Day 225 June 22nd 2007, Back to Bedlam - Mui Ne to Ho Chi Minh City


The bus journey to Ho Chi Minh, or Saigon as the bus driver informed me (some sort of North South divide obvious still exists) was on par with other journeys in Vietnam, late and long. After finally arriving 4 1/2 hours later, saying no to everyone we walked past, we eventually reached the calm of our hotel. Not before accidentally knocking flying, an aggressive old lady who was trying to get a referral for bringing us to our hotel. So I'm not labelled some sort of old lady basher here's what happened.

The streets of Ho Chi Minh are packed and with our 20kg backpacks, looking like turtles you have to force your way through the crowds. This old lady who I knew was following us, kept dodging from side to side, trying to make out that she wasn't following us. So near our hotel I spun round to tell her to go away (politely of course) unfortunately for her she had just changed sides again, was right next to me and got side swiped by my backpack. She then asked me in her best Viet-American slang to chill out - interesting.

Highlights: Arriving at hotel, air con on and door locked.

Day 224 June 21st 2007, Sauce & Sand - Mui Ne

You have two options for seeing the local sights of Mui Ne, on the back of a moped or slightly safer a jeep. By Jeep I mean a classic jeep, not a fancy 4x4. So setting off in transport more fit for Hannibal out of the A-Team we followed the smell to our first stop the fishing town.


One of the town's main and perhaps only export is fish sauce. You don't need to buy any while staying here, you can absorb it through your skin. Luckily we had missed the main streaming of fish, they were now in the drying phase, the fishing boats (below) idle until tomorrow.


Next stop the lotus lake and white (yellow) sand dunes, all very scenic. After enjoying the view for a few minutes we were commandeered by a persistent 10 year old and dragged up the dune for some boarding.


After negotiating an extortionate rate, which the young mercenary tried to up every few minutes, we got to shoot down the dunes on a very high tech sled. The competition for our $ was tough and on one occasion to make sure I didn't go off on another sled, our guide decided to use me as a surf board and go down the slope with me.


Realising after a few runs that he wasn't going to get any further money from us (despite shouting money, money, money as loud as he could) our guide asked if we could buy him a drink. Sure no problem - he then tried to sell this to another tourist. Cheeky but you have to admire them for it.

Last stop of the morning was the red canyon, rumored to be caused by a volcano (since vanished) provided some excellent photos. The color was incredible, what I had expected Ayers Rock in Oz to look like

Highlights: Do you fish sauce with that?

Day 223 June 20th 2007, Crap Soup & Music - Mui Ne


The Sun was shining and with a cool sea breeze there was nothing for it except to chill out on the beach again. The food in Vietnam is pretty good, perhaps due to the French involvement with the country. However in the Celine Dion bar all was not good on the menu. I wasn't curios enough to try the crap soup even if it was French style.


After another easy day on the beach, the Celine Dion bar (real name unknown) lived up to its reputation, another complete play of one of her albums provide the back drop to dinner. Below is another view of the bungalow.


Highlights: Not Celine Dion

Day 222 June 19th 2007, Beach Bungalow - Nha Trang to Mui Ne

Another bus ride and 4.5hrs later we were in the quiet coastal town of Mui Ne, being the rainy season (which has been dry so far) it was quiet here and many of the hotels were almost empty. Upon arrival at our pre booked hotel, I was not impressed to find a new wing being built next to the pool. So much for a relaxing time, the receptionist tried to assure me that I wouldn't notice the noise - yeah right its quiet now, but then its lunchtime - TAXI

The building sites all across Vietnam are unavoidable given the economic boom the country is going through, tourism playing its part. We did manage to find a little set of bungalows right on the beach and no where near a building site, we booked in straight away. Below is the view from our room.


After an afternoons rest and relaxation, we found a quiet local bar, where unfortunatley they insisted on playing Celine Dion, never mind. Here we checked out the cocktail menu once again, to esnure it was in order, before staggering back to our beach side bungalow along a starlit beach.

Highlights: Finding somewhere to relax in Vietnam

Day 221 June 18th 2007, Underwater Adventures - Nha Trang

After completing our PADI course in Australia, earlier this year, we were keen to get back under the water. Being Vietnam this is pretty cheap to do $40 to Rainbow Divers buys you 2 dives, all the equipment hire and an underwater guide (Shelley still doesn't trust my navigation)


Although not comparable to diving on the great barrier reef there was still quite a lot to see here. A few Moray Eels and some interesting caves filled with fish to swim through. My air efficiency has improved somewhat since Australia allowing me to stay under for over 50min's. Still not as good as Shelley, which according to Shelley is because I flap my arms about all over the place. Oooh listen to the expert now ;-)


Above: Beach front apartment, sea view. One of the shacks that line the coast near the dive sites. After diving the rest of the day was spent snoozing on one of Na Trangs private beaches. A few $ ensures an almost hassle free afternoon, the beach vendors (sneaky old ladies for the most part) occasionally manage to sneak past the security guards.

Highlights: Cool underwater caves

Day 220 June 17th 2007, First Again - Hue to Nha Trang


I have had enough of buses so was more than happy to pay for a taxi back to Da Nang airport near Hoi An. So 10 times the price but the 4 hour bus journey took about 1.5 hours. This meant that for the second time on the trip we were the first people at the airport. At least this time it was open (In Chile we arrived even before the staff)


My first impression of Nha Trang reminded me of Cairns in Australia, with a bit of the wild west about it. Some nice bars along the beach, streets of backpacker hotels and Intenet cafes. Being the best place to Scuba Dive in Vietnam there was also a dive tour booking office on every corner. The beach front as you can imagine with it being Vietnam was full of street vendors. One of the best was a lady pushing a talking scales around, powered by a car battery. You may have seen these in places such as Boots back in the UK. Just having had dinner I decided it was not the best time to weigh in.

Highlights: Not getting the bus back from Hue

Day 219 June 16th 2007, Stuck Here - Hue

We had planned to catch a flight to Na Trang today but our plan of booking at the last minute ensured that the flight we wanted was full. After cursing the hotels workmen for our early wake up call, then cursing the hotel as its lifts weren't working (something the hotel didn't see as an issue), we decided it was time for a coffee. After all I had no one left in the hotel to argue with.

I guess they may have been a little upset from last nights booking incident. Deciding to stay another night I asked the receptionist to book us another night. Sure no problem that will be twice what you paid for the existing booking. After refusing to pay this, the hotel refusing to budge I sat down at their Internet PC a few meters away. Booked a room for another night at the original price, printed out the confirmation, slapped it down on the desk - have a nice evening.

Highlights: The power of the Internet

Day 218 June 15th 2007, Lords and lots of Ladies - Hue


What city tour would be complete without a visit to the tour guides family craft shop. The first stop on thee tour, no point bringing you here after you've spent all your money. As usual you get as much time as you like here with about 30 minutes scheduled for every other stop on the tour, annoying but what did I expect for $4.


Hue is the old capital of the feudal lords which ruled much of southern Vietnam from the 17th to 19th century. The banks of the Huong River (also known as the perfume river) are lined with the tombs of these lords. When I say tomb I'm talking about a huge temple like complex.


Why would a lord need such a place? Most were in use during their reign as parks of leisure and in some cases to house the lords ladies. Some lords had as many as 500 concubines, in one case producing 168 children.


The tombs are very well preserved, each varying slightly from lord to lord. Perhaps the most interesting belongs to one lord who ruled during the time of the French occupation of Vietnam.


On route the tour guide described this lords tomb as being made of concrete. So I therefore had some vision of a 60's car park in mind. Sure it was made of concrete, but huge steep steps (above) and at the top a set of slaves (below) for want of a better description. These were the lords servants who would look after him in the afterlife. The lord who built this tomb was particularly unpopular with his people. He associated himself very closely with the French and by the sound of it overindulged in a lavish champagne lifestyle. Apparently though now concubine, this lord had other persuasions.


The last stop of the day was at the city's citadel . Intended as a copy of the Forbidden city in China, the walls enclose a 2km sq area. Many of the citadels buildings were destroyed by American bombing but some restoration efforts are slowly bringing it back to its former glory.


Now would you catch a lift with this guy (below). Probably not but if we wanted to get back to our hotel via the river it was a better option than swimming. The river boat came complete with tacky souvenir shop (sorry spent all our money at the guides Auntie's shop)


The trip along the river does give you the chance to take in the views of the nearby river bank, the occasional half sinking fishing boat and the odd riverside property. In Vietnam river side property doesn't seem to be that popular, probably because of the mosquito's as the smell isn't that bad at all.


Highlights: Some amazing Feudal Lord extravagance inspired architecture

Day 217 June 14th 2007, The Bus is Cheap for a Reason - Hoi An to Hue

For $2 you can enjoy a luxury bus trip to Hue, the old capital of Vietnam. The highlights of this 150km bus journey include

A tour of the city to pick everyone up - 1 hour
A stop at a local garage to mess about with one of thew wheels - 30 mins
A stop off at a friends cafe on route - 30 mins
The actual drive - 2 hours


As you can imagine you are not in the best of moods after this sort of journey, you are certainly not in the mood for the fun and games that start once you get off the bus. One of the tricks in Vietnam is to copy the name of successful hotels and then try and trick you into staying there. What these hotel owners fail to realize is that backpackers actually know this and read the guidebooks, surprise surprise this hotel isn't where its supposed to be on the map.

The next trick is to try and convince you that the hotel you want in 5km away and you need a taxi. Again the map tells me its in the next street.


There was some sort of festival on in Hue, outside each of the shops and houses the owners had little fires going, with the poor street lighting it actually looked pretty nice. It probably also helped with the rubbish issue.

Highlights: Getting off that damn bus

Day 216 June 13th 2007, Beach Bums - Hoi An

The beach here is beautiful, 40kms long and about 20kms up the coast is China beach. This is where the Americans used to take some time out from the Vietnam war. Being the wet season which has so far been pretty dry its the quiet season for tourists. We had the beach pretty much to ourselves.



So a day at the beach followed by an attempt at ordering one of everything on the cocktail menu.


Highlights: One more Mojito please

Day 215 June 12th 2007, Shopping Trip - Hoi An


Hoi An is a beautiful example of old Vietnam. The city has preserved one of the streets as a heritage site. Lined with cafes, tailors for which Hoi An is famous for and craft shops. Amongst the fake t shirts and caps you can find pretty much any garment made from silk. Having to pay to enter the street there are no taxi drivers or street vendors to hassle you, making shopping for once in Vietnam a pleasant experience.


Above: What every house needs - a gong. I was very tempted to bring one home, instead we settled for a wooden Buddha, our house is going to be full of souvenir chintz by the end of the trip.


Then of course it was back to beach

Highlights: Chilled out souvenir shopping

Day 214 June 11th 2007, Seaside - Hanoi to Hoi An


Citys never sleep but as our train rolled into Hanoi at 5AM I would have expected at least some of Hanoi's inhabitants to be in bed. No such chance but at least it was pretty easy to get a taxi to the airport. There were two flights to De Nang, the first at 5:30AM, the second at 11:45AM. We would never have been in time for the first, so it was quite a wait after we arrived at the airport just after 6AM. As you can see from the photos we practiced being tired and grumpy, whilst dodging cockroaches in the airport cafe.




All signs of tiredness soon vanished when we arrived at our beautiful hotel in Hoi An, right on the beach with an amazing pool. Its pretty hot here, 36 C with the pool at 32 C and the sea at 29 C. Nice sea breeze though so it doesn't feel very humid.




Highlights: Arriving at our stunning hotel.

Day 213 June 10th 2007, Over Priced - Sapa to Hanoi


I'm not sure if my strategy to adapt my system to South East Asia has been a good one. Eating the local food and brushing my teeth with tap water, may be the reason for my 3rd course of antibiotics this trip. Either that or being at altitude again is disagreeing with me. In Australia we brought something called a gastro pack from the docs. It contained different strength tablets depending on the symptoms, lets just say I'm on the strongest set. With an overnight train journey ahead I'm hoping they start working pretty quickly.

There is a huge variation in pricing here, the bus from the hotel to the train station costs $20, the one from the tour office down the road costs $2. Why am I surprised at the quality of the $2 bus? The taxi drivers seem to work on a "how rich do you look basis" and despite my best efforts to look like I haven't washed for a week, I reckon I'm still being charged what I should.


After an hours trip back down the mountain to Lao Cai we boarded the overnight train. As you can see from the photo very luxurious. This time our carriage was at the back of the train so a little quieter.

Highlights: Luxury train ride

Day 212 June 9th 2007, Village People - Sapa

After a full days rest we were ready to explore Sapa's surrounding countryside. Meeting up with our tour guide Tan we set off via jeep to the first mountain village on our tour and the start of our 17km hike. Whats that Tan 17km I thought you said it was 10km yesterday.


Vietnam has a population in excess of 80million people but a large percentage live in rural areas. The villages we visited today would have to be the definition of rural. Pigs, chicken and water buffalo roam free along with the village kids. The villages are surrounded by paddy fields, which were being ploughed by the treasured water buffalo. When not in use the kids make good use of the buffalo as pay things (below) They are unbelievably passive creatures.


Many of the villagers were at work in the fields planting a new crop of rice. Water flows constantly from the mountains, the only electricity is from small water turbines. It truly is a different way of life. The path, muddy from last nights storm took us through some amazing scenery. We encountered some very cheeky kids, all more than happy to pose for a photo.




Above: Water Buffalo poses for a photo, their curiosity makes it easy to get a great photo. We visited about 4 villages in total, stopping in one for lunch. The chickens running around everywhere were a bit concerning, but not half as worrying as the visit to one of the houses. After being invited in we shared some tea with one of the residents, a young guy who surprisingly wasn't at work. Noticing some marks on his arm we enquired with our guide as to what these were. They looked like red stretch marks. "Oh that's a local cure, they pinch different parts of the skin for different ailments", "what was wrong with him" I asked - "the flu" said our guide " does he still have it" - "no hes ok now"

The villages we visited, were all at different stages of development, one had electricity and concrete buildings, another wooden shacks where people were living in their own waste. The one photographed below was somewhere in between.


The sheer number of paddy fields was incredible, every free space has been put to use. This included the footpath and a number of times we had to balance our way along slippy mud walls.


If you walked to slowly like the couple in the photo below, a group of local women would latch onto you and start their sales pitches. The umbrellas are for sun protection, the little boy being photographed has a small bird cage with a couple of little birds in. We found out from our guide that most of the "locally made crafts" are Chinese imports. The Chinese border being just to the North of Sapa.


This is my entry for wildlife photographer of the year, the pigs were in a pig pen outside one of the houses. I guess they must have thought I was coming to feed them.

Highlights: A glimpse of rural Vietnam

Day 211 June 8th 2007, Here Little Piggy - Lao Cai to Sapa

Lets say I have had better nights sleep. Feeling rough as anything I was not in the mood for any messing about. After paying for the bus, only once did I have to tell some scrounger that I wasn't going to be paying him as well. It seems that the driver had pocketed his share and he thought I would see him right. Below: A view of the mountain town of Sapa

The journey from Lao Cai to Sapa took about an hour, dropping us off in the towns square. Sapa is a bit of a tourist spot, popular for the visits to the mountain tribe villages. A group of mountain girls greeted us, their command of the English Language was quite impressive and strangely enough they didn't try and sell us anything. All they wanted to know was our names and where we were from. Perhaps part of some wider long term sales strategy.


In the photo above the pigs are about to be loaded on the moped. One of the more interesting cargos we've seen aboard the millions of Vietnam's scooters. After a short walk we finally got to our hotel, where we went straight back to bed.

Highlights: The beautiful mountain scenery