Stalking our way around Vietnam - Part 1 - tp. Nha Trang, Vietnam
tp. Nha Trang, Vietnam
So where was I? Me gloating how I was getting too hot round the pool in Cambodia I think? I also mentioned that I was going to make these shorter and more regular but you'll see by scrolling down that I've failed there so sorry about that. I'll try and do better next time. Apart from that, not a great deal more to report about Cambodia I don't think. We had another chilled few days of doing not a lot on the beach, eating some great food (including a cracking meal at a place called the Secret Garden on Valentine's night where we contemplated asking a singleton female traveller looking throughly depressed to come join us but realised she might find the thought of sharing a meal on Valentine's night with a couple on a 6 month round the world trip even more depressing) and spending some further quality time with the guys at Penguin Pablo Bungalows (see pictures) who were great in helping a couple of travelling novices on their way. With Visas now in hand (again thanks to the Penguin guys) we set off for Vietnam via the Wacky Races experience of bus trips in Cambodia. Fortunately for us we made it in one piece and after an 8 hour journey, including an unexplainable 3 hour wait at the border, we made it across to Vietnam. First stop, Chau Doc: Chau Doc Our gateway into Vietnam and in particular the Mekong Delta which we'd been really looking forward to. We continued to get lucky with the accommodation and stayed at a great little guest house about a 10 minute walk to the centre of town. The owner was a great bloke and really looks after his guests (which I have to say, has been the case pretty much everywhere we've stayed to be honest). The town itself is pretty forgettable with not much happening. Even the trusty trip advisor couldn't help us on a meal out suggesting that all food in the town is basically a bit sh*t. After that useful tip we ventured out and managed to grab an ok meal but what was most noticeable was the very few westerners around and how ************e in the town spoke English. No reason why they should I guess but a new experience all the same. The next day, on the hotel managers advice, we took a trip to a nature reserve which was a great day out. We got to jump on a boat at the crack of dawn to see the birds in hunting mode as well as taking in the amazing scenery (see video). However arguably the best bit of the day was the moped ride to get there which took us through mile after mile of open paddy fields which was stunning (one of the many moments I wish I had the go pro at the ready) as well as the added bonus for me of seeing Sam clinging on for dear life, refusing to look right or left through fear that she was about to lose her life at any moment. I was half expecting to get a fine from her driver for the hand imprint marks she left on the bike through holding on so tight. The afternoon was pretty non eventful. Yet another temple (pagoda) tour (we're definitely pagoda'd out now. We've seen dozens and they're all the same) and a trip up a nice hill for a view but that was about it. Special mention to the hotel manager for giving us some of his wife's homemade cooking to try which he assured me was "fish", which tasted like pork, had hairs on and was spiky. No idea what it was but tasted ok all the same. Can Tho Having felt a little bit cheated by the Mekong Delta gateway shout of Chau Doc, this was a last minute added stop on the itinerary to see if we could get the real thing. After a bit of research it seemed like Can Tao was the answer as what it's famed for is one of the biggest floating markets in Vietnam. So we quickly booked ourselves on another tour with another very early start (5am - these are becoming the norm now). The tour guide was a guy called Hue (see picture) and was a student at the local university studying for a masters in Physics and Maths, so as you can imagine we had a lot in common.....He was a good guy (although slightly annoying) as he spent most of the time relentlessly talking to Sam and I to continue to improve on his English. I can only apologise to his future wife whose kids will now be speaking English in an estuary accent and will greet any westerners with the phrase "Alrite mate" from now on. The floating market was "ok" but felt a bit flat. Could be that we missed most of the action despite the ridiculously early start. We did meet a couple of cracking Swedish lads with one in particular reminding me of you Wes in 15 years time (see picture). Again, we didn't hang around here (1 day), before we moved on to one of our highlights of our stay in Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City (or Saigon as it was previously called). Ho Chi Minh City The observant ones amongst you may have noticed the blog title and wondered what I was on about. It's at this point where this kicks in. One of the weirdest things about the trip so far is how we continually keep on seeing the same faces at the various stops along the way. I appreciate that most have a similar route in mind over the same timespan but it's a bit weird nonetheless. There's one couple in particularly that we kept on seeing. First time was at Ankor Wat as they were the couple next to us at sunrise. They were pretty distinguishable as the girl had a camera tripod set up and the guy looked like Tim's (my brother's) doppelgänger from when he came back from his own travels. The next time was on the border crossing into Vietnam 2 weeks later and the 3rd time was then on the bus from Can Tho to HCMC 4 days after that! By this point we were starting to find it a bit freaky so we felt like we had to talk to them as we were sure they would have also realised these constant comings together. It turns out they hadn't (......) and were pretty perplexed / freaked out by us stating that we'd been watching them for 3 weeks of their holiday. However they seemed to look past this and were even willing to share a taxi with stalker number 1 and 2 when we got to the bus station. We contemplated swapping numbers but thought that might be a restraining order waiting to happen but we did joke about maybe bumping into them the next day. And what happened? After our breakfast the next day, we stepped out the hotel, turned the corner and there they were. After deciding enough is enough we decided to do our site seeing together and Sam and I had officially made out first travelling chums, Mathias and Isabelle, both German (but Mathias living out of Sydney as a chef) and Isabelle still in Leipzig working as a TV news reporter. So anyway Ho Chi Minh. On the whole we really liked it and felt like the first fully functioning city we'd come across. It's very easy to get around and most of the tourist spots are walkable. Quite refreshing not having to negotiate yet another tuk tuk / moped for once. The highlight was undoubtedly the War Remnants Museum which was a real eye opener for the both of us. I have to admit, my knowledge of the war here is limited at best and I found it fascinating and horrifying at the same time. It does make you wonder what the yanks were up to I have to say. It's a definite must do if you ever visit the city but prepare yourself for some graphic imagery if you do. The next day was spent at the Chu Chi tunnels which is where the Viet Cong lived / fought during the war. A bit disappointing to be honest as most of it is reconstructed and the shooting range there is a bit bad taste although hearing the rounds being fired does give you more of a feeling of what it was like back then. Sam seemed to enjoy it more than me though as she was one of the few that could nip around the extremely small tunnels without banging her head / bending over. She could have been a handy runner for the VC back then. After a great couple of days with Mathias and Isabelle, we booked ourselves onto a ridiculously cheap flight (£30) up to Dalat via another stalking moment of seeing the couple sat next to us on the bus at Siem Riep at the airport Burger King. Dalat A bizarre but awesome place. It genuinely doesn't feel like you're in Vietnam any more. As it was built purely by the French and is up in the mountains, it feels more like you're in the Alps in the Summer. Other than its main purpose of farming and agriculture, it's a bit of an adventure seekers paradise and we had a great couple of days there. First up was an "easy rider" tour around the local country side. The Easy Rider concept is pretty famous in Vietnam and basically entails you hiring some bikers for the day to take you to wherever you want to go at a negotiable rate. We joined another English couple, John and Eve, who were staying at our hostel and had a great day. The biker guys were superb. Funny, knowledgable, drive very safely, and took us to see some amazing views / things including drinking Weasel Poo coffee (the most expensive coffee in the world - we bought a cup, tastes like coffee (not poo)) and seeing a silk worm factory and eating a silk worm larvae (see the pictures of the girls going through the motions of eating one). My biker in particular was a character. I'm pretty sure he had a night on the rice wine the night before, was still drunk and spent most of the day taking the p*ss out of me ("You have baby? You fat! Ha ha ha ha"). Cheers. Second day was spent canyoning which I'm sure most of you have seen pictures of all ready but I've added on here for those who haven't. As a quick overview this involves abseiling, jumping, swimming down various cliffs, waterfalls, rapids etc in the middle of the jungle. I have to say it was pretty tough and special mention must go to Sam who was an absolute trooper throughout. She was getting battered and bruised constantly and at one point I thought she was a gonna (see video of her abseiling down the waterfall). She just refused to be beaten and kept getting up and eventually got to the bottom. Everyone, and especially me, was very proud of her. I think that might be the end of her canyoning career though.....Also special mention must also go to me for getting through the day with the mother of all hangovers fuelled by the tequila our new friend John kept buying the night before. Nha Trang I'm going to keep this brief (you'll be relieved to hear) as there is nothing going for this place and it was a wasted day to be honest. After a 4 hour bus ride through the mountains we find ourselves in little Moscow or Russia's Benidorm. It's full of them and is probably exactly how you imagine it. By the way, is it me or can you pick out a Russian a mile away? The one positive is that it has a beach and after a day of doing eff all we've quickly booked ourselves onto a sleeper bus taking us to Hoi An tonight which I'm told is a world away from what we've just seen. I'm hoping that's the case any way although a 12 hour bus ride could be interesting. 12 HOURS! ON A BUS! In a bit Jon & Sam