Trip to Vietnam

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After an early rise and an expertly packed bag (we are getting good at this now) we checked out of our hostel and enjoyed the comfort of the air conditioned mini bus which was transferring us to the bus for Vietnam. Not just any bus, a VIP bus - although at this stage in the game we have become a bit more realistic as to the standards of the public transport in the area and did not get overly excited at the prospect of the bus journey ahead!!

The bus journey ended up being a bit of a nightmare and not really any fault of the bus company, in fact I couldn't really fault them in any way! Not long after we got settled on the bus and managed to get rid of the flies the bus company announced that we were having to change bus as the air conditioning was not working on properly. All change and we were back to square one with the flies and it definitely has to be said that this bus probably hadn't seen daylight for some time!!

Anyway we got moving and before we knew it we were stuck in traffic! About 30 mins later and having not really travelled that far, the bus broke down!!! Right in the middle of a roundabout which caused an even bigger traffic jam. After some time being entertained by the disruption we had caused outside, the air conditioning stopped and because of our situation on the busy road we had to stay on the bus, which seemed to cause a few mumps and moans from the locals. We cannot say that for sure though as our fluency in the language has not quite been perfected!!

There is one thing that amazes me about Asia and thats the number of people or boxes that they can fit into a car or on the back of a motorbike, and hey, if they run out there is always the roof of the vehicle for passengers to enjoy the view - now thats using their imagination!!

Eventually another bus arrived and we all had to move our things over to bus number 3 which actually turned out to be the original bus that we were on as our seats were still reclined!!! One plus point though - no flies!!Finally we were on our way - and the bus journey seemed to be ok despite sitting near the toilet, which I thought would have provided us with a number of nasty smells but to my surprise it was fine and the staff kept if fresh with air freshener every now and again!!

Unfortunately that was the least of our worries as the little boy in front of us obviously didn't like traveling very much and was sick on numerous occasions one of which didn't make the bag in front and ended up all over himself, the seat, the floor, and Gary's foot (much to his disgust)! It was a shame really.

However we finally made it to Ho Chi Minh City in one piece albeit a little later that we had expected!!!It was great to depart from a bus and not be hassled by Tuk Tuk drivers, although there was the odd cheeky taxi driver lurking about, but they proved to be a breeze!! Think we can handle anything now that we have tackled the Tuk Tuk drivers!!

After a short walk and a quick reference to the lonely planet for bearings, we were settled into our guest room, however slightly more expensive than what we were used to paying in Cambodia.

OK, so now we are used to thinking in dollars and we are faced with Vietnamese dong and thousands of it! After a slight miss calculation on our behalf we nearly had a heart attack at what we thought our less than average dinner had cost us. Thankfully we recovered when we realised our mistake and headed off for a wander around the area, before heading back to the hostel for an early night and much needed sleep!

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Photos

Traveling light
This is not the heaviest load we've witnessed.

Traffic Jam
Where we broke down. It's every vehicle for themselves at these roundabouts.

Motorbike
One bike, more than 10 people. Pretty standard really.

Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles
Guests at our hostel. Heroes in a half shell, turtle power!

Comments

[Karen]

Go to the Allez Boo restaurant! I loved Ho Chi Minh City...

[Emma and Gary]

Allez Boo?
Yes, we went to Allez Boo on our first night for food as it was just on the corner. It was rank and overpriced, all the cafes down the street are much nicer. Two people sent their food back and left the place while we were there. Nice bamboo though. Ho Chi Minh City is good but we leave tomorrow for distant lands. A blog will be up shortly detailing much of it. It's not as cheap as Kampuchea (old skool Cambodia name), but my God, this must be the DVD capital. Hope Pandapaws hasn't drowned in a cold river.