Trip Report - SGN 17-27 Mar 2017

Apologies for such lengthy trip reports - they are basically an amalgamation of daily emails to family while travelling.

Some photos can be accessed with this link...... https://www.flickr.com/gp/75686213@N06/9oRpyb


Vietnam trip 17-27 March 2017

Vietnam trip Friday – Saturday

Smooth car journey to Gatwick and easy check in at Cathay. They checked bag all way through to Saigon, but they could not give me a seat until at the gate because the flight was completely full in economy. The flight had been open for sale in economy right the way up to now, so I was a bit surprised to hear that it was full. But the check in guy said they were upgrading vips to make room in economy. Once seat allocated at the gate, they also gave me boarding pass for the second sector.

On my way to the departure lounge, I passed a currency exchange place. Most places do not trade in Vietnamese currency because of its constant inflation and volatility. But I asked on the off chance, and they had some, so I became a millionaire for a while. (1 million Dong for £52 - not a good rate but would enable me to have some money for the taxi upon arrival).

The A-350 plane (B-LRJ) was almost brand new, only three months old, and was really nice to fly in. Gleaming paint on the outside, and very clean interior. Much quieter than the 777. It is made of composite materials so is much lighter and able to fly a bit higher. We were at 41,000 feet most of the way. Much like the 787, it was a hard landing. Food was not as good as it used to be, but still not bad. They ran out of stir fried chicken, so I had to have the sea bass. Breakfast was scrambled eggs and all the trimmings. And there were noodles and snacks available in between. One disappointment was that I could not get a G&T - they had the gin but did not have any tonic (or similar mixers !) Watched several films - the new entertainment system is pretty good, although there are so many films you'd spend the first hour deciding what to see.

Flight was a few minutes late into Hong Kong, where it was very cloudy. Quickly through the transfer point and then to the gate. The flight to Saigon was a Boeing 777 (B-KPK) and was not full. Another breakfast, similar to the earlier one except omelette instead of scrambled eggs. Another very hard landing and quite a bounce.

About 20 mins queue at immigration. No landing card to complete just basically a passport check and stamp in it. (No visa required for UK citizens until 30 June 2017). Baggage was already coming through and my bag was one of the first. After customs, I wondered where all the meeters and greeters were, as there was just a large lobby and several counters for taxis, SIM cards etc. Then I saw them all waiting outside the front door of the terminal (out of the air conditioning). Once I got outside, I found a spot to stop and observe the taxi queues. There are only two companies here that are said to be reputable (Mia Linh and Vinasun), as many of the others have meters that run fast or get up to all sorts of tricks. I saw a representative from Mia Linh, and he logged me in for taxi which arrived after only about three minutes.

The journey into town cost under £5 for a trip of about 40 mins. I have to take my hat off to the driver. The traffic here is really horrendous.....no one gives way, people only generally drive on the right, and roundabouts are pretty nerve racking for any driver.

So I was at the hotel at 11:45, and the room is not ready until after 2pm, so I left my luggage there and went for a walk. The weather was hot but not unbearably humid, although the forecast says that it gets worse in the evenings. I walked a short way and went into a place that was air conditioned....had a couple of Vietnamese spring rolls and a nice pineapple juice. Then a bit more walking before a nice ice cream in an air conditioned ice cream parlour. Then back to the hotel where I was officially checked in. I did venture to actually crossing a couple of roads, and seemed to get the hang of it ok! (Touch wood). More on this later.

Did a bit of unpacking, and then decided to have a short snooze instead of another walk. Woke around 5, and then went for a walk, having covered my legs with mozzie repellent as dawn and dusk are supposed to be the worst times. Aimed to find the tourist information office, thinking they could tell me about tours and provide paper maps, which are always useful. I reckoned about 1.5 miles each way, so quite do-able.

They are making the start on the first metro line, so at one place there are a lot of works going on behind hoardings, this accounts for one of the major roundabouts plus bits into adjoining roads. Now let me explain about the roads. They are supposed to drive on the right, but it seems to be ok if you feel like it, to drive your bike on the other side of the road, for whatever reason, or on the pavement - if and where there is room. While the traffic was manic coming from the airport through the city, it was now manic times 10. There are just so many bikes (much more than I saw in Bali). Crossing the road is a real art that you tend to avoid. I have seen a couple of sets of traffic lights, which are supposed to help allow pedestrians cross, but as very few of the bikes take any notice of the red light, it is almost just as hairy. On top of this there seems to be no speed limit, so some bikes pelt along, weaving between cars and other bikes, and you need to be aware of this when crossing. Coming to the works for the new metro, there is no pavement, so you have to creep along next to the hoarding. In fact there are a few stanchions to indicate that pedestrians should walk there, but they are of little real use.

I got to the place (area) where the tourist information is supposed to be. I searched for a while and finally spotted it as I was about to give up. Then I spotted another and then another. Haha - all the local tour agencies are set up in that area and each one says "tourist information office" in bright lights. They basically sell tours and do not have other information. Anyway I got some info from one about tours and buses, and resolved to return tomorrow when I will have some more money, as I have yet to draw any from an ATM.

Then I wandered around a market, but they were all starting to pack up.

I thought I might try to get a G&T on the way back to the hotel, but the only bars seem to be in the plush hotels, and I would have looked a bit of a strange object in my walking sandals, shorts, long sleeved shirt, cap and wearing a backpack, so I did not bother. I looked at a few restaurants, but nothing was appealing, so I made my way back into the hotel for a freshen up. Then I asked the chap at the front desk if he could recommend a restaurant. He gave me the name and directions - only about 10 mins stroll.

It turned out to be in a road buzzing with life, full with restaurants, bars, massage parlours, small hotels etc etc. Many of the establishments had young ladies and men trying to persuade passers-by to come in. Lots of the restaurants looked appealing but I stuck to the one recommended, called the "five oysters" which specifically does Vietnamese food. They even did a G&T which was nice, but very weak. Other than that I stuck with water. The food was delicious. I had roasted duck in passionfruit sauce and special fried rice Yeung Chow. I couldn't finish every morsel, so no room for dessert. (If you wonder what Vietnamese food is like, you can google the restaurant name and see their website to see the menu. Think the duck was on 'special'.)

Then back to the hotel to finish this blog and get a good night's sleep. But not before talking to the chap on the front desk who will make enquiries for me overnight about the tours I want and the bus tickets. It would be better to let him do it rather than the girl in town, because the tour arranged in town does not pick up from this hotel, and means getting up early to be at the town desk at 0730. The chap downstairs can probably arrange a better pick up. Same sort of thing for the bus tickets, as the arrangement, I believe, is that they pick up from your hotel in a minivan, to go to the bus station, where you take the bus to the destination bus station, before having a shuttle from there to your destination hotel.

No photos today, as I was just getting my bearings. Will have some tomorrow I hope.

Vietnam trip Sunday

Had a very good night's sleep and woken by alarm at 7am. Although hotel is on a busy road, it is set back from the road and you can hardly hear the noise. My room is on the 3rd floor and unlike many places here, there is a lift !!

I had ordered breakfast for 8 and to eat in the breakfast lounge (actually a table in the lobby in front of reception) the other option was to have it delivered to the room. I did not expect a lot for breakfast, as there was very limited choice on the order form. But I had scrambled eggs, bacon, ham and sausage, toast and coffee. As happens a lot in Asia, the breakfast was served cold, and all on one plate (except the coffee of course, which was in a small cup). It was okay, but I will have to have something more later.

The chap on the reception desk had found out about the tours and buses, and I arranged for a tour for tomorrow (Monday), and the bus for Wednesday to take me to Can Tho. He was most apologetic that they could not also book the return bus, as this can only be done in Can Tho.

I went for a short walk to draw money from an ATM. After trying two and getting no money (I presume they were out of cash, although the responses did not say that), I was pleased to eventually get some from an ATM where I had to stand on a pile of loose tiles to operate the thing. I got the maximum amount they would dispense, 3million dong, (around £120) so now I was back to being a millionaire.

I paid the chap for tomorrow's tour. It is 810,000 (about £30+) which is comparatively expensive, but the tour sounds to be a good one, with pick up around 8:45 and getting back around 5:30.

Now I was ready to go out and explore. I had downloaded a bus map, which turns out to be an interactive map when online, telling you when the next whichever bus will arrive at whichever stop. And when off-line, it shows the route of the bus you want or are on, and with the GPS function, you can track the bus as you go along the route. So, to save a bit of walking, I got a bus to Cho Lon, which is about an hour's walk, and is the Chinatown area of the city.

I walked around Cho Lon for a while. It is crammed with all sorts of shops and markets. Some of them seem to be wholesale, for example there was one place full of eggs. I am sure you could buy just a few, but he had so many, he must have been a supplier as well. One carpet shop was taking delivery of stock, off the back of a fully overloaded motorbike. Another was piling up boxes on the back of his bike and you could hardly see the bike underneath. I strolled through a small market and saw the owners of one small stall rocking their baby to sleep in a hammock behind the counter. They looked a happy family and let me take a photo of them. I passed a backwater - probably a sewer, as it smelt something rotten, and there was a large rat almost next to my shoulder, which I only noticed when it decided to run away. I stopped for a cold drink (from a seller on the road) that was really tasty. It tasted like a cross between iced tea and fresh orange. I think it was made from these small sweet oranges that seem to be readily available.

Then I found a bus that I wanted, to get me to the river on the other side of the city. It was easy with the bus map, as no one spoke English and my pronunciation of their place names leaves a lot to be desired, but I was able to show the place on the map to the conductress, until I realised that she clearly could not read maps. So I showed her the name of the stop and she understood. The bus driver had a small garden at the front of the bus. A pot with flowers and a pot growing small oranges. He sprayed them all before setting off from the bus station. Anyway, I noticed a lot of mozzies around. Although I had lathered my legs and arms a few hours earlier I re-applied some repellent just to try and avoid the odd rogue mozzie. The journey took about 45 minutes and cost just under 25p. I got off by the river, where I discovered that there is not a lot to see and it is not particularly beautiful. So I walked slowly along the riverside. To the north is a residential area with a number of high rise buildings. The sky was really dark behind these buildings, and the weather forecast was for a storm this afternoon. But at the moment overhead it was sunny and hot. After about half an hour I decided to look for somewhere for a snack and drink. As luck would have it, the rain started so I dived into the nearby Bitexco Tower. There was a tea and coffee place on the ground floor, as well as a few shops, so I thought to look upstairs (there are escalators) and on the 4th floor there was a food hall with lots of individual outlets.

One place was selling sugar cane drinks. So I had a sugar cane and durian drink. Durians are renowned for smelling awful, but in the drink it was not at all bad. The sugarcane was fresh....he had a pile of sugar canes (bamboo) and he took a piece and fed it into a crusher/squeezer. I was surprised at how much juice came out. He put this plus some durian juice into a blender, and then added ice to complete.

For a snack I had a bowl of special fried rice. This was freshly cooked and had all sorts of bits in it (like carrot, peas, corn, etc) plus quite a few bits of squid, which were chewy of course, and shrimps. I was carrying a bottle of water so I finished that off with the rice. Then finally I called at the ice cream counter and had one scoop of buttered almond ice cream. Just right.

Now I walked about half mile to get the bus back to the hotel. I felt I was now starting to get my bearings in this city, and enjoying every minute. The number of people who said hello is amazing. And the vast majority just wanted say hello and not try to sell you anything or scam you. I was happy to respond. I had heard that people in Vietnam in general are very friendly, but to a less degree in Saigon. Hopefully I will be able to put this to the test in the next few days when outside the city.

Near the hotel is a roundabout where the traffic really is a jumble. So I stopped there and took a couple of videos, and watched the antics in progress. Absolutely fascinating. Then back to the hotel and a freshen up before dinner.

Had lots of problems uploading a couple of videos to Facebook. Had meant to say earlier, the WIFI here is awful, and keeps cutting out. It is actually not any worse than I would have expected. Eventually got the Facebook videos uploaded by sitting in the lobby before I left for dinner as it is a different server downstairs. Now perhaps this Facebook delay was fate, because while I sat in the lobby there was a telephone call and it was the tour company to say that tomorrow's tour had been cancelled due to lack of numbers. I was a bit fed up, but swung plan B into operation immediately. This involved jumping on next bus into town and finding a tour from one of the travel agents there. The first one I went to, was able to confirm a tour to the temple and the tunnels, so I took it, thinking I would either have to walk or get a bus into town in the morning as they would not pick up from my hotel. In the end she told me to order a taxi in the morning to get into town and that they would pay for it upon arrival. So that is now all set up.

The public buses stop around 9 pm and as I couldn't see any going my way, I started walking back towards the hotel. I was fairly au fait with the best route now, and was able to stop en route for dinner at the same place as yesterday. Tonight I tried the grilled pork with rice. This was very nice and left enough room for a small dessert. So I chose fresh fruit, which turned out to be some pieces of watermelon, a whole passion fruit cut in half, and a half of the inside of a fresh mango. Then I walked back to the hotel, arriving about 10:30, put the alarm on for 0630, and sent this blog (hopefully) before bed.

Vietnam trip Monday

Woke with the alarm at 6:30, and down for breakfast at 7. Today I tried a Vietnamese breakfast, and out of the choices provided I had stir fried noodles with beef and egg. I chose juice instead of coffee as the cup of coffee provided was very small. I chose right as I got a tall glass of fresh orange.

I had to be in the city centre by 8.20, and although I know these times are often a bit 'flexible', I did not want to be late. I had to be sure that in the event of a wait for a taxi, I could get there by bus and foot. Anyway I was back downstairs by 7:45 and they called for a taxi. This arrived within about 3 minutes, and dropped me at the tour agency before 8. No problem, just sat in their office under a fan and played solitaire.

At 8.30 the tour guide turned up and I went with him as we picked up two more people from another tour agency. The small 25 seater bus was parked at the top of the street, and was about half full. It had air conditioning but was by no means a luxury bus. But I had not expected anything better, the cost was less than half the cost of the tour that was cancelled, and there was nothing to say that would have been much better.

We set off and wound our way through some back streets as well as main roads, through Saigon. It was an interesting journey, as there are suburbs to the north west of Saigon that have just as many backpacker places as the main area near me in the city. It was about two hours before we started to leave the urban area, which seemed to stretch for miles, all the way up to Cu Che. Then the scenery changed to rice field and farms.

We stopped at one place as a rest stop for about ten minutes, and eventually arrived at Cao Dao at around 11:15. We had an hour there which allowed time to walk around the outside and inside of the temple, before going up to the choir area upstairs at the back, from which we could take pictures of the "mass" which was due to start at 12. The only problem was that it was a bit cramped there with about 50 tourists plus the choir and 'orchestra'. Everyone had to remove shoes of course, and I had brought with me a pair of socks for this reason. There were several 'temple police/helpers' to ensure visitors did the right thing, e.g. Women had to go in on the left, and men to the right. I stopped and put my socks on when I removed my shoes. The socks are the ones that look like sandals ! On reflection, perhaps a plain pair would have been better. One of the temple police watched me put them on, and was quite happy that they were just socks. But on the way out one older lady temple helper pointed down and said something, that I presume may have been a rebuke. Anyway I kept my socks on for the day and found it easier to walk with socks than without.

Once we were all back at the bus, we were off through some back streets to a small restaurant where we stopped for lunch. I had fried chicken with rice and some of their delicious fresh orange juice.

We were off again at about 1:45 and went straight to Cu Che tunnels, where we were given a tour lasting almost two hours. We sat and watched a short ‘propaganda’ film which briefly described the war from the communists’ point of view. It was the tunnel system that allowed the communists to hide, maintain supplies, and fight. There was an opportunity to go through one of the tunnels, but I didn't try it as they are very narrow both widthways and vertically.

So it was about 5.30 by the time we were on our way back to Ho Chi Minh City. Right in the rush hour, although quite frankly I don't think it makes much difference. I was dropped off at the same place as I boarded, and so I went and caught a regular bus back to a stop near my hotel.

Quick refresh - then out for a bite to eat. I fancied some draft beer, so the only place I found easily had music blaring loudly, so it wasn't ideal. But the beer was nice, and I had some steak and chips to go with it. Then on the way back to the hotel I stopped off for an ice cream.

Tomorrow is a relaxing day of sorts. I will do some more exploring of the city, but will use the local buses as much as possible. I don't think there are many sights of interest to see, but I will make a list and see what happens.



Vietnam trip Tuesday

You may recall from my last blog that today was to be sort of relaxing, and using the bus to get around the city to see all the sights. Well that sort of didn't happen, but I did see the sights. I woke at 8:30 and went for my Vietnamese breakfast at 9. I tried to plan a route around the city via the bus routes but found that there was going to be a lot of walking between buses, so in the end decided to do it all by foot, with a bus back to the hotel at the end.

I eventually left in the heat of the day at 11:30 and made firstly for the church of Huyen Si which is fairly nearby to the hotel. Unfortunately it was locked, but a walk around the grounds, used as a car park, was ok. It is regarded as a beautiful church inside, so I may try to take another look on Sunday before I leave. I noted that they have stations of the cross on the outside of the church, not sure whether they have been placed outside for lent or for cleaning or if permanent. Huyen Si, who died in 1900, was the grandfather of queen Nam Phuong, wife of Vietnam's last king.

Then on to the Xa Loi pagoda. this is the largest pagoda in Saigon and once was the centre for Buddhism in Vietnam. This was also closed although you could see the inside through the glass door. It had the usual statue of the Buddha inside, so nothing I hadn't seen several times before. The pagoda has history of being raided and vandalised in 1963 by forces loyal to the Roman Catholic president (Google "xa loi pagoda" for an account of the raid.)

Next was the war museum, or more aptly as it is properly named "the war remnants museum". It had several American planes, tanks etc. Also there was a display of some of the torture allegedly used by the South Vietnamese. All fairly awful stuff, especially considering it was within my lifetime.

I stopped for a 'morning coffee', and had a nice hazelnut frozen coffee, before continuing with my tour.. A short walk further on and I came to the Independence Palace also known as the Reunification Palace. This had a couple of tanks and a jet fighter in the grounds. Access to the palace and grounds was not allowed today, despite it showing as open online. The palace has a lot of history especially related to the war, which effectively ended when a North Vietnamese tank burst through the gates on 30 April 1975.

Then another short walk to the Notre Dame Cathedral. A lovely building from the outside, but comparatively plain inside.

Nearby, there was a flock of pigeons being fed by someone, and I noticed that curiously several pigeons were different colours. I expect they had been sprayed, as the colours certainly didn't look natural.

Just over the road was the main post office which is a must on any visit. I expect it is unique, and although it still functions as the main post office, it is fairly old fashioned with telephone booths and lovely wooden seats, and two large hand-painted maps on the walls. There is of course an over seeing picture of Ho Chi Minh on the end wall. It was built in 1886-91 when Vietnam was part of French Indochina.

Two blocks away is the City Hall (or properly named "people's committee hall") which is a beautiful building and looks over a long pedestrian avenue that is about half a mile or more long and ends at the river. Part way down this Promenade is a statue of Ho Chi Minh standing resolutely in front of his City Hall.

I walked down the Promenade and stopped off for a mulberry smoothie, which was really delicious, before heading for the Bitexco tower. I managed to get an OAP discount to go up the tower to the 49th floor where there is a jutting out viewing area, providing excellent views of the whole city and surrounding area. It was interesting to see some of the sights from height that I had seen on my walk during the day.

From the tower, I noticed that there were some people crossing the road bridge over the canal, which I had thought was for traffic only. I had wanted to go over the bridge as the main port is on the other side. I wanted to check the sailing times of the hydrofoil to VungTau as I am minded to take a hydrofoil trip on Saturday if the weather is ok.

At the tower, I had suddenly realised that I had left my hat in the cafe that I had enjoyed my smoothie. So upon leaving the tower I headed back, and was reunited with my hat which they had held safe for my return!!

So now I made my way (over several chaotically busy roads) to get onto the bridge and eventually into the port. Got details of the times etc. and started back. The sun was now starting to go down, and rather than walking to the bus on the other side of the bridge, I decided that I should splash out the two quid or so and return in comparative luxury in a taxi, which was conveniently waiting at the Porft entrance.

After a quick freshen up, I went for dinner at the five oysters again. I think the food is so good there, it is authentic Vietnamese dishes, and good service and English speakers.....so little point in trying elsewhere, even though I normally like to ring the changes. Anyway tonight I had special fried rice (Yeung Chow) and grilled shark. Not a whole shark, just a slab of shark meat. Quite tasty - bit like a slab of tuna. I had the usual weak G&T and a glass of Vietnamese white wine. The wine reminded me of the Greek retsina wine - a bit rough. But great to try these things. I also had a bottle of water to help wash it all down.

So now back at hotel and will think about packing, as I will be off tomorrow to Can Tho with just my backpack for two days.


Vietnam trip Wednesday

Wow - a day of new experiences.

Up with the alarm at 7.30 and down for a western style breakfast at 8 am. Today I had omelette and bacon plus toast and jam, together with the usual orange juice. This was just right.

Although I had done a dry run at home of things I would take with me in the back pack, just to ensure they all fitted, it was a tight squeeze, probably because I included my cardigan in case the bus had cold air conditioning. I applied some insect repellent but another time I think I will try to get something different from jungle formula as it is very greasy and stays wet for hours. So I packed the other bags ready for storage at the hotel.

So to recap the plan as known....the hotel reception chap had booked me a seat on the 12.00 bus from HCMC to Can Tho. Estimated arrival in Can Tho was 4pm. Long distance buses leave from one of two big bus stations on the outskirts of the city, so when you book such a trip it includes pick up and transfer to the bus station this end and transfer to your hotel at the other end. The arrangement was for me to be picked up at 1045.

Soon after 1045, a young lady arrived on a motorbike, and I was told by the receptionist that she had come for me. I wondered if my transfer to the bus station was going to be on the back of her bike, but before I could ask, she said she was ordering a taxi for me, which she did on her phone with uber. She had a conversation with the receptionist, and I did hear the word commission before they said that they had agreed for me to pay the hotel for the trip, which I happily did.

The taxi arrived in a matter of minutes and the girl gave the driver his instructions, and told me she would meet me at the bus station. The drive was about two miles only, and she was there outside a very small bus station which had an old ropey bus sitting alongside a ticket office and waiting room. The girl asked me to sit and wait, while she went to the counter. She returned with my ticket and explained that from here was a bus to the big bus station, and not to worry about the size as it was not going to Can Tho, only to the main bus station. She said to sit and wait, and I would be told when to go. She also explained that the bus was a sleeper bus, and had an upstairs and downstairs, and that my seat was downstairs.

So I sat and waited and before long a chap called out, probably saying that the transfer bus was now ready to go. One of the girls behind the counter motioned to me that it was time to go, so I went and got on, showing my ticket at the door.

We set off and it was almost half an hour to the main bus station, where we were dropped at the door of the big bus. The first thing was that everyone had to remove shoes before getting on, which they put in a yellow plastic bag which I carried with me as I got on. The inside was NOTHING like I had imagined. Inside were what looked like lie flat plastic half seats / half beds arranged in bunk bed style, in a plastic and metal frame. There was a row each side by the windows and a row down the centre of the bus. The beds were numbered, and I could see that my seat would be towards the back by the floor. One of the bus people followed me along the (very narrow) aisle to help me find my seat, and when I got there he made a gesture with his hands to say that it was quite small, and then showed me a seat at the very back, which he said I could have, this had no restriction on leg room, and as no one else was in any of the five seats at the back, it gave me plenty of room to get myself into/onto the seat. But getting onto the seat was a challenge. There was a bunk bed style two rung ladder, which I had to 'climb' without shoes, but then had to crawl over the bed to avoid hitting my head on the roof of the bus. The back of the bed was adjustable to I was able to make it more like a seat, and it was not uncomfortable once I was settled.

The Vietnamese are generally a small sized people, and well able to fit into spaces which we would regard as cramped. We passed a few other buses as we left the bus station, and I could see that they all seemed to be decked out in a similar manner. I have not travelled long distances by bus in Asia before, so don't know if this sort of configuration is normal, or just unique to Vietnam.

The bus had a driver, and a helper. Once we were under way, the helper came round with a kind of bread roll / bun, bottle of water and cleansing tissue. After an hour on the road, we stopped at a petrol station where people could get off for the toilet or to buy a snack. I did not need the loo, but relaxed by undoing my seat belt !!! The bus engine remained on so it stayed cool, and I decided to eat the bun they had so generously provided! We stayed here for about 20 minutes.

Most people just wanted to sleep and kept their curtains closed, so watching the scenery was fairly limited. However I was at least able to keep my curtains open at the back of the bus. The windows were not very clean so many photos I took were not worth sharing. I lost count of how many rivers we crossed, of all sizes including a couple of really big ones. I tried to find where we were on the map, but the gps tracking was not working inside the bus, so I just had to guess.

At 3pm we arrived at a big bus station, which I assumed was a town on the way to Can Tho, and everyone, in dribs and drabs got off the bus, I assumed for a comfort stop, as the bus engine was still running. With everyone off, the bus helper got back on and frantically waved at me to get off too. The passengers were chaperoned into a small van that did not quite take all of us, and there were a couple of people who complained and got off the van rather then be squeezed between all sorts of people. It's curious how the Vietnamese are so thin normally, but just in this situation, they all seem to be moderately plump !! Anyway with a couple off, it was more comfortable. I was still under the impression that we were about an hour from Can Tho, and that they had duped us all by swapping us into a small van. But I was wrong, and we had actually arrived at the bus station in Can Tho, and the van was dropping us all off in town as required. We soon pulled up outside the West hotel, and I got off and so I was checked into the hotel by 3.30.

For some reason, I had thought that Can Tho was a small riverside village. In fact it is a big busy town with a pleasant riverside Promenade with the ever watchful statue of Ho.

Once I had unwound and taken in the gorgeous view from my window, I left to find the tour booking office for trips to Chai Rang. The tours were a little more expensive than I had thought, but as it is their major source of income, I am not really surprised at the prices. It was something like £30 for a four hour tour, but as it is what I came to do, I am not unhappy about the price. Tour starts at 6am from the town pier by the tourist office, so I will have to make sure I get an early night.

Having done that, I went for a stroll around town before sunset, until my feet began to ache (!), so I headed back to the hotel, where I arranged for a boxed breakfast to be ready at 5.45 am, for me to take with me on the trip.

The hotel has a restaurant that serves dinner until 10pm, so I thought I would eat there tonight. Unfortunately the waitress was not able to speak English very well, which was a change from most of the other staff. In addition I noticed that there a few mozzies in the hotel lobby, which adjoined the restaurant. Hopefully the air conditioning which they switched on when I arrived will do the trick.

I ordered the egg and pork (it turned out to be an omelette!) with some fried rice with seafood. It was okay but not as good as other food I've had on this trip.

After dinner, I went out for a short walk to quickly see the night market just up the road, before returning and getting ready for bed.

Vietnam trip Thursday

Woke at 5.15 to be ready for the 6am tour.

The hotel provided a small packed breakfast, which was just a bacon sandwich, a hard boiled egg and a bottle of water. I walked to the place where the tour was to start. I was the only one there, and soon a chap turned up who introduced himself as a guy from the office, who was my tour guide. Whilst waiting for him, I had a few bites of my breakfast, but the bread was a bit stale, so I disposed of it all at the next litter bin to avoid having to carry it.

The tour guide explained that the boat was small and he led me to the quayside where he identified the woman who was to be our 'boatman'. I should explain here that as you walk along the quayside there are several women offering to take you in their boat to the market. I know that if you do go with one of these people, you have to barter for the price and often get scammed out of a lot more, in addition to which their little boats may be unlicensed and even unsafe. By using the official tourist information office to book the tour, all these points are covered.

So this explains why the price was high for one - it was basically a private boat. There were several fast boats that sped past us, which I assume you booked via tour agencies, but several were on their way back before we got to the market. The fast boats could not meander between all the boats, or up the side canals, so people on these boats basically got a quick look and that was that. I was very happy with my trip.

Getting on the little boat was not too difficult as she had moored next to another boat that had a handrail at just the right place, because of course, there was nothing on the little boat to hold when getting on or off, which you do by stepping onto or off the bow, and ensuring the you stay dead centre otherwise the boat rocks over. It is not much more than a small rowing boat, and the woman did have to row in several places due to very shallow water, but generally she used the engine (a three bladed propeller on the end of a long pole.)

So we set off and went up the Can Tho river. It took about an hour to get to the market. The guide explained that the government was doing away with all the wooden houses and shacks that stood on wooden stilts along the side of the river and making it into a kind of riverside park for most of the way from Can Tho to Cai Rang. So far they had done most of one side of the river plus about half a mile in Can Tho itself. He explained that by next year, much of it will have been completed, and that the people who had been living in those shacks were provided with new accommodation in the outskirts of the city and were also given good compensation. I asked where the money came from for the scheme and moving all the people etc., and the guide said that basically it came from international aid, much from China.

One thing I had not thought about was the fact that my camera had been sitting in my back pack all night in the air conditioned room. So when I took it out to start taking photos, the lens immediately misted up. It took about 20 minutes until I could use it for pictures, but I was able to use the iPad. I could have got some good pics of the sunrise if the camera was not misted up.

The floating market is very interesting, with larger boats than I had imagined. It is the largest floating market in the Mekong area, and is more of a wholesale market than just retail, and deals just with fruit and veg. The items for sale in a boat are displayed on a pole at the front of each boat. The guide explained that people buy there and take the goods to other markets for selling. He also said that several hotels buy there in bulk and then ship to their hotels by road. The goods arriving at the market in boats has normally been purchased directly from the farmer, and sellers generally expect to be at the market for a couple of days to sell the whole boatload of goods (the seller & family live on the boat).

We motored in between all the boats in the market and then headed further upstream to visit a rice factory. This entailed getting off the boat, which she manoeuvred nose on to an excuse for a jetty. There were several other boats there and had to wait to get our nose in close to the landing jetty. After one or two boats got out, the woman came to the bow and moved us in by hand, pushing other boats away to make room. Then the guide said to get onto an adjoining boat and from there to the jetty. All sounds fine but the boats are moving and being jostled around to make room for more etc., but the woman stood on the jetty and gave me her hand, luckily I would say, otherwise I may well have ended up in the muddy water.

The guide explained the purpose of the rice factory, which was used for the process of making noodles from rice. It was interesting, as I had no idea how it was done. After this visit the guide suggested I take a walk along the canal side path on my own to experience local life, while he stopped in a local cafe. This walk passed many homes and the people were all very friendly, wanting to wave and/or say hello.

I met up with the guide after about 20 minutes, and we got back on the boat, and motored back through the floating market, before taking a detour up a canal to visit an orchard. Now this was not a vast orchard as we would know it, it was more like a large garden with random and various fruit trees amongst various other vegetation. After a short walk around the orchard, we sat down and I was given a plate of fruit and a pot of hot tea. The fruit was water melon, mango and small bananas.

Getting off the boat at the orchard was fairly difficult as it was low tide and the jetty was quite high out of the water. I clambered out with the help of the guide, and so the woman took the boat to another jetty for me to get back on. This looked a bit more rickety, but in fact was a bit better.

So now we motored back from the canal into the river and down to Can Tho. There is a big bridge that can easily be seen from Can Tho, and I asked whether it had a particular name. It is called the Can Tho bridge and apparently is famous because there was a massive accident there during its construction. (Google “Can Tho bridge accident” for details).

Once I was back on dry land, I returned to the hotel as I wanted to catch up with the news on the terror incident in London, and have a short rest, after my tiring early start.

At lunchtime, I went to the tourist office and booked my bus to Saigon for tomorrow. I had asked the tour guide earlier if all the buses were sleeper seats or if any had normal seats, and he said they have both, and you can specify which. At the tourist office, the young lady explained that the buses go very half hour, and the ones that left on the hour had normal seats and those that left at half past the hour had sleeper seats. So I booked the midday one, which meant a hotel pick up at 11:15.

I then went round the back streets to find a cafe to get some sustenance. I found a decent looking place that had soup, fish and bread (as an item) on the menu and I quite fancied that, until the waiter said sorry no bread today. So I had some beef napolian (turned out to be beef steak with fried egg and stir fried veg all served on a sizzling skillet. Came with about a dozen chips and a small plate of dry lettuce leafs and four slices of cucumber. All washed down with a passion fruit smoothie, followed by a durian ice cream. They also provided complimentary iced green tea.

Then I went for a stroll along the riverside in the opposite direction to the way we had gone this morning. In fact I walked to where the Can Tho river meets the great Mekong river, and got a good picture of the infamous Can Tho bridge. The sun was pretty hot now, so I stopped in the shade every now and again. I guess it was close to 100 degrees, but the humidity had dropped and occasionally there was a nice breeze.

On the way back through town I stopped at the Baskin Robbins for two scoops of macadamia nut ice cream. It was great to cool off in the arctic air conditioning. Then I drew out another million dong to tide me over till Sunday evening. As before I tried two ATMs before one actually dispensed some cash. Then I went round the corner to look at the Can Tho museum. Entrance was free, but photographs were prohibited. So I had a quick look around before heading back to hotel.

As I got to the start of the street outside the hotel, there was a big kerfuffle and stall holders picked up their produce and rushed along the street to a place where they could hide or blend in more. These were people who were selling on street corners and in the kerb. I couldn't see what all the fuss was about, but they were straining to look down the road for someone coming. Sure enough after a minute or two, a police van came into view and stopped at the street corner. I would presume these sellers are unlicensed or not allowed in the road or some such, and there had been an early tip off that the police were coming. Anyway, eventually the police van drove very slowly along the road, creating a huge queue of bike behind it, and once out of sight everything went back to normal.

I stayed in the room now until about 7, when I went out for dinner. I decided to try the Phuong Nam, as it is only half a mile away and is pretty high up on the trip advisor website. I had chicken with mango, fried rice with pineapple, and pancake with banana. Plus a couple of cold beers. It was all really delicious and cost less than £10 all in.

On my way to the restaurant, I saw the police van stopped on the road, and there were about ten policemen altogether writing tickets for bikes that were parked on the road. I guess they are not allowed to do that, which partly explains why bikes seem to always be parked on the pavements.

So now I'm back at the hotel, getting ready for bed, and a hopefully good night’s sleep.

Vietnam trip Friday

Today should be a short blog. Basically a bus ride from Can Tho to Ho Chi Minh City.

So up around 8, then down to the buffet breakfast. It was quite plentiful, but mostly Vietnamese food, and I really didn't fancy stir fried chicken, beef stew, fried rice, noodles etc for breakfast. But there was plenty of fruit, some cereal, and some bacon and cheese and a nice bread roll, and toast. Some weak orange juice and plenty of coffee.

Then I got packed and checked out. I had arrived just with my back pack, but was returning with that plus a plastic bag because, I may have forgotten to mention, the lady boatman yesterday kept making things out of palm leaves while I was at the rice factory and the orchard, and gave me four items as a gift. They would not fit in my back pack without getting ruined, so I had to resort to a plastic bag.

Was ready to stand outside the back of the hotel at the allotted time (1115), but reception chap said to wait inside as it was hot outside. The van turned up at 1130 and I had the last seat, which happily was at the front. At the bus station I paid the fare of 100,000 and was given my ticket plus the registration number of the bus ! This is the recognised method of identifying which bus you want, as the registration number is not only on the number plate, but also stencilled in large letters along the sides of the bus and other places too. The company I was travelling with is one of the largest and well known in Vietnam, with orange buses. Not sure the name of the company I had travelled down to Can Tho with, but it was a red bus.

We set off dead on time, and after an hour stopped at a rest place, which was totally owned by this bus company, so there were dozens of these orange buses outside, all going from and to different places, stopped for about 20 mins. I didn't get off, as I did not need to and I was not sure how long the driver had said we were stopping there. After 20 mins most people were back on, and the driver made a count. He then got off and motioned to a controller type of person, that we were missing two people. Once he had told the controller, he was back on the bus, door shut and we were off. I guess anyone who misses the bus is put on the next one, and any luggage is offloaded at the destination to await their arrival.

With a nice large window, I was able to see the countryside much better than on the way down, and the journey was very much more pleasant. Also the gps was working on my iPad, so I could track where we were most of the time.

Upon arrival at the main bus terminal for Ho Chi Minh, I was directed to a small van which would take me to their office in district 5. I had already worked out how to get from their office in district 5 to my hotel with a short walk and a bus ride.

We set off, and when we were now getting close to district 5, someone wanted to get off. I noticed a number 11 bus ahead (which is the bus that passes my hotel), so I jumped out at the same place and waited for the next number 11. This got me to the hotel in about 20 mins, so I was checked back in to the hotel by around 4.

Then, time to catch up on emails, and plan for tomorrow's possible jaunt to the seaside.

I went out for dinner around 7pm, and having made a list of possible alternatives to the five oysters, I ventured back down Bui Vien (the five oysters is also in Bui Vien) and checked out the alternatives. The first two on my list were full, so I carried on and found a nice looking place called Hirong Viet where I enjoyed stir fried chicken with cashew nuts, special fried rice (Young Chow), and a banana fritter with ice cream plus a couple of very weak gin and tonics. It was all delicious, especially the chicken which was really tender, juicy and tasty. But the bill was a lot more than it would have been in the Five Oysters. I noticed they even added 10% Tax, which I queried, but couldn’t do much about although I think it is just a scam.

Then back to the hotel, as I had arranged breakfast for 7 in the morning in the hope of getting away by 8 to see if there were any seats left on the 9 am hydrofoil to Vung Tau. This will then be the final adventure of the holiday and if by chance, there are no seats, I will just relax and take a couple of bus rides around town !!


Vietnam trip Saturday

Another early'ish morning with breakfast at 7 and out of hotel by 8. Taxi to the hydrofoil port - traffic was horrendous - must have been a Saturday rush hour.

Got a reservation on the 0930 sailing out and the 1530 coming back. It is about a two hour journey, so I should have about 4 hours to enjoy Vung Tau. I needed another million in cash to last overnight and to get me to the airport tomorrow so while waiting for the boat, I went outside the port to find an ATM. There were two next to each other, and luckily the second one had cash. I was a tad concerned because I have tried to get money so often when it says it "can't process the transaction -call your bank" and I am never sure whether there is a problem or if the machine simply has no cash. Last night, during an unusual period of Internet stability, I had managed to access my account on line, and was pleased to find nothing untoward there.

The ‘hydrofoil’ is fairly new. It is in fact a catamaran speed boat and not a hydrofoil, although it is called a hydrofoil. I had hoped to go on one of the old Russian ones (meteors) that they have been using until recently, but they have had problems and basically the companies were told around Christmas, to get new boats or close down.

The boat left on time and the first hour and a bit is all along the calm waters of the Saigon river until it meets the sea. Once out of the city, you firstly pass the port of Saigon, which is where, amongst other things, the container ships load/unload, then the port cranes give way and the river banks became just trees, very much like I had originally imagined the Mekong to be. The river makes several big turns as you will see if you look at the map. Once we left the river, we had to cross a small section of the sea, which although not terribly choppy, was bad enough to cause the craft to bounce around and hit the water every now and again with a tremendous thud, throwing up spray well over the top of the boat. It was great fun. The crew did come round with sick bags when we started crossing the sea, but no one seemed unwell.

So we arrived at Vung Tau at about 11:20. There was a nice breeze in the hot sun. It seemed a little strange to see hills as Ho Chi Minh City and surrounding area is pretty much flat. The boat dropped us at the little harbour next to the cable car, which I had my eye on for a trip. So I splashed out the horrendous sum of 300,000, which is about £10-12, but it not only includes the cable car but also all facilities in the park on top of the hill.

It was VERY breezy going up in the cable car, which swayed from side to side. At the top, I took a few pics and then was met by a park 'helper' who drove me to the centre of the park in a small golf buggy. They have various forms of transport from a little train to a big golf buggy to a small golf buggy, depending on numbers. I think it was a fairly slow day and that I arrived in the off peak anyway.

At the park centre, another helper provided me with a map and explained some of the attractions. It is very much like a run down, attempt at copying Disney (to a very small extent).....very very poorly. Other than the views to be had from the top of the hill, there were a couple of temples of mild interest. Most other things were geared towards children, including an alpine run, a swimming pool, a deer park, and funfair amusements. For me it was just about right. I did stop for a 'fast food' beef and noodles, and a beer, and eventually arrived back down at ground level at about 2:30.

I then went for an ice cream and met a lovely family of young children who were all keen to practice their English that they were learning. They were fascinated by me for some reason, and their father came and sat with us so I felt happy to chat. I ended up showing them photos of the family and they kept saying 'I want to see England - you are all so happy'. They were not the only people who said hello, but stood out as they were so nice. I must have said hello to about 100 people, many of them children, and all just genuinely friendly.

The boat to go back was on time, and I had a window seat again, although the pics will not be that good because of all the spray on the windows. After arriving back at Ho Chi Minh City, I walked to a bus stop for a number 11 back to the hotel.

I went for dinner at the five oysters again, and had the duck and passionfruit as that was soooo tasty on my first night and I wanted to have it again. I had a papaya noodle salad instead of rice, as the rice often lays heavy until next day. So another delicious meal, my last in Saigon, at least for a while. On the way back to the hotel, I stopped for one final ice cream.

I have ordered brekky for 9:30 tomorrow, and I shall not be checking out until the last minute (around 12 noon). I'm not sure if I will be venturing out in this heat until I have to leave for the airport. I managed to check the flights this evening and they both still look ok.



Vietnam trip Sunday

After a nice late breakfast, I decided not to go out. Although I would have liked to see the inside of Huyen Si church, it simply did not fit in with the need to be packed and out of the room by 12. I had asked if an extension was possible, but it wasn’t.

Once I was packed and out of my room, I sat in the hotel lobby to do a few more things on the internet. A couple of ladies were already sitting there, waiting for their room. They had just arrived in HCMC and we chatted for some time about my experiences of the City and trips I had done in the area. So I left for the airport by taxi shortly before 2pm.

The flight was not until 7pm, so it was too early for check in, and I found a seat and passed the time with some Sudoku.

Checked in about 4pm for the Cathay flight to HKG. I had hoped they would check the bag through to LGW, but the check in guy said that they were not allowed to do that for standby passengers. He did put a ‘priority’ label on my bag to help. So this meant it could be a tight connection in HKG, but if I missed the LGW flight, at least there were several to LHR later, and I could easily get the bus from LHR to LGW to pick up my car.

Another A-350 aircraft (B-LRF), we left about 15 mins late, due to late incoming, but made up some of the time en route. Landed in HKG and deplaned at gate 60 (miles from the centre) and thought I would have to do a lot of walking, but got the shuttle train which cut down the time enormously. There was no queue at immigration, and once through, the bags were coming in on the carousel. My bag was last off despite the priority label!

So then through customs and upstairs to the standby desk, where there must have been about 30 standby passengers sitting patiently waiting to be called for various flights. I went to the desk and was surprised that she was able to give me a seat immediately, So now it was back through immigration and security and out to the gate. I found I had done it all in 35 mins from stepping off the plane to getting to the departure gate.

The flight to Gatwick (another A-350 [B-LRI]) was good, and I even managed a couple of hours sleep between meals and films, before arriving at Gatwick in the early morning of Monday.

Another thoroughly amazing trip – this was my first visit to Vietnam - think I need to revisit Vietnam and see more of the country. Not possible this time as trip was sandwiched between other commitments at home.

I like lengthy trip reports so keep them coming!

Uh that was really short..lol Going to NaTrang soon..