Sunday, October 31, 2010
Day 15 - Day 3 Easy Rider Tour - Waterfall - Binh Phuoc
Today was a doozer... 260km sitting on a bumpy, windy, sometimes rainy, mostly fun motorbike for over 200kms gives you a "numb bum" - as our guides keeps telling us :)
We woke up wth a dog at our door (who I think knew we were leaving as it kept whimpering - I would whimper if I was the dog too... we are pretty cool people).
Breakfast was beef and an egg served on a sizzling hot plate. With a tea (with condensed milk - Bec always eats the extra condensed milk).
We got off to an early start as we had a lot of k's to kill.
Today we saw coca, chilli plantations, cashu(?) nuts getting cracked out of their shells, rubber trees, baboo hand weaving, and alot of red dust... still getting out of places...
We rode on the Ho Chi Minh trail right up to the Cambodian border and took a happy snap. Luckily we took it quickly as 2 army guys with guns came over and told our guides we cant take photos here. Son told us sometimes they take cameras from tourists that take photos which we were SO glad they didnt as we hadnt had access to a USB yet so ALL our photos were still on the camera. The ride was quite bumpy at times as its all dirt track. We had to weave around trucks, bikes, people, pot holes and avoid the kamakaze (?) bus drivers.
We drove past a guy who had come off his motorbike (about 20 mins later an ambulance came past so hopefully he wasnt waiting that whole time). We also saw an overturned truck that Hai told us must have been carrying too much and fell over from the bumpy road.
Lunch was buffet style at a side of the road restaurant. It was delicious but Son told us we need to eat more rice and less food so we dont get hungry too soon. We were thinking "you're the one who eats the most food"... I also got told off for talking while eating... but I just thought I was doing polite dinner conversation. Vietnamese culture... they dont talk until they have finished their meal, so eat in silence, no chatting between mouthfulls.
260kms later we arrived at our hotel. Nha Nghi Hotel. The shower is awesome (although we had trouble figuring out the hot water so I went downstairs to ask while Bec hid in the closet for when they came back - so they didnt get a surprise), the room is clean, life is good.
We are off to Ho Chi Minh city tomorrow, but for now its a wander around the city to check it all out.
We woke up wth a dog at our door (who I think knew we were leaving as it kept whimpering - I would whimper if I was the dog too... we are pretty cool people).
Breakfast was beef and an egg served on a sizzling hot plate. With a tea (with condensed milk - Bec always eats the extra condensed milk).
We got off to an early start as we had a lot of k's to kill.
Today we saw coca, chilli plantations, cashu(?) nuts getting cracked out of their shells, rubber trees, baboo hand weaving, and alot of red dust... still getting out of places...
We rode on the Ho Chi Minh trail right up to the Cambodian border and took a happy snap. Luckily we took it quickly as 2 army guys with guns came over and told our guides we cant take photos here. Son told us sometimes they take cameras from tourists that take photos which we were SO glad they didnt as we hadnt had access to a USB yet so ALL our photos were still on the camera. The ride was quite bumpy at times as its all dirt track. We had to weave around trucks, bikes, people, pot holes and avoid the kamakaze (?) bus drivers.
We drove past a guy who had come off his motorbike (about 20 mins later an ambulance came past so hopefully he wasnt waiting that whole time). We also saw an overturned truck that Hai told us must have been carrying too much and fell over from the bumpy road.
Lunch was buffet style at a side of the road restaurant. It was delicious but Son told us we need to eat more rice and less food so we dont get hungry too soon. We were thinking "you're the one who eats the most food"... I also got told off for talking while eating... but I just thought I was doing polite dinner conversation. Vietnamese culture... they dont talk until they have finished their meal, so eat in silence, no chatting between mouthfulls.
260kms later we arrived at our hotel. Nha Nghi Hotel. The shower is awesome (although we had trouble figuring out the hot water so I went downstairs to ask while Bec hid in the closet for when they came back - so they didnt get a surprise), the room is clean, life is good.
We are off to Ho Chi Minh city tomorrow, but for now its a wander around the city to check it all out.
Day 14 - Day 2 Easy Rider Tour - Lak Lake to Trinh Nu Waterfall Resort
Wow guys. Touring about Vietnam on a motorcycle is seriously the best thing anyone can do. Dispite the horride rain which feels like needles piercing into your knees, or the gustesof wind which make you feel like you're about to be blown into the truck your about to have a head on with, its amazing. You see so much stuff that you normally wouldnt see because you're either asleep or reading a book.
Today we saw heaps and the photos will be better than words. We went on an elephant ride and it was nearly the sadest thing we have ever seen. As soon as we got on we both wanted to get off but it lasted for about 40mins. I was almost in tears and Tony pretty much just sat in silence. It started when we drove past and saw the elephants tied up with metal seats on their backs. Once we got on it all went down hill. The driver had a big stick with a metal prong on the side and everytime the elephant mucked up it got a jab. When I saw mucked up, I mean reached over and got a branch on the walk. Then we went through deep water and once again the elephant got a jab. We initally were really looking forward to it and were going to do it in Chang Mai once we got back to Thailand. Now we will not!
Apart from that we also had a great day with our tour guides as we had all warmed up to each other.
Photos are better but a few other things we saw were: curry colouring plantation, wild pigs, a traditional long house, a gorgeous waterfall (where our guide morfed into an awesome photographer).
Then we checked into our room...
Lets just say we almost put Dehli's athletes village to shame :) Ok thats probably an exaggeration, but after traveling for a bit and just wanting to have a shower to wash the red dust off... and the shower head barely lets the water past the wall... I got cranky. The room hadnt been cleaned so bin was full (dont forget we dont flush loo paper here) there were ciggie butts on the floor, the toilet was putrid and one of the instructions from the hotel was that guests were not allowed to bring prostitutes to the hotel.... well you get the picture. The funny thing was we had been told we were sleeping in a bungalow (not the bungalow we had in mind).
The highlight from this place for me was the dogs. They were adorable and LOVED the affection. One actually slept outside our room so was a lovely surprise in the morning. They even showed us the way for a walk down to another waterfall. Tony was in heaven going on an adventure with 3 dogs in tow.
Dispite all this we had a great night with our guides. Many beers were had. We learnt alot about their lives and culture.
Had an early night as we have a big day tomorrow.
Today we saw heaps and the photos will be better than words. We went on an elephant ride and it was nearly the sadest thing we have ever seen. As soon as we got on we both wanted to get off but it lasted for about 40mins. I was almost in tears and Tony pretty much just sat in silence. It started when we drove past and saw the elephants tied up with metal seats on their backs. Once we got on it all went down hill. The driver had a big stick with a metal prong on the side and everytime the elephant mucked up it got a jab. When I saw mucked up, I mean reached over and got a branch on the walk. Then we went through deep water and once again the elephant got a jab. We initally were really looking forward to it and were going to do it in Chang Mai once we got back to Thailand. Now we will not!
Apart from that we also had a great day with our tour guides as we had all warmed up to each other.
Photos are better but a few other things we saw were: curry colouring plantation, wild pigs, a traditional long house, a gorgeous waterfall (where our guide morfed into an awesome photographer).
Then we checked into our room...
Lets just say we almost put Dehli's athletes village to shame :) Ok thats probably an exaggeration, but after traveling for a bit and just wanting to have a shower to wash the red dust off... and the shower head barely lets the water past the wall... I got cranky. The room hadnt been cleaned so bin was full (dont forget we dont flush loo paper here) there were ciggie butts on the floor, the toilet was putrid and one of the instructions from the hotel was that guests were not allowed to bring prostitutes to the hotel.... well you get the picture. The funny thing was we had been told we were sleeping in a bungalow (not the bungalow we had in mind).
The highlight from this place for me was the dogs. They were adorable and LOVED the affection. One actually slept outside our room so was a lovely surprise in the morning. They even showed us the way for a walk down to another waterfall. Tony was in heaven going on an adventure with 3 dogs in tow.
Dispite all this we had a great night with our guides. Many beers were had. We learnt alot about their lives and culture.
Had an early night as we have a big day tomorrow.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Day 13 Nha Trang to Lak Lake (Day 1 Easy Rider Tour)
Today we started our Easy Rider Motorcycle tour. The morning begun with a very tired me (Bec) as the hotel we stayed at last night was so noisy. It was about 7 levels of rooms but had a stairway up the middle that allowed the noise from every level to travel up and down. Also every time the lift stopped at a level it "dinged" and we could hear it from our room!
Our 2 guides picked us up from our hotel at 8:30 and we got some piccies of 2 excited but slightly nervous potential motorcyclists. Our drivers are a laugh - Son and Hai. Son is the loud laughing one (Tony's) and Hai is his geeky side kick (mine), they are good value. They work really well together and thoroughly enjoy what they do for work. Everyday is a new adventure for them and they love packing up for 4 days and getting out of the office.
We rode for 1 minute and then had our first stop :) At a red light. Its a 200 000 dong fine in Nha Trang for going through a red light (which we found funny as EVERYONE does this in Hanoi - no fine).
Along the way we stopped at an oyster farm, a brick making factory, saw some pepper, coffee and sweet potatos plantations growing along the roadside, stopped at the top of the mountain and got some fantastic shots. We stopped for lunch at a road side restaurant (basically a shed on the side of the road). We both had chicken and rice which cost us about $2.50 combined.
Riding through the small towns was amazing. The children call out "hello" and the smiles on their faces when we wave was heart melting. You should have seen them when we gave them a thumbs up. Its was like all their christmas' had come at once (if they celebrated christmas).
Pedestrians were the least of our worries (although Hai and I almost hit an old lady). We also had to avoid cows, chickens, dogs, massive holes, pigs, and geese. By the time we hit the open road it was white knuckle time.
We have stopped atLak Lake
Tomorrow we are going on an Elephant ride and then back on the bikes to visit more country villages as we make our way toSaigon .
This truely is the best way to travel around Vietnam. We get to see things you just dont see in the big cities and we can ask any question as we go along which helps immensely. Highly recommend easy rider - thanks Ponts and Kristy for the tip!!
Our 2 guides picked us up from our hotel at 8:30 and we got some piccies of 2 excited but slightly nervous potential motorcyclists. Our drivers are a laugh - Son and Hai. Son is the loud laughing one (Tony's) and Hai is his geeky side kick (mine), they are good value. They work really well together and thoroughly enjoy what they do for work. Everyday is a new adventure for them and they love packing up for 4 days and getting out of the office.
We rode for 1 minute and then had our first stop :) At a red light. Its a 200 000 dong fine in Nha Trang for going through a red light (which we found funny as EVERYONE does this in Hanoi - no fine).
Along the way we stopped at an oyster farm, a brick making factory, saw some pepper, coffee and sweet potatos plantations growing along the roadside, stopped at the top of the mountain and got some fantastic shots. We stopped for lunch at a road side restaurant (basically a shed on the side of the road). We both had chicken and rice which cost us about $2.50 combined.
Riding through the small towns was amazing. The children call out "hello" and the smiles on their faces when we wave was heart melting. You should have seen them when we gave them a thumbs up. Its was like all their christmas' had come at once (if they celebrated christmas).
Pedestrians were the least of our worries (although Hai and I almost hit an old lady). We also had to avoid cows, chickens, dogs, massive holes, pigs, and geese. By the time we hit the open road it was white knuckle time.
We have stopped at
Tomorrow we are going on an Elephant ride and then back on the bikes to visit more country villages as we make our way to
This truely is the best way to travel around Vietnam. We get to see things you just dont see in the big cities and we can ask any question as we go along which helps immensely. Highly recommend easy rider - thanks Ponts and Kristy for the tip!!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Day 12 - Nha trang
We arrived in Nha Trang this morning at 11:30 to the gloriousness of pouring rain. Yes you guessed it - we arrived in Vietnams beach town and íts pissing!! the flight wasnt bad but the weather is depressing.
we head off on an easy rider motorcycle tour tomorrow for 4 days to Ho Chi Minh City so not sure when we will next blog but will have amazing stories to tell.
Internet here is SOOOO slow here so thats all for tonight.
xoxo
we head off on an easy rider motorcycle tour tomorrow for 4 days to Ho Chi Minh City so not sure when we will next blog but will have amazing stories to tell.
Internet here is SOOOO slow here so thats all for tonight.
xoxo
Day 11 - Hoi An
Last night we were awoken by a monster storm, heavy rain and wind......just the way we like it :)
Bec did her usual thing and was awake well before me, so come lunch time and she had hit the wall.
Breakfast was pretty average and we had to scoff it down as our tour bus to My Son (Mee-Sun) was arriving soon. Breakfast wasn't the usual all you can eat buffet, but instead pick an item on the menu and that's it!!! Me Omlette with Mushroom, Bec's with Ham.
Drive out to My Son was another death ride, but this time we had the added bonus of rain!!!! I swear the bus drivers over here have a death wish and enjoy playing chicken with other buses and trucks.
Finally arrived at My Son and our tour guide took us in to the ruins. First up it was an American Jeep to the top of the ruins. Yep pretty sure they are the same jeeps that was used during the Vietnam War, so it was pretty cool.
Once up at the top of the ruins our guide took us through ruins B, C, and D (Now say it with a weird Asian accient with a bad southern American twang and you have our tour guide) The ruins are amazing, but unfortunatley suffered during the Vietnam War and as a result quite a few were damaged from the American bombings. Still what was still standing was cool to check out.
We also learnt about "Linger" (a statue men worship to enhance their manhood) and i'm pleased to say that my Linger wont be running off any time soon. I did however pass up the opportunity to make my Linger bigger, but Bec tells me i'm just fine how i am and it isn't the size that matters :)
After making our way through the rest of the Ruins A, E and F in the rain, we made our way back down to where the Jeep dropped us off, for the ride back down to our waiting bus. This time in the jeep i was last in, so i had half an ass cheek on the seat and the other half sticking out of the jeep. So i had to hang on everytime we went around a corner, otherwise i would have fallen out over the cliff edge.....
Back in Hoi An and it was lunch time at our favourite restaurant and i think the family who run the restaurant have recgonised us now and are happy to see us everytime we come back. The old man even pulled out Bec's chair for her. Lunch today was Chicken Pho Noodle Soup and our favourite steamed spring rolls.
Rest of the afternoon was wondering around the town and chilling out back at our hotel.
Tomorrow we are off to Nha Trang for some beachside action, but the weather forecast doesn't look good, so we will have to wait and see. After that it's EasyRider Time for 3 days which i can't wait for.
Having problems uploading photos in Vietnam both on Blog and Facebook, so will update when we can. Till then enjoy the stories.
***Quote of Hoi An so far Vietnamise lady measuring me up for my shirt and telling me "You have belly like Budda".......Hmmm i think i need to lay off these spring rolls :)
Catch you all soon.
Bec did her usual thing and was awake well before me, so come lunch time and she had hit the wall.
Breakfast was pretty average and we had to scoff it down as our tour bus to My Son (Mee-Sun) was arriving soon. Breakfast wasn't the usual all you can eat buffet, but instead pick an item on the menu and that's it!!! Me Omlette with Mushroom, Bec's with Ham.
Drive out to My Son was another death ride, but this time we had the added bonus of rain!!!! I swear the bus drivers over here have a death wish and enjoy playing chicken with other buses and trucks.
Finally arrived at My Son and our tour guide took us in to the ruins. First up it was an American Jeep to the top of the ruins. Yep pretty sure they are the same jeeps that was used during the Vietnam War, so it was pretty cool.
Once up at the top of the ruins our guide took us through ruins B, C, and D (Now say it with a weird Asian accient with a bad southern American twang and you have our tour guide) The ruins are amazing, but unfortunatley suffered during the Vietnam War and as a result quite a few were damaged from the American bombings. Still what was still standing was cool to check out.
We also learnt about "Linger" (a statue men worship to enhance their manhood) and i'm pleased to say that my Linger wont be running off any time soon. I did however pass up the opportunity to make my Linger bigger, but Bec tells me i'm just fine how i am and it isn't the size that matters :)
After making our way through the rest of the Ruins A, E and F in the rain, we made our way back down to where the Jeep dropped us off, for the ride back down to our waiting bus. This time in the jeep i was last in, so i had half an ass cheek on the seat and the other half sticking out of the jeep. So i had to hang on everytime we went around a corner, otherwise i would have fallen out over the cliff edge.....
Back in Hoi An and it was lunch time at our favourite restaurant and i think the family who run the restaurant have recgonised us now and are happy to see us everytime we come back. The old man even pulled out Bec's chair for her. Lunch today was Chicken Pho Noodle Soup and our favourite steamed spring rolls.
Rest of the afternoon was wondering around the town and chilling out back at our hotel.
Tomorrow we are off to Nha Trang for some beachside action, but the weather forecast doesn't look good, so we will have to wait and see. After that it's EasyRider Time for 3 days which i can't wait for.
Having problems uploading photos in Vietnam both on Blog and Facebook, so will update when we can. Till then enjoy the stories.
***Quote of Hoi An so far Vietnamise lady measuring me up for my shirt and telling me "You have belly like Budda".......Hmmm i think i need to lay off these spring rolls :)
Catch you all soon.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Day 10 - Hue to Hoi An
This morning we slept in!! 6:30am!! Record! Probably a combination of exhausion, sleeping tablets still in my system, and alcohol. We woke very refreshed, packed up and headed to breakfast. Probably the best breakfast we have had so far. Chicken (fried, boo!), little cakes (which tasted great with strawberry jam), bread, fruit (dragon fruit, passionfruit, watermelon, pineapple, bananda) ommlette, eggs, tomato and beef dish and fried rice. We had multiple servings and took bananas for later. The bananas are so great here, so creamy. Excpet also very fragile and get squashed easily in our bags.
Our bus picked us up at 8am heading to Hoi An. This bus was pretty good considering what we were on the night before when the train tracks were flooded (death ride we call it). 2 seats on either side of the aisle, air con, reclining seats, quite pleasant. Only one close call. Trucks were overtaking head on to us as a truck was pulled up in our lane. We overtook the truck and then the 2 coming towards us moved over at the last minute. We also over took a truck on a blind curve going around the corner. Luckily no one was coming the other way.
We stopped for lunch at 10:30 (very early - we werent hungry) at a restaurant with gift shop. Pretty normal now for buses to stop half way at a place they try to sell you stuff. We werent hungry so went into the gift shop. A lady followed us around everywhere we went. Tony suggested we split up to see which way she would go. She followed me, then changed her mind and followed Tony. Funny stuff until another one then followed me! Bugger!
Back on the bus.
There was a little Vietnamese boy who kept singing, crying, laughing and saying "hello" to everyone. He is so cute so no one seems to mind. If he was speaking English he would be very annoying but because we cant understand him, its cute.
We arrived in Hoi An and the bus dropped us right out the front of hotel - pleasant surprise.
This hotel is quite nice. At $15 a night including breakfast we are laughing. We have decided to stay here 2 nights as we want time to explore. Its so nice to know we dont have to pack up again in the morning. We have time to settle.
We walked into town for some lunch (chicken pho, steamed spring rolls and pork rice paper rolls we make ourselves) best lunch ever!! Accompanied of course by a local beer - which was less than 50c. Here the water is cheaper than beer which is a first because so far beer has been cheaper.
We walked around town (whilst trying to loose our stalker who had followed us into town on her bike, and then sat outside while we ate lunch and waited for us) and went into some tailors. A few hours later and not many $US we ended up getting measured for dresses and shirts (me), shirts and jackets (Tony) and some ties. We each also bought a silk sleeping bag which could prove handy while treking in Chiang Mai which set us back a whole $5 each. Alexis - I should buy a few sleeping bags and you can cut them up and make them into dresses :) Jokes - I will never ask you to sew me anything again.
We went back to hotel and borrowed complimentary bikes and rode into town to book our tour to My Son for tomorrow. This was an adventure in its self as you pretty much just do whatever you want while riding on the road. It actually ended up being easier than riding in Sydney as, like I said, you pretty much do whatever you want. Also its much slower paced so there isnt that fear of being knocked over. We wanted to ride out to the beach but thought it was getting too dark and stormy and didnt want to get stuck on the way back.
Yes you guessed it! It has been raining and raining hard! We were starting to get worried during our trip as it hadnt rained yet. We werent sure what to do or whether this could actually be our first holiday without rain. (Insert sarcasm). Its not too bad though becasue its refreshing and takes that intense heat away. Hoi An has actually been cooler than the other places we have been but that may be due to the rain.
Off for some dinner now.
Sleep tight xoxo
Our bus picked us up at 8am heading to Hoi An. This bus was pretty good considering what we were on the night before when the train tracks were flooded (death ride we call it). 2 seats on either side of the aisle, air con, reclining seats, quite pleasant. Only one close call. Trucks were overtaking head on to us as a truck was pulled up in our lane. We overtook the truck and then the 2 coming towards us moved over at the last minute. We also over took a truck on a blind curve going around the corner. Luckily no one was coming the other way.
We stopped for lunch at 10:30 (very early - we werent hungry) at a restaurant with gift shop. Pretty normal now for buses to stop half way at a place they try to sell you stuff. We werent hungry so went into the gift shop. A lady followed us around everywhere we went. Tony suggested we split up to see which way she would go. She followed me, then changed her mind and followed Tony. Funny stuff until another one then followed me! Bugger!
Back on the bus.
There was a little Vietnamese boy who kept singing, crying, laughing and saying "hello" to everyone. He is so cute so no one seems to mind. If he was speaking English he would be very annoying but because we cant understand him, its cute.
We arrived in Hoi An and the bus dropped us right out the front of hotel - pleasant surprise.
This hotel is quite nice. At $15 a night including breakfast we are laughing. We have decided to stay here 2 nights as we want time to explore. Its so nice to know we dont have to pack up again in the morning. We have time to settle.
We walked into town for some lunch (chicken pho, steamed spring rolls and pork rice paper rolls we make ourselves) best lunch ever!! Accompanied of course by a local beer - which was less than 50c. Here the water is cheaper than beer which is a first because so far beer has been cheaper.
We walked around town (whilst trying to loose our stalker who had followed us into town on her bike, and then sat outside while we ate lunch and waited for us) and went into some tailors. A few hours later and not many $US we ended up getting measured for dresses and shirts (me), shirts and jackets (Tony) and some ties. We each also bought a silk sleeping bag which could prove handy while treking in Chiang Mai which set us back a whole $5 each. Alexis - I should buy a few sleeping bags and you can cut them up and make them into dresses :) Jokes - I will never ask you to sew me anything again.
We went back to hotel and borrowed complimentary bikes and rode into town to book our tour to My Son for tomorrow. This was an adventure in its self as you pretty much just do whatever you want while riding on the road. It actually ended up being easier than riding in Sydney as, like I said, you pretty much do whatever you want. Also its much slower paced so there isnt that fear of being knocked over. We wanted to ride out to the beach but thought it was getting too dark and stormy and didnt want to get stuck on the way back.
Yes you guessed it! It has been raining and raining hard! We were starting to get worried during our trip as it hadnt rained yet. We werent sure what to do or whether this could actually be our first holiday without rain. (Insert sarcasm). Its not too bad though becasue its refreshing and takes that intense heat away. Hoi An has actually been cooler than the other places we have been but that may be due to the rain.
Off for some dinner now.
Sleep tight xoxo
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