Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Xai Chao!
I am not going to do the whole 'Goodmorning Vietnam' thing as Dad has already made me cringe by doing it on the phone, so Xai Chao! will do nicely.
I hope you are all well, we are currently in Nha Trang, about half way up Vietnam, and half way though our stay here. Vietnam has been a bit of a revelation to be honest. Before coming here we warned of it being a dangerous unlawful country rife with scams and petty crime but have found it to be a really beautiful place with friendly locals and delicious food, maybe we are going to the wrong bits?!
So after a noticeably uneventful border crossing we made our way from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh. Ho Chi Minh is somewhere we were warned to be careful, and of course, as, anywhere in SE Asia you have to be wary, but we found it to be a lot cleaner than we expected. The only real drama we had here was a bit of a flash flood. One day we were upstairs in a cafe, and came down to find the city under 12 inches of water! All of it fell in about an hour, apparently this happens maybe once a year, good timing! Other than that we found a nice little guesthouse, booked ourselves a couple of trips and had a gander around the city. This was made more difficult than expected by Tom and my desire to avoid crossing the roads at any cost. Crossing the road in Vietnam can give you a bit of a natural high, as you constantly put your life in jeapordy, but eventually we made like a local and hid behind old Vietnamese woman that fearlessly stepped into the traffic. We headed over to the war remnants museum which was an interesting experience. Of course the Vietnamese recollection of the war there can be quite different from what you learn at school and lots of what was there was pretty sobering, the most interesting part was the 'requiem' exhibition where they had photos taken by photo-journalists posted in Vietnam, that also died in Vietnam. They had the most famous, and most horrific photos there and it is hard to associate the photo's you see of Vietnam, to the Vietnam we see today.
Whislt in Ho Chi Minh we decided to take a day trip out to the Vietnamese delta. We had a 3 hour bus ride to get there and then it was all day on the boat. It was a great trip, we went to a floating market where you see boats put there cargo on a bamboo stick at the front of the boat to show others what they are carrying, we then went on a small rowing boat, and were taken into the delta, which is incredibly lush and beautiful. The rowing boat was funny as we all donned our conical hats, I think what Tom also found funny was me getting on and off the boat, 'graceful' is definitely not my middle name! We had a nice lunch, went to a small rice-paper making factory and got to hold a Python, all in all a pretty amusing day. We also had quite a character for a guide, he insisted that we call the toilet the 'Happy Song', so if we wanted to go, we wanted to 'perform the happy song', and on the way back he got out the microphone and started singing some Vietnamese number which took me and Tom right back to Waitomo caves, NZ (remember the guide singing to show us how good the acoustics were?!).
The next day we went on a trip to the Cu Chi tunnels, with an even more weird and wonderful guide. This time he actually fought for the royalists in the Vietnamese war. He was an incredibly interesting character, and made some points about his opinions on the western world, tourism and the involvement of the Americans in the war (all the more odd as he fought WITH them). What really got me thinking was when he asked everyone 'when did the war in Vietnam end?' everyone answered 1975, when the country was reunified, but he pointed out that it was actually 5 years later, but it didn't involve the western world. I am not sure if his opinions were wise or the effect of propoganda but is was an interesting listen. At the tunnels themselves (which were the Vietcong fought from beneath the ground for 3 years) we watched the most ridiculous propaganda film I have ever seen on the 'evil Americans' and 'gentle Vietnamese'. and looked at some of the traps and spy holes used by the Vietnamese. We then got the opportunity to go down into the tunnel. I was pretty much 50/50 as to whether to go, as the day before I had met two girls who said it was horrible, and given the chance they wouldn't go again. However I knew there were exits every 30 metres (the tunnel was 100 metres in length) so I gave it a go. The tunnel was much smaller than I had anticipated being no wider than me and about 1/3 of the height, it was dark, humid and frankly horrible, I cant imagine how anyone could live there. After 30 metres I was shaking, and ready to come up. Tom went to the end, about 1/3 finished it. I am glad I went down, but join in the sentiment of 'never again' I think it is the most horrible thing I have done since travelling.
Moving on, we went up into the central highlands and Dalat. Dalat feels like you have left Vietnam. The temperature dropped by about 10 degrees and we had a duvet! Dalat itself is an old French colonial hill station. It has fantastic surroundings and some gorgeous architecture. We went on trip around the city, saw a beautiful pagoda, Dartanel waterfalls, which requires a trip on a self-drive rollercoaster to get there, and most interestingly the 'Crazy House' which in the style of the Spanish architect Gaudin, is like stepping into Alice in Wonderland (check out the pictures!). We had a really nice meal in the evening with a girl we met on the trip, check out The Art Cafe, in Dalat, delicious!
Moving on from the lovely Dalat we came to Nha Trang, where we are now. We have been here for the last few days, and are just soaking up some of the lovely Vietnamese sun before we come home, unfortunately we have been well and truly put off swimming in the sea here as it is pretty minging, with dead rats and used sanitary items floating around (ewwwww) but we have done some serious chilling, and got through a book each. Whilst here it was Toms Birthday! We had a really chilled day, Tom got a massage by the beach, and we went out for a really fantastic meal at a sea-food restaurant. Tom had a Red Snapper (his favourite!) and we topped it off with a sundae. It was a great day, but I know he really missed everyone (and so did I!), on that note, I hope the Oates have had a lovely time in Florida, and Tom says 'Mum, I will ring you tomorrow'. I am getting my Tan back, Tom is still Tom White for a reason (I dont mean that Tom!), and we are ready for the final stretch Hoi An-Hue-Hanoi-Halong Bay-Hong Kong-Ascot!
I hope you are good, photos are already up to date, go me!
take care,
Liz and Tom xxx
- comments