met him and I bought his book that was on sale.
Another harrowing tour but I'm glad I did it. It puts things in perspective when you see what went on. I'm also glad I did the 2 tours on seperate days because it is very heavy going and hard to take in.
After the prison, I went to check out the National Museum, which was ok. It contained hundreds of weird ancient Angkor sculptures. Some of them were pretty cool but a lot of it wasn't really my thing. I'm hoping the sculptures at Angkor Wat will be more up my street. Nice courtyard in the middle of the museum though - pretty imacculate. I then walked along the river to check out the city's main temple, Wat Phnom. Again, this is nice enough but nothing to really write home about in comparison to the MANY temples I've seen. I'm saving my temple appreciation for Angkor Wat now.
That evening I chilled out and had dinner with Jakob & Miriam, who were staying in the same guesthouse. Will be the last time I see them for a while as they are heading to an island off the coast of Sihanoukville, whereas me and Gaz are staying on the mainland. Jakob is turning 30 in February and we will both be on Koh Pha-Ngan, Thailand at the same time so I'll be hooking up with them both then to go celebrate. He reckons he's going to quit smoking then as well - I'm not convinced.
Off to bed, early start for the trip to Sihanoukville.
At the border, I met an older American guy called Randy, who was also waiting to cross. We got chatting and he revealed a quite amazing story of how he had ended up in Vietnam. 7 years earlier, he had been diagnosed with a terminal disease and had visited Vietnam as part of his bucket list. While there, he ended up going to a hospital in Hoi An, where they managed to correctly diagnose what was actually wrong with him and adminster a cure. He hasn't been back to the US since. So much for western medicine I guess! Restored my faith in Asian hospitals a bit as well, considering some of the stories that Andreas had told me earlier in the trip (he's not even a qualified medical student yet but sounds like he was basically running Saigon hospital!). Pretty amazing story by Randy. Chatted to him a bit longer and he gave us some tips for Cambodia, including a place to stay in Phnom Penh.
Quick stop after the border to get some food - it was horrendous. I had ginger chicken and the chicken bits were about 95% bone. Hope it's not a sign of things to come. I didn't have the heart to tell Tina.
We arrived in the capital early afternoon and checked into the hostel Randy had recommended. Pretty nice, cheap and loads of other travellers, which is also always a bonus. Hannah and I went halves on a room to make things cheaper still. That afternoon, we went to visit the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda, which are both nice and incredibly detailed. The level of detail that goes into the Temples, Pagodas and Palaces in Asia is quite staggering at times. The Palace was tucked behind a perfectly kept garden, which made it all even more scenic. Entrance ticket was a bit more than usual for this sort of thing but it was all worth seeing.
That evening, I met up with Matt, who is the son-in-law of Tony from my work. Tony had swapped our contact details (cheers mate) and Matt kindly agreed to meet me that evening for a few beers. He has lived in Phnom Penh for a number of years and gave me some good advice on places to visit and the best way of seeing Angkor Wat when I reach Siem Reap. Matt's two daughters were there too and I had a cool couple of hours hanging out with them all. He even offered me a game of golf for that upcoming saturday but sadly, I'd already made plans. Really nice guy though and I was very grateful for him taking the time to meet me. Thanks for sorting that out Big Guy (could somebody please pass this onto Tony - I don't think he can work out how to access the blog. Bless!).
I then went out for a curry in the city and it was delicious. Maybe Tina was right about Cambodian food after all!
Day 2: Took a walk around the city and along the Tonle Sap river in the morning. The main city centre is pretty small so you can walk from one end to the other in about an hour. Hot here but not as hot as I was expecting. The city is pretty nice but the hassle levels are the same as Vietnam unfortunately. Thinking of getting one of those t-shirts that says ''I don't want a Tuk-Tuk, I don't want drugs (etc) just to save my breath.
In the afternoon, I met up with Hannah and we got a Tuk-Tuk ride to the killings fields of Choeung Ek. I didn't know much about Cambodian history (apart from what Tony had told me) so I did some more research before going there. If you don't know the story of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, google will do a better job explaing it than I can. In basic terms, in 1975, Pol Pot led the Khmer Rouge into Cambodia and over the next 4 years, mass genocide took place and an estimated 3 million Cambodians were killed. As the name suggests, this was one of the fields where these killings took place.
The tour around the fields took a good couple of hours and there was an excellent audio guide to take us round, stop us at the important sites and also give eyewitness accounts and history of the whole thing. I did the tour quite slowly because I wanted to take it all in. Its truly horrific and heartbreaking. The tour included stops at all the key parts of the fields, including mass graves and numerous areas where the deaths took place. There are countless items of old clothing that has been stored and one part of the field actually had teeth on the ground, which have risen up through rainfall. It's quite unbelievable and really hard to take in. When you're going round, you think it can't get any worse and then the next stop, it does. I won't go into too much detail because it's so bad.
The last stop on the tour, which needs mentioning, is a large memorial stupa that displays more than 8000 skulls of victims and their ragged clothes. There's so many skulls in there, that they have to be seperated into categories. It really has to be seen to be believed - shocking. We finished the tour and then went to the nearby museum, which displays some more historical elements. Once we had finished everything, I said to Hannah that the killing fields was the worst thing I'd ever seen and I haven't changed my mind since.
Obviously, this wasn't enjoyable in the slightest but it's something you need to do if you come out here. The audio tour is excellent and seeing the field is very humbling if at the same time, horrific viewing. There were a few people crying on the tour and I could understand why.
After a pretty quiet journey back to town and a few hours chilling, I went to meet up with my mate Gaz (Birmingham), who also now lives in Phnom Penh. I didn't know this until my trip had already started and he got in touch and we made arrangements. Spent the evening on the beers with him and having a good catch up - we worked out it had been about 7 years since we last saw each other so there was lots to catch up on. He hasn't been to the killing fields yet so I told him all about the day and that he needs to go asap. We also made some arrangements for our trip down to the beach at Sihanoukville for that coming weekend. Cool evening with him.
Day 3: After a pretty lazy morning, I went to visit another key part of Pol Pot's genocide against Cambodians - Tuol Sleng Prison (AKA S-21). Hannah had done this in addition to the killing fields yesterday (how she did both in one day, I don't know), so I went to check it out alone.
This was one of the prisons that Cambodians were detained and tortured at, before being taken to the killing fields. It used to be a high school but was converted into a prison when the Khmer Rouge took power in 1975. I joined up with some other tourists and we shared a guide. This tour is pretty much as horrifying as the killing fields. It included visits to old cells, torture chambers and other key sights from its time in use. The most horrifying sight was actually a room that included masses of pictures of Khmer Rouge soldiers - so young, about 13-15 years old some of them. Hardly seem capable of the brutality that took place.
The tour guide had actually experienced Pol Pot's invasion of Cambodia herself and members of her family were killed during it. Very difficult to listen to and another pretty uncomfortable, if well done, tour. Also there was a guy called Bou Meng, who had actually survived the prison because he was a good artist, able to draw good images of Pol Pot. We all met him and I bought his book that was on sale.
Another harrowing tour but I'm glad I did it. It puts things in perspective when you see what went on. I'm also glad I did the 2 tours on seperate days because it is very heavy going and hard to take in.
After the prison, I went to check out the National Museum, which was ok. It contained hundreds of weird ancient Angkor sculptures. Some of them were pretty cool but a lot of it wasn't really my thing. I'm hoping the sculptures at Angkor Wat will be more up my street. Nice courtyard in the middle of the museum though - pretty imacculate. I then walked along the river to check out the city's main temple, Wat Phnom. Again, this is nice enough but nothing to really write home about in comparison to the MANY temples I've seen. I'm saving my temple appreciation for Angkor Wat now.
That evening I chilled out and had dinner with Jakob & Miriam, who were staying in the same guesthouse. Will be the last time I see them for a while as they are heading to an island off the coast of Sihanoukville, whereas me and Gaz are staying on the mainland. Jakob is turning 30 in February and we will both be on Koh Pha-Ngan, Thailand at the same time so I'll be hooking up with them both then to go celebrate. He reckons he's going to quit smoking then as well - I'm not convinced.
Off to bed, early start for the trip to Sihanoukville.
Mekong Delta
Again, a trip that wasn't initially planned but recommendations from other travellers convinced me to give it a go. Hannah and I booked onto a 2-day trip.
The Mekong Delta is the region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of distributaries (I nicked this from Wikipedia - best description I could find). The Mekong runs all the way through south-east asia and it is the same river where the slow boat to Laos took place earlier in my trip.
Day 1: Hannah and I made our way to the travel agency to be picked up. Met a really nice irish couple (Denis & Aoife) and I got chatting to them on the bus journey. After a few hours, we reached the river and boarded the boat to be taken to the first island - ''Tortoise Island''. Fantastic views from the boat. The water itself is pretty dirty but the river is surrounded by traditional stilt houses, coconut trees and lots of other plantlife. We stopped for lunch on the island and met 2 swedes, Hanna & Henrik, who are brother and sister. After lunch, it was back on the boat to the second island, Ben Tre. The views were even better getting here as we had to navigate some pretty narrow canals of water to reach the island.
Once we got to Ben Tre, we saw Coconut Candy being made by a local family business (and all ate far too much - tastes just like butter). Pretty sickly after a while but still nice. We then got to try some Rice Wine, Banana Wine and Snake Wine - all taste like rum except the Banana Wine. Pretty disgusting but we knocked them back anyway. We then had a rowing boat ride along some even narrower creeks to another part of the island where we were treated to some local music and each had the opportunity to hold a massive Python across our shoulders. I used to be quite scared of snakes but have seen so many in Asia (mostly in bottles of Whiskey) that they don't bother me as much now. I manned up, held him twice and was pretty proud of myself. Although the lack of fear was tested when he started moving towards my face at one point! Most of the lads of the trip had a go but a lot of the girls whimped out.
Then it was back to the bus to be taken to our destination for the evening - Can Tho. Hannah and I decided to go for the home-stay option, meaning we would stay with a local family rather than just a hotel. The group got split in half and those of us going to the homestay, including Hanna & Henrik, were taken on another longboat to get there. Our host was Hung, who was the Dad of the family. The home itself was quite big and it didn't really have a homestay feel to it. We were expecting 2/3 people would stay with each family when in fact, we had about 18 people staying with just this one family! Was cool though and we had a really fun evening with them. The kids taught us how to make and fry spring rolls and these fish roll things. Met a nice Belgian couple, 2 girls from the Philippines, Andy (UK) and his Japanese girlfriend Nikki. Had a really good laugh with all them and the family, who continued to bring us copious amounts of rice wine, despite how disgusting most of us were finding it. No-one wanted to let the side down though so we continued downing shots - getting the feeling I would regret it in the morning. The wine was served in clear plastic bags, using a chopstick to filter the amount coming through. A definate art to this technique, which became harder the more we drank.
The evening finished with Hung giving us a demonstration on how the family can get the river water clean enough to drink. He then told us that we would need to be ready by 6am if we wanted to accompany him on a tour of the village. We had the option to stay in bed until 6.45am but most of us agreed we would get up and have a look around, despite the Rice Wines!
Day 2: All up, ready and raring to go.......except Hung, who was about 10 minutes late. Pretty funny. Think he may have had too many rice wines himself, prompting us to give him the nickname "Hung-Over''. Once he had got himself sorted, he took us on a tour of the village, the local market and primary school. At the school, there were kids playing football in the playground at 6.15am! As you know, I love my footy but even I would have had to think twice about that. They seem to like their early morning sport out here.
Back to the home, waiting for breakfast and........'Hung-Over'' has left the bread he just bought back at the market! Really funny, he just wasn't with it at all. The family sorted out some replacement brekkie and we then got back on the boat to go rejoin the others we had parted from yesterday. The main attraction for the day was the Floating Market, which we were all keen to see.
We arrived at the market, rejoined the others and filled them in on the homestay antics. We then started cruising through and it's pretty cool, but not quite as big as I was expecting. All of the trading is from boat to boat and there is nothing fixed for boats to stop at. Being a tourist boat, we were obviously swamped from both sides by people selling fruit, coffee etc. Enjoyed the market - not something you see everyday. We stayed a while and I got some Pineapple, which I'm getting quite addicted to. SO nice and refreshing out here.
After the market, we were taken to another island to visit a fruit orchard, flower garden and bamboo bridge, which we took turns at attempting - pretty easy. Lots of weird tropical fruits being grown - Dragon Fruit is becoming a favourite of mine. We asked our guide for the names of other ones but I'm pretty sure he was just making them up. They were nice though. After this, we were taken to another local family business for a demonstration on how rice noodles and rice paper are made. This was pretty interesting although the noodles are pretty bland when their not part of ''Pho'' (Vietnamese Noodle Soup - also very addictive). Good to see how it's all made considering how widely it is used out here.
Tour finished and it was back on the bus back to Saigon. A great trip with lots of different aspects to it - holding the Python was my highlight. That evening, myself, Hannah, Henrik, Hanna, Denis and Aoife all met up again and went for a meal and drinks in Saigon. A really cool evening and a nice way to sign off my time in Vietnam. Up early in the morning to get the bus to Cambodia.
The Mekong Delta is the region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of distributaries (I nicked this from Wikipedia - best description I could find). The Mekong runs all the way through south-east asia and it is the same river where the slow boat to Laos took place earlier in my trip.
Day 1: Hannah and I made our way to the travel agency to be picked up. Met a really nice irish couple (Denis & Aoife) and I got chatting to them on the bus journey. After a few hours, we reached the river and boarded the boat to be taken to the first island - ''Tortoise Island''. Fantastic views from the boat. The water itself is pretty dirty but the river is surrounded by traditional stilt houses, coconut trees and lots of other plantlife. We stopped for lunch on the island and met 2 swedes, Hanna & Henrik, who are brother and sister. After lunch, it was back on the boat to the second island, Ben Tre. The views were even better getting here as we had to navigate some pretty narrow canals of water to reach the island.
Once we got to Ben Tre, we saw Coconut Candy being made by a local family business (and all ate far too much - tastes just like butter). Pretty sickly after a while but still nice. We then got to try some Rice Wine, Banana Wine and Snake Wine - all taste like rum except the Banana Wine. Pretty disgusting but we knocked them back anyway. We then had a rowing boat ride along some even narrower creeks to another part of the island where we were treated to some local music and each had the opportunity to hold a massive Python across our shoulders. I used to be quite scared of snakes but have seen so many in Asia (mostly in bottles of Whiskey) that they don't bother me as much now. I manned up, held him twice and was pretty proud of myself. Although the lack of fear was tested when he started moving towards my face at one point! Most of the lads of the trip had a go but a lot of the girls whimped out.
Then it was back to the bus to be taken to our destination for the evening - Can Tho. Hannah and I decided to go for the home-stay option, meaning we would stay with a local family rather than just a hotel. The group got split in half and those of us going to the homestay, including Hanna & Henrik, were taken on another longboat to get there. Our host was Hung, who was the Dad of the family. The home itself was quite big and it didn't really have a homestay feel to it. We were expecting 2/3 people would stay with each family when in fact, we had about 18 people staying with just this one family! Was cool though and we had a really fun evening with them. The kids taught us how to make and fry spring rolls and these fish roll things. Met a nice Belgian couple, 2 girls from the Philippines, Andy (UK) and his Japanese girlfriend Nikki. Had a really good laugh with all them and the family, who continued to bring us copious amounts of rice wine, despite how disgusting most of us were finding it. No-one wanted to let the side down though so we continued downing shots - getting the feeling I would regret it in the morning. The wine was served in clear plastic bags, using a chopstick to filter the amount coming through. A definate art to this technique, which became harder the more we drank.
The evening finished with Hung giving us a demonstration on how the family can get the river water clean enough to drink. He then told us that we would need to be ready by 6am if we wanted to accompany him on a tour of the village. We had the option to stay in bed until 6.45am but most of us agreed we would get up and have a look around, despite the Rice Wines!
Day 2: All up, ready and raring to go.......except Hung, who was about 10 minutes late. Pretty funny. Think he may have had too many rice wines himself, prompting us to give him the nickname "Hung-Over''. Once he had got himself sorted, he took us on a tour of the village, the local market and primary school. At the school, there were kids playing football in the playground at 6.15am! As you know, I love my footy but even I would have had to think twice about that. They seem to like their early morning sport out here.
Back to the home, waiting for breakfast and........'Hung-Over'' has left the bread he just bought back at the market! Really funny, he just wasn't with it at all. The family sorted out some replacement brekkie and we then got back on the boat to go rejoin the others we had parted from yesterday. The main attraction for the day was the Floating Market, which we were all keen to see.
We arrived at the market, rejoined the others and filled them in on the homestay antics. We then started cruising through and it's pretty cool, but not quite as big as I was expecting. All of the trading is from boat to boat and there is nothing fixed for boats to stop at. Being a tourist boat, we were obviously swamped from both sides by people selling fruit, coffee etc. Enjoyed the market - not something you see everyday. We stayed a while and I got some Pineapple, which I'm getting quite addicted to. SO nice and refreshing out here.
After the market, we were taken to another island to visit a fruit orchard, flower garden and bamboo bridge, which we took turns at attempting - pretty easy. Lots of weird tropical fruits being grown - Dragon Fruit is becoming a favourite of mine. We asked our guide for the names of other ones but I'm pretty sure he was just making them up. They were nice though. After this, we were taken to another local family business for a demonstration on how rice noodles and rice paper are made. This was pretty interesting although the noodles are pretty bland when their not part of ''Pho'' (Vietnamese Noodle Soup - also very addictive). Good to see how it's all made considering how widely it is used out here.
Tour finished and it was back on the bus back to Saigon. A great trip with lots of different aspects to it - holding the Python was my highlight. That evening, myself, Hannah, Henrik, Hanna, Denis and Aoife all met up again and went for a meal and drinks in Saigon. A really cool evening and a nice way to sign off my time in Vietnam. Up early in the morning to get the bus to Cambodia.
Thursday, 19 January 2012
Saigon / Ho Chi Minh City
The Vietnamese can't seem to make their minds up what to call this place. It's name was changed from Saigon to Ho Chi Minh City (after the former president) in 1976 when the country was unified, and it appears this way on all maps and travel books. Yet, when you book a bus or talk to many of the people, it's still known as Saigon. Anyway, I'll refer to it as Saigon, a city that well and truly puts Hanoi in its place when it comes to motorbikes. I've been told there are over 4 million of them here alone and I believe every word. It really has to be seen to be believed.
Day 1: Nightbus from Mui Ne arrived at about 7am. Didn't get a great deal of sleep on the bus so after a long search for a cheap enough guesthouse, I settled down for another couple of hours kip. Feeling a bit more refreshed late morning, I set off to explore the city and of course, get lost. After eventually finding my bearings, I'm ashamed (not really) to say I had to go for a KFC to give me some energy for the day. I've been really good up to this point and have had mostly local food everywhere, but there's only so much rice and noodles you can take!
I got chatting to a couple of locals whilst in there, who were interested in where I was from, my trip so far and my plans for Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City. Had a long talk with them and got some good tips (and directions) for the city. I went to visit the Reunification Palace (also renamed in 1976), which is massive and very impressive. The whole building is immaculate and would be a great place to live - makes you wish you were rich to be honest. Bumped into a couple of American ladies I'd met in Hue so I also caught up with them. One had had a lot of money stolen on a nightbus a couple of nights previous. My guard will be up even more than it normally is for the next one.
A completely different experience in the afternoon as I went to visit the War Remnants Museum. I've been to all the main museums throughout Vietnam but can safely say this is the best, if also, the saddest. The outskirts are filled with old military vehicles, weapons and the famous ''Tiger Cages'', that were supposedly used to detain and torture Vietnamese prisoners of war. This whole area is pretty horrifying.
Inside the museum, it doesn't get much better. The building is filled with hundreds of images from the war and of the many deformities that were caused by the chemicals used during it. There's obviously a strong vietnamese slant on everything you see and the descriptions and quotes that run throughout the building, but you can also fully understand why. Truly horrific and so sad. I spent a few hours working my way through there, needing a break every so often because it's very heavy going. Humbling at the same time though and I'm glad I went there.
Feeling quite drained, I then went to check out the Notre Dame Cathedral, which is just round the corner. My technique for dodging the motorbikes is pretty nailed on now (it's the cars you need to worry about) so I got there pretty fast but unfortunately, it was closed when I arrived. Nice building though so I got some good pics and started heading away when I was stopped by 3 young schoolgirls, who asked if they could interview me for some sort of school work. I was intrigued and happy to oblige so they asked me numerous questions about where I was from, my time in Vietnam and my impressions of the country. Only lasted about 5 minutes but they were made-up I helped them out.
That evening, I took another walk around the city and was swiftly reminded about the amount of hassling you are exposed to. Still annoying at times but I've developed a partial immunity to it by now. Saigon is really nice at night and much easier to walk around than Hanoi (they actually give you some pavement to play with here). Had a walk around some of the night markets as well. All in all, a good day mixing with the locals and checking out the sights. The museum is very harrowing but definately needs to be seen if you're ever in this part of the world.
Day 2: Up early for a day tour to visit the Cu Chi Tunnels, which were used by the Vietnamese for fighting and living during the war. Met a nice girl called Hannah (New Zealand), who was staying in the same hostel and had booked on the trip as well. We chatted most of the way for the 4 hour journey. A good tour guide again (Chi - easy to remember given the destination of the trip), who tested our war knowledge on the way and gave us a briefing on the sort of things we were going to see.
We arrived at the site and started off with an introductory video, giving us more information on the war and the role the tunnels had to play in it. Chi then showed us a map, which illustrated the sheer scale of them (over 200km of tunnels in the area of Cu Chi alone). Quite incredible. After the video, Chi took us on a tour of the site to show us the key areas. There was a selection of basic but brutal boobie-traps that were used and also a Foxhole, which we all got into one-by-one. Pretty snug in there and whilst getting in was easy, getting out was not so for me. Forgot to put my arms out first and ended up getting my shoulders stuck - a lot of good I would be trying to spring a gun on someone quick!
The tour also included an old tank and a selection of ''ant hills'' (air-holes in disguise). Before we reached the tunnels, everyone had the opportunity to fire lots of different types of guns (AK47, M60 etc). I've fired an assault rifle before and the bullets were quite expensive here so I decided to give it a miss.
The final stop was the tunnels themselves and they are amazing. Chi told us that 16,000 people had lived in them for 20 years and once you get inside, you can really appreciate how hard that must have been. I did the Vinh Moc tunnels in Hue but the Cu Chi tunnels are far better and a great experience. We had a 100m stretch to go through, which had the option to get out every 10m if it got too much. I'm not claustrophobic but I definitely felt it after about 30m. The tunnels go down 3 different levels, which makes it even tougher at times and they are so small that I only had room to crawl through. I was determined to make it all the way and I'm pleased to say I did. It's a great experience because of how uncomfortable it makes you feel. How those people survived down there so long, I do not know - I think I'd go insane after 20 minutes, let alone 20 years.
End of the tour and the bus dropped us back in the city. I went to meet Jakob and Miriam briefly as they had just arrived. I then spent the rest of the evening chatting to the hostel manager, Duncan (Reading - small world). He had been travelling in Vietnam 10 months previous but then saw the vacancy at this place and hasn't moved on since. Had a good chat with him, mostly about football. He also filled me in on some of the corruption that takes place in Vietnam, namely the fact that he has to make a cash payment to the police at the same point every month to ensure the hostel has ''protection''. He also told me about some run-ins he's had with the local mafia. Good to know! Anyway, a great lad so we swapped contact info and said we would meet up for a beer if he ever comes back to Reading. He seemed pretty settled though so something tells me it might be a while yet.
Day 3: Lazy morning and then I decided to be a kid for the afternoon and went to visit Saigon Zoo, which is massive. A huge selection of animals (Lions, Tigers, Leopards, Monkeys, Elephants, Hippos, etc) and it took me a good 3 hours to get around the whole place. The best were the Gibbons, who are constantly swinging all over the place and have a strange walk that reminded me of the killer from Scream (if you've seen it, you'll know what I mean). Unfortunately, a lot of the animals didn't exactly look happy in their surroundings either.
That evening, I met Jakob and Miriam for a pizza (skipping the local food again I know) and then made a call home to Mummy Bowyer. Jakob was a bit ill so me and Miriam went out for a few drinks and to play some pool. While playing, a local guy pushed past Miriam as she was about to take a shot. After both initially thinking how rude he was, we looked again and noticed he had blood all over his neck and shoulders and a huge piece of glass sticking out the back of his head. He was obviously in quite a panic and his mates quickly got him in a taxi and off to hospital. Some tourists on the other side of the road then gestured as if to say he had been attacked - we didn't get the full story. Reassuring after my conversations with Duncan about Police corruption and the local mafia the day before!
That evening, me and Hannah also booked the next stage of our travels. A 2-day tour of the Mekong Delta.
Day 1: Nightbus from Mui Ne arrived at about 7am. Didn't get a great deal of sleep on the bus so after a long search for a cheap enough guesthouse, I settled down for another couple of hours kip. Feeling a bit more refreshed late morning, I set off to explore the city and of course, get lost. After eventually finding my bearings, I'm ashamed (not really) to say I had to go for a KFC to give me some energy for the day. I've been really good up to this point and have had mostly local food everywhere, but there's only so much rice and noodles you can take!
I got chatting to a couple of locals whilst in there, who were interested in where I was from, my trip so far and my plans for Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City. Had a long talk with them and got some good tips (and directions) for the city. I went to visit the Reunification Palace (also renamed in 1976), which is massive and very impressive. The whole building is immaculate and would be a great place to live - makes you wish you were rich to be honest. Bumped into a couple of American ladies I'd met in Hue so I also caught up with them. One had had a lot of money stolen on a nightbus a couple of nights previous. My guard will be up even more than it normally is for the next one.
A completely different experience in the afternoon as I went to visit the War Remnants Museum. I've been to all the main museums throughout Vietnam but can safely say this is the best, if also, the saddest. The outskirts are filled with old military vehicles, weapons and the famous ''Tiger Cages'', that were supposedly used to detain and torture Vietnamese prisoners of war. This whole area is pretty horrifying.
Inside the museum, it doesn't get much better. The building is filled with hundreds of images from the war and of the many deformities that were caused by the chemicals used during it. There's obviously a strong vietnamese slant on everything you see and the descriptions and quotes that run throughout the building, but you can also fully understand why. Truly horrific and so sad. I spent a few hours working my way through there, needing a break every so often because it's very heavy going. Humbling at the same time though and I'm glad I went there.
Feeling quite drained, I then went to check out the Notre Dame Cathedral, which is just round the corner. My technique for dodging the motorbikes is pretty nailed on now (it's the cars you need to worry about) so I got there pretty fast but unfortunately, it was closed when I arrived. Nice building though so I got some good pics and started heading away when I was stopped by 3 young schoolgirls, who asked if they could interview me for some sort of school work. I was intrigued and happy to oblige so they asked me numerous questions about where I was from, my time in Vietnam and my impressions of the country. Only lasted about 5 minutes but they were made-up I helped them out.
That evening, I took another walk around the city and was swiftly reminded about the amount of hassling you are exposed to. Still annoying at times but I've developed a partial immunity to it by now. Saigon is really nice at night and much easier to walk around than Hanoi (they actually give you some pavement to play with here). Had a walk around some of the night markets as well. All in all, a good day mixing with the locals and checking out the sights. The museum is very harrowing but definately needs to be seen if you're ever in this part of the world.
Day 2: Up early for a day tour to visit the Cu Chi Tunnels, which were used by the Vietnamese for fighting and living during the war. Met a nice girl called Hannah (New Zealand), who was staying in the same hostel and had booked on the trip as well. We chatted most of the way for the 4 hour journey. A good tour guide again (Chi - easy to remember given the destination of the trip), who tested our war knowledge on the way and gave us a briefing on the sort of things we were going to see.
We arrived at the site and started off with an introductory video, giving us more information on the war and the role the tunnels had to play in it. Chi then showed us a map, which illustrated the sheer scale of them (over 200km of tunnels in the area of Cu Chi alone). Quite incredible. After the video, Chi took us on a tour of the site to show us the key areas. There was a selection of basic but brutal boobie-traps that were used and also a Foxhole, which we all got into one-by-one. Pretty snug in there and whilst getting in was easy, getting out was not so for me. Forgot to put my arms out first and ended up getting my shoulders stuck - a lot of good I would be trying to spring a gun on someone quick!
The tour also included an old tank and a selection of ''ant hills'' (air-holes in disguise). Before we reached the tunnels, everyone had the opportunity to fire lots of different types of guns (AK47, M60 etc). I've fired an assault rifle before and the bullets were quite expensive here so I decided to give it a miss.
The final stop was the tunnels themselves and they are amazing. Chi told us that 16,000 people had lived in them for 20 years and once you get inside, you can really appreciate how hard that must have been. I did the Vinh Moc tunnels in Hue but the Cu Chi tunnels are far better and a great experience. We had a 100m stretch to go through, which had the option to get out every 10m if it got too much. I'm not claustrophobic but I definitely felt it after about 30m. The tunnels go down 3 different levels, which makes it even tougher at times and they are so small that I only had room to crawl through. I was determined to make it all the way and I'm pleased to say I did. It's a great experience because of how uncomfortable it makes you feel. How those people survived down there so long, I do not know - I think I'd go insane after 20 minutes, let alone 20 years.
End of the tour and the bus dropped us back in the city. I went to meet Jakob and Miriam briefly as they had just arrived. I then spent the rest of the evening chatting to the hostel manager, Duncan (Reading - small world). He had been travelling in Vietnam 10 months previous but then saw the vacancy at this place and hasn't moved on since. Had a good chat with him, mostly about football. He also filled me in on some of the corruption that takes place in Vietnam, namely the fact that he has to make a cash payment to the police at the same point every month to ensure the hostel has ''protection''. He also told me about some run-ins he's had with the local mafia. Good to know! Anyway, a great lad so we swapped contact info and said we would meet up for a beer if he ever comes back to Reading. He seemed pretty settled though so something tells me it might be a while yet.
Day 3: Lazy morning and then I decided to be a kid for the afternoon and went to visit Saigon Zoo, which is massive. A huge selection of animals (Lions, Tigers, Leopards, Monkeys, Elephants, Hippos, etc) and it took me a good 3 hours to get around the whole place. The best were the Gibbons, who are constantly swinging all over the place and have a strange walk that reminded me of the killer from Scream (if you've seen it, you'll know what I mean). Unfortunately, a lot of the animals didn't exactly look happy in their surroundings either.
That evening, I met Jakob and Miriam for a pizza (skipping the local food again I know) and then made a call home to Mummy Bowyer. Jakob was a bit ill so me and Miriam went out for a few drinks and to play some pool. While playing, a local guy pushed past Miriam as she was about to take a shot. After both initially thinking how rude he was, we looked again and noticed he had blood all over his neck and shoulders and a huge piece of glass sticking out the back of his head. He was obviously in quite a panic and his mates quickly got him in a taxi and off to hospital. Some tourists on the other side of the road then gestured as if to say he had been attacked - we didn't get the full story. Reassuring after my conversations with Duncan about Police corruption and the local mafia the day before!
That evening, me and Hannah also booked the next stage of our travels. A 2-day tour of the Mekong Delta.
Tuesday, 10 January 2012
Mui Ne
Day 1: Early bus to Mui Ne. Met a nice girl called Gemma (London) and ended up having to sit next to this guy who had cuts all over his face and hands, didn't smell too special and wasn't very friendly (the reason I'm including this info will become clear in a second).
We arrived about 2pm. Rooms more expensive here than everywhere else in Vietnam for some reason so Gemma and I decided to go halves on a room. Pretty nice though. When we got settled in, she decided to tell me that the guy from the bus was actually a drug dealer and the battle wounds were from some sort of turf war that she had seen take place the previous night. Nice. Was actually glad she waited until the end of the trip to tell me that.
Really hot here - so much nicer than Nha Trang considering it's only a few hours south. She had also been starved of sunshine in the north so we decided to make the most of it and spend the afternoon on the beach. Only a short walk from our guesthouse and when we got there, there must have been at least 100 people Kite-Surfing and a number of providers right on the beach. Was great to watch - some of them really good and it looks like a lot of fun. I did enquire about doing it but it was also quite expensive ($50 per hour). Would definately like to give it a go if I find somewhere cheaper though.
Unfortunately, the strong winds weren't limited to the water, which meant our time on the beach was pretty short-lived. Was basically a sandstorm at one point and it got quite unpleasant so we decided to get a beer on the beach and watch the sunset.
Went for a walk around town that evening and the 2 of us had a nice meal and a few more drinks. Nice to be out in the evening with just shorts and t-shirt on!
Day 2: Weather was cracking again and not very windy this time (although just as many Kite-Surfers), so Gemma and I spent the whole day on the beach and caught some rays. Out for another meal that evening. Pretty lazy day to be honest so not too much to report. Long overdue as far ad I'm concerned though.
Day 3: We got up early, grabbed some breakfast and then negotiated a deal for 2 motorbikes to take us to the nearby Sand-dunes. I did think about hiring one but given my relative inexperience and my tendency to get lost, decided against it. Really hot again so the ride was quite nice and we stopped briefly to get some photos of a nearby fishing village, which was quite cool.
We arrived at the White Dunes first - very impressive. Masses of dunes and a great contrast with a nearby lake and the blue sky above. Pretty scenic. Besides checking out the dunes, the intention was also to slide down them using a sheet of plastic that you buy from some nearby kids. After buying from this 10 year old, who was without doubt the harshest negotiator I've come across anywhere out here (50,000 Dong or nothing - no budging), I gave it a go and .......it didn't quite workout how I'd planned. Think it was a combination of me being too heavy and the sand being too soft because I slid about 2 yards at a rip-roaring 1mph (much to Gemma's amusement). A few more goes but it wasn't happening. Funny but a shame at the same time because some of the slopes were pretty steep. Think I could even hear the 10 year old laughing from afar as well!
On our way back to our moto drivers, Gemma and I noticed some Ostrich's in a pen to our left. Upon closer inspection, it turned out you could pay to ride one around for one circuit. Given the failure of the dune sliding, I thought why not and climbed aboard. It took off like a rocket and the ride was pretty fun. The circuit was over very quick though (I think it was quite keen for me to disembark).
Anyway, got some cool photos and then we visited the yellow dunes, which were also nice but a lot smaller. Decided to skip the plastic sheets and just walk around and get some photos this time. We then headed back to Mui Ne.
Gemma's bus to Saigon was that afternoon so we said our goodbyes and I spent the afternoon on the beach. Glorious weather again.
That evening, I went to meet Jakob and Miriam, who had arrived from Nha Trang. They were half hour walk from me and were right next to a beach covered in litter and with a visible sewage line going into the water. I told them to check out my beach.
That evening, the 3 of us had dinner and then went to a local bar and ended up getting pretty drunk. Had a great laugh and played pool with some other travellers from Australia. By the end of the night, me and Jakob weren't too bad but Miriam was absolutely hammered. Really funny for us 2. Stayed in their hotel that night.
Day 4: Sore heads all round (Miriam still pissed when we got up) so it was gonna be another lazy day. Jakob and I got some breakfast and then embarked on the long walk back to my nice beach. Spent the day there (getting a bit of a tan now) and Miriam came to meet us later in the afternoon.
Chilled evening. Got some dinner and then just watched a film in their hotel waiting for my 1.30am bus to.....
We arrived about 2pm. Rooms more expensive here than everywhere else in Vietnam for some reason so Gemma and I decided to go halves on a room. Pretty nice though. When we got settled in, she decided to tell me that the guy from the bus was actually a drug dealer and the battle wounds were from some sort of turf war that she had seen take place the previous night. Nice. Was actually glad she waited until the end of the trip to tell me that.
Really hot here - so much nicer than Nha Trang considering it's only a few hours south. She had also been starved of sunshine in the north so we decided to make the most of it and spend the afternoon on the beach. Only a short walk from our guesthouse and when we got there, there must have been at least 100 people Kite-Surfing and a number of providers right on the beach. Was great to watch - some of them really good and it looks like a lot of fun. I did enquire about doing it but it was also quite expensive ($50 per hour). Would definately like to give it a go if I find somewhere cheaper though.
Unfortunately, the strong winds weren't limited to the water, which meant our time on the beach was pretty short-lived. Was basically a sandstorm at one point and it got quite unpleasant so we decided to get a beer on the beach and watch the sunset.
Went for a walk around town that evening and the 2 of us had a nice meal and a few more drinks. Nice to be out in the evening with just shorts and t-shirt on!
Day 2: Weather was cracking again and not very windy this time (although just as many Kite-Surfers), so Gemma and I spent the whole day on the beach and caught some rays. Out for another meal that evening. Pretty lazy day to be honest so not too much to report. Long overdue as far ad I'm concerned though.
Day 3: We got up early, grabbed some breakfast and then negotiated a deal for 2 motorbikes to take us to the nearby Sand-dunes. I did think about hiring one but given my relative inexperience and my tendency to get lost, decided against it. Really hot again so the ride was quite nice and we stopped briefly to get some photos of a nearby fishing village, which was quite cool.
We arrived at the White Dunes first - very impressive. Masses of dunes and a great contrast with a nearby lake and the blue sky above. Pretty scenic. Besides checking out the dunes, the intention was also to slide down them using a sheet of plastic that you buy from some nearby kids. After buying from this 10 year old, who was without doubt the harshest negotiator I've come across anywhere out here (50,000 Dong or nothing - no budging), I gave it a go and .......it didn't quite workout how I'd planned. Think it was a combination of me being too heavy and the sand being too soft because I slid about 2 yards at a rip-roaring 1mph (much to Gemma's amusement). A few more goes but it wasn't happening. Funny but a shame at the same time because some of the slopes were pretty steep. Think I could even hear the 10 year old laughing from afar as well!
On our way back to our moto drivers, Gemma and I noticed some Ostrich's in a pen to our left. Upon closer inspection, it turned out you could pay to ride one around for one circuit. Given the failure of the dune sliding, I thought why not and climbed aboard. It took off like a rocket and the ride was pretty fun. The circuit was over very quick though (I think it was quite keen for me to disembark).
Anyway, got some cool photos and then we visited the yellow dunes, which were also nice but a lot smaller. Decided to skip the plastic sheets and just walk around and get some photos this time. We then headed back to Mui Ne.
Gemma's bus to Saigon was that afternoon so we said our goodbyes and I spent the afternoon on the beach. Glorious weather again.
That evening, I went to meet Jakob and Miriam, who had arrived from Nha Trang. They were half hour walk from me and were right next to a beach covered in litter and with a visible sewage line going into the water. I told them to check out my beach.
That evening, the 3 of us had dinner and then went to a local bar and ended up getting pretty drunk. Had a great laugh and played pool with some other travellers from Australia. By the end of the night, me and Jakob weren't too bad but Miriam was absolutely hammered. Really funny for us 2. Stayed in their hotel that night.
Day 4: Sore heads all round (Miriam still pissed when we got up) so it was gonna be another lazy day. Jakob and I got some breakfast and then embarked on the long walk back to my nice beach. Spent the day there (getting a bit of a tan now) and Miriam came to meet us later in the afternoon.
Chilled evening. Got some dinner and then just watched a film in their hotel waiting for my 1.30am bus to.....
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
Nha Trang
Day 1: Met a nice couple from New Zealand on the nightbus (Bevan & Bridget). At the start of a 3 year trip. Bevan a city fan - assured me that he has been for a while! Arrived about 9am (everyone else on a different nightbus got in at 5am). Me and Alan checked into a place, which the owner reliably informed us was less than 1km to the main town centre. After dropping off our bags, we walked in to discover it was about 3km and therefore much further away from town than we wanted to be. Had come to Nha Trang to celebrate new year here so didn't really want to be walking miles to get to all the action.
After grabbing some breakfast and lining up an alternative guesthouse right in the heart of the city, we went on the long walk back to ours to try and check out after they had lied. Unfortunately, they weren't having it and said we could only checkout if we paid for that night. They refused to give us our passports back so we didn't have any choice than to just stay for that night. No amount of arguing was getting us anywhere, especially with the receptionist's deteriorating English. Funny how it seems to get worse when there's an argument or disagreement!
Anyway, no point letting it ruin our day. The sun was out (an extreme rarity on my trip so far) so the 2 of us hit the beach to be joined later on by Jakob, Miriam and Romona. A nice day chilling on the beach. You could tell I hadn't had much sun up to that point though as I'd obviously now forgotten how to put sun cream on and ended the day with various red patches on my chest, ribs and stomach. Not a good look. Funny though.
That evening, we went for dinner with an Isreali couple Alan knew and we then met all the others again for drinks. Also met an English guy called Tom (Wycombe) and a Dutch girl, whose name escapes me.
Day 2: A day of firsts for me. Alan and I went for breakfast, only to bump into Safiyah (amazing how often this happens). We then decided to hire a couple of Mopeds and explore the city. I've never ridden one before so was a little apprehensive. Then again, with the amount of 12 year old girls that are riding them out here, how hard could it be? Hmm. Bit of a shaky start - went faster setting off than I thought it would and was also heavier than I expected. Soon got the hang of it though and the 3 of us went to check out the National Oceanographic Museum, which was awesome, although I did feel a bit sorry for some of the animals, given the size of their containers.
We saw reef sharks, massive turtles (both firsts for me so I was made up), loads of different species of fish (stone fish were my favourite) and they also had a skeleton of a hump back whale, which was seriously massive. A lot more there to see than we were expecting so we were well pleased.
Next we went to check out the city's Giant Buddha - "giant" is the word. Pretty nice. Also a Pagoda nearby but I'm done with them now - gonna save my temple viewing until I get to Angkor Wat. There's only so many you can look at.
Finally, the 3 of us went to Thap Ba Hot Spring Centre for an afternoon of relaxation. Bit of a mission finding it - I left the directions to Alan & Safiyah while I just tried to control my own Moped. Was great when we got there though and well worth the search. A mud bath (another first), followed by this sidewards shower gauntlet, hot mineral water bath, waterfall and topped off with a swim in the hot pool. It was ace and so relaxing.
We didn't want to leave but had to get back to meet the others for our new year's eve celebrations. Getting back was fun! Pretty confident on the scooter by this point but nothing prepares you for south-east Asian traffic in a pretty big city on new year's eve. It was a bit of a challenge - the roads are organised chaos but we all made it back ok.
Met the others that evening and went out for an Indian, drinks and then down to the beach, where a big party was lined up. Hundreds of people there and we had some sort of Vietnamese popstar performance. The presenter's English wasn't great either - emphasised when she accidentally said "Happy Birthday to all". Pretty funny.
After that there was a decent firework display on the beach - seemed to last forever. We all went out for a few more drinks.
Day 3: Hangover not too bad but I still needed to have a walk around to clear my head a bit. Alan went to Mui Ne that morning and I booked my bus to go the following day.
Weather very unpredictable in Nha Trang so rather than risk a wash-out on the beach, I decided to take the 15min cable car ride over to Vinpearl island and spend the afternoon there. Was pretty good - a lot aimed at kids but there was a couple of decent rides and a really good waterpark, which I went to. Tried to get Jakob to come but he was too hungover and lazy. Got cold late afternoon so I headed back onto the mainland.
Met Jakob, Miriam and Ramona for a meal - not the best. I had my meal about 10 minutes after they had all finished. All had a laugh about it though. Off to Mui Ne in the morning.
After grabbing some breakfast and lining up an alternative guesthouse right in the heart of the city, we went on the long walk back to ours to try and check out after they had lied. Unfortunately, they weren't having it and said we could only checkout if we paid for that night. They refused to give us our passports back so we didn't have any choice than to just stay for that night. No amount of arguing was getting us anywhere, especially with the receptionist's deteriorating English. Funny how it seems to get worse when there's an argument or disagreement!
Anyway, no point letting it ruin our day. The sun was out (an extreme rarity on my trip so far) so the 2 of us hit the beach to be joined later on by Jakob, Miriam and Romona. A nice day chilling on the beach. You could tell I hadn't had much sun up to that point though as I'd obviously now forgotten how to put sun cream on and ended the day with various red patches on my chest, ribs and stomach. Not a good look. Funny though.
That evening, we went for dinner with an Isreali couple Alan knew and we then met all the others again for drinks. Also met an English guy called Tom (Wycombe) and a Dutch girl, whose name escapes me.
Day 2: A day of firsts for me. Alan and I went for breakfast, only to bump into Safiyah (amazing how often this happens). We then decided to hire a couple of Mopeds and explore the city. I've never ridden one before so was a little apprehensive. Then again, with the amount of 12 year old girls that are riding them out here, how hard could it be? Hmm. Bit of a shaky start - went faster setting off than I thought it would and was also heavier than I expected. Soon got the hang of it though and the 3 of us went to check out the National Oceanographic Museum, which was awesome, although I did feel a bit sorry for some of the animals, given the size of their containers.
We saw reef sharks, massive turtles (both firsts for me so I was made up), loads of different species of fish (stone fish were my favourite) and they also had a skeleton of a hump back whale, which was seriously massive. A lot more there to see than we were expecting so we were well pleased.
Next we went to check out the city's Giant Buddha - "giant" is the word. Pretty nice. Also a Pagoda nearby but I'm done with them now - gonna save my temple viewing until I get to Angkor Wat. There's only so many you can look at.
Finally, the 3 of us went to Thap Ba Hot Spring Centre for an afternoon of relaxation. Bit of a mission finding it - I left the directions to Alan & Safiyah while I just tried to control my own Moped. Was great when we got there though and well worth the search. A mud bath (another first), followed by this sidewards shower gauntlet, hot mineral water bath, waterfall and topped off with a swim in the hot pool. It was ace and so relaxing.
We didn't want to leave but had to get back to meet the others for our new year's eve celebrations. Getting back was fun! Pretty confident on the scooter by this point but nothing prepares you for south-east Asian traffic in a pretty big city on new year's eve. It was a bit of a challenge - the roads are organised chaos but we all made it back ok.
Met the others that evening and went out for an Indian, drinks and then down to the beach, where a big party was lined up. Hundreds of people there and we had some sort of Vietnamese popstar performance. The presenter's English wasn't great either - emphasised when she accidentally said "Happy Birthday to all". Pretty funny.
After that there was a decent firework display on the beach - seemed to last forever. We all went out for a few more drinks.
Day 3: Hangover not too bad but I still needed to have a walk around to clear my head a bit. Alan went to Mui Ne that morning and I booked my bus to go the following day.
Weather very unpredictable in Nha Trang so rather than risk a wash-out on the beach, I decided to take the 15min cable car ride over to Vinpearl island and spend the afternoon there. Was pretty good - a lot aimed at kids but there was a couple of decent rides and a really good waterpark, which I went to. Tried to get Jakob to come but he was too hungover and lazy. Got cold late afternoon so I headed back onto the mainland.
Met Jakob, Miriam and Ramona for a meal - not the best. I had my meal about 10 minutes after they had all finished. All had a laugh about it though. Off to Mui Ne in the morning.
Hoi An
Day 1: Up early to catch the bus down to Hoi An. Sat next to a guy called Alan (Chile), who I had met on the nightbus a few days earlier. Chatted the whole way there and we went halves on a room once we arrived in Hoi An early afternoon.
After checking in, the 2 of us went to explore the town (hoping I wouldn't get lost with someone else there this time). Hoi An is pretty small so we had a walk around checking out some temples and the vast amount of Chinese architecture that was there. Lots of suit shops - a prime destination for tourist suit shopping. I met some people who were coming to Hoi An for just that reason. Also a nice river running along the side of the town. Alan and I got some Vietnamese food and then bumped into Jakob & Miriam. Made plans to meet them for dinner that night. Back to the guesthouse without getting lost - probably thanks to Alan.
Met the guys that evening and Sebastien, Mitja and a german girl called Romona was also there. Fantastic meal - one of the best I've had in 'Nam'. I even accidentally ordered a meal for 2 just for myself but it still got suitably devoured. Few beers with everyone afterwards and Mitja told us all about the suits he had got measured up for and bought that day - haha. $500 worth no less!
Day 2: Myself and Alan booked on a tour (tour Chris) to go to My Son, the ruins of the ancient Cham empire. When we booked the tour, we were given the following choice:
- $7 = A tour guide that speaks English, but not very well
OR
- $8 = A tour guide that speaks perfect English.
After both laughing for a bit, I'm ashamed to say I suggested to Alan we go for the $8 option. He wasn't falling for it though and insisted on the $7 deal. And guess what, there was only one guide, who spoke AWFUL English, no perfect English speaking equivalent. Miriam and Ramona were on the same tour and we all laughed at Ramona for picking the $8 option - me trying not to mention I had wanted to do the same!
The tour itself was, without doubt, the worst I think I've ever been on (guess I was spoilt in Hue). We arrived at the sight where hoards of people were and were given a choice between waiting for a golf buggy to take us to the ruins (this could take half an hour) or walking to them ourselves and not have a guide to take us round the ruins. We ended up waiting for the buggy and then didn't have a guide for the ruins anyway! It was a shambles. A real shame as well because they looked quite interesting And it would have been nice to find out more. The 4 of us + a girl called Safiyah who we met were past caring by this point anyway.
The "tour" concluded with a boat trip back to Hoi An and a shocking meal to go with it (cold rice with cabbage). You just don't know what you're going to get with tours out here. This one was awful.
Another hour to kill looking round the town. Only enough for a day in Hoi An though really, nice as it is to look at. That night, me and Alan caught the nightbus to...
After checking in, the 2 of us went to explore the town (hoping I wouldn't get lost with someone else there this time). Hoi An is pretty small so we had a walk around checking out some temples and the vast amount of Chinese architecture that was there. Lots of suit shops - a prime destination for tourist suit shopping. I met some people who were coming to Hoi An for just that reason. Also a nice river running along the side of the town. Alan and I got some Vietnamese food and then bumped into Jakob & Miriam. Made plans to meet them for dinner that night. Back to the guesthouse without getting lost - probably thanks to Alan.
Met the guys that evening and Sebastien, Mitja and a german girl called Romona was also there. Fantastic meal - one of the best I've had in 'Nam'. I even accidentally ordered a meal for 2 just for myself but it still got suitably devoured. Few beers with everyone afterwards and Mitja told us all about the suits he had got measured up for and bought that day - haha. $500 worth no less!
Day 2: Myself and Alan booked on a tour (tour Chris) to go to My Son, the ruins of the ancient Cham empire. When we booked the tour, we were given the following choice:
- $7 = A tour guide that speaks English, but not very well
OR
- $8 = A tour guide that speaks perfect English.
After both laughing for a bit, I'm ashamed to say I suggested to Alan we go for the $8 option. He wasn't falling for it though and insisted on the $7 deal. And guess what, there was only one guide, who spoke AWFUL English, no perfect English speaking equivalent. Miriam and Ramona were on the same tour and we all laughed at Ramona for picking the $8 option - me trying not to mention I had wanted to do the same!
The tour itself was, without doubt, the worst I think I've ever been on (guess I was spoilt in Hue). We arrived at the sight where hoards of people were and were given a choice between waiting for a golf buggy to take us to the ruins (this could take half an hour) or walking to them ourselves and not have a guide to take us round the ruins. We ended up waiting for the buggy and then didn't have a guide for the ruins anyway! It was a shambles. A real shame as well because they looked quite interesting And it would have been nice to find out more. The 4 of us + a girl called Safiyah who we met were past caring by this point anyway.
The "tour" concluded with a boat trip back to Hoi An and a shocking meal to go with it (cold rice with cabbage). You just don't know what you're going to get with tours out here. This one was awful.
Another hour to kill looking round the town. Only enough for a day in Hoi An though really, nice as it is to look at. That night, me and Alan caught the nightbus to...
Hue
Day 1: Arrived early in Hue (did get a shout this time) and I was DESPERATE to finally check into a room somewhere. The trip to Sapa and the extra day in Hanoi had meant 3 consecutive nights of sleeper buses and no shower or room check-in in those 3 days - Nice!
Found a guesthouse and had probably the longest shower I've ever had. Then went to explore the town and market and soon enough got completely lost - that's usually the first thing I do in a new place. It was overcast again - getting used to that. After finding my bearings I went and found Jakob and also bumped into Mitja and Sebastien, who were both going out to explore the city (not Jakob though - he's by far the laziest traveller I've come across. Lol).
That afternoon, I went to have a walk around the Citadel - a former imperial city that was heavily bombed by the Americans. Not a great deal left to see apart from all the damage that was caused. Quite impressive wall surrounding it all also.
Unfortunately, the motorbike drivers in Hue were the most annoying I've come across so far in Vietnam. I think I get targeted being a lone westerner because I couldn't walk 10 yards without being offered Marijuana, a "lady" or a Zippo lighter (or a motorbike ride of course). Really gets on your nerves after a while when you just want to have a look around.
Once I'd had enough of them, I just chilled that evening. Well earned after 3 nights on a bus.
Day 2: I booked onto a city boat tour to ride down the Song Huong river. This included a visit to a 7 Pillar Pagoda and also 3 Royal Tombs. We had a superb guide(Bing), who was probably the best I've had on the trip so far. really knew his stuff and told us loads about Buddhism, the "circle of life", Monks and the lessoning effect of Religion in Vietnam since it became completely communist (85% of the population don't follow a religion apparently). Very interesting.
Back on the boat, which had a kitten on it being picked up its head and then by it's 2 front legs - not nice to see. Not a lone incident out here when it comes to Cats and Dogs though I'm afraid to say. Hard to accept at times.
Met a nice Dutch couple on the boat (Raymond & Annette) who gave me some tips on things to see when I go back to Bangkok. We then went to check out the Tombs and I loved all of them. All different but impressive in their own way. The best one was the Tomb of Minh Mang, which is massive and has a very gothic look to it. The interior was equally impressive with incredible attention to detail. All the tombs had stone soldier statues outside of them as well - looks really cool and made for some good photos. I do intend on putting some up before the 8 months is up - promise.
All in all, a really good tour that illustrated what a difference a decent tour guide can make. Everyone enjoyed it and we definately got our money's worth. Hats off to Bing.
Chilled again that evening and watched the Footy. Easy to access out here and I need my fix every now and again.
Day 3: Another tour (which has now seen me coin the nickname "Tour Chris" from my German friends - haha). This one was a DMZ (Demilitarised Zone) tour of the area surrounding the divide between North and South Vietnam, which saw some of the fiercest fighting in the American war. Was keen to do this and learn some more about it all.
Very early pick up (6am) as the sights are about 100km from Hue. Another good tour guide (Tam), who was 14 when the war started and was clearly still scarred by it all. Knew his stuff but was reluctant to answer too many questions and was obviously extremely resentful towards Americans and didnt want to go into too much detail. This was fair enough I thought and gave us all an insight into how a lot of people feel in Vietnam.
He knew his stuff though and even passed around some basic info for those of us who weren't fully clued up on the circumstances surrounding it all. Met a French speaking Canadian couple (Dominique & Kamile), who were really nice, although not much enjoying Vietnam so far! Also met an older Canadian guy called Carl, who had actually managed to just avoid being enlisted into the war. He also educated me some more.
The tour visited The Rockpile, which used to have an American helipad base on top of it (now a Vietnamese flag), a bridge near Hamburger Hill, that was built after the war and Khe Sanh Combat Base, which was the site for one of the most famous sieges. Some great stuff to see here, including old helicopters, planes, tanks and bombs. Wouldn't say it was a pleasant visit but very interesting and quite humbling as well.
Finally, we crossed the bridge that divides North and South Vietnam and went to visit the Ho Chi Minh tunnels, which had been built for 200 people to live in over a 6 year period . We also got to walk through them, which was cool (if a bit claustrophobic for some). Not me though - I managed to fit through surprisingly easily.
Another good tour, despite there being a lot of bus travel involved. A few people complained about this but I'm not sure how they expected to see all the significant sites in just one day. I enjoyed it anyway.
Found a guesthouse and had probably the longest shower I've ever had. Then went to explore the town and market and soon enough got completely lost - that's usually the first thing I do in a new place. It was overcast again - getting used to that. After finding my bearings I went and found Jakob and also bumped into Mitja and Sebastien, who were both going out to explore the city (not Jakob though - he's by far the laziest traveller I've come across. Lol).
That afternoon, I went to have a walk around the Citadel - a former imperial city that was heavily bombed by the Americans. Not a great deal left to see apart from all the damage that was caused. Quite impressive wall surrounding it all also.
Unfortunately, the motorbike drivers in Hue were the most annoying I've come across so far in Vietnam. I think I get targeted being a lone westerner because I couldn't walk 10 yards without being offered Marijuana, a "lady" or a Zippo lighter (or a motorbike ride of course). Really gets on your nerves after a while when you just want to have a look around.
Once I'd had enough of them, I just chilled that evening. Well earned after 3 nights on a bus.
Day 2: I booked onto a city boat tour to ride down the Song Huong river. This included a visit to a 7 Pillar Pagoda and also 3 Royal Tombs. We had a superb guide(Bing), who was probably the best I've had on the trip so far. really knew his stuff and told us loads about Buddhism, the "circle of life", Monks and the lessoning effect of Religion in Vietnam since it became completely communist (85% of the population don't follow a religion apparently). Very interesting.
Back on the boat, which had a kitten on it being picked up its head and then by it's 2 front legs - not nice to see. Not a lone incident out here when it comes to Cats and Dogs though I'm afraid to say. Hard to accept at times.
Met a nice Dutch couple on the boat (Raymond & Annette) who gave me some tips on things to see when I go back to Bangkok. We then went to check out the Tombs and I loved all of them. All different but impressive in their own way. The best one was the Tomb of Minh Mang, which is massive and has a very gothic look to it. The interior was equally impressive with incredible attention to detail. All the tombs had stone soldier statues outside of them as well - looks really cool and made for some good photos. I do intend on putting some up before the 8 months is up - promise.
All in all, a really good tour that illustrated what a difference a decent tour guide can make. Everyone enjoyed it and we definately got our money's worth. Hats off to Bing.
Chilled again that evening and watched the Footy. Easy to access out here and I need my fix every now and again.
Day 3: Another tour (which has now seen me coin the nickname "Tour Chris" from my German friends - haha). This one was a DMZ (Demilitarised Zone) tour of the area surrounding the divide between North and South Vietnam, which saw some of the fiercest fighting in the American war. Was keen to do this and learn some more about it all.
Very early pick up (6am) as the sights are about 100km from Hue. Another good tour guide (Tam), who was 14 when the war started and was clearly still scarred by it all. Knew his stuff but was reluctant to answer too many questions and was obviously extremely resentful towards Americans and didnt want to go into too much detail. This was fair enough I thought and gave us all an insight into how a lot of people feel in Vietnam.
He knew his stuff though and even passed around some basic info for those of us who weren't fully clued up on the circumstances surrounding it all. Met a French speaking Canadian couple (Dominique & Kamile), who were really nice, although not much enjoying Vietnam so far! Also met an older Canadian guy called Carl, who had actually managed to just avoid being enlisted into the war. He also educated me some more.
The tour visited The Rockpile, which used to have an American helipad base on top of it (now a Vietnamese flag), a bridge near Hamburger Hill, that was built after the war and Khe Sanh Combat Base, which was the site for one of the most famous sieges. Some great stuff to see here, including old helicopters, planes, tanks and bombs. Wouldn't say it was a pleasant visit but very interesting and quite humbling as well.
Finally, we crossed the bridge that divides North and South Vietnam and went to visit the Ho Chi Minh tunnels, which had been built for 200 people to live in over a 6 year period . We also got to walk through them, which was cool (if a bit claustrophobic for some). Not me though - I managed to fit through surprisingly easily.
Another good tour, despite there being a lot of bus travel involved. A few people complained about this but I'm not sure how they expected to see all the significant sites in just one day. I enjoyed it anyway.
Hanoi - Part 2
Arrived back in Hanoi early doors to an unusual sleeper bus experience. Normally, when u arrive at your destination, the driver or one of his mates will bellow out the name of the place so that it wakes everyone else up and because they seemingly can't wait to get you off the bus. Everyone is either fully asleep or half asleep so you just wait for the shout. These buses carry a lot of locals and drop them off all over so it's not unusual for them to stop several times before reaching the end. So we thought nothing of it when the bus stopped about 5am. Nobody gave a shout so we carried on sleeping. An hour passes and an English guy on the bus gets curious and asks the driver where we are, to which he replies "Hanoi". He wasn't too pleased and had a go - personally, I was quite enjoying the sleep. Was really weird though - god knows how long they would have left us on there!
Anyway, back into Hanoi with the day to kill and wondering what to do. In fact, it turned out to be my favourite day there. After dropping my bag off at a travel agency, I got a motorbike ride over to Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum so I could finally check it out. He's practically a god to Vietnamese people so I thought I couldn't really leave Hanoi without having a look.
The Mausoleum houses Ho Chi Minh's body, contained within a glass sarcophagus. I would describe the experience as.........brief! They line everyone up in a queue and it's basically a slow moving conveyor belt to check out the body. You can't take pictures (fair enough) but you also can't stop to have a good look. Maybe that's because sceptics claim it's actually a Madame Tussauds model and having seen the "body", I can see what they mean. I've no idea about maintaining a dead body though so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. I was in and out of the building within about 2 minutes. Brief but still glad I went there.
I then went to check out the war museum (the one I had seen previously was actually the museum of revolution) and this was the best museum in Hanoi. Lots of old war vehicles and weapons all really interesting. Bumped into Andreas in there and then hung around with him for the rest of the afternoon. Went to order some traditional Vietnamese food (easier because Andreas speaks it fluently) and we sat on the street-side toddler play stools they use out here.
Then went to check out the women's museum, which is also interesting and made me feel a bit bad about the women who had tricked me into a photo - didn't realise quite HOW poor they are. (she still tricked me though, which I don't agree with). Also interesting learning how involved the women have been in the wars that Vietnam has had in its history. Had a couple of coffees and some very addictive sesame seeds with Andreas. Then picked up for the night bus to Hue.
Anyway, back into Hanoi with the day to kill and wondering what to do. In fact, it turned out to be my favourite day there. After dropping my bag off at a travel agency, I got a motorbike ride over to Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum so I could finally check it out. He's practically a god to Vietnamese people so I thought I couldn't really leave Hanoi without having a look.
The Mausoleum houses Ho Chi Minh's body, contained within a glass sarcophagus. I would describe the experience as.........brief! They line everyone up in a queue and it's basically a slow moving conveyor belt to check out the body. You can't take pictures (fair enough) but you also can't stop to have a good look. Maybe that's because sceptics claim it's actually a Madame Tussauds model and having seen the "body", I can see what they mean. I've no idea about maintaining a dead body though so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. I was in and out of the building within about 2 minutes. Brief but still glad I went there.
I then went to check out the war museum (the one I had seen previously was actually the museum of revolution) and this was the best museum in Hanoi. Lots of old war vehicles and weapons all really interesting. Bumped into Andreas in there and then hung around with him for the rest of the afternoon. Went to order some traditional Vietnamese food (easier because Andreas speaks it fluently) and we sat on the street-side toddler play stools they use out here.
Then went to check out the women's museum, which is also interesting and made me feel a bit bad about the women who had tricked me into a photo - didn't realise quite HOW poor they are. (she still tricked me though, which I don't agree with). Also interesting learning how involved the women have been in the wars that Vietnam has had in its history. Had a couple of coffees and some very addictive sesame seeds with Andreas. Then picked up for the night bus to Hue.
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