Ba-Bye Vietnam

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Hellloooo....

So it continues. We've managed to get ourselves from Hanoi all the way down
Vietnam and now we're back in Cambodia. It's been a busy few weeks and we
have seen a lot.

Thankfully, after the relative chaos of Hanoi, we got off the train in Hue
and found things a wee bit quieter. Also a tad warmer, bliss. It was quite
an adventure just getting the train. We left at 11pm and arrived at just
before 11 the next morning. It was an evening spent in a 6 berth cabin
being thumped and bashed around a tiny, little bed as the train driver did
his very best to make up some time if possible. At one point in the early
morning we both looked at each other as if to say "eeekkkkk", the green
tinge to our faces illuminated by the morning light. We made it though and
thanked our lucky stars as the same train two nights later went off the
tracks and a number of people were killed. We wondered if it was the same speed freak driver.

We made some friends on the train. There were two lads crammed into the bunks above
us, they seemed really nice - or so we thought!!! We have now been out and
about with them on more than one occasion and we have had quite a few sore
heads as a result of some of these outings. Either they are a bad influence
or we're easily persuaded. Anyway, we got of the train after arranging to
meet Simon and John in a bar later that day.

We found many eager and helpful taxi drivers waiting to “help” us as soon
as we left the train station. We managed to agree on a price with one of them
and then spent the next then minutes in the taxi telling him that no, we
didn't want to go to the hotel that he wanted to take us to but to the one
that we had chosen. We arrived and stayed - much to the dismay of the
driver who decided to wait while we looked at the room just in case he
could cart us off to the hotel that he knew, or owned, or his family owned,
or his friend owned. The room we got was nice, quiet and most importantly -
cheap.

We only stayed in Hue for three days. We rented bikes one day and cycled
around the Citadel, which is a small town within the Citadel's
walls. We also cycled along the river and visited a temple where a famous
monk used to practice. In 1954, this same monk drove his car to Saigon, got out, sat down on the street in the
Lotus position and set himself on fire to protest against the government's
stronghold ways against Buddhism.

Mike has read many books on Vietnam and the war so we took a trip one day to
the DMZ, which is the De-Militarized Zone. An area dividing the North from
the South. The area is quite barren as a
result of the bombs and chemicals. It's taken a long time for any form of
plant life to grow. We went to some tunnels on the coast where a whole village
lived for four years to escape the bombs. They were only allowed out
at certain times, usually at night and spent most of their time underground.
There was even a maternity room where 17 babies were born.

After Hue, it was Hoi-An. I think pretty much our favourite place in
Vietnam. Very pretty, nice buildings, a beach nearby and good food. We
haven't enjoyed the food very much but there was a restaurant called Miss
Ly's Cafeteria and the food was just gorgeous. The local dishes are a yummy
concoction called White Rose, a very delicate pork dumpling, yum de yum de
yum. Another local dish is soup that has noodles, pork, herbs and a big
crisp like poppadom that you crumble into the soup. Then there were wontons
that are the size of my hand and they were great too!!! I am making myself
hungry here. We have had many ok dinners of packet noodles and slimy
rice. I really miss my Thai curries.

Anyway, Hoi-An was lovely and we really enjoyed our few days there. We
chilled out a little and caught up on some sleep after a few weeks of
constant traveling. Also, Hoi-An is very well known for it's tailoring. We
decided to get some coats/jackets made as Mike has been wanting a brown cord
blazer a long time and I always have a problem getting the arms to fit as
mine seem to be a wee tad longer than the average person. So we had great
fun choosing material and getting measured up and then having to go back to
the shop for fittings. We now have a little box sailing across the ocean of
our coats - at least we'll have something to wear when we get back to Canada
as all our other clothes are packed away.

From Hoi-An it was the overnight train to the beach resort of Nha Trang.
After 12 hours of trying to doze on the bus we arrived. After a wee nap we
hit the beach for the afternoon. We also met up with John and Simon as they
were heading down the country on the same route as us. We made the mistake
of spending a whole day in the sun and then bumping into them and having
some drinks before food - not a good idea. Thankfully we had a day of rain
so spent the day in bed just sleeping, my liver needed it.

After Nha Trang it was another bus and then a day and a half at a tiny beach
resort called Mui Ne. The pictures we had seen looked beautiful, nice white
sandy beach and turquoise blue water. Very nice, so I thought. Very nice
if you have lots of money as that's the only we you get to see it. The
beaches are all private and if you stay at one of the expensive hotels then
you're in. We stayed at a seven-dollar a night resort and thankfully there
was enough beach for my sun lounger so I managed to get some sun-bathing in.
However, the water was brown and murky, not so nice.

It was back on the bus and then down to Saigon. I wasn't too sure if I was
going to like it here as the guide book talked about a lot of petty crime
and everyone said that it's a big, noisy city. It was a lot of fun though
and we both like it. However, the beer was fairly expensive which is never
a good thing.

We visited the War Remnants Museum in Saigon. It was a very hard place to
look around. Lots of very graphic pictures from the war and also pictures
from after the war. The chemicals that the American's used not only damaged
the land but damaged the people. Children have since been born with defects
and deformed bones or no arms or legs, very sad. A lot of people also
develop cancer or skin conditions. It was interesting and definitely
somewhere to visit as it really makes you think about the destruction that
man can do and also just how lucky we are in our lives.

We had another night out with John and Simon in Saigon just to take away the
memories from the War Museum. Another evening out finishing at 4am - I
haven't done anything like this for a long time. I keep saying I'm getting
old but I think I'm reverting back to my youth - it's great fun.

The four of us then all did a trip down into the Vietnamese Mekong Delta and
then caught a boat to the Cambodian border. Then we caught another boat and
then we caught a bus and then eventually, after a whole day traveling we
reached Phnom Penh in Cambodia. That's where we are now and yet again we're
nursing hangovers after getting in at 4am, but there will be more about that
in our next blog.

So, Vietnam has been conquered, we made it from North to South. It was a
very interesting country and certainly one that has seen a lot of conflict
and pain over the years. At times we felt like the people just expected
money from us as if we owed them. I found myself doubting their intentions. However, I also found a country that is still fairly divided. The North
is different to the South. In the South the people seem a little softer and
more open. I can't blame them for not trusting, who would after so many
countries have tried to take over. There were many who took the time to
talk with us and they were lovely people. We got good advice from them.
Vietnam is also very easy to get around but everyone does the same route. Either up or down. It's hard to go anywhere on your own. There is bus packages which cost less than thirty dollars so transport is cheap and to visit anywhere such as Sa Pa, or Halong Bay or the Mekong Delta, it's done by a tour. They are cheap and effective and a way for the government to keep tourism in certain parameters.

That’s it for now. Hope everybody’s doing great. Stay in touch. We love all the emails.

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Photos

Khe Sanh
Inside one of the bunkers at the former American base. Not much left but dirt and overgrown artillery.

Vinh Moc Tunnels
Among several underground villages along the DMZ. This one kept 400 people alive for the four years they lived in them.

Trouble
John, Lottie and Simon in Saigon. A repeat performance from Hue, Nha Trang.

Too much tongue
Can't hang out with these turkies any more. But, like a bad dream it continues ...

Sunset
Over the beach in Mui Ne.

The easy way
On a boat touring the Mekong Delta.

Hoi An
A wonderful place full of great food and tailors.

Drying baskets
Along the waterfront in the Mekong Delta

Comments

[Kali]

Sounds like a great country
Nice blog guys....sounds like a great country to visit, is def. on my countries to visit in 2006...keep us informed! :)