(Backup) (Backup) Saigon/ HCMC

 We arrived in Saigon with no delays and our driver was there to meet us. We jumped into the van and were introduced to the traffic in HCMC. It is like nothing we have ever seen before. The driver told us there were 13 million people and 7.5 million scooters or motor bikes.  It appears to be organized ciaos times ten. WOW!  We arrived in one piece to a very nice hotel called the Grand Silverland Hotel and Spa, located right next to the night market. Our welcome drink was very refreshing.  Our room was very nice except it had no outside window which was a little weird. It provided complete darkness and it was very quiet. Once we got settled in we had afternoon tea provided by the hotel ( not very good) so we went out into the street so search for something better and local.

We didn’t have to go far as the food market was literally across the street and you could smell it from outside the hotel so we just followed our noses. It was kind of touristy in that there were no locals eating there however the beer was cold and the food some of the best we have had.   We wondered around the streets and found a pub to have a drink in. The humidity was around about 80% so it was rather warm.

 We decided to take advantage of our hotel pool and cool off and relax as our next couple of days were on tour seeing the Mekong Delta.

 Jason Superstar was our tour guide for the next two days and was right on time for out 7:30am departure. We had about a four hour drive to get the the Mekong from HCMC. We traveled from District one were we were staying through districts 3 and 7.  The city went on for miles until we got out into the country side made up of rice fields and other crops.

We stopped about half way for a bathroom and coffee break. The ice coffee is the best.

When we reached the Mekong Delta we jumped into Jason’s purple hammock boat and traveled through a very small floating market and up to a mangrove. The Mekong Delta is a huge maze of waterways that create many islands. Some you can reach by bridges but most you have to take local ferries that run between the islands, or local boats like the one we were on run the tourists around.

 Many people live on the boats until they have sold out of product and then they leave the water to restock.

Each boat has a large pole at either the front or the back with a sample of what they are selling attached to the top of the pole.

We changed boats to a much smaller which was powered by a small Vietnamese women standing with long narrow paddles.






It was so peaceful and beautiful as we quietly floated down the canal past huge jack fruit trees, banana trees, small villages and a pagoda being built. There was an artist high up on a pillar working on the most intricate carving on the entrance to the pagoda. Jason said the locals had raised funds to have the pagoda built and it would take about 1 year to finish.

We past by chickens, local dogs and a few birds but not a lot of wildlife. Too many people I guess. At one point deep in the mangrove it got very warm, so Jason took off his purple hat and started to fan me   Lol. It helped a bit but not much. Soon we came to the exit of the canal and got back into the purple hammock boat.

 From here we went through the main river and down a different waterway. We stopped at the dock and got off on one of the islands. Jason walked us around the island to see how the local people live.  They are very very poor, living in tiny rooms with maybe a bed but sometimes just a mat or mattress. Grandma's or Grandpa's look after the small children as there is no daycare and both parents are working just to survive. Jason handed me some candy to give to the small children but I wished I could have given them a bag of rice. Rice and noodles are the main diet here, if they are lucky some fish or eggs and they grow their vegetables if they have space. They also have local fruit.  

From here we went back to the car and traveled a short distance to Jason’s Auntie's house for a home cooked local meal. We started by helping roll spring rolls made of ground pork and veggies which were then deep fried in oil. We ate them right out of the pot and they were delicious. The rice paper was very tender and didn’t hold the oil, so I asked Jason the brand and he showed me the package. I was going to take a picture to see if I could find them and the next thing I knew Auntie was handing me a package to take home as a gift.

As we were eating spring rolls we had our first taste of home made rice wine. They drink it in shots and it was actually quite good. But after three shots we had enough.

 The food consisted of a sweet and sour fish soup which we had not tried before. It was yummy, the fish was very tender but I have no idea what it was. We also had fried pineapple with pork and a chicken dish with rice and another sour soup which I did not care for. The last dish was tiny shrimp which had been fried and were so small you did not peel them. Just popped them in your mouth and chewed. Mmmm. Had a few but not many. Lol.   Jason was also running a simultaneous tour with his cousin so we enjoyed lunch with two young Australian boys. After spending a little while at Auntie's we drove into Can Tho and Jason gave us a quick tour of the river area we were staying in and then to our hotel.

 

 Jason upgraded us to the penthouse suite on the 7th floor woohoo. Once we checked in and had a shower we decided to check out the area. We walked down to the river and had a drink on the Mekong, then headed to the lotus bridge and then ended up on a roof top bar overlooking the Mekong River, amazing. It was a warm beautiful night so we hung out there for a while and then decided to go for dinner at one of the local restaurants Jason had recommended.  By the time we walked there we were both dying of heat. The restaurant was small and opened aired which means no A/C.

We walked in and they tried to seat us in the back, the heat was so intense we asked to be moved onto the street seats but the young boy directed us to the seat by the door and showed me a portable A/C unit right by the table.  He then proceeded to fill it with ice and turn it on, wow now that’s what I call service. The food was really good as well. We ordered a beer, which was on the menu but they had to go buy it from the corner store and served it on ice, not great but it will do when you are dying of heat and humidity.   They tried extremely hard to make us comfortable so they deserved a big tip. We headed back to the room afterwards as we had to get us at 5am to go see the sunrise at the floating market. 

The floating market was great fun. We travelled by junk boat down the Mekong for about 30 minutes until we came to the entrance of the Chi Rang Market as the twilight was emerging. As we entered this section of the river there were larger boats carrying produce and advertised what they were selling by spearing the product on the end of a stick and displaying it at the bow of their boat. They were selling mostly root vegetables such as sweet potatoes, pumpkin, as well as pineapples watermelons.

 

 The best part of the market was getting to try the food from the food vendors floating among the larger boats. We had Vietnamese ice coffee, Bahn mi, BBQ pork with noodles and pineapple as well as deep fried banana pastry.

 It was all very good and fun to get from the vendors, one of which was Jason’s sister.  Most of the people buying were other vendors that would take the product inland to resale. We made two passes through the maze of boats and then headed back to the city.









Breakfast was available at the hotel but we were still full from our morning on the floating market, so we opted for coffee and a bit of fruit and then went up to our room to have a shower and get ready for our 4 hour car ride up to the Cu Chi tunnels.

Jason provided a couple of documentaries movies for us to watch, one was called the 'Napalm Girl'. This was a movies about a young girls life after she was hit with napalm gas in her Cambodian village during the Vietnam war. There was a very famous picture taken of her running naked out of the village having 1 degree burns to over half her body.  A reporter helped her and was able to get her transferred to a burn unit. She survived 17 surgeries and because of the photo that was publicized she became quite famous. She eventually defected to Canada and became a refugee when she stepped off a plane in Toronto with her husband with just the clothes on their backs and didn’t re-board to go back to Cambodia. She is still living in Canada today. The area the tunnels are located in are very close to where here village used to be. The area was part of the Ho Chi Minh trail during the war which ran from China to North Vietnam and was used to move supplies. The Americans could not destroy the trail so napalm bomb it in an attempt to stop the supplies. The publication of the picture was a turning point in the war as it brought to the forefront the human suffering of innocent children. 

At the halfway point we stopped at a local roadside noodle shack and had some really good noodle soup and another iced coffee. Then we carried on to the tunnels. We had the option of shooting AK47 and M16 guns at a shooting range but Bill decided not to. We opted to just watch the Australian boys. So we put on our ear protection and watched the boys get their adrenaline rush for the day. It shocked me at how loud they were, which was also the boys reaction. 

The tunnels had been enlarged and modified for tourism, but still gave you a sense of what it would have been like. They were designed in three levels the third being the deepest at 10 meters. There were air holes every 15 meters and were designed to look like mounds of dirt.  There were more than 250 km of tunnels with places for dining, living, meeting and fighting.

 A whole society of people lived under ground for 20 years. The cooking stoves had long ventilation holes so the smoke from the fire dissipated before it escaped. There were drainage wells and slides out to the river.

These tunnels were dark, damp and very hot.  They also had nasty booby traps made of very rootamentary parts but were very effective. These people new how to survive in the jungle, using it to their advantage.  Some of the entrances were so small you wouldn’t  even think a small child would fit into it. 

 We followed Jason through the maze of tunnels bent over at the waist trying to see where we were going. I definitely would not have survived these living conditions, I couldn’t wait to get out. 

After we toured through the other areas of the park we jumped back into the car for our 2 hour ride back into HCMC. On the way home we watch Good morning Vietnam. It was still funny but very thought provoking as well.

 During the last part of our afternoon the Vietnamese football semi final of the 'Asia under 23' cup had started. At one point Jason had checked the score and the team was down 1-0. Jason basically gave up on the team and said the game was over. I reminded him that a game is not over until the last whistle blows and he should not be so pessimistic. He blew me off, however a couple hours later he checked the score and the game was tied and going into an overtime shootout. Now he was excited. As we neared the city the streets became more and more congested.  Every cafe, restaurant and bar that had a TV had more and more scooters parked in front. So much so that the street became almost one lane instead of two. Jason’s data kept cutting out but we were driving so slow you could tell what was going on by just watching the crowds in the street. As the shoot out began, Vietnam was up one, then tied and then went ahead. As this was occurring more and more people were pouring into the streets on their bikes. As we got closer into town the traffic was at a crawl and people were selling Vietnam flags from the street. Vietnam won the shootout and the crowd in the street went crazy. Hooting and chanting, singing and cheering.  I’m not sure how our driver did it but he managed to get us back to our hotel and it only took an hour longer than scheduled. We unloaded and said goodby to Jason and checked into the hotel. In the hotel everyone was excited and smiling. They just wanted to be involved in the street activity. 

 We dumped our bags off in the room and headed outside to be part of the excitement. The street food market was very busy so we just grabbed a cold beer and walked down the street. People were setting up speakers and playing music and banging garbage can lids together, waiving flags and having a whole lot of fun. You couldn’t walk to far due to the number of people in the crowds so we decided to try and get something to eat.



 We ordered from three different stalls and eventually found a place or sit. A live band was playing so we sat and enjoyed our delicious food while we listened.

After a while we decided to go up to our hotel roof top bar and enjoy the activities from there. All in all it was a very fun ride into the city and evening, something we will never forget.  Tomorrow we are flying to Sihanoukville for 4 days on the coast of Cambodia.

(Backup) Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park

We flew early this morning from Hanoi to Dong Hoi and were transported to Phong Nha farmstay for our next 4 days. The farmstay is located 30 min into the country at the edge of the national park surrounded by rice paddies.

 The farmers are in the plowing and planting stage of the rice crop. All of the rice growing is done by hand with the help of the occasional ox that helps pull the plow. They work the soil in 2 feet of mud in their bare feet walking behind the ox and plow. Once the soil is flat they throw fertilizer from a basket by hand.




  The rice seeds are soaked in wet towels until they sprout and then they are planted by hand.

The rice paddies are flooded and once the plants start to grow they go back in and transplant the over crowded areas so the whole paddy is even. They fertilize one more time and then once the rice heads are full and bending over they harvest by hand. The rice stocks go through a machine to remove the rice from the stock and both parts are dried. The rice is bagged for storage and the rice straw is used for livestock bedding.  The rice fields run for miles and in the four days we were here we saw the fields go from brown to a beautiful hue of green. It takes approximately 3 months to grow rice, so they can get 3 crops a year.

Today was a rest day. We had breakfast and got settled into our room and talked to the staff about our different options for activities while we were here. The National Park is full of spectacular caves and jungle. It was still very cold and wet so after we went for a walk around we headed to the bar/restaurant to meet some of the other guests. Lots of people from Australia and the US. Most of them were younger backpackers but there were a few of us over 50. We had a great evening chatting and finding out what tours people had been doing. The one I had originally picked was quite difficult and even more so due to the rain that they had. So back to the drawing board. 

We decided for our first day we would hire motor bike drivers called Ez-riders. They were experienced riders who knew the area but did not speak English. So before we left the staff told them where we wanted to go and we were off on the back of two bikes. Our first stop was at Phong Nha Cave. They dropped us off at the ticket area and we managed to buy tickets and share a dragon boat with four other people which cut the cost down. We jumped in the dragon boat and headed down the river  once we reached the cave entrance the girls running our boat cut the engine, retracted the roof and paddled us through the most amazing cave I have seen.

They have it all lit up so you can see all the rock formations and colours. The girls maneuvered the boat through the cave for about 1 km and then back out again.






We were let out of the boat at the end to walk the last few feet and through the tourist booths. We found our boat mates and jumped back into the boat to head back. 

We found our drivers and headed out on the bikes on our tour around the park. Our next stop was the Botanical Gardens. Here we had a choice of a 4km, 2 km or 1km hike.

 Do to the weather and our time frame we choose the 1km hike to the waterfall. This was described as a hike to the waterfall but as we soon realized it was a hike up the waterfall. This consisted of ropes, ladders and sketchy bridges all on wet rocks. Thank goodness we had our hiking boots on!  We took it slow and made it to the top. There was a small restaurant at the entrance so we decided to have some lunch. Very yummy spring rolls and noodles with pork and vegetables with cold beer. 

It was raining a bit so our drivers game us ponchos to put on and we were off again. We drove all around the park through a very dense jungle with rivers and waterfalls everywhere. Our drivers were very careful drivers as the roads are narrow, wet and sometimes muddy.

















They were great and stopped a couple of times for us to take photos. We haven’t ridden motor bikes for hours at a time so by 3:30 we were done and headed back to the farmstay. What a great way to see the park. 

Our second day we decided to take a tour through Paradice Cave.  We were originally slated to ride on the back of the bike up to the cave but decided that morning to pay the extra $10 to ride in a van for 30 min each way. Best $10 bucks we spent all vacation.

To get to the entrance of the cave it was a 525 stairs up and then down 525 once inside the cave. The first km is on a board walk and is accessible to the public without a tour.

Because we were on tour we went through the gate at the end, put our helmets with head lamps on and trekked another 3km into the cave. The guides were very informative and the stalagmites and stalactites were amazing.

Some of them were massive, others had actually fallen and died during past earthquakes and during the bombing in the war.

 There is four different minerals in the water each forming different colors in the rock formations.

At one point the guides helped who ever wanted to climb into a cave being formed underneath the main cave. Bill went in first but I opted out as it was a very confined space.

We continued on forging through the creek, over rocks, through crevices and came out into a part of the cave that was as big as a football field covered in the softest sand. It was amazing. We carried on to where the river is and stopped for lunch. Our porter had packed in a lunch of rice, fried beef and bok Choy. It was very tasty.






Once lunch was over we put life jackets on and swam in the river, which wasn’t bad because the temperature in the cave was about 24 degrees. The way out seemed way quicker than they way in perhaps because we were not stopping as often to take pictures. After 6 hours in a cave I was very glad to see sunlight and fresh air. We were also glad to get into a van and not on the back of a bike.   After a nice hot shower we enjoyed a cold beer in the bar at the farmstay, had dinner and were in bed by 9.

When we got up on our third day we decided to take it easy this morning. Bill had taken a spill in the mud in the cave and jarred his shoulder. So we had a leasurily breakfast and enjoyed coffee outside our room. For the first time since we have been here it is actually warm enough to sit outside. After a while we decided to take the peddle bikes for a spin and see how far we got. The road into town was flat so riding was fairly easy given the bikes had no gears. Bill agreed to continue into town if I agreed to ditch the bike and rent a motor bike for the rest of the day. Renting a bike was quite an easy experience. They are automatic so easy to drive. We went to 'Easy Tiger' the hostel that the farmstay deals with told them we wanted to exchange the peddle bikes for a motorbike. They said sure. For $200,000.00 vnd we could leave the bikes and take the motorbike back to the farmstay when we were done. We picked out helmets got a quick lesson on the bike, paid the money and left. No paperwork, no names, no nothing. Off we went. Our goal was to find the gas station and then head up the Ba Nha valley to 'the Pub with cold beer'. We had spoken to a couple from Australia and figured out how to find the paved road as the dirt road was impassable due to mud. I was pretty sure I knew where it was but it involved driving on the highway for a bit. This was rather scary as they basically have no driving rules in Vietnam. You drive on the right but people pass whether it’s clear or not. Everyone just moves over to make room, toots their horn to let you know they are coming up behind you and goes. This is very foreign to us but it is very respectful and seems to work. So off we went. We survived the highway and found the right road and after about 4km around loads of logs, dirt dumped in the middle of the road with one track through and over a sketchy bridge and through the mud we made it to 'the pub with cold beer'!  Yay!  It was out in the middle of no where but the beer was ice cold, the little kids were fun to chat too.We hung out for a while, relaxed and watched rural Vietnam life.  We decided to take the back roads and avoid the highway on the way home, it was just a bit to intense and risky. So after another beer and a bowl of roasted peanuts we maneuvered our way through the muddy ruts and back onto the cement road. The pepper farmstay was on our way so we stopped to buy local pepper to bring home. We missed our turn but eventually after attempting to ask some local women directions we found the right turn off. We decided it was too early to return to the farmstay so went back to Bomb Crater Bar for a beer and some lunch. Apparently two bombs went off on either side of where the bar is located, hence the name. It was a little scary knowing bombs had gone off in the area. It was safe though as an organization had gone through the area and removed all the un-detonated ammunition and returned the land back to the farmers but not before many people including children had been injured or killed. 

On the way home we went by the rice paddies and today there were hundreds of people working in the fields. All of them up to their knees in muck and water. We arrived back at the farmstay safe and sound after having enjoyed a great day in the country side. Now it was time to pack our bags and get ready for our first ever train ride from Dong Hoi to Da Nang. I was really excited to see what this was going to be like. 

(Backup) LAN Ha Legend Cruise 3 days and 2 nights

Today we are off on a road trip from Hanoi to Halong Bay for 3 days and two nights on a small boat. We were picked up at the hotel and traveled north of Hanoi to Halong Bay for about 4 hours in a bus. Maneuvering through the narrow streets of Hanoi in  mid size  tour bus was incredible.   Today we woke up to pouring rain and +10. I am so glad I brought my down jacket, Marino wool hoody and my hikers. I don’t think I will be swimming in the Bay!  They tell us this is really cold even for North Vietnam at this time of year. Oh well hopefully the day will improve as we drive north.

We arrived in Halong Bay and were transported by speed  boat out to the Legacy Boat, which was anchored further out in the bay.  Our cabin was on the second floor in the middle of the boat.  The small windows at the front is the dining room/bar.

 There were 7 of us on board for the first night. A young couple from France, two girls from New Zealand but were originally from Ireland and England and a great fellow named Joe who was also from England. We got settled in our rooms and put multiple layers of clothing on to try and stay warm.  We sailed out of Halong Bay into LAN Ha Bay and Bai to long Bay. The next night 6 additional guests joined us.

                        It was freezing cold but extremely beautiful.

 

After lunch we took the small boat that was attached to the big one across a Bay to a floating kayak rental. We all jumped into the kayaks and Tooey our guide took us through caves and into lagoons which were surrounded by amazing rock formations. 

We maneuvered in and out of the rocks through caves and holes for 2 hours enjoying the tranquility and then made our way back to the boat. 

Joe had some kind of deal with his package for free wine but he didn’t drink wine so after a 3 hours of negotiations we had a bottle of red from Chile on the table to share for dinner.

We enjoyed a tasty dinner and then relaxed and got to know the other guests. We were still a little jet lagged so went bed early to try and get warm. Everyone slept in their cloths and coats because we were unaware the A/C also was a heater. We found this out the next night so it was much warmer in our cabins. 

We were up early the next day and enjoyed coffee out on the deck of the boat. Then we boarded a Day boat and sailed over to Cat Ba National park. We hopped onto bikes and road to a Viet hai village. The village was very primitive but believe it or not they had great free wifi and wonderful Vietnamese coffee. We biked back to the harbor and had lunch on our boat while it sailed to another kayak spot.

This time we kayaked around fish farms and to a great little beach, however it was too cold to go swimming so we just dipped our feet into the water. One of the party cruises sailed by with their load music playing and disrupted our peaceful space so before we got back into our kayaks Bill mooned  them!  I don’t think they even noticed. They were busy drinking and dancing missing the whole point of the beauty that was around them. By this time Bill and I had perfected our kayak skills and made it look easy as the old Canadians blew by all the young ens in the group. I think we even shocked the guide!  We boarded our day boat and headed back to “The Legend”.  Tonight we had another 7 people join the boat so we spent time having cocktails and getting to know them. 

At this point we found out that the boat did in fact have heat!  Yay we didn’t have to freeze our asses off and we could actually take off a layer of clothing. Three of the kids actually jumped off the boat and went swimming. Sarah was a petite little thing which was a shock as she had so many layers of clothes on you would have never guessed her size. They didn’t last too long due to the temperature, but got to cross it off their bucket list.

Our last morning on the boat we learned how to put out a fishing net and visited an oyster farm where they were culturing pearls. We didn’t catch any fish which was too bad. We had lunch on the boat on the way back into the harbor. It was a little warmer so Bill and I and Hazel went up to the top deck as the view was spectacular as we cruised back.  After a 4 hour bus ride we were back in Hanoi for two more nights.

Hanoi is a very big city with lots of traffic. Our hotel was located in the old quarter and was quite lovely. Hannah the front desk girl was friendly and offered us great advice. Derek our street food guide had emailed us the information and addresses of all the places we had visited so our mission was to locate our favorite ones and eat there again. Hannah provided a street map and I attempted to use 'maps.me' offline. As it turns out the old fashion paper map worked best for us and we found the street vendor we were looking for.   Bill had pho ga with no soup, I had a bbq pork noodle dish and we shared a  large beer. Total cost was 95,000 badt which works out to about $5.25 cnd. You really can survive on less than $20 per day if want to. 

The next morning we set out to find the silver shops and then we had the most amazing 90 min massage we have ever had at Omamori Spa. The spa is a special place where young people who have been effected by the remnants of agent orange from the Vietnam war and have lost their sight are trained to do messages. It was incredible how they used their sense of touch and knowledge of the body to find exactly the right spots. The tingly gal that did my massage had such strong fingers I had to request that she lighten the pressure on my shoulders. They started with pressure point massage and then used hot stones and oil to finish. Both of us were completely wiped after we were done. We slowly made our way back to the hotel but not before we found our Vietnamese sub shop for lunch. These subs are to die for and cost about $1.35 each. The rest of the afternoon was spent having a siesta and relaxing. 

Friday night is a big street market where they shut down most of the roads in the old quarter to traffic and set up a huge amount of vendor stalls selling almost anything.

 After dinner we wondered around, purchased some great deals and then sat and listened to some great local music enjoying a .25 beer.

The crowds were starting to get to Bill so we slowly made our way back to the hotel as we had an early flight to Dong Hoi in the morning. After hearing the kids horror stories of the overnight buses and trains, I was very glad we had booked flights to travel through the country.   Hanoi has been great but we are both looking forward to getting to the farmstay out in the country side where there should be a whole lot less traffic.