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Published: December 29th 2008
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And so to Vietnam..............We started our adventure in Ho Chi Minh City...the largest city in Vietnam but not the capital....a population of almost 10 million...with at least 4 million motorbikes!!!! They even have seperate roads & lanes just for motorbikes....although the pavement is also widely used as a quicker option!!!
The Vietnamise like many Asian countries carry everything and anything on their motorbikes, whilst at the same time either making or taking a call or sending a text!!! If me and the camera had been quicker I could have published an entire blog on this subject!!!.....
Some of the things we have seen being carried include....5 family members, 4 baskets of geese, half a hundred weight of spring onions, a front door, a huge mirror and a ready decorated christmas tree!!!
The extreme sport of HCMC is crossing the road....we were given one lesson and then left to practise....Sharron chose the "close eyes and go" method....which seemed OK....I was much more tacticle and managed to knock at least a dozen of them off....I thought that was the game!!
After a couple of days in HCMC in which we saw the Reunification Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral, The Old
Post Office, Zoo & Botanical Gardens we took to the water and headed for Cu Chi and the tunnels of the Viet Cong.
There were a total of 258km of tunnels dug during the war in the 60/70's, which stretched as far as the Cambodian boarder....the tunnels are very low, narrow and VERY warm....I only went down 1 level....it was enough to get the gist of things!!!
The Viet Cong were ruthless, sneaky and very smart...they even wore shoes back to front to confuse the US army...that's just not playing fair!!
The following day we took the two day Mekong delta trip.....which was excellent if poorly organised and with a hung over guide!!......we experianced floating markets, rice fields, and hundreds of small waving Vietnamise children on the banks of the Mekong!! The markets here were some of the best we have seen and had many things that Sainsburys' don't currently stock; live turtles, water snakes, lamb heads with eyes left in to name a few....we bought some coconut sweets!!
After a night in a hotel in the largest city in the Mekong we made our way back to HCMC which took 5 hours in a mini
bus and arrived at 7pm....we then had a 4 hour journey to our next destination....Mue Ne and Coco Beach resort.....as you can imagine we were pretty tired by the time we arrived and flopped into bed...
Next moring we found ourselves in heaven!!! The beach was fabulous and the resort was excellent....Mue Ne is the kite surfing capital of Vietnam...for one reason...........it gets extremely windy!!! THe wind starts increasing about 11am....by 3pm you have a very good sand blasting machine at your fingertips!! Time to move to the pool!!!
We spent 4 days enjoying cloudless blue skys and great beach action, the only thing was a short tour to....the sand dunes!!!! Excellent trip where I learnt to sand sledge by a nine year old who had obviously had a couple of major accidents and lost her front teeth!!...Indeed another extreme sport not covered by our insurance!!!
Our 4 nights over we prepared for the night train to Nha Trang....the taxi driver found the station, we found the train and our seats......seats!!! Surely we should have a cabin?????...Airline seats in a very full carriage, for the next 13 hours....you cannot be serious!!!
After a couple of stops
the NZ couple behind us asked us if the next stop was Nha Trang...."No no no....it gets in tomorrow morning".... oh no it doesn't....oh yes it does.............oh no it doesn't...said the inspector!!!!!..........Uhhh Ohhhh!!!
The good news is obviously suddenly being 12 hours ahead of schedule and not having to sleep on the train... the bad news is having nowhere to sleep!!
OK so our travel agent (experts on Vietnam!) made a small mistake!!!.......thankfully we had our lonely planet guide and got a taxi to one of the listed hotels....
The hotel was very good, and thankfully they had 1 room left....and our friendly travel agent kindly offered to pay for it!!!
Next day we had short flight (1 hr) to Denang and a short drive to Hoi An.
Hoi An was once one of the most important ports in SE Asia all the way back to the 17th Century, influenced by Chinese, Japenese and Europe....the old town is a World Herritage site......pretty but not that impressive and full of tailors.....over 200 tailor shops....as you may know I am partial to a well cut suit and a bargain....so this was indeed a perfect way to spend
the next few days!!!
There was just one major problem... the weather....it is here our trip turned wet!!!
From Hoi An we took a coach to Hue....4 hours along the coast, through the mountain passes and paddy fields...in the pooring rain!!
Our hotel welcomed us in festive spirit on this Christmas Eve....10% of Vietnamise are Catholic and so Xmas Eve is very special!!
Now its been a long time since I didn't work (or at least turn up!) on Christmas day.....I couldnt help it but.... I was up for breakfast at 7.30am welcoming everyone with a glass of passion fruit juice....well, actually just Sharron!!!!
We had a city tour booked for 8.30am.....I know we wouldn't get the usuall Christmas this year but did I really agree to that!!!!!!!!!!!
The City tour on Christmas morning in the rain was actually very good, we had an excellent guide and had a trip on the perfume river, saw the famous Thien Mu Pagoda (1601) and toured the citadel (1804)...which is huge and at one time had 150 buildings within it!
It was home to Emperor Tu Duc (1848-83), he had 104 wives and expected 50 dishes
Elephants at the Zoo in HCMC
We didnt like the zoo...very small cages and unhappy animals! to be prepared by 50 cooks and served by 50 servants at every meal!!!!......I keep telling Sharron how undemanding I am!!!!
So with all our Christmas festivities over....we took a flight on Boxing day to Han Oi, the Capital city of Vietnam....we liked it, it wasnt raining!!!
We had an interesting transfer to the hotel, over taking a motorbike with a dead pig flapping around on the back...even the taxi driver thought it funny!!!
Our hotel is deap in the old quarter which has an ambiance and atmosphere that you imaging Asia to be...full of markets, shops, people, motorbikes, noise, odours, cooking, night markets...it all happens here!!!
Our luck ran out and it started to rain the next day....not too much to deter us from a couple of interesting museums and city sights...including the lake, temple and Japenese bridge, Opera house and Entheology museum.....we did manage to find a pretty cool cocktail bar, a very welcome sight!!
After a couple of days it was time for the trip I had been waiting in anticipation for...Halong Bay, over 2,000 limestone islands in the South China sea....used for many James Bond films!!!
Our tour was for
two days (1 night) a board a traditional "Junk"...7 others were on our tour...Dutch, Dutch, Dutch and a Canadian...it was excellent and we had a great time....starting with a 5 course seafood lunch!!! We visited a huge cave with three caverns...the last was massive...almost as big as half a football pitch!!
We then visited one of the few island that had a beach...as well as 431 steps up to the view point....and what a view...well worth the effort!!
That evening, after hot showers, we dined on more fabulous seafood, the wine flowed and we sat around sharing travellers stories, until the wee hours...
I unfortunately got into a bet to dive into the sea at 6.45 the following morning.....nothing to do with the alcohol, of course!!!! What a way to wake up!!! No one else was up so there are no photos!!!
We had a great two days and loved the scenery, food and company....it is a great place to see if you get the chance....
We were then back in Han Oi for our last night before our flight out to Hong Kong for New Year....the sun came out and we were upgraded to
a suite...a good way to finish our Vietnam adventure!!!
Mark & Sharron
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Mandy & Stuart
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Happy New Year
A very Happy New Year to you both. All your blogs and photos look and sound wonderful. We almost feel as though we are there with you! Carry on having lots of fun. x