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Published: November 6th 2008
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Hey there!
We arrived in Saigon about 6pm in the evening, Ho Chin Minh city was very busy with various activities and an unbelievable amount of mopeds! The traffic is mainly made up of mopeds and in rush hour they even drive on the pavements, we really had to have our wits about us when crossing the road. We had dinner and drinks that evening with some people we met on the Mekong trip which was good fun, we walked to the night markets where they cook live frogs to your specification, I really wanted to free them but unfortunately they are a popular dish in Vietnam and on most menus :-(
The next few days myself and Craig toured the city by foot, we visited the war museum which was excellent and educational, it’s a must see as it explains more about the Vietnam war and the aftermath effects it had on the country. We visited various art galleries and monuments whilst stopping off in the day markets to eat lunch which was delicious and cheap! One day we went to the botanical gardens which was lovely but unfortunately this had a terrible zoo next door which
basically housed a bunch of animals in tiny cages having a miserable life, not good so we tried to avoid this.
One evening we bumped into Shari and Alan from Oz who we met in Cambodia, they are really lovely and were travelling the same route as us so we met on the road quite a lot, we had a good drink and a catch up in the Go To bar, lovely cocktails in a rooftop setting, good fun!
We arrived in Nha Trang from Saigon after an 8 hour bus journey it was raining so we decided to crash in the nearest hotel, this turned out to be a good choice as really nice and well within budget. Nha Trang is a beach location on the south central coast and very westernised, its geared up for tourism and looks very like the Mediterranean, however when we hired a moped and looked more closely we could see some of its natural Vietnam beauty, we just had to get off the beaten track. Nha Trang is renowned for its excellent diving so Craig did two cool dives one being a Nitrox dive, he saw many beautiful sea creatures
including an octopus and a stone fish.
We visited the Po Nager Cham Towers which were situated on top of a hill and were built between the 7th and 12th centuries, these are amazing pieces of architecture and the views of the town from the hill were stunning. We also went to the Oceanographic Institute and looked at many species of sea creatures, some alive and some in jars!
The markets were very colourful and full of fresh fruits and knock off clothes, shoes etc…the local people were really friendly and one evening we ate with them in a roadside café sat on small plastic chairs, we had fresh fish wrapped in banana leaves and foil and then BBQ, it was a tasty meal and basic with a great chilled out atmosphere.
Our next stop was Hoi An after a 13 hours bus journey on a sleeper bus, the bus was very comfortable but the roads were terrible, loads of potholes and bumps etc….I don’t think anyone slept well but it was an experience and very funny! Hoi An is on the central coast and an absolutely beautiful ancient town, the buildings were stunning and it
felt like we had been transported back in time! It was a place to chill out and take in the scenery and eat the lovely local dishes including cao lau and deep fried wonton, the food was amazing!
We hired a moped and took a trip to the Marble Mountains, these are majestic moss covered rocks with huge caves inside, there were many steps to climb and many Buddha’s and temples on the way up plus breathtaking scenery of the coastline and Hoi An town.
We arrived in Hue on the central coast in the afternoon, this is an historic town with royal tombs and an imperial city, the town was lovely but the weather was really bad, it rained so much that the Mekong river burst it banks and flooded the streets! We couldn’t do much as too wet, however we did a short tour on foot and saw some historic sights of the city whilst getting drenched lol!
Our next stop in Vietnam after another mammoth bus journey was the capital city Hanoi, the city was a lot more chilled out than Saigon but still really busy with moped traffic. The streets were
more ancient and the architecture was French colonial, very beautiful. We stayed in the Old Quarter of the city not far from a huge lake, the lake was called Hoan Kiem and lovely to stroll around in the warm evenings, there were lots of people out and about but with a laid back atmosphere. One evening we met up with a friend of a friend called Vicki who lives and works in Hanoi, we had dinner in a lovely restaurant and she gave us tips on the best places to go etc…. a fun evening! We ate some great Vietnamese food and drank in a few bars and also visited the Temple of Literature and St Josephs Cathedral.
With love, Caz and Craig xxx
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