hoi an, hanoi and ha long bay

Just got back to Hanoi from Ha Long bay cruise.

Since I last updated when I was in Hanoi, I met up with Gordon and some other now 4th years who are going north to south in VN. It was so surreal to meet up with people in such unfamiliar surroundings! We had a few drinks and Gary and I sold them Jungle Beach- that place should be paying us for the PR we are providing for them! Anyway, they went off there this week, hope they enjoyed it.

I got a couple of skirts and a top made in Hoi An- it wasn't the cheapest or best quality but it was an interesting experience. Everyone here is fascinated with my pale skin- to the extent that strange women keep touching me (just on the arm) even if we haven't interacted. It's quite creepy actually. If we have interacted they usually hold on to me. It's a really Vietnamese trait, invading your personal space and touching people.

So Hoi An was a beautiful town although it rained our second day there and we weren't really able to do much apart from sit in cafes and drink coffee. What a disaster!

Anyway, we organised to get the train from there to Hanoi, and since we left it quite late we had to get hard sleeper! 6 people in one room. We had level 2 and level 3 bunks. It was a great experience. We got a taxi from Hoi An to Da Nang (about 30km north) to the station. The taxi played all the greats- Yesterday, Glen Maderious, Lionel Ritchie, the Bangles. We sang along and the driver must have thought we were nuts! The train was packed full, we were the only white people in the carriage. Dinner was rice and warm soup and chicken which was one of the most fun experiences in VN so far. (G and I were the only people drinking beer) Our train was about 50mins late but we didn't mind because it meant we didn't arrive in Hanoi at 4.48am.

I quite like Hanoi, it's very different from HCM but we only spent a day here because we bumped into Zoe and Luke and decided to go a cruise to Ha Long bay. This was a difficult call- there are so many different companies and it was hard to decide which ones were best to go for. Anyway we picked a kind of averaged priced one which was probably the best option. We had a day sailing and a day on Cat Ba island. This second day was pretty horrendous. We seemed to be hanging about for ages, no one told us what was going on, it was POURING with rain, only Zoe had on proper shoes (they told us it was ok to climb a mountain in our flip flops, and let's just say, it wasn't) and the island was full of litter and fumes and it wasn't pleasant. We did enjoy the boat though, and sang a lot of karaoke and drank a lot of over priced beer and cocktails.

We just got back to Hanoi this evening and tried to complain to the company but they didn't really get it. Anyway. Cooking class tomorrow, HCM mausoleum, massage, manicure and pedicure and drinks at the Sheraton to go then CHINA on Monday!

xxx

update!

can't believe how quickly time is passing! quick summary of what we've been up to since my camera got stolen.

bus to da lat was horrendous, wsa meant to take 6 hours and ended up taking 10! we found a great hotel with a spa on the roof which we treated ourselves too. Da Lat was lovely, a really family feel with Vietnemese enjoying wholesome socialist activities like sail boats and kite flying. Also we went on a cable car which was fun and met up with our friends Dave and Stuart who are biking the length of Vietnam.

We left there and got a very downhill bus (but by no means quick) to Nha Trang which is like the Costa del Sol. Lots of high hotels and not much culture. G and I had an amazing lobster and scallop dinner for 400,000 dong, about 15 quid! Bargain. We also took the chance to get everyone together, so Gary, Dave, Stuart, Zoe, Luke and I went on a boat trip which was exactly what you would expect from a six buck boat trip. Low brow and culture free, but we still had a lovely day all being together.

Nha Trang (and really Vietnam in general) is full of hawking and people in your face all the time so we wanted to get away from it, and we certainly did! We went to Jungle Beach Resort, which is about 7km from nowhere, where for $22 per day you get bed, breakfast, lunch, dinner, a 20 second walk to the beach, great chat and lots of people to meet! We had a lovely couple of days there just relaxing and reading, and swimming and it was much needed.

In order to leave there we had to get a mototaxi to the night bus..... what an experience, for the first time on a bike in the dark in the middle of nowhere. Anyway, the driver did go a bit fast but I managed not to fall off......... hahaha..... and then after getting ripped off at the service station for water we got the cramped night bus to Hoi An. We arrived here this morning and it's really different to anywhere else we've been. The buildings are old and low and it's quite French in atmosphere. Got some clothes measured up so going back tomorrow to try them on! It's all rather exciting.

xxxx

camera stolen!

this is a nation of scammers. it's a beautiful country but feels like everyone is out to get you. anyways, probably just a bit bummed outcos our plans to go to phu choq island wouldn't work out because there were no buses, when surprise surprise, there were. aaaargh just realised internet shuts at 10 so have to gooooooo.... camera got stolen on bus to da lat, which SUCKS so much it's not even funny but at least the guy didn't steal my bag (with all my money, cards, passport etc in it) ..... camera in da lat is SOOOOOOPER expensive and insurance isn't really worth the hassle (50quid excess on 80 pound camera which I probably don't have a receipt for anyway)
grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
xxx

saigon

in saigon! it's bvery hot. arrived safely on wednesday night and it was raining so heavy! managed to navigate to the hotel by cheating and getting a taxi! the streets were heaving with people and it was such a culture shock. hotel is nice and clean and safe and central. there's towels and our own shower. we've eaten loads of exciting things like crab, deep fried quails' eggs, salad in a bag (12.5p), lychees, (but you can only buy them by the kilo) and clams which were still closed after cooking! gross. the local beer is excellent. what is not excellent is the feeling that everyone is out to scam you because you are a rich tourist and also that we just don't have enough time to do everything. met up with zoe and luke last night in a bar called crazy buffalo where we got a free baseball cap because we spent so much money ($20US between 6 people!). going to the mekong delta tomorrow then to the highlands for some mountain air. we haven't experienced the rain yet but this is down to sheer luck. other highlights were cocktails in the bar on the roof og the sheraton saigon and a small child of indiscriminate gender trying to wheeegh my camera from my wrist in a funny way honestly!!

this is full on typos but it's too hot to correct. i'll post it on my blog too and if you want to forward it to anyone feel free! (d0n't have nellie's email here!)

xxx