Blogs from Vietnam, Asia - page 1368

On Feb 23 evening, we took the overnight bus from Nha Trang. On Feb 24 morning, we reached Hoi An. Hoi An is a UNESCO site, an ancient city by the river. The impression is that it is like LiJiang in Yunnan, China. When the bought the open bus ticket in Saigon, the two bus tickets included one free hotel night in Hoi An. When the bus reached Hoi An and stopped at that one particular hotel, we took advantage of our free night. The hotel is very nice, and would have cost us $20 for the night. We are happy to have "saved" another $20. We rested a little and walked around town. There are many narrow streets. Many "Unesco" sites require admissions. They are mostly Chinese temples or Chinese houses. I guess they would ... read more

Yep, I never imagined that it would be possible but beer is cheaper than water, which is amazing because Im no brewmaster* but I think that a vital ingredient in beer is water....beer being cheaper than water is also a sign that we are comming closer to a utopian society** or maybe that communisim is the way to go...so for all the cheap/broke alcoholics out there, read on and you too can enjoy the beaty of vietnam..... HCMC Well after our stellar Meekong riverboat cruise we booked the 7:30am mini bus to HCMC (Ho Chi Mein City or Saigon for all you Nam Vets) got up early again, got on the bus... met a german couple and shared a taxi from the bus depot to the backpacker area of town...Decided to see a bit of the ... read more

"Nous avons atterri à Hanoï au Vietnam samedi. Une heure et demi d'avion de la Thaïlande mais le "dépaysement" y est beaucoup plus radical. De plus, le climat y est beaucoup plus frais, en fait c'est l'hiver au nord du Vietnam à cette période de l'année (15 degrés Celcius et plutôt nuageux)." "Ça fait du bien de quitter la folie touristique de la Thaïlande. Ici ça sent l'authenticité à plein nez. On se retrouve dans une république socialiste qui a vécu énormément de tensions politiques et on le ressent dans certaines situations. Bien que le pays soit très accessible au tourisme, nous sommes conscientisés inévitablement par la différence politique et sociale. " "Les gens sont toujours très accueillants et très souriant mais on se sent beaucoup plus regardés et on nous arrête beaucoup plus souvent ... read more

I just wanted to say thank you for all your comments and thanks for reading. But I guess sometimes it's hard to communicate through blogs...I just wanted everyone to know that Neal was completely kidding when he made the comment about pretending to be a backpacker. It was over beers and we were both giving each other crap about one thing or another. He's a great guy...and it was really nothing. It just got me thinking about how I'm a hypocrite sometimes...and that maybe I'm got as cut out for the rough stuff as I thought I was. There was a time I was going to join the Peace Corp, and now I know I could never spend 2 years in a 3rd world or developing nation. It's just not me. I love it for awhile, ... read more

OK, so I last left you in Nam. We have done a lot since then, but it doesn't make such fascinating reading & I really want to tell you about how incredible somne recent sites have been. To summarise what we did since the last email: Spent one night in Natrang,. A beach resort in Vietnam. We were pleased we didn't spend long as it was really a big city (not huge skyrises, but many hotels etc) that happenned to be on a beach - much like I picture Surfers Paradise to be. It was dirty, there were vendors everywhere & a main road between any hotels (& jost cafes) & the beach. The waves were so big it was unswimmable. Glad we moved on to Mui Ne. This beach resort was lovely. So nice that ... read more