Day 9 – Move to new resort

A quick check on the internet told us the weather wasn’t going to change for the next week – so our flights were going to have to. We had planned 4 full days in this place – and that seemed somehow bad in our sleep deprived state. So a taxi trip back to the airline office in town saw us exchanging them for an extra day in Ho Chi Ming City and two more in Singapore.

We then spent the morning exploring the town and realising there was nothing outside the resorts to cater for the tourists – this place was pretty raw, making for some fantastic photo opportunities.

We ordered lunch at a local “Pho” place (Pho is noodle soup – it’s what all the locals live on here). There was no menu – we just smiled at the lady and pointed to one of her seats and she nodded and away we went – apart from the noodles, we had no idea what we were eating – but it was tasty!



Back to the resort – the next priority was finding a more comfortable place to stay for the next 2 nights – which we did, and weren’t disappointed. This was our new place on the beach:





Put our feet up for the rest of the afternoon and even caught our first glimpse of Phu Quoc sun as it was setting:



Found a small beach-front bar that served food - so stayed for dinner. We were the only ones there so stayed on a while for a few games of pool – walking home to our new bunglow after dark in the rain along the beach.

Day 8 – To a tropical island

Today we were hoping to go from ‘adventure-tourist’ to ‘tropical island tourist’ mode – with flights from Danang in central Vietnam to Phu Quoc island off its southern tip. It's supposed to be one of the ‘hidden wonders’ of Vietnam.

Was almost sick again on the trip to the airport (maybe another bad meal the night before?), but managed to come right again before boarding (it was very touch and go for a while).

After a 3 hour stopover in Ho Chi Ming City, we made it to the island where I had heard that “if you were really keen” you could walk from the airport to the beach and then along the beach – sampling the resorts as you go. Sounded more exciting than using a taxi, a bit of an adventure – so we ignored all the taxi touts wanting to take us to their recommended resort and off we went on our own.

Well... our naive keenness just about killed us! It was stinking hot and after an hour or so of walking with our backpacks on and still not getting to the beach, we finally gave up and asked a taxi to take us to the nearest resort where we checked in without question – just as the rain started. It was a cheap bungalow and had a pool - nothing else really mattered by that stage.



There was a reason for the cheapness – with a dark, damp and smelly room and almost foot long geckos on the walls running to hide behind the bed when you entered the room. They supplied a mosquito net, as none of the doors or windows closed properly. There was one very very dim light – so you could hardly see anything once the sun was down. The bed had a broken spring that kept Delwyn awake, the air-con smelled like stagnant water, and the frogs outside were like jackhammers. It was raining and windy, everything was wet and slippery, and the beach was covered with rubbish – the waves were choppy and murky. The restaurant at the resort was the only food choice and was twice the price we had been used to paying – yet eating was about all there was to do in that weather.


Sufficed to say it wasn’t the tropical paradise we were expecting – and had the obligatory ‘home-sick-meltdown’ moment later that dark stormy night when the strange noises (probably the rats) outside (or maybe inside - we never did find out) the bungalow caused Delwyn to loose it...

You don’t know what a comfort zone really is – until it’s not there anymore...

Home now. Time to finish the rest of the posts...

We didn’t get the blog posts finished over there as internet time was few and far between. But have now arrived home and after a few days recovering from jetlag and getting back into the routines with the kids (not sure which was more of a shock to the system) – We have now found the time and energy to finish off the blog posts with the remaining days of our holiday.

Hope you enjoy the rest of the posts - will publish them over the next few days...

Day 7 - Some tours

We set the alarm for 4:45am for a 'sunrise' tour of “My Son” where there are many ancient monuments from the Champa Kingdom (dates from between the 5th century AD to the 17th century). There were lots of the usual Buddhist and Hindu carvings into stone and brick monuments/temples/alters/etc.



It was extra special to be the first ones on site. You get to walk around the dense jungle tracks by yourself and feel like you are discovering these monuments for the first time. They are very old and overgrown with grass and moss, so they look pretty special.



We got back to the hotel just as the morning was starting to get hot - so we climbed back into bed and had another hours sleep.


Later that day we went on a tour called "2 hours with farmer" which we spotted in some obscure little tour agency run by one man. There are all sorts of tours you can do here – diving, fishing, boat trips, monuments, etc – Hoi An really revolves around the tourism industry. But this little tour was different since the owner of that agency turned out to be an ex-rice farmer who had many relatives who still lived off the land who we could visit.

So we met him at his shop with our hired bikes, he yelled at the wife to take over the shop and hopped on his bicycle and off we went. Hundreds of motorbikes and trucks swerved around us, honking their horns, stirring up dust and belching exhaust fumes in our faces. He said how happy he was that we booked his tour as it was an excuse to get out of the shop and get some fresh air - the irony was totally lost on the poor chap!

We got out into the countryside to visit a market garden - with hundreds of little rows of all sorts of herbs and vegetables. He showed us some of the very manual methods for planting, watering and picking the crops and told us about the struggle between the growers - who want to own their own plots, and the government who want to pay the growers a salary - but then take all the profits made.



Then we went to a rice field that his friend owned and we saw some of the methods they use for growing rice. They still use water-buffalo for ploughing.



The highlight was the optional sit-down at the end of the tour with his friend and family for a few beers. This experience was worth the cost of the tour alone. It’s just what we came here to experience - some basic family life, with an English translator who could answer our questions about everyday life here. We learned about schooling (about US$20 per month per child - a huge amount of money for these people), weddings (lots of drinking), business (he shared a new tourism business idea with us and wanted our feedback), and humor (we asked for some examples of local humor - its pretty basic and the usual sexist and dirty jokes that you would hear back home over a few beers).

All round it was lots and lots of fun - and so much better than all those poor tourists sitting in bars down-town paying 'tourist' prices for their fancy drinks and talking rubbish.

The "2 hours with Farmer" was good, but the extra "2 hours drinking with Farmer" was much more fun!

Day 6 - A bad start

We were woken at 5am by a Vietnamese radio program being broadcast over loudspeakers from the rooftop of the local communist party headquarters next door to our hotel. Truly bazaar and totally inconsiderate behavior that reminded us of the jarring call-to-prayer 5am shock you get every morning when traveling in a Muslim country. Delwyn used the early start as an opportunity to get some great photo's of the HoiAn buildings before the rest of the tourists got up.

I (Rodney) then spent breakfast time throwing up into a pot plant at a fume-filled street cafe in 31+ degree 80% humidity heat - not the best start to the day I've had. Could have been any number of about 20 things I ate the day before - so no point in trying to guess which it was. A short nap back at the hotel and I was back to normal again by about midday (thank you God! I know it could have been much much worse!).

We spent another day exploring by bike and on foot - getting great photos and video, and buying lots of prezzys for the kids - my pack is now filling out quite nicely!

Day 5 - Exploring HoiAn

Today we hired a couple of bikes and spent the day cycling the back roads and rice-paddies of the area - getting well out of the tourist-centre and away from the desperate "you buy, you buy" of the local shopkeepers and touts. It was some of the most magical moments of the trip so far - just cycling randomly in one direction for an hour so we got totally lost, and then spend the next couple of hours finding our way back to the town.

Busy sealed roads would become quiet gravel roads as we randomly choose to turn left or right at each intersection, then turn into dirt tracks, then into narrow walkways and sometimes end up as a ridge separating a couple of ricefields. Occasionally a wrong turn might end up at someones front doorstep, someones boat or just a remote spot on the river-shore and we would have to turn back and try another route.

Sometimes we were forced to turn back because of a nasty sounding dog - other times the track looked a little too much like someones front yard - with fences, chickens, huts, hammocks and livestock in pens - so we would back-track to the last turnoff and try another route. There were cows on leashes, men working on their boats, women working in the fields, and lots of children running out from their homes waving like mad and yelling "Hello, hello, hello" with big grins.

We stopped and gave coconut candy (from the Mekong Delta) to a couple of kids not much older than Sam - and they jumped up and down laughing madly as they excitedly chewed it, probably a treat they were not used to (the father/uncle was there with them and smiled at us - which we presumed was all the permission we needed).

We came across a school of 5-6 year olds and were invited in by the teacher. The kids were watching Tom and Jerry on TV, so we didn't feel like we were interrupting anything. They went mad when we showed them photos and video of themselves - it was so noisy! We had almost forgotten how noisy (and excitable) kids could be! Lots of fun.

The greenery is so lush here - everything is overgrown - yet at the same time, all space is in use with something, either a building or a crop. There is no boundary between when the town finishes and the fields start - the town and fields are competing for the same space - so neither really starts or ends, the buildings are just plonked down randomly in the middle of the fields and rice paddies.

In this pic you can see the rain coming in from the hills - we just put on our ponchos and kept on cycling in the rain - very cool...

Our eating habits have been completely screwed up - snacking on local food we can buy for less than a dollar all through the day, then eating snack sized meals at lunch and dinner because we aren't hungry, then getting hungry between meals because we haven't been eating properly, so have yet another snack! We had crunchy rice paper at one stall, barbequed pork skewers at another, sugar-cane juice at another - the food here is just fantastic and we are being very brave with new flavors (had dragon fruit juice at dinner last night, even tried Duran in the markets in Saigon - thats the smelly fruit that is supposed to smell awful but taste sweet - just tasted AND smelled awful really).

The main "old-town" here is just magical. They don't allow cars and motorbikes on the main streets, and we weren't even allowed to walk our bikes on the waterfront in the evenings - they are very strict about keeping the feel of the place as mellow as possible. The old french colonial architecture is just beautiful - it has to be the most beautiful little town in all of Asia.

Everything is going well - feels like a real adventure. Are having a fantastic time...

Day 4 - Flight to Hoi An

A 1 hour morning flight north today brought us to the sleepy little town of Hoi An - about half way up the coast of Vietnam. It has the same feel as Arrowtown - very very full of tourists - but also very quaint and relaxing.

Our hotel has a large balcony so we can put our feet up and watch the rain on the old french-colonial rooftops. Its the first time we have actually been able to relax since getting to Vietnam - and that's why we have nothing else to say about today...

4 more days here...

Ahhhhh....

Day 3 - 2nd day on Mekong Delta trip

We started the day on the boat again - this time going down river to the largest floating market in the delta - was really amazing to see the amount of trade in fresh produce going on. Hundreds of boats, each with a family living on board (kids, dogs, chickens and all) who have traveled several days to get to the market to sell their produce before returning home again for another load.



We were going to go to another tourist spot to see rice-noodles being made, but the factory was closed so instead we went to a local street market beside the river. This was much more interesting as they were not used to seeing tourists there, so there was no "you buy, you buy" in-your-face sellers. We were free to wander around the markets and soak in the pungent atmosphere. What great luck the noodle factory was closed!



Then a 5 hour bus trip back to Ho Chi Ming City. This is a typical Vietnamese street scene from the bus...



Overall the Mekong trip was just amazing - it was 2 days of overwhelming culture-shock. It was quite exhausting also - even cruising up the river slowly for hours at a time, it sounds relaxing, but there was always an overwhelming of the senses with unfamiliar things to see reminding you you were a long way from home.

We are both staying healthy - despite eating at street stalls and back-street market stalls (and cafes serving local food) for most of our meals. Have eaten only local dishes so far - not needing western food yet (the local stuff is all sooooo tasty - and there is huge variety). Except breakfast - we have been enjoying a fresh baguette with soft cheese - a local breakfast option left over from the French colonial past - costs maybe NZ$4 for both of us. A dinner with two mains, a plate of spring-rolls and a couple of beers sets us back roughly NZ$10-11, such great value for money!

The heat isn't as bad as we expected, but it is overcast most of the time, and a light breeze keeps things nice and cool (maybe hot humid NZ summer temps). We can imagine a still sunny day would be pretty tough - but have avoid this so far. Have stayed in Air-con rooms so far and got very good sleeps at night.

Day 3 - Mekong trip starts

We had booked our 2 day Mekong trip for US$21 each (plus food and expected 'upgrades' enroute) on our first day - and ended up going with about 15-20 other Westerners which wasn't too bad.

We started the day with a 3 hour drive to 'Cai Be' a town in the middle of the Mekong Delta where we visited a floating market where growers were selling their produce in bulk from their boats:



Went to a few of the obligatory tourist things - coconut candy factory and rice paper factory which were mildly interesting, even if the tourists were being fed in one end and out the other like a meat grinder making sausages. Naturally we came out a few dollars poorer trying to pick the coconut candy out between our teeth.

We had lunch on An Binh island and then hopped on bikes and went exploring the tracks and bridges alongside and over all the little canals. The countryside is so lush (is raining season - so everything alive is growing like mad) and you never know whats around the next corner:



Then a 5 hour boat trip along the narrow canals got us to the city of Can Tho - it was such an amazing boat trip, looking into the houses of people who live on and over the water - as they wash, cook and work. This is a typical row of shacks - everything is so run down and poorly maintained:



The young kids in these places were so excited to see us - they would yell, jump up and down and run alongside the river banks waving until we all waved back - they made us feel like royalty.

It was a fantastic day - with too many highlights to meantion here.

Day 2 - Cooking course

We spent most of today doing a Vietnamese cooking class - starting with our professional chef and his English translator giving us a tour of the local market to point out all the ingredients used in local cooking. It surprised us how many of the fruit and veg we (Del) knew.

It was great fun - and extra special because while normally there is a whole class (of tourists like us) - we were luckily enough to be the only ones on that day. This meant the chef could spend more time one-on-one with us showing us things that made us feel like we were actually learning things - not just cooking the food put out for our class. We got a certificate at the end (after a test that comprised of a single question) along with a booklet with the recipes we cooked - and then ate the result - was very yummy.



We spent the rest of the day on foot around Ho Chi Ming City, visiting things like the 'Reinunification Palace' and other local sights. The most interesting thing was the traffic - and getting across one of the busiest streets (with hundreds of motorbikes, cars and trucks swerving around us) was an ordeal that leaves you a bit shaken.

Had a solid, exhausting day and now have a good feel for the city. Now time to get away from its overwhelming noise, fumes and chaos...

Arrived!

Have arrived safe and sound. The flights were much better than I expected - getting roughly 5 hours sleep on the way to Singapore (5 hours more that I expected). Had lots of "video-on-demand" movies to choose from, and the food was fansastic (gone are the days of crappy airline food - at least on Singapore Airlines) - we certanily didn't go hungry!


Was awesome to fly into Ho Chi Ming City with the last 20 minutes of approach over the Mekong Delta - where we want to spend the next few days. To see the size of it by air has given us a real appreciation of it. It was amaizing to see so many towns and villages with their lush green plots all linked up by hundreds of little canals without a road in sight for hundreds of miles around! Immigration went smoothly - a bit worrying to see all airport staff with surgical masks on.


Getting onto the street again was such a cool feeding. Having all your senses overloaded by the intense sights, smells, sounds, dirt and overall chaos of this place - brought back so many memories of our last trip to this part of the world. Its such an intensly busy place - there is so much to see. We had lunch at a street stall and just soaked the place up - while the heat soaked up all our energy.

Spent the day going around looking at and booking internal flights and our trip to the mekong.

Its so great to be here!!

Departure Day

Well the day has finally arrived – after a little bit of stress at work. I frustratingly had to rebuild a clients machine only 2 days out from leaving, so didn’t get home until 11pm last night as I was a day behind with everything - a bit sad to be working late the day before starting a holiday.

But we are in holiday mode now! It was a beautiful day, so I enjoyed getting out and giving the sheep a drench and toe-clip this morning.

The kids are acting up, doesn’t matter how much we reassure them – they are clearly uneasy about us going away, poor things. The good old TV babysitter has done a good job of distracting them while we do our final pack. We are gonna miss them like crazy!

We have been brutal with our packing – having read this very comprehensive (and persuasive) site that gives a good case for packing light. Delwyn purchased a 40 litre pack (about the size of a large day-bag/school bag) and has done really well getting everything in there – I am quite proud of how disciplined she has been with this - she is one lightweight traveler when we can leave the kids at home! I am taking my more traditional 80 litre pack, but its only half full (lots of room for all the junk we will buy for the kids on the last day!). So you will understand if we are wearing the same clothes in all our photos!

Regarding our itinerary, we have nothing fixed – preferring to go with the flow and see what’s happening when on the ground. But the following key things are the general idea:

• A cooking course in Ho Chi Ming City: We want to get to know the flavours and concepts behind the local cuisine early on in the trip so we have some clue as to what we are eating the rest of the time.
• A tour of the Mekong Delta: These are usually pre-arranged tours that include some time on the Mekong visiting local floating markets.
• Some time in the hills at Dalat: To get away from the heat up in the mountains.
• Some time on the tropical Phu Quoc Island: Will hire a motorbike and explore the island looking for remote beaches like this one:

We are now at Delwyn's mums place getting the kids settled in.


Counting down to the dreaded 17 hours of travel (including check-ins and transfer in Singapore) starting 9pm tonight...