Vietnam is country I never intended to visit, which would have been a big mistake. Vietnam was a hidden treasure for me and I'm glad I took the advice of those that have been. I flew from Bangkok into Hanoi and to make things easy decided to have someone pick me up from the hostel I was staying in. My flight, as usual was delayed so I got in late that night so when I checked into the hostel I was very tired. Since travelling on a budget I opted for cheaper accommodations and stayed in a dorm style hostel. It [View Full Entry]

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Greetings all, I hope you enjoyed the footy finals! I can't say I was surprised the Cats won, however I have no doubt the bombers will be on top in 2010! Look out!!! The airport in Nepal was actually screening the match. Our flight was delayed by 30 minutes which was convenient for me because it meant I was able to watch the ending! It was a pleasant dose of Aussie-ness that I've really missed since leaving home. I have now exceeded the 6 month mark in Doha which has zipped by. I'm convinced that the combination of travelling between time [View Full Entry]

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Llegado a Ho Chi Minh, también conocida como Saigon, aunque no es la capital de Vietnam, desde luego que se nota que es el centro de comercio y negocios del país, y entiendes que Hanoi es un poco mas tradicional (mas similitud a la cultura China). Cuando digo mas moderna, es simplemente que hay mas luces, carteles y un poco mas limpio...la gente sigue con motos, polución, poco higiénico, comiendo a todas horas en la calle,... fuera de lo que todos recordamos como normas básicas en el primer mundo. El primer día me limite a encontrar mi hotel y ….. si [View Full Entry]

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We flew into Saigon yesterday morning at 10am. Once we cleared customs and immigration we found our pre booked ride to the hotel. the taxi was a bit old, okay it was very old but it went well. The drive was maybe a hour but full of excitment and wonder how all the bikes and cars fit into thhe same space and at the same time. Lots of beepng but no road rage. We are staying at Xuan Mai Hotel in District 1. Duc and other staff have been very helpful pointing things to watch for like very aggressive market sellers [View Full Entry]

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Mopoja "Hello my friend! Motorbike? You like my motorbike?" Pentti oli kuullut samat kysymykset jo satoja kertoja viikon Vietnamin lomallaan. "En oikeastaan ole ystavasi, eika tuo ole moottoripyora vaan moposkootteri", Pentti ajatteli, muttei sanonut mitaan, pudisti vain vuolaasti hikoilevaa paataan ja laittoi sandaalia (Eccot) toisen eteen. "Se nyt viela puuttuisi, etta menisin moisen mopon kyytiin, naissa paikallisissa takseissakin on kestamista. Ei Mersun Mersua missaan, minka lie riisikupin kyytiin joutuu milloinkin menemaan. Mutta ne on niita kulttuurisia elamyksia mista vaimo a [View Full Entry]

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Dai Nam Park is situated about 40km away from Ho Chi Minh City. Opened in September 2008 it aims to be the leading tourist attraction by 2010. An optimistic dream, but even now even when it is still not quite complete you can see the potential. It is a huge complex with a hotel, shopping mall, open zoo, theme park, beach area and temple. Some say it looks cheap, but I found it to be a beautiful retreat and a good way to spend a day. My journey began, as so many do these days, in Ho Chi Minh City near [View Full Entry]

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Well, as usual, I've waited much too long to update the ol' blog. But moving along, last month I took a weekend trip to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam with new-ish good friend, Malcolm. Malcolm is here from England teaching English with his girlfriend, Louise, who happened to be off on a girls' trip to Hong Kong, so Mal and I planned a boys weekend. It also happened to be Mal's birthday, an extra cause for celebration. I was fortunate to have Mal with me, since he and Lu have been traveling the world together for a couple of years now so [View Full Entry]

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Disaster! Tupur and family are scheduled to reach by 11 ish, so we had thought that we would grab some breakfast at our favourite ABC Bakery (trying to keep the costs down - its so easy to blow away 150 dongs in that place!) and then get the train tickets and the Mekong tour in place before they arrive. I had spoken to our landlady that we need 2 rooms for the night of the 30th. When we come down and just thinking that its a good idea to just check it up, we find that no, they dont seem to [View Full Entry]

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WE'RE FINALLY HERE!! i've taken over typing from dad, because he takes too long. first full day in Vietnam, no hiccups and everything went smoothly-except my backpack got jammed in the carosel at Saigon Airport-causing huge alarms for staff. not embarresing much!didnt even pick my bag up the first time, we let it go around so nobody knew it was mine. dad warned me what it might be like when we arrived but nothing could prepare me for what i was to encounter. into a car that wasnt a taxi- after a while of haggling with a man who claimed to [View Full Entry]

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What a full day. What a day of myriad impressions. We woke up late, and by the time we got going it was already 11. Off to breakfast at the same bakery, and we hogged great sandwiches and Sanaa lopped up a Tiramisu. A good way to start the day. Free wifi at the coffee shop, and though we ended up spending quite a bit more than what we intended - a good beginning to the day all round. So we decided to walk down to the war museum. Vietnamese streets are full of two wheelers and tha traffic has its [View Full Entry]

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