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GOOD MORNING VIETNAM...
Hellooooo....
Well it was strange saying goodbye to Edel and leaving Thailand, heading somewhere new. We had a great time at the beaches in Thailand, I bummed around mainly and Edel did her Padi diving course. I miss getting 'home' at night and taking the option to sleep outside in the hammock instead. Mainly so as not to wake Edel, and also because they are really comfy. I had a short stop in Koh Samui ready for my flight to Bangkok, to then fly to Hanoi. I stayed in a lovely little guesthouse, which seemed luxuriuous after beach bungalows. Air conditioning... hot shower....etc. My flight was 6am (ouch). I had a taxi booked for 4.30am, I felt really guilty, as the owner of the guesthouse set her alarm and came down in her PJ's to make sure my taxi turned up and to give me a big hug. (Ah I miss Thailand). She was really sweet the day before, she gave me some bananas from her mums farm, which Edel found very funny. I seem to get a lot of 'banana presents' in Asia, do people not realise I virtually have a phobia and they should stop 'being nice to me' ha ha? The guesthouse that we stayed at in Chiang Mai did exactly the same, giving us Banana Fritters. I had to pretend to bite it whilst they were looking and quickly hid it on my bag when they were looking the other way - nice!!
So then, over to Vietnam. I flew into Hanoi which is in the North, ready to weave my way south down the country. After bumming around on the beaches in Thailand, being in Hanoi was a shock to the system. Crazy city! Forget the green cross code... just walk and pray the mopeds dodge you. There are 1 million in the city and there is never a break in the traffic. When you get to the other side of the road, you just breath a sigh of relief that you made it. They come from all directions and dont care which side of the road they drive on. Mopeds will dodge you, but cars and buses will move for no one. You think you are safe on the pavement, nah forget that one. 6 mopeds coming towards you 'beep beep' -interesting. I dont know what they would do out here if vehicles didnt have horns. Thats all you hear constantly. I think it means 'get out of the way, im coming through'. Their crazy road system seems to work strangely enough though (?!)
I didnt do a great deal in Hanoi. I just wandered the city with some girls I met in the hostel. I missed seeing the embalmed body of Ho Chi Minh by 1 day. The museum closes and his body is shipped back to Russia for 3 months every year - bad timing! I wasnt impressed with the weather in Vietnam when I first arrived. The further South I have gone, the warmer it is getting, and I definitely cant complain now. When I first arrived, it was raining a lot and quite cold, (Im sure you will all love to hear that!!)
After Hanoi, it was 3 days in Halong Bay.... all I can say is AMAZING!!!! Definitely the highlight of my trip so far. Words cant describe how beautiful it is. Cruising around on a junk boat with nothing much else around is quite a bizarre experience, calm water and very peaceful. The bay is basically 3000 rock formations in the South China Sea. There was a large group of us, they had to find a bigger boat for us and then some people had to sleep on a different boat on the first night, as there werent enough cabins. I was hoping to sleep on deck, under the stars, but Mr Weatherman had other ideas and gave us a thunder storm instead. Although the lightening was amazing, lighting up the Bay, so I hung around in the rain for a while on deck. The 2nd night we stayed on Cat Ba Island, which is in the middle of Halong Bay and the only area populated. Cat Ba wasnt quite what I was expecting. I was picturing pull up at the beach, being picturesque, a few hotels and stuff along the beach and that would be it. It was a larger place than I realised and when we got to where the hotels were, it reminded me of Brighton, but smaller. it was good all the same. (another drunken night followed).
The beer was flowing from 7.30am each day, (I was sensible and held off until 10am), lots of kayaking, jumping off the boat for swimming, (which I learnt the hard way that it is not the best idea when you have a bikini on. I think I might have flashed when I came to the surface - oops!). Lots of kayaking, which was good for the exercise and amazing again. Kayaking around the bay, in caves and lagoons, with nothing around, where the water is calm and peaceful and the only sound which can be heard is the wildlife is surreal. I would do that trip over and over again, it was really sad as the boat arrived back in Halong City, I didnt want it to end... Although our livers were saying 'game over' I think.
So after Halong Bay, I headed further down the country. My plan was to stop in a place called Ninh Binh, which is supposed to be 'Halong Bay in the Rice Paddies' and really beautiful. No one else seemed to be going there and people were either heading straight for Hue or Hoi An. It was a tough choice to make, splitting up from nice people that I had met and being on my own, but I thought I would regret it if I didnt. However.... I never made it! After getting on the bus and the bus taking longer than expected, I realised that I was going to end up arriving at 11pm, I would probably be dropped off in the middle of nowhere and I had to find accommodation. I realised this wasnt a good plan for little old me, so after 20 minutes of hand gestures, talking and writing words down, the bus people finally understood me, when I was trying to tell them I didnt want to get off the bus in Ninh Binh and I wanted to stay on until Hue. I got there in the end, which is the main thing, although the consequence of that was a 13 hour bus journey in a very uncomfortable seat. If I had planned to be going that far on the bus, I would have booked a sleeper, where you get a bed (theyre so handy, you travel throughout the night and dont have to pay for accommodation and then wake up in the morning to arrive in the next destination).
I had 4 hours in Hue, so the best way to see what Hue had to offer, was to jump on the back of a moped tour bike and see the city. There isnt a great deal in Hue, so im glad that I saw it all in 4 hours and didnt stay overnight. I saw Pagodas, the citadel, the border of South/North Vietnam by the river, which the views were stunning and there was an American war bunker at the border.
So next stop was Hoi An. Lovely lovely place. A small old town, with cute little streets and a river. The only problem with Hoi An, is the masses and masses of Tailor shops. So what did Kim do??? You got it.... I spent 3 days in and out of those shops. it was quite hard work in the end, always having to back for fittings. I had 2 pairs of shorts, 3 bikinis, 6 dresses and a skirt made. I would have gone crazy, but I have to think of the rucksack! I need to send them to Sydney soon, im waiting until I hit Saigon, as I dont trust to send them from smaller places. So my rucksack is quite full at the moment.
I spent a lot longer in Hoi An than I intended. The evenings were very drunken, (thats what happens when its free drinks 10-11pm in the bars, followed by happy hour.) The days were spent in tailor shops until enough was enough and then after that it was beachtime. the beach was 5 kms away, so we used to hire a bike for the day for 30p and cycle, which was lovely and actually cleared the hangovers away. A taxi was 2quid each way, so hiring bikes was a much healthier and cheaper option. (2 pounds will buy me 20 glasses of beer over here!!) See, im not totally being the lazy bum you all think I am, just because work is a 'thing of the past' and knowledge of reality has been lost somewhere along my travels ha ha. Its hard work trying to figure out what day it is sometimes, and as for the date... nah forget it.... I know we are still in September, thats all I need to know for now.. :-)
So after lovely Hoi An, it was time to get on that Sleeper bus and get to Nha Trang. I cant say that I am impressed with this place. Its growing on me, but I think that is only because of the people, as there is a big group of us, which always makes it more fun. Its quite a dirty city, lots of rats and cockroaches to dodge in the evening. The beach is a short walk away and is 'so so'. Lots of rubbish in the sea. I think this is supposed to be the most commercialised beach place in Vietnam (although McDonalds, Burger King and Starbucks still do not exist, which is definitely a good thing!!) The Vietnames people are quite aggressive here and the place overall is quite corrupt. Its not safe to walk the streets at night, your belongings arent safe in your hotel, (the hotel staff help themselves). We came to a hotel that we knew was ok and all throughout Vietnam we have requested not to have maid service. Although from some peoples stories, the hotel staff enter your rooms when you are out at night anyway, so that doesnt help much. Most nights here have not been without some kind of incident. (Dont worry though, all is good). You have to constanly watch your belongings and they dont seem to see it as a problem that they steal your stuff and then want to sell it back to you!!! Overall, thats my only gripe with Vietnam. Nha Trang is definitely the worst place for it, but im out of here first thing in the morning, which I am really ready to leave now.
I originally only stayed for 1 night in Nha Trang and headed out into the mountains to Dalat. Very bizarre. Its only 4 hours away on the bus, but it was FREEZING! Well, probably England temperatures. 3 layers including jumper, trousers, socks and a borrowed scarf was the new dress code. It wasnt easy when I only have 1 jumper and 1 pair of full length trousers with me. The bus journey to and from Dalat was amazing. The views were stunning, driving up through the mountains and into the clouds. Dalat itself was a bigger place that I thought it would be and finding a restaurant serving Vietnamese food was quite a chore when we arrived. For some strange reason I thought I was in Vietnam, not Italy or England! We spent a day with the EasyRiders. Hop on the back of a moped and they give you a tour. We went quite a way out into the country, which was really cool. Seeing the (usual) Pagodas, 2 waterfalls, an ethnic minority village, which was really cool, playing with the kids, the coffee plantations. I had no idea that Vietnam is 2nd in the world for coffee production, after Brazil. See, this trip is being educational as well :-)!! A slight reality check when my moped driver was showing me the 'posh' houses and how some people have become really rich from the coffee plantations that they own. He said they earn 2million Dong a month (we thought he said per year, but im sure that cant be right) and was saying 'Rich, Rich people'. Thats around 60 quid... It was good fun being out in the country around nice scenery on the back of a bike. Very tiring though. Im not quite sure how that worked, we werent cycling!!
We ended up heading back to Nha Trang after Dalat, to catch up with other people that were arriving. Because of the hostel in hanoi and the halong bay trip, its been familiar faces everywhere and always a big group of us. I am still sharing hotel rooms with Alice, a girl I met in Hanoi. There were 4 of us sharing in Hoi An, but 2 of the girls went separate ways. We all have different timescales for seeing places, mine seem to be the most relaxed, so I dont need to hurry along. Although I definitely want to go back to where my heart lies, before hitting Australia.... which is Thailand.
So next on the agenda is Mui Ne, just another beachy place, which has lots of sand dunes, which you can slide down as well - cant wait!! Theres around 10 of us heading there tomorrow. After Mui Ne, its back to the city (I will get beach withdrawals) to Saigon, (or I should call it Ho chi Minh as its now called). Once I have seen the sights there, which is mainly all war related, I will be heading to Phu Quoc, (an amazing beach with beach bungalows - hoorah. I miss not being able to live in a bungalow by the beach). I will have to check the date some time soon, as I have to be out of Vietnam by 6th October, when my visa expires.
So overall, I like Vietnam. Its ridiculously cheap. On average, I pay around 2pounds a night for a hotel room. I can get drunk for 2 pounds (no joke) and I can eat for around 50pence and buy cigarettes for 50pence, or cheaper if I haggle more. I miss the 7Elevens. (Convenience shops). Its getting easier, but it was quite difficult when I first arrived to find essentials. I needed suncream and was offered Factor 81. I know you might all think that would be a good option, but I didnt funnily enough. So the hunt continued and I managed to find Factor 30 (still a bit high, but better than 81 thats for sure). But even that was no good.... it was a 'tan preventer' and also contained 'Skin whitener'. We use fake tan, they use fake 'white' over here, as they think white skin is nicer. I didnt like the idea that I would go out for the day and return whiter than when I went out!! The Vietnamese make me laugh on the beach, as there are loads of 'beach sellers' walking up and down. I will be sweating buckets and they walk around wearing jumpers, a thick fleece on top, wooly gloves, thick socks with flip flops (ha ha), face masks and rice hats, anything to keep the sun away from them. I think I would pass out! I miss the food in Thailand and I cant wait to go back. Its ok here, but getting to be 'same same' and not very flavoursome. I cant wait to eat with a knife and fork again though. Im getting to be a 'dab hand' with those chopsticks now. In Thailand, you miss having a knife, as they just use a fork and spoon and then when you get to Vietnam, you just miss knives and forks full stop.
Sorry, I have babbled in a major way there. I should update this more often, but it hasnt been easy to do that since arriving here. The days are always busy, or the internet ridiculously slow. I only get 5 or 10 mins on the internet at the moment, so its not easy to be writing emails. So for everyone that is thinking that I am ignoring them....im not!! I will catch up with them all soon. I started writing this almost 2 weeks ago and has been difficult to get it finished. Next will be photos. My memory card is full now, so I have to get them downloaded. (Theres around 750 to bore you all with ha ha). So following on fromthe promise of my last blog... I really will post photos soon!!
Hope everyone is ok back home and having fun. Thinking of you...
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