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It has been a while since my last blog due to the lack of free internet in the hostels we have been staying in mixed with slight lazyness..
Well we decided to rent some mopeds for 2 days while we were in Hue and drive them down the coast to our next stop Hoi An as many people had done this coming North and said it was well worth it- and it definately was! We saw some amazing beaches on the way- they were huge and there was not a single person on them except us because they were well off the beaten track. We also stopped in a little village for lunch and asked someone where we could get food and we were shown to what looked like someones back garden where we had a lovely rice dish followed by jack fruit, it cost us about $2 for all 4 of us to eat (all 4 of us being Joe, Alex (couple of Irish lads we met on the slow boat) Leo and I) its a shame its not that price everywhere you go here! We also biked along the Hai Van pass (which some of you may know from the Top Gear Vietnam special as they also did it on bikes) and the views were stunning- it would have been so wasted going on a bus through the tunnel that runs under it! At the top of the pass we met some Vietnamese ladies selling things and they came over to me stared at me and then began feeling my boobs! I was rather shocked but while still straddling a scooter didnt have much chance to retreat- one of the women then proceded to explain that it was ok because I could feel her boobs but but she only has small boobs and mine were big.. I declined her offer- I think they find boobs a bit of a novelty! Needless to say the boys found the whole thing hillarious and they stood by and watched! We then headed onto Hoi An through Da Nang where we exchanged our scooters for our bags.
We didnt do too much in Hoi An- it is known for its made to measure clothing and is very popular. You can literally take a picture of any item of clothing you like in and they will make it for you. There were people taking in pictuers of designer dresses and pictures of David Backham to get his suit made for them. People had some wonderful things done but I didnt really need it/could afford it/had any space in my bag! Leo had a very nice shirt and suit jacket made though which he had shipped home.
Our next stop was Nha Trang which is known for it beaches and partying- unfortunately the weather wasnt that great and although we did have a couple of the afternoons on the beach most of the time was spent drinking, eating, playing pool and table football. The rest of the time was spent recovering from the drinking while becoming very familiar with HBO and Star Movies the Vietnamese movie channels!
We then moved onto Mui Ne which is known for its windsurfing and Kitesurfing, unfortunately though I fell and hurt my knee and the doc said not to go into the water and I think windsurfing would have been pushing it a bit far so I had to watch pining from the beach! There were some pretty good people out though so there was plenty to watch!
We then moved onto Ho Chi Minh City where I am currently, we have visited the war museum which was quite shocking as some of the pictures were very graphic. As you can expect it showed the Americans in a very negative light saying how horrible they were to everyone- I imagine if you went to a similar museum in America it might be a bit different. We also went to the Cu Chi tunnels which shows the tunnels the guerrilla fighters hid and all the village people lived for many years - again here it was hugely emphasised how awful Americans were. They are also very proud of those who killed many Americans as they showed us a vidio showing people who were honoured for the number of Americans they had killed. The vicious traps they set and the hidden tunnels they built were all done by hand and stretch for over 250km with rooms and kitchens- I definately would not have wanted to have been an American soldier in that neck of the woods during war time!
Joe and Alex left Leo and I today- its strange to be on our own again after over 3 weeks with them. I am sure we will pick up another few people though. Our plan for the next couple of days is to go to the Mikong Delta and then into Cambodia! Looking forward to it!
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