Saigon - 4th December 2009

Landed in the hustle and bustle of Saigon at 6.00 in the morning – was so tired it was hard to walk the streets and so we walked with caution so we would not get run over. Had the worst sleeper bus ride yet as we were forced to the back of the bus where you can feel every bump of the road. We got cozy with 3 other people in the back (spooning) and the sleeping tablets did not work so it was a long ride. (That was Liam’s perspective…Aileen had the best of her sleeper bus experiences as could actually lie out straight and got nearly 5 hours sleep!!).

Got an ok room for that time of day and after some rest managed to go and have a look around. We were right in the heart of the city and in the local park nearby was a world food festival. We set out to taste the world and started off well when we got a lovely samosa – next stall was a Russian beer tent where we ran into some people we had met in Nha Trang – so the tour of the world pretty much stopped there! But had a good day with them and we managed to go to another stall where Aileen got a nice Vietnamese pancake – finally figured out how to eat them properly too!!

Planned to meet the crew we had been drinking with that day at their hostel later as they had a bar – while walking up the stairs a rat ran down and over Aileens feet- GROSS! Told a girl we met on the stairs and she was not perturbed “well at least he was running out”! Glad we are ‘flashpacking’ and not slumming it.

Vin Pearl - 3rd December 2009

The bus out of Nha Trang was at 8 o’clock at night so we spent our last day at the crazy world of Vinpearl. This water / Amusement park is something to be seen – to get there you have to go on a cable car across the sea to an island that is hung 100’s of feet off the ground - lucky we got nice weather as I felt that even a slight breeze and we may blow away! You can see the height of this in the pics. We got there at about 1 which we thought was late but there was no one there and the place was ENORMOUS and loads of staff walking about. It did get busy after but was a bit freaky for a while walking around the rides and shops alone – bit like the film 28 days later or westworld.

Upside of this was that the waterpark had no queues and we ran about it like kids, from one ride to the other. The joint rides were the most fun as I could hear Aileen’s screams close up and she FREAKED out (in a good, fun way) on every slide for all to hear! We met a lovely family (mum, dad and daughter – Eimear!) from the north of Ireland and had a chat with them about the state of football!

The aquarium was great with a moving walkway that took you through the tank with all the fish – madness! The funfair part was not so great….there was a mini rollercoaster but we were a bit daring with the next ride. It held us completely upside down for nearly the entirety of the ride – NOT COOL!! The great thing was that the entry fare covered the cable car, water park, aquarium, amusement park and arcade games – a great way to spend a day waiting for the night bus.

Nha Trang - 25th November – 3rd December 2009

After Hoi An we went on the sleeper bus to Nha Trang. The first sleeper bus (from Hanoi to Hue) was great craic: we had beers and (more importantly) a TOILET!! Those of you who know Liam know that when he even thinks of liquid he needs to know there are facilities nearby…..ssssssssooooooooooooo…..think of the trauma to get on this next sleeper bus to have a toilet with ‘No Working’ on the door!!! Thankfully we hadn’t been drinking alcohol that day but even I (the machine!) fell pray to the constant niggle of subconscious…there wasn’t much sleep going to happen. To be fair they did stop the bus from time to time (every 4 hours!) but it’s not the same. To make things worse Liam had to swap beds with me as one of the relief drivers was sleeping on the floor beside him and kicking his nearly cured infected leg – yikes! We did hear tell from another traveler who had a driver next to him on the floor but it got more intimate….spooning anyone?! The whole journey down was awful – it really felt like the driver was driving on a pothole riddled dirt track and consistently driving over ramps….thud, thud, thud.

Wonderful, wonderful Nha Trang! We arrived at 6am and although I’d read that most places are early to bed, early to rise and that most workers go to whatever beach for their pre-work swim and avoid the daytime sun I couldn’t BELIEVE the amount of activity along the shore (6km stretch that the city’s built next to). There was swimming, tai chi, badminton and all sorts….needless to say we didn’t see that again during our stay!! The beach is really well kept and there are a couple of bars where you can hire comfortable cushioned loungers during the day to while away hours watching the fabulous waves crashing against the shore.

Our room was lovely – with TWO double beds for some reason- but in this place even though we stayed within budget it was a bit harder to find lower priced caffs. There’s always street food which is guaranteed to be cheap but when you want to sit down (and not hover inches above the ground in a nursery school chair!) it was nigh on impossible to find the lower end places. We did however have some fantastic food here….i was particularly adventurous one night and had THREE soft shell blue crabs…..I’m talking back, legs, head (do they have one?) and all! To be fair if you batter and deep fry anything I’m sure it tastes good! We did find a great place for cheap beers…although as cheap as Hoi An it was the same price but for half pints. It’s pretty hard to imagine but we were in some state after spending just over 3 GBP!!

Hoi An - 14th – 24th November 2009

So after Hue (pronounced Hurray! but with an Elmur Da Fudd rr) we went on a sitting bus to Hoi An. Again we followed our new friends to their hotel (just like the tuk tuk drivers were following us in Hue they couldn’t shake us off!) it turned out to be really good value for the area– even if the ‘swimming pool’ was a puddle under the stairs! They left after a couple of days and on their last night we went out for dinner & drinks….but not in that order!

I have been seriously unlucky with my health since I have been out here and I think I caught something in Laos as now every time I am bit I the lump swells and is painful. On the bus down I was eaten alive and got 10 bites on the top of my leg which all swelled and blistered. Not gonna go into to too much detail but it was quite nasty – hard to walk and even sit so spent most of the time indoors and Aileen was my saviour getting me plasters/painkillers and food and drink. I was spending lots of time indoors but after 2 days in I got a rash all over my body – Aileen thought it was linked to the bites and googled my symptoms and convinced me I had MRSA! We then upgraded to a posh hotel which actually had a Jacuzzi and the rash cleared up.

Only other event for me was the Ireland France game – got very nervous when it didn’t come on the sports channels but just at kick off we managed to get it on TV5 the French channel - French commentary by Emmanuel Petit was no good for us so we listened to RTE radio over the internet. Will not say anymore on this subject as it still hurts and the FAI and Roy Keane have said enough!

As that’s all Liam has on the subject I’m (Aileen) back to fill in the rest!! With Liam laid up that left me to wander and explore at my leisure. Hoi An’s well known for it’s cheap tailors but for some reason even though I’d all the time in the world I thought I didn’t want to put more stuff in my bag so thinking I’ll wait for Bangkok…..or charity shops in Oz!!

The heat again for the first couple of days was unbearable to the extent that going out during the day was too much – evening strolls were the name of the game. Thankfully the weather turned….it was cloudy and rainy with only a few heavy downpours so much more manageable for daytime wandering! Hoi An is a beautiful ancient fishing village with all the buildings in the old town pretty much the same as they were 8 generations ago.

The market here really is a local market to the extent that you almost feel out of place walking through with the fish wives pushing through and the stink of meat and farm! I had some lovely food in this town and tried all the local specialties: Cau Lao (fat noodles), White Rose (Rose shaped dumplings) and Wanton (crispy and yum!). We also became fans of the roadside dumplings that are omnipresent throughout Vietnam (and most South East Asian countries I’d wager). They’re a lot different to the thin covered dumplings you get in Asian restaurants generally….these are a thick almost sweet bread with some sort of meat (?!) or vegetable mixture in the middle and always with a tiny egg in the middle. Unfortunately it’s hit and miss from stall to stall so you have to take your chances and hope for the best!! Liam reckons If you close your eyes they taste a little like a sausage and egg mcMuffin!

Beeronomics

The economist looks at the strength of a currency by comparing it to the price of a Big Mac – burgeronomics http://www.economist.com/markets/bigmac/, for instance you can buy 4 big Mac’s in Korea for a Dollar but in Sweden you can only get a quarter of one. Whilst traveling we have tended to use the same kind of gauge as we get a new currency. We have currently used 6 currencies so far on our travels and the mental math we do each day comparing it to pounds/dollars to make sure we are not ripped off is the only part of our brain we have used for weeks! …..Any way, as laundry is pretty much the same everywhere we have been and you can get a cheap/mid range/expensive hotel in each place the best test is good old drink. In Thailand a beer was roughly a pound, then in Laos we could buy a bucket of tiger whisky and mixer for 2 pounds. But so far the best has been Vietnam – Bia Hoa costs us 4000 dong which is about 13 pence a pint! You have to sit in plastic seats on the pavement/road to drink it but we have gone out and got smashed on ₤3.