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We began our trip to Vietnam in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) arriving from Phnom Penh by bus. Our first hour in Saigon was rather eventful and consisted of sprinting down the road, jumping in a taxi and chasing our bus to its depot to try and retrieve my bag that I had left on board. This will no doubt amuse my parents no end.
Saigon is not somewhere you would want to spend too long. The traffic in other parts of Asia had been crazy, but we entered into a whole new world of maniacs when we arrived in Ho Chi Minh. There seems to be no traffic rules in Vietnam; the roads are filled with millions (no exaggeration) of motos speeding around, weaving in and out of other motos, cars, buses and pedestrians. If their side of the road is busy they just shoot over onto the other side, or if that fails they jump up onto the pavement and mow down unsuspecting tourists. Walking around in Vietnam is one of the most stressful activities to engage in; if you're not being driven over by locals then you are being constantly harassed by hawkers selling all manner of rubbish that you have no desire to purchase (food, photocopied books, fans, cigarattes, hammocks, fake sunglasses, watches and our personal favourite is a lighter with a projector beam that shines a pornographic image onto you).
Whilst in Saigon we did day trips to the Cu Chi Tunnels and along the Mekong Delta. The Cu Chi tunnels are a network of tunnels (250km long) used to hide from and fight the Americans. Upon arrival, we watched a propaganda film which showed Vietnamese men and women happily shooting at American soldiers, who were described as "a bunch of crazy flying devils". In the tunnels the Vietnamese used to lay a variety of barbaric traps which were demonstrated to us by a rather over-enthusiastic curator. Examples include the swinging arm-pit trap, the rolling trap with spikes on, a trap-door leading to a spike pit, and various other contraptions involving impaling people in hideously painful ways. The guides were rather proud of these traps and the demonstrations, but as a Westerner looking on it was a disturbing illustration of the atrocities of the Vietnam war. About 50m of the tunnels have been widened for tourists to crawl through, so Chris bravely duck-walked along the pitch black, sweltering tunnel while I anxiously waited in the fresh air for him to surface. However, the nightmare of the tunnels wasn't the worst part of this trip. This was awarded to the guide that led our trip who fancied himself as a comedian. As soon as we got on the bus, and for the following 2 hours, he subjected us all to his stand-up routine of painful Christmas cracker style jokes. Tumble weed rolling through a deserted town may give you an idea as to the atmosphere on the bus. When at the tunnels we were allowed no time to wander around, but instead were embarrassingly frog-marched around the site by our militant guide screaming "Keep moving, keep moving NOW" if any of us stepped out of line or dared to slow down to take a photo. Complete nutcase!
From Saigon we moved up the coast to a small beach resort called Mui Ne. In Vietnam most budget-conscious travellers buy 'Open Bus' tickets that allow travel from Ho Chi Minh in the South to Hanoi in the North, with chosen stops along the way. It is an extremely cost-effective way to travel, but seriously lacking in comfort. The buses have bunk-beds instead of seats, two-beds high and three-beds across. Everyone gets allocated their own slither of space which you occupy for anything up to 36 hours (14 hours was our limit). We both loved Mui Ne and spent a week there lazing on the beach and taking part in various pursuits. Just outside of Mui Ne are the White and Red Sand Dunes where you can go and enjoy some sand-sledging, which was brilliant fun. We had booked the 'sunrise package' as we thought it would be a great photo opportunity, but as with most things in Vietnam is was a con and we arrived at the dunes well after the sun had risen (despite having to get up at 4.30am!).
Mui Ne has excellent conditions for wind-surfing, kite-surfing and regular surfing. As I had been ill in Bali and we had missed out on lessons there, we decided to book some up and try to recreate some scenes from Point Break. After a couple of hours we both managed to stand up several times on the board, despite battling against ridiculous surf conditions that were completely unsuitable for beginners (as we were informed by another surfer!). The instructor went off for his own surfing after a short break, so Chris and I decided to head back in the water and practise on our own. We took turns at pushing each others board to help catch the waves and it was all going well until I got caught up in Chris' ankle strap and had my arm wrenched out of its socket and dragged behind the board. I knew as soon as it had happened that something was very wrong, mainly due to a ripping sensation that had occured and the fact that my arm went black and swollen within minutes. It looked and felt very much like I had broken it and I was in excruciating pain, so we hopped into a taxi and headed to the nearest hospital (a journey that nearly killed us both). After being thrown around for half an hour we arrived at the hospital; hospital might be too strong a word, think more of a run-down old building with people sitting outside dirty rooms and a nurse that directed me to the doctor's room by barging me out of the way - smashing into my bruised and misshapen arm. After seeing a doctor I had to join the queue for an x-ray. Meantime Chris had to get a taxi back to the hotel to pick up our credit card and unwillingly left me alone, like a lamb to the slaughter. There I sat, the only westerner in the hospital, with my arm in a sling wearing only a towel and blubbing like a baby. I must have been quite a sight. For the next hour or so several brave locals took it upon themselves to cheer me up and practise their limited English; conversations that only stretched to "Where you from?" "What your name?" "What wrong?" One man with particularly good English was asking me about our trip to Vietnam, where else we had been and if the man with me was my boyfriend or husband. He then proceeded to tell me, in the nicest possible way, that at my age being single in Vietnam would be a disgrace and an embarrassment on the family and he was glad that his 30 year old daughter hadn't shamed his family like that. The best pep talk I have ever heard to cheer up a girl crying in pain and all alone in a foreign hospital!!
After Mui Ne (with my arm in a sling, but not broken) we headed onto Hoi An, which is a beautiful old riverside town with absolutely bags of character. It is known for its old buildings, silk lanterns but mainly for its hundreds of tailors that line the streets in the old quarter. We had been recommended a tailor from friends but wanted to get a couple of things made before commiting to a huge order, which we then proceeded to do for the following week. We spent most of our week in and out of tailor shops, having a great time designing winter coats, suits, shirts and dresses. Apart from 'tailoring' we whiled away several hours eating - Hoi An has amazing food and restaurants with many local delicacies. Our favourite local dish was called 'White Rose' which is shrimp in steamed rice paper with crispy, fried garlic shredded on top. It was absolutely delicious and a bargain - 20,000 dong (50p) for a plate of them. Hoi An was also home to the cheapest beer yet of our travels, 4,000 dong which is about 12p! Our last night in Hoi An turned out to be the full moon festival; in Hoi An the old quarter becomes pedestrainised for the night and all the shops and restaurants turn off their lights and the town is lit up with colourful silk and paper lanterns everywhere. We also treated ourselves to some imported steak for dinner, the first red meat we had eaten in 3 months and it was incredible. We both absolutely loved Hoi An.
From Hoi An we travelled to Hue for a couple of days stopover but have nothing of any interest to report from there - apart from the fact it rained for 3 days straight and that my bezzer mater Jenny told me she had got engaged!! We then travelled onto Hanoi where we had planned to do a couple of trips (sailing in Halong Bay and trekking in Sapa). Hanoi is as mental as Saigon, only the streets are much smaller around the old quarter which makes it almost impossible to walk around. The pavements are full of stalls selling souvenirs so you are forced to walk in the road and take your chances with the millions of motos, cyclos and cars. Where would we be if we had too many rules? Germany. Where would we be if there were no traffic rules at all? Vietnam.
Next we booked a 3day-2night trip to Halong Bay staying on a boat called the Halong Phoenix Cruiser. Halong Bay (translated as Descending Dragon bay) is UNESCO World Heritage site in Northern Vietnam that features around 2,000 limestone islands in various shapes and sizes. Our trip started with a 3 hour cruise through the bay where we stopped at the 'Amazing Cave' which we walked through. It was enormous and had sunlight pouring in which is the only reason I ventured inside. There were many interesting rock formations inside the cave, inclduing the 'pointing finger' which looked more like an erect penis to most people! The rest of the trip included some kayaking around the islands, visiting more caves and stuffing ourselves silly on the amazing food we were served. Each meal consisted of several courses which included prawns, stuffed crab, shrimp, squid salad, steamed clams, barbequed grouper fish, satay, spring rolls, as well as the usual rice and meat dishes. The meals were always beautifully presented with ornate carvings made from other fruit or vegetables (see photo album for examples). It was a lovely few days of luxury and relaxation.
After Halong Bay we returned to Hanoi for a night and then hopped on a sleeper train to Sapa in the Northern Highlands for 2 days trekking. I was really excited about my first trip on a sleeper train and was conjuring up all sorts of images in my head from watching too much Poirot and dreaming of the Orient Express, which was inevitably going to lead to disappointment. The sleeper train was not quite what I had imagined but was so much better than travelling for 14hours on a bus and we both actually managed to get some sleep. Sapa is a mountainous region in the north of Vietnam. Amongst the hills live many different tribes that live off the land, much of which are rice-paddies that cascade down the mountain side like a patchwork quilt. During our 2 days there we trekked through several villages and were able to see how many of the tribes live today as well as enjoy the breathtaking scenery that surrounds Sapa. We felt that 2 days wasn't nearly long enough, but had to move on to Thailand for Christmas. Sapa was a hikers' and moutaineers' dream in terms of shopping as North Face and many other outdoor clothing is made in Vietnam. We managed to pick up a couple of incredible cheap fleece-lined waterproof coats to keep us warm during our stay. It was an amazing 3 days and a lovely way to end our stay in Vietnam.
When reflecting on our time in Vietnam I will look back upon it with mixed feelings. Parts of Vietnam are incredible, naturally beautiful and culturally interesting. Hoi An, Mui Ne and Sapa were places that we absolutely loved and we would happily return to them in the future. Six weeks was long enough to get a real feel for the country, although there was still many places we didn't have time to visit. The constant scam artists made it a tiring place to travel in at times and we were on constant alert, having to watch every single dong to ensure we weren't being ripped off (which we were on numerous occasions). The taxi drivers and tuk-tuk drivers are continually trying to take advantage out of tourists and it is hard to remember at points that not everyone in Vietnam was trying to screw us over, just the majority! Saying all that though, we met some lovely people, ate fantastic food and received some incredily warm hospitality - overall we had a wonderful time exploring Vietnam.
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