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Published: March 21st 2006
Its been a while since my last blog so loads to tell. I left Siem Reap for Phnom Penh on the 11th March where we stayed for a night before departing for Vietnam on the Saturday. The bus journey to the dock, which was supposed to take an hour instead took 3. Half way through the journey the bus swirved to miss a truck and hit a huge pot hole sending the bus off the road narrowly missing a rather large tree and finishing perched on the edge of a hill. The steering cable was broken and the axle twisted so we waited in the middle of nowhere whilst a few of the locals and the bus driver tried to fix it. We finally got to the dock 2 hrs late and boarded the barge that would take us very slowly up the Mekong to Cambodia departures. Back on the barge and across the stretch of river to the other side, Vietnam Arrivals. I waited here for another 2 hrs before they could find a Vietnamese boat to take us to Chau Doc in Vietnam since Cambodian boats were not permitted to enter that week. The boat to Chau Doc was more of a dug out which could fit no more than 2 deck chairs side by side.
Chau Doc was merely a stop on the way to Saigon thank god because it was swarming with mosquitoes and flies which smothered you and your food when eating.
I arrived in Saigon the following day after a 6hr local bus journey and was extremely glad to reach the guesthouse I would be staying in for a week. Saigon was amazing and I would definately go back. Beautiful shops, bars, restaurants, markets and cafes everywhere. I could not believe the size of the city. It took about 2hrs to cross district 1, there are 13 districts. I visited the extremely anti-american war museum (aka American War Crimes Museum); the Notre Dame; and the Cu Chi tunnels where I climbed through the pitch black for an hour on my hands and knees up to a hundred meters under the forest where the Vietcong hid during the war. I ate most meals in the local markets where they cook in front of you....stomach is much stronger now!
I took a 2 day excursion to Mui Ne on the south coast of Vietnam to see the sand dunes and try Kite Surfing. Treking across the sand dunes in the midday sun was tough work but worth the sunburn and heat stroke to go sand boarding on near vertical slopes which stop at a large lake. I made the mistake of putting on vaseline on top of the dune where the sand blasted your face as though sand paper had been rubbed all over, and ended up with a mouth full of it. It was quite painful but we stayed to watch the sun set over the red dunes. On the way back I slipped in some black slimy stuff (did not want to know what it actually was because it smelt bad) and had the biggest bruise/scab ever on my now very unattractive knee.
Back to Saigon for another day and wander around the shops and sites before the cycle trip which began on the 19th. We got a bus 5hrs out of Saigon where we began cycling the 57 km to De Lat, a french mountain town in the Highlands where they went to escape the heat of Saigon. It was really hard work and far more hilly than i was expecting. The bus picked us up at dusk and took us the rest of the way to De Lat which has its own little Eiffel Tower, lakes and gardens. The following day we cycled from De Lat to Nha Trang, a 65km cycle route across the mountains and back down very steep hair pins roads. The scenery was amazing, through rainforest and surrounded by untouched mountains. At one point we all had to give up because it was just too hot and too soon after lunch. Some were sick or dizzy and just riding on the flats was nearly impossible due to strong head winds.
Once in Nha Trang we had a leisure day (thank god because I am so very sore!) on a boat to the off shore islands for snorkling and swimming and spent the afternoon wandering along miles of the tree lined sea front promenades which reminded me of Fuengirola a long time ago. Its a very French/western town with quaint cafes along the seafront, restaurants, shops and a perfect white sand beach looking out to the islands; lots of very nice hotels and houses. Definately somewhere i could live happily and probably the most developed, clean and foreign friendly place i have been to in the last 2 and a half months.
Tomorrow we cycle a full day from Nha Trang to Qui nhon, a long day and a very hilly journey. Will let you know how i get on!
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David Ellis
non-member comment
Hello
Sounds like you are having fun, I have seen some of your pics you sent you parents, you are not in any lol. Stay safe and speak to you soon xx