Another of those days when we had to choose between a long haul bus or a short haul flight.
I know it's cheating, and that real travellers should always take the most challenging, circuitous route to anywhere. But I as I update the blog in the nice air-conditioned Internet cafe, sipping beer and listening to relaxing music, I can't help feeling it's a more fulfilling experience than sharing the back of a bus with 9 Cambodian schoolkids, a gap year home counties hippy and a box of chickens.
Yes folks, today we let the plane take the strain.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
So, Vietnam. What did we think?
A fantastic country. Anyone basing a 2 or 3 week itinerary on the 'H''s of Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Hue and Hoi An simply couldn't fail to have a blast.
The scenery's pretty special, particularly in the north, the food is the best we've had on the entire trip, and the people are straight out of the top drawer - kind, cheerful, and in a lot of cases, laugh out loud funny.
Bearing in mind that less than 40 years ago this was a divided nation with both sides attempting to bomb the crap out of each other, there seems to be an incredible optimism and energy about the place.
Of course, the whole communism thing in Vietnam is a nonsense these days. You do see some army types wearing sour expressions and hammer & sickle armbands, but unlike their counterparts in Laos they don't seem to instill any fear among the wider population.
No, everyone else is way too busy to bother bowing down to the big red flag - too busy making a buck or having a laugh.
So we'd recommend Vietnam to anyone, as long as they avoid Saigon.
The scenery's pretty special, particularly in the north, the food is the best we've had on the entire trip, and the people are straight out of the top drawer - kind, cheerful, and in a lot of cases, laugh out loud funny.
Bearing in mind that less than 40 years ago this was a divided nation with both sides attempting to bomb the crap out of each other, there seems to be an incredible optimism and energy about the place.
Of course, the whole communism thing in Vietnam is a nonsense these days. You do see some army types wearing sour expressions and hammer & sickle armbands, but unlike their counterparts in Laos they don't seem to instill any fear among the wider population.
No, everyone else is way too busy to bother bowing down to the big red flag - too busy making a buck or having a laugh.
So we'd recommend Vietnam to anyone, as long as they avoid Saigon.
Day 155. Saigon, Vietnam. Small world.
Saigon. Sounds really exotic doesn't it?
Well, believe me, it's not.
It's a dirty, noisy, sprawling mess. I mean, how can somewhere twice the size of Hanoi contrive not to have a City centre? where's all the interesting old stuff? the hip hotels, the cool bars, the buzzing street-life? Is there nothing that can redeem this hellhole from the merciless slating I'm dishing out here?
Probably not, and we don't intend to hang about long enough to find out. We're on the first flight out of here tomorrow and it can't come quick enough.
Sorry. I'm in a foul mood after Newcastle's elimination from the UEFA cup last night and am taking it out on Saigon.
The great thing about travelling though, is something always comes along to lighten the mood. And tonight, while we were looking for an inexpensive watering hole, we bumped into a graphic designer I worked with 6 months ago in London.
The lovely Kirsten and her boyfriend Darren are on a big trip of their own, attempting to see as much of the world as they can before returning to live in South Africa.
We shared a couple of pitchers, traded our Vietnam guide book for their long list of Cambodian do's and dont's and ended up having a very pleasant evening indeed.
I'll even go as far as to say that by the time I hit the sack, I'd almost wiped the Cup exit from my memory.
Almost.
38 years and counting...
Well, believe me, it's not.
It's a dirty, noisy, sprawling mess. I mean, how can somewhere twice the size of Hanoi contrive not to have a City centre? where's all the interesting old stuff? the hip hotels, the cool bars, the buzzing street-life? Is there nothing that can redeem this hellhole from the merciless slating I'm dishing out here?
Probably not, and we don't intend to hang about long enough to find out. We're on the first flight out of here tomorrow and it can't come quick enough.
Sorry. I'm in a foul mood after Newcastle's elimination from the UEFA cup last night and am taking it out on Saigon.
The great thing about travelling though, is something always comes along to lighten the mood. And tonight, while we were looking for an inexpensive watering hole, we bumped into a graphic designer I worked with 6 months ago in London.
The lovely Kirsten and her boyfriend Darren are on a big trip of their own, attempting to see as much of the world as they can before returning to live in South Africa.
We shared a couple of pitchers, traded our Vietnam guide book for their long list of Cambodian do's and dont's and ended up having a very pleasant evening indeed.
I'll even go as far as to say that by the time I hit the sack, I'd almost wiped the Cup exit from my memory.
Almost.
38 years and counting...
Friday, March 16, 2007
Day 154. Hoi An, Vietnam. What's cooking?
I tell you what, they know a thing or two about nosh in Vietnam.
Fresh fruit and baguettes for breakfast, a nice bowl of noodle soup for lunch, and then when it comes to dinner, well they do things with a big juicy aubergine that'd bring tears to Jamie Oliver's eyes.
It's bloody lovely man. So lovely in fact, that Wend signed up this morning for a one day cookery course. Yes, you lucky people will be able to have a bit of what we've been enjoying on our return when we throw the biggest dinner party in N16's history.
Grilled seabass with turmeric and lemongrass anyone? fresh rolls with pork, shrimp, coriander and mint? a light Vietnamese salad with green papaya, garlic and chili?
Not for you? OK, get yourself to the kebab shop and we'll see you in the Rose & Crown after we've finished.
Fresh fruit and baguettes for breakfast, a nice bowl of noodle soup for lunch, and then when it comes to dinner, well they do things with a big juicy aubergine that'd bring tears to Jamie Oliver's eyes.
It's bloody lovely man. So lovely in fact, that Wend signed up this morning for a one day cookery course. Yes, you lucky people will be able to have a bit of what we've been enjoying on our return when we throw the biggest dinner party in N16's history.
Grilled seabass with turmeric and lemongrass anyone? fresh rolls with pork, shrimp, coriander and mint? a light Vietnamese salad with green papaya, garlic and chili?
Not for you? OK, get yourself to the kebab shop and we'll see you in the Rose & Crown after we've finished.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Day 153. Hoi An, Vietnam. Yer history.
After 2 days of doing diddly on the beach we were craving a culture fix, so took a self-guided tour of Hoi An's historical sites.
One of the reasons we love this town is because it's so magnificently manageable. Even the old stuff comes in philistine-friendly bite sized chunks. So once you've visited a couple of Mandarin temples and strolled around a pagoda or two, you just know there'll be somewhere serving cold beer within 20 metres to help you digest what you've seen.
Tempted to write and complain to Lonely Planet after they recommended the Ceramics museum though. Normally we're partial to a nice pot (God knows, we've photographed enough of the buggers since coming away),
but with so many displays of broken crockery, this place looked more like a Greek wedding reception than a museum. Not good at all.
Far more impressive is the 250 year old covered Japanese bridge. We've been across 3 or 4 times since arriving and it's great. What's odd however, is that on each occasion there's always been at least 30 Japanese tourists milling about. They add a certain authenticity to the spectacle I suppose, but you never see them anywhere else in town. They've travelled all this way just to hang out and take pictures of somewhere that reminds them of home.
Very strange behaviour.
Right, we're off for some beans on toast and a nice cup of tea now. Hopefully I'll catch the Premiership results and we'll bump into some Brit's who'll tell us what the weather's like in London.
One of the reasons we love this town is because it's so magnificently manageable. Even the old stuff comes in philistine-friendly bite sized chunks. So once you've visited a couple of Mandarin temples and strolled around a pagoda or two, you just know there'll be somewhere serving cold beer within 20 metres to help you digest what you've seen.
Tempted to write and complain to Lonely Planet after they recommended the Ceramics museum though. Normally we're partial to a nice pot (God knows, we've photographed enough of the buggers since coming away),
but with so many displays of broken crockery, this place looked more like a Greek wedding reception than a museum. Not good at all.
Far more impressive is the 250 year old covered Japanese bridge. We've been across 3 or 4 times since arriving and it's great. What's odd however, is that on each occasion there's always been at least 30 Japanese tourists milling about. They add a certain authenticity to the spectacle I suppose, but you never see them anywhere else in town. They've travelled all this way just to hang out and take pictures of somewhere that reminds them of home.
Very strange behaviour.
Right, we're off for some beans on toast and a nice cup of tea now. Hopefully I'll catch the Premiership results and we'll bump into some Brit's who'll tell us what the weather's like in London.
Day 152. Hoi An, Vietnam. Out with the old...
Dropped into the tailor's shop for our first fitting this morning. Wend's so impressed she's asked them to run up a load of identical gear in different colours.
Oh Lordy.
We'll worry about how we're going to get it all home when it's time to move on, but suspect some manky old socks and undies might have to be jettisoned.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Day 151. Hoi An, Vietnam. Beach bonus.
Rented bikes today to see what goes on beyond the boundries of the old quarter and were chuffed to find a corker of a beach 15 minutes ride away.
So now it's official; we really, really love Hoi An.
So now it's official; we really, really love Hoi An.
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