HoChi Minh City - Saigon

Well today we flew in to Sai Gon from Nha Trang. We were fortunate as we were ahead of the Typhoon that hit Hoi An. There were flight cancellations but these had no effect on our plans.

I have to say that I love the smaller towns of Viet Nam and the country side much more than their cities which are chaotic and dirty. Today we dined in a little restaurant at the corner of our street. A cochroah ran across the floor. Ted did not want to look at it. We still ate our dinner though.

We visited the Reunification Palace/Independance Palace today and were a little shocked to read about the other side of the story.

I cannot post pictures today as we are technologically limited. We head out the day after tomorrow to Can Tho, Chau Doc and then on to Phnom Penh. I don't think I'll be able to post until Phnom Penh as we'll be sleeping in "unstarred" hotels as well as a floating hotel.

So as soon as I can, I'll be back up with news.

Cheers

Nha Trang Mud Baths & Spa

Nha Trang Continued

More info on Nha Trang- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nha_Trang

Today we had our really first burn by a person stating that she was a student and wanted to sell cards. In the end when you convert everything we are paying into our money it is peanuts however when you realise you just got ripped off for the equivalent of a full meal with wine for 2 it still iritates you.

Anyway, that said, today was a day to visit the big white buddha and have a mud bath. Yes you heard right. We wallowed in the baths and pretended we were water buffaloes, maybe I bathed with a whale - not sure. So we spent 20 minutes in the double mud bath tub, then hot water bath, then onto hot (38) pool followed by cool pool. This was a fabulous way to relax. I do have to admit that I started a little short as I am so conscious of contracting some disease. Once I was able to get over this issue, I was able to relax and enjoy. Ted, well he just loves to play in the mud and doesn't give a s... to anything else. The only thing missing was of course our glass of wine.

After, we came back to town for lunch and of course wine. I had a delicious glass of red and mentioned to Ted that we had to upgrade our Viet Namese wine only to find out that I was drinking Australian (Mathew Lang Shiraz Cabernet - yummy yummy).

Tomorrow we head for Ho Chi Minh City.

Nha Trang

Today we flew in from Hoi An to Nga Trang. This is our beach R&R so we splurged and checked in to a more expensive hotel with an ocean view room. The people were friendly at first and once we chose to stay with them we have found them rather cold and uninterested. Next place will be a minihotel. Unless this is a statement of moving closer to the south where they would have been more influenced by the western world. I think also one of the biggest changes is that we are no longer with back packers who are also in their 20s and therefore people are a little more stuck up.

We have started to see results of the war - temple complexes wiped out, military aircraft in the vicinity, mutilated people.

I am not impressed with this area at the moment although the food is good. Tomorrow we are going to visit a white gigantic buddha, go for a mud bath - yes Ted is going to have a spa day and then go to the beach.

I visited a beauty salon as it was time to wax my legs. Well, I had the royal treatment with 2 ladies ensuring there was not one little duvet left all for less than 20$ the whole leg.

Favorite Shots - Hoi An

Some of my favorite shots - Sa Pa

Hoi An - Coming back from My Son

Hoi An -My Son

Hello all,

Just a few facts around Viet Nam. The average salary is $50/month. A tour guide can make $8/day, a waitress $40/month and a ceramic graphic designer $300/month. Needless to say our $ can go far providing they are charging you the same rate as they would a local. Take for example I wanted a pair of flip flops similar to the one the hotel receptionist wore. She told me where to go. They asked for $15 and were not open to negotiating. When I came back to the hotel and told the receptionist she was astounded and said she would go get them for me. Tonight I got my flip flops for $3.75.

I had some clothes made as well and today was the fitting day I have had to have them made a little larger as the Viet Namese ladies seem to wear their clothes snugger than what I am use to.

Today we took a tour to visit My Son. It is a world heritage site that has the remains of Temples celebrating the Hindu gods. We learnt that VN is made up of 54 different ethnic groups. The ancient language was sanskrit, the religion hinduism, muslim, and then buddhism. Unfortunately My Son was heavily bombed in 1969 by the Americans and the Viet Cong hid there believing the US would not bomb temples. Even today it is unsafe to stray off the beaten paths as there still are mines.

The shopping holiday is now ending and tomorrow we head to Nga Trang for our beach holiday.

Enough chatting, let's take a look at some more pictures.

Oh before guess what, Ted is eating VN food, rice every day (without the soy sauce). As long as we do not think where the food comes from (dirty market) or how it is cooked (even dirtier kitchen) everything tastes delicious. Especially when it is all washed down with a bottle of Da Lat wine.



Cheers

Hoi An

Today has been an incredible day. First of all I have my own personal benelovant Buddha. The women love Ted. We also have formed a tag team of poor little Monique who cannot make any buying decisions while Ted is the big Pasha who makes all the deals. Needless to say we'll need to buy another suitcase to bring everything back.

Ted told me today that he will not visit another country of 'skinnies'. I think he doesn't want to have his belly rubbed any more! I can understand as today I had by boob prodded. Not sure what to make out of it. I think she was checking to see if they were all mine. Anyway people are so friendly and it is done more out of curiosity.

We have been having some great meals with good wine. However when I think that all is fresh from the market I'm not so sure I want to eat here.

So now some more pictures.

Trip to Hoi An

We are now waiting for our bus to take us to our next stop where we will spend 2 nights.

We are learning a lot on trust. "I put my life in your hands and trust you will miss me as I cross the road." I am going to try to have Ted cross the road while I film so you understand what it means. Not sure I want to be the main actor. Remember all the bicyles one would see in China - well here in Viet Nam they have been replaced by motorcycles and scooters. As much as they have laws (traffic lights, pedestrian crossings, etc.) these are not respected in the towns. Hue was the first place where we saw traffic actually stop at a red light - maybe because the police were nearby.

Sa Pa - Hue

Sa Pa - Hue

Today is the 24th of September. We are in Hue. We are just getting ready to go down to breakfast in our 5 star boutique hotel. What a change to sleeping on wooden beds on the train in from Sa Pa. The hotel room is spacious. When the bedraggled tourists arrived yesterday morning we were greeted with water melon juice and sliced mangoes while the check-in was concluded.

Then we went up to our room which to my delight had it's own computer. This drives Ted a little crazy as I am getting hooked on blogging and face book. However he complains about my photography too then gets all excited when we get home.

It was a miserable day weather wise yesterday as we toured through a down pour. This did not stop us. We however did stop for about 2 hours to have a bottle of wine and a soup. Yea weird combination.

When we got back to our hotel we were greeted with little cakes and tea. This is the way to travel.

Now some pictures.

Sa Pa

Today we spent a fabulous day trekking with a Black H'Mong guide. It's a good job that we don't know what we are getting into before we sign up for these tours as I'm sure our good sense would tell us not to do it.

We trekked all morning through the Sa Pa mountains, across streams and up and down slopy slimy paths. Some were quite narrow, we had to act like mountain goats. Also we had to cross streams using bamboo bridges.

ASA I have the ability to post pictures I'll do so.

Cheers

Christopher: Is there a special meaning to rubbing Buddha's tummy?

Sa Pa

Cat Ba

Ha Long

Pictures of our trip to date

Had a terrific day today. Best tour guide - H'Mong woman.

Here are some pictures. Hanoi - Ha Long Bay - CatBa Island - Sa Pa

Pictures of our trip

We had a terrific day today in Sa Pa. We had a Black H'mong woman as our guide. She was the absolute best. Quite lippy and had quick responses to Ted. I think she may be feminist.

So I travelled with my personal happy budha...do you know what you need to do with budha to be happy?

Here are some pictures of our trip to date.

Ha Long Bay & Check In to Sa Pa Update

All safe and sound if not a little stinky and clammy.

We are having a lot of fun and new experiences. I was quite stunned to be told by one of our co-travellers with whom we shared a sleeper on the train that I was actually back packing only with a suitcase. This is not what I had signed up for. This morning I was also told that their parents would not be doing what Ted & I are doing. Way to go - we are still young at heart however Ted keeps saying.

So the story.

We took a Junk around Ha Long Bay - very interesting. They are trying to have it voted as a wonder of the world. They would need to clean the rubbish floating in certain areas though. We stopped at a fishing village which is actually a floating village from which we took a kayak and kayaked around the bay for 45 minutes. We slept on the junk - ac was controlled by the captain so that meant he decided at what time it started and stopped same as the water for the shower. No problemo we sailed through the experience.

We are the oldest couple on all the tours we are taking. I would say the average age is 29. Next thing I have to learn is Face Book as they all communicate that way. Anyway I now have a contact for an apartment in Turkey - it was even offered to us for free - will look into that.

We then stopped at Cat Ba island where we were forced into 2 hour trek before checking into the hotel. We figured it would be an easy walk in the national park considering the tour package. What a surprise. I would rate it as a difficult trek. The paths were muddy, slippery, steep - my pale running shoes turned orange from the bauxite looking earth. We mumbled all the way as to the sanity of the trek especially when the guide disappeared and I was left leading a bunch of tourists not knowing where to go. Anyway we survived and have stories to tell. Like Ted slipping nearly on his a.. If it had not been for some nice young PhDers (Engineers - not Religious Study types) he would have slid all the way down. Needless to say we were dirty, hot and irritated by the time we got down. Next to the hotel. We decided to go for a walk to the beach - after 10 minutes we came back as it was way too hot. So we plopped on the bed and watched Rambo. Later we went for a swim at a beautiful beach, had a local beer ($1 for 500ml). Then back to our room were we sipped on Vang Da Lat (red wine from Da Lat VN) while getting ready for dinner.

Meals are communal. That means you share the table and the food with strangers. We had the opportunity to sit with a couple from Ho Chi Minh City. Although we could not communicate we had an interesting education on how to eat the dishes in front of us.

On the way back to Ha Noi for our next excursion our tour guide was kidnapped by a Israeli and an asian couple. The bus driver took off and left him. I was so upset as he was the best guide we had and we weren't able to tip him. Anyway after a few hassles at the tour agency office who didn't give a s--- about the guide, we took a bus to the station to take our deluxe tour to Sa Pa. On the bus we met some brits who convinced us to buy some silk sleeping bags for bug protection.

Well on the train we get. It was a 4 birth compartment. I thought we were to have our own bathroom. No such luck we had a toilet for the whole wagon. Good job too that we had our sleeping bags. Then in come the Israeli couple who kidnapped our guide. We learned this as we had a great conversation sharing each other experiences.

Now we are in Sa Pa - We arrived at 5 a.m. after an 8 hour trip. It is pouring rain. We have been fed and are awaiting our rooms. The view is magnificent. Great for photo shoots. Wish you were here Gilles!

Time to check out before this becomes a saga. Oh yes, the Viet Namese find Ted fascinating!!! You'll have to ask him why yourselves if you are curious as I'm sworn to secrecy.

Sept 17, 2009 Ha Noi

Well our first experience of Viet Nam has been hectic.

Ha Noi is one busy city. I tried very hard to keep my new found serenity. It worked but was a lot of effort. I'm not used to travelling without knowing how we're getting to our destinations. So yesterday morning was spent running around town to find . In the end we made a decision - yeah - and then we were able to enjoy the rest of the day.

We're now heading to Ha Long Bay for a leisurely drive (3-1/2 hours) then a junk cruise, with an overnighter with a destination of Cat Ba island to spend a night. Then we head off to Sa Pa.

Stay tuned for pictures - that's my next learning experience in posting.

Cheers

Mo

Trip Monteal Ha Noi

Hi Guys,

Well Ted & I have made it after a 28 hour trip. I have to say that the flight went very well. We can learn a lot from the politeness and calmness of the Japanese. Every thing was so orderly.

The food was great, the movies kept us busy - I watched all but the Japanese films.

As soon as we were out of the airport we were affronted with taxi service offers. We quickly learned to be firm with what we wanted and with whom. We drove approx. 45 minutes to our hotel. It is very humid here. The hotel has air in the bedroom but no where else. Although the room is clean we have decided one night is fine. Especially when you have to climb90 steps. Thank goodness we are travelling light.

Met a young couple from Paris got some great tips.

Now it's time for breakfast and reservations for our next trip.

Ha Long & Da Nang

Just to whet your appetities, Photos courtesy of travel agent.

Ha Long, Da Nang, Nha Trang

Map of Viet Nam & Itinerary

So the count down has begun. Here's a map to assist you in following our itinerary. We arrive in Hanoi, then travel down the coast, whipping over to Siem Reap in Cambodia and back to Hanoi for our return trip.

Main areas we are visiting are: Ha Noi, Sa Pa, Ha Long Bay, Hue, Da Nang, Hoi An (this is where we have clothes made) Da Lat, Ho Chi Minh (Saigon), Cai Tho, Siem Reap (Angar Wat).

I am trying to respect the spelling of the towns as Viet Namese is a mono-syllabic language.

Mo