Oh Vietnam

Dalat is quite an unusual place as there are some really grand French inspired houses (as the French brought civilisation to the place) most of which are unnocupied, yet other parts of the town are too the other extreme.  I thought this felt like the 'real' Vietnam, especially as we didn't bump into bately any other tourists. The centre of the town was like one big (smelly) market, with food stall after food stall! Sounds like heaven, but the animal carcasses, lumps of raw meat (I dread to think from what part of the animal) and chickens in cages weren't exactly what I call a good food spread. 

In contrast, there was a really pretty lake so we decided to rent some tandems off some very dodgy men who first wanted ID (we refused) and then quite openly tried to pick pocket us. It was really good fun though and nice to do some rare exercise! 

The next day we decided to do what every parent dreads, get on the back of motorbikes! The bike tour is called easy rider and despite my concerns, I actually felt really safe (minus the occasional dodgy overtake) and it was an amazing way to explore Dalat as there were some really nice routes we drove with beautiful views. 

Look mum.... No hands! 

Our first stop was a temple. Our guide explained to us that what we view as the Nazi sign, was actually originally a Buddhist symbol which Hitler liked and stole. 

We also went to a coffee plantation as Vietnam is actually the second largest coffee producer in the world. A speciality coffee produced is weasel coffee. They feed weasels coffee wait for them to poo (see above) and then tada, there's the delecatesent you'll find in places like Harrods (so I'm told). 

We also stopped at the K'ha village and met a woman with 11 grand kids! In the village women are really important (the people have sense) and it's actually the women's surname that is kept within a marriage. 

 

There were many flower farms and we visited a greenhouse with red roses. 

We also visited elephant waterfall. The amount of water flooding down was tremendous and we got '100% wet'.

During the war much of the copper train tracks were stolen so you can now only journey a couple of hundred metres as a tourist attraction. 

The day was amazing and riding on the back of the motorbikes was such an experience and such a good way to see so much of Dalat.

The next day we headed of to Mui Ne. We treated ourselves and stayed in a really nice hotel in the hills with a swimming pool and outdoor restaurant... at £6 a night, we really did splash the cash. We spent most of our time making the most of the pool and chilling out but did take a trip to the white sand dunes to do some quad biking! 

The dunes were amazing and I came away unscathed. Unfortunately the same can't be said for Abbie and Siobhan who toppled their quad bike resulting in mild concision and a cut nose! 

After Mui Ne, we moved on to our final stop in Vietnam... Ho Chi Minh City (Siagon) and my oh my I won't forget this place. 

The calm before the storm....

...following this picture, our 3 nights in Saigon went as so...

I got my entire bag cut off me when walking home from a night out, which included my precious iPhone 5 and I did not take it well (imagine if your baby got stolen, how would you react).

Morven arrived home 30 mins later in tears... the same had happened to her. 

The next day we went to the police station and filed the crime, then went to the night market in the evening for a bit of retail therapy to cheer ourselves up. Vannessa and I saw a business opportunity with some cards so in a busy market, sat down for a good two hours and invested in 140 cards (need a card?you know where to come, we have cards for all occasions!)...Then out of nowhere, Vanessa's phone was stolen from her lap, infront of everyone!

Next stop... Police station. 

We then discover bed bugs in our hostel room and move to another room only to discover that room too is infested. At 3am after failing to find another hotel with space, we check out and trail the streets for a new hotel. After resorting to a far too expensive hotel, tired and aggitated, I encounter a pervy concierge. Just what you need! 

To make matters worse, we decided to not go on a trip to the tunnels due to the late night (the only thing worth doing in Saigon) despite already having paid. Then booked again for the next day, but with half of our phones stolen and the others too drunk to set an alarm, we missed the trip yet again! 

It's safe to say that luck was not on our side. However, on the bright side, the night life was so much fun. All of the shops on a street known as pub street put out plastic chairs in the evening and everyone socialises there and then moves on to a club. You've got to take the good with the bad! 

Time to tackle the next country... X

Our trip to Disney Land

OK, so the titles a little white lie. It's not Disney Land... But close to! 

The day we got to Nha Trang we went to Vinpearl as it was our last day with Kate and Nath before they travelled on. 

We were greeted from our taxi by a singing rock (a sign for good things to come) then jumped onto a cable car which gave us amazing views of Nha Trang and took us across to Vinpearl.

At Vinpearl there was so much to do, having thought it was pretty much just a water park, we were excited to see that it was (kind of) more like a mini Disney land!

There were lots of actual rides as well as the waterpark...

Made in Chelsea promo eat your heart out 

The ride of death. At this point we were completely vertical for a good 3 to 4 minutes. This factored in with being in Vietnam on the ride, led us to believe we might die.... 

Tears, laughter and silence were shared. Worst. ride. ever! 

Showing the kids how it's done. 

Amazing aquarium where we watched feeding time. 

Monkey show. Not sure how I felt about this one. Intriguing and very disturbing at the same time. 

Light up waterfall show

All in all it was a really great day and a nice way to end my time with Kate and Nathan, as the three best friends go their separate ways! 

For the rest of our time in Nha Trang we chilled on the beach in the day and went out to Why Not? bar in the evening. Well, why not? (That's not been done before...)

Eating crab and cockles on the beach

Our last day with the Canadians (210!) 

By the end of Nha Trang I was all beached out and ready to move on to the next place. Travelling has ruined my ability to be very lazy and lay on a beach day after day. Looks like I'll be needing new holiday plans for the future! 

Adios x

Round two

It's been a while... and I have a thieving little gremlin from Ho Chi Minh to thank for that! I waved goodbye to three ready to publish blogs when my bag was quite literally cut off me. But we'll get to that... 

Now, lets test my memory...

We hadn't planned to stay in Hue until Kate and I found out that one of our friends from uni, Joe Owst, would be there, then we thought it was worth the stay! 

We spent the afternoon at the beach and seemed to be the only tourists there. Stripping down to our bikinis, we felt a little self conscious as apparently all Vietnamese, men and women, wear full clothing in the sea, jeans and all! 

That evening we met up with Joe and some other friends that we'd met on the Halong bay trip, three girls from Edinburgh Uni (Morven and Siobhan originally from Glasgow and Abbie from Newcastle) and 8 girls from Bristol. 

Me and Joe 

In the club Brown Eyes. 

The next day we jumped on a bus to Hoi An, and reunited with Phoebe and Vanessa. We checked into Sunflower hotel, which is the place to stay for any backpacker in Hoi An! 

Hoi An itself is a really beautiful place and the only place I've visited in Vietnam that I think I could quite easily spend a week or so there. 

There's Japanese elements to the town and quite notably, over 1500 tailoring shops!! Of course being the shopaholic I am, there's no way I could miss the opportunity for cheap tailored clothes! So I went ahead and got a graduation dress, maxi and playsuit made! All for under £50! 

When we weren't wandering around the town or getting measured for clothes, we spent our days at the beach. We rents bicycles for next to nothing and rode the 15 minute journey which was good fun and well needed exercise! 

In the evenings at the beach, little tiny 'restaurants' were set up on the beach which were busy with locals. We decided to try the local food which was a mix of clams and a soupy rice. Rather nice! 

The evenings at Hoi An were so much fun, made even better thanks to a group of Canadians that we made friends with, who just loved to organise get togethers and party! 

We attended the infamous '210' party, with live entertainment and free drinks included! And the next day awoke from a nap to be summoned to a booze cruise, consisting of two boats tied together and about 60 people crammed aboard. 

The nights would always end with a trip to the infamous Volcano. Unlimited drinks for just over £1. Lethal!! 

210 party 

Girls, girls, girls. The Edinburgh girls, Bristol girls and us. 

Booze cruise! 

At Volcano

After 3 days we dragged ourself away from Hoi An and ventured onwards to Nha Trang. 

Coming up.... 

X

Living in paradise

Our next stop was Hanoi in Vietnam which we decided to get to via bus. We soon regretted this after hearing from many people that it was the bus ride from hell! 

I had never seen a sleeper bus before, you get a mini bed/chair each which are actually surprisingly quite comfy. The ride itself wasn't bad apart from the fact that there was no toilet and when I asked to stop after 8 hours with no break I got a Thai women yelling her head off at me. It then got progressively worse when we reached the 24 hour mark (it took 30 hours in total!!) and a load of Thai people came on and filled the aisles, being sick, fleming and weeing in bags! It was like they were another species! 

Finally we got to Hanoi at midnight and I was welcomed by my life long friend Phoebe and her uni friend Vanessa at the hostel we'd be staying in, Hanoi backpackers hostel (don't know how they came up with that name). After 3 and a half months not seeing her (which is the longest we've been apart in 18 years) it was lovely to be back together! 

We explored Hanoi together and went to Hoa Lo prison which was built by French Colonialists and had held mostly political prisoners, many of which died due to the poor conditions and parasites within their food. 

We then went for a bite of food ourselves and I had Vietnamese pancakes which the waitress rolled and stuffed herself. So tasty!! 

That evening we played some games and went to THE hottest club in the world. A tiny room with no air con, jam packed. I'd like to see the Towie cast in there... their faces would quite literally melt off. 

The next day we headed off on a 3 day castaway trip to Halong bay. We were a little apprehensive as at £120 it burnt a hole in our almost empty pockets, but everyone said it was a must so we had to go! And I have to say, it was 100% worth the money!! 

After a coach journey (standard) about 60 of us set off on boats. At last we had some sunshine so it was paradise to just lie on the top deck enjoying the sun. 

Lunch was amazing and being a buffet I of course I couldn't control myself. We also got in the spirit of things and started drinking before we even reached the midday mark! 

Later, we all got some kayaks and kayaked around Halong bay which is the 7th natural wonder of the world... And I can see why! 

After the first bit of arm exercise  I've done in months we returned to the boat a little tired and tipsy, so the obvious next thing to do was to jump off the top of the boat! 

 

The highest point was 7.5m so they say but it felt so much more! I don't know how the divers do it, big up to my boy Daley, I found it hard enough doing a pike jump! 

The scenery throughout the boat journey was just beautiful and as it reached sunset it became surreal it was so nice. Every now and then we had to stop and take it all in.

 

Taking it in... Completely natural pose. 

That evening everyone from the boats got together and had a party, we played a huge drinking game together which of course got a little out of hand, I won't go into too much detail but fire and bums were involved (not mine!).

I also came away crowned as the champion of picking paper up on the floor without using my hands... (Beating a professional synchronised swimmer and a gymnast might I add) A hidden talent that I hope to utilise in the future...all potential employees, take note.

The next day we continued on the boat and passed loads of little fishing villages. Despite it being such a beautiful place, I have no idea how people live so secluded and remote 24/7! 

We then got to a private island which we'd be staying on for the remainder of the day and night. It was amazing! We chilled out, swam, played beach volleyball, did rock climbing, and risked our lives doing high speed tubing. It's basically an inflatable on the back of a speed boat and 4 people lie down on it holding on and get sped along. Now I usually love these things but this was insane!!! After falling off the first time and being whipped into a back flip under water, we were all in fear to get on again! 3 days later and so many of us are still suffering from sore necks and aches and pains all over our bodies (nothing too major..don't panic).

But being the troopers we are, we trooped on and had a really good night dancing, drinking and playing games with everyone, ending with a late night/early morning swim in the sea. 

It was amazing to wake up to this in the morning... 

The view from where I was staying. 

The next day we set off back on the boat, all a little more subdued and returned to our hostel ready to immediately board a 14 hour overnight bus to our next stop... Hue. 

No rest for the wicked! 

Tara x