Halong Bay

Well we got it right - the cruise was great. Halong Bay itself is an amazing sight and to be cruising amongst the isands in smooth waters on a luxury boat is rather special. Our cabin on the boat with its own ensuite and picture windows was brilliant. The food was so good we must have both put on weight. We had a 7 course fresh seafood banquet when we arrived on board and that was only lunch. It was so nice on the boat that when there was an opportunity to go in the tender to see a fishing village the temptation was to think it was another tourist trap and not go. Well thank goodness we did. The two of us ended up in a bamboo sampan being rowed around the village and between the islands by a young woman. She must have rowed for at least 30 minutes without tiring. The village we stopped at had about 250 inhabitants, the houses on floating pontoons were tiny but everyone seemed to have a TV! Apparently a boat comes from the mainland daily to deliver supplies, fresh water and take away garbage and their fish catches for market. Also the children are educated for free which was not the case anywhere else we visited in Vietnam.
Back on the ship we settled down for cocktails on the sundeck before another banquet for dinner. Up at 5.30am the next morning to watch the sunrise.
All good things come to an end and we disambarked midday on day 2. The cruise had included being picked up from our hotel in Hanoi and the 5 hour bus trip to and from Halong Bay but we decided to spend our last few days in the bay area rather than go back to busy Hanoi.
We found an island resort on Wotif.com and had a villa overlooking the bay in a 5 star resort for 2 nights. 2 more mornings when we set the alarm to watch the sunrise! The resort was quiet being low season but the pool was still warm enough for swimming and we walked around the island enjoying the views and the golden sandy beaches all to ourselves. The resort restaurant was a disappointment but we had eaten so well in Hanoi and on the boat that we just did not need more gourmet food.
We booked a private car to take us back to Hanoi airport and while we paid more than we had expected the car was very comfortable and the driver safe and cautious.
The journey home from the resort to Turramurra took a mere 26 hours - car, planes, train and bus.
Its nice to be home planning our next adventure.

You can view more photos at http://picasaweb.google.com.au/sc9111/Vietnam2009

Hanoi

After our experiences on the buses and train we decided to fly from Hue to Hanoi. The journey went smoothly and was completely uneventful. The Vietnam Air flight was on time, the plane was clean, the service excellent and the fares cheap ($50).
We selected the hotel in Hanoi to be in the Old Quarter and that is exactly where it was! The streets were narrow and crammmed with street traders, bikes, cyclos, motorbikes and the odd taxi like ours trying to get to hotels. The hotel itself was in a great location although we could have done without the disco next door. Having settled in we went out to explore the tiny streets and many tourist shops. It was shoppers' heaven and we probably should have bought more but we were trying to keep the luggage weight down so just enjoyed window shopping. The Lonely Planet again came up trumps with a restaurant. We went to "Five" both nights for 5 star meals for about $30 each night.
Our first task in Hanoi was to change our flights home having decided not to go to Sapa. The chance of a perhaps unpleasant sleeper train up and back at the end of a great holiday just did not appeal to either of us. Having made the decision we then booked our trip to Halong Bay. There are so many cruises to choose from and we would be doing this once in our lifetime so it was important to get it right - we threw money at it and picked the best we could afford.
Hanoi was so different to Saigon, equally busy but whereas in Saigon the motorcycles went round us as we crossed roads in Hanoi we had to go round the bikes. We saw many tourists with bandaged arms and legs having been burnt by the motorcycle exhausts in near misses. In the narrow streets of the Old Quarter I (Jane) found I did not enjoy walking around as much as I had in other towns and cities as I had to focus 100% on not getting injured.

Hue

Our hotel in Hue is again 4 star, very nice and for the first time has carpet in the room rather than polished floors. We were shown to our room but it took a few more rooms to find one without a smell - carpet is obviously not good here in the humidity. Hue used to be the imperial capital of Vietnam, and the main attractions are the Citadel (emperor's palace), pagodas and tombs. We took ourselves around the Citadel, which bares the scars (bullet holes) of the Vietnam War. To see the pagodas and tombs we hired a driver and guide for a half day. The pagoda in the photo was home to the monk Thich Quang Duc who burned himself to death in Saigon in 1963. The car he used to drive himself in Saigon is now kept at the pagoda. More photos in the web album.

Hoi An to Hue

We waitied in the lobby at Hoi An for our private car and had no idea what to expect. We thought all our prayers had been answered when a new Ford Explorer with driver turned up to collect us. At last a civilised trip - well nearly. The car and driver were excellent. The road up and over the mountain pass while in much better condition than those we travelled on the bus had no less hairpin bends and sheer drops! The view from the top of the pass was breathtaking however it was quite misty and we took no photos.

My Son

We took a day tour from Hoi An to the historic site of My Son, once described as Vietnam's Angkor Wat. It was once the most important intellectual and religious centre of the kingdom of Champa, and was occupied from the late 4th century until the 13th century. Unfortunately the Vietcong also occupied it during the Vietnam War so the Americans bombed the **** out of it. Consequently there's not much left!

Hoi An

This turned out to be a lovely city on the banks of the river. Hoi An is famous for it's clothing shops and being able to order a suit one day and collect it the next. The Hoi An 'icon' is the Japanese Bridge (photo), built in the 1590s. We had a great time exploring the town, we found a couple of really excellent restaurants on the river front, we took a day trip to My Son with a boat trip back and we booked a private car to Hue and flights from Hue to Hanoi. All in all a great place.

More photos are in our web photo album.

Last Train to Hoi An

After our previous experiences on the buses we decided to use the train to go north. We spent sometime investigating the various trains, looking at websites etc and decided we needed to be on an "SE" and that as we were only travelling during the day a first class, airconditioned soft seat was our choice. Tickets bought we were at the station at 5am and the train duly arrived. However it seemed everyone on the platform was heading to our carriage! We were the last to board and found our allocated seats in the middle of the carriage. Half the carriage faces forward and half back and the middle seats face each other with a lot less leg room. We had scored the worse seats possible, we were the only non Vietnamese and we were the only ones not to eat at least one if not two meals from the food carts on the 8 hour journey. The bathrooms were another experience all together and if I had been even one size bigger would have been impossible. We arrived safely in Hoi An and made the decision that a longer train ride north to Hanoi was just not going to happen.

Nha Trang

We had intended to spend just 2 days at this coastal resort but Stephen developed a cold that turned nasty so we have spent 4 days here. The photo shows the view from our hotel room. We have access to a resort over the road to use their pool and beach umbrellas etc. The food here has been the best yet. We have also had to make a vist to the local medical facility as Stephen had a raging fever that needed more than asprin every 4 hours. Doctors sharing a surgery, even sharing a thermometer and torch was a new experience for us. However the doctor was brilliant and Stephen has made a rapid recovery. As I write this we are waiting to see if we will be able to continue north tomorrow by train. We had bought the train tickets before Stephen got sick and treated ourselves to a ride in a cyclo on the way back from the station. It is necessary to negotiate the cyclo fare before the journey starts. They wanted 40,000 dong each, we negotiated 25,000 dong each and we paid them 50,000 dong each as it was so hot! The drivers went away very happy.

Dalat to Nha Trang

We would have loved to take many photos on this trip. Just 5 hours down the mountain - just 200 klm to Nha Trang. Just 5 hours of holding on with 2 hands - just 5 hours when our bottoms rarely stayed on our seats for more than a minute at a time. If it was not the hairpin bends it was the potholes. However that said the scenery was brilliant, vast areas of terraced greenhouses. The whole area is so fertile that they grow crops or flowers everywhere. No room in the fields for the cattle so they graze by the side of the road or in the middle of it! As I said 5 hours for 200klm.

Dalat

We had selected the hotel in Dalat to be on the lake front close to town and we were not disappointed. The weather however was wetter than even we had expected with torrential rain for the first 36 hours. The rain however did not stop us from venturing out to investigate the town and it's famous market. We also walked to the train station as there is a cog railway that at one time connected Dalat with the coast but now only has 7klms of usable track. While the railway appeared to be working the day we were there the fact that much of the track had been washed away the day before in a mud slide made us err on the side of caution and just settle for photos.
The following day the weather was kinder and we walked around the lake before enjoying a coffee in the old post office. This was also where we enjoyed our evening meals as they had a brilliant french restaurant.

Saigon to Dalat

We thought this was the worst bus trip we have ever taken but we have done worse since! The bus left Saigon at 7am and we arrived at Dalat over eight hours later. Dalat is in the central highlands and we had to drive up through the pass to reach this beautiful town which is on the shores of a lake. The road through the pass is in a constant state of repair with mud slides in evidence. At times the road was only a mud track zig zagging up the hill sides.

The Mighty Mekong

The Mekong Delta is about 100 klms south of Saigon. There were only 5 of us on the full day tour so the transport was a minibus and a fairly small boat! They drove us to My Tho, then took us on the river by power boat, then on the narrow waterways by paddle boat. The river itself flows very quickly. Life on the river is busy with fish farms along the sides and huge ships in the middle. The river splits first into 2 then into 9 as it flows into the South China Sea. We were amazed at how fragile the living is here, just a few centimetres rise in the sea level would mean permanent flooding of the houses on the islands. The Mekong delta produces enough rice to feed Vietnam and plenty left over to export. 80% of Vietnamese are farmers.

Cu Chi Tunnels

The Cu Chi Tunnels are 70kms north of Saigon so we took a half day tour to see this famous tunnel system used by the Vietcong to 'surprise' the American GIs. The original tunnels are too small for us westerners, but one of our party managed to fit!

The total tunnel system extends for 240 klms and was started in 1954. To cater for western tourists they have enlarged some of the tunnels so we can experience them. At the end of the tunnel tour we got the opportunity to fire live ammo. Here's Rambo with an M16. Didn't hit a thing!

Saigon Orientation

Us with the old man himself, Ho Chi Minh, outside the city council offices. We spent the day walking around Saigon, trying not to get run over crossing the roads! There are 8 million people and 5 million motorbikes in Saigon, and they sell 6000 new motorbikes a day. The traffic rarely stops, it just weaves and merges, and the beeping of horns is continuous. Even walking on the pavement can be dangerous as some bikers use it as a shortcut!

We also visited the Reunification Palace today. This is where the North Vietnamese tanks crashed through the gates on 30th April 1975 to virtually mark the end of the war.

Touchdown Saigon

We arrived in Saigon, also called Ho Chi Minh City, for the start of our 28 day Vietnam holiday. We are travelling independently, having booked flights on Vietnam Airlines at a local travel agent, and our first five nights at the Grand Hotel in Saigon via the internet. We plan to work our way north, travelling by bus and train, and leaving from Hanoi on Sunday 8th November.