Shy Plants

Tis Hot

The weather here probably averages 30 degrees - so we decided to hit up the local beach. Usual scenario - sand like gravel and water that isn't exactly cool. But it was nice to get out from the inner city. After the beach, we indulged in more seafood. Then Jeremy drove us home on the motorcycle we'd rented for the day

My Son

Yesterday, we did a 5am tour of My Son. Here we saw relics of Cham temples that were built between the 7th and 13th centuries. Most were destroyed during the Vietnam war - but what remains is still pretty amazing.

Looking Smart

Jeremy got this grey pinstripe suit tailor made today. Mmmm, looking good! He got fitted at 11am and at 6pm, he went for a re-fit and we picked it up. Now THAT'S service!

Chilli-Dog

Chilli is everywhere we look, and we've acquired a taste for the stuff This stuff was at the local 'cho' (market) - it looked killer, so I took a pic - and I'm posting it just for Ben (cause Karmen got one earlier)

Hoi An

Didn'thave much planned today, so just cruised around the town centre. This is the Japanese covered bridge

Locals

Cute lanterns

More boats

Good Morning Hoi An

So we went for a wander in search of brekkie ... walked through the markets and saw some baby ducks

Followed by some bigger ducks.

We also passed countless tailors and shoe makers - which we intend to visit later. Jeremy wants a leather jacket and a suit tailor made and of course I can always do with some more dresses. Heaps of the shoe shops sell fake Nikes - Karmen, I took this pic just for you!

Good Bye Nha Trang

Yesterday was our last day in the seaside town of Nha Trang. We spent the bulk of the day at the Thep Ba Springs. Here, we soaked in a mud bath, then we laid out in the sun until the mud caked and dried, then washed it all off in hot spring water... our skin has never felt softer. Evening came, and it was time for our last trip to the beach - where I took the above shot.

At 7.30pm we got on our sleeper bus to Hoi An. The trip took just under 12 hours and we arrived this morning at our destination at around 7am. We are now waiting to check into our new hotel...

Boat Trip to the Islands

So we booked a day tour, that would take us to 3 different islands. Before getting to any island though, we made a quick stop to pick up a bag of rice (as you do) and I got a pic of these round boats, they're pretty common around here. At our first stop, we snorkelled - saw some coral, but most of it was pretty wrecked. Fish were around, but they were small. Still, it was fun. And just refreshing to be in the water, as again, it was about a 30 degree day.

Following lunch, the boat crew set up their band. Everyone got up on the tables that we'd just eaten off, and danced!

I really liked this guy. He played the drums too. And reminded me of Mr Miagi from the the Karate Kid. He had great attitude.

This poor Aussie got roped into singing Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" - complete with re-enactment of the Leonardo/Kate Titanic scene. Check out the chick laughing her arse off in the background - she was pulled up next and made to sing The Bangles "Eternal Flame"

At our next stop, they set up the 'floating bar'. So we all jumped in the water and were given the life rings. The guy sitting in the middle served us drink after drink of 'cocktail'. It had a definite bite to it - but when I enquired about the concoction, I was only told '7-up, orange juice and pineapple juice'....right.

After an exhausting day in the sun, we decided to continue with the partying. We caught up with some of the others from the boat trip and drank up at the Big Apple bar. Jeremy drank 3 of the 'buckets' pictured. Might explain why its 11am and he's still in bed now. All in all, one of the best days we've had so far!

Piglet

This pig was on the side of the road, when we had a bus break - I thought he was funny.

First Night in Dalat

This place is a seaside spot, so we HAD to indulge on a seafood dinner. The restaurant we chose, had these baskets on display out front, where we could pick the produce, then they cooked it on the grill - right there and then

The fourth course was this lobster - yummers

Yep, This Is the Life

After a 4 hour bus trip, we hit the beach in Nha Trang!

Not as picturesque as Perth, and sand feels more like gravel, but its still a BEACH!

Jeremy skated for a while, and fascinated the locals, who appear to have never seen a skateboard.While I lay on the beach side and soaked up the sun..aaaah!

Being Romantic

So eventually the sun came out, and we did too

Dalat is known for its romantic activities - having left it too late to visit one of the waterfalls, we opted for a swan paddle.
Here's the view of the lake

And on the way home, I took a photo of the town

First And Last Day in Dalat

It started to rain just as we decided to step out of the hotel, todaySo, we decided to grab lunch and stay in. These pork and vegie rolls can be bought from the street vendors for less than $1
We sat on the balcony, with beers and books and enjoyed watching over the busy street

Pleather Couches, Anyone?

So after a 9 hour bus trip - we grab a texi to our pre-booked hotel. Alarm bells rang, as we were told that the hotel was 4km from the city centre....hmm, not exactly central. We found tacky surrounds, and an aroma that could only be described as "old people smell". Being far from the city centre, and not used to tourists - the locals stared Jeremy down pretty hard. We ventured out to the local streets and grabbed a simple meal of pork and rice for dinner. Wasn't too bad, as it only cost $1.70!

Night came, and the old people started to play loud music. We decided to tough it out. At 10pm, we felt like a snack and called reception, only to be advised that the restaurant was closed. They could only offer us instant noodles - feeling desperate, we accepted. Checked out this morning, and $40 later - we've learnt our lesson - always do some research before booking accommodation! I enquired about the number of old people staying there, and the receptionist explained that they were having some sort of convention, and she apologised for their late night music shinanigans.. he he.

Our new room in central city Dalat has a jacuzzi, as featured above. AND, will only set us back $25! Nice.

Journey to Dalat

So early Sunday morning, we embarked on a bus trip to Dalat. We were told to be ready by 7.45am and that it should be a 5 hour journey. The bus ended up picking us up at around 8.45am, and the entire journey took more like 9 hours.

At least our destination was picturesque. Winding through the mountainside, reminded me of my drive through Yosemite last year. Dalat is much cooler than the hot city of Saigon. But we will only be here one more night, before moving on again.

Last Night In Saigon

Well, after many days of showing us around, my Aunty 10 and her family had us over for our last meal in their apartment. Various varieties of shell fish were on offer - all extremely tasty. We also had a rice soup with fish, followed up by fresh watermelon and rambutans. We drank several beers, and Jeremy was slightly concerned on his ride home, as my Uncle Minh, ducked and weaved through the busy Saigon streets.

Below is the 5 of us - I've perfected the self timer! Left to right - my uncle Chu Minh, J, me, my cousin Thien and my Aunty 10.

On the way home, I took this pic of J and Chu Minh... I think J's slowly turning Asian. Just need to work on that tan.

Last Day in Saigon

Did some typical touristy stuff on our last day in this city. After brekkie, we got a cyclo ride to the central post office. For $5 this guy pushed both Jeremy and I for maybe 1km, at almost walking speed. I felt rather comfy, as I was in J's lap... can't speak for J or the cyclo driver!
Here's the post office... rather pretty. I sent my newly copied Cue dresses back to Australia - so I don't have to lug them around for the rest of the trip.

Then it was off to the Ben Thanh markets, to take in the fresh seafood produce.

12 Hour Bus Trip? No Worries

So, Uncle Trung and I had to get a BUS back to Saigon from Phu Phong - the flight there took 1 hour, but the bus took 12 hours. The conditions on the bus weren't too bad. But as you can see in the pic, once the seats were full, they then sold aisle seats! People were sitting in makeshift deck chairs and we all had to climb over them - at night, they laid out mats and slept in the aisles! Vietnamese music videos blared for the majority of the trip and there was only 2 toilet breaks - good times.

At one of the rest stops, we bumped into the above people. The guy on the right is one of my Dad's close friends, who now lives in California. He was looking at me suspiciously, then identified who I was - cause he said I laughed just like my Mum! Was rather amusing and freaky. "Its a small world, after all". We tried to swap buses, so we could spend the rest of the journey with some people we know - but the bus driver wasn't having any of it - even after my Uncle Trung tried to bribe them. Oh well.

New Hotel, New View

We've swapped hotels for the last 2 nights of our stay in Saigon Tomorrow, we'll be on a 5 hour bus trip to Dalat - so tonight's our last night in this city :(

Say My Name, Say My Name

Yep, the name Phuong is not uncommon! Yay~!

This bag of 'high grade dried anchovy' even has my middle name!