HCMC an introduction to Vietnam

Friday 31^st July 2015

I woke up early this morning as there were a bunch of people up and about to catch a bus somewhere. It worked out well for me as it gave me time to pack and have breakfast before the tuk tuk came to pick us up to take us to the bus stop.

We arrived at the bus with a bit of time to kill. We had been sold a VIP bus and actually it was pretty swish with comfy chairs and a free bottle of water as well as a juice (which had chunks in it and was weird)

We set off and I mostly tuned out the world by listening to music but I kept being drawn into the film that was playing (not in English) in which a small fat girl had magic powers I didn’t get the storyline at all.

We arrived at the border and it was a all a bit of a hassle at the beginning they had collected our passports (I think to check everyone had a visa) but then they had to hand them out so everyone could get stamped out and it took far longer than if we just had our own and walked up to the counter. Even more long because then they took them again we drove 50m into Vietnam and the process was repeated.

We arrived into Ho Chi Minh City around 4pm and headed off to find our hostel as it was the weekend we booked ahead as every time I looked there was less and less choice. We arrived and checked in and dumped our bags then I went to get a sim card it was a long process as first I didn’t have money then I needed my passport and then it just didn’t work for a while but finally it was done and we were on our way.

At the hostel a girl had mentioned a vegan place so we hit that up for dinner which was pretty delicious then took a look at the market before coming back to the hostel to relax.

Saturday 1^st August 2015

Five weeks till I touch down in the UK eeekkkk there’s still so much to see!

I woke up kind of early this morning as I had a lot that I wanted to see and only one day to see it all I started off with my free breakfast at the hostel fresh bread and eggs was a bit of a treat.

First stop was the War Remnants museum on the way there I popped into the market we went to last night as there was a huge section that was closed last night. I took a wander around but nothing caught my eye and I continued on to the museum.

I paid the entrance fee and checked out all the tanks, helicopters, planes and guns that are parked out the front before heading into the museum. It’s all really well laid out with different rooms holding different exhibits all with different aspects to the war as well as the history and what not. I spent about two hours walking about looking at the pictures and reading stories about this dark chapter in the Vietnam story.

Aircraft outside the museum

 

Torture devices

tanks

interesting bomb statistics and some artwork made of shrapnel

Coming out of the museum I headed for the independence palace, conveniently all of HCMC major attractions lie within walking distance of each other and the walk between is rather pleasant with large tree lined streets and plenty of pavement to walk on. I arrived at the palace only to be told it was closed for lunch and didn’t reopen until 2pm (what is up with these super extended lunch periods it wasn’t even 11.30am when I got there???)

I took some snaps of the outside and continued on my merry way to the cathedral which was also closed for lunch but I did get a good laugh out of all the countless people doing photoshoots outside in the most ridiculous poses! The post office was right across the street so I went in and got some stamps. The HCMC central post office is an attraction in itself. For one it’s beautiful and for two it’s heaving with people working at the counters or the small market stand in the centre etc. in no time I had bought my stamps and was on my way.

The Independence Palace and Cathedral

 

HCMC Central Post Office

Since I was close by I decided to take a look at the Saigon Opera House, again it was closed so I couldn’t go inside but I peered through the doors and took some photos as well as considering buying a ticket to the acrobatic performance but at almost USD$25 for the crappiest seats in the house I decided not to.

Ho Chi Minh Square

It was now about 12pm and I had to be at the travel agent at 1pm to get my bus to the Cu Chi tunnels so I started walking back towards the hostel taking in the fancy district and Ho Chi Minh Square along the way

I stopped off in the market to get a quick bite to eat but needn’t have rushed myself as in the end I got to the travel agent and sat and waited there for 20mins before someone came and took me to another shop down the road where I waited another 20mins. Just when I was getting a bit annoyed at the 40minute delay the driver came over and we all got on the bus.

The bus then drove around the corner and stopped for a further 30minutes this wasn’t a great start. 

By the time we got moving we were already over an hour late the guide then told us he was a newbie and didn’t really speak very good English but when we got to the tunnels we would have another guide. Despite being so far behind schedule we stopped off at a handicrafts store where no one bought anything but we still had to wait for 20minutes.

When we finally arrived (it took two hours to drive 75km) we were told to wait while he went and got the entrance tickets and found our guide. Next thing you know he hands us our tickets and says to follow him we walk through the gate (a process that takes an age as they scan each person and then give them a sticker) and then we were inside waiting once more.

At this point another guide starts kicking off at one of the girls in our group as she accidentally took two tickets at first we thought he was joking but nope he was fully laying into the poor girl and it took several big guys plus our guide to get him to back off.  Thankfully he wasn’t our guide.

We then followed our dude who then told us to join another (already rather large group) meaning that there was about 50 people all cramming about to hear one guy talk and all trying to see what he’s talking about which was somewhat impossible. Also he had already started when we joined him so we missed the introduction and a bunch of stuff at the start

As it was such a large group taking pictures was also almost impossible as to get close  enough I had to wait for people to move but then I missed the next thing as he didn’t wait for the group to arrive just started his spiel once he arrived which for the amount paid was a bit of a joke really.

We walked through and saw the fox holes (I really wanted to get in one but there was no time) the dog traps and jungle traps which were my favourite part. We saw an original tank that has been left to rust in the jungle and then the shooting range which we were forced to wait at while whoever wanted to shoot did.

Finally it was time for the tunnels which is what we had come to see, unfortunately though we only got to see a small section of tunnel and there were so many people that it was a horrible experience

Not helped by the two girls in front of me who were documenting the entire journey with obnoxious pictures (seriously girls a few photos is enough you don’t need 20 plus pictures EACH in a frigging tunnel!) and the girl behind me who was freaking out and pushing me the entire time

Dog traps

Me in a teeny tiny tunnel

Finally there was a film that was probably interesting but I couldn’t hear it over the two English guys behind me talking about how Walt Disney had himself cryogenically frozen and that America is due to start micro chipping babies from next year…

When the film ended we got back on the bus and drove two hours back to the city. We should have arrived at 6.30pm at the latest but actually arrived just before 8pm so it was lucky I hadn’t bought a ticket to see the acrobats at the opera house.

I went straight for food and met an interesting English expat who was telling me about vegan restaurants in Vietnam and how to tell people I’m vegetarian in Vietnamese which was pretty awesome! Once I was feeling satisfied I went and bought a bus ticket to Mui Ne tomorrow morning roll on the beach! Once that was done it was bedtime

Pokhara - Take two

Wednesday 22^nd April 2015

Back in Pokhara we decided to take a few days to rest and recover from the trek (my legs were fine I didn’t need a rest I did however need to wash a lot of stinking trekking clothes so a few days to make sure it was all dry was perfect. Marks legs were hurting him and he spent the entire day walking like Bambi it was especially amusing watching him walk downstairs.)

Today was pretty much a non-event we had breakfast and then returned to the guesthouse to do aid washing. It took much longer than it should have as after soaping up everything I owned the water ran out and we had to wait an age for the pump to fill the tank up again (but at least all the stinky clothes got a good soak)

By the time I was ready to hang it all on the line the sky had turned from the clear blue dream it had been to dark and thick with rain which typically started as soon as I started to hang up my clothes and as soon as Mark had finished cleaning the bike.

We had to move the clothes line to the safety of shelter and with that finally done we braved the rain to go and get some food for a late lunch.

We got to the Indian restaurant and the sky opened up heavier than ever before with huge hailstones as well as giant raindrops. (Google weather told us at the time it was a zero percent chance of precipitation…)

We ended up eating way more than needed mostly as an excuse to stay in the dry of the restaurant, but eventually we had taken the piss long enough and had to brave the weather once more to walk back to the guesthouse.

I spent the rest of the afternoon writing about our trek and waiting for the painfully slow internet to upload some pictures whilst enduring Mark singing “Don’t speak” by Gwen Stefani and not knowing any of the words so just making up lyrics about me ignoring him.

Eventually I was done and we went done the road in the drizzle to a Nepalese place. Having eaten all the Indian earlier I wasn’t really hungry and so just had a veggie Thukpa which is a Nepalese noodle soup and is very tasty.

By the time we got back to the guesthouse it was once again pouring with rain and so we hid inside watching movies.

Thursday 23^rd April 2015

This morning we were up and at our trusty breakfast haunt early we didn’t have much planned for the day except to go to the mountaineering museum. After we had eaten we spuddled about at the guesthouse for a while half-heartedly packing up and generally sorting through things.

We left for the museum around midday on the bike it was only a short drive so it didn’t take us long to get there. We parked up and got tickets and headed inside.

Some of the exhibits were really interesting others a bit boring and badly worded. I liked the stuff about all the mountains over 8000m and the tales about the Yeti. There was also a new exhibit about climate change and the impact that it is having on the people who live in mountain communities.

Mark was hungry and followed me around the museum like a bored small child at the supermarket so it was good when two hours later I was done and we could go and get some food.

We both got pizza I ate mine at a normal speed whilst he hovered his up like nobody’s business (anyone who knows how fast I eat would be amazed at the speed this boy puts away food it’s actually scary)

We finished eating just as the sky was beginning to thunder so we headed back to the guesthouse as we had washing out in the sun. We got back in time to move it before the heavens opened and then paid the bill for our stay in preparation for heading to Lumbini tomorrow.

The rest of the evening was spent chilling out and then getting more food before hitting the hay.

Buddhist Mandala made of coloured powder

Animals of Nepal

Explains itself really...

Just a picture of a Yeti eating a potato... Standard

Memorial to climber who have lost their lives.

Flogging... as a meaning of education?

Pokhara

Monday 13^th April 2015

I woke up early this morning after sleeping badly, there was a mozzie in the room that kept getting my toes. Since sleep was no longer an option I read my book for a while until Mark woke up and we went and got food.

Depressingly when we looked at the weather for the day it said it wouldn’t rain until 3pm really we should have just looked out of the window and we would have seen for ourselves that the weather man had gotten it wrong but we didn’t and so we ended up walking around in the rain with no coats in a somewhat fruitless search for an ATM that actually wanted to distribute money.

Eventually we had some rupees in our hot little hands and so off we went for breakfast. We found a little Indian place that was reasonably priced and got a huge plate of parathas each. Feeling satisfied we ventured back out into the rain to the guesthouse to enquire about trekking.

We sat and discussed it with the guy at the guesthouse and he showed us several routes before we went up to our room to have a think about it and research other options. Unfortunately the internet was working at a snail’s pace and it was more frustrating than anything else.

After sitting around for a while we decided to get active, since it was still raining we thought the Gurkha museum would be a good choice. We drove through the drizzle to get there and parked up in the empty parking lot where the security guard was exceptionally happy to see us.

We seemed to be the only ones there apart from two girls who upon learning that the museum cost 200 NPR (less than NZD $2) left. We got our tickets and headed inside. In the entrance way there was a display of all the Gurkha souvenir items you could buy at just a fraction of the cost they see the knifes for in the street it was a steal but I have no need for a massive knife and didn’t get one.

The museum is three floors of photographs, memorabilia and history it’s pretty well put together but the museum itself is a tad on the cold and dark side. We spent a few hours wandering about looking at the different bits and pieces and reading the many personal stories of soldiers before heading back out into the day.

 When we got outside it was raining we headed back to the guesthouse to drop off the bike and then went and had a late lunch back at the Indian place. We got idly much to an Indian patrons delight the coconut chutney was especially good as it was made from fresh coconut!

After eating we walked along the lake it was Nepali New Year and the celebrations were beginning with crowds everywhere extra street vendors and a huge carnival by the lake. We walked a bit people watching and taking in the atmosphere. The weather had cleared a little and we were able to see the snow-capped mountains that surround Pokhara.

Back at the accommodation we chilled out until we got hungry again and then went out and ate at a place overlooking the lake. The food was good and the place was crowded with people celebrating. We on the other hand were feeling rather old fogyish and headed back to the guesthouse to watch a movie.

Just before midnight we decided to check out what was going on we walked along the lake watching the fireworks in the sky competing with the hordes of bats for the most impressive air show. Most places seemed to be closing up and as we walked along the streets became more and fuller of drunken party goers stumbling in the street and shouting happy New Year. For the most part the crowd was happy and full of merriment but there were a few angry exchanges and bottles being smashed around us.

Since it all seemed to be winding down we headed back and within minutes I was fast asleep.

Tuesday 14^th April 2014

After our “big night” last night I felt groggy when I woke up so it was no surprise that it was midday before we had finished breakfast and were ready for the day. We ate pretty much next door to the guesthouse and so it was just a short walk back to get the bike and head out exploring for the day.

Our first stop was Davis Falls so called because is 1960 (or there about reports all seem to differ on the facts) a Swiss tourist (or a diplomats wife depending on your source) was taking a bath in the lake and was swept down the falls to his/her death subsequently the falls were named after him/her. The local name for the falls is Patale Chango meaning underworld waterfall perhaps so called because of the rock formation. The waterfall flows through a tunnel naturally carved into the rock.

We had to pay 30 NPR to get in and although it’s a tiny sum it was a bit insulting when inside was strewn with garbage (including in the river and waterfall) there was even a pair of pants stuck to a rock in the water which made all photos a bit shit. The crowd was also ridiculous with people constantly pushing and shoving for a better view.

We came out of the falls enclosure and went across the road to Mahadev Cave signposted as the “best and most wonderful cave I South East Asia” in my opinion it really didn’t live up to its name (either that or all other caves in SE Asia must be spectacularly shit!) we got our tickets and walked down the weird concrete spiral staircase. Alongside the stairs are bizarre concrete carvings such as elephant heads with creepy men sitting on top and tree people groping young girls.

We reached the cave entrance and ended up in line to see a weird cow sculpture that had water coming out of the teats that devotees seemed to want to drink. Once in the line there was no way out as it snaked slowly down and around a manmade single file loop of fake cave ending at the cow.

Once we were out of that claustrophobic nightmare we continued downwards past a very wet temple and further into the cave which seemed to be more man made than anything with concrete staircases and big steel and rock walls.

When we eventually reached the cavern itself it was full of pushy people jostling about for the little space there was. We didn’t bother going all the way down as the line to get onto the stairs was a huge ball of people pushing each other that didn’t look like something we wanted to join in.

We didn’t stay in the stuffy cave long instead heading back up to the fresh air of the surface. We headed back to the bike avoiding all the touts trying to palm off their crappy wares and headed back to town for some food.

We dropped into the Indian and had some samosas and a chill out before getting back on the bike and driving the other direction to Sarangkot which is a lookout way up on a hill overlooking the entire area. It sits at an altitude of 1600m (but seems much higher) and overlooks Pokhara lake on the northwest and the Annapurna range on the western side (we could only see the tops of the mountains because of the clouds)

Most of the way up the road was pretty great but it deteriated for a freaky few kilometres of bumpy hell before getting nice again. We could drive most of the way up before having to park up and walk the last wee bit. Annoyingly its 30 NPR to look at the view but according to the sign the money goes to the local school and health care centre which is obviously a good thing.

We sat looking out at the snow covered mountains for a while watching the clouds clear a little bit before heading back down and back to town (with Mark playing silly buggers and driving with no hands part of the way)

By the time we got back it was close to 6pm so we relaxed until dinnertime. We headed to the Indian place for a lateish dinner and chilled out for the evening.

Wednesday 15^th April 2015

This morning as usual lingered over breakfast chilling in the sunshine and reading our books. We planned to walk around Fewa Lake. We set off at about midday leaving behind the shops and touts and walking along a pedestrian way right on the water’s edge. There were people advertising boat trips and a few restaurants but the atmosphere was very laid back.

Pretty soon though the path ended and we had to continue along the road making sure to keep out of the way of honing trucks and vans the road wound through pretty little villages past water buffalos swimming in the marshy lake edges and ponies grazing in the lush green fields.

We managed to walk the length of the river before admitting defeat the options being get a boat across or keep walking quite a bit further to another town where we could cross the river that feeds the lake. We sat at this point watching a ton of paragliders land and laughing at the ones screaming in terror as the hit the landing point surrounded by the water of the lake.

We walked back to town in search of some food feeling like the day had been a success the walk was about three and a half hours which was good for us since we have become a bit used to driving everywhere!

Back in town we found a restaurant with lake views and sat and ate and chilled out before heading back to the guesthouse to wash off the stink of the day.

In the evening we weren’t really hungry but went out for food anyway and had a drawn out meal before heading back to relax.

Thursday 16^th April 2015

Today was a pretty chilled day we had a long breakfast as is becoming our morning custom and then headed back to the guesthouse to do a ton of laundry taking advantage of the sunny weather. Once that was done we organised some trekking and then relaxed for a while.

We had a late lunch at the local Indian place and then went back to our accommodation to pick up the bike and headed to Begnas Lake. Google maps told us it was an hour’s drive away it took us almost that long but only because we got lost twice and ended up on some pretty dodgy roads.

At the lake we sat and took some photos making friends with a stray dog (who I called Stanley) and a local family who wanted about a million photos with us in one the mum made me wear her husband’s ray bans which was a tad peculiar.

Stanley was quite boisterous and at one point jumped up on me (covering me with mud) and licked my face the small Nepali girl was horrified and informed me it was a “very naughty dirty dog” we didn’t stay too long at the lake just soaked in some atmosphere and then battled the traffic heading back into town.

It wasn’t long before we were hungry and so headed out for food when we came back several hours later I pulled the curtains closed and was met by a humungous spider just chilling it was about the size of my face! The guesthouse man said it was a harmless spider but then proceeded to beat it with a broom much to my distress I didn’t Want it in the room but I certainly didn’t want it dead and I feel like I took on the bad karma of its death.

The rest of the evening was spent freaking each other out that there was a huge spider about to jump on our faces and eat us.

Friday 17^th April 2015

Today was forecast to be wet and miserable but when we woke up the sun was shining and the skies were blue.

We had our typical long breakfast and enjoyed the sunshine while we read our books before heading back to the guesthouse to pack up a bit and get our things ready for trekking tomorrow.

We ended up spending ages trying to sort my laptop out and by the time we were done and I was well and truly grumpy thunder was rolling lightening was flashing and the skies had turned black.

We used the crappy weather as an excuse to sit inside and watch TV for a while until our bellies began to rumble and we decided to go and get some lunch and then cake and tea.

Once we were fed and watered we returned to the guesthouse for an evening of lounging around before trekking bright and early tomorrow.