Southern Vietnam

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Hi.

So, southern Vietnam then. I am currently writing this in Saigon (or Ho Chi Minh City, if you like to be accurate. We prefer Saigon and it has less letters to type). We really like it here and it has a very cool backpacker type vibe, a little like Th Khao San with less girls offering you a 'game of ping-pong'.

First things first, lets go back to where we left you in Nha Trang. After leaving here we carried on our way to Dalat which was a really interesting place. It is a hill station up in the foothills and has a lovely cool climate. After all of the time spent in muggy, hot cities along the coast it was nice to chill out literally. The bus ride over was eventful with lots of people been sick and I had developed terrible earache. Now, I won't make the obvious joke about travelling with Jenny for three months and developing earache because it would be just too easy. Plus she is bound to read this. Plus, I imagine Dominic would already have made the joke. It was very painful actually and meant our first task was to find a pharmacy and explain the problem. We were offered two medications, both prescription only, but no-one seemed to bother about that. One of them warned of permanent hearing loss so we went for the other one.

During our time in Dalat we hired motorcycle guides and went for a tour of the surrounding countryside, seeing waterfalls, crazy houses and we also hiked up a small mountain. It was all very pleasant and reminded us a lot of home and the Peak District. It was nice to be cold again and finally wear some of the thicker clothes we had carted halfway around the world.

We got back on the bus to complete our adventures in Saigon (or HCMC - actually, just realised it is less letters that way so it's HCMC from now on). HCMC is a fascinating place and on the second day we had a tour to the Cu Chi Tunnels which were used by the Vietcong during the war. It was interesting to see the tunnels up close (we even went into the tunnel - see picture) and saw lots of torture contraptions and man-traps. We also had a nice day on the Mekong river, seeing local villages, floating markets, riding bicycles etc. We also found a really nice Mexican restaurant and ate there for three nights, again, keen to experience local culture where possible.

So, that was Vietnam finished with. We would Miss Saigon. We boarded the bus to the border with Cambodia, on to new adventures and new blog entries...

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Photos

Dalat
To get to alot of places we often have to hop on the back of a motorbike. Jay picked the short straw this time with a rather insane driver, but he was hillarious!

Dalat
Dalat had loads of kitsch stuff, which you really wouldn't expect in Vietnam, like the 'Crazy House'.

Dalat
Another weird thing in Dalat... painting stripes on a horse to make it look like a zebra!

Dalat
Wrapping up from the cold.... brrrrr....

Dalat
Couldn't this be the Peak District?

Dalat
Funky coffee house

Cu Chi Tunnel, HCMC
Sneaky way into tunnels. Have to be tiny, mind!

HCMC
Yup, that is snake in them there jars! The locals believe that snake in their rice wine is good medicine.

HCMC
Cyclo driver having a well earned chill.

Comments

[Caroline Sullivan]

Yowza!
I'm reading a book set in these tunnels at the moment. The descriptions make me want to be ill, let alone the claustrophobia of seeing you in one Jen! Brave lass ;-) x

[Mike]

Ping Pong!
Hello Jay and Jenny in Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh City sounds very interesting especially the sporting activities, I actually enjoy the occasional game of Ping Pong, are the Khao San girls good at it? i supose the rules will be slightly different! Sorry you had earache, no doubt you were very brave and never made much of it to Jenny. Lets not forget the past suffering the Vietnamese were subjected to, lets hope the future will bring them contentment, they certainly deserve it. What a great experience you both are having, enjoy the rest of the trip. Love - take care. Dad