Xin Chao from the heart of Southern Vietnam. We write from Ho Chi Minh City (so called because the Communists didn't wish to "Let Saigons be Saigons" Ho Ho!) Yes, it is almost the end of our time in Nam (Charlie Sheen said it was OK for us to call it that, as long as we keep the flashbacks to a minimum when we return.) We will be sad to leave, although not sad to see the end of the Tet festival! This celebration for Vietnamese New Year goes on forever and subsequently the normal runnings of transport, museums, shops, etc. go up the proverbial Mekong without a leg to stand on (if we can mix metaphors so brazenly). Our planned sally down the coast on the Reunification Express train was scuppered by all the locals travelling home for Tet, so we were confined to these dreadful "tourist buses" where Jeannot shared a particularly memorable night on a broken seat next to a big man who'd definitely had sprouts with his Tet din dins. However, passive windypops aside, Vietnam is a great place.
The pics of Halong Bay and Sapa show how stunning this country is. Our trip to the Black Lsui tribe in Sapa was nearly rained off, but handily our wee guide had a friend with a jeep. The hire price was a bit steep, but we were able to spread the cost with two nice Australian ladies and it was "jeep at half the price".
The next bit about our day trip to the Unesco World Heritage Site at Tam Coc is not for Mums - if we type it really quickly and close together they won't worry - Wehiredamotorbikeanditwastops! See the pics.
After Tam Coc, we stopped off at Hue (Ancient Capital and home to the best conical hats), Hoi An (best silk in Vietnam - Ants got some tailor made silk pyjamas - Jest!), Nha Trang (beach and snorkelling) and now Saigon. Tomorrow we're off to explore the Mekong Delta before taking a boat into Cambodia for Country Number Four. It really has been such an amazing (Am-asian) experience thus far. We're on the downslope now having passed the 57-day halfway mark on Monday night (celebrated with one too many beers with some travelling chums Dave, Lucy, Adam and Val) but hopefully there are many more adventures ahead. Stay tuned folks. Missing you all lots. Cheery bye from Nam for noo. xxx
