just a portion of the Vietnamese tourist loop

---

---

Arriving in HCMC after a 9 hour journey by bus left me shellshocked at such a busy place.. i was planning on staying in this city for a couple of days but could not wait to get to Nha Trang and see the beach, so after spending only one afternoon seeing the sights (jade palace, war museum and artifact/history museum) i was through with it and jumped on the bus the next morning to make the, what i was told ......6 hour journey to Nha Trang.
Now, this 6 hour trip was actually supposed to be 9 hours, but turned into a 13 hour journey after two tyre blow outs!.. and a little side road entertainment between a couple of tyre stalls obviously not happy that we chose one over the other.. one was a 5 foot nothing fellow build like the hulk and another guy, mildly scrawnier (who resorted to picking up a crowbar!..) but luckily broken up by our bus driver before it got too ugly.. !

Nha Trang was my favourite place up the coast as it was full of energy and lots of places to head out to at night and having the company of 7 Brits made it a great spot!.. we taught english at a place called Crazy Kym´s to the local kids (although extremely hungover, we made the 10am lesson!), a day trip to the islands spotting nemo and dory while snorkelling and drinking locally made red wine in floating tyres out by the boat plus the entertainment of ´the boy band´made it very entertaining!

Hoi An was my next stop up the coast heading by a chocca´s night bus - which was a horrible trip with no sleep and smelly people next to me so arrived not completely altogether! i stayed right in the centre of town and in the middle of the tailor distict!.. something that Hoi An is famous (or infamous) for is all the shoe and clothes makers! over 200 shops and more on the way.. trick is to try and get a good one!.. i met a lovely couple at one who invited me out for dinner with them on my last night and taught me the art of making beaded/string bracelets.. something that all girls are targets of along any stretch of beach in cambodia and vietnam are locals selling these items!.. the markets in Hoi An are also a colourful sight with lots of fruit stalls, seafood sections and many stalls selling snake wine.. ( yes that snake is still in the bottle!)

Last stop up the coast for me was at Hue which is quite the central point on the journey up to Hanoi. This bus journey was my favourite leg, with most of the trip by the coast road and many fishing villages to see. I only spent a couple of days here, which one was spent heading rural to see the tunnels of Khe San, the war museum and once again, the countryside of Vietnam. The tunnels are build in three levels, covering many kilometres inland and up the coast with outlooks to the ocean from the exit points and above land - the ground is evidence to the many bombs that landed with masses of pitholes everywhere!

Overall, i loved the Vietnamese coast! It is fast becoming a tourist hotspot (if not already!!) with many bus loads of tourists completing the loop between thailand, cambodia, vietnam and loas. The beaches are beautiful and the people are ... nice - a little harsher than the Cambodians who are full of smiles, but appreciative of a friendly tourist who can part with a couple of dong (ha! .. the name of their currency) to buy a bagette from their shop rather than the one next door.

---

Photos

Working the fields
A reoccurant image out the bus window on the trip from Phnom Penh to HCMC

HCMC
The hussle and bussle on the streets of HCMC by which moto is the best mode of transport... but dont trust every moto.. they may leave you at places!

Streets of Nha Trang
Much more low key and more time to take in surroundings.

looking for business
One of the stops on the day tour was an optional ride in a raft.. despite their flimsy appearance, these little boats can be seen miles out to sea along the coast of Vietnam and are actually used by fishermen.

Hoi An central markets
The colourful market stalls are home to many strange and odd looking fruits!

Tunnels of Khe San
The tunnels are located about 2 hours from Hue along the coast.. they are very dark and slippery when walking and anyone over 5´8 has problems with the headhieght for pretty much the entire lenght of them.

Comments

[Max]

Safe travels!
Good work Bec! It's great reading your tales, keep 'em coming and travel safe! Love, Max

[Owen]

nice photos
Rebecca, I really like the photos you included in your blog. It is also nice to see that you are putting up some more posts. You are on an amazing trip and I would love to read more about it.