Shop 'til you drop in Hoi An

We arrived in Hoi An at 5.30am....a bit too early for the hotel as it turns out so we went for an early morning walk around town while we waited for the rooms to be ready. Couldn't tell you what we saw, I think I was still asleep! I can sum up what Hoi An means to me in one word - SHOPPING! I had the most amazing winter coats made.....wool, silk lining, made to measure, all done overnight & all for $35US. Add to that the dress, jumpsuit, skirt, pants & shorts & I spent less than $200 - including the postage to send the stuff home that I don't wanna lug around for the next 11 months!

Oh, I nearly forgot....we also discovered the most amazing chocolate mousse cake I've had in my life...Tam Tam Cafe, you rock my world!

Photo: Mmmmmmmmmmmousse Cake

While we were in Hoi An, we also got to see some of the Liberation Day celebrations. The Thu Bon River runs through the middle of Hoi An & it was the main location for the celebrations. Floating all along the river they had giant lanterns & dragons, lit up from the inside. Everywhere there were children playing traditional games & there was a really festive vibe in the air.

Next morning, despite a very civilised departure time of 10am, I nearly managed to miss the bus cos I was having my last outfit finished...oops! A 4 hour bus ride along the same route taken by the boys from Top Gear, took us to Hue. Stunning scenery but a little windy for those of us who might occasionally suffer from motion sickness!

Photo: As seen on Top Gear Vietnam Special

Hue was the scene of one of the most fun things we have done so far. A local cooking class at a restaurant down the road from the hotel called Missy Roo's. Turns out it's owned by an Aussie woman & the manager (who runs the classes) confessed his love for her...even though she shacked up with his best mate!! Anyway, the class started off with a trip to the local market. It was a real highlight being able to mingle & shop with the locals & to be buying the ingredients we would later be cooking with.

Photo: Anyone for duck?

We cooked fresh spring rolls, fried spring rolls, seafood pancakes, beef noodle soup & peanut sauce.....it was all freakin delicious!! As our teacher said "You eat your own product"....we had so much food that we had to get some of it packed up to take away! We can't wait to get home & test out our new Vietnamese cooking skills.

When we finished stuffing our faces, we dragged ourselves about 4kms out of town to the Thien Mu Pagoda situated on the banks of the Perfume River. It is a really picturesque spot with a giant Pagoda & many other small statues scattered around the grounds. The weirdest part was seen through the back fence - a massive, overgrown cemetary with cows grazing in it!

Photo: You'd think we'd be all Pagoda'd out by now!

Photo: Mooooooo!

Our visit to Hue ended on a slightly sour note. Our tour leader misread our train tickets & we ended up missing the overnight train Hanoi. This left a night bus as our only option....only we didn't catch an ordinary bus.....no, we caught a coach with no reclining seats, no toilet on board & no toilet breaks......for 14 hours!!! What a nightmare...but we managed to make it to Hanoi in one piece & that's where it starts to get really interesting!

Hello Ho Chi Minh

Photo: Crazy traffic outside the night market in Saigon

Forgive me for my tardiness....I know it's been a month since the last entry but it's been a hell of a month!

So we arrived in Ho Chi Minh after successfully crossing the Cambodian border. First impressions are......aaaahhhhhhhh TRAFFIC!! Went for an orientation walk before dinner. After dinner we tackled the night market Ben Thanh Market. On the way to the market we encountered "lovers lane".....a giant park where all the local "lovers" go to sit on their motorbikes & whisper sweet nothings into each others ears! So freakin weird...there where hundreds of them! So the market was massive, hot, packed & extremely overwhelming...we didn't last long! 

Photo: War Remnants Museum - Ho Chi Minh City

Started the day with a 5am wake up call......hundreds of locals in the park outside the hotel doing their morning exercise to The Backstreet Boys!! Today's first stop - The War Remnants Museum - a rather one sided look at the Vietnam War. Lots of graphic pictures up saying things like "The Americans did this". Included in the display were tanks full of deformed babies & hundreds of photos of dead bodies. One interesting display was dedicated to showing the effects of Agent Orange & other chemicals used by the US Army...again, very confronting. Even though it was 40 degrees, we walked back to the other side of town & braved the indoor, day market. Not much of an improvement on the night market...maybe a bit hotter! The only thing left to do was find a pub & have some cold beverages :)

Today we left for the Mekong Delta where we would be spending a night with a local family in a home stay. We were met by Mr Nam, our local guide who quickly became the highlight of the tour so far! We arrived at the port where we alighted our boat for the trip onto the Delta. Along the way we stopped at a few local businesses. We saw how they make popped rice (kinda like rice bubbles), bricks (fascinating) & a fruit farm where they were very keen for us all to try Durian - a fruit that can only be described as smelling like mouldy socks! At every stop we were given jasmine tea & shots of home made rice whisky - 90 proof rocket fuel!! Basically the day was all about getting us pissed!

 

Photo: Inside one of the brick kilns

 

Photo: Presentation is everything!

Lunch was amazing.....they carved little men out of cucumber to adorn the dishes of food, so cute! After lunch we went to leave the little canal in the boat but we had been blocked in by reeds as the tide came in. We turned around to try another way out with no success so we had to try & fit the boat under a bridge.....the only solution, everyone to the front of the boat to way it down....we just squeezed through with the boys pushing down on the underside of the bridge...then it was everyone to the back of the boat to repeat the process....very funny!

Photo: Everyone to the front of the boat

Next stop was a dancing display in an old, French colonial house on the water. We were all getting really into the dancing....and more whisky of course. Sadly it turns out that the family performing were in fact actors they ship in for the benefit of the tourists, not the custodians of the house as we all thought!! Next up a canoe ride took us to our homestay. VERY basic accomodation....just a stretcher bed with a blanket & a mozzie net hanging above. However, the hospitality shown by the patriach of the family was outstanding & the food was even better. Andrew got a hit of energy & went for a bike ride around the little village but the rest of us lay around in hammocks & snoozed! The evening was spent playing card games & teaching Nam (our guide) how to play "Chase the Ace".....he spent most of the night shouting "loser" at anyone he beat!! I think we created a monster :)

Photo: Our gracious host for the homestay

Next morning, back onto the boat for a trip to the floating market, where all the locals trade their wares & then back to Ho Chi Minh.

From the homestay we went straight to the Cu Chi Tunnels, about an hour outside of Ho Chi Minh. We were in a little mini van & about 20 minutes from the tunnels something came over our driver & he turned into a lunatic. He was driving at break neck speeds, down the middle of the road...on several occasions missing pedestrians & bike riders by millimetres.....our tour leader attempted to calm him down but it only served to make things worse! He took his seat belt off & turned into a rally driver.....so scary! We managed, somehow, to arrive in one piece & a phonecall to his boss ensured a safe return journey.

The tunnels were amazing. Evidence of the Vietnamese inginuity & determination.....some 200kms of multi level tunnels used by the locals to live safely during the Vietnam war. Andrew & I both had a go at fitting down an original tunnel entry....a very tight squeeze!

Photo: Breathe in!

They have opened up a handfull of the underground rooms for tourists & they have also widened a stretch of the tunnel (to double the size) so you can have a go crawling down it....you are still on your hands & knees though. Not a good idea if you're claustrophobic. At the end of the tour Andrew had the opportunity to shoot an AK47....or as he put it "shot the shit out of the rabbit". I think he enjoyed it a little too much for my liking!

Photo: Someone looks a little too pleased with himself :)

Back to the hotel to pick up the bags & time to board our first overnight train to Nha Trang...a beachside resort town up the coast. Not much to report about Nha Trang. Not great beaches but we did go to the mud baths which was heaps of fun!

Photo: Relaxing in the mud bath

After lying in the mudbath for about 45mins it was time to bake our mud coating in the sun....then off to the walk through showers & 4 different swimming pools. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon. After 3 days in Nha Trang we boarded an overnight "sleeper" bus for Hoi An. Sleeper Bus is a loose term as I don't think many of us slept! The bus had two levels of reclining seats where you lay almost flat with your feet in the pod under the person in front of you.....you are basically trapped on your back, unable to move your legs for 11 hours.

Photo: The view of Andrew's feet in the "sleeper" bus