Off-roading in a bus!

DALAT, Vietnam - We caught the bus from Nha Trang to Dalat this morning at 8am.  Compared to our train experiences to date, the bus was actually very clean and only about half full.  The trip takes about 6 hours including a stop for lunch.  As we left Nha Trang we headed South along the coast and stopped for lunch at about noon.  Knowing that Dalat was a mountain town we knew we still had the climb to do.  The last 90 minutes of the trip was the adventurous part.  The road up the mountain was very narrow, steep and full of pot holes.  This along with other cars and cows in the road made it interesting.  At  one point we came across a broken down truck in the middle of the road.  Our bus driver managed to get our bus around him even though the road was so narrow.  As I sat on the bus I could not help but wonder if Greyhound would travel on roads in these conditions.

Best BBQ in Asia

We took the train from Hoi An (Da Nang, actually) to Nha Trang last night.  It was about a 9 hour train ride.  Vietnamese trains leave a lot to be desired!  They may have been nice 5 or 6 years ago but they are pretty rundown these days. Holes in the curtains, tray tables held up by twine, tinny speakers playing vietnamese pop, not exactly the swiss efficiency and comfort we  were used to in Geneva.

Nevertheless we made it to Nha Trang in one piece and got checked into our hotel which is quite nice and a bargain at $18/night.  We had originally planned on being in Nha Trang for only 2 nights & 1 day but it is nice enough here that we decided to spend a couple extra days so will head to the mountains and cooler temperatures (hopefully!) of Dalat on Friday.

Today we were looking for a place for lunch and saw that tripadvisor had highly rated a restaurant called  Texas BBQ & Steaks.  It was just around the corner from us and we had noticed as we were walking about but hadn't paid too much attention thinking it was probably some poor ripoff of BBQ.  The reviews were great though so we decided to give it a shot and OMG it was awesome! 

We shared Buffalo wings as an appetizer and Betsy had a "pulled pork" sandwich and I had a jalapeno cheeseburger.  Everything was excellent and we spent a lot of time talking to Wayne the owner.  He's originally from Memphis where his family has run BBQ restaurants and he has lived in Vietnam for about 9 years.  He was bored being semi-retired and decided to open a BBQ restaurant in Nha Trang about a year ago.  He imports all the food from the US so it tastes like authentic American BBQ.

This was one of the best if not the best BBQ restaurants we've been too!  We will definitely be going back to Texas BBQ before we leave.  Sometimes you get tired of noodles/rice all the time and it is nice to have something that reminds you of home.  Plus I got some good rib-smoking tips from Wayne that I can try out when we get home!

My Son

Yesterday we did a half day tour to My Son which is a collection of ruins about 1 hour east of Hoi An.  It was a  partially guided tour in that we had a guide who walked us out, told us about the first set of ruins and then said we could wander around for a couple of hours exploring the rest while he went back to the cafe for an iced coffee.  We can't complain though as it cost us $5 for the tour.

My Son was mildly interesting nowhere near comparable to Angkor but still interesting nonetheless.  The ruins are in pretty rough shape as the jungle has really taken over and the bombing sustained during the "American War" didn't help them much either.

Most of the ruins were built by the Champa Kingdom between the 4th and 13th century.  While the ruins are in disrepair the setting is beautiful, deep in the jungle and it was a nice way to spend a morning.

It was VERY hot out though. In fact it felt like one of the hottest days we've had. Betsy heard the guide saying it was 35C (100F) and coupled with the humidity we were totally spent by time we got back to the hotel.

Today we head to Nha Trang which is about an 9 hour train ride down the coast from Hoi An. We are probably only going to spend 1 day there and then head to the cooler confines of the mountain town Dalat.

One other note when we got back from dinner last night (excellent indian food!) Betsy found a massive cockroach scurrying along the bathroom floor.  It was quickly dispatched with but I don't think Betsy slept too well last night :)

Red Bridge Cooking School

Yesterday Betsy and I took a half day cooking course at the Red Bridge Cooking School in Hoi An.  It was great fun and we got to eat our creations so thankfully they turned out!

First we got a tour of the market which was nice as we'd walked through but didn't really know what a lot of stuff was so it was nice to have it explained.

After the market tour we hopped on a boat and went down river about 4km to the cooking school.  The cooking school is right on the bank of the river and you cook under a thatched roof that is open on all sides.  The class was a combination of demonstration and hands-on cooking.  The chef made a seafood salad consisting of squid & shimp along with shredded greens, papaya, chili, garlic etc stuffed into a hollowed out pineapple.

We then got to make homemade rice paper and fresh spring rolls out of the rice paper we had just made.  The next dish we made was a Hoi An speciality called Banh Xeo.  It was essentially a crispy pancake made of rice flour, water, shrimp, bean sprouts and green onion.  Once this was fried up, various Vietnamese herbs were put on top such as basil and mint and it was rolled in rice paper like a burrito.  It was then dipped into a peanut sauce!  Our last dish was stewed eggplant in a claypot.  We worried that it would be too mushy but it was delicious.  Eggplant, garlic, lemongrass, chiles, green onion, tumeric, salt, pepper  and sugar all stewed with some water.  It was all delicious and we had a great time.  We'd highly recommend the Red Bridge Cooking School if you are ever in Hoi An.

Miles to go

HOI AN - While in Singapore we purchased a pedometer and have been keeping track of the miles we have been putting on our shoes. So every now and again I'll be posting how many steps & miles we have walked to-date. So here is the first update...

26 March - 11 April we've taken 157,1600 steps/43.8 miles

(Today I had a new pair of sandals custom made for $14.00 to replace these.)

Hoi An - Venice of the East?

Hoi An, Vietnam - We arrived in Hoi An after 3 relaxing days in Hue.  Hue was a nice contrast to the hectic pace of Hanoi.  We visited the citadel which is the main site to see in Hue and walked around the town a fair bit.  We contemplated doing a tour to the DMZ (Demilitarized zone) but the bus tour sounded like a nightmare (6am-7pm) with most of that spent on the bus and the private tour was too expensive ($100 for a private car!) 

We also spent one of our days mostly in the hotel as Betsy had come down with a bit of a cold. This gave me a chance to catch up on some internet posting and cull through our photos and finally get some of those posted on the website.

We had a spectacular drive over the mountains to Hoi An.  It is about a 4-5 hour trip and we made a couple of stops along the way.  We stopped at Lang Co Beach which is a pretty nice beach with a run down resort.  It looks like it might have been a  happening place during the war but is pretty run down now.

We also stopped at Ha Van Pass, a 500m high mountain pass that has stunning views of the surrounding hills and the sea.  It is quite a drive up there through steep switchbacks crisscrossing the jungle.

Hoi An is a very pretty city.  The reason I call it the "venice of the east" is the staggering number of tourists here!  There is also a canal/river down the middle of the city.  Last night was the full moon festival so there were more people than usual out, there were floats lit up in the middle of the river and people were lighting candles and floating them down the river.  There was also some music and some kind of bingo/50-50 draw being played out which we couldn't figure out in the slightest.

We may stay here a couple of days longer as our hotel is quite comfortable (it has a pool!) but also we have some things we want to do.  We want to do a cooking course, visit My Son (some ruins), Betsy wants to finally hit a spa, plus we want to tour around the city and maybe even hit the beach a couple of days.  So while Hoi An is very touristy (Like Venice) it is also very nice (like Venice).

From here we are deciding where to go, Nha Trang, Dalat or even straight to Saigon all remain possibilities.

Finally some pictures!

Click on the Northern Vietnam link to the right. Enjoy!

First day without the "beast"...

HUE - Seeing as Hue is a MUCH slower pace of life than Hanoi, I thought it would be safe to take a "test drive" without the walking boot. Thumbs-up....ankle is holding up nicely but I still have my walking boot strapped to my backpack. Not quite ready to give it up YET.

Hip, Hip, Hue!

Hanoi – We were not looking forward to spending another night/day in Hanoi after the peace and quiet of Halong Bay but unfortunately our sleeper train south did not leave until the following night. We returned to our same hotel in Hanoi and received the same room that we had during our first visit so there was some comfort in that.

We decided to head out to Cha Ca La Vong for dinner. Cha Ca La Vong is a Hanoi institution. It is a restaurant that has been around for 200 years (apparently) and only serves one dish, fried fish! We headed out into the Hanoi night and found the restaurant without too much trouble. The restaurant looked like it probably hadn't changed in 200 years. Up a steep stair case we climbed and into the dining room where we were promptly seated. A few minutes later the waitress brought out a tray of “condiments” that included herbs, bean sprouts, some leafy greens, peanuts and some fish sauce with chiles in it. We were also given bowls of cold rice noodles.

A few minutes later a charcoal brazier was put in the middle of the table and on top of that was a fry pan full of cubes of fish sizzling away in oil. The fish appeared to be seasoned with tumeric mainly. We were a little perplexed as to what we were supposed to do next but the waitress reappeared and started throwing greens, herbs and sprouts into the pot and stir frying it with the fish until the greens were wilted. We waited a few minutes and then scooped the fish mixture onto the noodles, sprinkled some peanuts and chile-fish sauce over the top and went at it. The meal coupled with a couple of large Hanoi beers set us back about 12USD, expensive by Vietnam standards but well worth it!

The next day we hung out at the hotel until our noon check out, doing some Internet stuff and watching TV. The weather was rainy and we had a long train ride ahead of us so had little inclination to get moving. We finally got packed up and checked out and since it was still raining went to the cafe next door and had a coffee and lunch. We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out in the park and buying some provisions for our train trip (baguettes, pain de chocolat, mini-pizzas).

We finally headed to the train station about 5pm, 2hours before our scheduled train. We had decided to book the private tourist train as 1. the regular 1^st class train was full and 2. the private train was only $5 more and looked much nicer.

Needless to say the company brochures and the reality of the train were quite different! We were in a four berth compartment and moments after entering the compartment Betsy spotted a cockroach crawling up the wall of the opposite bunk! I thought she was going to hop on the next flight home at that point but she toughed it out.

We were lucky enough to have the whole compartment to ourselves and spent the next couple of hours playing cards. When we decided to goto sleep Betsy wrapped herself in her sleeping bag liner such that she looked like a mummy with even her face and head covered. She also refused to turn the light off and slept the whole night with the light on. I was on the upper bunk so was not to bothered by her light but I did think it was funny. It was a long night as the Vietnamese trains are not quite as smooth as the Swiss ones we were used to. In fact it was like being on roller coaster for 13 hours and neither of us got much sleep.

Thankfully our hotel in Hue (pronounced HooWay, see the post title) provided us with a great welcome and allowed us to check in soon after we arrived that morning. The train trip was definitely an experience but I think that is one trip where it is worth the extra cost to fly!

Halong Bay Update

Halong Bay – After the crazy intensity and chaos of Hanoi it was with great anticipation that we were looking forward to our 3 day - 2 night Halong Bay Cruise.

The minibus picked us up about 830 and somehow negotiated the narrow streets of Hanoi without hitting anything or anyone. A couple more stops and we were on our way to Halong Bay.

We finally made it to Halong Bay and were shuttled off our bus and asked which boat we were on, our luggage was put into different piles based on our response. There were probably a couple of dozen other tourists in the waiting area by the dock with us and we all looked around speculating who might be our shipmates for the next few days.

Finally everyone from our boat must have arrived because we were shuttled onto the tender and headed out to our home for the next 3 days. It was gray and drizzly as we boarded the Prince II and Betsy had fun climbing up the ladder out of the tender. We shuffled into the dining room and were served a welcome drink of fresh watermelon juice. Our guide Hai introduced himself and proceeded to go around the room asking each of us to make a brief introduction. Our shipmates were Graham & Anna, a couple from Ireland who had moved there from Britain 30+ years ago, David a recent university grad now working in finance in London and his university mate Rohan who had recently moved home to Malaysia. We set about getting to know each other as the crew readied the boat to leave.

We were soon underway and shown our rooms which turned out to be quite grand. They weren't large rooms but were very nice and we had large windows all down the side that allowed us to lie in bed and enjoy the view.

We motored out to our port for the night which turned out to be a floating fishing village set amongst the Halong Bay islands. Some of the members of our party then went for a kayak while Betsy and I sat up on deck and enjoyed the view and chatted with the ship's bartender Viet.

The next couple of days were spent kayaking around the islands, eating, drinking and motoring around Halong Bay. We got to enjoy a nice beach BBQ on one day and had great food every night and day on the boat. The food was mostly seafood oriented and I think Betsy's favorite were the sea snail spring rolls.

We got along great with the rest of our shipmates and we usually outlasted the crew as we drank late into the night. This was definitely reflected in our bar bills at the end of the trip. The last night the crew decided to sing some songs for us and did a few Vietnamese ballads. They also taught us one song that honored Ho Chi Minh or Uncle Ho as he is known by the locals.

All in all it was a great trip and we would both highly recommend it, and while not cheap by Vietnamese standards it is definitely a beautiful part of the world that should not be missed if you are in the area.

The crew was great on our boat and treated us well and our shipmates were a lot of fun and great to spend a couple of days with. The only downside was the weather was quite cool (temp in the 60's, some drizzle). It would have been great to see the scenery in the sunshine but it wasn't to be on this trip.