Vietnam

15th April 2010 The Perfume Pagoda is one of Vietnam’s most sacred sites. It is a complex of around 20 different temples in a mountainous area about 60kms from Hanoi. It has quite a lot of Vietnamese tourists who come here to make their offerings to Buddha for health, wealth and prosperity. We had opted for a tour to the Perfume Pagoda as the simplest way to get there since the journey involves a bus and boat. Leaving Hanoi it was already spotting with rain and by the time we reached the place where we needed to board the boat it was raining quite hard. ...

14th April 2010 The original plan for today was a visit to the Perfume Pagoda, some 60 kms outside Hanoi. Unfortunately, due to a bad stomach (again! Don’t think either of us has had a regular day since we got to Asia!), we had to cancel. The morning was spent relaxing in the hotel room, just chilling and watching some films while waiting for the Imodium to kick in. This afternoon, feeling a bit better and up to a bit of a walk around we followed the walking tour in the Lonely Planet. Quite a few of our Lonely Planet’s have had these and they are a great way to see some things that you may otherwise miss, especially if you have limited time in a city or town. ...

13th April 2010 After our disappointment over our trip to Sapa and a restful night’s sleep at Splendid Star 1 we were ready to move back to our original hotel, Splendid Star 2. The first order of the day was to hand over our passports to the hotel so we could get our visa extended. Without this, we would need to leave the country next Thursday, losing our opportunity to visit Sapa in the north, plus Hoi An and Hue on the coast. It does seem to be simply a formality, so fingers crossed. ...

12th April 2010 We were due to catch the train to the mountain town of Sapa tonight, so this morning we checked out of our hotel. The staff were excellent, letting us leave our bags in storage while we explored Hanoi and offering us the use of a room late afternoon so we could shower and freshen up before heading off to the station. Hanoi Station was our first port of call this morning. A dry run to see how far it was from the hotel and to check where we needed to collect our tickets this evening. We quickly ascertained that we would need a taxi tonight with our bags. ...

9th April 2010 We had planned for our Friday in Mui Ne to be a day of relaxation. Ed was going to do some more kitesurfing and I was going to relax with a good book before enjoying a 2 and a half hour spa package in the afternoon. Plans change. Firstly, another day with very little wind meant Ed was beach bound again. Then, mid morning we had a message from our travel agent, Tam to say the sleeper train from Mui Ne to Danang only had 6 berth sleeper cabins available. After some research on the internet, we really didn’t fancy being squashed in like sardines for 12 hours with possibly only a squat toilet at the end of the carriage. No thanks. ...

10th & 11th April 2010 We spent Saturday morning slowly packing up ready for our afternoon journey to Nha Trang. This is another beach resort, further up the coast from Mui Ne, much bigger and more touristy. It’s very popular for scuba diving, and while not originally on our itinerary this was the nearest place to Mui Ne where we could get a plane to Hanoi. The bus to Nha Trang was really busy and quite hot resulting in the first part of the journey being quite uncomfortable. However, this relented once the sun started to set and we were then able to watch the rural landscape pass by. The views from the bus were typical Vietnamese landscapes. Paddy fields and oxen carts set against a backdrop of high mountain ranges. ...

8th April 2010 This morning was more promising, not strong winds, but enough for us to try again with the small kite. By late morning, Ed was able to control the kite, making it fly where he wanted and also to hold it on one point. I however was a different matter. Just as I seemed to be getting it, something would happen and I’d do the wrong thing to correct it meaning a lot of ground time for the kite! ...

7th April 2010 Still no wind. Another day spent enjoying the delight’s of Mui Ne Beach. We did get a huge surge of winds late afternoon, but by then it was too late for us to do anything but sit back and watch the pros at work.

5th April 2010 Kitesurfing was another of the activites we were keen to try when we came travelling and where better than the kitesurfing capital of Vietnam, Mui Ne. Mui Ne Beach is a popular tropical beach. Strong sea breezes make it very popular for kitesurfing and windsurfing and with an average temperature of 27°C, and a hot and dry climate for most of the year, so you can see that it’s quite a nice place to hang around for a while. ...

6th April 2010 Bad news when we awoke today. No wind, just a light breeze. No good for kitesurfing. The guys at the kitesurfing school were hoping it would pick up after 12 so we went and sat on the beach for a couple of hours, watching the world go by. By the way, the ladies on the beach are covered up (and must be so hot!) because they don’t want to catch the sun. The Vietnamese believe it’s more beautiful to be white, so all through Vietnam we have seen women wearing long sleeves, gloves and socks. ...

3rd April 2010 Our aim today was to see some of the sights within Dalat itself. However our first port of call was the post office where we sent home the tablecloth we had purchased yesterday. On the way to the post office we passed Dalat’s allegedly beautiful lake, but at the moment it’s undergoing renovation work and not looking so great. ...

4th April 2010 Phat Tires are a company in Dalat who specialse in adventure tours. They do all sorts such as rock climbing, trekking and abseiling, but we had booked a mountain biking trip with them. Our destination was the beach resort of Mui Ne. This is a four hour drive from Dalat, so becuase we were only doing one day with Phat Tires we drove for an hour and a half down from Dalat before we started. ...

2nd April 2010 Our Easy Rider guide Hiep was at the front of our hotel at 8:30am this morning as promised. He had brought along Gong, another Easy Rider who also spoke English, also as promised. Considering these guys have had no schooling and have taught themselves English, their language skills were really quite good. The accent, as ever with the Vietnamese (who very rarely get taught by English native speakers) could be a little hard to understand at times. But again, once you get your “ear in”, and because you are one on one you can ask questions. At one point during the day Gong even wished me “iechyd dda” (cheers in Welsh for the uninitiated!) which amazed me - he had had 2 Welsh people on a recent tour! ...

1st April 2010 This morning we bid a fond farewell to Karen and her lovely apartment, full of gratitude for what we have seen of and learnt about this fabulous country. It was time for us to continue our explorations by taking an 8 hour bus journey to the city of Dalat in Vietnam’s central highlands. Dalat is a popular place for domestic tourists from Saigon. It is spring-like cool all year round and a vege-growers heaven. It’s climate is ideal for growing many types of fuit and vegetables. ...

30th March 2010 It was an early start this morning so that we could enjoy our breakfast before returning to join our tour group. The early start was rewarded with a beautiful sunrise over the river and a chance to see the day beginning for so many people. Since there were five of us to get back to town our host took us by boat from the homestay to the centre. A fabulous way to travel, catching glimpses into some of the houses along the river bank and seeing daily life. ...

28th March 2010 The school that Karen works for supports one of the many orphanages for mentally and physically disabled children that exist in Vietnam. There are over 200 orphanages in Saigon alone. The majority of these children owe their disabilities to Agent Orange which was used by the Americans during the war, the effects of which are so very obviously still being seen today. Every so often a group of children from the orphanage come over to the school to use their facilities. So, Sunday morning we headed over to the school to lend a hand. ...

29th March 2010 The Mekong Delta is the region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of tributaries. The Mekong delta region encompasses a massive area of southeastern Vietnam where water coverage depends on the season. The region is famous as a large rice growing area and produces about half of the total of Vietnam’s rice output. Vietnam is the second largest exporter of rice globally after Thailand. ...

27th March 2010 This was the day we had marked out for our initiation into motorcycle life in Vietnam. Karen’s friend Jane often goes out of the city a little way to some quieter parks and gardens to enjoy some peace and respite from hectic Saigon. She has a xe om driver (motorbike taxi) who she uses and Karen has one called Mr Tinh who was going to take Ed, while I would ride pillion on Karen’s bike with her. ...

25th & 26th March 2010 We had had to postpone our planned trip to Cu Chi Tunnels yesterday because it was Ed’s turn to be confined to docks. Our diet has completely changed since being in Asia and I think our stomachs are taking their time to adapt, which can be tiresome at times. However, having rebooked our trip, we were off to Cu Chi bright and early on the Sinh Tourist bus. ...

24th March 2010 The Vietnam War remains a big part of this country’s recent history for a lot of people, us included, so this morning we wanted to visit the War Remnants Museum. The War Remnants Museum primarily contains exhibits relating to the American phase of the Vietnam War. It really brings home the ugly truths about war through the pictures exhibited in a series of eight themed rooms. There is no doubt that the museum puts a Vietnamese slant on the war, but it is still a sobering experience, bearing witness to man’s inhumanity to man. ...