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Published: September 6th 2008
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Mt Sam
At the top of Mt Sam in the rain. Vietnam - Mekong Delta, Saigon and Dalat.
We travelled from Phnom Penh to Chau Doc in the Mekong Delta by boat. The border crossing was really easy and the boat trip enjoyable (only 5 passengers on a 32 seater boat). We arrived in Chau Doc and had the afternoon to explore. We went for a walk around the bustling markets which and around the town. We organized a trip to Mt Sam but left a little early so didn’t hang around for sunset which turned out to be spectacular.
The following day we headed to Rach Gia to catch the hydrofoil to Phu Quoc Island. We had booked the local bus which turned out to be a minivan. We were lucky enough to get the front seat to share as we just kept picking up people and they just continued to get into the back, we would stop and I would think surely they are not all going to get in but they did. I felt a bit sorry for the Australian couple squished in the back, but not sorry enough to give up our seat…
We arrived in Rach Gia in the pouring rain and were surrounded
Motorbike for a day
Here is Gary after we just went through far too much mud on Phu Quoc. by moto drivers who took our bags to their bikes ready to drive us. We took our bags back and put on our rain covers. Unfortunately we did not have a map of the area so had to hire them to drive us. We ended up paying far too much for the trip which was frustrating but they did take us to where we wanted to go.
We took a hydrofoil to Phu Quoc Island where we spent three nights. We stayed in a bungalow right on the beach so we could listen to the waves from our room and sit on the deck out the front looking out to sea, where there were some great sunsets.
In Phu Quoc we hired a motorbike and headed south to the white sands of Bai Sao beach. We stopped to take some photos and met up with the Australian couple we had met the day before who were also heading to the same beach. We all headed to the beach together and spent the next few hours swimming and having lunch.
After lunch we left the Australians and headed across the island to follow the road by Long Beach
View from our room
This is the view from our beach bungalow on Phu Quoc Island. before cutting inland to go to the Suoi Tranh waterfalls. The road inland turned out to be very muddy and a bit of an adventure, the thing we didn’t realize until it was a little too late was that trucks also used the road. We met one truck at the worst possible place, the road was only just wide enough for the truck and it wasn’t slowing down. We pulled off to the side as far as possible but the truck hit a puddle and covered us and the bike. When we arrived back at our guest house they were worried we had had an accident due to the state of the bike.
We arrived at Suoi Tranh waterfall ready for some fresh water. We started heading up the path and passed the Australians again. When we arrived at the waterfall it was already full of Korean tourists. Gary got in anyway; I took a few photos then got in also. The other people started leaving so we had the waterfall nearly to ourselves for a short while. It was enjoyable to have a ‘massage’ under the falls before heading back to our bungalow.
The next day the
Cao Dai Temple
Inside the Cao Dai Temple. weather wasn’t too good. We went into town and booked out flight to Saigon for the next day. The only problem was the only available flight was at 6:30 in the morning so it was an early one.
We arrived in Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City just before 8am so had the whole day to explore. We went to the War Remnants Museum and the Reunification Palace. Saigon is a very busy city with an unbelievable number of motorbikes, but at the same time it’s pretty with the tree-lined boulevards and parks.
Our second day in Saigon we joined a tour to Cao Dai Great Temple and the Chu Chi Tunnels. On the way to the temple we stopped at a lacquerware workshop (for tourists) and saw the way everything was handmade with prices to match. The temple was fascinating and crazy, I have never seen a temple like it with so many bright colours, a divine eye and multi coloured dragons. Cao Daism is a religion that contains elements of Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, native Vietnamese spiritualism, Christianity and Islam - a rather broad mix really. From here we continued on and stopped for lunch before heading to the
Gary with his Gun
This is Gary shooting the gun at the Chu Chi Tunnels. Chu Chi Tunnels.
When we arrived there were so many tourists including some large groups that we were hurried along through the exhibits without really having enough time to explore and see everything. However the tunnels were amazing, and so tiny. They showed us a couple of original entrances, and even the new Vietnamese army cannot use them because they are so small. After looking at some of the rather nasty traps the locals set for American troops, we headed off to the shooting range.
Here they had all sorts of guns left over from the Vietnam War and you could buy bullets to shoot. Gary chose the AK-47 so off we went to have a little target practice. You cannot appreciate the noise these guns (especially the machine guns) make until you hear them unexpectedly and without ear muffs on. Talk about loud. Unfortunately (fortunately?) the guns were secured to a wall so you couldn’t actually hold them to shoot, and there was no recoil from the guns, looking at most peoples shooting styles, this probably saves a few dislocated shoulders. Overall shooting was fun, and maybe we should take up hunting when we get back to
Gary in a Cyclo
This was taken during our cyclo tour through Saigon. New Zealand.
We spent another day exploring Saigon, in the morning we walked to the Fine Arts Museum and around the city. After lunch we decided to hire cyclos to continue exploring. We went to the botanical gardens/zoo, Jade Emperor Pagoda and China Town finishing our trip at the Ben Thanh Market. We did some bargaining and managed to get some shorts and t-shirts for reasonable prices. We ate dinner at the market and watched the rain bucket down, which caught a few tourists (and locals) unawares.
Our last day in Saigon was spent on a day tour to the Mekong Delta. First we headed to the Cai Be Floating market which was pretty much over by the time we arrived but we could still see some of the boats piled high with produce. We also saw coconut candy and rice crackers being made. After lunch we went to the Vinh Long market to see another small village market.
Some of the most fun is ordering a drink at a local ‘stall’ and talking to the locals. It can be an effort due to the language barrier, but we both enjoyed it, as did the locals. People
Gary and Robyn
Gary and Robyn during our day tour in Dalat look quizzically at us when they discover we have been married over 2 years and still don’t have children. By this stage Gary had taken to drinking beer with ice in it, and although this waters down the beer, it is an unfortunate effect of not having fridges in most places.
We took a tourist bus to Dalat which took about 7 hours. We travelled through some beautiful countryside and arrived in Dalat, a beautiful city. There is a real French feel to the city as many of the buildings are chateau style villas.
We spent one day in Dalat and did an Easy riders tour on motorbikes (as passengers). Our guides were Hoan & Xiian who have been doing tours for tourists for 13 and 10 years respectively. We met many local people producing local products including vegetables, coffee beans, silk, rice wine and tea. We also visited the Crazyhouse and Bao Dai’s summer palace. We decided to book a nine day tour with them to explore the central highlands following the Ho Chi Minh Trail to the DMZ and then through Hue to Hoi An.
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