From Swimsuits to Sweaters

We traded our "Southeast Asia on a Shoestring" book for a bootlegged version of "Vietnam" in Phnom Penh, and headed to Vietnam. Our trip consisted of a bus ride and two boats, and we were in Communist Vietnam, specifically Chau Doc.

Our first impression was that the tour organizers were more efficient, and that the place was very busy. Even though Phnom Penh was crazy, Chau Doc was a small town compared, but still bustling. Also, Vietnamese coffee is something of its own. They place the cup in front of you with a small press on the top of the cup, and the end result very thick. It got some getting used to, but it's very tasty:

Fresh springrolls from a street cart:

We stayed in Chau Doc for 2 nights, but our hearts were already onto our next destination: the island of Phu Quoc, and the beach! which we hadn't seen for too long! A little while into the ride, the ticket lady on our bus to the dock started stuffing boxes of cigarettes down her blouse, and tying them onto her legs with rubber bands. Nope, not noticeable at all. Then her friend joined her, who seemed to be packing around even more. We weren't really sure why they have to smuggle them like this, but it was definitely entertaining!

We barely made it onto the boat leaving for Phu Quoc, but once there, we knew we were going to like it. Our first night was in a not-so-great room, but we checked into a nice air-conditioned, breakfast-included one the next day. Then...ahhhhhh...

Here, a guy pulls in a fishing net from the water:

We spent the next few days not doing much, just enjoying the hot weather and nice beach. We decided to explore the nearby town, so got a taxi there, as it was a long dusty walk. We got a few essentials, had a good local lunch of banh cuon (salad-like with bean sprouts, mint, pork, and spring rolls), and started to walk back to the hotel.

We happened across a "hot toc" or hairdressing place, and the man took one look at Ryan and ushered him inside. No, Ryan's still has his fro, it was his beard that went. He'd been wanting to get rid of it for a while, so half an hour later, after a shave and an interesting head massage, a very different looking Ryan emerged!

We had some excellent chicken and calamari BBQ that night, and tried a glass of Dalat wine, a local wine made from fruit grown in the mountains. The next day we spent on the beach, only getting up to buy fruit from a lady walking the beach:

and getting full body massages right there on the sand for $6 each. We thought we'd been a little too lazy, so we signed up for a snorkeling tour the next day as much to see the island as to get us some exercise. We cruised south to the An Thoi islands, stopped to fish a little (Ryan caught one fish) and then snorkeled in 2 areas. The corals were beautiful, and we saw many anemones with their clownfish families! Lunch was the fish that had been caught earlier, then back to shore.

Our last night on the island also happened to be the 6-month mark of our trip. We celebrated by having a nice dinner complimented with a bottle of Chilean chardonnay overlooking the sunset. We can't believe we are already half-way through but we know we still have a lot left to see.

We were sad to leave the island but the next morning we caught the early ferry back to the mainland, where we caught a bus to the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho. The floating markets and canals are the biggest attraction in this city, so the next day we charted a boat for just the two of us to explore the delta. It was an early morning, as the markets are best before 9am.

The markets weren't quite as big as we were expecting them to be, but they were neat to experience nonetheless. Being served fresh coffee from another tiny boat early in the morning and tasting the fresh fruits on offer was great.

After visiting the markets, we then headed back to Can Tho via the maze of canals that weave through the delta. Houses line the canals practically hanging over the river. This could have been a really nice experience except that the amount of rubbish in the river and canals is sad. Our boats propeller got caught in pieces of plastic more times than we'd like to remember. Maybe someday they'll realize what they're doing but unfortunately much of their trash goes right into their rivers.

We also stopped at a rice noodle making shop, where they soak the rice in water, cook the liquid like a crepe, then lay them on these big bamboo mats in the sun to dry, before they cut them into strips:

We spent two nights in Cantho, then thought it time to hit the big city of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). As soon as we entered the heart of the city we knew that we'd like it. We were impressed at how clean it was and the amount of parks that they had, and getting around on foot was quite easy. Though there was a ton of traffic, we found it manageable. At rush hour, they even use the sidewalks to drive on:

Finding a place to stay was easy and cheap as their tourist district is filled with endless guesthouses and mini-hotels. The following day we got a few errands done and visited the Wartime Remnants Museum. It was interesting to see what they thought of the "Anti-American War." Continuing on the theme, we also visited the Cu Chi Tunnels; a system of underground tunnels and lairs that the Viet Cong used to hide from and launch attacks against the Americans and Southern Vietnamese. Both of us experienced a little claustrophobia as we navigated some of the dark, tiny pathways.

After getting back from the tunnels, we stumbled across a place serving bia hoi or draught beer which is usually brewed independently. Although it's not the greatest beer in the world, the stuff is dirt cheap at 50 cents per liter.

Although we probably could have spent a few more nights in Saigon, we decided to pack up again and head for the mountain town of Dalat. Our early morning bus ride that should have taken 6 hours ended up taking around 10 hours after getting stuck behind an accident on the narrow and windy road. We finally made it to Dalat and were greeted with a crisp, cool temperature.

It rarely reaches above 24C and was a nice reprieve from the hot, muggy temps that we've been having. The region is known for its fruits, flowers, and vegetables and is the region in Vietnam where they make the Dalat wine we tried on Phu Quoc Island (although cheap, they still need some work to match the flavors of the rest of the world).

It rained every afternoon we where there, so we decided not to partake in any of the organized tours. Instead we just relaxed and took in the city while enjoying the comfortable climate. Dalat is also known for its artichoke tea, which may not sound tasty, but is actually the best tea Ryan has had and supposedly has very good health attributes. The tea is everywhere in the market along with fresh fruit jams and candies, so we loaded up on a bit of each. We also tried the delicious dessert of dau hu (a soy, ginger custard) from one of the street vendor ladies. Here is the many different varieties of rice on offer in the market:

Three days of relaxation in the mountains was all we needed, so we headed to Nha Trang, the beach and dive capital of Vietnam. We found a nice hotel right across from the beach and settled in. Since diving was our main agenda in Nha Trang, we scoped out several of the dive outfits and settled with Octopus Divers. The next day we headed out by boat to the dive sites and experienced the marine life of Vietnam. Although the visibility wasn't as good as it was in Thailand, we did see some cool things like colorful nudibranchs, lionfish, demon stinger fish, blue sea stars, and a Godfreys sea cucumber among other things. Overall, another good day in the water.

The next day we hopped on a sleeper bus to Hoi An, which left at 7:00pm and arrived in Hoi An at 6:45 the next morning. The old town part of Hoi An is World Heritage Site, and has some beautiful historical architecture. We plan on doing some sightseeing, trying to get some good photos, and eating some delicious Hoi An specialties.

Until next time...