Just like back in 'Nam

---

Well, hello there friends...



If you’re reading this (again, most probably just my mother), then I imagine you are aware that I have yet again failed my aim of a once-a-week update. However, in my defence, getting on a working computer in Vietnam with a stable internet connection is proving tenuous at best; once we’re out of Vietnam, I’m sure I’ll be better. Or I’ll find another excuse...



So, I’ve got quite a lot to catch up on since my last blog! Last time I covered our journey from Bangkok through Cambodia, which embodied a total of 6 days. This time I’ll need to cover over 2 weeks to bring this blog up to date, so I’ll need to shoot through a bit more quickly... (I can see the resident little Vietnamese boy here already getting impatient to get back on MSN. I may have to buy more time with Oreos...)



So, firstly, Hoh Chi Min City. This amazing city still holds the honour of being our favourite destination so far (although Hoi An is a very close second for me...) We had an absolute blast in Hoh Chi Min and met some awesome people. Maybe it was in contrast to the depressing, polluted sleepiness of Phomn Phen, the city seemed so incredibly vibrant, alive and bustling. The lights, the noise, the unbelievable amount of motorbikes that meant every time you crossed the road your life expectancy was reduced by decades... It was such an amazing place to be. We spent the first night with my friend Megan’s boyfriend Tom, his friend Mike, and two guys we met on the bus over- so it was me and 5 boys (lucky me!). We had an awesome night out round the backpacker area, drinking beer for 10,000 dong (which is about 30p) and playing brutal University-type drinking games that really brought my days at Nottingham flooding back... I should have remembered not to try keeping up drinking with 5 boys all well over 6 foot, especially when the rum came out, and so most of the night is quite blurry, but it was an ace start to Hoh Chi Min.

We spent our three days there cramming loads in (especially after wasting most of the first day in bed with hangovers!). We found the War Rembrant museum a really interesting experience in learning about the Vietnamese side to the war; it wasn’t the most objective at ALL (they may as well have said, the American pigs invaded us for no reason and they were evil), and there was no mention of communism, so we left the museum more confused than when we started. However, it definitely hit home for us the atrocities the Vietnamese people suffered throughout the ‘war of aggression’; whole villages of innocent civilians were murdered by American soldiers, and no-one has been held accountable for this. Also, the effects of ‘Agent Orange’- the toxic chemical used by US army, has resulted in 3 generations of deformities in millions of Vietnamese people. And again, they’ve received no aid at all from the American government.

Anyway, I digress... The boy is watching again so I’ll plow on... We also went to the Cu Chi tunnels which was absolutely brilliant- we even got to fire real AK47s with bullets left over from the Vietnam war, and took a day trip to the Mekong Delta which felt like an interesting experience of the ‘real’ Vietnam- all ladies in pointy hats rowing long boats down tiny rivers. Throughout our time we also met loads of really nice people, so they made our trips all the more fun!



After HCMC we decided we needed a bit of a break from city-breaking, so we booked a bus to Mui Ne, Vietnam’s second biggest beach resort. We spent 3 days here and it felt like a little holiday from a holiday.... we ate gorgeous seafood at beachside restaurants, spent loads of time at the beach, rented a motorbike to drive around, visited the sand dunes (which were like a mini desert where you could pay the princely sum of 100,000 dong- 3 quid- to slide down the dunes on a little sledge and look like a total wally, as it didn’t work unless you had a little Vietnamese kid pushing you along and then asking for 5 dollars for the privilige of being COVERED in sand. Yes, this is all from first hand experience!! After one go I retired from my career as sand slider!)

I have to say, after hearing so much about Mui Ne I was so excited to get there, but we were both a bit disappointed by it. Although we had fabulous weather and ate great food, the place had a distinct family-holiday-resort feel. For Russians. So we didn’t meet any Ènglish speaking westerners (apart from one couple who ran into our motorbike, so that friendship was never going to blossom. Buggars.), but at the same time, we could have just been in Tenerife. Not really what we were looking for. Still, we still had a nice time and I learned that I’m not as bad at driving a motorbike as Michael and I envisaged. He had to take over when traffic was around, but apart from that I was Queen of the road!



Next stop was Dalat, a mountain town three hours north from Mui Ne. We spent 2 days there and frankly, that was more than enough! (God, I sound like a right whinger now don’t I? It is only the last 2 towns I have anything negative to say about. Promise.) It was a weird place, totally secluded in beautiful scenery, and the temperature was 10 degrees cooler. (You even had to wear a hoodie at night!) Apart from people trying to sell you things, the locals were distinctly unfriendly towards us and there seemed to be no other westerners at all. Still, it was quite a cool place; until like 70 years ago, 20% of its inhabitants were French, so there’s real French feel to the town- it’s even got a mini Eiffel tower! We spent a day visiting a waterfall, sliding down a mountain on a tabogen (well fun!) and pedalo-ing across a beautiful lake (fun for about 5 minutes. Then just very, very tiring- one should always remember that fundamental fact when considering a pedalo!) We also sampled famous Dalat wine (ribena with a hint of alcohol) and visited a buddhist retreat in the mountains, which was a very beautiful, soul-stirring place... All of those activities I’d just mentioned took us one afternoon- after that there was nothing to do at all! So we swiftly moved on to Nha Trang.



Ah, Nha Trang... the beachside, party town of Vietnam. Sun, sea and sand... Unfortunately for us it was thoroughly pissing it down when we arrived and continued to do so for the first three days we were there! It rained so much that the whole street outside our hostel flooded- we were wading through water up to our knees! Still, we weren’t going to let a little (lot!) of rain spoil our fun; luckily we met two awesome Dutch guys when we were having breakfast and mournfully contemplating the weather, and so spent the next 2 days sat in a bar drinking 7000 dong (25p) Saigon beer with them and a few other people we met. After 5 days with just eachother for company, it was just what we needed and we had a great time with them. On our third day we realised, despite the rain, we really needed to actually do something with our time, and so after a slight disagreement- Michael wanted to go Vinpearl- Vietnam’s answer to Disneyland, and I wanted to go to the mud baths- we realised amicably that the mud baths was the best choice in the weather and so went there for the day- and it was really fun. Yes Michael, it was...

On our fourth and final day, the bloody sun finally came out, and luckily we’d saved our boat trip day for this day- hoping in vain the sun would eventually come! So we spent a lovely day swimming in the sea, drinking beer, eating seafood and talking to an Australian family who had very ‘interesting’ views on immigration. It’s funny how people tend to live up to their stereotypes!



Right, this is officially the longest blog ever so I think I’ll leave it there for now! Next time- Hoi An and Hue (where we are now). We’ve only got a week left in Vietnam before we fly to Singapore and on to the next leg of adventure! Can’t believe how fast it’s all going...



Peace out homies, speak soon!



Lots of love,



Carli and Michael

---

Comments

[Neil]

Tenuous
The length of this blog is very much equivalent to tales from the ref by Phil sherratt and that can only be a hint. Also Tenous Internet connection. For an English degree that is not good use of the word Tenous. Apart from the criticism, it has provided some light reading whilst procrastinating in a university library (similar flashback to ur drinking games just less fun!) Me and Bex will be in hong kong next weekend! See you in Aus!