The Mekong Delta

This part of the trip was the great unknown, and the part that I had been most anxious about. No more easy tour buses, no more catering for tourists wherever you go, no more assurance that most people you need to speak to will know English...We were going to 'Old School' Vietnam. And in my imagination I had convinced myself that this would consist of staying in some kind of mud hut and that I would intensely dislike the experience. I was wrong on both counts, and looking back, probably wouldn't have minded staying in a mud hut, might be fun! It turned out that the two weeks we spent travelling across the Mekong created more challenges, more stories, and more bizarre, funny, and breathtaking memories than what we found down the usual tourist route. So I'm glad I was (sort of) forced into it.

The initial challenge was how to get from HCMC to the delta - it's not far away, but it seems to be that the only way to get there is either by booking on an (expensive) organised tour, or by braving the local buses. Again, against my over-active imagination's judgement (which told me we would get lost and robbed and left in the middle of nowhere) we went for the local buses. This was pretty hilarious. Bar a couple of other stragglers, we were often the only westerners to be seen, looking very obviously lost, lugging our big rucksacks around, not knowing where to go or what bus we should be on. Most of the time we got laughed at by the locals, and after ineffectually trying to pronounce where we wanted to go, got bundled into a bus - tightly squeezed in amongst locals, bags of melons, building materials, and at one point a live goose - and usually found ourselves in vaguely the right place. If this wasn't quite the case, the only way to get a bit closer to the right town was by motorbike - I neglected to tell my mum this until I got back as she'd have a fit - but it was fantastic, though a bit difficult to balance when you're still wearing the rucksack!

Our route across the delta went from east to west, keeping in the northern half. From My Tho on the edge of the delta, we carried on to Ben Tre, Tra Vinh, Vinh Long, Can Tho, Chau Doc, Ha Tien, and finally we got a ferry across to Phu Quoc Island, back to tourist-land. I think, without a doubt, my highlights of this time were the boat tours we went on. The first was in My Tho, and could have been very hit-or-miss - we were approached by a guy whilst having a look around the small town. A lot of people try to speak to you, often trying to sell something, and more often than not we would just say no thank you and carry on walking. This guy was different, he was very laid back and firstly just offered to show us to a nearby cafe that was open as we were a bit desperate to find some food. He stayed to chat for a while and mentioned that he takes people on tours on his friend's boat, away from the tourist crowds, and early in the morning before it gets too hot. He said if we wanted to go we could meet him at the cafe at 5.30 the next morning and didn't have to pay until we had been on the tour - for someone to be so confident, and without putting any pressure on payment, was out of the ordinary, so we thought we'd give it a go. I'm so glad we did.

We left the hotel at 5am, with the poor guy at reception snoozing on a make-shift bed behind the desk, and walked to the cafe. It was still dark out, but already the streets were stirring; people opening up their shops, out on runs, on their way to work, we even saw a small group of women in the middle of an aerobics class. Our guy was waiting for us with a pot of Vietnamese coffee ready to wake us up - I'm not a huge coffee fan, but this was delicious, about the size of an espresso shot, but smooth and mixed with some form of chocolate, it definitely did the trick. We then followed on down to a rickety little wooden boat, with the driver already waiting, and set off into the morning darkness on the river. It didn't stay dark for long, just as we reached the middle of the large expanse of water, we stopped and watched the sun rise over the horizon. I'm not really eloquent enough to describe it, but I think at this point, more than any other, I sat thinking how lucky I was to be there, and how glad I was that I had said 'Sod it, why not' and left the cosy cushion of employment to go on the trip.

The advantages of going on an independent trip, rather than a tour by a large company - even though it may not be fully legal (I didn't ask!), is that your tour guide is likely to know people at the places you visit, knows where to get the best deals for any food and drink you might like during the day, can answer any questions you happen to think of as there isn't a large group to look after, and means you can totally go at your own pace. We saw the larger boats with big groups of tourists trudging around and I just don't think they got the same experience - a one to one tour is so much more personal. And I got made some jewellery weaved from a banana tree leaf, which I'm sure the others didn't get - and it was definitely a highlight!

The other great thing about the Mekong Delta region was how friendly the people were - although English was not as widely spoken, you are always greeted with a smile - and by the children, this is elevated into genuine excitement. Any children we walked past waved and shouted hello, and giggled when we replied. We were briefly shown a school by one of the locals, and all of the children came rushing to the window saying hello and trying to shake my hand - it completely disrupted the lesson, but was lovely and made me feel like a film star!

It struck me on leaving this amazing country, that although people didn't tend to have the luxuries that are considered common-place here, and they had to work so hard and such long hours just to scrape a living, life seemed simpler and they were happy. When you don't have to worry about getting the latest gadget, or this season's must-have item of clothing because it's not even an option, you can get on with, well, life.

I guess in future if someone asks me what the point of going to Vietnam was, and if I benefitted from it at all, I should just point them to this blog, because it seems there's quite a lot.

Ho Chi Minh City

It had been a long journey south, but we made it to the end of our open tour bus journey, arriving in the much-famed, huge, chaotic city, once known as Saigon. I thought it was a total faux-pas to still refer to it as such, but most people - including locals - still refer to the city as Saigon, maybe out of habit, maybe because it's less of a mouthful, I don't know. What was also instantly clear about this city was that it seemed so much more like a capital than Hanoi - it's size, the Reunification Palace, the wealth of high-end shops, everything. Hanoi has some catching up to do, there just aren't the hints of decadence in the north. HCMC has a great little 'tourist pocket', if you will, full of budget hotels, bars, souvenir shops, and a LOT of people roaming the streets trying to sell photocopied books, sunglasses and other cheap trinkets. It gets a little frustrating when you have several people approach you whilst you're trying to eat your dinner, but they are always friendly and I instantly felt bad watching them wander off in search of anyone who might pay a few pence for their wares.

We went on a walking tour of the city, which was rather challenging in the intense humidity, but definitely worth it. Having a look around the Fine Art Museum and the Museum of Ho Chi Minh City was interesting, as the war with America is such a huge focus, but also highlights how far Vietnam has come since then, being able to build up such a beautiful, clean city that is increasingly growing in popularity. This line of thought was compounded after a day trip to the famous Cu Chi Tunnels.

We had yet another amazing tour guide, 'Slim Jim', and he knew more cockney-rhyming slang than me! He alone had quite a fascinating story; he was an English teacher for twenty years in a small town in the Mekong Delta region, and had backed the South in the war. Later, he became a tour guide and has greatly improved his English, and wants to go back and teach again in another few years. No hint at retiring; the hard-work ethic is in the Vietnamese blood.

Slim Jim showed us this massive tunnel site, a couple of hours drive away from the city. The tunnels were barely big enough for the tiny-framed Vietnamese soldiers, and the ones that we got to go in had been made twice the size, 'for all the fat Westerners'. It was only a 100 metre stretch, and I'm annoyed at myself that I was only 5m from the end was claustrophobia made me escape from one of the early exits - if I'd realised how close I was, I think I could have made it! It goes to show how tough conditions were though. I found it a little odd how Slim Jim had chosen a job to tell everyone about the amazing feats of the VietCong when he had been opposed to them during the war, but there was no bitterness that his wishes hadn't been realised. In fact, no matter what 'side' anyone we spoke to had been on, there seemed to be no ill-feeling amongst the Vietnamese - any ill feeling was reserved for the Americans. I'm not saying I agree with Communism, but, for now, it seems to be working for the Vietnamese.

Da Lat

One word to sum up Da Lat - weird. I wasn't really sure what to make of it, not in a completely bad way, but more of a bemused way. The travel guides didn't paint an altogether exciting picture, but our bus ticket meant that we had to go there - at least for a night - so we made the best of it and went on a bit of an exploration. Attraction-wise, one place stood out for me (perhaps because there aren't many to choose from), 'The Crazy House'. The name kind of says it all. The construction is the brain-child of architect Ms Dang Viet Nga, and it's just bizarre; steps made to look like tree-stumps, and several themed hotel rooms including 'The Termite Room', 'The Bear Room', 'The Tiger Room', and a slightly terrifying 'Kangaroo Room' with glowing red eyes. I can't say I would want to stay in any of them, but it was fun to indulge in the eccentricity for a couple of hours.

We found on the map a massive lake just outside the main town area, and thought it would be a nice place to have a walk around on the way to some flower gardens (God, I sound like my mum), only to find that - just as in Hanoi - it had been filled in! Couldn't believe it, especially as the scenic lake-side restaurant was still open for business!


Unlike most other places we'd been to, Da Lat was set apart due to the fact that it is particularly hilly, making a five minute walk a bit of a workout, but in general - it is just a 'normal' town. The one event that injected a bit of excitement to our short visit came just as we were waiting to leave. Around 7.30 in the morning, waiting in the doorway of the hotel, peering bleary-eyed down the road, I almost failed to notice the fact that a Vietnamese man was walking down towards me. Oh, did I mention that he was totally naked, apart from sandals and some kind of walking stick? No? Well, he was, flopping around and everything. No one seemed overly phased, or did anything, so I thought maybe it was a normal occurrence, and he wandered further down the street until he was out of sight. But then there was a lot of beeping, and traffic started to back up down the road. The last I saw of Mr Naked Man, was him being bundled into a police van, having had his arms and legs tied together. It was pretty brutal. So, advice - when in Vietnam, don't go for any naked walks. You can probably apply that to most countries, in fact.

Nha Trang

I was so excited to get here - firstly because we had to endure another night bus journey, and secondly because it was hot and had a BEACH! And what a beach it is - six miles of gorgeous fine sand and glittering sea, most of which we walked across - surprisingly hard work! The main part of Nha Trang town itself doesn't have all that much to shout about, it is just a normal town. The Western hub of Nha Trang is concentrated just outside, where there are cheap hotels and guesthouses galore, restaurants, and bars...lots of bars...with cocktail buckets! There are also a lot of diving centres - you can probably get a dirt cheap deal, but you have to question what you're paying for as quite often, just because 'PADI' is advertised, it doesn't mean that's what you'll get.

As a non-diver myself I didn't really know what to look for, but luckily my travelling pal is very up on that sort of thing, so we went for a chat at the Rainbow Diver bar - the longest established diving company in Vietnam that is British-run. They don't have the cheapest prices in town, but they are safe, and - from what I experienced - very professional. To start off with, I went for a 'Try Dive', just to see what it was like. This involved getting to the bar for 7am, ready for a minibus to take everyone to the boat, which then took us to a dive site. All morning I was so scared, convinced that I would manage to drown, that I barely spoke, which was enjoyed a little too much for my liking. Luckily, though, I didn't drown, and I actually quite enjoyed the experience. For a Try Dive, basically all you have to do is breathe and have a look around, as an instructor does everything for you, and even holds you and swims you around underwater. So I decided, to hell with it, I'll do my Open Water PADI - where a bit more is involved! I can't recommend it enough though, it's the most amazing feeling floating around on your own, like flying. And Nha Trang offers some great dive sites, full of coral, clownfish, baby barracudas, and tiny little nudibranches that the instructors somehow manage to spot.

Learning to dive took up the majority of the time spent in Nha Trang, meaning we unfortunately missed out a visit to the Thap Ba Hot Springs, which offer a range of spa treatments, including a mud bath that I have been told is very good, and cheap! Maybe next time...

Hoi An

To continue harking back to Top Gear, this is the place where the trio of presenters bought their crazy tailored suits, and that is because this town is the tailoring capital of Vietnam. It is very much geared towards tourists; there are streets full of tailors, cafes, restaurants, and markets, with a noticeably high ratio of Westerners wandering around. It's a wonderful place though. What first struck me was the brightly coloured lanterns strung across the streets, which when coupled with the vibrant clothes stalls, the hustle and bustle of the market, and the scenic estuary of the Thu Bon river makes the place quaint and pretty.

I was all up for buying a whole rucksack full of new clothes, but due to the guaranteed tourist market, and the fierce competition, prices aren't dirt cheap - don't get me wrong, cheaper and better quality than what you would get here, but not cheap enough when you're on a shoestring budget! So, I settled for a pair of linen trousers. I have never had anything made to measure in my life, so was a little taken aback by the process - before the words 'I'd like that style please' had managed to escape my mouth, one of the women had whipped my T-shirt up into a knot, and started measuring my waist, hips and legs, while another woman was trying to sell me a deal so that I might buy another pair. I resisted! So, I left the little shop, and merely three hours later I was back to pick up my new trousers. They're a really good fit, and, well, they haven't come apart yet!

Enough about clothes, Hoi An has a lot more to offer besides miles of material. The town sells an ingenious tourist ticket, and for 90, 000 VND (about £4) you can choose five attractions to see - museums, temples, pagodas...it's a great deal! One thing on the list caught our attention; 'The Museum of Trading Ceramics', I joked that it was a definite yes, but then curiosity to see if it could really be as boring as it sounds got the better of us, so we went and had a look. The bits of broken pots in the museum confirmed that it actually is as boring as it sounds! Oh well.

As well as everything within Hoi An, there are some interesting places to visit nearby. We went on a trip to the ancient Cham temple ruins of 'My Son'. Again, a lot of these have been bombed and destroyed, and - oddly - none of the statues have heads because the French cut them off to take back to their museums, but there is still a lot to see, and there is a lot of reconstruction under way too. So, what's the big deal about My Son? I wondered the same thing, but our enthusiastic tour guide definitely swayed me into believing that the answer is 'A lot!' Not only are the ruins believed to be even older than Cambodia's Angkor Wat, but they are also surrounded by a bit of mystery. Looking at the construction of the temples, no cement has been used to secure the bricks together, instead they are also fused, and completely unaffected by weathering. In fact, we were shown walls that were reconstructed about twenty years ago, and they were covered in moss and looking in a sorry state, whereas the original walls that had been there for thousands of years looked almost new. No one, not international experts, not those whose ancestors helped build the temples, knows how it was done. Pretty cool, huh?

Hue

After walking the empty streets of Hanoi in the aftermath of Tet, we eventually moved south to the small town of Hue via an overnight tour bus, with an estimated journey time of 12 hours. We tried to make this seem less horrific, convincing ourselves that we would sleep through most of it and be there before we knew it. This was not the case. The night bus consisted of 3 rows of 'bunkbeds', which didn't even have enough leg-room for me - and I don't even have a problem with leg-room on EasyJet flights! This was combined with the fact that it is impossible for the bus drivers to avoid the numerous potholes in the dodgy roads, and I had an extra special uncomfy factor... When you initially get aboard the bus, you are given a plastic bag to put your shoes into. Fine. I had watched several other people use the tiny toilet on the bus, I don't recall them putting their shoes back on, or any horrified faces when they re-emerged, so I thought it was safe. My soaked socks when I came out of the toilet suggested otherwise - and it wasn't even my wee they were covered in. Oh, and there was still another ten hours of the fun-filled journey to go. This was definitely a low point!

Urine-soaked socks aside, we arrived in Hue at 7am, determined to battle through the day despite a total sleep fail. Avoiding the crowd of taxi and motorbike drivers that surrounded the bus as soon as it stopped, we wandered to a hotel mentioned in the Lonely Planet guide - a cute little place at $5 each per night, sold! Then it was time for some culture, so we walked to The Citadel, a place famous for it's history, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and for being ravaged by bombs in the war. It was quite a walk from the backpacker area, but a really great place to wander around for the afternoon. As everywhere else in Vietnam, it was grand, spotless, and beautifully decorated, right down to the immaculate flower displays everywhere, apart from a few buildings which had been damaged beyond repair - one had pretty much been flattened by B52 bombs, which is a shame. When it was in use, the heavily guarded Citadel held the Forbidden City, home to the most important members of society; emperors and concubines, where any trespassers were sentenced to death.

Unfortunately, Hue's weather left a little to be desired - it was a little bit too much like England; chilly with a side of constant drizzly rain (the annoying fine stuff that isn't even proper rain), which unfortunately made us less than enthusiastic about renting bikes to go visit some pagodas a few kilometers from the town. So we were lazy and hung about in the backpacker area - it wasn't a total loss, we found some very cool places; Cafe On Thu Wheels, which was covered ceiling to floor in messages and doodles from former travellers that had passed through. And it did an amazing hot chocolate. Then there was Missy Roo cafe, where we went for breakfast (we were only there for three mornings, but that warranted a place becoming our 'usual'), which had an added entertainment factor of westerners having booked a cooking experience, and watching them attempt to cook with chopsticks was always fun! Lastly, we came across The DMZ Bar, we were only going to go in there for a beer on the way back to the hotel, but ended up staying for long enough that getting up for the bus the next morning was a real struggle! This was due to the reasoning "We'll just see what the next song is, and if it's rubbish then we'll go", but it just didn't happen - the place was full of amazing rock and hip hop tunes from my teens, and the cheap Hanoi beers just kept coming. Awesome.

Hue; it's not the most exciting place on the usual tourist travel-plan, but it is a real town where you can see how 'normal' people live, there are some great places to check out, and it is an important part of Vietnamese culture. If you're only there for a couple of days, it's definitely worth a look.

Halong Bay

This was the place that the Top Gear Vietnam Special really sold to me - if you haven't seen it, Clarkson & Co. had to ride motorbikes from Ho Chi Minh City up the length of the country, finishing in Halong Bay (after turning their motorbikes into boats, of course). The shots of this place were just amazing; a maze of huge limestone rocks jutting out of a turquoise sea, it looked magical, and so was instantly placed on the 'to-do' list.

We were persuaded by a lady in our hotel to book a tour through them so that we could leave the bulk of our luggage in our room, which was definitely worth doing. To her disappointment, we declined the luxury tour, and went for the standard three day option - I really can't imagine the luxury option could have been much better as our tour was fantastic!

Halong City is roughly three hours drive from Hanoi, and there really isn't much there to see other than the huge tourist-infested harbour that houses about 600 junk boats and lots of Vietnamese tour guides trying to herd their groups around. It's much better once you're on the boat! As we were there mid February, we didn't see the place at high season, and therefore our boat was only half full, with ten of us in total. It was a mixed bag - we shared with a Danish family with two young children, a young French couple, a middle aged German guy and a young Swedish girl (both travelling alone). Despite being with a scattering of Europeans, we all sat and spoke in English - good for us, but also a little embarrassing that we couldn't even attempt to speak to anyone else in their native tongue. The English education system really should sort that one out.

It takes about an hour to get to the Halong Bay you might have seen; dramatic chunks of jagged rock randomly jutting out of a serene sea, making a maze for the junk boats and fishermen. They slowly appear out of the sea mist and are just mesmerizing, and kind of eery. It's not a great description, but it's the best I can muster.

The first stop of the tour was at 'Surprise Cave' (pictured), which was amazing, the sheer size and elaborate shapes and patterns that have been ingrained into the rock. Our guide showed us several animal shapes in the rock - some were more lifelike than others! Outside the cave was a small floating village, I think it has probably only been there for as long as the tourists have been visiting, where we had the chance to do some kayaking, making sure to avoid the boats and massive rocks of course! It would have gone smoothly had my kayaking partner not been paddling against me any time I tried to steer us anywhere. Hilarious, I'm sure.

The next morning was my favourite part of the trip. It wasn't waking up at 6.30am, it wasn't the cold shower, it was opening up the cabin door to the scenery I had forgotten was outside; sunshine, miles of deep blue sea, and the imposing, grassy rockface that was stood staring at me. "Oh yeah, that's where I am. Cool." The second day of the tour involved disembarking on a couple of the larger islands in the bay. We had the joy of renting some very old bikes, without any gears and questionable brakes, which made the steep hills quite interesting! Once we got to the village in the middle of the island though, it was definitely worth it. There were very few people living there, all in simple houses and huts, where they grew rice and bred chickens and pigs, but yet they had mobile phones and one little boy I spotted was wearing a football T-shirt with a big bling necklace! The scenery was stunning, lush and green, with dramatic hills that looked like they were from the set of Jurassic Park. The second island, Cat Ba, was quite large and built up, and would be our home for the night. It looked as though it had been built for tourists - lots of multi storey hotels, restaurants and bars - one of which suddenly started blaring out the all-time classic Who Let The Dogs Out?, brilliant. As it wasn't high season, the place was almost like a ghost town, but I kind of liked it that way - there's nothing like being the only person on a beach.

It was a truly astounding place, and remained one of my favourite parts of the two month trip, despite being right at the beginning. We left the majestic calm to return to the hustle and bustle of Hanoi.