Goooood Mooooorning Vietnam!!

Hanoi - 29-30th July

Our next stop was Vietnam and we began with the capital Hanoi. The plan was to spend some time here and then work our way south to Saigon. Immediately though our plans were called into question when we arrived at airport immigration to suddenly realise we had arrived in Vietnam a week before our visa's started! "Just act casual" was the decision, "maybe they won't notice"..........they noticed!! Immediately upon inspecting the first passport a red light was flashed and we were asked to "please follow this man", this doesn't look good!! Fortunately they bought our "daft laddy" spiel that we hadn't noticed and after we explained that our early arrival was simply due to less time that planned been spent in Japan and China, they allowed us to enter as long as we left within a month, as we were only going to be there 3 weeks, this was perfect. Thankfully this was the most eventful thing to happen on the first night. As we had arrived quite late we just made our way to the hostel for a quiet one. Turns out we ended up that first night staying in the dorm with three Austrians also doing a similar tour down Vietnam - Hanna, Eva and Rainer.

The second day we got up and decided to go see Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum. Ho Chi Minh was the president of Vietnam throughout the Vietnam war and so is a hero in Vietnam. His body still lies in the mausoleum and is re-embalmed every year. Sadly when we arrived we found out we couldn't go in as it was only open early in the morning but the building itself was huge, a very impressive monument to the man.

We then wandered around the old town which was a busy, chaotic place but really interesting and set around a beautiful lake. Sadly we then had our second "incident" since arriving in Vietnam. Whilst sitting chatting to a travel agent about trips to Halong Bay, someone managed to steal Sarah's bag from under her seat. The travel agent faced onto the street with no front to the building so with us focusing on the desk and brochures no one noticed someone grab the bag. It was a sad and angry moment as Sarah lost her phone, some clothes and money but worst of all her camera. Sadly her photos from Japan and China were lost along with the first few of Hanoi. We spent the next few hours in the police station with the travel agent reporting the theft though in our heart of hearts we all knew the bag and it's contents wouldn't be seen again. Once we left, a drink was sorely needed and luckily our hostel was offering free beer between 7 and 8....perfect!! We settled in for some free beer when some familiar accents were heard, fellow Scots!! Not only fellow Scots as it turned out but the brother and his friend of our very close friend from uni, Miss Emma Martin! Paul and Jony were also traveling through Vietnam and Laos and so we had a great night of drinking with them and many others as we drowned our sorrows of the lost bag.

The next day we awoke with slightly sore heads and so it was a slow start to the day. We decided to head to the prison museum which is a converted prison that was used before and during the Vietnam war. It actually held American pilots during the war including senator John McCain and still proudly displays the jump suit he was captured in. We were then caught in an almighty rain storm which we thought we could outrun to a nearby restaurant for lunch. Unfortunately the museum was no where near any restaurants and so by the time we found somewhere we were completely drenched!! Once the storm had subsided we headed back to the hostel and booked our Halong bay trip for the next day. As we were going to be up early for it we decided on a quiet night and went to the cinema to see Batman. This was a great decision as the rain started again that evening and instead we were inside watching what was an awesome film. If you haven't seen it yet, go now, absolutely brilliant!!

Halong Bay - 31st July - 3rd August

Part 1 - some boats, some caves, and meeting some new pals

After getting some good reviews about our hostel's trip to Halong Bay, a must for anyone visiting Vietnam, just like the Taj in India, we booked up for three days, two nights - one on a boat and the other on the intriguingly named Monkey Island. We were hoping for the best, and the trip did not disappoint.
Brimming with anticipation, we boarded the bus to Halong City, which is where we met the first members of out new Halong Bay Gang, three kiwis named Charles, Andrew and Jess.

When the bus arrived at the port there were a number of stunning boats docked there. Obviously we kept driving past these until we arrived at our vessel - not quite as fancy, buy at least it looked sea (or bay)-worthy.

After spending the two hour bus journey sitting next to each other, Calum E and Charles extended their relationship by sharing a cabin when we got on board. Thankful to be away from Youngys snoring, there was no problem here...

The boat set off on our tour, and after hanging out for an hour or so on the top deck of the boat on the sun loungers and getting to know the twenty or so people onboard who we'd spend the next couple of days with, including a lovely dutch couple Pepijn and Britt, we arrived at an amazing cave of stalactites and mites. These were really cool and a bit eerie. Not quite natural, but the lighting they added to the inside made the place look like something out of star trek. The caves were apparently found by a fisherman who chased a monkey into a hole in the ceiling. This man now apparently lives a life of luxury.

Whilst enjoying an extremely quick melting ice cream in the heat afterwards we met two Swiss girls - Andrea and Valeria. As it turned out we would be seeing quite a lot of them on our next few weeks!

Part 2 - exploring Halong Bay, boat jumping and Snake Hips

Heading back on the boat we sailed through some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever witnessed. Limestone karsts stick out of the water, punctuating the surrounding blue sky and water with lush green. We then arrived at a part of the bay beside a floating market where we were able to kayak through some small caves into a brilliantly silent pool at the other side, surrounded gigantic cliffs and eagles circling overhead.

As the first night would be spent on the boat, we continued our journey to where we would down-anchor, next to the island we would visit in the morning. This was also the place where we were finally allowed to jump off the side of the boat into the bay below. About a 6 meter drop, the guide simply said "just watch out for jellyfish". Sizing it up initially, Andrea was the first to take the plunge. Following that was an hour of everyone jumping off, coming back and doing the same again!

 After a bit of practice (don't ask) we even managed to all jump at the same time.

The bay was such a relaxing place, made even more magical on the first night by the thunderstorm that was taking place a few miles away, of which we could see the sky light up. Not to worry - we were warm and dry. Apparently the trips for the three days previously had been very wet, but we couldn't have asked for better weather. Brilliant sunshine and clear skies!

Night was clear too, and after dinner and spending a while atop the boat and drinking a few beers, it was time to join in the other boats we could hear nearby and start up with the karaoke! This was also the place we were introduced to the staff member who worked on the boat who we christened "Snake Hips". During the karaoke this man had us falling on the floor laughing as he danced with everyone who got up to sing, displaying the most fluid hips we had ever seen. This man was a legend and again Calum E was able to pick up some more dance moves for the repertoire.

Although reluctant at first, everyone got up and gave it a bash. In fact everyone ended up having so much fun the the tour guide had to shut us down at midnight as we were making too much noise and all the other boats had turned their lights out. My particular highlight was the Kiwi and Scottish effort at Total Eclipse of the Heart...

At the toll of midnight after the first day it was the 1st August, which as you know is Swiss National Day. Which obviously meant eating Toblerone the Swiss girls had brought along. Amazing.

Part 3 - Cat Ba, Monkey Island and drunken card games

The next morning after breakfast we headed over to Cat Ba Island. From here we headed to the National Park and embarked upon the sweatiest climb we have ever had the joy of completing. Lots of fun walking up through the jungle, however when you reach the narrow top there is a bit of a wait so that you can fit everyone up there! However once you ascend, you get an amazing view over the island.

Once we got down we were off to the wonderful Monkey Island to spend the afternoon and night. The island was really beautiful, and we arrived as the first boat, and were only joined by a few others. We stayed in beach front bungalows, with a small beach just for us. After our climb, the first thing we did when we got in was get in the sea. We then proceeded to spend about three hours in there, topping it all off with the obligatory multi-national eight person pyramid - three Scots, two Kiwis, one Dutch and two Swiss.

Bottom row: Andrew (NZ), Charles (NZ), Cal Y, Pepijn (Holland)

Middle row: Andrew (Swiss), Valeria (Swiss), Sarah

Top: Cal E

After a quick game of footy we headed in for a game of pool, where Andrea earned her reputation as a pool shark.

After a few more beers, we were treated to an amazing dinner on the island, including the best grilled oysters we've ever had. The night then quickly descended into noisy card games out by the beach with the Swiss and Kiwis, and meeting our new Vietnamese friend who called himself "Spike". He worked at the resort during the day, but as it was night time he and a few other staff were getting wasted on the beach... He then christened the two Calum's and Andrea "Beehive". We are still not sure why...

Andrew, Cal Y, Cal E, Sarah, Charles, Andrea

After a rather hungover breakfast the next day it was time to part company. Whilst the others were headed back to Hanoi, we had opted to stay for another night on Cat Ba Island. After the night before, let's just say we were happy to chill out for a day on the beach on our own. I have no pictures from our day on Cat Ba...

After our night on Cat Ba we met up with another tour group to make the trip back to Hanoi. It was then that we realised how lucky we were with our group on the tour. Ours had been a great laugh, with everyone getting on brilliantly. This tour however seemed to be rather less enthusiastic...

All in all our trip to Halong Bay was amazing. Yes the sights were incredible, but getting to meet and hang out with some really cool people absolutely made the trip.

Hue - 4-5th August - Going old school

We got back to Hanoi after our trip, had a sigh of relief that our belongings hadn't been removed from our hostel, then got straight on our first overnight bus down south to the city of Hue. The long distance buses in Vietnam are different to the one we experienced in India. There is a well set out route down the country "on the beaten track", and therefore this is the main way that backpackers get around the country. The seats don't go all the way back, but at least you get some leg room. Unless you're 6 ft 3.

Hue was the capital of the Nguyen Dynasty from 1802, and is hence well known for its historic sights. North of the Perfume River (didn't smell that great) is the Citadel, where the Lords used to live. Basically a large walled off part of the city, you are able to visit a number of crumbling but picturesque buildings and gardens. We had a nice and relaxing wander round, apart from the extreme heat!

This is also where we bumped into the three Austrians from our first night in Hanoi - Hanna, Eva and Rainer. After a bit more wandering around we met with them later on for dinner and a few drinks. The bar we went too - Brown Eyes - had two-for-one cocktails, incessant free shots, Jenga and 60/70s music... what more could you ask for?!

We had only planned to stay one night in the small city of Hue, so the next day we had a bit of a rush to see the tombs of the kings of past before getting our bus to Hoi An. Keeping up the Scottish stereotype of finding the best deal, we put our best negotiation skills to the test. Finally managing to get what we though were three motorbike drivers to take us there (the Vietnamese equivalent of tuk tuks), we ended up with Calum on the back of one, and Calum and Sarah on the back of the other. Although I have to say getting up to the speeds these guys did made it a more thrilling experience...

As we were pushed for time, we made it to one of the tomb complexes - this one holding the "poet emperor" Tu Duc. Set in a really attractive garden, surrounding a lake, the weather beaten stone constructs were still grand with their design. We wish we could have stayed longer here, but after a short time we had to get our motorbikes to take us back to catch the bus. Time to get some suits made in Hoi An!

Getting the bus, we bumped into the Dutch couple Pepijn and Britt once more. Heading to the same place, we arranged to meet up once in Hoi An.

Hoi An - 6-7th August - Suits you sir

We arrived in Hoi An with the dutch guys Britt and Pep and headed for our hotel. We had booked ahead as we had been told Hoi An was a really nice but expensive place compared to the previous towns and quite a small place so we didn't want to worry about finding somewhere once we arrived. This was one of the last times we booked ahead though as when we arrived at the hotel we our first accommodation ordeal since being away!! First we were told to go to a different "sister" hotel as our room was now there. It wasn't too far to walk but once we arrived at the sister hotel we were told the only room they had was one with a single "big bed" in which we could all fit. As we had booked a triple room we quickly told them this was not going to happen and we wanted a proper triple room. A heated argument ensued with finally them agreeing to put us in a more expensive room for one night (for the same price we had booked) and then we could move to a standard triple as per the booking. A quick swim in the pool was required to cool off in all senses of the phrase (yes we had a pool, I told you Hoi An was a fancy place) and then we headed for dinner and to try and find somewhere showing the Murray v Fed Olympic final! We settled for a quick bite in a local place before hunting down a bar showing the tennis which fortunately turned out to be a great match and great gold for Murray. The bar obviously had a few Brits as there was lots of cheering for Andy and a huge roar when we finally won it!!

The next day we had a wander around the town and discovered the huge number of tailors up and down the streets of Hoi An. The town is the suit making capital of Vietnam and so the 2 Calum's took full advantage by getting a suit each tailored for them. Sarah looked at a few dresses but in the end decided not to bother and let the boys spend their money!! They chose their material, got fitted up and told to collect them the following day. It was a very hot day so headed for some lunch and cheap beers (only 12p, the cheapest we found so I guess not all of Hoi An was fancy) and then headed back to the pool.

 That night we had arranged to meet the dutch, Britt and Pip, and the Swiss, Andrea and Vali, for dinner so we headed out with them for a great meal and catch up and then a few drinks afterwards. Andrea kept up her reputation as a pool shark and Vali defeated Cal Y at drunken Jenga so some revenge was had by the Swiss for their defeat in the tennis the night before!! Sadly Hoi An closes down at around midnight so we all said good night and headed for bed.

Our final day in Hoi An before leaving was primarily spent at the beach. In the morning the boys tried their new suits on at the tailors and both need further tweaking so collection was to be at the end of the day before we went for our bus. We then hired some bikes and headed 5km out of town to the beach. It was a hot day so fortunately it was a beautiful beach and wasn't too busy. We met the dutch and Swiss guys there again and had a great afternoon relaxing and swimming. We had to head around 4pm to get back for the suits and our bus so we headed back and collected the suits which now fitted great. We decided to ship them back to the UK and OZ as we wouldn't need then till then but the process of arranging the shipping took longer than expected leaving little time to get to the bus and Sarah sitting fretting at the bus station. Fortunately they just made it and we got on the overnight bus to Nha Trang.........what was to be undoubtedly the worst overnight journey we would endure!!

Nha Trang - 8-9th August - Booze cruise!

Before we arrived in Nha Trang the bus journey there must be touched on! It was horrific!! We got stuck up at the back of a bus with obviously zero suspension and the road just happened to be so full of pot holes we may as well have travelled on a quad bike it was so bumpy. As you can imagine we got very little to no sleep so upon arrival we were all still extremely tired. We found our hotel and of course couldn't check in so went some breakfast and then booked a boat trip for the following day around the islands around Nha Trang. We then headed to the beach as there isn't much else in Nha Trang. It was a great beach though and had huge inflatables that we indulged our inner children having great fun on. We also met the 3 Austrians again when we went for lunch so arranged to all go for dinner that night. We ended up going to a BBQ restaurant and Cal Y tried some crocodile which turned out to be really good and Cal E had some swordfish which was also great. It was a great night catching up with the Austrians and sadly was the last time we saw them. Hopefully we'll see them again though either in Scotland or Austria (particularly in Austria if we can get there for some snowboarding!!)

The next day we went on the boat trip around the islands of Nha Trang which turned out to be another great day. We started by heading to the worlds smallest aquarium though fortunately there were some sharks and huge turtles so it was worth it to see these. We then went snorkeling though which was great and we saw some really cool fish and coral around the coast of one of the islands. We also met a couple of really cool Australians, Alice and Flynn, who we then hung out with the rest of the day. We then went for some lunch and were entertained by the "boat band" which had a hilarious start as their lead singer opened their set dressed up in a skirt and coconut bra.

They then sang a song for various countries including Fields of Athenry for 3 Irish girls, I Come From a Land Down Under for the Ozzies and even a random German song for 3 German guys on the boat, sadly no Scottish song though!! We then jumped off the boat for a swim and a few drinks on the "floating bar" which consisted of an inflatable upon which one of the crew served orange alcohol, what it actually was we have no idea but it was free so we didn't complain!! We then headed to a beach on the last island and chilled out for an hour before heading back to the main land. It was a great day and we did make plans to meet everyone later but in the end we crashed after dinner which was probably a good thing considering we then had to get up for a 7am bus to Da Lat the next day. Thankfully the day buses were much smoother than the night ones!!

Da Lat 10-11th August - Canyoning anyone?

Just half a day bus ride from Nha Trang is the beautiful mountain town of Da Lat. We initially noticed 2 things about this place - 1) the scenery is amazing - the bus climbed and climbed until we reached our destination and the views became increasingly impressive the higher we drove, and 2) this place is THE coolest (as in temperature) place we have been so far and I can't describe how delighted we were by this! Not being used to constant 30 degree heat we were craving a little breeze and Da Lat was the perfect temperature - although we were still running about in shorts and t-shirts all the locals were wearing 2 fleeces under their jackets looking at us like we were crazy! On our first day we wandered about the town, found a food market which included live specimens of many local delicacies (Sarah manage to stand on a live sea snake which had escaped from its container) and had some lunch. 

There are many different activities to do in Da Lat and Canyoning caught our eye so we booked ourselves in for a trip the next day and spent the rest of the afternoon at the "Crazy House"- a strange house with lots of rooms all built like an Alice in Wonderland tree house - very strange but cool to walk around. We had a quiet evening in anticipation of our day of activities the following morning.

Welcome to canyoning!!! This really was one of the highlights so far.  A day of abseiling down waterfalls, sliding down waterfalls and jumping off waterfalls! How much fun can you have in one day???? LOTS!!!!!! Some of it was pretty scary - the boys managed a 12m cliff jump which was completely mental and a bit too much for Sarah who decided her 7m jump was high enough thank you very much!!  After an exciting day we spent the evening zoning out and watched Back to the Future 1, 2 and a little of 3 before going to meet our new Canyoning friend Shaun and his friend Uli for dinner. 

Start by standing under a waterfall having abseiled down a dry slope

Next, hold on to your hat as you're released down a waterfall slide!

Then comes the big one...

 Being splashed by water the whole way down, then being told 5m from the bottom "After 3, just let go.
1, 2, 3..."

 First the triple 7m cliff jump


Then the Calum's each give the 12m jump a try...

Mui Ne 12-13th August - sand and seafood

We left Da Lat on the 12th with Uli and headed to Mui Ne - a sea side town full of BBQ seafood restaurants and sand dunes.  We arranged to meet some people we met previously on the trip and hung out at the beach that day with Uli, Valeria and Andrea and then met Shaun that evening for dinner.  Dinner was one of the best meals so far in Vietnam - BBQ sea food right on the beach.  We picked what we wanted from the big tanks which all got thrown straight on the BBQ - we shared a big plate of scallops, shrimp and squid - all delicious!!!

The next day we chilled out in the morning and caught up with our new Dutch mates Brit and Pip who had just arrived in Mui Ne that morning and in the afternoon we went on a trip to the sand dunes with Andrea, Valeria and Shaun.  We stopped first at a fairy river which was a little sand river you could walk along which was lovely before heading to the white sand dunes where you could do some sand boarding which was fun but pretty hard work going up and down the dunes the whole time!

 

The kids sand boarding at the top showing Valeria how it's done.

Next stop was the red sand dunes to watch the sun set - really very beautiful. That evening we were joined by Uli, Brit & Pip and went for a big group dinner and some drinks and a beach front bar. Cal E redeemed himself slightly by beating Andrea at pool (twice) but I think overall she still remains victorious!  A nice relaxing few days before we head to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). 

Shaun, Cal E, Andrea and Valeria do the dune handstand. I think you can tell who did gymnastics as kids...

Dune sunset

 Us with Valeria, Andrea and Shaun

Saigon 14-17th August - Mekong and the bright city lights

We arrived late in Saigon with Valeria and Andrea and managed to get a room big enough for us all. We dumped our bags and headed to the night market to wander round and grab some dinner. This was the biggest city we had been in since Beijing and it was exciting to hear all the noise and hustle and bustle of the markets and traffic.

Mekong

The next morning we were up really early for an over night trip on the Mekong delta.  The Mekong is a massive river that starts in China and runs through Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.  After a few hours by bus we reached the river and found our boat and guide who was a little odd and kept making us answer lots of questions such as naming the 10 longest rivers in the world (Mekong is the 12th) - we didn't get that answer right but we (Valeria) did manage to answer correctly the country that the pineapple originates from (Brazil) which won us a free beer!  We went by boat to visit a local village where they make coconut candy - it tasted really good so we bought a few packets for later.  Next stop was a crocodile farm - there are lots of wild crocodiles on the Mekong but we didn't see any other than those in the farm. We fed them bits of meat from a fishing rod - some of them were sun bathing and being pretty lazy about catching any food so we had to entice them by actually placing it in their open mouths. Some of them were huge and even though they looked docile at times they were still pretty terrifying - we kept our distance.

 Bear Grylls gives the feeding a try

After some chilling out on hammocks, our next stop was to another village where they kept lots of bees and made honey.  We had some honey tea which was delicious and even managed to avoid being stung by all the bees buzzing about. We also managed to fit in a ride in a bamboo raft up a smaller section of the Mekong before leaving our group and heading for our home stay that night.

We met the head of the family that we were to stay with and he took us to his boat and we had about a 30 minute ride down another part of the river to his house. When we arrived he showed us to our accommodation for the night - little huts on the banks of the river which were basic but lovely.

We jumped in the river for a quick swim before dinner.  

The family cooked up a storm - there was rice, noodles, elephant ear fish, spring rolls, vegetables and salad. We stayed up for a while chatting, watching the fireflies and doing shots of "happy water" with the head of the family (happy water aka some kind of rice spirit is preferred by the locals to beer as it isn't as fattening and it is much stronger).  A lovely tipsy evening after a busy day!

The next morning we were up at 5.30am!! Actually we were all awake from 2am due to the family cockerels singing to their hearts content, gggrrrrrr! After Cal E and Andrea jumped in the river again, we went for a morning walk before breakfast to see the rice fields and the local people making a start to their day.  We saw lots of chili and lime trees as well as dragon fruit and mango trees.

Breakfast back with the family was fried eggs with bread and fruit - yummm! We then got in the boat again and made our way back to the main river to rejoin the rest of our group and to go to the floating fruit and veg market. This market was huge.  You can tell what each boat is selling by the fruit and veg tied to the mast of the boat.  Some only sell pineapples or only mangoes but others sell every kind of fruit and veg you can think of. When the boat displays banana leafs on the top of the mast then the whole boat of for sale! We bought lots of fresh delicious pineapple - mmmmm!

We were also told about the front of the boats, upon which locals painted dragons eyes. This was to scare off any crocodiles in the Mekong, as everyone knows that crocodiles are scared of dragons.

After an hour or so of floating round the market we made our way to another village where we heard some local people singing and we ate some of the fruit from the market.  Our final stop on the trip before heading back to the bus was to another village where they made rice noodles. Given that noodles had been the main sustenance of our diet for nearly 3 weeks it was really interesting to see how they made them from the rice, dried them out in big sheets and then cut them into spaghetti type noodles ready for packaging and selling. And that was it! A fun filled 2 days on the Mekong. We headed back to our bus bound for Saigon.

Saigon (Hoi Chi Minh City)

That evening we decided to have a break from Vietnamese cuisine and had our first curry since India - it was fabby.  We were joined at dinner by the Dutch couple Brit and Pip who had just arrived in Saigon that night and also Valeria and Andrea.  After dinner we headed to what we called the "red chairs" - this was a street that has hundreds of little red chairs outside the bars on the pavement and the road where you sit and have very very cheap home brewed Vietnamese beer.  These bars are open until the last customer leaves so they can be open pretty late!  We stayed for a few and the boys played "shake face" (basically shake your face and take pictures with a high shutter speed!) - attractive pics to follow!!

Next day we took in the sights of Saigon.  After a yummy breakfast at a french bakery we wandered around with Uli, Valeria and Andrea and found the Vietnam war museum. This was really interesting and very sad to see photographic images of the people who were badly affected by the war and the after effects of Agent Orange which was the chemicals sprayed on the fields to impact the food supply during the war.  These chemicals caused cancer and terrible birth defects for years after the war ended. The museum also showed some of the torture tools that were used during the war which were horrific. After a brutal morning and afternoon we all went to the big market in Saigon for some retail therapy before meeting up with Brit and Pip and going for dinner and a late night at the red chairs! Here we also got to enjoy games of rock-paper-scissors with the kids who come around trying to sell you things. They are the cutest kids in the world, but walking around selling things in the middle of the night is not ideal.

Valeria and Andrea had about 2 hours sleep before their flight the next day to Malaysia and we woke briefly to say cheerio before having a long lie and getting ready to get the bus to Cambodia that afternoon. 

And that was Vietnam! A fun filled and packed 3 weeks, lots of new friends and stories to tell - an exciting start to South East Asia!

Esch heure geil, man.