Ways

Karnival

danieldg — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 00:57:00 GMT

Photos: Karnival

danieldg — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 00:37:00 GMT

Luang Prabang

danieldg — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 00:23:00 GMT

A beautiful city, that is very popular with tourists visiting Laos; whether this is a good or bad thing, I cannot tell.

Hanoi

danieldg — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 16:58:00 GMT

Photos: Nha Trang

danieldg — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 17:03:00 GMT

Scuba-diving Central

Nha Trang

danieldg — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 16:45:00 GMT

Scuba-diving, scuba-diving and more scuba-diving

I came to Nha Trang expected to be bombarded by hoardes of tourists, and wishing to get out of there as fast as possible - I left with totally opposite feelings. I made many mew friends and felt quite sad to leave. I look forward to returning again soon.

While in Nha Trang I completed my SSI Open Water diving certification, and loved the diving so much that I went onto completing my Advanced Diving course. I am now qualified to dive to depths of 30 metres (underwater this does not seem like that much, but it is eqivalent to the height of a ten story building!!)

Apart from all the diving, the people I met were great, and I look forward to catching up with all of you again in Sweden, The Netherlands, Russia, Romania, and France.

I also spoke a lot of Dutch and French, so henceforth I will (try) to write a short passage in both Nederlandes and Francais.

Photos: Ban Me Thjot

danieldg — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:02:00 GMT

Coffee Capital of Vietnam

Ban Me Thjot

danieldg — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:52:00 GMT

Ban Me Thjot = Coffee

Now that I am beginning to know more about vietnam and its people I am much more relaxed and thus happier. This shows in the way that I interact with the peple that I meet and how other people perceive me. Thus I now find mtself in Ban Me Thjot, a city derided by Lonely Planet as not worth visiting, and I have met some of the most real and genuine people you are likely to meet anywhere in the world. Thye have made my stay here very enjoyable.

Here are some of the most memorable moments:

visiting the coffee village with Hang and Tung; especially climbing on and around the rocks
drinking lots of coffee - I love vietnamese coffee
the genorosity of everyone here; I did not eat alone for the whole while staying here
everyone's desire to improve their english; I am not learning much Viet
visiting d'raysan waterfalls with Mr Chinh as my guide
visiting lak lake and riding on an elephant; I wanted to avoid any tourist attractions, but it was worth it
have dinner with Mr Tung (Daewoo franchise in BMT) and his family and telling some funny stories about my life

I look forward to returning to Ban Me Thjot again in the near future and meeting up with everyone again.

Can Tho

danieldg — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:55:00 GMT

Heart of the Mekong Delta

This city is the centre of trade in the Mekong Delta, so it's a very large city - not on the scale of HCMC but still big. This shows in terms of the height of the buildings and the fact that all the things that you need to buy are to be found within a one block radius of where you are staying.

Can Tho is neither an attractive nor unattractive city; it is there and it functions, that is it's purpose and it does it well.

From Can Tho you are able to explore the Mekong Delta, which is a vast area of rice paddies, vegetable gardens, and the usual things that you find in regional areas.

Ho Ch Minh City

danieldg — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:13:00 GMT

This city never sleeps (which is understandable for a city of 7 million) - it wakes up ealy and doesnt go to slep till late, then begins it all over again the next day.

The people are very kind and helpful; not knowing any viet is not a problem; you just need to use sign language and most people know a little english: basic numbers and greetings.

I was fleeced by a private taxi upon leaving the airport, but this gave me an understanding of how much things should cost and to be wary of people looking to fleece tourists. Upon reflection it was my own fault but considering it cost me twenty US dollars, it was not that great a loss.

The food is fantastic, though travelling by myself limits where I eat and how much I want try - its a bit hard to converse on the quality and variety of different foods by yourself.

As to seeing the sights of HCMC I ahve done none of this. I have mainly stayed I district three and travelled no more that six blocks from my hotel ... this sounds boring, but the city is a maze of similar streets and alleyways which vary little from district to district.

The weather is tropical; very similar to darwin, though with much pollution.

HCMC could be a good place to live in, especially if you lived within the maze of alleyways (they have so much atmosphere and community).

Vietnamese could be acquired over time; the pronouciation is the difficult part. when I say a word it is very rarely understood the first time. Hopefully I will have aquired a basic knowledge of viet befoe I leave for Europe.

Photos: Ho Chi Minh City

danieldg — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:26:00 GMT

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