Vietnam

Day: 67
Countries: 7
Stops: 25


Two minivans took us to the Cambodia-Vietnam border, and this border seems more normal, although security and organization still seemed much more lax than the Singapore-Malaysia or Malaysia-Thailand borders. Then it's a quick minivan trip to Chau Doc, on the Mekong Delta. First order of business was a boat trip on the Mekong Delta, where we got to see (another) floating village. Then a motorbike ride up Sam Mountain for sunset! It was a fun ride, with lots of photo stops along the way. the last leg of the ride was pretty crazy as well with sharp uphill turns on a speeding motorbike! The sunset was also very pretty, and we stayed to have a drink at the top of the mountain before heading down and visiting a local pagoda on the way back to the hotel.

Life on the Mekong River, at Chau Doc

Sunset over the Mekong Delta, at Chau Doc

A morning departure on a van took us to Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh City, after a lunch stop at another local tourist trap restaurant (a nice one, this time). The nearby Cho Ben Tanh (market) was the first stop after arriving in the mid-afternoon, then dinner at a restaurant in the nearby tourist district (after the 2nd group meeting, where we met the one other person joining us for this leg of the journey). The next day, most of us opted for the private bus/guide to the Cu Chi tunnels, which ended in the mid afternoon, with enough time for a quick trip to the Reunification Palace and a walk over to Notre Dame Cathedral and the Saigon Post Office before heading back for dinner and waiting to leave for our first overnight train to Nha Trang.

Cho Ben Tanh, in Saigon

Post office in Saigon

An early morning arrival in Nha Trang meant most of us wanted to go back to sleep in our rooms, but I opted for a quick walk along the beach to see the locals go for their morning walks, and the handful of tourists stubborn enough to try and sunbathe on a cloudy day. Looks like monsoon season again, part 2! Sure enough, it started raining/pouring in the late morning and continued for the rest of the day. Still managed to do some walking around and booking another dive for the following day. And I'm glad I did, since the dive the next day was well worth it, at $40 for 2 dives, and better diving conditions (and better reefs) than in Sihanoukville. Since it was a half day drive, we had time in the afternoon to take a taxi to see the White Buddha and the Po Nagar towers. Then it's another late evening departure on the overnight train to Hoi An.

Po Nagar towers in Nha Trang

Arrived in Hoi An around midday, and it's off to lunch in the Old Town to try Hoi An specialties (Cao Lao and White rose dumplings) then a trip to the tailors to get various items of clothing made. I opted for a casual dress to wear to a party in Manila, as well as a pair of black pants (trousers!) for use as office wear. By this point, it had started raining (quite a bit), but I tried to walk around all the way to the market and then back in time for dinner at 7, where our guide took us to a local all-you-can-eat rice pancake/pork/vegetables wrapped in rice paper dish. 

streets of Hoi An

The next day was a full day in Hoi An, and a few of us decided to take a trip to My Son to see the Cham ruins in the morning (older than Angkor Wat!). Then it's off to the tailors for the first fitting, before Ariane and I had lunch at the local market food stand (finally, some rice vermicelli!). Then we tried to do the walking tour of Hoi An, going in to see the Trieu Chau and the Phuoc Kien Assembly Halls, the Quong Cong temple, the Tan Ky and the Phung Hung merchant houses, and of course, the Japanese Covered Bridge. Covered those just in time for our second fitting, then back to the hotel to get ready for my cooking class at 5pm! We made veggie spring rolls, deep-fried wontons with a sweet and sour relish (stir fried tomatoes and pineapples), grilled mackerel in banana leaf, and a stir fried squid in a ginger/lemongrass sauce. After dinner, I walked around for a bit on the other side of the river to take a photo of the silk lantern shops before heading back to the hotel to meet up with my sister and have dessert/coffee. Then it's shopping time...we went back to the lantern shop to shop for gifts/souvenirs for relatives in Manila.

My Son Champa ruins

Silk lantern shops in Hoi An

A four hour van ride the next morning took us to Hue, a former imperial capital. A quick lunch at the DMZ bar in Le Loi, then it's off into various groups to do our own sightseeing. Hanifa, Ariane and I opted to take a taxi to see the Citadel and then Thien Mu Pagoda in time for the 4pm chanting. The following day, the three of us booked a motorbike tour to see the Minh Mang and the Tu Duc Mausoleums (toms) and the Tu Hien Pagoda before heading to the supermarket for lunch and pharmacy/battery charger stop (by this point, I realized I left my camera battery charger in Hoi An) and the hotel for our 2pm departure on our last overnight train of this trip!

Tu Duc Mausoleum near Hue

We arrived in Hanoi at around 4:30am, then promptly got on a van to drive 3 hours to Ha Long Bay. We were able to check in right away, and around lunch time, we boarded a junk to sail around the bay and enjoy the view. Stopped to do some kayaking for an hour, as well as checked out a cave, then headed back for the evening to check out the night market and find some dinner.

Ha Long Bay

After breakfast the following morning, we were off again back to Hanoi, arriving there around lunch time. We walked to the Old Quarter to get tickets for the water puppet show, then after lunch at small local cafe/diner, we just walked around the area and checked out Hoan Kiem Lake and the Ngoc Son Temple, then headed over to the Vietnamese History Museum about 30 minutes before they closed to check out the exhibit. Then we walked back to the hotel to clean up, only to find that the power is out in the building due to a small fire nearby. They got the power back on shortly afterwards though, with just enough time for a short 20 minute nap before heading back to the Old Quarter to watch the puppet show.

Tortoise Pagoda on Hoan Kiem Lake

Our last full day in Hanoi was spent checking out the Citadel, which had previously been closed to the public, then walking over to the Temple of Literature before taking a taxi to the Museum of Ethnology to see their excellent exhibits of the culture and lifestyles of various ethnic groups in Vietnam. Then it's back to the Old Quarter, where we all parted ways to do our own walking around/shopping before getting ready for our final night dinner at 7pm, which was at a family run cafe/restaurant in the Old Quarter, followed by another (unsuccessful) attempt to find the ever elusive yet infamous Bia Hoi. Defeated, and daunted by Hanoi's curfew, we ended up heading back to the hotel to hang out at one of our rooms and chat until the early morning hours, when people finally decided to catch a few hours of sleep before their early departure. 

Temple of Literature

Only four of us, Brendan, Olly, Ariane and myself, were left to explore some more the next morning, and we headed over to Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum, Presidential Palace, and the One Pillar Pagoda. We wanted to check out the Museum as well, but ran out of time before they closed for the midday break. So we headed over to the Old Quarter again to get us some excellent Bun Cha (finally, some rice vermicelli!) at a small but very busy cafe (across the street from Cafe 69 on Ma May, which was our intended destination but was too pricey for us). Then it's back to the hotel (by way of several souvenir shops and the market to finish off our shopping) for my sister and I to get our bags together and take the cab to the airport.

Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum

One Pillar Pagoda