Ha Long Bay, Vietnam, 24 April 2008

Headed to Ha Long Bay in the morning for our overnight trip in a junk (what they called the boats). The docks were chaos! There ware so many boats and tourists, it took ages to get out onto the water.

The boat had 3 levels, rooms on the bottom, dining in the middle and an open aired deck on the top. All the boats look the same and there are hundreds of them. Ha Long Bay is breathtaking, cruising through the bay one of the highlights of the trip. We stopped at a cave which was pretty but full of so many people. Lunch and dinner on the boat was delicious! They had the tastiest food.

We went out for a kayak in 2 man kayaks and I ended up in one with Gary which was great because it meant we went pretty fast but since he liked to initiate water fights I also ended up soaking wet from the retaliation! We came across a lagoon which was surrounded by cliffs and only accessbile by a low cave which was beautiful and peaceful (did the speed boats came through). At the end of the kayak we had a swim off the boat which was freezing cold but worth it. Sorry don't have any photos of the kayaks but others did so will hopefully get photos off them later.

Sleeping in a boat was an interesting experience, it was pretty noisy and the whole bed shook from the motor. But after a couple sea-legs and some air plugs I was out to it.

I also have to share this great sign they had at the temple in the cave. The picture of the guy on the left is classic!

Oh and on the way to the bay we stopped off at a kind of truck stop where they not only had snake rice wine but also goats penis rice wine! It was very disturbing but apparently the Vietnamese believe its good for men, or as Giang put it - "men drink, women happy" :)

Ninh Binh, Vietnam, 23 April 2008

Breakfast was all the way up on the 9th floor which made for a bit of a mission in the morning but a gorgeous view! We're technically not in Ninh Binh but in the outskirts called Tam Coc so it's much quieter.

We had a morning cycle ride around the countryside, which because of its limestone hills is called Halong inland and is beautiful! The prettiest cycle ride we've done so far. Parts of the road were ripped up and pot holes (like most of Vietnam) so it was a very bumpy ride which added to the adventure!

At the end of the ride was the temples of the Kings of the Dinh-Le Dynasty. The temples were packed full of people, it was a popular spot with locals.

We headed for another bike ride in the afternoon and a little boat ride on a row boat. The boats were 2 person size only with hard selling vietnamese women at the oars. We went through a couple of low caves which were awesome and found a small temple at the end. We also scaled the hill and came out at farmland on the other side. We spotted a farmer who had a chat to Giang, apparently he was shocked because no one ever headed over the hill and he thought it was neat we made the effort. I'm glad we did too as the countryside was beautiful.

Ninh Binh, Vietnam, 22 April 2008

We had our day train trip to Ninh Binh today. 7 hours on a train and I was thinking it was going to be a very long trip, but it turned out a whole lot of fun! 10 of us squished into one of the four bed sleeper cabins and made a bit of a party of it. The time flew by!

Also went for a quick explore down the train and experienced the more basic cabins - bit of an eye opener with people sleeping on floors and very little space.

We didn't arrive into Ninh Binh till late so it was pretty much dinner and bed. Not the most exciting day so not much to write sorry.

Dong Hoi, Vietnam, 21 April 2008

We headed through the DMZ (demilitarized zone) and saw the river that used to separate North and South Vietnam and the bridge that connected the two. We got out to take photos but we had a run in with a few officials who wanted us to pay for them so we left.

Around the same area we went to see the Vinh Moc Tunnels, where the Viet Cong lived during the war to protect themselves. The tunnels included wells, kitchens, rooms, and healthcare spaces. There were also bunkers & trenches & bomb craters around the area. The tunnels were awesome and the guide had lots of interesting history information.

There isn't much to say about Dong Hoi, there really wasn't much there at all. It was the quietest town I saw in the whole of Vietnam. But we were staying here as it was close to the Khe Bang National Park. So in the afternoon we took a boat out to the Phong Nha Caves in the Park, they were incredible. The largest cave was enormous and almost mystical.

Hue, Vietnam, 20 April 2008

We had a big motorbike tour of Hue today, we saw so much in one day! My driver wasn't as fun as the one in Can Tho but it was still fun being back on a bike.

We started at a little fishing village which contained a very old bridge from about the 1700s I think. There was a fortune teller there but I didn't get my fortune done. There was a small museum at the village containing traditional farming tools. A gorgeous little old woman who spoke no english demonstrated everything and explained the process through actions. It was wonderful.

We visited the most famous conical hat maker in Vietnam. One of her arms finishes at the elbow but she makes the most beautiful hats. It takes 8 hours to make a hat, she makes two a day but she only gets about $2 per hat. She makes poem hats, called so because she puts patterns in them which only show when you hold the hat up to the light and they tell a story in pictures.

After a small bout of off-roading we headed up a hill that contained American & French war bunkers. You could see almost all of Hue from the hill which is why it was a good spot to control the city from during the war. We then had lunch at a buddhist nunnery where the food was vegetarian and absolutely delicious! We also visited a cathedral and an incense stick maker, and took a tourist dragon boat over to see a pagoda. Little over pagodas but did spot some trainee monks which made it a little more interesting.

Hue has an incredible history as it was the capital during the Nguyen dynasty when Vietnam was under King rule (1800s). There were 13 kings of the Nguyen dynasty and we visited the tomb of King Tu Doc (number 4) who ruled from 1848-1883. The Vietnamese believe you will receive in the after life what you are buried with so the Kings built extravagant tombs in the belief they would live there in their after life. The one we visited had multiple buildings, the tomb, lakes & gardens. The King would also holiday there before his death. It took about 8 months to build and around 3000 people died building it (construction work wasn't very safe back in those days). The Kings have hundreds of wives & concubines who are all sent to the mausoleum when the king dies to look after it and they are not allowed to remarry. There was so much history and I loved hearing about it all.

We had a quick visit at an old coliseum where the royals pitted elephants against tigers but because the elephants represented the king they would mistreat the tigers (not feed them, destroy their claws) so they would always lose. We saw the pens where the tigers were kept and you could see the claw marks.

Final stop was the Citadel and Imperial palace. It really was breath-taking. An imposing citadel wall that continues for what seems like forever and inside another little street/town area. Then another wall & gate which was the entrance into the Imperial Palace where the king lived. The Imperial Palace was huge but unfortunately most of it was burnt to the ground during the French war. They are currently restoring it based on old photographs and other history items and it's due to be fully restored in 2020. Within the Imperial Palace is the Forbidden Palace which was only for the king, his wives, concubines and the eunuchs. We saw a scale model of the whole area (the way it used to be) and it looked amazing.

A really full on day but it was fantastic!

Hue, Vietnam, 19 April 2008

We drove back up through Danang and stopped at China Beach for a kodak moment. I actually think the only reason we stopped was because I told Giang my mum wanted a photo of china beach so we stopped specially :)

On the way to Hue we stopped at an area called Marble Mountain which is actually a collection of mountains named after the elements. The area is full of marble but the marble mountains are protected. We headed up the main hill and climbed a fair few steps but since Giang had told us it'd be 1000 and it was far less it didn't seem like many steps at all. There were some beautiful temples at the top and a cave where the light shone through a hole in the top to create a spectacular effect.

Once in Hue we had a walk up the perfume river (apparently the prettiest river in Vietnam) and checked out their famous bridge. I also shot my second favourite photo of my trip, a boat on the perfume river at sunset. We then went for a royal banquet dinner. At a royal dinner you get all dressed up in traditional royal clothes, two people get to be king & queen and the rest are princesses, concubines and other royal members. It was lots of fun and we had traditional Vietnamese musicians for entertainment.

Decided to head for a drink after dinner and ended up at the DMZ cafe which is a western pub on the river where you write messages on the walls. My name is now permanently etched in Vietnam.

Hoi An, Vietnam, 18 April 2008

We went for a bike ride in the morning around the countryside. We checked out the local fish market and saw some live animals being sold. There was lots of plant spotting (Giang yelling out the name of a plant from the front and the rest of us yelling it down the chain of bikes!) and saying hello to the local kids. We also were lucky enough to stop and watch some guys making roof tiles out of sand & cement, a neat process to watch. And I walked acros my first monkey bridge.

Final stop was the beach, about 4km out of town. A very nice beach but didn't have my togs so couldn't go for a swim.

Most of the afternoon was back at the tailors checking fits, making tiny changes and picking up the final clothes :) I also stopped in at the Yaly workshop where I got to see the tailors making the clothes, and also rug makers and embroiders. It was really interesting to watch. They also had a section which showed silk worms and the process they used to extract the silk.

Hoi An, Vietnam, 17 April 2008

I couldn't be in the town of tailors and not get some clothes made for the UK so the morning was spent at the tailors :). We started at a shoe store because Sarah wanted to get some boots made and I got tempted while I was there so I got some brown leather boots tailor made. Unfortunately they turned out to be quite a mission as I had to go back 4 times before they fit right and I still wasn't 100% happy as they weren't as tall as I'd asked for, looking back I should have avoided shoe making, but the rest was fantastic!

We went to Yaly which is the most famous and biggest tailor shop, when you arrive you get allocated an assistant who will talk with you about what you want, help you decide on a cut and material and then measure you up. I wanted a suit made for london but I only had a rough idea on what I wanted, luckily my assistant was fantastic and helped me to create something that would work. I ended up with a suit (with pants & skirt), 2 shirts and a dress. The dress turned out gorgeous! It was a real gamble because I just picked the design out of a mag and changed a couple of aspects that I thought would make it suit me better, than picked a material and hoped for the best, but it turned out great, I was so happy. The suit was also fantastic and I liked the pants so much I had them make me a second pair in black. All of this and it took them only 8 hours to make them. It was amazing. I strongly recommend anyone going to Vietnam to save some money and get some clothes made, the whole process is half the fun!

In the afternoon Sarah, Leah, Kelly & I went to the Hoi An orphanage to meet the kids and take them some toys. Most of the kids are disabled from various things both mental and physical. The orphanage was better than I expected thanks to a lot of work volunteers have done over the last couple of years and donations from various organisations, but there was still plenty of things they were missing. One room had babies and children who were confined to their beds because of severe deformities, that was the hardest to take. One of the babies was only a few weeks old and so tiny. We spent a lot of time in the classrooms of kids learning and developing their motor skills. It was fun playing with them and spending time with them. One of the kids had cerebral palsy and loved cameras, he was so smart with them and could work out any camera you gave him within an instant and took some really cool photos.

For dinner Giang had booked us in for a cooking class at a restaurant on the river. Didn't know what to expect but it was awesome! The woman who ran it was hilarious, she had a great sense of humour and made the whole night so much fun. It was 5 courses; sweet & sour chicken soup, spring rolls, papaya & pork salad, fish in banana leaf and morning glory sauteed with garlic. We all sat around a table to help chop and prepare, then we would gather around the cooker when it was time and help throw things in or turn spring rolls. The teacher was incredible and she could rattle off the whole receipe from her head including all the ingredients, she apparently knew around 140 dishes. The food was tasty, I can't wait till I can try and cook them at home! I think the cooking class was one of my favourite things of the trip.

Hoi An, Vietnam, 16 April 2008

Went for a morning walk out to some waterfalls, it was a bit hard as I was still a bit iffy from the day before but it was nice place. We had a late afternoon flight to Danang which is so neat at night. It's all lit up at night and was wicked to drive through. We were heading to Hoi An which is south of Danang and a much smaller town but has more to see and do.


Hoi An is an awesome little town! It's full of tailors and quaint shops and has a beach within biking distance. Hoi An has a section called the Old Quarter which is often closed to motorbikes, making it a lovely area to walk around in. There are plenty of shops selling art, silk-work, photography, lacquerware, lamps and other such beautiful things. I honestly could have easily spent a week in Hoi An. It was also much more popular with tourists so we saw a lot of westerners around which was quite a change from the highlands where we had lots of people staring at us.

We had dinner at a restaurant called the Banana Leaf cafe which overlooks the river. The food in Hoi An was fantastic. We also learnt the toast "Mot hai ba Yo!" which basically means 1..2..3..cheers :)

Buon Me Thuot, Vietnam, 15 April 2008

We left the home stay for a one hour walk through the village and countryside to meet our bus. Incredibly interesting watching the locals going about their morning tasks, drying rice and other farming activities, but unfortunately the sun was a killer and I was struggling even with this walk. By the end of it I was feeling very ill and it soon became obvious I had a small case of heat stroke.

I was a bit of a mess for the morning and it took me all afternoon to feel better. Did manage one thing today, went for an elephant ride through a lake. The elephants go all the way up to their eyes which I imagine is a nice swim for them. Two of the girls had a short elephant which meant they got a little wet when it got into the deepest part of the lake :)

Central Highlands, Vietnam, 14 April 2008

Today was the big trek day, 18km although by the end it didn't feel like that long. The trek went fine but I didn't deal with the heat so well, it was very hard trekking in that kind of heat. We started across rice paddies which meant walking along narrow walkways and slim bamboo bridges, I didn't quite make one of them and ended up in the stream. John (one of the older guys) was nice enough to take photos instead of helping me out of the mud :) We had a big climb for about half an hour then the rest was pretty flat through bush. It was great to see a bit of the countryside.

We were met at the end of the trek by a couple of boats. The guys used their feet to row the boat which I'd never seen before. A nice relaxing trip over the lake with only a few questionable moments as the boat slowly filled with water. At the other end of the lake we had lunch and a swim. We also had the chance to eat Rat. With our group motto being "why the hell not" I decided to give a go. The wasn't much meat, mainly fat/grisle, and it was covered in chilli so thats all I could taste.

Another half hour stroll to our second homestay. Very similar to the other minority tribe with long houses, this homestay was part of the Mnong group. No running water this time, just a bucket & well we pulled up to have a freezing semi-shower, and the most basic toilet we'd encountered so far - a long drop squat!

Central Highlands, Vietnam, 13 April 2008

It was a 5 hour drive up into the highlands but it wasn't as bumpy as the Mekong. We dropped our big packs at a hotel in Buon Me Thuot and only had our small backpacks in preparation for our trek. Another couple hours drive on to our homestay and a small walk. I was expecting a big walk on the first day but it was only a little stroll really. Was nice seeing all the rice paddies though and I snapped my favourite shot of the trip, a burning field at sunset. It turned out amazing.

Our homestay was with the minority Ede tribe who live in longhouses on stilts. The longhouses are very similar to a sleeping room on a marae so I found it a lot more comfortable than the first home stay. There were animals everywhere - pigs, chickens, cows, buffalos, dogs, ducks, roosters we had our first very basic "happy house" (Giang - our guide's term - for toilet). It was a squat toilet in a bamboo shed with a flush bucket. No shower.

When we got there the men were busy preparing the meat for dinner. They had killed a dog and were chopping up the meat. Thankfully we missed the killing part but the head was in the fire and they were stretching out the intestines (which they eat). I was very happy to find out we wouldn't be sampling dog that night.

This tribe is matriarchal so the women rule the village and they choose who they want to marry etc. I loved sleeping in the long house with the group, we had a lot of fun and plenty of laughs!

Nha Trang, Vietnam, 12 April 2008

Second day in Nha Trang and we spent it at the mud pools and hot springs. The mud pools were awesome! You start with a mineral shower, then jump into the mud bath. All 12 of us were in one pool and the mud was very light and milky. We were allowed in there for about 20mins and you cover yourself with it, including your hair! You get another mineral shower after you rinse off and then head through the "car wash" - what we called a high pressure water massage - then we soaked in a hot spring (bout 40 deg mayb), but you can't last too long in them.

We had lunch there and I had my first taste of a lemon-grass & chili dish. It was one of the yummiest dishes I've every had. I'm definitely going to make it at home.

Went for a swim at Nha Trang beach in the afternoon where the weather was hot on the top and freezing cold on the bottom, an interesting feeling. Sadly there is a lot of rubbish wherever you go in Vietnam and the beach is no exception so we found ourselves swimming with plastic wrappers and other bits and pieces.

Nha Trang, Vietnam, 11 April 2008

Nha Trang was our beach side stop of the trip. A very popular town for tourists. We spent the day out on the water. Our first stop was a local fishing village on one of the islands, we got to ride on the round basket boats but thankfully we had other people to steer us, it looked difficult! The kids loved us in that village, always running up to us and saying hello.

We had swimming & snorkelling off an island but I just swam near the boat and used the boat as a jumping pad. A few of us jumped off the roof of the boat which was wicked fun. Lunch was on the boat, a very tasty seafood buffet. The food in Vietnam has been incredible.

Final stop was at a rock beach where we sunbathed, swam and got massages, manicures & pedicures. I didn't get a massage, they looked every rougher than the Thai ones!

Since it was Friday we decided it was party night and headed out for a few drinks. Found a bar that had happy hour 2 for 1 so I had a couple margaritas there. Then we went to The Sailing Club, a very popular bar on the beach where you can sit and drink on the sand. Music was terrible but had a great night. One of the girls in my group, Jade, knew the owner (the brother of her workmate or something like that) so we ended up getting free drinks all night.

Unfortunately Jade & Sarah got mugged by a transvestite on a bike on their way home from the pub (they were the last to leave). They were ok but Jade's necklace got stolen, she managed to hold onto her bag luckily. Got a phone call at 4am from Sarah (who i was sharing a room with) to tell me to meet her downstairs. Not a nice ending to the day.

P.s. that's Leah & Jade in the snorkels :)

Can Tho & Saigon, Vietnam, 10 April 2008

We had a boat trip out to see the floating markets in the morning. Mainly fruit and vegies but it was incredible the amount of boats that were on the river. The selling boats had a tall metal pole attached to them where they tied the produce they were selling. Was crazy seeing a pole with carrots, cabbage, sweet corn etc tied to it!

Headed back to Ho Chi Minh City (or Saigon) where we took to the markets for some bartering. A real art that I haven't quite mastered yet. The market was also my first experience of being hounded by the Vietnamese, which considering how bad Thailand was I think is pretty good!

Tried Pho for the first time (pronounced fur), its a noodle soup - chicken beef or pork, noodles, Chinese basil, mint, shallots, bean shoots, chili, lime, soy & pepper in a broth. It is a staple here in Vietnam and is delicious!!! I'm getting addicted to chili and have most of my food hot now. Loving it!

Tonight was our overnight sleeper train so headed to the train station about 10pm. We had soft sleeper which is the best you can get, 4 beds in a little cabin with a table in between and very little room for bags. But the beds were more comfy than the home stay and I slept really well.

Update!

Hi all, just a quick update to let you know my Vietnam trip has come to an end. It's the last day here which is really sad. My blog is very behind because internet access has been pretty terrible but don't worry I'll keep adding the Vietnam adventures when I get to London so you'll still read about everything I did.

I fly out to Bangkok in a few hours and then my 13 hour flight onto London. Talk again soon!

Can Tho, Vietnam, 09 April 2008

We traveled from Chau Doc to Can Tho by boat today. Was a 9 hour journey in total so I was a little concerned about sea sickness but the trip was fantastic. The boat had hammocks which were great for a snooze and it turned out to be a really relaxing way to travel.

Once in Can Tho we found our home stay where we were all in one big room out the back of the house, on very simple camp stretcher style beds and mossie nets. We even had a couple of crocodiles a few metres out the back door!

We headed out on some bikes for a ride around the village, along a very narrow path which we shared with the motorbikes. Unfortunately one of the girls, Leah, had a bit of trouble and ended up riding off the path and into the river! It was one of the funniest things I've seen in awhile :) She couldn't stop laughing herself.

Dinner was delicious at the homestay! Elephant fish, noddles, rice paper, vegies, winter melon soup. All sorts of goodies. I also tried snake rice wine! Very brave of me. Imagine sake but with a snake fermented with it. It was incredibly potent.

Power was very questinable at the home stay and I had the luck of it going off while I was in the shower (cold shower only). A bit of a struggle to shower in the pitch black and find your clothes after but a well placed candle by the wife meant I managed.

Chau Doc, Vietnam, 08 April 2008

Headed for a boat trip down the river today. First stop was a man made canal which acted as the temporary border between Vietnam & Cambodia. I didn't get to step foot on Cambodian soil but we came close!

We visited a fish farm which was a house floating on the water with nets to keep the fish under the house and holes in the floor to feed them. Sorry Dad, I'm not sure what sort of fish they were. They move the fish farms too, we saw a couple of boats pulling a house with a few guys in the water helping to make sure it didn't hit anything.

Visited a local Cham village, a miniority group. After crossing a rickety bridge we visited a local weaver who made beautiful scarves & head bands. The kids here are a little more cheeky and try and sell you food, then if you buy any they say they're hungry & haven't eaten in days so you give it to them but they just resell it again. A very smart little scam.

In the afternoon we headed out for a motorbike ride around the area. It was amazing. You remember what I said about the roads in Vietnam, and the chaos and the honking? Now try and imagine that from the back of a motorbike. It's exhilirating! We didn't drive ourselves, we each had a local Vietnamese driver who knew the roads and the way to drive. Our drivers made a bit of a competition out of it, always fighting to be at the front and honking lots to be cheeky. Our tour leader was at the front though and they weren't allowed to pass him so they couldn't go too fast.

Saw lots of rice paddies (including people burning them), 2 million dollar mountain (the US spent 2 mil trying to kill the Viet Cong from the mountain with no luck), sugar palm & cashew trees.

We visited Ba Chuc, a village next to the Cambodian border which was wiped out on April 18, 1978 by the Kymer Rouge (from Cambodia). 3,157 people were killed, only 3 survived. It was an incredibly devastating story. We visited one of the three survivors, she still lives there and runs a drink stop. Her husband & six children were all killed in front of her. She's in her mid 60s now. It was sheer luck she survived herself as she was shot in the neck. We went to the shrine they had, a glass case containing all the skulls of the dead ordered by age. The amount of children and babies was disturbing. I didn't take a photo as it seemed disrespectful and I know the image will stay with me for a long time. We said a pray with incense sticks before we left, as the Vietnamese believe the dead will help your prayer and help protect your loved ones.

Final stop was Sam Mountain that overlooks both Vietnam & Cambodia where we watched the sunset. Sadly not much of a sunset as there was a heavy haze blanketing the countryside. The ride back was a lot of fun and I'm starting to think I'd really like to get a motorbike! :)