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Blogs from Vietnam, Asia - page 7
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April 2nd 2013
A night recuperating at the Hanoi Rendezvous hotel had done us good, but we were far from better. Still, we only had the day in Hanoi before taking the night train to Hoi An, so it made sense to Imodium up and see some more sights. First up was the prison museum, dubbed the 'Hanoi Hilton' by shot down US Air Force pilots who were interned at the jail during the Vietnam War. We'd been forewarned about the biased nature of the museum and it's skewed look at history, so it was no surprise to see photos of US POWs having a lovely time playing volleyball, decorating Christmas trees and writing home to their families, when in reality torture and maltreatment of prisoners was commonplace. That aside though, many of the museum's exhibits did give a ... read more
April 2nd 2013
29 March Hue The heat is oppressive. Arriving in Hue feels like getting concrete booted and being submerged in 40degree Celsius water, with a plastic bag over your head. My hands and feet and eyes are swollen and I feel quite exhausted. Fortunately our hotel, Hong Thien Hotel, has a pool. Unfortunately it cannot provide a breeze. Nevertheless, Hue is already impressive and we have only done a taxi ride from the station along La Loi to our hotel. Hue is situated on the exotically named Perfume River, on the central coast of Vietnam. It deserves every accolade passed its way. Despite being the setting of one of the worst and longest battles in the American war, it has picked itself up, dusted itself off and gone out to get a facial. On the north side ... read more
April 2nd 2013
28 March 2013 – I booked a one day tour to Cần Giờ mangrove forest (or Rừng Sác) which is located 70km away from Sài Gòn. It took 3 hours to travel on this route, as tourists have to cross Nhà Bè river by ferry. Cần Giờ is the only sea district of Hồ Chí Minh City. It is like an island which is surrounded by rivers and sea. This is also a Biosphere Reserve which was recognized by UNESCO. The visit to Cần Giờ mangrove forest depends on level of the waterway. First, I planned to travel on my own by bus, but later I decided to book a tour and this was a right decision. It is quite expensive to rent a canoe (about US$30) which can carry 7-8 tourists, while I travel alone. ... read more
"Davis, you happy?! "
Published: April 8th 2013Asia » Vietnam » Southeast » Ho Chi Minh City » District 1
April 1st 2013
Vietnam so far has been very "go go go". We lingered a bit too long in lovely Thailand and Laos so much so that we had to cut some time from our stint in Vietnam (unfortunately)...So we've been moving from city to city every 2 days or so. We've managed to travel the whole country from North to South in just under 3 weeks! We took yet another sleeper bus to Hoi An which (yet again) is being claimed as one of our most favourite places. The list is growing by the day! Hoi An is a shopper's dream. If you wanted to have tailor made shoes, dresses, suites and just about anything in between..that's Hoi An in a nutshell. Besides the tailors it is quite the romantic place. Located in central Vietnam on the coast. ... read more
April 1st 2013
It had to be something we'd eaten. Not long after calling it a night, we both started to feel a bit ill, and our worst fears were realised as we began fighting for the bathroom to violently expel the contents of our stomachs. It was one of the worst nights of my life, and I couldn't believe our trip had taken such a disastrous turn so soon. Rach was worse off by some margin, and there was even talk of how we could throw in the towel and fly home early, though it quickly occurred to us that a 10 hour flight in our condition wasn't the best idea. Carrying on wasn't the most attractive option either. On most other holidays you'd have the option of recovering from such an unfortunate ailment in your hotel, but ... read more
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March 31st 2013
25th Mar – Today we went on a walk up a path to a view point that was sheltered by a small pointed building. You could see the mountains towering behind the town. When we got down we asked if we could look in a lady’s house there was a big room with a mat on the floor and a small cooking stove in the corner. Then we went to a river where I had a swim. Finally, we went to a food place where I saw some guts outside in a glass case. 26th Mar – Today we went to a market where we saw lots of different thing, for example, tribes, cattle pigs, birds, clothes, and food. We felt quite hungry so we went to have some food and we got a massive bowl ... read more
A Cruise Into the Heart of Darkness
Published: April 27th 2013Asia » Vietnam » Northeast » Quang Ninh » Halong Bay
March 31st 2013
I was initially excited at the prospect of our Ha Long Bay cruise. An hour into the minibus ride to the boat, however, I would just be happy to get there alive. The driver seemed to be intent on getting to Ha Long City as quickly as possible, no matter what sort of insane, close shave overtaking manoeuvres that meant performing. Coupled with the shocking state of the roads closer to Ha Long - I'll certainly not complain about the comparatively dinky potholes that litter UK roads again for a while - we were pleased to finally arrive and be whisked onto the Paloma Cruise boat. Ha Long Bay is a stunning place, with thousands of limestone islands dotted around for miles, and a relaxing cruise seemed the perfect way to experience the unusual location. After ... read more
March 31st 2013
Having worked a total of about 4 weeks since mid December and traveling the rest of the time, March is by far the poorest, hardest month yet. It’s back to working full time (as in a full 18 hr week) which sucks getting back in the routine on top of having NO money. You know your poor when you can afford 25 cent beer… or maybe can just go out once during the weekend. Anyways we were all strapped for cash, one of my house mates was having problems coming up with rent which caused intense tension at home and on top of all of this it was still freezing cold and our house was FULL to the brim with couch surfers. At one time we had 5 surfers. And they were all soooo amazing and ... read more
March 30th 2013
22nd Mar - Today we went on a long car journey through Vietnam. On the way there we went to a local place where lorry drivers stopped off. We ate sticky rice, long beans, pork, omelet, cucumber and mint. I went to the toilet but met 4 dogs as big as me on the way so thought that was a bad idea so I didn’t go. When we got to the village we stayed in a stilt house. Jonathan We had a long drive to Ha Giang. The problem was our driver, Mr Thanh, was so slow. We were meant to pick up our guide at 11:30am. Our lunch was horrible it was spinach, pork with loads of fat on, and tofu. Everybody dropped their fat on the floor and there were bones everywhere. I put ... read more
March 30th 2013
23rd Mar - Today we woke to the sound of the dog chasing the chickens. After the horrible start we went to see the pigs. The family had two buffalos, chickens, pigs and fish. After we went on a one and half hour walk, we saw lots of rice paddies and poor houses. Jonathan In the morning we went for a one and a half hour walk. We saw a very little waterfall but with enormous boulders. There was a very traditional village, which we walked through. It was different because there were stilt houses and there were loads of rice paddies. In the village we gave some children sweets, their reaction was to smile but they were very shy. There were loads of chicks and hens. We were walking past mountains and enormous forests. It ... read more
