Advertisement
Published: December 31st 2007
Edit Blog Post
Shooting range
No words necessary! Hello again and a very happy New Year to all of you!
The last few weeks have been really varied and I've had some of the nicest times as well as one of the worst!
The flower festival was OK, a bit like a giant gardening centre in Wentworth (near barnsley for those unfamiliar with the place!) but I have the fortune of being shown around by a couple of locals, who worked in a great restaurant. They were really friendly and made up for the dope that we had met in saigon! The hightlight of the opening night was the main stage where various acts doing their thing! There was a circus act who put huge fish hooks through their necks and dangled ceramic pots (with flowers) in the air, ate red hot lumps of coal and swallowed knives! But my favourite was the 'local heart-throb' and national pop-star who half way through his song, decided to take a stroll into the crowd, handing out photos as he went. He was mobbed, mainly by boys who then pushed him to the floor in a mad rush to get these prized photos! In the melea, his microphone flew across
Dalat
Stunning views around the hills the stage, however the ballard kept banging out! He stood up looking very sheepish but continued as if nothing had happened, even with the grass stains on his wife trousers!! Highly amusing!
The next day I went on a canyoing trip which was good fun. My love/hate relationship with abseiling was maintained with a 20m abseil through a huge waterfall. It was a great day with a few aussies and kiwi's. The cliff diving was tame in comparison with South Africa with a mere 10m jump!
After dalat came Nha Trang, a beach resort that could have been in any country. There was a rather fun day out on a boat around the islands. The guys onboard sang songs using pans and buckets as drums in the language of each passenger on board - including Russian and Isreali! Pretty impressive. There was a also a 'floating bar' in the sea which used life saving rubber rings, unfortunately the current meant that swimming back to the boat inevitably involved loosing some of your precious cargo!
Hoi An is a sleepy little town further up the coast with more tailors than women at the xmas sales! I got a
Halong Bay
Kayaking around the islands suit but also took a boat ride around the interesting river lanes with a very old and 'worn' man! I was glancing around the simple fishing houses when I saw a boy running out to greet me, pet dog in his arms! I frantically waved back expecting him to do the same, when he threw the dog into the river and shouted at it! It swam ashore only to be thrown back in! He hadn't even noticed the silly westener in the boat afterall! Things are not always what they seem!
After that Hanoi beconed where I met up with Steve for Christmas. It was a dirty and noisy city and to be honest the northern vietnamese were rude and unwelcoming - strange, the opposite of the England north/south divide!...... Christmas noodles were much like any other days noodles and the carol concert proved to be more like a wake, with pictures of dying children projected on a big screen with morbid music! Very odd but it didn't stop me singing Jingle Bells at the back!
The bad experience came on an organised trip to Halong Bay. It is a very long story but involves Steve breaking a
glass shower door, being told to pay for it, an hour argument, an ineffective guide, a useless tour company, the threat of police and the cancellation of another tour with the same company! (he still had to pay!). Halong bay itself was good with huge cliffs jutting out of the water around what i am sure is welcoming water - not when it's 14 degrees! Kayaking around them was fun and we managed to get onto a few floating fisheries and meet some more locals!
And now I am in Laos, in the capital Vientianne. The guide books say its the most laid back capital in the world and I am sure they are right! There's not a whole deal to do but i have discovered a hidden talent! At the local shooting range I scored 26/50 at 25M with .22 rifle and 46/50 with a .22 handgun at 15M. I was told this was very good! It was great fun!
I am unsure what will happen tonight but they seem to celebrate everything with vigour and fun so sure it will just fine.
Wishing you all a Happy New Year and one in which I look
Hoi An
The old 'well worn' man who claimed that he was 65! forward to seeing you all soon!
x
Advertisement
Tot: 0.1s; Tpl: 0.04s; cc: 7; qc: 44; dbt: 0.0443s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb