http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Asia , Vietnam en-us Mon, 09 Nov 09 01:58:09 +0000 Mon, 09 Nov 09 01:58:09 +0000 Well today has been FANTASTIC Chung my guide and his wife who sold me the trip and my shirts are really very good people and well connected in these parts. About 1030 Chung riding with me on the back and 2 great Aussie guys set off up into the mountains en route to some of the less visited minority villages we all agreed that loadsa tourists is a bummer and the fewer the better A nice sedate http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/blog-451665.html That's Vietnamese for 'how much is this' which by the way I have no idea how to pronounce and which also is fairly irrelevant cos I already know the answer will be 'cheap very cheap'So wersquore currently in Mui Ne about 200kms north east of hcmc. Let me just get back to the lsquoawesomersquo bus again if I mayhellip. I tell ya that was seriously the most comfortable mode of transpo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Southeast/Mui-Ne/blog-451515.html After spending the morning in bed with the dickie tummy I managed to get up and go for a wander around the town. First stop was a clothing shop I was after another pair of walking trousers simiiar to the air of craghoppers I already have found a pair but they were too long no problem the girl took them next door to her mpther who was seamstress and they were shortened in 15 minutes at no e http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/blog-451395.html Hi allJust a quick entry and don't have any new photos as yet. We left Hoi An last night on a sleeper bus and arrived in Nha Trang this morning. Usually this is Vietnam's premier beach spot but unfortunately they copped more of the typhoon so it's pretty rough and muddy and lots of clean up happening..... don't know how long we'll stay here. Much to everyone's regret I didn't get to do a cookin http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/South-Central-Coast/Nha-Trang/blog-451303.html Predictable title I know but Irsquove always wanted a purpose to say thatSo we are in HCMC actually to be precise I am writing this from the worlds coolest bus seriously itrsquos a sleeper bus so its full of beds instead of seats wersquove only been on here 10 minutes and mick is already snoring apart from the noise Irsquom loving this bus.I actually wrote this huge blog last nig http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Southeast/Ho-Chi-Minh-City/blog-451136.html Allo Allo on est rendus au Cambodge et comme vous avez peutetre remarque l'acces internet n'est plus gratuit C'est pas cher non plus mais moins facile que de descendre au rezdechaussee de l'hotel. Le Vietnam etait bien pour ca mais on s'en ennuie pas. C'est unanime 2 sur 2 on prefere le Cambodge L'atmosphere les gens c'est charmant Mais ca c'est une autre histoire Je vais d'abord http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Southeast/Ho-Chi-Minh-City/blog-451120.html The decision to go to Ninh Binh was random. It was the one area and time of the trip where we didn't have any idea or want to go somewhere in particular. From Hoi An we took a hefty cab ride through Da Nang and to the train station where we waited around and eventually got on our train to Ninh Binh. We didn't expect a lot from the train ride however we didnt expect it to be the dirtiest smellies http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/blog-451117.html My friend who i am travelling round SE asia came up with the genius idea of buying a couple of motorbikes or mopeds in Hanoi and riding down to Saigon before selling them off again. Only not renting because havent heard of anywhere which allows you to rent bikes in Hanoi and drop them off in Saigon. Basically i have heard so much conflicting information about foreigners being allowed to own bik http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/blog-451016.html Sunday 1 November 2009 I traveled with my colleagues to the Thnh Ch432417ng's Viet Palace which is located 35km from Hanoi's center. Mr. Thnh Ch432417ng was born in 1949 in a northern province. As a famous artist in Vietnam he has earned millions USD from selling his paintings and also collected antiques for years. He bought 10000m2 of land in Sc S417n district flattened a h http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-450068.html At 5.30am on our 2nd last day in Hanoi the alarm went off and we both groaned... Not the smartest idea we have had to stay out until 1am then do a sunrise tour We stumbled downstairs grumpy as at 6am to meet our tour guide... and off we set on a walking tour... we headed to the lake where all Hanoians go in the morning to exercise.. it was a strange sight... on one side of the lake you had all t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-449686.html We left Nha Trang once again travelling by the sleeping bus. We arrived early in the morning and got to our new hotel 'Phuoc An' half asleep. When we were arrived we were told there was no booking under 'cox'. We were both shocked as we had already paid our deposite the night before and the risk of more sleep deprevation was fueling the anger inside us both. After half an hour and extensive resear http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/South-Central-Coast/Hoi-An/blog-449473.html Se rendre a Da Lat fut tres long et fastidieux. Un trajet en autobus de 7h30 sur des routes trops longtemps parsemees de crateres et un stop plus long que prevu a cause d'un leger probleme mecanique. Peu importe on s'est rendu. Etant donne qu'on est arrive a trois heures et que le soleil est couche a six on a du se depecher a trouver notre hotel et a decide de ce qu'on voulait faire du res http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Central-Highlands/Da-Lat/blog-449471.html Cai be Floating MarketThe Mekong Delta is the southernmost region of Vietnam. It is often referred to as the rice bowl of Vietnam as it produces three harvests per year. The fertile Mekong Delta is also famous for its tropical fruits and flowers. The Delta area marks the end of a 4500km journey made by the Mekong River after having traveled through six countries. Traditional transportation in the http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Mekong-River-Delta/Vinh-Long/blog-449438.html The Mekong Delta is the southernmost region of Vietnam. It is often referred to as the rice bowl of Vietnam as it produces three harvests per year. The fertile Mekong Delta is also famous for its tropical fruits and flowers. The Delta area marks the end of a 4500km journey made by the Mekong River after having traveled through six countries. Traditional transportation in the Delta is by boat alon http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Mekong-River-Delta/My-Tho/blog-449434.html At its height the tunnel system stretched over 250km. from Saigon to the Cambodian border and was three levels deep. The network included innumerable trap doors specially constructed living areas storage facilities weapons factories field hospitals command centers and kitchens. Today the remaining tunnels have become a major tourist attraction giving the visitor a unique experience and a feel http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Southeast/Ho-Chi-Minh-City/Cu-Chi/blog-449418.html Xin ChaoNa aanhoudende smeekbeden volgt hier weer een update vanuit WiFietnam Laatste avond in Hanoi was erg ok. Met een heel stel ander backpacktuig gingen we naar de bioscoop. Vietnam lijkt best veel op onze westerse wereld zoals wij die gewend zijn. Voordat de film begint krijg je hier ook allerlei rotzooi te zien alleen zijn het hier geen commercials maar grootse propagandafilmpjes. De http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/South-Central-Coast/Nha-Trang/blog-449361.html Saturday 17th October 2009 Monday 26th October 2009Time was running out on my time in Vietnam with my visa due to expire on 27th October but before I left I decided I wanted a bit more of hill station goodness and a bit less humidity so altered my original itinerary to fit in Dalat in the central highlands. The 'city of eternal spring' it is the honeymoon capital of Vietnam and thus full http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-449337.html photo uploader still not working sorryGood day allI sit here on 29.10.09 typing away in an internet cafe in Vientiane a city in which we have spent the last 2 days mainly on the toilet. Please attempt to ignore such fascinating information and enjoy what is about to follow a quick rundown of the last few weeks in Vietnam. Further to Laura's comments the clothes all fitted perfectly and w http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-449178.html spent the next hour doing a city tour picking up the other 10 people on the tour. Three hours later we boarded our lsquoluxuryrsquo boat which would take us to explore Ha Long bay. There were only 6 of of us on the our 16 berth boat which made things all the more personal with our tour guide lsquoSuanrsquo. Suan was a mine of information and we later found out she had studied tourism for 7 http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Halong-Bay/blog-449118.html This morning we left Hoi An and took a short bus ride to Hue on the northcentral coast. We walked to the Citadel which is the big thing to see there. It's an old city that a king built surrounded by a moat and a brick wall. It's massive inside. In the middle there is another city called the Imperial City or Forbidden City with its own moat and wall. this was the place for the king and his fam http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/North-Central-Coast/Hue/blog-448971.html