2/3
Up early today, it was worth it as we went scuba diving. That was cool. I only did one dive as the sea sickness was there again. Also beacuse I don't think that they attached the equipment to me properly as it kept leaning and floating to one side and coming off my left shoulder. Me and the instructor kept trying to put it back on. Will definitely give it a go somewhere else as it was cool. Saw lots of fish from Finding Nemo! Chilled on the beach in the afternoon (what a hard life I lead!) and then had to say bye to Dan and Ash who left for Saigon.
3/3
Left for Dalat this morning at 7.30. Arrived at 2ish. Kept the big bags with us on the bus which turned out to be great as I leant on mine for the whole trip and managed to get some much needed sleep, its tiring all this travelling and not doing much! Decided I needed a day by myself to chill tomorrow and catch up on some stuff.
4/3
Today was my much needed rest day. Finally managed to sort out getting my China pics uploaded and backed up. That made some people happy that I had finally done that! Was going to update the blog in the afternoon but Sarah and Ell came back early from abseiling and canyoning.
5/3
Left Dalat at 8am for Saigon. Arrived at 4ish after some really hairy driving. One older guy even got up and asked the driver to slow down. He did and then went faster than he was going before! Spent ages trying to find a hotel as everywhere was full. Found Dan and Ash at bia hoi, and then went for a curry with them. It would be our last night with them as they were flying home tomorrow. Curry was my idea and what a good one it turned out to be. Went back to bia hoi, surprise surprise and found the Brazilians there too. Said bye to them as they were off to Cambodia but we will probably see them there or maybe in Thailand.
6/3
Didn't do much today, walked around the city for a bit. Said bye to Dan and Ash in the evening. And then there was only 3, me Ell and Sarah.
7/3
Another early start today and eventually the bus took us to the Cu Chi Tunnels. Went down a really small hole and into a very narrow tunnel where you had to properly bend down and shuffle along. Sarah and I went down the tunnel together, one in front of the other holding hands, it was really really dark! Had to take pictures in the tunnel to light it up briefly! We are sure that there was bats down there! Went down another tunnel (20m) but that was bigger so you didn't have ot bend so much. We then went to the War Remanants Museum and got caught in the biggest storm I've ever been in! We got poncho's, mine is a lovely pink one. Puddles were inches deep and the roads were flooded. It got cold as we were so wet but it was so funny at the same time!! There was some grusome pics of the effects of the Agent Orange and Napalm that the Americans used in the war.
8/3
After what was planned to be a lay in turned into getting up at 8 as it was so hot, we wandered around the city again and went to the Reunification Palace. Got to see the Presidents Receiving rooms etc. They had models of the tanks that crashed through the gates in 1975 when Saigon fell to the Viet Cong (the north). Went to a coffee shop in the evening which doubled as a cinema. Saw Slumdog Millionaire. It was boiling in there as the fan didn't reach us and all 3 of us were squashed into a sofa for 2. Also went to a pho restaurant (traditional Vietnamese food, noodle soup and pork and green stuff) where they served the American soldiers during the war but upstairs they planned secret Viet Cong things. When we sat down the owner came over and showed us newspaper clippings as his Dad was the owner when it was the secret Viet Cong place. That was cool.
9/3
After not having the name or bus number, we finally made it to the water park in town. There was a "wave pool" and some slides. The best slide was the one in the dark which was different everytime you went down it. There was a Tarzan zip wire which Ell did and he, not on purpose, did the most unexpected back flip ever. It was so funny and looked really good and neat. Couldn't do that again if he tried! Me and Sarah were laughing for ages!!
10/3
Another early start, what I would give for a lay in, we made our way to the Mekong Delta. Didn't end up spending much time on the river, which seemed a bit strange! Got to see how they made rice paper and coconut candy. Then had to cycle to the restaurant for lunch with a bike way to big for me, not a pleasant experience. Had a broken seat on the bus that kept reclining if I leant on it too much. Hotel had 2 double beds next to each other making one giant bed which took up the whole room. No way should they have put them both in there! There was hardly any room for the bags for the 3 of us and the room was boiling as there was the 3 of us in such a small space with no air-con (5 dollars more, I don't think so, we are on a budget!) You could have fitted 7 or 8 people in the giant bed.
11/3
Today we left Vietnam for Cambodia. What a nightmare it turned out to be. We had paid (and extra $10) for and were expecting a fast boat from Chau Doc to Phnom Penh. The fast boat turned out to be broken and after some persusion we managed to get $6 back. The one and a half hour trip to the border turned into over 2 hours. The guide took our passports and $22 even though it should have only been $20, he reckoned he had to get a moto for 10km's, whatever!! That required us to pay him the extra $2 but we paid as everyone else did and we didn't want to risk having to get a moto for 10k's with the big bags. Once we had the visas, border control was a breeze. Then an unexpected bus ride to the the centre of Phnom Penh (capital of Cambodia). So far Camdodia is better than expected, but we shall see.......
Well that is it for Vietnam. Met some really nice people and were really lucky with the amount of time that we got to spend with them. Dan and Ash have both said that they will take some time off when we get to Melbourne and show us around so that will be really cool and it will be nice to see them again. Any of you that have facebook, some of the people we have met along the way have put some pics of me up, so have a look and you can actually see what I have been up to and see the people who we have been travelling with.
Will do a Cambodia update soon, hopefully not as long in between updates this time. Tried to put some of my pics up but the computer wasn't having any of it. Will try again at a different internet cafe soon. Off to play mini golf later.
Hope you are all well : )
xxxx
