Us looking cute (well I think so anyway) in Hoi An



Sally is not happy, dancing with the man on the Booze Cruz in Nha Trang




This is pretty safe. Note the floating bar on my left hand side. Cold mulled wine in the ocean?

Second attempt

So,

I finally found an Internet connection that works. You know that last post, well I laboured over that for hours. Choose each word carefully, and then what? bang....didn't work. All I got was a title! There was so much more! And then I find that half the places in Hue block blogger. Well I can understand that, as my words are rather seditious and I have got this sense that the Vietnamese people are really getting into the blog. I mean Louise Cook is a very common Vietnamese name, like Nguyen and Le Loi. Except they were emperors.

Anyway,

We just returned from a rather long bus trip to the demilitarised zone, which was the boarder that separated north and south Vietnam. Strangely enough this was actually a really violent area, despite the name. There is very little left there now, as the combined efforts of the US blowing up their bases as they deserted them and the scavenging of the Vietnamese have totally engulfed any remnants of the war. However it was the sight of many of the huge battles of the American war, notably Khe Sann.

Other than that, we have been going around Hue looking at all sorts of old temples and palaces. During the French days Hue was the capital of Vietnam although, as with so many sites in Vietnam, endless wars have weathered these once great sites. It's actually really sad, with amazing temples being levelled in a stupid bunch of wars. However, the Grand Palace still sort of stands, and we sat in the building that the emperor used to use to watch military processions making us feel very regal.

On a lighter note we had an amazing dinner last night. In the Hue Royal style (that's right, this was the way the emperors demanded food be served!) we enjoyed a 6 course banquet. The first dish was Hue spring roles on formed peacock. Now I though this sentence was just one of the many victims of poor translation. But no...our yummy spring rolls (which as an aside are really popular and wholesome here, none of that deep fired crap) were mounted on a mock peacock, made out of pineapple and carrot! From now on I will not eat any meal that is not mounted on some sort of mock animal: pizza on mock dog, pasta on mock bat...the possibilities are endless!

Actually, since my last post I haven't mention Hoi An. Now Simon and Bob really talked this place up, and it was good. Perhaps not as good as they said, but lots of fun. The architecture is amazing; big old buildings, looking like a rundown Paris (well what I imagine Paris to look like). Hoi An is also the home of tailors, so I got a suit and some shirts made up, all of which I'm very happy with. We also had the pleasure of watching Vietnam draw with Indonesia in a bar full of Vietnamese men going mental (well as mental as the Vietnamese go!). The ASEAN cup is on at the moment, and due to the very low skill level in the league Vietnam are doing pretty well. Tell you what, it is nothing but soccer, soccer, soccer over here. Or is that football...

Anyways, we're heading to Hanoi tomorrow. That is the capital of Vietnam and is apparently very cool. All that stands in our way is a romantic boat trip down the perfume river (so named because a nice smelling princess committed suicide by jumping into the river) and a 12 hour bus trip. The train was booked, but they convince me it's "fine, very comfortable, no worries, new bus, great sleep"....

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.

My time without chatterbox...

So this morning Dean departed for a 2 day and one night trek, which apparently includes bamboo rafting and something to do with elephants? He was quite excited about it, which is good and I'm sure he'll give you blow by blow detail about it upon his arrival back. Whilst Dean has been gallivanting in the hills for today I spent the day cooking! I got picked up from our guest house at 9:30 am and driven to the cooking school with some others whom were also picked up upon the way. The class went from 10:00 am to 4:00pm, commencing with a general lesson on chief Thai ingredients such as what shrimp paste is and substitutes we can use at home if not available. Our first dish was Tom Yum Soup, which was delicious. The instructor would demonstrate how to make each dish, we would taste it to adjust chili etc according to our own tastes, and then all go to the cooking room where ingredients had been laid out and we would cook this dish and eat it. This was the order for all dishes ie we did not cook ever single type of dish at once and have a banquet at the end. Second was Thai fish cakes with cucumber sauce, then green chicken curry followed by pad Thai. The green chicken curry and pad Thai we ate together and this was classified as our 'lunch', although I felt like i had already eating two lunches. Following 'lunch' we came back to the class room and made spicy chicken salad and dessert of water chestnuts and coconut cream. After we had devoured this (27 in the class) we were driven back to our guest houses etc. I went for a little wander round town this afternoon and have been reading my book. I may have a few beers at the guest house bar tonight, no dinner as I am still stuffed! Dean arrives back at 5:00pm tomorrow and our train back to Bangkok is 6:00pm. He will be back just in time, just his style. I may go to the Tribal Museum tomorrow and stuff like that. I have enjoyed Thailand a lot, and moreover so much more than I had anticipated. I am really pleased that we ended up coming here, but saying that I am ready to go to Vietnam on Sunday, which is the country out of our trip that I have been looking forward to most of all .

Chang Mai

First day in Chang Mai today. This morning we finally organised our Vietnam visas (just in time) which turned out to be a lot easier than I had anticipated. I booked a cooking class for the day tomorrow and Dean booked an overnight trek for himself, which leaves tomorrow morning. I am unable to do a trek due to my feet issues and Dean cannot do the cooking class as we do not have enough time and are leaving Chang Mai for Bangkok on the evening of the 6th. The National Museum was the first stop for today which was interesting until Dean and I discovered we were so hungry that we felt ill. Following a fabulous lunch of Pork curry, rice and another dish similar to a laksa, Dean and I have been wandering around the city and will continue to do so until this evening when we will head to the night bazaar for dinner and the market. Chang Mai is considerably more relaxed than Bangkok due to the differing traffic conditions and size among other things. Tuk tuks are the same as those within Bangkok yet Taxis look like comby vans verging on utes with seats in the tray. Its is cooler temperature wise here in comparison to Bangkok, we were freezing last night and had to use a blanket, which is a first for the trip so far...