Hello Koh Samui

In Da Nang airport they had BK! First fast food in 3 weeks. Felt like crap afterword

To update the last of Vietnam first, we spent 2 days on the beach in Nha Trang doing quite literally nothing, and then an afternoon in Ho Chi Minh City.



Jess got poo'd on

Nha Trang was a nice beach, but we paid the $1.50 to get chairs at a nice beachside pool bar and hang out there instead. It was worth the money to keep the vendors off your back for a few hours. It's quite exhausting constantly saying no 10 times to 10 people who sell exactly the same thing that no one wants. Regrettably I cant even comment on the water temperature as we didnt touch it. There also was a cool waterpark thing you could go to called Vinpearl over a very impressive cable car ride 10 meters+ in the air, but again I think we were so tired of tours and being busy it was nice to do nothing. The highlight for Jess for sure was 2 back to back sushi dinners. Its the first sushi we've eaten in I dont know how long. At least 3 weeks probably more like 4-6...



After Nha Trang (and another attempt by a taxi to rip us off), we flew to HCMC. The plan was get there at 12noon, store our luggage in a locker, and go downtown for a bit. Our flight to Bangkok was at 11pm, and then to Koh Samui at 10am the next morning. Now everything in Vietnam is crazy cheap, labour is nothing, beer is nothing etc. When we get to the airport we were stunned to see they wanted $1 per bag per hour to watch out stuff, and there were no lockers?! We have 5 bags these days and quite literally didnt have enough cash left to pay $40 for some guy to watch our bags.... We ended up dividing up the dong we had left and combined our bags into 2, then took one downtown. We took the bus to save money, which was actually quite comfortable, and blah blah blah, nothing that great we got our flight.

Thats where things were a bit freaky. We waited on the runway for about 10 minutes until the pilot came on and said they were waiting for some weather to pass as a precaution. This was the understatement of the trip. 10 minutes later we flew what seemed like directly through a lightning storm. We could see the bolts level with the plane so close it looked like you could touch them. Jess and I both had minor panic attacks, and I still cant believe we didnt die. As a suggestion to Qatar Airways, maybe just wait 20 minutes instead of 10!!! I wish I wasnt so panicked because it probably would have been a good picture.

Now we are in Koh Samui and loving it! The weather is super super hot and sunny, the beach is not crowded and very nice. The water is probably 25c, and the vendors are so much more understanding. They definitely start higher, but they are both willing to barter and willing to take a no.



Last night we went to a weekly market in Lamai where we are staying and ate a bunch of street food and drinks. Jess bought some fake ray bans for 5 bucks, and fun was had.



Riding in one of the sweet truck taxi's

As you can probably tell the paragraphs are getting shorter because I wrote too much about the end of Vietnam and I dont want to write anymore... oops Uploading some pictures...

Vietnam?

So we are still in Vietnam, and it is a crazy crazy place. Its hard to really sum it up in a little blog post, but basically because its emerging from communist economic control and rapidly developing in certain areas you have these massive swings from western hospitality to bananas asian people doing ridiculous things. Then there is the banners and propaganda, the oppression of certain groups, the corruption stories, unfair nepotism contrasted with the cheap cheap prices for good food, nice hotels that are clean and friendly, really cheap awesome tours, a few nice scenery spots... the list goes on and on.

In Ha Long bay we had a great boat with nice people, a good crew, good food etc. Not to mention amazing scenery.


We spent 2 days in Hanoi after the tour, and it was quite funny how initially the traffic and motorbikes were completely overwhelming, yet after 2 nights we were bored with our lame tourist area and the most brutal city sights I've ever seen. Temples were so run down and pointless because they dont put up any english signs, the taxi driver and rickshaw guy both tried to rip us off like we were morons, and the Ho Chi Mihn Masoleum happened to be closed on a Friday (which was our fault I guess). The same nights though we had several awesome meals and walked a ton.



After Hanoi we went to Sapa. Now I blame Frommer's and Trip Advisor for this cock up, as they list it as a cant miss. Its advertised everywhere in town, but me being determined to not sign up for a tourist tour we sought out a private gudie who was highly rated and boarded the overnight train for 9 hours. Of course on the train we get the old Veitnamese man who made disgusting mouth and spitting noises all night. Luckily Jess didnt kill him because I wouldnt want to do time here, thats for sure. So having not slept we got off the train to find 2 other people who had also booked 'private' tours with the same guide as us. Flustered we had a Pho breakfast in an unheated awkward restaurant until our guide showed up and broke the news that he had double booked (intentionally). But what seemed like total crap and lying at first turned out to be one of the biggest blessings of the trip. The couple we did the tour with just happened to be awesome Londoners, and we hung out several times since both in Hanoi and Hoi An.



It was very foggy for the trip and the scenery wasnt too great because of it. In hindsight I guess it was just the wrong time of year to go. All in all though because its been a week the downsides have faded and I just remember that it was a change of pace from the comfortable travelling we are used to, and a good experience overall. Jess loved it too. lol...




After Sapa and another overnight train we treated ourselves to a flight to Hue instead of another overnight train (15 hours). On the plane we sat beside a "Battlefield Tours" group of Vietnam vets and their wives, and boy did they have some choice lines. "Where'd all them trees come from," I heard one of them say to 3 different people at 3 different times. I guess he was an airforce vet who dropped a lot of napalm on Hue during one of the big battles. Another less obnoxious guy confessed he was looking forward to seeing Khe Sang, this time with less adrenealine. Seriously cant imagine!



We did a tour ourselves of the DMZ area with a guide and walked the Citadel by ourselves. The DMZ was very interesting and the Citadel is very partially rebuilt, but there wasnt much to see. The museum's in the DMZ zone though are a treat on their own. They are so slanted and contrived its just stunning. Also intersting and unseen to tourists is the brutal treatment they give the South Vietnamese army vets. It might be one country on the map, and on the surface everyone has Ho Chi Mihn pictures up everywhere, but thats just because you have to. Its still two countries as far as I can see. Not to mention the young people have USA army stickers on a lot of their motorbikes. I dont think they are that disconnected to just have it on there because they like the "brand name" or colours, can they?



Now we are in Hoi An and just yesterday dropped a lot of money at a custom tailor. They are world famous and have a ton of awesome reviews, so our hopes are high. We had our first fitting today, and we were both blown away. Jess got 2 blazers, 2 very nice coats, and a pant suit/skirt combo. I got 2 suits, 2 coats, and 5 dress shirts. All looked almost perfect, but are getting tweaked overnight for another fitting tomorrow morning. Then that night its off to Nha Trang for some relaxing beach time. Looking forward to it!!

Having just looking back through pictures to post in this blog I see we also had fun at the Vihn Moc Tunnels (incredible, went to the beach in Hoi An,

Just finished a trip on a Chinese Junk to Ha Long Bay for 3d/2n.

It was incredibly picturesque and a lot of fun. The weather there is nuts, evidenced by Jess hanging up a wet coat for over 24 hours in our room and it not drying. I think we are both happy to be back to A/C and a sealed dry room in Hanoi. Nevertheless going on that trip was a bit of a minor bucket list item for me, so I'm super happy with it. We spend 2 days in Hanoi now and then I think are going to Sapa for 2 nights. Ill try to post some photos soon!