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Hey everyone.
We're currently in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Im sat in an internet cafe and a mouse or maybe a rat just ran from under my desk! Having lived at furness rd with jerry the mouse for two years though, im not freaking out too much!
A lots happened since I last wrote but i'll try to keep it as short as poss.
Got the night bus from Siem Reap to Sihanoukville which was a massive blag but it was never going to be any fun! Arrived at 6 am and went straight to the hostel we'd booked (Mick and Craig's - beautiful British names!) It was basically a little box made out of tin but it was nice enough. We didnt think much of Sihanoukville at first. We were promised gorgeous beaches and bright blue see but thats not really what we got. The beach was lined with scruffy looking shacks and we were pestered by kids selling bracelets the whole time. These are kids with i phones and the lates fashions so i didnt feel bad telling them to get lost! Despite this we grew to love the place. We had a bbq on the beach one night at one of the shacks, and it was probably the best food i've had since i've been here. We got chatting to a group of people here and one of the lads went to runshaw at the same time we did. Small world! Another night we went to a UV paint party which was so much fun! As soon as we arrived a bar man slapped pink paint all over our faces. Looking around everyone else had nice attractive patterns on them but i think we'd arrived too late for anyone to bother with that! I managed to get paint all over my clothes which was a nightmare. We then saw some of the people we;d met the night before and they were off to the local night club - LV's. We decided to go with them so i got changed into clean clothes and somehow managed to get more paint all over them. So thats 50% of my wardrobe i've ruined! The club was so much fun (no aj's though).
So we had three days in Sihanoukville and then headed up to Kampot. We booked on a trip to go and see a deserted hotel on top of a mountain. It was built 100 years ago for the rich french tourists. It was then converted into a prison during the Khmer Rouge period. Its now completely deserted as are a church and post office up there. Pretty spooky place, especially as we were up in the clouds so it was really misty! We had to treck through the jungle for an hour to get there as well which was tiring in the heat but really good fun. Some guy got a leach attached to him. Soooo glad i didnt!!!
We really liked Kampot. It was a really pretty town by the river so we enjoyed just wandering around and sampling the local food. Really quiet though so we were glad to be coming to the city!
The bus journey here was a long one. 13 hours when we were told 6! All with one toilet stop. I was in agony at one point! Had a problem at the boarder as well. A couple were told they couldnt leave cambodia because they didnt have a stamp in. The border officials forgot to stamp their passports. They were told they'd have to go back to the border they came in from to get the stamp. This would have taken about 48 hours round trip! After half an hour of arguments they finally let them through. Scary though as it could easily have been us and i dont know if i'd be willing to argue with the cambodian police to the extent they did!
So we arrived in Saigon at 11pm. We had no local currency, no place to stay and no map! Somehow with the help of some british people we managed to find somewhere which is actually pretty descent and cheap. Our first day here we went to see the Cu Chi Tunnels. These were used by the vietnamese to escape from american soldiers during the war. They were tiny! This was so the "fat ass americans" couldnt fit down the holes too. This "fat ass" Brit didnt even want to try!! Some lads did though and they struggled to get out!! We did go through some tunnels that had been made double the size to allow tourists to got through. Me and hannah nearly had a panic attack down there it was so claustrophbic. I also nearly lost my shoe but hannah rescued it for me! Cant believe people would live down there for weeks on end! Got stuck with a know-it-all traveler on the bus back. Everything we had done, he'd done it better and everything we'd bought he'd got it cheaper. This went on for 2 hours so we made a quick escape when we got off the bus. We seem to attract this type of person. Maybe we seem so clueless people want to give us endless advice! But i think we're doing ok!
Last night we just had a wander around the city and got caught in a seriously heavy thunder storm. Seems to be a daily occurence, in fact there's one brewing now! The roads are absolutely insane. So hard to cross. You wait for a green man, it appears and then motorbikes still come flying past. We've been told the best way to cross is just walk out and everyone weaves around you. Sounds crazy but it actually works!
We then went to watch the semi final with some irish lads we met on our trip. We got on really well with them but they were leaving this morning. Seems to be the case that we find friends and then they leave the next day..... Slightly worrying! We're hoping we'll bump into a few people on the way up the coast of vietnam as its a popular route. So we're off to Mui Ne tomorrow for some more beach action. Maybe i'll finally get a tan. Ha yeah right!
Anyway thats all for now folks. It's really hard to get on facbook here so sorry if i'm ignoring you.
Missing you all lots x x x x
- comments
rothers yo sharps, love reading your blogs so much more interseting than doing my bloody assignment. glad you are having fun, i cant stand know it all been there done that with bells on people, and u r stuck on a bus with nowere to go, just be rude next time put the earphones in soon get the message!! take care matey xxx
victoria wooo sounds like fun! heading to sihanoukville soon. could you get me a saigon beer bottle name thing? just tear it off the bottle! I have a lao one and thailand but forgot vietnam! xxxxx
Robert All sounds good. Take some pictures of the thunder storms for me! Things that have been happening in Britain this week: 1. A crazed Geordie man is on the run from police after shooting his ex-girlfriend and her new lover. He is hiding in some woods with a gun whilst the hapless Northumbria Police Force insist "the net is closing". He hasn't been seen for 5 days..... 2. Arlo keeps pooing on his "I love Mummy" baby grow. 3. An Octopus keeps correctly predicting the outcome of world cup games. 4. Cheryl Cole has Malaria. 5. The FTSE has rallied somewhat, after a 8 day slide in which it lost nearly 10% of it's value.
Helen Good to hear what's happening in the UK Robert! Amy - it all sounds like a real adventure and a world away from what I'm up to. If the coastal route is a popular one you may end up travelling with some other people. Enjoy taking your 'fat ass' up the coast.
dorothy bowling All sounds amazing! Really pleased to have such detail of your trip. Great to hear from you xx
Alan Brilliant!!!!! Being an armchair enthusiast reading about your antics is just great. Keep it up and stay safe.
Neo Sharps, I'm so jealous of you!! Glad you're having a good time. Stay safe, and good luck with the tan xxxx
Joanne Smith Miss you sharps. Love your blogs x