From Beijing we flew to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon to the locals) in Southern Vietnam where we were excited to meet up with our friends V, Al & Clydo. On arrival we met Clyde, which was awesome as we had only found out a couple of weeks ago that he was coming travelling. So as you do we had a couple of beers while we waited for the Herriotts to arrive, who told us that friends of theirs were going to be sending their driver to collect us and their chef was going to be preparing a welcome meal for our arrival and that they were putting us up in their home. That was music to our ears especially after such a long days travelling. The Herriotts finally arrived and we were collected by Mr Bang the driver (who deserves a special mention). For those of you that have been to Vietnam & Ho Chi Minh you will agree with me that the best way to describe the traffic is absolute chaos!!! It’s pretty unbelievable. There are 4 million scooters in Saigon and it seemed like they were all on the road that night and were all blasting their hooters and were all going in a million directions. Mayhem! Mr Bang negotiated it without as much as a flinch, let alone cussing or giving someone the bird ...well done Mr Bang. We arrived at Ang and Greg’s place where we pulled up to a mansion by anybody’s standards and greeted by a mountain of prawns, cold beer and wine. I guess not your typical Vietnamese experience but a welcome one. Thanks to Ang and Greg for inviting us into their home and taking such good care of us all for the time we spent in HCMC.
The next day we went to explore HCMC. It is a city on constant fast forward however as we made our way around the city and negotiated several death defying road crossings we were made to feel very welcome. After making our way around the city sights and market we went to the War Remnants Museum, which documents the atrocities of the wars that the Vietnamese have endured . The museum is not for the faint hearted but it is very interesting and something that should be seen by all.
The following day we made our way South to where the Mekong River meets the South China Sea, the Mekong Delta. It seems worlds away from the chaos of Saigon – life takes a much slower pace and relies heavily on the Mekong River and surrounding farmlands. It was amazing to see the resourcefulness of the local people and sample the many rice products they create. Clyde must have really appreciated their resourcefulness as he bought enough peanut brittle and coconut sweets with rice paper to last us the rest of our Vietnam trip.
After our day in the Mekong Delta we said goodbye to Ang and Greg and headed to Nha Trang on the Central coast of Vietnam. Nha Trang being a coastal town had us all excited for the beach and some sun. Although we did spend our days on the beach competing in fierce bat & ball competitions and body surfing the bruising shore breaks we actually did not get to see the sun. Instead it was all done in the rain which wasn’t enough to dampen our spirits.
After a couple of days in Nha Trang we caught an over night sleeper bus to Hoi An. Well after 13hrs packed like 5 sardines in a row (and there is nothing little about us compared to the average Vietnamese), we were vowing never to do that again.
Hoi An is an amazing little old town set on the Thu Bon River. Once again our time was plagued by rain. However, this time we decided to spend our time indulging in the finer things in life, beer and food. The rain actually helped to add to the charm of the old city which has plenty of narrow lanes dimly lit by Chinese lanterns. Al and V picked up some good tailored suits which were made in little under 24hrs from scratch for next to nothing.
From Hoi An we went to Hanoi the capital city to spend our last few days in Vietnam. We explored the city by foot and found some really interesting produce for sale in the back street markets. From the freshest flowers to bulging frogs being freshly skinned we saw everything....in the evening we went to a traditional water puppet show which had us all nodding off before we enjoyed our last dinner in Vietnam and our last night with Clydo before we meet up in Laos again.
Time in Vietnam was up quickly and next up we took some time out from travelling to visit with Al’s dad in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and to meet up with the Leisegangs (also friends from London). We hope you all have lovely Christmas’ and hope to hear from you soon.
P.S In all the excitement of meeting up with our friends, I have lost my cell phone so we are only reachable on Shands ‘UK number now.
