I had to get up before 8 am two days in a row! What is this??? Im on holidays!
This should all change soon as Im heading down to Koh Samui and Koh Pha Ngan, then it will be all lazy days, sleeping in, laying in a hammock, swimming and doing Jack-all really. Might find time to eat at some and take a photo or two. Someone suggested I put more photos up, although when I said I would start putting up a new beach shot every post, but this wasnt so well received! But I think Ill do it anyway! I am on holidays in a tropical country and I think its my job to make you jealous, saying its 30-35 degrees each day would make some jealous, but saying its that warm and showing beautiful shot of a beach, well thats something else.....
On a different track, and concerning the reason I am on my extended holiday... while I was sitting in a bar with Uyen watching the football I suddenly felt very free, very alive and very happy. The last two years were awful (and Im not going to say the pain was worth the holiday) but life has started again, its all beginning, its fantastic, its all ahead of me now and thats an incredible feeling!
OK just spent the last 100 min on a computer, which is not that way I intended to spend my time, plus Ive got to go jump on a train heading south towards my paradise....
- mose
Wednesday, 28 June 2006
Tuesday, 27 June 2006
Saigon
Saigon was more like hanging out with Uyen than being a tourist. I did get to the War Remnants museum - pretty graphic portrayal of what went on during the war and how the people, generally civilians suffered, the Re-unification palace - which is basically as it was when the Americans pulled out in 1975 and the Cu Chi tunnels - these are the tunnels the VC muilt and lived in during the war. There were 13 of us on that tour. Our Guide was a veteran - from the US side, the whole things was pretty touristy, but still interesting. We got to travel through the tunnels, which I expect have been widened to accommodate larger tourist. It was 100 m under ground in total and we had a guide to show us through. Unfortunately the first people to enter freaked out. The woman was yelling that she wanted to turn around and get out - not an option - she the realised she would have to go to the first exit, but had lost the guide and didnt want to go further ahead as she said it was a dead end. Crouching in the tunnel trying to convince her that there was only way out and that was ahead of her was an interesting experience. Finally she made it to the first exit. The other couple ahead of me also decided to get out there. The lighting wasnt great and as the guide had disappeared I had to keep taking photos so the flash would light up the path. The tunnel also become very narrow at one point and I was crawling through. Eventually I made it to the other end of the tunnel. As I emerged from the tunnel there was applause for us, only three of us made it. I hadnt realised everyone else had given up.
Aside from my brief expeditions as a tourist I spent the rest of the time hanging out with Uyen and her friends and watching the football.... which was great until the last 15 sec..... Oh well next time, still very proud of the boys!
Aside from my brief expeditions as a tourist I spent the rest of the time hanging out with Uyen and her friends and watching the football.... which was great until the last 15 sec..... Oh well next time, still very proud of the boys!
Sunday, 25 June 2006
Vung Tau
I arrived in Saigon in time to head to Vung Tau - a beach side resort town for locals in Saigon - for Kimmy's (a friend of Uyen's) farewell party. We basically booked out the whole place. It was an amazing resort. Small but very beautiful. We had great company, delicious food, plenty of drinks and fantastic music. I spent the entire night on dancing or in the pool, the last of us finally went to bed sometime after Italy drew with the US, a little before the sun rose. It was a brilliant weekend! Well it was for us, I said basically booked out the resort. There was actually a family staying there. The management knew we were there for a party but didnt tell the other family.... they werent too happy...
Friday, 23 June 2006
Thursday, 22 June 2006
Ha Long Bay
The two day trip to Ha Long Bay and Cat Ba Island involved visiting an enormous cave, which was quiet spectacular, especially the patterns on the ceiling which was made be waves when the cave was previously below sea level.
We also swam at a warm beach and sailed through the islands. It was really beautiful.
Pagoda - Hanoi
These are some shots of a pagoda on West Lake across from Uyens house in Hanoi.
Pretty!
Some Pictures
The Temple of Literature - Hanoi
This would have been an amazing place to study! Upon graduation your name was inscribed onto a tablet on the back of a turtle. The heads of the turtles are often rubbed as they are supposed to represent a long life.
Saturday, 17 June 2006
Why Not.....
Hoi An
Why not indeed! I met up with Jamie and Conrad - the guys from the Ha Long Bay trip - in Hoi An and "why not" was the answer we basically gave to any question posed. Had a wonderful time!
I arrived in time to watch the game against Japan. We headed to a bar in town where there were 3 Japanese and about 30 Australians. The Japanese were so happy.... until the last 5 minutes.... It was a great game.
Slept a little late the next morning, then headed to the beach. And what a beach! I didnt have my camera with me, but am hoping to get a few shots from Conrad. It was incredibly beautiful! I have been to beautiful beaches, but this one would be up there with the best of them, straight out of a brochure! Im sure the photos wouldnt do it justice. Amazingly, the water wasnt too warm, the one disappointment I have with Asian beaches and pools is that the water is too warm, most people dont agree with me, but when I dive into the water I want to feel refreshed. Spent a few hours on the beach, the rest of the day relaxing at the hotel and a quiet night....
Hoi An is famous for its tailors, the guys were getting lots of clothes made so I figured I might as well... why not! I had a pair of jeans made, a copy of a denim skirt I already have and two pairs of short. This cost me about 4 fitting sessions and around $A100. Not bad really. So after deciding on some clothes in the morning, we left the work to the tailors and rode out to Marble mountain. The mountain contains many cave and was a hideout of the Vietcong during the war. So many statues or Shiva and Buddha. The caves were really cool. There was also heaps of marble, hence the name. Anything you want made from marble was available or could be made to order. That night we headed out for a few drinks at the Tam Tam bar. Not much was happening so after a few hours we jumped on bikes and headed to a beach bar. Very amusing! The ratio of guys to girls was about 10 to 1..... Another girl and I decided to dance and most of the guys were happy to sit around and watch.... I love going out for a night when you have to get a boat or a motorbike, its more exhilarating than catching a taxi....
Another quiet day followed involving a few visits the the tailors and shoemaker, a swim in the very warm hotel pool and out for a quiet dinner over looking the river. We went out the watch the football, but the bar was full of 18 yo English kids.... Im told it got very messy.
We got up early and headed out to My Son, similar to Angkor Wat on a much smaller scale. It was really interesting, but very hot so we spent less than two hours there before heading back to the hotel, where my taxi was waiting to take me to the airport to fly to Saigon.
Why not indeed! I met up with Jamie and Conrad - the guys from the Ha Long Bay trip - in Hoi An and "why not" was the answer we basically gave to any question posed. Had a wonderful time!
I arrived in time to watch the game against Japan. We headed to a bar in town where there were 3 Japanese and about 30 Australians. The Japanese were so happy.... until the last 5 minutes.... It was a great game.
Slept a little late the next morning, then headed to the beach. And what a beach! I didnt have my camera with me, but am hoping to get a few shots from Conrad. It was incredibly beautiful! I have been to beautiful beaches, but this one would be up there with the best of them, straight out of a brochure! Im sure the photos wouldnt do it justice. Amazingly, the water wasnt too warm, the one disappointment I have with Asian beaches and pools is that the water is too warm, most people dont agree with me, but when I dive into the water I want to feel refreshed. Spent a few hours on the beach, the rest of the day relaxing at the hotel and a quiet night....
Hoi An is famous for its tailors, the guys were getting lots of clothes made so I figured I might as well... why not! I had a pair of jeans made, a copy of a denim skirt I already have and two pairs of short. This cost me about 4 fitting sessions and around $A100. Not bad really. So after deciding on some clothes in the morning, we left the work to the tailors and rode out to Marble mountain. The mountain contains many cave and was a hideout of the Vietcong during the war. So many statues or Shiva and Buddha. The caves were really cool. There was also heaps of marble, hence the name. Anything you want made from marble was available or could be made to order. That night we headed out for a few drinks at the Tam Tam bar. Not much was happening so after a few hours we jumped on bikes and headed to a beach bar. Very amusing! The ratio of guys to girls was about 10 to 1..... Another girl and I decided to dance and most of the guys were happy to sit around and watch.... I love going out for a night when you have to get a boat or a motorbike, its more exhilarating than catching a taxi....
Another quiet day followed involving a few visits the the tailors and shoemaker, a swim in the very warm hotel pool and out for a quiet dinner over looking the river. We went out the watch the football, but the bar was full of 18 yo English kids.... Im told it got very messy.
We got up early and headed out to My Son, similar to Angkor Wat on a much smaller scale. It was really interesting, but very hot so we spent less than two hours there before heading back to the hotel, where my taxi was waiting to take me to the airport to fly to Saigon.
Monday, 12 June 2006
Hue - Central VN
After two days catching my breath in Hanoi I caught an overnight sleeper to Hue. It was school holiday time so I didnt see any of the typical beautiful girls riding to school in there white dresses and long flowing hair. A pity. Upon arriving, a cyclo and a moto driver nearly had a fight about who was taking me to my hotel.... interesting introduction to Hue.
I spent the day seeing the sights, beautiful old building which had been restored to there former glory and that night I went down to the banks of the Perfumed River to watch the final evening of the Hue Festival, which had been on over the past two weeks. There were very few tourist around, but thousands of locals. I took a photo of a joint Oz/Vn project for the festival, two dragons floating in the river eating a lotus flower. Within seconds of sitting down and taking the photos I had every kid between the ages of 1 and 12 hanging off me begging to have their photo taken, wanting to see the photos, laughing at each other and putting on a great show for me. After taking photos of all the local kids I moved on to the street to watch the fireworks and closing performance. Everyone was incredibly friendly and one local girl decided I was her new best friend. In the process of asking her about herself, with our limited communication I asked how old she was, I thought she said she was 12 and thought she was an incredibly mature 12 year old as I would have guessed she was 15 or 16, turns out I miss heard and she was actually 20. I ended up visiting her family home after the show and talking with them for an hour or so. Lovely people. We waited for her older brother, as he was an English teacher and really wanted to be able to talk with foreigners, however he was out watching the football and I didnt want to wait around all night. Another of her brothers drove me home on some other families moto. He thought I was friends with the whole everyone town as everyone who drove past called out hello. As I said they were very friendly people.
The one big annoyance was the constant barrage of "moto, moto", "where you go?", "you buy from me?". But even in that there was fun and laughter, one guy after constant rejection started offering me free rides, which made all the other moto-drivers howl with laugher but which I still declined. As I was walking around town continually saying "no thank you" a guy on a moto drove past and commented that it was much hotter in Hue than in my country. It was hotter in Hue than in my country by about 20 degrees, but I wasnt sure how he knew that. He asked where I was from and then wanted to take me out to lunch and chat about Australia. I had just eaten so we just had tea. He was a farmer from up north, had just dropped his youngest daughter in Hue as she was going on a school holiday trip and was on his way home when he saw me and thought he'd say hello. He told me all about his family - both immediate and those in Australia... When he asked if I had a boyfriend I said yes, that he works in an office in Australia, that I was traveling with a girlfriend who I had to meet up with in an hour..... Those answers seem to make life easier, so thats become my standard story. Is also a great way to escape from someone too.... Anyway he was a lovely guy, we had an interesting chat, then he dropped me back at my hotel and drove back to his rice farm.
I decided to stay only one night in Hue as some of the guys I had met in Ha Long Bay were in Hoi An and Australia were playing Japan the following day and I wanted to watch the game with some fellow Aussies, so I caught a bus 3.5 hours to Hoi An for just $3!
- mose
I spent the day seeing the sights, beautiful old building which had been restored to there former glory and that night I went down to the banks of the Perfumed River to watch the final evening of the Hue Festival, which had been on over the past two weeks. There were very few tourist around, but thousands of locals. I took a photo of a joint Oz/Vn project for the festival, two dragons floating in the river eating a lotus flower. Within seconds of sitting down and taking the photos I had every kid between the ages of 1 and 12 hanging off me begging to have their photo taken, wanting to see the photos, laughing at each other and putting on a great show for me. After taking photos of all the local kids I moved on to the street to watch the fireworks and closing performance. Everyone was incredibly friendly and one local girl decided I was her new best friend. In the process of asking her about herself, with our limited communication I asked how old she was, I thought she said she was 12 and thought she was an incredibly mature 12 year old as I would have guessed she was 15 or 16, turns out I miss heard and she was actually 20. I ended up visiting her family home after the show and talking with them for an hour or so. Lovely people. We waited for her older brother, as he was an English teacher and really wanted to be able to talk with foreigners, however he was out watching the football and I didnt want to wait around all night. Another of her brothers drove me home on some other families moto. He thought I was friends with the whole everyone town as everyone who drove past called out hello. As I said they were very friendly people.
The one big annoyance was the constant barrage of "moto, moto", "where you go?", "you buy from me?". But even in that there was fun and laughter, one guy after constant rejection started offering me free rides, which made all the other moto-drivers howl with laugher but which I still declined. As I was walking around town continually saying "no thank you" a guy on a moto drove past and commented that it was much hotter in Hue than in my country. It was hotter in Hue than in my country by about 20 degrees, but I wasnt sure how he knew that. He asked where I was from and then wanted to take me out to lunch and chat about Australia. I had just eaten so we just had tea. He was a farmer from up north, had just dropped his youngest daughter in Hue as she was going on a school holiday trip and was on his way home when he saw me and thought he'd say hello. He told me all about his family - both immediate and those in Australia... When he asked if I had a boyfriend I said yes, that he works in an office in Australia, that I was traveling with a girlfriend who I had to meet up with in an hour..... Those answers seem to make life easier, so thats become my standard story. Is also a great way to escape from someone too.... Anyway he was a lovely guy, we had an interesting chat, then he dropped me back at my hotel and drove back to his rice farm.
I decided to stay only one night in Hue as some of the guys I had met in Ha Long Bay were in Hoi An and Australia were playing Japan the following day and I wanted to watch the game with some fellow Aussies, so I caught a bus 3.5 hours to Hoi An for just $3!
- mose
Saturday, 10 June 2006
The Freckles are Intensifying
Ha Long Bay and Cat Ba Island
Within 5 min of Conrad, an Aussie from Sydney, sitting next to me on the bus to Ha Long Bay, we had discovered a common friend, it certainly is a small world! I often wonder how many other connections I have with the people I meet, but just never discover them. We boarded our boat after the three hours bus ride from Hanoi and were told that we would enjoy our lunch on the boat. I found it interesting to be told I had to enjoy something - "you will enjoy lunch"! While we 'enjoyed' lunch the boat took us into Ha Long Bay. First stop was a massive cave. It was impressive and our guide very enthusiastic, a little too eager to tell us everything about the cave considering the temperature. After the cave we went to a very small, very crowded beach for a swim in luke-warm water. Not overly refreshing, but there was Karaoke! We 'enjoyed' dinner on the boat, accompanied by a bottle of local red and a 96 Bordeaux, both very expensive and terrible. Beth and I booked twin share but when we were shown to our room we found only the one bed which wasnt even a double, more like a 1.5.... I thought I would sleep on the top deck, but that didnt work as it was a little noisy and the prospect of the sun burning down on me at 5 am wasnt overly inviting.
The following day was incredibly hot, so we started with a swim, those of us staying 3 days/2 nights were transferred to another boat. There were 6 of us and poor Beth was stuck with 5 Aussies... Ha Long Bay was really stunning, the water so green and the Islands were spectacular. We Kayaked around the Bay, going to some cool places, then ended up on another beach for a swim, however an older man and a young Vietnamese boy were also deposited on our beach, disturbing the relaxing vibe. There were 100s or 1000s of beaches in the Bay (it consists of nearly 2000 Islands) so I can only imagine that there are a limited number of beaches you can swim on in the Bay (to protect the area??) as another boat load of tourists soon arrived on the beach. We decided this signaled it was time for us to kayak back to the boat. We were meant to stay at the beach longer (according to the schedule) so we swam around the boat for a while. The water was amazingly green and very deep, but there was no point snorkeling as there was nothing to see. When it was finally time to leave Conrad asked if we could travel to Cat Ba Island on Kayaks pulled behind the boat (just after the crew had pulled all the kayaks out of the water onto the top deck), we were sure the captain wouldnt agree but too our surprise he did. Beers were thrown down to us and we set out, Jamie copping a mouth full of fumes from the boat.... unfortunately when we asked for more beer we realised they werent expecting so many Australians and only had another 5 for the 6 of us! It was a great ride to Cat Ba, although we did get some strange looks from the locals. We checked into the hotel (a real hotel - in bikini and sarong! - first time for everything), 'enjoyed' lunch and then headed out on a trek, the first half of the trek was paved (!), but the second had was on a little dirt path threw the 'bush'. We walked down into a valley and through a lychee farm. Tasty! The bus collected us at the bottom so we didnt have to walk uphill! More drinks after dinner.....
We were all feeling a little tired the next day, so we slept as the small boat took us to the big boat. Once on the big boat, more swimming was in order. As I was getting out of the water the captain decided to take a photo of me (before I realised what was happening). He happily showed me the picture with his phone - a close up of me in just a bikini.... Im trying not to think about what happens to the photo or who else sees it... Tourists are always taking pictures of locals, but I generally dont take close ups of strangers and especially not when they arent wearing much... It also leads me to wonder how many photos Im in all over the world that I dont know exist. I dont mean in a bikini, but just in the background or whatever..... Most of us slept the whole way back to the port. We 'enjoyed' lunch at the Port before boarding the bus back to Hanoi. We had a break half-way through the drive at a place advertising Italy flavoured ice-cream. I had no idea what Italy tasted like, but found it very similar to chocolate and vanilla soft serve.
Thats enough for today, have to check out as Im taking a train down to Hue tonight,
- mose
Within 5 min of Conrad, an Aussie from Sydney, sitting next to me on the bus to Ha Long Bay, we had discovered a common friend, it certainly is a small world! I often wonder how many other connections I have with the people I meet, but just never discover them. We boarded our boat after the three hours bus ride from Hanoi and were told that we would enjoy our lunch on the boat. I found it interesting to be told I had to enjoy something - "you will enjoy lunch"! While we 'enjoyed' lunch the boat took us into Ha Long Bay. First stop was a massive cave. It was impressive and our guide very enthusiastic, a little too eager to tell us everything about the cave considering the temperature. After the cave we went to a very small, very crowded beach for a swim in luke-warm water. Not overly refreshing, but there was Karaoke! We 'enjoyed' dinner on the boat, accompanied by a bottle of local red and a 96 Bordeaux, both very expensive and terrible. Beth and I booked twin share but when we were shown to our room we found only the one bed which wasnt even a double, more like a 1.5.... I thought I would sleep on the top deck, but that didnt work as it was a little noisy and the prospect of the sun burning down on me at 5 am wasnt overly inviting.
The following day was incredibly hot, so we started with a swim, those of us staying 3 days/2 nights were transferred to another boat. There were 6 of us and poor Beth was stuck with 5 Aussies... Ha Long Bay was really stunning, the water so green and the Islands were spectacular. We Kayaked around the Bay, going to some cool places, then ended up on another beach for a swim, however an older man and a young Vietnamese boy were also deposited on our beach, disturbing the relaxing vibe. There were 100s or 1000s of beaches in the Bay (it consists of nearly 2000 Islands) so I can only imagine that there are a limited number of beaches you can swim on in the Bay (to protect the area??) as another boat load of tourists soon arrived on the beach. We decided this signaled it was time for us to kayak back to the boat. We were meant to stay at the beach longer (according to the schedule) so we swam around the boat for a while. The water was amazingly green and very deep, but there was no point snorkeling as there was nothing to see. When it was finally time to leave Conrad asked if we could travel to Cat Ba Island on Kayaks pulled behind the boat (just after the crew had pulled all the kayaks out of the water onto the top deck), we were sure the captain wouldnt agree but too our surprise he did. Beers were thrown down to us and we set out, Jamie copping a mouth full of fumes from the boat.... unfortunately when we asked for more beer we realised they werent expecting so many Australians and only had another 5 for the 6 of us! It was a great ride to Cat Ba, although we did get some strange looks from the locals. We checked into the hotel (a real hotel - in bikini and sarong! - first time for everything), 'enjoyed' lunch and then headed out on a trek, the first half of the trek was paved (!), but the second had was on a little dirt path threw the 'bush'. We walked down into a valley and through a lychee farm. Tasty! The bus collected us at the bottom so we didnt have to walk uphill! More drinks after dinner.....
We were all feeling a little tired the next day, so we slept as the small boat took us to the big boat. Once on the big boat, more swimming was in order. As I was getting out of the water the captain decided to take a photo of me (before I realised what was happening). He happily showed me the picture with his phone - a close up of me in just a bikini.... Im trying not to think about what happens to the photo or who else sees it... Tourists are always taking pictures of locals, but I generally dont take close ups of strangers and especially not when they arent wearing much... It also leads me to wonder how many photos Im in all over the world that I dont know exist. I dont mean in a bikini, but just in the background or whatever..... Most of us slept the whole way back to the port. We 'enjoyed' lunch at the Port before boarding the bus back to Hanoi. We had a break half-way through the drive at a place advertising Italy flavoured ice-cream. I had no idea what Italy tasted like, but found it very similar to chocolate and vanilla soft serve.
Thats enough for today, have to check out as Im taking a train down to Hue tonight,
- mose
Friday, 9 June 2006
Pics from Sapa
Here are a few photos from Sapa. Cat Cat village to be precise. It was soo green. Very different from the country side at home!
Have realised my usb cable for my cameras is now down in Saigon, so there wont be any more photos for a while.
- mose
Hello Sunshine
I really thought Id be posting more, but I just havent had the time.
Im currently in Hanoi. I flew out of Bangkok on Wednesday night, had a bit of time to kill before my flight so I had a massage, the first of many I expect and at $6 a piece its wrong not to.
Ive been having a fantastic time in Vietnam. It all started with 5* luxury. Uyens place was amazing, instead of staying at a backpackers as I had first expected, I had a huge room with ensuite including my own bath. Having a maid and driver was also brilliant. The house was fantastic situated on a huge lake and we had free access to a swimming complex.
I stayed at Uyens for three days then we (Uyen, Arron, Anna, Beth - american friends of Uyens) caught an overnight train up to Sapa. Sapa is a mountain town in Northern Vietnam. The area up there is really beautiful. Uyen worked the first day and I looked around Sapa and walked a nearby local village called Cat Cat. I was constantly harrassed by local girls and women to buy all sorts of handiwork. Cat Cat was very pretty, but basically just set up for tourists. The following day we took a jeep to a real village, Ban Ho. We went for a swim at a waterfall and had lunch in the village, unfortunately we were given a western lunch... But the village was beatuiful and we werent harrassed at all.
We caught an overnight train back to Hanoi arriving at about 5 am. Driving back to Uyens we saw thousands of people exercising, I was amazed so many people were up at that time of day. Beth and I then boarded a bus for Ha long Bay, but as I have spent more than an hour online, I think I will leave that story for next time! Im sorry but I have better things to do with my time. I was also going to post some photos, but there isnt a usb port so I cant, again hopefully next time.
- mose
Im currently in Hanoi. I flew out of Bangkok on Wednesday night, had a bit of time to kill before my flight so I had a massage, the first of many I expect and at $6 a piece its wrong not to.
Ive been having a fantastic time in Vietnam. It all started with 5* luxury. Uyens place was amazing, instead of staying at a backpackers as I had first expected, I had a huge room with ensuite including my own bath. Having a maid and driver was also brilliant. The house was fantastic situated on a huge lake and we had free access to a swimming complex.
I stayed at Uyens for three days then we (Uyen, Arron, Anna, Beth - american friends of Uyens) caught an overnight train up to Sapa. Sapa is a mountain town in Northern Vietnam. The area up there is really beautiful. Uyen worked the first day and I looked around Sapa and walked a nearby local village called Cat Cat. I was constantly harrassed by local girls and women to buy all sorts of handiwork. Cat Cat was very pretty, but basically just set up for tourists. The following day we took a jeep to a real village, Ban Ho. We went for a swim at a waterfall and had lunch in the village, unfortunately we were given a western lunch... But the village was beatuiful and we werent harrassed at all.
We caught an overnight train back to Hanoi arriving at about 5 am. Driving back to Uyens we saw thousands of people exercising, I was amazed so many people were up at that time of day. Beth and I then boarded a bus for Ha long Bay, but as I have spent more than an hour online, I think I will leave that story for next time! Im sorry but I have better things to do with my time. I was also going to post some photos, but there isnt a usb port so I cant, again hopefully next time.
- mose
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