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Published: January 30th 2008
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It feels like I am zapping on the television. One moment I'm in India, then in Singapore, and suddenly I find myself surrounded by Vietnamese. All very different places. Yesterday morning, I even woke up not being sure whether I was still in India or in Vietnam. I landed here without doing any research on the country. Didn't even have a Vietnam "bible" yet. But that one is easy: they sell fake copies everywhere here. The newest versions even. So slowly I am hearing stories from other travelers of where to go and where not to go. It's true what people told me: "After India, the rest of South East Asia will be peanuts". Most importantly, people remain friendly and polite, even when an attempt to sell you something has failed. They never approach in an aggressive way with an impressive collection of stories to press your guilt buttons. The food is generally nice. Where as the common dish in India is rice with some masala sauce and/or dal, it is noodle soup here. And you get to add the additional ingredients to your own taste. Freshly plucked lemon grass, coriander and lime :-)
So Ho Chi Minh is another
big city, with lots of traffic and uncountable (=uncontrollable) numbers of scooters. I spent an afternoon driving around on one of them. It's actually not as hectic as it looks; once you can make your way from the pavement into the middle of the swarm, it's just a matter of following the masses and never make any speed unless you're in the front at the red lights. Most youngsters have a piece of cloth in front of their mouths, and that's probably not a bad idea. The fumes from all those scooters doesn't even allow for mosquito's to survive, I think.
There is an area here where all backpackers reside. It's full of little hotels, restaurants, internet cafe's, night shops, massage saloons (many offering "extra services"), and travel agents. There's a getting-around-by-bus system, and each and every travel agents offers it at identical prices. It is possible to book tickets to a destination of your choice (for most, Hanoi is the end of the ride), and get off and on where ever you want on the way; it's still only one ticket (an open ticket). Comparable to the Baz bus in South-Africa, but on a much larger scale. And
all the travel agents also offer nearly identical tours to Cambodia, the Mekong Delta and the Cu Chi Tunnels. Buses fill this area from 7AM to 9AM and from 6PM to 10PM. Picking up and dropping tourists like cattle.
Considering they were only short tours, I booked a few of them. First, a 2-days tour to the Mekong Delta. The first day was a little disappointing. We all felt too much like cattle being taken from here to there in the shortest time possible. The tour guide had a funny way of talking. Had to say "Yea!" after each sentence, and repeat the last words of that sentence after the "Yea!". The entire bus started repeating "Yea!" after a while whenever he would finish his explanations. His first speech lasted for over an hour. More than half the bus had fallen asleep by then. But yet, he thanked us all for listening :-). "Thank you all. Yea. Thank you very much. Yea. I hope you enjoy the tour. Yea. Enjoy. Yea. Enjoy. So remember, only 10 minutes to go toilet and take picture. Yea. Take picture. Yea. And go toilet. Yea. 10 minutes. Yea.".
We were taken on
Ho Chi Minh - Lunch
A litre of orange juice! a short boat trip on the Delta, and into the Vietnam version of the Kerala backwaters. "Get out of the boat, now".
Quick visit to a coconut candy factory.
"Please buy some candy for support".
Quickly all bought some candy.
"Now please get back on the boat".
Lunch on "Turtle Island". Didn't see any turtles however. When asked about it, the local people told us that all turtles are gone now, it's only a name.
30 minutes to have our noodle soup and a cup of tea.
"Please get back on the boat, now".
"Please get off the boat and follow me to the bus, now"
You get the picture. It went on like that all day. The scenery was nice however, and I met a nice couple from Holland. Good to be speaking Dutch again. We spent the evening together in the town where the tour organizers had lodged us. I wouldn't even know the name of the place, but it was lively, and I got a little tipsy on Cointreau (FINALLY).
Had to get up at 6:30 the next day. Less hopping on and off boats and buses. We saw the floating markets. The real life of
Mekong Delta Tour - Snake and Scorpio Liqueur
I doubt I'd get through airport customs with that! the common people. Hardly able to make a living off the local trading, many of the people living along the shores have to move away from the area before the monsoon comes. Going to school is impossible during the monsoon.
Also went along on the tour to the Cao Dai temple (Cao Dai is a sectarian religion, that has taken over concepts of Buddhism, Hinduism, Tao and Confucianism) and watched the ceremony. Visited the Cu Chi Tunnels (which were partly rebuilt in a larger form so the tourists could fit in them) in the afternoon. On my last day in Ho Chi Minh, I got another massage. A mixture of regular, thai and hotstone massage. Not bad :-)).
Took a bus and arrived in Mui Ne today. A small village full of high class resorts for rich tourists and expats. The cheaper hotels are kept alive by Australian kite surfers. The sea water is warm here. The beaches not at all crowded. Just kite surfers. Good restaurants. Planning to rest for at least a day, and then go see the sand dunes nearby. Next on the itinerary are Dalat and Na Thrang, further north.
Time to go
now before the mosquito's get a chance to make my legs feel all itchy.
Hugs to you all... miss you!
xxx
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Anne-Marie
non-member comment
Hoi
Hoi Sabrina, lang geleden maar ik blijf je wel volgen elke keer. Je ziet er prima uit met je 'short cut', alhoewel ook soms een beetje vermoeid (vind ik toch). Verwondert mij wel niet na al die omzwervingen, chapeau toch maar. Zachte beestjes hé die slangen, worden ten onrechte afgedaan als glibberig etc. Niets van aan. Het zal wel ver van jouw bed lijken, maar ik heb gisteren een vast contract gekregen op 't werk, en ik ben er superblij mee. Dikke knuffel en tot een volgende keer, Anne-Marie