Town
Created by shelle_smith
Day 1
Ho Chi Minh City
Bikes, bikes and more bikes! Four and a half million to be exact! Crossing the road is a hazard. There are little road markings and nobody pays any attention to the traffic lights. Just sitting and watching the traffic is immense. We were on a coach stuck in a traffic jam and the driver knocked a man from his bike and neither one of them battered an eyelid! The man just got up and got back on his bike. The bikes are by far the most memorable thing in Ho Chi Minh!
The city doesn't really have lots to do but the War Museum and the Cu Chi Tunnels are a real eye opener.
This is one of the most sobering museums I have ever been in. It highlights the suffering of the Vietnamese people at the hands of the French and American forces up to 1975. The photographs of the injured and dead are sickening. I had to hold back from crying all the way around the museum as it was mostly action photographs. Photographers had been present when American soliders killed innocent Vietnamese people, many of them women and children. It also showed what the agent orange bombs did to the Vietnamese. In the museum there were babies in jars that hadn't developed properly due to the chemical welfare. Very disturbing!
The Cu Chi tunnels used by the Viet Cong in the war against America. It was a part of vietnam that the Americans never took over! These tunnels were supply routes, kitchens, hospitals and a way to get to the river without being seen. The were amazing! so clever and the Americans could never find them. We went down into a tunnel but they were so small you were on your hands and knees. I had to get out in the end because it was so small i was scared.
This is a guy on our tour getting into a sniper hole. I couldn't fit in. Boobs and bum too big!
I've bought a book to read called 'The Girl in the Picture' and it's a true account of a photograph in the museum.
Day 1
The Mekong Delta
Not got too much to say about the Mekong Delta as I think the photgraphs say it all. People just live so simply on the banks of the delta. We spent two days looking around little villages and floating markets. We saw how people make a living selling what they can make from rice and coconuts.
The floating markets are very weird. It's hard to believe that they actually buy and sell like this.
I bought a pineapple and sat on the roof of the boat to eat it.
It rained everyday here and we forced to buy ponchos.
I was forced to drink snake wine! It was not as nice as Gallo!!!!!
Day 1
Dalat
Being in Dalat was like being in France. The buildings, lakes and waterfalls were all stunning. It was hard to believe that we were in Vietnam. The climate was different too because we were so high up in the mountains. It was cold at night time, had to wear my hoody!
We had a bit of a nightmare whilst we were here. We hired some bikes for the day to cycle around the mountains and see the waterfalls, but one of the bikes broke! We were about 15KM from the town centre and it was all up hill. When I say up hill I mean mountain! We called the guide to help several times but nobody was bothered, so we dumped the bikes and got a motorbike taxi back. It was only when we turned up without the bikes that they wanted to help us. To cut a ling story short, missing out the arguements and the guide phoning our hotel and telling them to hold our passports, we ended up with our money back and Tom having to riding a motorbike with the guide on the back holding two bike! Rather funny now but not at the time.
Day 1
Nha Trang
I adopted a little boy called Minh. We took him out for dinner every night. He didn't have any parents and lived on his own. We went to his room one night and it was a concrete room 6x6 with a mat on the floor. It was really upsetting.
Day 1
Hoi an
Hoi an is famous for the numerous art and craft shops and tailors, who produce made-to-measure clothes for a fraction of the price we pay in the UK. Although I'm on a buget it would be rude not to have clothes made.....So I had 2 skirts, a dress, a pair of trouses, silk PJ's and leather flip flops made for 30 pounds!!!! What a steal!
Whilst there I attended a cookery class. You will be pleased to know I can now make spring rolls.
I am sick to death of noodles!!!!!
Day 1
China Beach
As you can see the beach was really good!
A couple that we met told us about this place, as it's a little off the track and not on the maps or in the guide books. It was well worth the numb bum I got from the bike ride to find it!
We stayed in a little guest house called Hoas place. It was basic, but it was 2 minutes from the beach and such a relaxed place, you could just get what you wanted from the fridge etc. Every night you had a meal with the other guests, which was really nice. We made some good friends.
When the sun went down all the locals would come to the beach and sit with us.
I played with the children and Tom played football with the locals.
We had some really good nights whilst we were here and ended up getting really drunk! One night we were looking for a beach party (that we found out later didn't exsist) and ended up in a brothel!!!!!! I was very naive to this and it took me a while to work it out!
We also saw phytoplankton. You have to get into the sea at night and when you move the water glows. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen! Phytoplankton blooms occur in all the Earth's oceans when nutrient and sunlight conditions are right. It was like billions of tiny speckles of glow sticks.
Another really cool thing that we saw here was the local children practicing the lion dance for the festival of children next week.
Day 1
Hue
Only spent one night in Hue. It's just a city with a city wall (a little bit like York). I saw the city in a day by cyclo and left the following afternoon. I caught the sleeping bus to Hanoi, an experience is all I can say!
Day 1
Hanoi
A very busy city yet again, but nothing compared to Ho Chi Minh City . I have been to see the Ho Chi Minh Museum which was really interesting. There is no escaping uncle Ho as they call him out here. His face is everywhere. Ho Chi Minh is the guy who led Vietnam to independence.
Sabastian - the randon Dutch guy who made me drink whisky!!!!!! We are following him around the world.
The main reason for coming to Hanoi is to do the trip to Halong Bay and to travel further north to Sapa.
Halong Bay
Halong Bay is absolutely stunning. I couldn’t do it independently as it is too far out and too complicated, so I had to book an organised tour. It is the most expensive thing that I have purchased since being in Vietnam but well worth every penny. I say expensive, 50 pounds, but that included everything for three days. Seeing the bay is breath taking. I did some sea kayaking around the bay which was quite relaxing.
Sapa
Arrived in Sapa early on Wednesday morning after spending a train on the sleeping train. It was absolutely throwing to down due to the typhoon that had hit a few days early. I really didn’t want to go trekking but the guide told us that we needed to take sun cream and a bikini – I was disillusioned in thinking in would be sunny!!!!!
It was sooooooo hard!!! When I got out of the jeep and Jew, our guide gave me a bamboo stick I thought, yeah I’m not going to need this! Oh my god it was my lifeline (along with two small children who kept propping me up). It was like being on ice, but it was mud of course. When she laughed and said 7 hours walking before dinner, she wasn’t joking!
We drank rice wine and played cards with the locals. It was intense. The house we stayed at was really nice. The food was ace, but I could tell that at breakfast tom was craving a McDonalds!
Me nipped her necked because she had a hangover! I gave her some painkillers!
We ended up getting a jeep back to Sapa because we didn’t want to walk back. How lazy!
My bed and my view.
The next few days in Sapa it rained and rained. We made our own fun drinking Earl Grey in the Chocolat and baguette café.
We went to the festival for children in Sapa. This was the most random night of my life. When we watched the performances and Tom ended up with several children on his shoulders. This little girl was so cute so kept rubbing his head! We ended up carrying the float around the town with the locals. We won. Then we had what I can describe as Christmas dinner with the family. Nobody spoke English!!!
Our last day in Sapa was one of the best yet. We hired bikes and drove to the other side of the mountain. It was stunning!!!!!
Planned Activities
Unscheduled - Ho Chi Minh City
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Unscheduled - Da Nang
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Unscheduled - Hue
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Unscheduled - Hanoi
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We sell all types of glassware and open to tours and glassmaking experiences. I really enjoy Vietnam and I am so glad that there is a blog site regarding this beautiful country. I think Hoi An is a must see for tourists as it is a UNESCO heritage site and really shows the Vietnamese way of life. There is nice restaurants and pubs where you can sample the Vietnamese way of life.
Halong Bay is a must see as well. You should visit HOIAN OKINAWA.
A tourist visa lasts for 30 days usually.
You apply to the embassy in your country
e.g
UK - London
France - Paris
You apply to the vietnamese embassy situated in your country
you got me thinking