The Big Adventure

---

We arrived in Hanoi on the 8th Oct after yet more problems with visas - even though Vietnam issues Visa on arrival, you require a letter from the Embassy to say that you are elligible! Mark saved the day finding a website that issued express letters within 30mins. We managed to find a computer to print out the emailed letter and go back to the desk to check in successfully - what a stress! After we finally got through immigration we went to find our preorganised hostel pick up to an empty forecourt. They hadn't sent anyone, but luckily there were a couple of guys going to the same hostel and we shared a taxi into town.

On arrival at Hanoi Backpackers we landed right in the middle of the party scene, in a dorm room with lots of young'uns, we had a couple of fun filled days which took the edge off our bumpy arrival. We spent a day going around Hanoi and then organised tours upto Sapa first. We trekked for 2 days and stayed overnight in a homestay in amongst the mountainous rice paddies. There were so many helpful guides - all for the sale of an embroidered bag or a headband. After the first day we arrived around 3pm and went for a swim in a stream at the bottom of the hill - very refreshing. The group at the homestay were great fun and we spent the chilly evening drinking rice wine, talking politics and playing pool.

We arrived back from Sapa and got straight on a bus over to Cat Ba Island, the weather was perfect for a bit of sunbathing and seafood! We had done sapa on a mega cheap budget and then found that after a day of exploring caves, kayaking and beaches we were in a deluxe bungalow right on the beach front. What a nice surprise!

The weather turned rainy and we spent 2 days visiting temples on day trips before deciding to get the night train to Dong Hoi then a bus over to Phong Nha to see a big cave system called the Paradise caves. The rain had started in this area on had moved up the country, however there was widespread flooding delaying the train 3hrs, we arrived and got absolutely soaked trying to find the bus station, then had to wait until 2pm for a connecting bus. The end result was a decision to buy rain covers for our rucksacks. When we arrived we found that the caves were flooded and could not be visited for at least 3 days. So we arranged a bus to leave at 5am the next morning to go to Hue and got the beers in.

Arriving in Hue was interesting as moto and taxi drivers screamed over our fare, whistles were blown and badges waved as apparently I had picked the wrong taxi to take us into town. Finally we got into the backpackers area and found a hotel and hid for a while. It was still chucking it down outside but we decided to spend the afternoon actually doing something other than just travelling. The Citadel and purple city were interesting but soggy, so we treated ourselves to a pizza each and a few mojitos in happy hour for tea! The next morning we had our first long lie in weeks! We got a bus to Hoi An in the afternoon and checked into a fancy hotel with a pool and spa. The Old town was full of lit up colourful lanterns that decorated doorways and restaurants, so we decided to have a bit of a holiday here for 3 days!

The next day we hired scooters. It was obvious it was my first time ever on a bike as I stalled twice in front of the hire shop, so they took me for a mini lesson on a quiet street to make sure I got the hang of stop and go! We went down to the beach got a beer and some spring rolls and then took a drive up the coast, almost out of petrol we stopped at a street stall where they measure out and hand pumped 2l of fuel to see us another 30km to Danang and back. The sun was shining and we were finally having fun again!!

We visited the marble mountains and clambered through caves in a temple where Viet Cong hid to strike the Tet offensive from. Due to the bad weather returning we decide to fly to Ho Chi Mhin City (Saigon). We got a steak and a beer for $4 - before a day of Cu Chi tunnels the next day. The Vietnamese people are very proud of their history of the war and showed us traps and took us down tunnels. We also visited a Coa Doaist temple - a newly emerging religion, with 80% of Vietnamese not being religious was very interesting to see.

We spent a day walking around the city learning more of the atrocities of the War in the War Remnants museum, very somber. We organised a 3 day tour to take us into Cambodia starting in the Mekong delta. We had a 65 year old guide who was viet cong in the war with bullet wounds and stories to show for it. He told us lots about his time in the war and his 35 year old girlfriend and 2year old son, but didn't tell us anything of the tour.

We were supposed to see a bee farm and coconut candy making as well as the boat tour and local singing with exotic fruits, instead we listened to our guide singing strange songs. Would have been fun if I wasn't slightly terrified of him! Day 2 took us to a floating market and then transferred us up to Cham Doc our final port in Vietnam. At the changeover to go up we were told that our guide wasn't coming with us as 7 people had cancelled and we were to take a bus up to a temple to have a look ourselves and then onto Cham doc. This all transpired in about 2mins before our singing guide ran off and jumped onto a moving bus - so we were plonked on a minibus with no english speaking guide and couple from New Zealand who worked out that we were on a public bus who's driver was going to take us on afterwards to see the temple. Then we were dropped at our hotel, where a guide was supposed to meet us, with only a receptionist to answer our complaints! However we did make some good friends with Jeanette and Gary who were also travelling to Cambodia the next day and decided to stick together as there were rumers of civil unrest and riots in Phnom Pen.

In the evening we went for dinner and every dish had peanuts in it, so I had a tasty 2 bowls of boiled rice and soy sauce. We decided to take a cyclo around the city with Peter. He showed us his home which was little more than a shack and pictures of his parents who had died in a storm when fishing. It was difficult to know if any of this was true as the next morning when we left we saw him again, but he didn't even acknoweldge us! We saw a cham village and a fish farm, where the houses floated above the tanks - stinky!

Then we had a guide take us up by boat to the Cambodian border and crossed with no visa issues onto a minibus into Phnom Pen.

We both loved and hated Vietnam at times. We had much better weather in the North, and the people were much kinder and more helpful, in the South there was a lust for life but tourists were just fair game to be ripped off for as much as possible then treated with annoyance at our presence there. This was a totally unforgettable part of our trip.

---