I'm sunburnt

First 3 1/2 days in Vietnam

So Dean last left you all on Sunday evening when we had just arrived in Ho Chi Minh. I had been feeling like rubbish from 11:00am that morning through to 9ish at night when I had my first little spew for the trip! So that night I watched TV and went to bed whilst Dean had a little wander around our guest house streets. The next morning around 10:00am we departed on our own 'walking tour', which turned out to be exhausting and really good. Our first stop was a restaurant called Pho 2000, which is renowned because Bill Clinton went there for noodle soup a few years back. It was actually very nice Pho and Dean rubbed his eyes after fiddling with fresh chili so he did a good job of burning his eye, which was funny. Following this we visited the Fine Arts Museum, which was closed, and then moved on to the Museum of Ho Chi Minh City. It contained a history of the city that dated back for some time and went through to basically the end of the Vietnam war . For some strange reason, heaps of couples were having their wedding photos here at 12:00pm on a Monday, which were entertaining to watch as the posing was so theatrical. Next we went to the War Museum, which was so full-on but so, so good! Once we departed from here we discovered it was 4:00pm and many other sights were closing so we ventured on home and rested and read our books. For dinner on the Monday night we caught a cab to a restaurant that in similar style to Jamie Oliver was opened by a reasonably well-known chef and is run by disadvantaged youths. We had a set menu of three courses that you choose from a small selection and we finished the meal with our first Vietnamese coffee: strong, creamy, thick and extremely sweet all in one! Devouring this lovely drink has become one of my favorite things to do each day. Monday night following dinner we had a few drinks at a bar called "pub", which was really close to our guest house. It was full of white foreigners whom we quickly observed lived in Ho Chi Minh. Of course Dean and I loved this and immediately began to imagine ourselves in their shoes; chatting with the locals in Vietnamese, riding and owning a zippy bike...Cool! The following day, Tuesday, we went on a tour to Chi Tunnels, which was interesting. Arriving back in town around 2:00pm, Dean decided to visit the Reunification Palace whilst I read my book in our room and had myself a little rest. For dinner we had Vietnamese crepes, which you break up and place in a lettuce leaf, wrap and dip in fish sauce. A taste sensation which was furthered through eating ice cream and a cup of Vietnamese coffee afterwards. The pub had given us such enjoyment the night previously, which is why we returned on the Tuesday night for a few drinks. I had 1 dollar Vodka and mixer. This morning we got on a bus to go to De lat, and a trip that was supposed to take around 5 hours turned out to take 8! Oh well, the place we are in is lovely and we just had another awesome dinner. Tomorrow we are having a tour of De lat, which both Dean and I are very excited about.
So, we have been here in Vietnam for 3 1/2 days in total so I can tell you that Vietnamese men are more attractive that Thai men yet Thai women are more attractive Vietnamese. Food here has basically no chili whatsoever from what we have observed, even if you seek it. Thai people were so friendly to a point that you felt they were constantly after something from you and when we first arrived in Vietnam I thought the people were a little cold, however it's almost like you have to earn it. Ho Chi Minh had crazy traffic but I was amazed at how quickly I got used to it, to a point that I like it. Most of all, in the 3 1/2 days we have spent here I have grown to love it! I am sorry mum but perhaps I may just have to stay here forever...

Hill tribes and homicidal motorbikes

So,

We arrived in the big Ho Chi Minh ville today, having made a series of trains and planes on time (thanks mum and Sally!). This place is pretty crazy. Makes Bangkok look calm, even with the bombs. And I was just getting used to the Baht...

We touched down about two hours late, having flown with Air France. It seems they struggle to count, as they were forced to hold the plane back about an hour while they counted and re-counted the passengers.

For the last couple of days I've been off on a hill trek. This took me up into the mountains to visit a bunch of tribes, go Elephant riding (hmmm) and Bamboo rafting. I went with five other people: one guy from Lebanon, a couple from Germany and a mother and daughter from Sweden. Quite a diverse group, although everyone spoke English. Actually, the group made me feel very parochial, with the group collectively speaking German, English, Swedish, Latin, Arabic and French. By that I mean ALL of them knew German, French and English. And two of them knew Latin!! My contribution? English, English and English. We are so sheltered in Australia, being able to travel anywhere in the world and almost expecting that someone will know English. It is really uncool, and really lets us off the hook. This is especially so when you consider how few of us know any languages from our region. Anyway, I digress...

What was interesting was the clash of idealised tradition (mainly catering for tourists) and modern technology. On the one hand, it's clear that the hill tribes understand what tourists want, and try to pump this by selling all sorts of handicrafts. However, the villages have TV and solar power. I think, and may well be wrong, that this is probably a pretty honest depiction of rural Thailand. These are not people caught in a timewarp for our amusement, but are rural people getting on with it. I think they have made pretty significant moves forward in the last two years, with a school being built and more solar power through the village. Apparently, this was the King's generosity, and this is why they love him so much, but I don't buy that. Thai's are just looking for an excuse to talk about Rama IV.

I actually enjoyed Thailand a lot more than I expected I would. It was added at the last minute, mainly due to the price of flights to Bangkok in comparison to Vietnam, but looking back we did some really really great stuff. I could quite happily spend another six weeks there. However, it's really exciting to be heading into Vietnam, a place I've wanted to visit for so long, and to really have the time to do it well.

Heading out to explore Ho Chi tomorrow and then going to Chi Chi tunnels. Will post more pics when I take more.

until then.