Ooh, I forgot to tell...

I was hit by a bus last week!

 

lol :)

 

I now have a bonser bruise on my arm! It's brilliant!! I get some good bruises, but this takes the cake!

Hue to Danang and back to Saigon

December 2nd, 3rd and 4th, 2008

 

There you are Grandma.

 

Short catchup today...

 

We departed Hue 9am December 2nd - was meant to be 8am, but some things just happen slowly!! If those that were complaining about the wait for the bus thought it was bad, they obviously didn't realise how long it was going to take for the bus to travel 108km!

 

Slow slow slow journey, through absolutely stunning countryside. Conductor forbade windows being opened and the windows were filthy and scratched, so no photos were possible, but it's ok, because photos wouldn't have done the journey justice. It was just absolutely stunning. I can't think of words to describe it other than that!! The bus moved ever so slowly because it was rather hilly and the roads were skinny and winding. Very worrying journey, as at some skinny bends there were 6 or 7 trucks and buses all overtaking each other - WITH THE CONDUCTORS HANGING OUT THE DOORS, HITTING THE OTHER BUSES AS THEY PASSED! The insanity!!

 

Stopped just short of Lang Co for a rest stop. Vietnamese road house - rather different to an Australian road house, that's for sure! No meat pies or egg and bacon burgers, noodles and rice and frog and eel instead!

 

Instead of going over the hill, we went through the new tunnel, built in 2005 with Austrian technology. 6.8km long, no motorbikes allowed in it. Cuts an hour off they trip they say. It was amazing to be on a road in this country without bikes!!

 

Once we made it to the last bridge before Danang, I was a tad concerned. The road sign indicated a speed limit of 5km/hr!

 

Arrived in Danang and of course thought, wtf are we doing here! It's not the tourist town, but it was where we needed to sleep as we flew out of there the next morning. We booked a car/driver/guide to take us around for the afternoon and save the worry and effort. went to the Marble Mountains. Interesting to see. Were taken inside the cave that the Viet Cong used as their hospital, with minimal bomb holes in the top, all things considering. Headed on to Hoi An for a look around. Bill was not well, and he was also very sick and tired of doing the tourist thing, so we just did a little bit of shopping, a little bit of looking around, and a little bit of eating. Glad to have seen Hoi An, and could see the height the river was at a week on from the recent high points - pretty bloody high, so would hate to be there during the rain!! Saw the beach - very choppy and ick, but that is to be expected at this time of the year.

 

Had room service for dinner, but I went for a walk around the city while waiting. Found fairy floss and fruit smoothie/juice stands on every bloody corner - i.e. at a cross intersection, 4 in total! lol. Beautiful juice, chock full!

 

Casually early morning the next, and on our way to the airport - not without panic of course! Halfway to the airport, thud thud thud - we look behind - there's the open boot of the taxi with Sue's suitcase rolling down the street! Retrieved it, so now we just have to hope that the semi fragiles she had in there are in one piece not shattered!!

 

Back to Saigon before we knew it, found a hotel room, then a trip to the post office was in order. I was very glad to be able to say "slow" and know that my parcel will most likely beat me home! By bag is now superbly light... Will see how long that lasts!!! Had to put my jeans in to be hemmed and get my day pack fixed and needed to do a few other bits and pieces... so we went for late lunch first. Lovely restaurant owner, so kind - helped Bill out with recommended prices for things he wanted to buy from the touts.

 

After having our nails done, we headed off on a little pub crawl. The things Bill will have to report when he gets back to school! The cocktails were dodgy everywhere, so we gave up not too far in, which was ok, as it was 9pm and time to meet Grant for dinner. He took us to 'the best' Vietnamese restaurant in town, unfortunately they were full and wouldn't take us, so we had delicious noodles next door. I'm sure it was just as good!

 

6am this morning and Sue and Bill were up and moving, on their way to the airport at 6.30. Not possible to get back to sleep, so a fairly early start for 'no reason' for a nice change! About to go meet Nga for lunch, then to the airport I go. Singapore tonight, then fly onwards to Paris via Munich tomorrow, 10am Singapore time.

 

Not a particularly newsy post, but it's enough to keep you going!

 

Will write more sometime soon!

 

 

 

 

 

27.11.2008

2008-11-27 121 (Medium)
Originally uploaded by Goldilocks85

Mekong Waterways

Not permitted past this point: Horses and Carts

Where to start! It's been go, go, go! Busy, busy, busy!!!

 

Lovely sleep in on Cat Ba Island, and rewarded for waking with a fantastic view out the window. Absolutely stunning. A packed harbour, full of busy, working people and boats. Discovered that they don't have more than basic electricity provision on the island every morning - no hot water (argh!), no air conditioner (would hate to be there when it's stinking hot), and no tv (lucky that one didn't bother me!). Wandered along the waterfront street, stopping at the ten million pearl shops along the way. I'm such a sucker for pearls. The woman at the shop in which I bought at definitely saw me coming. I just love them!! Lunch, which was the cause for many laughs for the afternoon, then the hydrofoil (speedy boat) to Haiphong. Why was lunch the cause for many laughs?!

 

Well, you see, the Vietnamese seem to be VERY FASTIDIOUS about times. If they say 1pm, they mean 1pm. This would be fine if you weren't me - near enough is always ok, or Sue and Bill, who are even more laid back than I! We'd already been in trouble in Hanoi when they called us in our room to tell us breakfast was served. They hadn't meant breakfast was to be served FROM 7, they meant at 7. Consequently, I continued my holiday pattern of no breakfast but for a snatched piece of bread! Thanks Bill, and thank the lord for vegemite in a travellable tube! (Is travellable a word!?). So, on Cat Ba Island, when they said we needed to be back at the hotel by 1pm for the bus to pick us up to take us to the boat, that is indeed what they meant. We were late, yes. Not our fault though, the restaurant had taken too long with some food, then took too long to understand that we needed it in a takeaway bag. So the hotel concierge came racing down the street on his bike to tell us to pile on and return for the bus. No way were all three of us hopping on, so Bill jumped on and Sue and I ran. We got back, jumped on the bus, I discovered my bag was not there. So off I jumped. Raced back into the hotel, the porter grabbed my bag, then when he got outside and realised how far up the road the bus now was, on the bike for us. Raced up the street, found the bus, hopped on and made it to the other side of the island 45 minutes later for the hydrofoil. Hooray!!!!!!! We just laughed though - they are so on the dot with time, and so helpful and concerned if you don't cooperate!! lol.

 

Anyway, boat to Haiphong, the 3rd biggest city in Vietnam. The guidebook says it is the Hanoi of 10 years ago. I think it is the Hanoi of 300 hundred years ago. I'm fairly positive very few non-Asian tourists venture further than the bus station at which they change buses. We had to meet a lady who was bringing us our train tickets which had been delayed in getting to the hotel. That was a challenge in itself as the boat guide was insistent we had to get on the bus to Hanoi or else we had to get on the smaller bus to Ninh Binh. Well, yes, we needed to get to Ninh Binh, but we needed our train ticket first! Hoang arrived in time though, gave us our ticket, which she'd had to go to her home village to collect, and we were granted permission to leave this bizarre place! First though a 2 hour wait for the 5.30 bus. We'd been told we could get a bus every half hour, yes, even on a Sunday. We found a little beer garden and had a drink, and were the town spectacle. Everyone kept pointing at me then rubbing their face then pointing at me. Apparently I'm so fair, it's a town joke! hehehe. Then to find somewhere to buy some food for dinner in case Ninh Binh was a disaster, and also for breakfast on the train. This shop was not a supermarket! It had piles stacked roof high of phaner pie, sponge type biscuit with marshmallow and coated in chocolate, potato chips, chocolates, custard cakes, hot beer and vodka. We stocked up on phaner pie (really nice!), potato chips (natural classic flavour, turns out they're cheese and onion!) and what appeared to be cheese pods and coconut pods.

 

Returned to station and were soon on board the sleeper bus to Ninh Binh. Into our little cubby hole at the back. Bill zonked out straight away, Sue snoozed a little, as did I. Realised we were getting far away from civilisation as we know it when we were dropped off in Ninh Binh with no traffic, no noise, three little cafe/restaurants that were dark and looked about to close - and this cracked me up - A STREET SIGN DICTATING NO HORSES AND CARTS PERMITTED ON THE ROAD AHEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good old belly laugh! Into cafe, had a drink, had them call us a taxi to the train station. Discovered a whole wide awake world that side of town. I went for a walk and found everything open, as in the big cities, except no people out using the available amenities. Seriously. The bridal shop was open.

 

As train arrived, we were all ushered up the platform (quite a few people by now) and told where to stand according to our carriage number. As train rolled in, we were very glad we had a sleeper berth, even though they were to be hard not soft as soft sold out, as the first carriage contained timber slat bench seats. Imagine that for 12 hours! Into our 6 berth sleeper to discover that 4 people were already in there, yes, 4 + 3 = 7, for a 6 sleeper berth. A lady had her baby in with her. Imagine MY panic! That child was an angel though, even though I had ear plugs in I woke periodically, and Sue confirmed that it didn't wake, or make much noise, all night. Total angel. Quiet children DO EXIST! She was doing Namh Dinh to Saigon, straight through. 24 hours or so. Pure torture that would be! Morning arrived before we knew it and we all felt tremendously refreshed.

 

Off the train and into a taxi, to hotel. Wrong address! Oops! Bloody internet~!! Found the place, settled in, then decided to get a driver to take us to a few places for the afternoon, seeing as it was virtually all we had. The lady at the hotel picked the places for us, and even picked a restaurant for us. Had our lunch, were wowed by the Citadel, visited a pagoda (name escapes me, but it was gorgeous, so lush and peaceful) and Emperor Tu Duc's tomb. Rich bastard he was. When he died, the servants who buried him and his fortune returned to be beheaded. 200 of them! The emp had been such a prick he'd made so many enemies, that they needed to be sure of absolute secrecy of his final resting place. His tomb doesn't contain his body, just is a place for worship and offering. Go figure. He'd had 104 wives, and countless concubines, and NO CHILDREN, but for an adopted son!

 

We've just been for dinner, as car returned us to hotel (also turns out we are about 10km out of the city, again, bloody internet) we drove past what I can best describe as a beer hut. So we wandered down there for dinner, and just asked for a rice, noodle and squid dish. My god, what a feast. We ate until we could eat no more - and enjoyed every bite. The beer was initially cold, which was a change, given that it's usually served with ICE! hehe. It turned to hot beer as the crowds flooded in and the turnover was too quick for the one small fridge!

 

So now I'm making headway with backing up photos to my zip drive, and even uploading to flickr. Hooray!

 

Somewhat early wakeup tomorrow, bus collects us at 8am to go to Danang. Once we find hotel, we'll head on to Hoi An for the afternoon (only 30km apart), hopefully to find some elephants on the beach!