Our hotel was a great place with a pool which was so welcoming on such a hot day. Hoi An is a small place with an old part of town along side the river. In the evening it's mayhem with lots of traders hassling you to buy their stuff but the atmosphere is great. The next day we are back on a small mini bus for a tour of My Son Holy Land, 4th century Hindu temples. Once again a lot have been destroyed by different conflicts over time. The ruins are magical and the guide was very knowledgable and I really enjoyed the tour. After lunch we are on another boat ride along the Thu Bon River where we are taken for a walk around Kim Bong village.
Back at the hotel for a swim and a well earned beer. We met Steve on this tour, a young guy from Dublin who was also on the same tour as us and we all hit it off straight away.
Once back at the hotel we had a beer by the pool before heading into the old part of town for some dinner. We walked over the Japanese covered bridge and then around the night market but they all sell the same stuff and it does get a bit boring after awhile.
Today is a free day before we leave Hoi An so we grabbed a couple of bikes and cycled to the local beach which was a couple of km's away. At the beach you have to pay to park your bike and then for your bed or you get it for free if you eat at their restaurant. We stayed most of the day at the beach as it was really nice but the sea had quite a lot of large jelly fish but they didn't seem to string. Late afternoon a huge storm hit town so we didn't go into the old town for dinner and went to a local place as it was raining very heavy.
We had an early pick up for our flight to Ho Chi Minh or Saigon, this was the original name but it was changed in the 70's after the war. We had another really nice hotel and our new friend Steve had been on a earlier flight so was already there. We unpacked and headed out for a walk as we were based central to most things which is good. We found the night market but nothing new in this market that we hadn't seen before. In the Center of the city is the Walking Street with City Hall at the end, it's the hub of the city.
So now we are on a tour up the Mekong river where we stop at little villages and a place for lunch, this was one of the worst tours of the whole trip of Vietnam.
Now the tour I'm really looking forward to the Cu Chi tunnels, to get to them we first have a 2hr bus ride. These tunnels are in the jungle in an area where there was some fierce fighting. The tunnels have been made wider here so westerners can fit into them. We are allowed to crawl through 150m of them and I tell you it was hard and extremely hot. There is a display of some of the traps that were laid for the Americans and they are wicked. It was a great tour but could of spent some more time there as a bit rushed, on route back we stopped for lunch before walking back to our hotel. This was our last night of our tour but we had booked another night at the hotel to chill and see a bit more of the city. We had a meal with Steve as he was leaving for Cambodia the next day and wasn't sure if we would see him again.
So our free day after breakfast we headed for the Bitexco Tower which stands at 262 metres and you get a 360* view of the city. Amazing view of Saigon but we could in the distance see a storm coming straight for us, time to keep moving. Next stop is Norte Dame Cathedral but we only had 15 minutes there but it wasn't that large, I lit a pink candle for my love ones.
While walking to the War Remnants Museum it started to rain so we took shelter in a bus stop and then a coffee stop as we didn't realise that the Museum was closed from 11 to 1pm.
So finally in the museum and what a wake up call to the horrific actions of the Vietnam war. It's well worth a visit but be prepared to view and read some terrible photos and stories.
So now it's time to book our bus out of Vietnam to Phnom Penh in Cambodia, it's a 6 hour trip in a standard coach.
Have really enjoyed Vietnam and it was everything I thought it would be, cheap, busy and food I won't eat.
No comments:
Post a Comment