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Published: November 6th 2005
Gemma abseiling: Dalat - Vietnam
Ok thats far enough, pull me back up!Hi everyone,
Hope you are all keeping well. We are in Vietnam (Saigon) at the moment having a ball. We love this place. Following on from our last entry, we did indeed go to Chang Mai in the north of Thailand and went trekking, bamboo rafting and elephant-back riding - see us balanced precariously on one in the picture. And after all that activity we headed down south again to a beautiful island off Thailand called Ko Samet - this is the life!
After Thailand we went onto Cambodia and to visit one of the forgotten wonders of the world the temples of Angkor. You can almost imagine what the city used to be like in its day. Cambodia itself is a step back in time from Bangkok. Just 2 months before we arrived, the country did not have any ATM machines, and we have included a picture of a petrol station! However, it’s a beautiful country with friendly people where tourists are still a novelty and all the children smile and say 'Hello' when you pass.
From there we traveled to Saigon. The city is huge with a population of 8 million and amazing shopping at a
1/4 of the price than back home (Lisa you would love it). After the obligatory shopping spree we headed on a day trip to Mekong Delta, where we enjoyed beautiful boat trips (see pic), ate coconut candy (yum!) and held a python (we had no more room for that picture). We got the bus up to the town of Dalat and enjoyed an Easy Rider tour of the area. Easy Riders are a group of guys that offer very informative motorbike tours of the area. It was great to have 2 personal tour guides for the day, and to get invited into the homes of the hill tribes. The poverty of these Minority villagers would really make you appreciate what you have.
On our second day at Dalat we went Canyoning - which is what I have been dying to talk about. Canyoning - meaning abseiling down canyons and waterfalls (see me being really brave in the main picture). I had never been abseiling before but Colin had. We booked the moderate session, but ended up doing the advanced one. Initially I was so terrified I thought I was going to cry but I ended up loving it. Each
Ko Samet - Thailand
Me working on my tan! challenge was more difficult than the last. We also had to jump off an 8 metre cliff into the river below like something off The Beach. Scary stuff but so much fun and Dalat is such a beautiful place to abseil.
After all that nerve-racking stuff we decided we needed to go to another beach town to relax so off up to Nha Trang we went. After relaxing for a day we went on a boat trip for the day (costing $6). We went snorkeling off the beautiful islands but mostly it was a session on the boat and in the sea, note, Colin trying to get the barman’s attention in the picture.
We are flying to Malaysia tomorrow morning, and for the last few days there we are going to Penang (no I wont be visiting the Dell branch). My Dad, my uncle Ollie and their friends will be holidaying there at the same time so I can't wait to see them.
Thats all for now, thanks for your e-mails and comments.
Until next time,
Gemma and Colin.
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annike
non-member comment
very impressed!!
Wow guys, all your photos are great... Gemma I'm seriously impressed with that photos, I'd be framing that one!!! Sounds like your having a great time and seeing so much, looking forward to seeing you both on the 22nd. Let us know the details and we'll come ge you!! see you soon, cheers Annike