Aymi’s Adventures

So much for my week in the sun, topping up my tan ready for Christmas – there has only been one day of sunshine with rain the rest of the time – not bad for a place where it isn’t supposed to rain!!!

Despite the weather I still had agood time, it was nice to have a friendly face waiting for me at the airport, a place to stay and someone to go out with at night – so thanks for that Nick.  I have to say it was a lot more upmarket than I am acustomed to!

Jumeirah is probably the most famous area of Dubai where the Burj Al Arab and Jumeirah Beach hotel’s stand out from the other many buildings but for me it was my least favourite part and reminded me more of a building site than anything else, there is certainly no culture to be found there.  If all your after is a nice hotel, a beach and a pool, then it will be okay for you, but it is quite a distance from the other areas of Dubai and the main means of transport is taxi, which given the traffic jams (rush hour seems to last forever because of the different working hours) in Dubai is far from ideal – especially if your in a hurry.

Bur Dubai and Deira are the other main areas and are seperated only be the creek.  Deira to the North of the creek is more business orientated and home to the gold souk and central plaza.  Bur Dubai (where I stayed) is the oldest part of Dubai and where it all originally began, it is also your best chance at getting some culture – especially in the museum here.

We went to the food hall in the Burjaman center (one of many shopping malls) every night for dinner – apart from the two nights I cooked (unsuccessfully I might add) and to satisfy Nicks nightly coffee craving, then we normally went on to a pub to satisfy my nightly alcohol cravings!  On the first night we went to the Irish Villiage for some Killkenny’s, then another night to rockbottom’s for a bullfrog or 2 and on the last night we got all dressed up and went up the Emirates Towers for a drink there – very upmarket for me!

The highlight of Dubai was the last day when we did a dune safari which basically involved driving (or should I say sliding) 4 x 4’s through the sand-dunes for a while before stopping, having a camel ride, getting henna tattoo’s, watching a belly dancer, having a fab buffet dinner and then smoking an apple flavour sheesha pipe – not a real cultural experience but as close as I managed to get while in Dubai & it was good fun.

Considering I wanted to spend a month at least here and maybe stay longer and get some volunteer work, I didnt do very well. However I did manage to go from Hanoi in the North to Ho Chi Minh in the South in just 14 days.

What suprised me the most was the huge amount of artwork available from almost every other shop and the variety of different crafts.  I always thought Thailand was the place to go if you wanted cheap clothes tailor making, but Vietnam – especially Hoi An was much cheaper and they were more friendly and helpful than in Thailand.  There was also a difference between North and South Vietnam – obviously it was a lot colder in North Vietnam, very wet in central Vietnam and hot and humid in South Vietnam but for the first time ever I actually prefered the South of a country, not the North!  Although im not entirely sure if that was more to do with the fact that I had grown more used to the Vietnamese ways by the time I got to the South of the Country.

Arriving in Hanoi was scary, I thought Bangkok was hectic, but it was nothing compared to here. Traffic everywhere, crossing roads really does mean risking your life, taxi drivers that take you to places you dont want to go to, no body knowing how to get anywhere, it really is chaos. Luckily I was with the Canadians and Irish people I met on the Kayaking trip in Laos or I would have felt a little lost – especially after the quietness of Laos – even Vientiane (capital of Laos) would be classed as sleepy against Hanoi!

I went to Halong Bay on a day trip which would have been beautiful if it wasnt so overcast, it was also a long way to go just for a day trip and i’m sure I didnt really see the best of what it had to offer.  The same night I did a 13 hour bus journey to Hue which was a cool little city, but with only 1 night there I wish I had more time to explore it properly, and not just cycle round the Citadel in the pouring rain – which I really actually enjoyed!

After resisting shopping for so long, in Hoi An I shopped til I dropped – literally, and then had a manicure, pedicure and haircut in a little makeshift den for US$5!!  I had to buy a new North face backpack just to put all my new clothes, books, shoes and handbags in to post home, but even with the postage charge I still managed to keep it below US$200 and there was nearly 10 kilos of stuff – he he!!  The only problem is, I bought presents for all my mates back home for Xmas, posted them all home and then realised it will take 3 months to get back, so I will be home way before it and they wont get their Xmas prezzies til March – oops!!

After Hoi An I decided to brave the typhoon and took another 12 hour bus journey to Nha Trang.  The roads were terrible and I saw lots of crashes, making trying to sleep even more difficult than normal.  I arrived just after the typhoon had passed through Nha Trang and the weather was still unsettled for the first day or so, but I spent my last day here sunbathing on the beach.  I had wanted to dive here, but because of the weather conditions the sea was too choppy and dirty – I couldn’t even distinguish where the sand ended and the sea began on the first day here, it was a bit better by the time I left, but still not back to it’s beautiful blue colour. 

Ho Chi Minh City was my last stop in Vietnam and I much prefered it to Hanoi, although it was almost as hectic and much more Western which I dont normally like.  Here I spent my time wandering around, going out with locals, visiting the Chu Chi tunnels (and crawling through a few – dont worry, they had been adapted for the fatter tourists, when I saw the real tunnels, I realised why they were so effective.  My leg wouldnt even fit through it, let alone my body!!!) and driving round on motorbikes.   By this point my money was almost non existent, so I was living on the 5-10 dong (aprox 30-60p) darylee baguettes and 10 dong foh (noodle soup) & ice tea from street vendors.  I think I am actually gonna miss it though, it’s going to be weird not having street vendors around to buy cheap food from as and when you want it. 

The motorbikes were probably my main highlight here, after the worry of driving round on the chaotic roads on the back of a bike with no protection wears off, you really begin to feel the thrill of the open road.  Sun beating down on you, wind blowing through your hair, okay so theres also the insects trying to get in your eyes and mouth and the dirt all over you, but the feeling is amazing.  One that I have never had back home in England, the feeling of true freedom!