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"Xin Chao" from Vietnam (Hello)
So what an amazing experience it has been here, we both have been totally blown away by the place!! I am in awe of it.
We were picked up from the airport by the hotels car, and the journey from the airport to the hotel, and this was a white knuckle ride in itself!! all the scooters and traffic was imense!! Anyway i was shocked to see people crossing the road so slowy, i truely thought they had a death wish - but we later have found out the easiest way to cross is slowly... (i will put on videos of crossing the road for you to see what we had to contend with!!)
So we arrived at our destination - the hotel is fab - a lot better than i was expecting - and waaay better than the hostel in Singapore. We exchanged 1/2 of our US Dollars - and were given over 5 Million Dong - Thats right, we are now officially Multimillionaires!!!!
We went for tea at a restaurant on the road our hotel was on, i did the equasion of our meals and drinks - yup it cost a total of £5.50 - English money!!! This might be tricky spending our money!! haa...
The next day - our first full day in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) After breakfast in the hotel we ventured our & had to cross the street for the first time - Yikes!! but we crossed with someone else - we needed our hands holding basically for the first go, Slowly... The bikes and cars manouvered around us in the road, and before we knew it we were across the road...easy.
Then we made it to the Ben Thanh Market - the main market in HCMC. We were getting Physically dragged into their stalls and their merchandise shoved into our faces - "No Thank you" just led more items being given to us... Grrr... So we moved on after only briefly being at the Market. So we found a street cafe which sold drinks and had little plastic chairs to sit on by the side of the road, This was nice - and what i pictured us to be doing in Vietnam.. But sat here we were a target to all the street sellers, so every other minute we had people TELLING us to buy something, Sunglasses, nail clippers, cigarettes, fans, purses, tissues, seriously anything you could think of - they were trying to sell it - then one guy started brushing lukes Brand spanking new trainers with a toothbrush - They didnt need cleaning - so we shoved the guy off telling him NO!!
So after experiencing that, we have learned to sit back one row, and watch the manic streets from afar!!!
We walked a little further along the road & found the square where Top gear started their Vietnam challenge, Was quite funny to see it actually - a familiar site!! We headed back down on the other side of the road and had some lunch, i had a lizzard and a really scary looking bug accompany me - Good start!! After lunch we headed into Saigon Market and spent "a fortune" In Vietnam dong anyway!!! We bought.... Some Rayban Sunglasses for just less that £4, Some Oakley sunglasses for the same price, a Northface waterproof jacket - with fleece lining jacket for £19, and luke got a mans version for £23, then i bought a rucksack too for £9 - a northface one. - They are guaranteed to be genuine - but the North Face factory is in Vietnam & my lonely planet book states the majority are reals - so saved ourselves a good few hundred pounds with that then!!
The next day we went on a trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels & to the Cao Dai temple, This was the first time we ventured out of HCM city itself, so it was fascinating to see the rice fields & people working in them - It was like looking at a picture - so scenic! The Tunnels were in the middle of the Jungle - not far from the Cambodian Border, and were millions of ants & butterflies - the butterflies were the size of my hand - but never stopped fluttering around to be able to take any pictures of them, The tunnels trip was amazing - but sad at the same time, our tour guide was Vietnamese so there really was a personal touch - he didnt want us going to the shooting range, because he said the sound of gun shots, still haunt the locals & he didnt want us doing it - Not exactly fair as Luke & I had been looking forward to the machine guns... but we respected his wishes and moved on.
We made friends with 2 Philipino men, Norman & Robert - they were fun to be around & talk to, Robert went down one of the tunnels on his own and was bitten / Stung - for the rest of the day his leg kept collapsing on him - was pretty scary - so we assume he was bitten down this tunnel on his own, i thought it would be an ant, Luke thought a scorpian and Norman thought it was a spider - Either way, i didnt want it happening to me so i was glad to eventually be leaving.. We then arrived at this temple - it was a mix of 5 or 6 religions - Somehow?? When we arrived the people in this faith were in mass, so we went inside & loads of people dressed in white were kneeling on the floor... and then all started chanting - a very strange moment, i was glad to get out of the temple..
Then the tour guide took us to some local persons home wherelunch was served - This was more painful for Luke than it was for me, but it deffo wasnt a pleasant experience, there were bowls on the table (with flies roaming freely on the food) and some rice paper - so we had to make our own spring roll kind of things.. It was hard work pretending to like the food without appearing rude!! so time stood still here, it seemed to have lasted forever...
Anyway once we had escaped - we were back on route heading back to HCMC but the mini bus had gotten a flat tyre, so we pulled over at the side of the road whilst the driver & the tour guide changed the tyre.. Robert - who kept collapsing due to the bite was escorted by a local to her shop - she used a local remidy and massages his leg for a while, the was adamant that the potion would heel the problem - although noone knew the problem!! so once she had finished he tried to pay her - but she refused money, and then as a gesture of goodwill he tried to buy something from her shop - she refused again... Her hospitality and generosity was amazing.. most of the Vietnamese are out to make money on us tourists so it was lovely to see this nature in her. But low and behold - as Robert stepped onto the bus, his leg gave way again!
The following day was our day trip to the Mekong delta - i dont have much to say here but THE BEST THING IN VIETNAM - It was utterly amazing!!!! We were on the tour again with Norman & Robert, and this time with 2 australian girls too. Tobreak up the journey we stopped off at this place called "the mekong rest stop" for a toilet break and a mooch! The grounds were lovely, and there were dragonflies too and lovely flowers and a little lake with lillypads.
Anyway - at the Mekong, we boarded a boat which took us across the mekong to a Coconut factory... it was very basic and we didnt spend much time here, but Luke & Robert managed to sample the Banana Wine & the coconut wine - but neither of them dared to try the wine with the scorpian in!! Then we got on the back of a Motorbike which had a truck on the back with seats on and went wizzing through the jungle, it was ace - but we had to duck quite alot to miss the palm leaves and other leaves from hitting us!! We were taken to this shack int he middle of the Mekong Jungle and had traditional Vietnamese coffee - delicious also!! so we lazed about in hammocks for a while and ate fresh fruits then headed to another part of the mekong delta - again on the back of this bike. But the bike stopped U& we had to get out & walk through the jungle a short distance - where we came across some rowing boats.... then rowed our way to a restaurant which was only accessible by boat. The row boat journey was magical - The only noise was of the birds and the wind. I felt like i was in a movie - it was so fantastic.
The meal at the restaurant was similar to what we had at the local house the day before, but the restaurant staff prepared our spring rolls for us and used noodles also - it was much nicer and taster. This was the end of the tour here (apart from a short journey back to the otherside of the mekong) to pick up our mini bus. So we swapped emails with the group & got back to HCMC.
We ventured out to the Ben Thanh Market again - this time i wanted to buy some silk to have a dress made for me, i found a lovely black fabri, with a purple pattern down it & hope it will look good as a maxi dress.. then took it to a tailors near our hotel.. did my measurements and explained what i wanted!! Hopefully iwill be happy with my Haute Couture maxi dress!!!
We had dinner whilst watchint the Mexico Vs S.Africa match - yep, it seems you cannot espace the world cup anywhere in the world! We had an early night as have had a very busy last couple of days.
So today we went to the War Remnants museum - this was so sad, and the museum showed some disturbing pictures of wounded villagers, tere were lots of amo around and US Army places / Helicopters and tanks etc - but it was a veryupsetting morning! It really put Americans in a very bad light, We just cannot imagine how the people of today accept having Westeners in their country - One of the girls from yesterdays tour, her family originate from Vietnam, and she said hat they judge all "white people" and assume they're American - so expect all Vietnamese people hate Me & Luke!! Which is understandable.... Anyway it is so hot & humid today - it keeps thundering, so were having a lazy day, we still have 3 days left here, so are just going to buy thingsand eat and drink lots - but themost of our tourism in Vietnam is done so thought i would upload my " diary" sooner rather than later.
There is no access to facebook in Vietnam, which is a sad story for the Vietnamese - theyve been through enough - without being neglected of FB!!! So will be logging on as soon as we touch down in Perth!!
Sorry this has been a super long blog, but we have loved our time in Vietnam and already plan to come back again, although it is high risk of mugging etc i feel pretty safe here, i am comfortable with the place.
Hope you enjoy the pics & will be uploading videos too!!!
Over and out, J & L xxxxxxxxxxxx
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