Blogs from Southeast, Vietnam, Asia - page 4

My mate in Saigon, I don't even know his name! Hence, Mr Saigon Express. Met him at a nice Pho restaurant in Distict X...Takes me everywhere in his little kapcai (slang term for rusty small motorbike in Malaysia). Has a heart of gold. Really takes care of me. Makes sure no one takes advantage of me.Always give him a little something as he doesn't have much. The Pho place probably uses his services but pays him a pittance.In his spare time, he is a motorbike parking attendant. He directs the bikes ... read more

The simple things I am in Saigon, Vietnam. The name is over 300 years old. Its new name, Ho Ch Minh City, is fairly recent. Been here many times over the last year. Loved it so much I decided to move here. They didn’t renew my contract as a lecturer at the university in Malaysia. Whatever the reason, matters little now. This might indeed be a blessing. I came here to Vietnam out of a hunch. Needed a holiday. Had some cash. Oz is too expensive. Why not try somewhere new? Lived in Oz for 15 years . Nice. Can’t complain. Some of the best times of my life were had there. Ask Mick. Ask Warren..Heather, Jo-fin (God bless her soul), Tossbag and Sabita… The list is endless. I miss Australia. Back to Saigon. Someone told ... read more

Point final de notre petit voyage.... Nous laisserons ici Shanti Travel que nous ne pouvons que remercier vivement car tout fût parfait... Un seul petit couac... on oublie de venir nous chercher à l'aéroport à Saigon pour nous mener vers notre hôtel... mais ce n'est vraiment pas la panique car nous remarquons tout de suite qu'ici les choses ont bien changées... rien à voir avec notre première arrivée en décembre 1999 où PA devait se bagarrer avec un chauffeur de taxi pour qu'il veule seulement bien nous prendre tous... (nous étions 4...), accepte de prendre nos valises mais surtout veulent bien mettre le compteur... Plus rien ne ressembe à tout cela et nous ne reconnaissons absolument pas l'environnement... Après un petit contact avec Mathieu, notre agent Shanti (merci encore Shanti pour cette carte SIM qui nous ... read more

It's day three of our tour although, quite unbelievably, it's only day two in Vietnam. It really does seem as though we've been here ages already. And Day 3 always promised to be quite an intense day and intense it was. Today, our trip focused on the history and horrors of the war. But which war you might reasonably ask? Vietnam seems to have been at war for centuries, whether it was with the original Khmer occupiers from Cambodia in the south, between the Kings and Lords in the north, with the Chinese on and off for ever, or with French colonialists until 1954. But in modern times, when people talk about conflict in this area, they mean The Vietnam War from the mid 60s until 1975. But, here's the thing, whilst we call it 'The ... read more

Once I had gone out to find breakfast I called a Grab to go to the zoo. A GrabCar that is, not a bike. I felt that not dying was worth the 57p extra cost. There's probably a way to get there by bus, but the Grab was less than £1.10 and it didn't feel worth the effort which isn't the best example for budget travel and you could spend a long time in Vietnam for incredibly cheaply but since I'm only here for two weeks, I'm going to strike a balance. On that breakfast note though, I would like to make the observation that Vietnam knows how to do bread! Seemingly no where else in Asia does good bread, sure Malaysia has slightly odd but perfectly good potato buns, but Vietnam has actual French baguettes! ... read more