Hoi An 4/5 - 5/5

We’ve spent the last couple of days in Hoi An which has been a real highlight of our time here in Vietnam. We arrived in the afternoon of the 4th after catching the train from Nha Trang, we had our own sleeper which was so much more comfortable than the bus, we didn’t have to share with anyone so Kirsten got a bit of sleep (we had to be at the station just after 5am) and I got to listen to my iPod or read without the lurching of crazed bus drivers or incessant beeping. Nice. We went out that night to have a look around the town a bit and have dinner. We got our bearings reasonably quickly as the old quarter (where most of the fantastic traditional and French style houses and shops are) covers a small area bordered by the river so it’s a good navigational point. We had a pretty early night after a brief walk around but set out reasonably early the next day on a couple of bicycles. The countryside is pretty flat here so it lends itself to a gentle ride around, we are about a kilometre or so out of the main town so it’s a short ride into town. Also makes it a bit quieter apart from a pair of roosters who like to fire up from about 4.30am. We wanted to get a couple of items of clothing made as that is what Hoi An is mostly famous for so we headed along to a tailors just near the cloth market as recommended in our guide book (thanks Sally!). We got measured up for a couple of items and were advised they would be ready the next day. As the measuring was finishing, we were asked if we wanted to check out some shoes at the place next door so we ended up being measured for shoes as well. The people were lovely and we were quoted some pretty cheap prices so it’s well worth it. We had a good look around the old quarter, there’s a lot to see. We visited The House of Tan Ky, one of the oldest original houses in Hoi An, where many successive generations of the same family have lived. There are marks on the wall to indicate where flood waters have come through (it is right by the river) and some of the marks are as tall, if not taller than me. Our guide told us that the owners move all the furniture (some amazing period pieces) and artwork upstairs while the flood waters come through the house. We also visited Reaching Out - Hoa Nhap Handicrafts, a kind of community based workshop for local artisans with disabilities. We found a couple of nice things there (thanks for the tip Sarah!). We also checked out the Japanese covered bridge and and the Cantonese Assembly Hall which has some fantastic Koi Carp, Dragon and Goat sculptures out the back (not all together, that would be weird). We had dinner in town (great food here - wonton soup, shrimp & rice noodles) before riding back to the hotel.

Nha Trang Stunt Riding Course

Today we explored Nha Trang a bit, as yesterday we were rained in so we spent most of the day in the hotel, only venturing out for breakfast and dinner. We set out initially by scooter which was terrifying and entertaining in equal measure. Okay, it was mostly terrifying as neither of us had been on a scooter much before, let alone both of us on one together so Kirsten was elected to drive while I got on the back. We got about ten minutes down the road before we decided it was probably safer for us and the population of Nha Trang if we don't drive a scooter. I took it back to the hotel while Kirsten was going to walk to the Long Son Pagoda, containing a huge statue of Buddha (14m tall) atop 155 steps and tiered gardens. There was a lesser Buddha down the road and that was the one Kirsten ended up at, while I got a cab from the hotel and ended up waiting by the large one. We didn’t have our phones with us and neither of us were sure where the other had ended up at but we eventually got it sorted out as after about an hour Kirsten wandered down to meet me at the proper one and we got underway. It’s a pretty magnificent example and set in some lovely gardens, well worth a visit. After that we had a well deserved drink with some people I’d gotten to know while waiting for Kirsten to come along. We headed along to the local railway station after that, tomorrow we travel to Danang by train and then to Hoi-An which we are both really looking forward to as it should be easy to explore on foot or by bicycle and we might also get some tailoring one. For our last night in Nha Trang we intend to go to a local restaurant we saw the other night, it had a lot of fresh fish and lobster out the front so we’re pretty keen on checking it out.

1/5 - Dalat to Nha Trang

Today we traveled by a car to Nha Trang as we were in a bit of a bind in Dalat. Due to the double public holiday, firstly for the liberation of Saigon and today for Labour Day, there were no rooms available anywhere in Dalat. The buses were also full so we didn’t really have any other choice but to hire a car and driver to bring us here. Not the cheapest option but never mind. We enjoyed our last night in Dalat, we stayed at the Ana Mandara Resort which was sensational, we had a room in a villa. The whole place was done up very well with fantastic rooms, amenities and our own butler! We went out during the day to see the lake at the centre of town which was quite pretty and to see if we could stay another night. As we couldn’t, we decided to spend the rest of our time at the resort to get our money’s worth. We had a great lunch, I had a seafood and papaya salad and Kirsten had pumpkin soup. We spent the afternoon relaxing and watching our shonky copy of Wolverine. Which was very shonky - the special effects weren't finished but we still got the gist. As it was a special public holiday, the resort put on a buffet dinner for the guests for US$20 a head with sensational sushi, barbecued seafood, stir fries, cocktails and a dessert selection that included chocolate covered strawberries. We ate a lot but really enjoyed it. This morning there was a buffet breakfast so we ate up big for the car trip, fruit, pastries and waffles. The car ride was pretty comfortable and we’re happy to report the driver barely beeped anyone so that was a welcome change. We’d booked a hotel in advance in Nha Trang and have been quite lucky with it’s location, it’s only a block from the beach and quite clean and cheap. We’ve just come back from a walk, some drinks and pizza for dinner - early night tonight.

HCMC to Dalat

We arrived in Dalat last night, a mountain city about a 7 hour bus ride from HCMC. We're staying in the rather posh Dalat Novotel. Rather by necessity than choice as most of the local accommodation is booked out. Tomorrow is a national holiday to celebrate the liberation of Saigon so everyone has come up here as it's a bit of a destination for locals. Not that we really knew that on the way here. Fun and games. So we have a place to stay tonight but we need to secure something for the holiday tomorrow, hopefully we'll hear something soon. We've pretty much had enough of bus rides for the time being, it took a really long time to get out of the city and for the bulk of the journey the driver was on the horn every thirty seconds for for the whole time whilst simultaneously trying to break some kind of land speed record. Why beep once when 8-10 times might do? Combined with mountain roads, buckets of trucks and scooters we were pretty glad to get off! I should point out that we did see some interesting stuff while we were on the bus, such as a whole region that seemed to be full of Christian churches, and a lot of statues on peoples balconies of either Jesus or Mary. Or both, sometimes with neon halos. Business sign of the day: Hung Phat Computers. We also saw a miniature Eiffel Tower at one of the towns on the way up to Dalat - Dalat has their own Eiffel Tower too, a bit of a nod to the French colonial history. We will have one more bus ride to get from here to another city a few hours away, after that we can catch the Reunification Express (train) all the way to Hanoi and stop where we like on the way.

HCMC - 27/4

We had a cyclo ride today, on our way to visit the War Remnants Museum. Pretty disconcerting being pedaled through insane amounts of traffic but you just have to go with it. It certainly beat walking in the heat and humidity. We went via the HCMC version of Notre Dame Cathedral, pretty similar in shape but minus a lot of the features that make the Paris version such a land mark. One lesson we've learned today is that you just pay for the cyclo rider for the journey, you don't get them to wait for you despite their protests to the contrary. Unfortunately they charge a lot per hour - D'oh! The War Remnants Museum is worth a visit, it houses a lot of evidence of war crimes against the Vietnamese people as well as propaganda posters, photos (some quite famous ones), weapons and art work. Its also a pretty damning indictment against American foreign policy. Following the museum, we had a bit of a walk around - past the Reunification Hall and through a bit of an up-market suburb on our way to HCMC's local Hindu Temple. It's got some pretty interesting architecture and statues inside, it was also quite busy. Following the temple we had dinner near our hotel at one of the hundreds of side street restaurants and organised some travel to Dalat.

Ho Chi Minh City

We've been in HCMC for a couple of days now and are getting into the swing of things. It's pretty much a swarming mass of scooters, cars, beeping horns, touts and people ALL the time. We've been wandering around our local neighbourhood to to get a feel for it, checking out some shops, there's some great shopping here. As for restaurants, there's a huge range of cuisine from street stalls, western bistros and local back alley joints. We've not done much touristy stuff apart from looking at a couple of markets. One is massive, full of food, clothes, and pretty much everything. We were at another yesterday which had more army surplus and industrial supplies so a real mixture. Kirsten got a hat pretty cheaply so that was good. We had walked a fair way over to a gallery yesterday only to find they would have been closing in 15 minutes - we did get to see a lot of street life though, including a group of kids playing soccer on a crowded footpath and occasionally out into the busy street! We're on a bit of a slower start today, all the walking is taking it out of us a bit but we intend to go to a couple of museums and the local version of the Notre Dame Cathedral.

Angkor Spirit Hotel

We've spent today at the hotel, catching up on some rest, recovering from the massive day yesterday. It's been a good chance to do some reading, swim in the pool and generally chill out. We met a couple at the hotel, had a bit of a chat about travel and found out the girl was from Adelaide - they're everywhere. Also we've caught up on the blog a bit, hence why there's so many posts on the same day... Tomorrow we fly to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) having really enjoyed our brief stay in Cambodia.