Blogs from South Central Coast, Vietnam, Asia - page 6

We arrived into a sunny Nha Trang after an eventful bus journey where we had to get off half way as the bus was filling with smoke! We went in search of an express laundrette as our entire bags were stinky from Cat Tien where everything got soaked. Unfortunately the address on their website did not correlate to a physical place - we stood outside the right street and number but it was a gift shop not a laundrette. Luckily when we arrived to Min Hostel they offered to do all our washing (even though it was about three times the price we were desperate!). So we stood in the doorway to the hostel and found one outfit each that didnt stink too badly of wet dog and gave everything else including rucksacks to them! The ... read more

The real gem of central Vietnam is the cave systems, which until very recently was mostly undiscovered and undeveloped. The national park boasts hundreds of caves including several of the largest in the world. When I say large, we are talking entire rainforests inside a cave, the ability to land a 747 jet inside, or place a New York city block with 30 story skyscrapers in one cave! What also makes this cave system special is the fact that access to most of the caves is carefully restricted. There are several caves which have been developed for tourists, complete with lighting, zip lines, water fun parks, boardwalks and boat tours through them. This gives a regulated safe option for tourists wanting to see caves without destroying the entire ecosystem. The majority of the caves are only ... read more

Yesterday morning Mali said for the first time that he missed home. He said everything to do with home, but mainly Chilli, his pet dog. And when he woke up this morning said the same thing again. I'm hoping it's not every morning for the next two months, as my answers of positive reasons on why we are doing this will soon get old. Last night, walking the streets in Hue in Vietnam, a man on a motorbike yelled out to us "hey, Bob Marley" and zoomed past, into the traffic. About 10 minutes later, the same man looked us in the eyes yelled out the same thing, and sped off. We were clueless as to who it was, Mali especially was freaked out and we still don't have aany idea who it was. Now it's ... read more

I left Saigon and headed North to the mountain village of Da Lat in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. I came in search of a few things; respite from the heat and a motorcycle to ride through the interior of the country on the legendary Ho Chi Minh Trail. So I hopped a bus for eight hours and $180,000VND. Once at the station same story - push aside the taxi mafia and walk off into the darkness hoping for the best. And as usual someone came by and provided assistance in the way of a free ride to a nice guesthouse in the city centre. The man's name was Chilli. I asked him why he was called that and he said he liked his food extra spicy. I said we'd get along just fine. Turns out ... read more

I had been warned not to have breakfast at the hotel because it was not included in the price and was also not so good. While waiting for G&V to come down from their room - I retrieved my insulin from the hotel fridge. Hearing what sounded like a soft cackle coming from near a sink - I saw a caged chook under the drain pipe from the sink and over a trap. Looks like the house chook is also the "garbage disposal" and eats any of the food scraps that come down the drain pipe. I guess that's OK until you are fat enough to look like a good meal and become part of "com ga". We went a few meters to the next corner where we had Ca phe Saigon (frothed-up" black VN coffee ... read more