Swellsy
Stephen Wells Joined: May 9th 2008
Logged in: April 11th 2010
Logged in: April 11th 2010
You can also look me up on facebook http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=715673213 - I tend to put more pics up here cause its a bit faster to upload. Search for me on www.couchsurfing.com if you're on it.
Travel Blog Posts
Was good staying in Ben Tre.. Didnt see much of Phuongs dad.. He works 7 days a week from 6am till 9pm .. Got given heaps of food as usual and bought 3kgs of Vietnamese coffee.. Its the good stuff.. Phuongs aunty has a hook up for it.. cant buy it in a shop, some guy turned up on a motor bike with a big bag of it doing deliveries.. We were waiting for ages.. reminded me of a drug deal or something haha. We want to try and sell it in Aus later.. Phuong got sick in Ben Tre, but seems ok now. TUrned out im leaving Nam on 10pm sun not 10am so had to ring my boss to tell her I wouldnt be back till tues.. she was a bit angry.. went and ... read more
Am happy as larry to be away from Thailand and back in Nam.. We had to get up at 4am to get a minibus to the airport .. we kinda chilled out after checking the bags and then when we tried to make our way through customs I realised wed left it pretty short... The que was huge... and Bangkok airport is massive.. after getting through we had to run through the airport to get to our gate haha, was funny.. we literally just made our plane.. We had a few issues come up in Bangkok and we talked alot about them and it has been going good since... She suffered a major attack.. i nearly called an ambulance but she wouldnt let me, then I noticed from my own experience it was an anxiety / ... read more
My first real chance to stop at an internet cafe without Phuong.. Has been great seeing her, but getting a bit of cabin fever and starting to get on each others nerves. All good though. Was good to be back in Saigon, but only stayed a couple of days.. The hotel was right on Bui Vein St, which is in the heart of the madness so was hard to sleep.. Went out with one of her friends Vy vy to the pub and then dancing at Apocolypse Now one night which was fun. Phuongs Dad came to meet us on Sunday to pick up her motor bike, Phuong gave him the gifts I got them, he didnt really look tho, but hes like that. Phuong liked the clothes I bought her and they were all the ... read more
Yesterday I went about 40mins out of Ben Tre to visit Phuongs Mums sister.. She was very friendly and her husband knew a little english.. They have a restaurant out the front of their house like a lot of people with their own business do here.. The Aunty and her daughter (Phuongs cousin) looked white... It was really weird to see these european people speaking Vietnamese and dressed like them (alot of women here walk around in what appears to be pajamas)... She put on a feast and she made the nicest fish I have ever tried.. just melted in my mouth like butter.. all the fish around here come from the Mekong Delta. Massive thunder storm broke out while we were there. Never heard thunder as loud as it gets in Vietnam. Earlier in the ... read more
The bus back from Nha Trang was a bit of a laugh. Overcrowded and everyone complaining. Catching the bus from Saigon to Ben Tre was hillarious.. Everyone stared at me when I got on the bus and sat down, and there were salesman all the way through the trip... one with a megafone, trying to sell imitation hugo boss shirts. Have been really relaxed at Phuongs parents.. they greeted me with yet another feast. And really made me feel at home. Ive been helping myself to the fridge, and lying around in my underwear haha. Last night Phuong took me around Ben Tre central on a motor bike and its actually quite a big place.. not the small village I thought, is actually quite a large town. Still get the stares from everyone... besides seeing them ... read more
Well spent 5 days in Saigon. Mainly just in the hotel room with Phuong haha, has been so good seeing her again, but I did start to get a bit of cabin fever and I had a couple of shittys at her.. I think it could have been a bit of jet lag as well. We went to the pub one night and a couple of her friends came, because I cant speak there language I got a bit bored and just got more and more drunk, then we were going to go to Apocolypse to go dancing but when we got there I wasnt in the mood so we just went home. After me having what Phuong refers to as "you are baby"(me having a shitty and a sulk) she took me on a bus ... read more
Well my last few days were speant with Phuong pretty much the whole time. Mike ended up going with Hop to meet her family.. Sounded very funny.. he had to go through a swamp to get there and ate snake. Had snakes in a plastic bag down by his feet in the van on the way their and ducks in the back.. haha.. The village was even more remote than Phuongs. Apparently the shower was just a bucket of cold water and he slept in a room with the rest of the family on small wooden beds (although Mike needs to have a tv on to go to sleep so he didnt really sleep haha). Went to Apocolypse Now a couple more times and out for dinner heaps.. Im gonna miss Vietnamese food. Mike came back ... read more
After my last entry we got rained out so didnt make it snorkeling.. Booked a bus back to Saigon. We looked at flying but was gonna cost about 900,000vnd and we got a sleeper bus for about 200,000. THe sleeper bus was really cool! THe back row was empty so we moved up there.. Was kinda like being on a king size bed on the back of the bus. I straped on my seatbelt as was pretty bumpy for some of the ride.. And after the bus ride from Da Lat to Nha Trang (I think I forgot to mention that at some points the road was only big enough for 1 and a half cars and you could end up over the side of the cliff haha) I was definitly gonna strap myself in with ... read more
Well yesterday arrived here. We pretty much hit the beach and drunk a couple of beers.. went swimming - was great.. Very peaceful and relaxing - accept for the people who walk along trying to sell you stuff. Its not as bad as Saigon so put up with it without any stress and actually ended up buying a fruit salad (very big - a whole dragon fruit, lai chis, a pineapple , a mango and some bananas for 60,000vnd which is about $3.80). Nha Trangs main beach reminds me a bit of Patong in Phuket, Thailand accept not as developed yet. Then last night had a massive feed (as usual haha) and went to the local hot spot... "Sailers club" or something like that. I got quite drunk on beer and Mai Tais but still managed ... read more
Well just arrived in Nha Trang after about 2 and a half days in Dalat. Dalat was nothing like I expected. Its a small town up in the mountains about a 5 and a half hour bus ride north of Saigon. Its definitly a couples place. Lots of little cafes and restaurants. Heaps to see there.. Best thing to do to anyone going there.. get a map and rent motorbikes.. Thats what we did and pretty much covered most of the place. Saw the old King of Vietnams palace, a Catholic church.. heaps of Buddhist temples to visit. One very cool one right up in the mountains blew me away. It was the most serene place I have ever vistited right in the bush high up on the side of the mountain overlooking a lake. Lots ... read more
