Advertisement
Published: July 25th 2015
Edit Blog Post
We got up early to go to Las Cabanas beach. It was really stormy looking so we decided to book our bus for 11 and only go for an hour to have a look. When we got there it was beautiful and sunny- so annoying! We chilled and walked along it. When we got back to the hostel we checked out, bought snacks for the journey. It went quickly - maybe we are used to them now! It dropped us at our hostel which was lovely and we had a nice relaxing last evening.
I woke up and had breakfast with Georgina before saying our goodbyes 😞 I went to the airport which was literally two minutes away! The flight was just over an hour. I had barely sat down and we were landing. I got to my hostel and shown to my room with the skinniest bed I've ever seen! I went downstairs and got chatting to a Dutch guy, williem and a guy from Guam, Louis. We hung out for most of the evening and got a shakeys delivery- pizza and had an early night before my flight to Vietnam!
I woke up at about 6 not feeling well-
think I had good poisoning! I wasn't sure if I should get my flight at 12as I really wasn't well! I decided I would tackle each stage of the journey and if at any point felt I couldn't go I would stay an extra night in Manila. I made it through to the waiting lounge- just! Thankfully after taking lots of tablets it settled and I was given three seats to myself on the plane so could just sleep! I slept for the whole journey and the visa and stuff were easy the other end. However once I landed and tried to get money out my card wasn't working! I tried 4 different ones but no luck! I changed my last Filipino peso and got the bus to my hostel to sort it. I tried to sort my card but couldn't as I had no money to ring and time difference made it difficult. I had enough money for dinner so ate on the rooftop bar at the hostel (Vietnam inn Saigon) chatting with some other backpackers before bed to recover from the day!
Woke up and had the free breakfast with heather and will who I met the night
before. I had to wait for the banks to open so chilled in the hostel and got chatting to a Dutch girl called Nienke. I finally spoke to the bank (Barclays) who could not of been less helpful if they tried. They said it was blocked and would be unblocked in 3 days- not helpful when I had No money or access to any. Thankfully Matt, a guy who worked at the hostel said he would lend me money- an absolute lifesaver!
Had breakfast the following morning with Nienke and Johannas, a Swedish guy we met. Nienke and I booked a trip for the afternoon to the Cu Chi tunnels. Our tour guide was hilarious and very knowledgeable - he had fought in the war on the USA side. The tunnels were really interesting. They were crazy small though- they have been widened for tourists and I could still barely fit through them- I had to bend practically in half to walk through so it seems crazy they managed it in full kit! We learnt about some of the Vietnamese tactics and traps they made. Was a fun afternoon. We had quite a long journey back. Nienke and I went
out for dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant and hung out on the rooftop bar but didn't go out.
The next morning we did the Mekong delta tour. We visited a temple with 3 huge Buddhas! It was cool. Then we got a boat on the river to one of the islands where we saw how a community make things out of coconuts- they can be used for loads of stuff! After we went on a horse cart ride through the village and had lunch. The menu was exotic to say the least- snake, ostrich, turtle, crocodile and a 'dinosaur egg??' - fortunately we got given chicken, rice and veg! Next was a fun canal trip down past one of the villages which was interesting. Then we visited a second island and walked across the 'monkey bridge' which isn't the sturdiest bridge I've ever crossed! The next stop was my worst nightmare at a honey bee place (ahhh!) where you could sample honey tea and other products they made and a guy bought round a board with bees al over it- I was super brave though and stayed (although sweating a little throughout). From there we got on another little boat
to go on another joinery across the river in authentic Vietnamese hats which was fun! The last stop was in a village where they have us fruits and sang traditional Vietnamese songs. We got back and my bank card was meant to be unblocked- it wasn't. I spoke to the least helpful woman in the world who seemed fine to leave me stranded in Vietnam with NO money! Before speaking to the original guy I had dealt with who 'got the day wrong' and said my card would work tomorrow. Matt came to the rescue again with another loan. That evening was the hostel bar crawl which everyone did so myself, Martyn, Nienke, Johannas and Sugam decided to all go together. It was a fun night 😊
The next day I was super hungover. Nienke and I had a lazy day with a brunch and a look round the famous Ben Thang market. It was huge but far too hot to walk round for that long. When we got back my card was WORKING! Yaaay! I paid Matt back and went for dinner with Nienke, an American and cam at a nice street food place- the chairs are so small
it's hilarious watching western people sit on them! Then we played monopoly in the evening.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.075s; Tpl: 0.037s; cc: 7; qc: 23; dbt: 0.03s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1mb