Vietnam...a summary.
I haven't posted for a while as the internet is painfully slow in Vietnam and in many cafes I haven't been able to open this site at all, besides which, uploading my photos is the priority and once they have finished I have usually been on line for an hour and a half.
As I have finally managed to log onto Blogger I thought I would give a brief run down of my Vietnam visit so far before I head to Ho Chi Minh City tomorrow (or possibly the day after).
Crossed the border from Laos on the 8th and ended up in Vinh which is about halfway up the country. There's nothing in Vinh thanks to the sterling work carried out by American bombers and warships during the war, although as America never declared a state of emergency it was never technically a war. Perhaps we should refer to it as the Vietnam Spat or Tiff.
Headed up to Hanoi which was very nice and a change after Laos as there was stuff going on and hot running water and a magic box in my hotel room that showed flickering images that told stories!
Went to Halong Bay which was pretty good but the weather wasn't perfect. It's actually the wintery/rainy season in the north of Vietnam at the moment so it was a bit misty. Then headed to Nimh Binh which was even grimmer than Vinh but without the excuse of having had the crap bombed out of it. However I did go to Tam Coc which is near there and is basically Halong Bay in rice paddies. 'Twas here I purchased that wonderful embroidered item that has predictably attracted absolutely no interest.
Then went to Hue where the weather was pretty bad so I only stayed a couple of days. Nice place though.
Next Hoi An which is a small, quiet picturesque place on account of emerged from the four million wars Vietnam has been involved in over the last eight thousand years inexplicably unscathed. Also the town planning has been handled with some care so any new buildings have to constructed with some care in order to match the old. As a result there aren't any Communist style concrete monstrosities blotting the landscape. I bought a couple of suits here which look nice but are no doubt made of a really crappy material which will fall apart after being worn once. The owner of the shop tried to set me up with her cousin who is studying in Ho Chi Minh but I politely declined.
From here I visited the ruins at My Son (pictures to follow) and then headed to Nha Trang. Nha Trang is a beach resort which is supposed to be the brash, hedonistic party capital of Central Vietnam but I saw precious little evidence of this though I did take a boat trip to some nearby islands where the emphasis was on boozing which was quite fun. Also the wind at this time of year in this part of the country meant that you couldn't relax on the beach with a beer without half of it getting blown away all over the person next to you. Still, I guess you could sit downwind of everyone with your mouth open.
Next I went to Mui Ne (which is where I am now) which is another beach resort but the opposite of what Nha Trang is (supposed to be) like i.e. quiet and upmarket. The trouble is there doesn't actually seem to be a seafront. The beach is completely cut off behind an endless row of hotels which I guess you need to be staying at in order to get to. I shall hire a moped today and see if I can find a chink in the armour and will also check out the fabled and much photographed sand-dunes nearby. After that I will head to Ho Chi Minh as my month here is fast coming to an end and there is a lot to see and do there, plus I have to make time to get through the Mekong Delta to the border crossing with Cambodia.
By the way, I ate grilled Barracuda yesterday. It didn't taste like chicken.
As I have finally managed to log onto Blogger I thought I would give a brief run down of my Vietnam visit so far before I head to Ho Chi Minh City tomorrow (or possibly the day after).
Crossed the border from Laos on the 8th and ended up in Vinh which is about halfway up the country. There's nothing in Vinh thanks to the sterling work carried out by American bombers and warships during the war, although as America never declared a state of emergency it was never technically a war. Perhaps we should refer to it as the Vietnam Spat or Tiff.
Headed up to Hanoi which was very nice and a change after Laos as there was stuff going on and hot running water and a magic box in my hotel room that showed flickering images that told stories!
Went to Halong Bay which was pretty good but the weather wasn't perfect. It's actually the wintery/rainy season in the north of Vietnam at the moment so it was a bit misty. Then headed to Nimh Binh which was even grimmer than Vinh but without the excuse of having had the crap bombed out of it. However I did go to Tam Coc which is near there and is basically Halong Bay in rice paddies. 'Twas here I purchased that wonderful embroidered item that has predictably attracted absolutely no interest.
Then went to Hue where the weather was pretty bad so I only stayed a couple of days. Nice place though.
Next Hoi An which is a small, quiet picturesque place on account of emerged from the four million wars Vietnam has been involved in over the last eight thousand years inexplicably unscathed. Also the town planning has been handled with some care so any new buildings have to constructed with some care in order to match the old. As a result there aren't any Communist style concrete monstrosities blotting the landscape. I bought a couple of suits here which look nice but are no doubt made of a really crappy material which will fall apart after being worn once. The owner of the shop tried to set me up with her cousin who is studying in Ho Chi Minh but I politely declined.
From here I visited the ruins at My Son (pictures to follow) and then headed to Nha Trang. Nha Trang is a beach resort which is supposed to be the brash, hedonistic party capital of Central Vietnam but I saw precious little evidence of this though I did take a boat trip to some nearby islands where the emphasis was on boozing which was quite fun. Also the wind at this time of year in this part of the country meant that you couldn't relax on the beach with a beer without half of it getting blown away all over the person next to you. Still, I guess you could sit downwind of everyone with your mouth open.
Next I went to Mui Ne (which is where I am now) which is another beach resort but the opposite of what Nha Trang is (supposed to be) like i.e. quiet and upmarket. The trouble is there doesn't actually seem to be a seafront. The beach is completely cut off behind an endless row of hotels which I guess you need to be staying at in order to get to. I shall hire a moped today and see if I can find a chink in the armour and will also check out the fabled and much photographed sand-dunes nearby. After that I will head to Ho Chi Minh as my month here is fast coming to an end and there is a lot to see and do there, plus I have to make time to get through the Mekong Delta to the border crossing with Cambodia.
By the way, I ate grilled Barracuda yesterday. It didn't taste like chicken.
posted by Ben at 5:33 PM
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