We first had to get our visas at immigration. We were already nervous arriving in Vietnam but to attempt to get your visas from a communist country seemed nerve racking. Figuring we would grab our cash for the visa fee at the airport turned out to be tougher than expected as the ATMs are outside of the airport which compounded our stress level. So as Jeff left to get cash and left Jake and the kids in immigration purgatory, an Australian couple offered Jacquie the last $50 we required and refused to wait for Jeff to return to repay. They said many people helped them when they travelled with kids and they were just returning the favour. If there is one thing we have learned while travelling is never underestimate the kindness of strangers.
We left the airport and into the unknown of Saigon. We quickly discovered it has 9 million people and 5 million motorbikes in a very small space (check out the power line pic below)!!!! However, after only a few hours we started to become comfortable with our surroundings. Within the first day we learned how to find our hotel which is harder than it sounds, speak the bare necessities (their alphabet is similar to ours unlike the rest of Asia so it helps picking it up) and cross the road...which is basically look for no cars and trucks and just start walking, the bikes will go around you.The Vietnamese people are very friendly, outgoing and are willing to assist with anything to the extremes that a very young shoe shine boy attempted to take off Jeff's flip flop. The kids are also getting a lot of attention in the forms of smiles, touches, pinches and E also got a kiss on the cheek by an old man. We also found that we can eat as a family for about $10-$15 a meal and our room costs us anywhere from $25 to $45 a day, which is a nice change from Australia.
After seeing the sites of Saigon we took outings to see a Cao Dai Temple, Buddhist Pagoda, the Cu Chi Tunnels and the Mekong Delta. The Cao Dai Temple is interesting in that they have combined all major religions in an effort for peace with the philosophy that all religions have the same purpose but other than that it was above our heads. The Cu Chi Tunnels were very cool as the Vietnamese built 250kms of tunnel complete with rooms throughout Vietnam starting in the 1940's and used and expanded them over three wars. The Vietnamese basically lived underground for four years during the American War. You can see from the pic below that they are very small people as E can just get in and out of a tunnel. From a country that strives to be "American" with their capitalist economy this has been the only place we have felt any anti-American sentiment. Next was a day to the Mekong Delta where the mighty Mekong River that starts in Tibet finally empties into the sea. We took a boat ride, learned a lot about rice as Vietnam is the largest producer in the world and took in some local customs.
After Ho Chi Minh we headed up the coast to the beach town of Mui Ne. We were lucky enough to get our own bungalow on the beach 30 feet from the water. However, the day after we arrived Typhoon Pakhar was announced and was heading directly for Mui Ne. Turns out that 30 feet from the ocean before a storm hits is not the best place since the waves are very loud and unnerving. Luckily for us the typhoon was downgraded to a Tropical Storm Pakhar which meant lots of rain. We decided it would probably be best to move on during the rain so we set off for Nha Trang.
Nha Trang is a very touristy town with a long stretch of beautiful beach and turquoise water we are told, but due to the storm it was brown and the beach was littered with garbage. This was fine as we were in town to celebrate Elyssa's 10th birthday and Nha Trang is home to SE Asia's version of Disneyland...Vinpearl Island. So for $20 each we spent all day at an amusement park, water park and unlimited games at the arcade plus free transportation by cable car over the ocean to the island. We are pretty sure she had a memorable birthday. We did spend some time sightseeing in Nha Trang though taking in more Buddhist Pagodas and the Cham Towers which were more Buddhist temples and where we met a pretty cool monk.
After a few days we boarded an overnight train to Hoi An, which is another UNESCO heritage site. It is a beautiful town with French architecture, fantastic beaches, silk and custom tailors. You take a tailor a picture from a catalogue of any clothing item and it will be ready within 24 hours at a fraction of the cost. The kids have each ordered custom Asics running shoes with the colors/patterns they want for roughly $20 each. Needless to say Jake has been putting her bartering skills to fine work here and Jeff's dad can expect another one of our packages coming in the mail soon! Hoi An also has one of the nicest beaches we have ever been to on this trip called Cua Dai Beach and with 75 cent beers/50 cent pop it is even nicer.
Tomorrow, we are going to attempt to do as the locals and rent motorbikes (yikes!!!) and head back to the beach...wish us luck.
Bye for now!!
No comments:
Post a Comment