myrainasia

I went on a blogging hiatus because it felt like everyone, except my most loyal readers, had lost interest.  Regrettably I seem to have lost interest as well.  This is doubly a problem since my diary is still stuck in Bangkok.  I think it is fair to say that my diary is dead whereas there is still hope for the blog.

Flying tomorrow from to Macau, via Bangkok.  Although this is the wrong direction it was the cheapest way to fly.  Actually it wasn’t as cheap as I originally thought once the computer program at Air Asia added on the taxes and service charges.  But by then I was committed to entering China without the hassle of a lengthy train ride.

For those wondering where Macau is and why I’m going there- it’s a special economic zone located next to Hong Kong.  It was once a Portuguese colony but now is again part of China.  It’s also the “Las Vegas of the East”.  If you know me well, you know why I chose Macau.

But back to Vietnam.  Here’s where I went:

1. Phu Quoc- my first stop.  It’s an island that’s below Cambodia (and the Cambodians think it should be theirs) and supposed to be beautiful.  Since it rained pretty much nonstop during the 3 nights and 2 days that I was there, I cannot speak for its beauty.  Most of the hotels and resorts are on an unpaved road.  Think of that with steady rain.  But I met a nice couple (she Vietnamese runner, he half Vietnamese half French ex-soccer player for Vietnam) and had a relaxing few days until I gave up waiting for the rain to stop.  I got to the island by hydrofoil, after doing the overland crossing at Ha Tien, but flew from Phu Quoc to Saigon because I refused to spend another 3 hours listening to people barf.

2. Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City- this was one of those places that I loved, but not everybody does.  Big city, insane traffic.  Did one of my megashops- bought lots of souvenirs and went directly to the post office (without passing Go or collecting $200) and shipped it all home.  Went to the War Remnants Museum and was suitably impressed.  Have noticed that the Vietnam War is considered, at least in Vietnam, as Vietnam against US.  South Vietnam has apparently dropped off the radar.  I guess that makes reunification a bit easier.  Also went to the Cu Chi tunnels which were fascinating but have become touristically hokey.  (I’m having deja vu here- can’t decide if I blogged all this before or just discussed it in various e-mails.  If I blogged it before, forgive the repetition.)  Also visited a batch of pagodas.  The Vietnamese style shows Chinese influence and the pagodas are very different from the wats in Thailand, Cambodia and Laos.  But beautiful.

3. Mui Ne- took the bus to this beach resort town.  One long strip of hotels, resorts, restaurants and other tourist related shops/services.  There is an actual town but not really near the tourist area.  The beach was gorgeous!  The water was a bit too warm for my taste and I don’t go very far out when there are large waves, but it was a great beach for walking and watching the zillion kite surfers.  Went to see one of the large sand dunes, but I really disappointed the young girl trailing me when I refused to rent her plastic sheet for dune sledding.  Also loved my hotel- something I don’t say that often.

4. Dalat- took a minivan because I didn’t like the bus I had taken to Mui Ne.  Amazing how many people you can actually put in a minivan.  And then we broke down.  Par for the course in SE Asia.  But we made it to Dalat and when I stepped out of the minivan and felt the COOL evening air (Dalat is in the mountains) I was in heaven.  Dalat is a beautiful town with a lovely lake (I’ve discovered I’m partial to towns with lakes in the middle) and I had my one and only unairconditioned room of my travels.  (Unairconditioned by choice, that is.)  Dalat is also known as the home of the Easy Riders.  These are basically moto drivers with a fancy title who carry notebooks showing the wonderful things people have said about them.  (I’m thinking they don’t ask for comments from people who were dissatisfied with their tour.)   I reserved the driver who took me from the place where the minivan arrived (which was not in the center of town, but was next to the hotel presumably owned by the same people who owned the minivan) to my hotel.  Two days later I got a bait and switch when a different driver showed up (I guess my first driver got a better offer in the interim) to take me on my day tour of the area around Dalat.  His English was impossible to understand and I would never have booked him for a day tour, but I find that I can’t be mean to these guys who are just trying to make a living.  He also overcharged me at the end of the day, but that was my own fault- I am well aware that all prices must be negotiated in advance.  Still, Dalat was beautiful and I really liked it.

5. Nha Trang – got there by bus from Dalat on the one and only normal bus I’ve taken in Vietnam.  The tourist section of town (western tourist that is, there were loads of Asian tourists in Nha Trang in other sections)  is about 3 square blocks in size and situated right off the beach in the center of town.  It creates this cozy little tourist ghetto that  is almost impossible to leave.  I met these 5 English girls who were beautiful and charming (if you’re reading this Laura, Natalie, Lauren, Helen and Siobhan- how’s that for a description!) and who adopted me as their older and somewhat eccentric but amusing companion.  We met on this tour of the islands around Nha Trang; the tour was pretty crappy but the people on the tour were a lot of fun so it was a good day notwithstanding the fact that you don’t really stop on any islands except one where you have to pay to go onto the island and it wasn’t worth it.   I also spent a fun afternoon at the local mud baths with my new friends.  (Take a look at my photos if you want to see 5 sexy muddy English girls and 1 muddy me.)   I also have to mention Sammira and Miki (American and Austrian) who I met when I first arrived in Nha Trang.  They had met one another a town or two north of Nha Trang (tourists in Vietnam are divided into two groups- those going north to south and those going south to north) and were traveling together for a bit.  They complemented each other perfectly.  Sammira is one of the most friendly, outgoing person I have ever met and she seemed to know everyone in Nha Trang within a day or two (being African American may have made it easier for the Vietnamese to remember her) and Miki was a touch more reserved.  Both were delightful and I split my time in Nha Trang between the two groups of new friends.  Sammira and Miki introduced me to Marinella, an Italian expat who owns a restaurant (Italian, what else?) in Nha Trang.  Marinella was also quite amazing and amusing things always seemed to happen when she was around.  (See the photos of me and the 8 or 9 Brazilian soccer players for example.)  Finally, must say that the beach at Nha Trang was perfect- no waves and the water was a lot cooler than at Mui Ne.  Nha Trang was probably my favorite place in Vietnam.

6. Hoi An- sweated the transportation issue of going to Hoi An from Nha Trang.  Didn’t want to take an overnight bus or train- like 99% of the tourists.  Then discovered that one could fly rather cheaply on Vietnam Airlines which does not post domestic prices online.  So happily flew to Danang (no airport in Hoi An) and shared a taxi into Hoi An.  This is one magnificent town!  It’s an old Chinese port city and much of the old quarter near the river has been preserved.  The entire old quarter is a UNESCO world heritage sight and rightly so.  But the main reason most tourists come to Hoi An is the tailor made clothing industry.  There are about 500 clothing shops in town and it is impossible to leave town without having something made.  Trust me, I tried.  But on my third day there I fell for the siren song of the clothing shops and bought a pair of shorts, a skirt, a sundress and 1 fancy dress.  The hardest part was having fittings in 95 degree weather.  Unbelievably, I think Hoi An was the hottest city I’ve been in in Vietnam.  Took 1 day tour to see My Son (also UNESCO site) which is Cham ruins.  Cham is the civilization that preceded Angkor and I must say that I have seen better pre-Angkor ruins, both in Angkor Wat and Phou Si in Laos.  Of course, the state of the ruins was probably not helped by being bombed during the war.

7. Hue- back on the bus to go to Hue.  Another lovely city but hopping due to my arrival at the start of the Hue Festival which is held once every two years.  There was a big line up of things to see and do, but the brochure which explained this in Vietnamese, French and English, did not really do a good job of explaining and I ended up not going to see anything.  I did walk over to the Citadel for the opening night fireworks (sadly, this was about 3 minutes of action- call Grucci!).  I almost didn’t go because it required walking across a bridge, but I managed to hook up with this lovely couple from Colorado who, in turn, had been picked up by these 3 young Vietnamese teenagers, and we walked to the second bridge which was easier on my bridge phobia.  I saw some western tourists, but mainly the place was swamped with Vietnamese- a good thing, not bad.  All of Hue was on the streets and it was a lot of fun.  (Noteworthy was the fact that these rabid capitalists who try to sell you everything everywhere you go, have not gotten the hang of selling food and drink in large outdoor gatherings.)  Took a day tour on one of the dragon boats.  These take you to the imperial tombs outside the city.  Another lousy tour, but the tombs were fabulous.  To digress, one of the big problems with tours in Vietnam is that everybody is so busy undercutting everybody else that the tours end up being dirt cheap but then they spend the whole tour trying to sell you add ons, presumably to make up for the fact that no one is making any money from the tour itself.  And the poor tourist (OK no one is really feeling sorry for me) ends up feeling hassled and harassed.  A lose lose situation that hopefully will get worked out some day.  Back to Hue- thought about taking a tour to the DMZ but reports from other tourists indicated that you spend the whole day driving on a bus and there is not much to see although if you are old enough to remember the war the names of the places you go to will resonate.  Decided to pass.

8. Hanoi- flew to Hanoi to avoid another overnight deal.  Shared a taxi into town with a lovely Australian couple who are doing a round the world trip.  Finding a hotel was a little trying- there do not appear to be any real set prices on rooms.  Everybody negotiates so you feel you are getting ripped off if you end up paying more than $15.  Went to a few rooms and then settled happily into Rising Dragon which was highly ranked on tripadvisor.  Explored Hanoi for a few days and then took off for a 3 day 2 night trip to Halong Bay and Cat Ba Island.  Not crazy about the boat but Halong Bay is a knockout must see on any trip to Vietnam.  (See 300 pictures; I’m not explaining.  I need to eat and want to finish this.)   Today I saw the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.  How could I possibly leave Vietnam without seeing the embalmed Uncle Ho?  But seriously, whatever you think about the Vietnam War and the history here, there is no getting around that he was a pretty amazing man.   Ended up really enjoying Hanoi, after I got used to the traffic.  And I also managed to link up with Dom and Tony, the really cool couple I first met in Chiang Rai and then saw in Phnom Penh.  We are on a totally different route but cross paths on a regular basis.  We had a fun time at quiz night.  Kung Fu Pandas rock!

So, Vietnam in a nutshell.  Next post will be from China.  Hopefully I won’t have to do all of China in one blog post.

Tags: 1, Dalat, Hanoi, Hoi An, Hue, Mui Ne, Nha Trang, Phu Quoc, Saigon, Vietnam

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