"We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open."
Jawaharal Nehru
This is the continuing account of my 2007 trip to the Asian countries of Thailand, Laos, Vietnam & Cambodia (see other blog entries) with my brother, Wayne. Our friend Paul Delaney also joined us for the Vietnam portion of the trip.
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In keeping with our trip to Southeast Asia, my brother Wayne and I leave Laos (see previous blog entry) and fly to the country of.....
Vietnam
Vietnam is a tourist paradise, and I believe it is one of the best countries in the world to travel to. The country is a magical mix of natural, cultural and historical delights that appeal to emerging new travellers who seek more than the usual replication of their own culture in a far-away-land. The country's lengthly coastline, which stretches from the Mekong Delta in the south to the Red River Delta in the north, contains beautiful beaches and a range of other coastal landforms. The lowland plains are covered in rich tapestry of green rice paddies, and inland the country rises to include the cooler plateaus and forested mountains. Three quarters of the country is either hilly or mountainous.
People - 80 million and growing - are everywhere. Today, it is the 13th most populated country in the world, yet, with all travel, a beautiful land and wonderful climate mean little for the tourist unless the host nation is friendly and willing to embrace visitors. The Vietnamese people excel at hospitality; visitors are greeted by warm smiles, friendly hosts, and an interest in where they are coming from and what they are doing. Then there is the food. Although established as a firm favourite across the globe, this is the source and it is good!! One of the main delights in visiting the country is sampling the outstanding cuisine.
Add to the land and the people the complex history and the unique culture of the country, and Vietnam looms large on the must-see nations. The Vietnamese are incredibly hardworking people and although they are poor by western standards, they are spirited and happy. A full 50% of the population is under the age of 30 and it has one of the youngest populations in the world.
Wayne and I hook up with Paul Delaney in the Vietnamese capital of..........
Hanoi
The Vietnamese nation was born among the lagoons and marshes of the Red River Delta around 4,000 years ago and for most of its independent existence has been ruled from Hanoi, Vietnam's small, elegant capital lying in the heart of the northern delta. Given the political and historical importance of Hanoi and its burgeoning population of 3 million, it's still a surprisingly low-key city, with the character of a provincial town - though with a dramatic rise in motorbike ownership, increased traffic and Western-style retail outlets, its catching up fast with the brash, young Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). For the time being, however, it remains relatively laid-back.
In 1887, the French turned Hanoi into the centre of government for the entire Union of Indochina, replacing ancient monuments with grand colonial residences, many of which survive today. Hanoi finally became the capital of Vietnam in 1954, with Ho Chi Minh its first president: The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is now the city's biggest crowd-puller.
Until recently, political isolation together with lack of resources preserved what was essentially the city in the 1950's. However, since the advent of tourism in 1993, the city has seen an explosion in traveller's cafes, mini-hotels and cybercafes. Indeed, Hang Bac, one of the city's Old Quarter main drags is home to a large number of traveller hangouts, it's starting to resemble a little piece of Bangkok's Khoa San Road in Hanoi. The big question now is how much of central Hanoi will survive the onslaught of modernization.
We decide to set out and explore Hanoi's Old Quarter........
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| The Old Quarter is totally unbelievable craziness. We were told when crossing the street, just do it, but remember 3 things: DON'T RUN, DON'T STOP and DON'T TURNAROUND. If you remember these 3 rules, you'll be OK, the motorist will avoid you. |
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| And among the total craziness are little pieces of tranquility, such as this old man fishing the canals that run adjacent to the Old Quarter. |
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| "Banana's for sale! Get your fresh yellow bananas here!" |
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| "Perhaps I can interest you in some live scorpions for a snack?" |
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| "Puppies for sale. Get your fresh puppies here!" |
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| These old people, more than likely, are veterans of the Vietnam War (or here in Vietnam referred to as the American War). This is still a communist country. |
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| This lake, situated just next to the Old Quarter, offered park-like conditions in the middle of one of the craziest cities I've ever been.. |
We decide to grab a few beers and see the city in style........
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| We take the cycles.....bicycle pushed chairs with wheels! |
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| Is there any better way to enjoy a cold Heineken? |
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| Very few temples survived in Vietnam.....it being a non-secular communist nation. Reason enough to check this one out! |
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| Not sure who this guy is but he occupied the small temple. Could it be a version of a Vietnamese Buddha or some long loss king? |
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| The One-Pillar Pagoda was built by Emperor Ly Tong, who ruled from 1028 to 1054. According to the court records, Ly was childless and dreamt that he met Buddha who handed him a baby son while seated on a Lotus Flower. Ly then married a peasant girl who bore him a son. Ly constructed the temple in gratitude for this in 1049, having been told by a monk to build the temple by erecting a pillar in the middle of lotus pond, similar to the one he saw in his dream. |
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| The Ho Chi Minh mausoleum was built with the aid of the Russians and is dedicated to the life and times of Uncle Ho. |
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| In the centre of the mausoleum is an enormous God-like statute of Ho Chi Minh with his hand raised in the symbolic gesture of learning with sun rising thru the clouds behind him. We were told that Uncle Ho was not currently in residence. Apparently he was in Moscow getting an annual cleaning....true story! |
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| A little bit of home in the middle of Asia. We stopped by for tea but they wouldn't let us in. |
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| During the day we ate at little roadside food stalls that we found everywhere. The beer was usually cold and the food......well there never was any shortage and it was always awesome. This complete meal (including the beer) was about $5.00 in total. Most of it was mystery food but it was all good! |
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| In the night time we would sit outside at roadside Bai Hoi (fresh beer) stalls and catch a snack from the many bicycle food vendors. Again the food was awesome!! |
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| How could I resist not taking a picture?!? The fact is; Paul and I ate here and the food and atmosphere was great! |
The next day we head for........
Halong Bay
Listed as a World Heritage Site, the Halong Bay, dotted with 3,000 limestone islets rising from emerald waters, is the best known natural wonder of Vietnam. Because of their precipitous nature, most of the islets are uninhabited and unaffected by human presence. The islets feature endless numbers of beaches, grottos and caves.
We book a 3 day cruise on a luxury Chinese junk! Our first day....
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| The classic luxury Chinese junk. |
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| Our junk's dining area. For some unknown reason they always served french fries as the first course. The trick was not to eat these as the next five courses were fresh fish and stir-fries! |
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| Our accommodations for the next couple of nights. |
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| The sun deck of our junk. Spent the second night up here drinking beer with Paul and watching the sunset. |
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| Approaching the nearly 3,000 limestone karst that make up Halong Bay. |
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| Approaching the first stop of Halong Bay. Paul and Wayne would go caving on this islet but I was too sick this day to partake. |
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| Floating villages are strung all along the karst's sheltered bays and lagoons. |
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| Once the junk stopped the villagers would row out to sell us their wares...... |
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| The biggest selling item among this group was beer. What can I say! |
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| A small pagoda sandwiched between two karst. |
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| Fishermen around a lone karst. |
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| Our junk's masthead was a dragon! Fitting, given where we are! |
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| Kayakers paddling off into the sunset. |
The next day we continue around Halong Bay.......
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| Sun rises over a bay full of anchored junks. |
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| Today we go kayaking and this fine floating establishment is where we will obtain our kayaks. |
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| We managed to get kayaking twice while in Halong Bay. The first time we doubled up but the second time we went solo in the ancient double-man kayaks. |
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| Approaching an archway in the karst to a hidden lagoon. |
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| Entering the archway into a huge lagoon. This is the only access!! Kayakers get lost in here for years, just paddling around like zombies looking for the way out! |
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| Heading back with our rented kayaks. |
Next stop, Monkey Island.....
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| Monkey Island. Apparently years ago, researchers introduced monkeys to this island for some research purpose. Now they roam freely, but they are saucy and steal things, so beware! |
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| The climb to the top is very steep....very steep. |
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| Paul & myself climbed to the top of Monkey Island where the karst limestone was weathered down to razor-sharp pinnacles. If you tripped and fell it would be very nasty. |
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| The view from atop of Monkey Island looking east.... |
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| ....and the view looking west! |
Afterwards we went for supper on a small beach.....
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| Our captain aimed the junk for that small beach and he didn't stop until he pulled up next to the other beached junk. |
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| We had a seven-course meal on this beach, had a swim and when the tide came in we headed back out! |
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| The sun sets over Halong Bay! |
The next day we go to a larger inhabited island to go biking......
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| The first part of the bike ride was along a meandering stretch of paved road without any traffic (there are no vehicles on the island). |
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| The road got more and more narrow until it wasn't much more than a cement path. |
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| Wayne, Paul and myself got a little ahead of the others from our junk, so we stopped here and had a beer. When all the rest caught up they also decided to have a beer, thus forcing us to have another......and so the vicious cycle begins! |
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| There are no vehicles on the island but there are taxis. |
We opted to take a two day side trip to.......
Cat Ba Island
Cat Ba Island is situated in Halong Bay. It is the largest of 366 islands in the Cat Ba Archipelago, and has a surface area of about 140 sq. km. The area is one of the best examples in the world of a karst landscape invaded by the sea. Cat Ba also has coral terraces, sandy beaches, freshwater wetland areas, tidal flats, mangrove forests and willow swamps. This spectacular scenery and a high diversity of landscapes make Cat Ba a special place and it is fast becoming a destination spot for national and international tourist.
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| As we approach Cat Ba Island's harbour we had to sail thru this floating community! |
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| Cat Ba town was ready for the tourist, with their wide newly paved boulevards. But alas, the droves of tourist had yet to arrive, instead the wide boulevards were used by the locals to dry fish. |
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Cat Ba harbour as seen from our hotel room (which was included as part of our $88 3-day junk tour). We stayed here for one night and then found cheaper and better accommodations next door at another hotel for another night.
We decided to rent scooters and explore the island.......
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"Get your motor runnin'
Head out on the highway
Lookin' for adventure
And whatever comes our way
Yeah darlin' go make it happen
Take the world in a love embrace
Fire all of your guns at once
And explode into space"
Steppenwolf Born to be Wild
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| We set out on pretty much the only road on the island. |
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| Some of the scenery along the way. |
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| Rice paddies at various stages of preparation. |
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| I have no idea what the people were harvesting (I suspect clams). Whatever it was, it was probably going to be our supper tonight! |
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| Paul checking out the signs. It would appear we need to exercise a certain amount of care!! |
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| This nondescript beach had thousands of fish with legs. I kid you not, the fish crawled on the mud with actual legs. Some kind of evolution-in-progress. Unfortunately, whenever we approached the beach the fish would disappear into the mud, so we had to watch them from afar. |
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| Cat Ba had many beaches of powder white sand, with no one on them! We drove the road that followed this beach for about 15kms. Flat and straight. Allowed us to open our hogs up! All 75kms per hour! |
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| We stopped at this 'restaurant' for food, but as it turned out, it was not a 'restaurant' at all, but a person's home. They offered us tea and beer, but we declined the opium laced tobacco that the owner was enjoying. |
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| Afterwards we found a real restaurant and Wayne was hoping to catch his supper. No luck. |
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| On the road again. |
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| More picture postcard scenery! |
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| A light mist settles on the farmland. |
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| Along the way we stopped and visited one of the many underground cave/bunkers that the Viet-con had built during the Vietnam war to avoid the American bombing. |
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| The heavy artillery pad!! |
The next day we catch a train and head north to.......
Sapa
Nestled high in the Tonkinese Alps near the Chinese border, Sapa was built as a hill station during the French colonial days, to serve as a respite from the stifling heat. Because of its situation near the tallest mountain range in Vietnam, it is possibly the most scenic mountain location in Vietnam. Sapa is a colourful town thanks to the H'mong and Dzao people from the local hill tribes who head into the town's market everyday to sell their produce.
We spent the first day in Sapa wandering around.....
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| Sapa, built by the French, is nestled on a hillside and reminds me of something out of the French Alps, which I guess is what the French tried to replicate. |
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| Sapa consisted of an upper and lower part....this was the upper part! |
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| This is the lower part of Sapa and this shot was from my hotel balcony. |
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| My hotel balcony in Sapa - many a beer was consumed here! |
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| My hotel room in Sapa - notice the cool fireplace in the corner. I never had it lit, but in the nighttime it got cold enough, fortunately the bed had down blankets......hmmmm toasty warm! |
No knowing where we were going, we accidentally strolled out of town......
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| We started out of town no knowing where we were going....just going! Ended up walking thru the tallest bamboo I've ever seen! |
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| It's a common sight to see local women from the hill tribes pursuing foreigners down the main streets, bartering over colourful clothing and souvenirs. These 3 Black H'mong girls followed Paul and myself out of town and eventually lead us to their village. The girl on my far right spoke relatively good english. |
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| Our walk took us pass many terraced rice fields, all in various stages of flooding. |
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| These terraces have existed in this part of the world for hundreds of years and are passed down from generation to generation. |
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| The rice fields are completely underwater, which is refreshed continuously by the water flowing from the mountains. The water flows from one rice paddy to the other paddy via small canals until it reaches the river in the valley below. The rice is planted in April and harvested in October. Consequently, we are seeing empty fields now, the water is only meant to keep the paddies in good shape. |
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| We leave the road for a steep descent over a the rice paddy terraces. We pass a few houses, water buffaloes, pigs and of course the H'mong girls trying to sell us stuff. |
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| The Red Dzao, with their beautiful red headscarves, the more fringes on the scarf, the more important the person. |
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| The hike down to the village was a lot easier than the steep climb back up. Fortunately; as we got higher and closer to Sapa, the temperature started to return to normal. In the valley it was stifling. |
The next day was a chill out day, so we did some more wandering....
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| Getting my hiking boots cleaned up at the local market! |
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| The local market. I love these places and this was one of the best I've been to. |
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| The always intriguing mystery meat section.... |
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| Some of the not-so-mysterious varieties of meat. Anyone for some BBQ mutt? |
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| Some more of the local delicacies. And yes these grubs were alive and kicking. Hmmmm yummy! |
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| They obviously will eat anything. How about a feed of dried lizards? |
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| How much wood can a person load unto a motorcycle? A lot more than you think! |
The next day we start our climb of........
Mt. Fansipan
For the seriously fit, there is a trek to the top of Mt. Fansipan, Vietnam's highest peak at 3,143 metres. This isn't a climb to take lightly with potentially treacherous conditions on the mountain when the weather turns bad. From Sapa to the peak it is about 19kms, yet experience trekkers usually take 3 or 4 days to complete it (we did it in two). Taking a local guide and porters is highly recommended. If you are up to such a challenge the rewards are breathtaking.
The first day.....
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| The first part of the trek up Fansipan was relatively easy. We followed a slow flowing stream for about an hour through dense jungle bush. |
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| No one lives on Fansipan, but we did see a lot of signs of goats and water buffalo and the occasional farmer's field hacked out of the jungle, but for the most part it was just us and the elements. |
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| We arrived at the first hut after only a 3 1/2 hour trek. This is usually where trekkers coming down would stay, but the second hut (further up the mountain) was currently being occupied by a bunch of Japanese trekkers that couldn't make it this far. So we were forced to stay here. the triangle hut is where we slept and the guides stayed in another hut. Believe it or not, they sold beer here, so Paul was happy!! |
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| Our guide was also our cook. This was his kitchen..... |
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| ....and from that kitchen came this gourmet 9 course meal!! |
The next day we are up at 4:30 and we strike out for the peak......
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| We had already been on the trail for a hour before the sun came up. |
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| The trail in the beginning was well groomed and mainly ridge walking. |
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| The many false peaks of Fansipan. |
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| They even had handrails. Just like strolling in the park. |
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| This is how it went for quite the while, up one ridge side and down the other. Very taxing! |
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| Catching a few rays and my breath. Man this is hard work. |
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| Paul refilling his water supply. |
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| We enter the dark gloominess of a tall bamboo forest. |
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| "What do you mean we're not even close? Wayne did you hear that?" |
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Our guide: "Mr. Wayne. Mr. Wayne. Are you OK?"
Wayne: "I never signed up for this. And I'm talking to you Sunshine." |
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| A slow hard grind up through the bamboo forest, but I see light straight ahead, which means I'm about to break thru! |
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| We're getting near the top but it is still a full hour away. |
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| We peaked at 10:00AM! The view from the top of Indochina! |
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| Another one bites the dust! 3,143MASL!!! |
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| Another view from the peak! |
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The obligatory celebratory beer from the "Roof of Indochina".
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We leave Sapa and head for......
Ninh Binh
Approximately two and a half hours south of Hanoi lies the city of Ninh Binh, a fairly grim industrial looking town that would never deserve a mention if it was not for the fact it is located next to a very special piece of countryside.
Most travellers use it as a base to explore the spectacular scenery in the region - the jagged limestone cliff and rock formations that rise out of the paddy fields reminiscent of Ha Long Bay, and that's why we came!
Our first day in Ninh Binh we decided to rent bicycles and explore the countryside.........
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| This group of school boys played it up for us as we headed out into the countryside. |
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| We soon branched off onto a secondary road, with little traffic, and for the next 50+ kms it was mainly flat, so it allowed us the luxury to take in the extraordinary views! |
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| Roadside harvest of something that I expect sooner or later will turn up on my supper table. |
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| Periodically, some school kids would follow us for a while. They would either practice their english (usually only the word 'hello') or they would bum money! I think this group were the bum money ones! |
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| A duck farmers abode. Not up to our standards, but definitely serves the purpose. |
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| A thick haze hangs over this commercially active portion of the delta. |
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| At home, when a couple gets married, they ride thru town via a motorcade which proceeds to drive around blaring honking horns, whereas here in Vietnam, they walk around the road and drink beer. A much more civilized way of celebrating I think! |
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| Rivers in Vietnam are never boring. These boats are homes and the river is their income. |
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| This family placed the T.V. antenna (no cable T.V. here) on the highest surface they could find, in this case the haystack! |
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| The Kid stops to admire the scenery. The Ninh Binh area is famous for its karst mountains. |
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| These school boys paddled with us for quite some time. As you can see, no matter where you are, boys will be boys! |
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| Most everything is moved around the countryside either on boat, motorcycle or bicycle. |
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| Bring on the charge of the school-boy brigade! |
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| Every kid that passed me said "hello" in english, it being the only english word they knew. If you didn't say hello back, then they would repeat their 'hello'. Acknowledgement obviously was a required response. I don't recall ever saying hello so many times!! |
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| A Vietnamese cement truck. Got to love this country! |
We had left the back country roads and were once again on the main highway back to Ninh Binh. By this time we had paddled 55+ km.....
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| We were hot and tired and needed a thirst-quenching cold beer to wash the dust from our throats when ta da the Na Da came into Wayne's peripheral vision! |
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| This place was an oasis on a very busy highway. It had a beautiful fish pond surrounded with caged exotic birds, bonsai trees and the owners spoke no english.....Na Da English (no pun intended)..... |
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| ....but we were able to order three jugs of bone-chilling cold beer, the cheapest we would find in Vietnam. Three jugs and 10 packs of peanuts....$3.50 |
Later in the night we would relax out in front of our hotel.......
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| Our hotel, the Queen Mini, had a couple of tables out in front where we used to sit in the nighttime, and even though they didn't serve beer, the enterprising woman across the street did. All we had to do was raise our hand and she would scurry across the street with our beverages!! |
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| We had fears at first that this neighbourhood would be noisy since it was right next to the train station, but there are no nighttime trains, so it was actually very quiet and peaceful here. The Queen Mini Hotel was situated on the righthand corner and if you look closely you can see Wayne sitting on a chair right next to the lighted sign. |
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| Relaxing. Having a beer Hoi (fresh beer). Life is good! |
The next day we head for the.........
Tom Coc Caves
Tam Coc, a network of three beautiful caves carved by the local river as it winds through the karsts. Surrounded by paddy fields and dwarfed by the karsts towering above, a row down this river is a serene, peaceful experience that allows you to take in the natural beauty of the area at a gentle pace.
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| Hundreds of rowboats are lined up ready to take eager passengers to the Tom Coc Caves. |
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| There are almost 2,000 low income families in the area who take turns to row boats up the river, spending the rest of their time working in the paddy fields. Obviously this means their chance to row may only come up once every week or two, and since the cost of a river trip is just a couple of dollars most try to top up their row-boat income by selling handicrafts, embroidery and T-shirts on the boats. Wayne being the only passenger (only 2 per boat) was a ready victim to the sales-attack! |
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| The only entrance to the area with the three caves is this way. |
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| Relaxing among some of the most astounding scenery one could imagine. |
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| Similar in ways to Halong Bay, but not. |
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| Around every bend is a new photo opt. |
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| The only place where I've ever seen this way of rowing! |
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| A local harvesting something. No doubt whatever it is, it'll turn up on my supper table at some point in time! |
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| Approaching Hang Ca (the first cave) which is 127 metres long under a big mountain. Doesn't look like a cave entrance but its low ceiling along with the quiet movements of the oars create a sort of musical rhythm inside. |
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| The other side coming into view. |
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| These fish traps appear throughout the Tom Coc area. I have no idea what they are catching but no doubt it will turn up on my supper table at some point in time. |
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| The karsts layered in the background with a thick haze hanging over everything. |
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| A fisherwoman plying the waters looking for the fish that will no doubt turn up on my supper at some point in time. |
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| Hang Hai (the 2nd cave) with another low ceiling. What would happen if the water level rose by about 2 cm.? |
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| Garbage day or something that will no doubt turn up on my supper table at some point in time. |
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| The water eroded cliffs of the karst. |
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| Only a 100 metres away from the 2nd cave is Hang Ba (the 3rd cave) which is the coolest cave due to the natural light that is reflected by the water. |
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| Local market parked conveniently outside of the caves. |
After the visit to the Tom Coc caves we head out on our rented scooters to do some exploring......
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| Wayne on his hog! |
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| Some locals attract our attention as we are scooting by on our scooters. They direct us to the Bich Dong Pagoda. |
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| Wayne checking out the Buddha with the Santa Claus Gift Bag (????). Who knows. |
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| There's some caves around so we spend a few minutes checking these out. |
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| Bich Dong Pagoda is built on Ngu Nhac Mountain and the shrine is divided into three levels. This is the first level, the Ha Pagoda, located on the tiny island. |
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| A view of Ha Pagoda from about 1/8 of the way up. |
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| The Trung Pagoda (middle pagoda), is situated off onto itself. Notice how high we are now? |
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| The heat and humidity make this climb very tiring. The water behind us is actually the river to Tom Coc caves that we had been to earlier. |
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| We are very high up, but the goat grazing on the sheer cliff wall evidently is not aware of this. |
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| Thuong Pagoda (upper pagoda), the location for the pagoda was chosen after two monks were charmed by the view of the river and mountains. |
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| Ride the Dragon. This huge mythical beast sits atop of the mountain. |
We continue along on our scooter journey.......
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| Here comes the charge of the duck brigade. |
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| We scoot thru this old town that reminded me of Nepal. |
The next day we head for........
Hoi An
The ancient trading route of Hoi An reserves its original architectures, including houses, temples, pagodas, and religious structures. Hoi An is listed as a world cultural heritage site by UNESCO in 1999. As statistics show, in Hoi An there are 1,360 cultural sites, including 1,068 ancient houses, 19 pagodas, 43 temples, 23 communal houses, 38 family temples, 5 assembly halls, 11 old wells, one bridge, and 44 ancient tombs.
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| We arrived in Hoi An during a pouring rainstorm......and I mean pouring. This is the rainy season in central Vietnam. |
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| The pouring rain doesn't stop the important things in life!! |
After the rain stopped we walked into the Old Quarter of Hoi An...
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| Approaching the 15th century Old Japanese Covered Bridge and the entry into the Old Quarter. |
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| This covered bridge is one of the few entry points into the Old Quarter. |
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| The rain had flooded everything that was near the river, turning the streets into waterways. This didn't seem to bother the Vietnamese, who switched from walking to paddling. |
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| It did, however, have an effect on the tourist, who had to resort to wet feet. |
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| The market in Hoi An was one of the biggest I have ever seen..... |
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| .....the market also sold some of the largest variety I have ever seen. |
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| We had planned on spending a few days in Hoi An chillin' and doing some shopping, so we wandered around a fair bit looking at the old city sites, such as this brightly painted and carved door. |
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| Some more sites around the city. |
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| Down by the river! |
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| We stopped for lunch with this street vendor who had everything she needed in the two large baskets she carried around. |
The next day, while Wayne was souvenir hunting, Paul and I took a river cruise.........
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| Our river cruise boats were these.....just had to get from dry ground across the flooded sidewalk to the boat without getting our feet wet! |
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| Other river cruises ply the river. |
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| With a load of beer we headed out on the river! |
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| Yes these are people's homes. |
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| Dug out canoe parked next to the flooded tree. |
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| Vietnam's fishing fleet, the flags are the Vietnamese national flag and the eyes are their superstitions! |
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| Day to day life continues on the river. |
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| A fisherman and his wife cast netting! |
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| So I wonder what the people back home are doing on this day (December 7, 2007)? |
Today we fly from Hoi An to........
Nha Trang
Nha Trang is a tourist town on the Vietnamese central coast. Numerous restaurants and bars line the beach side of Tran Phu Street, the 4 kilometre seaside main street, while hotels and more restaurants line the other side. A walking promenade separate the beach from the street.
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| Paul and Wayne checking out the beach. None of us are beach people, so our time here in this resort town will be limited to a day. |
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| Jeezly big beach and not a sole on it! |
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| This is the Christmas season and in atheist Vietnam it was surprising to see them quasi-celebrating it. Here the municipal workers string Xmas lights over busy Tran Phu street. This scaffolding was pushed up the street with the two workers still on top, they had no safety belts on and there was no flag person to warn traffic. |
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| After strolling down the beach we come to the "Brew House"......good Vietnamese name. The home-brew was awesome! |
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| We found a side-street that was serving Bia Hoi and we settled in for the night on the tiny plastic lawn furniture. Bia Hoi is a beer that usually only the locals drink (I say this because I never saw any tourist drinking it). The beer is made daily and if it isn't all drank then the remainder is thrown away and a new keg is delivered (a shelf life of one day). Usually the cost is around 22 cents per glass. |
The next day we head for........
Dalat
Dalat is the name of the city, which apparently, in the Lat language means 'River of the Lat Tribe'. The city has a pleasant and temperate climate and is known as the "City of Eternal Spring". The city itself was established in 1912 and was widely known among Europeans as a cool retreat from the heat of the inner mainland. To that end, it is popular among Europeans, and it was once called Le Petit Paris and even has a miniature replica of the Eiffel Tower at the back of the city's central market.
We arrived in Dalat, took a nice cheap hotel and proceeded to find a place to eat......
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| We eventually found the town square where we discovered that the city is celebrating a flower festival. How nice! |
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| Mass confusion ruled (or at least it seemed), but these little girls were still able to get to do their flower dance at the Flower Festival. |
The next day we decide to go canyoning......
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| We hike up the mountain, take a quick lesson and off we go...... |
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| Initiation by fire. My first rappel was over this cliff that comes in at 20 metres high!! |
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| Wayne getting ready to go over cliff #2, at 14 metres, not as high as cliff #1 but steeper. |
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| Paul was like a natural as he effortlessly dropped like a stone to the river pool. Fortunately, we were all gaining our confidence doing the dry rappelling. |
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| Want to try something different? How about body-surfing over a waterfalls!??! Slide down this chute, into the bowl directly in front of me and then over the lip! |
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| "Hey Mister Brian. You go backwards. Very much fun." |
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| The mother of them all, 25 metres abseiling down this, our first waterfalls! |
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| Paul gets his final instructions and away he goes! |
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| Wayne gets ready to go over the lip, situated about 1/2 way down. |
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| Right about now, you can't see anything but blinding white water coming at you with brutal force, and you have to turn your head sideways just to grab gulps of precious air! |
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| My turn! |
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As soon as you start the water hits you with all it's force. The slippery rocks, the brute force of the water, the inability to get a good gasp of air, and natural fear, all makes this one very exciting abseil.
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The above is a film clip, if you can't see it, it is because of your device.
A clip of me as I descend the waterfalls! Watch for the final drop!
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| The next waterfalls couldn't be abseilled, or body surfed, rappelled or walked around.... That's Paul directly below me after his jump. Did I mention that I'm afraid of falling??? Eight metres of fear for me to overcome. |
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| One small step for mankind........one very large step for Briankind. |
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| The final waterfalls, commonly known as the 'Washing Machine', because the river narrows here and shoots thru a chute with great force, similar to a washing machine. Unfortunately, you can't see where you are going as you go over the top and for a brief period you are suspended between cliff and water...... |
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| ....when you finally come in contact with the waterfalls, the force of it starts you spinning, similar to the spin cycle on a washing machine and hence the name. |
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| Let the spin cycle begin! |
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| You do your darnest not to beat the crap out of yourself by beating against the chute's rock walls. |
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| The spinning doesn't stop just because you've landed in the water at the bottom of the waterfalls. The turbulence here is very strong! Some fun though!!! |
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| Paul you're going the wrong way!! |
The above is a film clip, if you can't see it, it is because of your device!
Wayne getting tossed around while in spin cycle!
The next day we rent good mountain bikes and attempt the 90 km ride to....
Mui Ne
Once upon a time, Mui Ne was an isolated stretch of beach where pioneering travellers camped on the sand. Times have changed and it's now a string of beach resorts, which have fused into one long coastal strip. These resorts are, for the most part, mercifully low-rise and set amid pretty gardens by the sea. The original fishing village is still here, but tourists outnumber locals these days.
But first let's get back to the bike ride.......
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| Lance MacPhee getting ready to take on the Tour de Vietnam. |
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| A view of some rice paddies from the road as we bike pass. |
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| Our guide, myself and Wayne just after our 8km ride uphill. |
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| The hilltop village where we were supposed to eat, but no one had told Paul or I this, so we kept right on paddling. We were a little pissed because we were craving a cold beer after the long slog uphill. |
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| Since we had failed to stop when we were supposed to, we ended up eating on the side of the road. Fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, breadfruit and sardine sandwiches.!!! |
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| When we hit the coastal lowlands the temperature soared to nearly 40C. It made paddling very uncomfortable. |
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| Preparing the rice paddy with a motorized contraption...... |
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| .....and preparing the rice paddy using the traditional method! |
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| This is cotton country (who knew) and we passed many fields of the white puff balls. |
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| However, cotton isn't king here.....it's coffee. Vietnam is the second largest coffee producer in the world, and we passed hundreds of homes drying coffee beeans wherever they could find an open dry space, such as the front yard! |
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| The Vietnamese are such friendly people, even as this person was carrying this heavy load under the blistering sun, he stilled smiled and waved as we rode pass. |
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| Energy drink.....pure sugarcane juice. This sugarcane press and the ice cold drink that she produced gave me the energy to complete the 90km bike ride. |
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| We shared the road with just about everything, including this herd of water buffalo. |
We arrived in Mui Ne at around 3:30PM.....
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| Our hotel, after the long long long bike ride, had a swimming pool and real "resort" tourist. They paid a mint for their room, we on the other hand, only paid $20 because we arrived looking for a room and not booking via a middle man. |
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| Wayne looking at the beach just before sunset. |
The next day Paul and I explored Mui Ne and area, first we stop at the village harbour.....
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| A cast-net fisherman waits for the tide to turn. |
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| A string of round basket boats, common in this area, are towed out to the fishing grounds. |
Next stop the great sand dunes......
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| About 10 km north from Mui Ne, you'll find 2 square-km of nothing but sand. With drifts that can be up to 10 meters deep. |
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| A large lake buttresses up against the massive sand dunes, making for a picture postcard image. |
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| Local kids hard sale their magic carpets for sliding gdown the sand dunes. BEWARE they are REALLY hard sale. |
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| All you really get is sand in places where sand should not be. |
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| And of course what goes down arduously must come back up. |
Next we go to the 'fairy brook'......
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| Mui Ne has another freak of nature besides the massive sand dunes, it's the Fairy Brook. And similar to the sand dunes it also comes with the Hard Sale local 'guide' kid. |
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| Lust green vegetation on one side of the brook and eroded sandstone on the other side. |
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| Bizarre erosion. |
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| Obligatory pose. |
The next day we head for the.......
Ho Chi Minh City
(formerly Saigon)
While it may not be the capital of Vietnam politically, you only need to spend a short time in Saigon to see how it the pace of change in the south is shaping the country. The largest city in the country, with over 6 million inhabitants, Saigon is a crowded, fast, noisy, and overwhelming place at first. Thankfully our time here is very limited.
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| Paul was leaving the next day to go back home, so we went out and tied a good one on!! Here at about 1:00AM he gets the munchies and buys some dried squid. Very salty and tough, perfect for drinking Bia Hoi. |
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| The last hooray! We find a local Bia Hoi place and proceed to get snapped. Paul leaves the next morning. |
The following day, Wayne and I head for the........
The Mekong Delta ('dong bang song curu long' in Vietnamese translated means "Nine Dragon River Delta") is the region in southeast Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of tributaries. As all deltas, it receives the bounty of the siltation from the upper Mekong, ans as such is a very rich and lush area, covered with rice fields. It produces about half of the total of Vietnam's agricultural output, and is the place for timeless sceneries of farmers planting or harvesting rice. Life in the Mekong Delta revolves around the river, and all villages are often accesible by river rather than by road.
We board a boat and off we go, up the Mekong River and cross the Cambodian border....
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| The Cai Be Floating Market, where locals come to buy, sell, and exchange goods from their boats. |
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| Each boat places the particular item or good that they are selling on a long pole so that potential buyers can see what it is that they are selling. In this case, the boat is selling a melon of some sort (it's the silhouetted item high on the pole). |
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| A Mekong River resident doing some laundry from her boat. |
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| Life on the Mekong. |
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| A HUGE catholic church sitting on the banks of the mighty Mekong. |
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| We leave the hustle and bustle of the lower Mekong Delta and head further up river. This was a common site, a bicycle ferry! |
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| The making of spring roll rice wrappers....the rice is boiled to a pulp and then spread unto where it solidifies..... |
We stop a local rice paper factory.......
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| ....after the solidification the rice paper is transferred to larger drying racks. Not a large factory process! |
Afterwards we went to a rice crispy factory......
DIARY ENTRY: Monday November 19, 2007 7:13PM: On Sunday (Laos Nov 18, 2007) we slept in and hoped to get up with enough time to do some exploring of Luang Prabang. What actually happen was quite different. Wayne lost his airline ticket so a portion of the day was spent trying to locate that. The remaining portion was spent trying to get the airline to issue him a new one....to no avail! So Wayne had to buy a new ticket, which of course pissed him off to no end. C'est la vie.
Back to my travels. We arrived in Hanoi about 5 minutes after Paul Delaney had arrived (he was coming from Canada) and his friend Steve Dudka was there to pick us up and take us into the city. We're staying in Hanoi's 'Old Quarter' and it is chaotic here. I've never witnessed a city of this 'madness' before. It is really of an oriental character, but add to that the traffic and you have a nightmare come true. The biggest quest will be to survive crossing the streets and getting out of Hanoi. Speaking of which, tomorrow we have booked a 4 day trip to Halong Bay to stay aboard a Chinese junk. I'm really looking forward to that!
DIARY ENTRY: Wednesday November 21, 2007 7:41AM: Sitting on a Chinese junk in the middle of Halong Bay. It is absolutely spectacular here. I can understand why it is being considered one of the 7 natural wonders of the world.
Yesterday (Tuesday Nov 20/07) we took a 3 1/2 hour bus ride to Hai Phong City to board our junk. Lo and behold I got the shittens.....spent my first day on the junk in bed and on the toilet. If I had been well, this is what I would have done: The junk sailed from Hai Phong City harbour to the limestone karsts. The boat stopped at some caves on one of the karsts, but I didn't go. From there we sailed to a floating village tucked away in a karst lagoon. I have to say it was spectacular! From this we went to one of the few beaches I've seen on a karst. Wayne and Paul went for a swim....I went to bed.
Anyway today I'm feeling much better and hopefully I'll be able to get out and partake in some of the activities.
DIARY ENTRY: Thursday November 22, 2007 7:32AM: Yesterday (Wednesday Nov 21/07) we sailed through many karst formations and finally stopped where we would be kayaking. The kayaks were old and two-man and the paddles weighed a ton and it was all fun! We paddled under an archway into a lagoon with really emerald waters... what can I say....it was spectacular. Later we went to a beach and did some swimming before heading back to the place where we got the kayaks.
Again we sailed for a while through more karsts until we landed on the beach of Monkey Island. This island had introduced monkeys for research and there were quite a few. We only stayed for 20 minutes and then Paul, Wayne and myself boarded a smaller vessel for a 3 hour ride back to our new junk. This junk was even nicer than our first. Paul and I stayed up until 11:30 drinking beer and shooting the shit.
Today we appear to be doing the same routine, but who knows.
DIARY ENTRY: Friday November 23, 2007 6:51AM: Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to me!!
Just got back from trying to access the internet. No luck. Very frustrating.
Yesterday (Thursday Nov 22/07), after waking up in Halong Bay on a Chinese junk we almost immediately changed boats to a smaller one. From this we went to an island where we went biking. It was fun! After an hour or so we went for another boat ride to the same kayaking place as the day before. This time we took a separate kayak, so it was as close to having a single kayak as we could get. This time the kayaking was much better even though we went to the same place.
We finally arrived in Cat Ba island and checked into a 3-star hotel. It was nice, but not great, so after deciding to stay here for one more night on Cat Ba island, we switched hotels for a place that only costs $8.00.
Today we hired motorcycles and spent the entire day driving around Cat Ba island. We took many many pictures and all felt it was an excellent day!
DIARY ENTRY: Monday November 26, 2007 9:10AM: Arrived in Sapa at around 8:00AM after taking an overnight train from Hanoi.
We actually spent all day Saturday (11/24/07) travelling from Cat Ba island back to Hanoi. Took a room at the Blue Star Hotel for $25 double.
Yesterday (Sunday Nov 25/07) we basically spent most of the day bumming around Hanoi. For instance; we rented cycles and id a tour for 2 hours, including going to the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum. After that we sat outside a local restaurant and drank 22 cent beer all day!
DIARY ENTRY: Friday November 30, 2007 11:36AM: After arriving in Sapa, Wayne decided to crash for awhile. Paul and I wanted to explore the town so we headed south but quickly found ourselves outside of town on a road with only one grade - down! We quickly had three Black H'mong woman tailing along with us. The young girl (about 12 years old) spoke good english, so she agreed to act as our guide and took us down to her village. We didn't know this was actually a ply to get us into the village (Lea Chau) to buy goods. I ended up buying two handmade pillow cases and a wall hanging. They were actually very nice, even if I was taken by a 12 year old!!
On Tuesday (Nov 27/07) it was agreed that it would be a down day. We did some wandering around Sapa and ended up going to the local market. I had my boots shined andI bought some local pomegranates. Saw a BBQ dog in the market. We also arranged to climb Mt. Fansipan (3143 metres) and this meant I needed to buy a sweater and hat to keep warm.
On Wednesday (Nov 28/07) we were picked up at around 10:00AM for the hour ride to the base of Mt. Fansipan. This is Vietnam's highest peak and it is 19kms of hiking to reach the top. It generally takes 3 days but we did it in 2 days. We started on Wednesday on relatively easy grade for about 3 hours until we reached the first hut a 2,300 metres. We stayed there for the first night as the second hut (where we were supposed to stay) had a bunch of Japanese staying there (they had only made it that far on the way back down from the peak). It was cold here (about 0C) and by 8:00PM everyone was in bed. We shared the hut with a couple of other couples, and the beds consisted of a summer sleeping bag and bamboo slates. It was very cold and very uncomfortable.
At 4:30AM we arose for the climb to the summit. Our guide had a fire going and breakfast consisted of noodle soup and fried eggs on top....yummy....not. The climb started at 7:00 and we saw some good shots of the sun coming up over the false peaks.
The climb was wicked!! Almost immediately we started thru jungle and bamboo. This continued until about 2500 metres when the jungle turned to elfin forest. It was here we started to see traces of snow and frost in great quantities. It was also here that our climb really started to get technical and steep......very steep. A lot of rock scrambling and up over false peaks. At one time, we started going down (about 100 metres) and this was very disheartening. At 10:00AM we finally peaked.
Although the mountain wasn't particularly high, it was particularly gruelling and I was very happy to see the top. Took the standard pictures and headed back. We finally arrived back at 4:30PM and the ride back got us in Sapa around 5:30PM. A hot shower and supper and I was in bed by 8:30PM.
I got up this morning at 10:00 and had breakfast here at the hotel. Put laundry in and made plans for the train back to Hanoi. We will have today to chill out and do my internet update and banking, etc...The weather here in Sapa has been perfect and today is a very good day just to chill out.
DIARY ENTRY: Sunday December 2, 2007 8:48AM: Well this has been an interesting journey so far!! We left Sapa yesterday (Sat. Dec 1/07) at 5:00PM and drove to the train station at Lai Cai. Upon arrival we were given tickets (apparently all we had were vouchers). the tickets were not the same as our vouchers and the cabins we got were certainly sub-standard to those we had coming up. We went out on the platform and headed for our coach where the conductor told us we were at the wrong train and pointed down the line. We walked until we ran out of train......crossed the train tracks and realized we had gone the wrong way. Now we were on the wrong side of the train tracks!!
We finally got ourselves straighten out and got our cabin when two Vietnamese girls turned up claiming our cabin. Their tickets were the same as ours, except (fortunately for us) they were supposed to be on the earlier train. An argument ensued between the conductor and the ladies, the conductor won!! But in the end, one of the girls had to stay in the spare bed in our cabin.
We arrived in Hanoi around 6:00AM and grabbed three moto's to what we thought was the Ninh Binh train station. Anyway to make a long story short: Wayne left his night bag on the moto and they, seeing an opportunity, drove off with it. They shortly came back with it but we discovered that the iPod was stolen. So the trip to the wrong station cost us 15,000 Dong and the return of the bag cost Wayne $10US and a taxi to the real train station, cost 140,000 Dong. Lesson well learned!
DIARY ENTRY: Tuesday December 4, 2007 10:23AM: We arrived in Ninh Binh and was immediately greeted by the representatives of the Queen Mini Hotel, which as it turns out was only minutes from the train station.
The train ride was an experience unto itself. We could only get hard-seats (i.e. wooden bench) and ended up sitting with the Vietnamese. After arriving in Ninh Binh we went for a walk around the town. the thing we noticed the most was that this town had a lot of bicycles and very few tourist.
Yesterday (Mon. Dec 3/07) we rented bicycles and went for a ride out into the countryside. The total trip was about 60kms and it took us about 6 hours including a stop for lunch and a couple of hours of beer rest! We came across a wedding and was invited but declined, only to find out that it was good luck for the bridal party to have foreigners turn up......so I guess that marriage won't last. On our way back we stopped into a quiet little bar ands was treated to true Vietnamese hospitality. We ended up purchasing three jugs of Bia Hoi (draft fresh beer) and 10 packs of peanuts and it only cost us $3.50.
DIARY ENTRY: Friday Decemebr 7, 2007 1:45PM: Spent Wednesday (dec 5/07) in Ninh Binh. We rented scooters and head out to the Tom Coc caves. These were set among the karsts, which is set among the rice paddies. Similar to Halong Bay except on land. The caves are accessible by getting in a boat that is paddled by two rowers. The trip, down the river takes 2 1/2 hours and the scenery is unbelievable.
After that, we take the scooters to the Bich Dong temple. This is situated on top of a karst. The climb up is amazing and from the top you can see for miles.
After that we continued along the back country thru a very old village that reminded me of Nepal and finally back to our hotel.
Afterwards we sat around for our sleeper bus to arrive......and that is another story. The bus ride from hell. Twelve hours of the most uncomfortable ride I have ever experienced. It was supposed to be a bus with beds and if I was 5'2", they could probably be described as that. Unfortunately, we were the passengers to get on and get stuck in the back, right on the wheels. The bumping along would have been bad but the heat and the slope of the bed made it impossible to sleep. Everytime we went over a bump, my body would slip further into the foot-well which wasn't really designed for feet. This required me to constantly pull myself out which meant I couldn't go to sleep.
We arrived in Hoi An amidst a torrential downpour that pretty well continued for the remainder of the day. Apparently Hoi An is in the middle of rainy season. We settled on the hotel that the bus stopped at, which turns out to be great choice. We spent the rest of the day exploring before calling it a night t around 9:00. I can't remember deign so tired and sleep wasn't long coming.
The next day we awoke to on and off rain, and when it rains....it RAINS. So Hoi An is famous for the suit making tailors and we all decided that Thursday would be suit buying day. We had agreed that we would look for a more established tailor shop with hopes that the quality would be better. After shopping around, we settled on a shop and I decided to buy 2 suits as opposed to one, but at $288 I got two cashmere suits with silk lining, made in less than 7 hours!
Today Paul and I were up early and decided to go souvenir hunting. I bought two really nice charcoal prints and Paul bought an awesome carving. After that we decided to take a boat ride along the swollen Thu Bon River for a hour.
DIARY ENTRY: Monday December 10, 2007 4:59PM: Friday (Dec 7/07) we hung around Hoi An. The boys had made some purchases and we had to wait until these were ready. The weather was really nice, so it made the final day in Hoi An good.
Saturday (Dec 8/07) morning our taxi took us to Danang and we caught an airplane to Nha Trang, which is a typical tourist resort town, with miles of beaches and palm trees, but not so many tourist. We had no plans on staying in Nha Trang for long. Basically a day, and then we would be heading for Dalat.
As it turns out, we had a good time in Nha Trang! We found a few outdoor stalls selling rice, beans and fish and chicken. We had our supper for about 0.70 cents. Afterwards, we strolled around before settling on another outdoor beer stall where we shot the shit late into the night and drank Bia Hoi for about 15 cents a glass. Wayne went to a nightclub after Paul and I called it an early night.
Early on Sunday (Dec 9/07) we were on a bus to Dalat. The ride took about 7 hours and this left little time to do anything in Dalat other than walk around and do some minor business (banking and tour arrangements). I also needed some anti-itch cream since I was suffering from an ant feeding frenzy from sitting out and drinking Bia Hoi last night.
Today, the tour group picked us up at 9:00AM and we headed for our canyoning trip. This trip cost us $37 but it was one of the best $37 I ever spent! We started out learning how to rappel and then we started in on our first cliff. Coming in at 20 metres, this was initiation by fire!! It was a dry rappel and it was a good start.
After that we walked for about 10 minutes to the next cliff face that dropped 14 metres into the river that we were following. This cliff was more straight down and the river gave it depth.
After this we walked for about 10 minutes and went water sliding down a small waterfalls, again it was a blast. The first slide I went down feet first and then the second one I went head first.
We walked for about 20 minutes to our third drop. This time it was an abseil down a 25 metre waterfall. This was the most exciting of the lot as it required a steady footing and the waterfall was quite powerful. I made it all the way to the bottom, where you dropped the last three metres into the river, without slipping or falling!!
Two minutes after, we arrived at cliff #4. This was a jump off the cliff into a river pool 10 metres below, well almost 10 metres, as I climbed (and everyone else did to) about 2 metres down. OK, I'm not scared of heights per se, but jumping from 8 metres is a long way down. So after comtemplating the meaning of life for a few minutes, I took the plunge!!! After I did it I kinda wanted to do it again!
Finally, we were off to the final cliff. A drop commonly called the Washing Machine, this is because the river narrows and shoots over a cliff that you can't see from the top. Once you go over the first part it is dry, but then it hits the part where the waterfalls has chewed out the cliff and you just hang there suspended in mid-air. As you drop, you hit the full force of the waterfall and because you're suspended that waterfalls starts to spin you around (hence the name I guess). The trick here is to drop fast into the narrow metre wide opening before letting go. It's quite the churn here and you can get tossed around quite a bit. The Washing Machine cliff was 20 metres high. This was the end of the tour and we then had a 20 minute hike up the canyon to our waiting vehicle.
DIARY ENTRY: Thursday December 13, 2007 4:41PM: Well Paul left this morning to head back home. It was a great time with him here and both Wayne and I will miss him for the next leg of the journey.
So lets get back to Tuesday (Dec 11/07) in Dalat. We were up early and grabbed our tour van for the two hour drive to where we were to start our 90km bike ride. The ride will take us to Mui Ne on the coast.
The ride started off on a paved road with very little traffic. It was mainly flat, starting off with a few up and downs. The bikes we were renting were in top shape, so all the gears worked and this made the grades easier. We had biked for about 20kms when we came to a hill that just seem to go on and on. It was about 8km of steady climbing and we were beat when we got to the top.
The grade evened out after a while and we passed thru a village where we were supposed to have lunch but neither Paul or I knew, and since we were out in front, we just cycled right pass it. Our guide caught up with us shortly thereafter and we decided to have our lunch right there on the roadside. Sardine sandwiches but they were good and some breadfruit. After lunch our descent began. For the next 10kms it was all downhill with all kinds of switchbacks and sharp turns......totally awesome!!!!
Unfortunately all good things must come to an end and so did the hill. We reached the coastal flatlands and its oppressive heat. The next 40kms was under these conditions: Passing rice fields and dragon fruit orchards. After about 20kms we stopped for a break and ended up having a couple of mugs of sugarcane drink. Very refreshing and hopefully it would give me the legs to finish the journey......it didn't give it to Wayne. He decided to call it quits and rode the remainder of the way in the support vehicle.
The wind had picked up so there was a fair breeze in your face. We decided to draft each other the rest of the way and without this I don't think I could've made it. We finally finished our ride at around 3:30....not bad bike ride for an old guy!
Mui Ne is a resort town and we actually got a room in a hotel that called itself a resort. It had a swimming pool and was right on the beach......sweet!
Booked our bus ticket for the next day for Saigon at 2:00PM, so we had a half day to spare in Mui Ne. Later that night, Paul and I sat out by the pool and drank beer and talked about our holiday.
The next day (Wednesday Dec 12/07) we arranged a jeep to take us to the sand dunes which was one of the main attractions. These were massive desert-like dunes and we actually went sand dune sliding.
We arrived in Saigon at 7:30PM and got a hotel in a back alley, headed for supper and then looked for a Bia Hoi spot. Got Paul drunk and got home around 2:30AM.
Today was a total rest and catch-up day as we head for Chau Doc and Cambodia tomorrow.
