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We awoke to the sounds of the big city hustle and bustle. HCMC is the financial centre of Vietnam and with a population of around 10 million there are a lot of people trying to get coffee before they start work. For our final breakfast with the group we went to a coffee shop close by and ordered baguettes with jam. We were given toast with honey. We ate our "baguettes" and said our goodbyes to the group and after finishing our packing we headed to the airport.
Upon arrival we were informed that our flight had been delayed by 2 hours, but we were not too surprised by this as flights to Con Dao are often cancelled at short notice. However, we were given a free meal of noodle soup in the airport cafe and before too long we were on the plane waiting to take off for our 30 minute flight. The seat belt signs never went off and there was barely enough time for the air hostess to hand out a complimentary green cake (Perhaps the bakery was built too close to a nuclear power station) before we were preparing for landing. Depending on your viewpoint, the landing was either exciting or fear inducing. Due to the strong winds which are present, the plane can't slow down until the last second and so it is a case of hitting the ground hard and slamming on the brakes. This causes the plane to rock from side to side to the extent that it feels like the wing will hit the ground before the fuselage.
Despite the rough landing, we were both excited to see the delights of Con Dao. The scenery was stunning. The scenes were reminiscent of the islands Jurassic Park was supposedly built on. Tall, tree covered hills dropping down into the sea greeted us around every corner. This place is truly beautiful but if tourist numbers increase, I'm not sure how much longer it will stay this way.
We arrived at our bungalow overlooking the beach and after dumping our bags we headed to the dive centre to meet the owner and our dive manager for the following day; Larry. Larry was a character. He moved out here because it is the only place which resembles the Vietnam of 20 years ago. He has been out here a year and a half and is working hard to promote responsible tourism and to conserve the islands beauty. He's a very likeable person and provided us with invaluable advice. His insights into the Vietnamese psyche were interesting and he had lots of fascinating stories about his struggles with trying to set up a business in Vietnam.
For dinner we headed to a restaurant called Tri Ky (pronounced Chee-kee) that had several tanks of fish along one side. The place smelled like a public toilet. Upon closer inspection, we saw dirty plates of food all over the floor, dogs walking around and even a few rats. Their approach to cleaning up seemed to be to remove the table cloth, chuck everything on the floor until the restaurant closes. They would then sweep it all away. I had had a dodgy tummy for a few days (I think I swallowed some of the Mekong river) and coping with the stench was a struggle. We went for the safe option of Beef noodles and I was delighted when the waitress understood the universal symbol for 'Bill please' and we could leave.
- comments
Pasty Mum Wow! That landing sounded hair-raising! I thought landing at Kai Tak was "interesting" in 1975 but this obviously takes the biscuit! (or the oatcake?!) Hope tummies are OK. They'll have had a steep learning curve recently!! Enjoy all those marvels that you're experiencing. I'm wondering where of all these places you'll both want to return to one day to set up YOUR business!!
TrainMan Somewhere else I shall never be able to take "Oatcake Mum"; rough landings and dodgy hygiene, not her thing at all. No doubt you two are loving it, all those bugs just make your immune system stronger!
The Physical Geographer! "Mmmmm noodle soup" I agree, sustainable tourism is a fundamental topic of human geography at present. Glad to see you are having a great time, look out for the dodgy restaurants in future, Ciao!