During our three week jaunt in China we had been making our way south and on to our next planned destination of Vietnam.  With a spring in our step, we walked (well, Rob walked, I practically ran) across no man’s land and got ourselves stamped into country number four on the list.  We had entered the town of Lao Cai, and what was the first thing we noticed?  People spoke English!  After struggling for weeks with communication with their Chinese neighbours, it was a relief to know we wouldn’t have the same challenges with the Vietnamese.  Although we had read a lot of positive reviews about what was on offer in the northern parts of Vietnam, our first priority was to get to the train station and buy tickets to Hanoi.  We didn’t hesitate in our decision not to spend time in the north.  After seeing the rice terraces of Yuanyang we felt that the rice paddies in Vietnam would pale in comparison.  We had an afternoon of free time in Lao Cai but because we had nowhere to stow our rather heavy backpacks, our time was spent reading our guidebooks in a restaurant bordering the town square.  It was here we had our first introduction to Vietnamese coffee – extremely strong in flavour, it must have been at least a double shot of espresso topped up with sickly sweet condensed milk.  Although I suffer from a sweet tooth, even this was a bit too much for me, and I tended to avoid the local coffee in the future, rather sticking to a good ol’ plain Americano (ironic considering the history of the country)!

It was also here in the town square that we noticed a distinct architectural style, with very narrow buildings constructed to be three to four stories high, with no space between buildings.  We found out later after a conversation with a hostel owner that building owners were taxed on the amount of ground floor space taken up, not by the height or number of floors.

Our train to Hanoi was an overnighter and we arrived before the crack of dawn at 04h30.  We were lucky enough to secure two somewhat expensive sleeper bunks on the train but unfortunately were sharing the air-conditioned cabin with another couple, with the husband coughing and spluttering the whole night through.  I still hadn’t recovered from my head cold I caught in China so it wasn’t great to be exposed to even more germs.  Arriving so early meant we were free to wander the streets without the threat of traffic so we walked the 2km to the guesthouse.  And once we realized just how busy the streets became during the day, we were thankful we had that hour to admire the city while it still slept.  We were dumbfounded though when we saw the traffic, particularly surprised about the amount of motorbikes and scooters.  The reason for the high number of scooters is that cars are apparently extremely expensive for the average individual, so everybody buys a cheap scooter, which has the bonus of being fuel economical, in a city clogged with traffic.  Jaywalking is common practice.  Us, being law abiding citizens always tried to wait for a pedestrian signal or if there was none, at least a break in the traffic before even stepping foot off the pavement.  But we quickly realized that a break in traffic was highly unlikely.  Watching the locals we noted you just had to commit!  Take that first step and don’t look back.  Keep going and the motorbikes just weave around you!

We stayed in a lovely guesthouse in Hanoi which offered a great breakfast menu, where we learnt about pho – the traditional Vietnamese breakfast of rice noodles in broth with either beef or chicken.  This dish is so flavoursome and filling it became a regular fixture in our mornings, instead of the more Western food that most of the other backpackers seemed to favour.  After dropping our bags and refuelling on pho, we headed out and spent the day walking around the Old Quarter, which consisted of buildings with distinct French architecture, a delight to the eyes when compared to the Chinese concrete blocks.  It was also strange to see that French baguettes were on offer in the bakeries.  That day we didn’t really have any particular destination or activity in mind and were content to amble along the streets soaking up the atmosphere.  That evening we spent some time wandering the “famous” night market which as always ends up being the same cheap stuff.  The next day was a misty one, with occasional bouts of rain.  We first walked through the Embassy district and spent a few hours at the Ho Chi Minh museum and later, some time at the Vietnam War museum.  Although we both aren’t really museum people it was interesting to see some of the history, especially since it was history retold from the victor’s point of view.  The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering around the French Quarter which had nothing French about it!

Two nights in Hanoi and we continued on our journey by taking a tour to Ha Long Bay about 4 hours drive from Hanoi – 4 hours not because of distance but because of the slow speed on the roads!  The bay is filled with thousands of limestone cliffs or karsts which are beautiful when looking at a postcard, but unfortunately the weather was against us with mist and drizzle which obscured our view.  Our tour consisted of the bus ride to the bay and a night aboard a boat which would take us through the karsts, before departing the next morning.  Approaching our boat from the tender, we looked at what was to be our accommodation for the night with some dismay.  The tour was advertised as a luxury cruise but judging by the exterior appearance of the boat we thought we might have been ripped off.  Climbing aboard I caught a glimpse of the life raft and said a silent prayer to myself hoping not to need it as it was in such a poor state I doubt it would have been much use.  In any case we were pleasantly surprised by our cabin which was clean and neatly made up, although the toilet did leak!  And the dining room could be described as shabby chic, with the tables laid with cloth fraying at the edges and covered with bright but tatty table runners.  But the staff aboard made us feel really welcome and fed us pretty well so we were happy!  We started with a cruise around the karsts, and got off the boat to explore a rather large cave.  From there we motored along to another small island where we could climb to the top and get a view (well, sort of a view with the mist).  That night we had a Vietnamese cooking lesson on how to make spring rolls.  The rice paper used to make the spring rolls is so delicate, it tore rather easily but after a while I got the hang of it and was turning out perfectly rolled spring rolls.  The chef took them away to fry and we enjoyed them as appetizers before dinner.  One of the big draw cards advertised for these types of tours is the cocktail and karaoke session after dinner.  What a laugh that was, a group of 10 doesn’t exactly make for the anonymity needed for me to partake in any form of karaoke!  The staff tried hard though, pumping the music and switching on the strobe lights to convert the dining room into a retro club.  Unfortunately the “buy one, get one free” cocktail special worked against them and one by one the guests stumbled to their cabins after only one or two vain attempts at karaoke!  We treated ourselves to some margaritas, watched from the sidelines and headed to bed!  The next morning the weather still hadn’t cleared so we enjoyed a wet visit to a pearl farm and then back to the harbour for a transfer back to Hanoi.  We were a bit disappointed with the tour, the weather wasn’t that great and the standard of the cruise was not up to the amount we paid but we were happy we saw the area as it is rated as one of the top sights in Vietnam.

Arriving back in Hanoi we trekked to the train station with our bags to wait for our train which would take us further down the coast.  Before catching our train we had some dinner in a restaurant adjacent to the train station.  The food was extremely good but I insisted on not leaving a tip for the waitress.  We sat down at the table and Rob went to the bathroom leaving me to order.  I ordered a Coke for myself and a beer for Rob, and the waitress says “Diet Coke?”  I said I wanted the regular drink and thought nothing further of it.  She came back with the drinks and the menus, and as she handed a menu to me, she automatically turned to a special page, saying I might want to consider one of their “low calorie” options on offer!  Really?!  I knew at the time I was overweight, but was that really necessary?  I was so peeved after that, but looking back while writing this I can only but laugh!

That night, we caught a sleeper train down the coast to Danang which is in the centre of Vietnam.  We basically had the cabin of six to ourselves until the staff decided they wanted to sleep too and ended up taking the other four berths, lighting up their cigarettes with a complete disregard to us.  However, this train trip was really special in a sense that a stretch of the railway line follows some spectacular coastline and winds through thick jungle vegetation.  Watching the ever changing scenery broke the monotony of a long journey, made even longer by the unexpected stops along the way.   At some points it even felt like we were on Thomas the Tank Engine puffing his way up the hill as the train strained itself up some of the steep gradients.  Upon disembarking in Danang we found a local bus to take us to Hoi An, a further hour’s drive down the coast.  The great (read sarcasm) part of catching the bus from Danang to Hoi An was that the locals got charged 18 000 Vietnamese dong while the foreigners were charged 30 000 dong for a ticket and then an extra 10 000 dong for bringing luggage – tourist tax!  This just highlighted a point we had noted about Vietnam in that most things are some sort of scam or effort to rip you off.

Luckily the bustling port town of Hoi An was worth visiting with a very well maintained Old Town, making for lots of photo opportunities.  We tried the local specialities of Cau Lau (pork meat, sprouts and noodles in broth), banh bao (shrimp and pork meat dumplings) and fried wantons (shrimps fried in rice paper) – all very delicious!  We stayed in a very strange guesthouse, with our room filled with gaudy knick knacks and other strange decorations.  Our towels were even folded into swans, a first for a place advertised as backpacker accommodation!  We really enjoyed strolling through the streets, by day and by night.  It was in Hoi An that we heard Afrikaans being spoken for the first time since leaving home.  The residences that were open to the public were wonderful to wander through.  I particularly liked the internal courtyards which often had a seating area, some kind of well or fountain and lots of plants, a real place of quiet amongst what would have been a bustling port back in the heyday.  At night the town came alive with lights, with lanterns strung up along the streets and locals selling small homemade rafts housing candles which were lit and then let loose on the river.  It is a pity our camera doesn’t take the best night shots as the ambience created by this soft light would have been great to share on the blog.  A humorous highlight of Hoi An was Rob almost becoming embroiled in a cock fight… literally!  Two roosters were having a go at each other and one decided he didn’t like us walking past and almost took a bite out of Rob’s leg!

After Hoi An we caught the train again down to Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City as it is now called.  It was another overnight journey but as the train wound its way further south through the country side, we shared some quiet moments looking out the window staring at the endless kilometres of green paddy fields dotted with thousands of graves, all remnants of the war which ravaged the country years ago.

The train arrived in the city at 05h30 so we had another early morning walk to our guesthouse.  Although this time the streets were not as quiet as they were in Hanoi – the work day definitely started earlier for the inhabitants of Saigon.  Both of us were feeling poorly at this stage, me not having recovered from my China cold, and now Rob had also caught something.  I was told later that I was even talking in my sleep on the train, fever induced mutterings perhaps?  We stopped at a street side pharmacy for some cold medicine and promptly downed some pills before continuing our walk to the guesthouse.  These pills must have had some kind of sedative in them because I fell sound asleep slouched over the armrest of a chair in the reception of the guesthouse while waiting for our room!  A somewhat embarrassing experience!  A relationship test at this point: I learnt that Rob is like a bear with a sore head when he is sick, and with me also feeling miserable it was a period of some bickering before the pills worked their magic and we started to feel better!  After my impromptu nap, I was feeling invigorated so we spent the morning of our arrival at the War Remnants museum.  We found this museum much more captivating than the one in Hanoi, but it was very traumatic at the same time when reading the accounts of the war, seeing the historical photos and actually viewing in person the prisons cells and torture chambers used by the Americans at the time.  Rob went into the Agent Orange room by himself as I refused to go anywhere near it, and he told me later how awful it was to read and see what that toxic chemical had done to the population, and is still doing as a result of the genetic mutations it has caused.   It was rather emotionally draining so we headed back to the guesthouse and had an afternoon siesta.  Feeling a little more energized after a rest, we walked along the waterfront of the Saigon River, and through the city, passing City Hall and the beautiful Opera House on the way.  We stumbled across the Rex Hotel which had a rooftop garden bar and was recommended by the city guide as THE bar experience in Saigon… at R70 for a beer the only experience we had was to sit, look at the menu and stand right up and walk out!  The next day we took a tour to the Cu Chi tunnel network outside of the city – a very interesting but also very biased tour!  We had a great experience of crawling through a part of the tunnel system – luckily there were small lamps along the way as I’m not sure how I would have coped in complete darkness, in extremely cramped and claustrophobic conditions.  The tunnel network stretches for about 250km and we saw on the map that it even went under a US military base and the US controlled airport at the time!  We both found this tour totally worth it but the only downer was stopping at a handicraft market selling trinkets made by people disabled by Agent Orange during the war.  We weren’t too keen on that aspect because at the time it felt more like a guilt trap more than anything else.

Following Saigon we decided to take a few days to chill out a bit and headed down to the Mekong Delta.  We ended up in the town on Can Tho.  I was a bit dispirited upon first arrival when I saw how busy it was as we were hoping for a quieter, more relaxing place.  But we felt better after a stroll along the riverfront and through the fresh produce market when we both got the sense it was definitely more of a town, rather than a city.  We had a really wonderful day (despite a 05h00 pickup time) exploring more of the delta by longtail boat.  We had an excellent guide who was so engaging and informative about life in the delta that the day passed much too quickly.  We were joined by a young couple from Scandinavia on this tour and the four of us enjoyed our time thoroughly.  After buying us some takeaway coffee from a boat in the middle of the river (the Vietnamese version of a drive-thru, perhaps?), our guide took us to a genuine floating market.  Both Rob and I had visited the “famed” floating market just outside Bangkok on previous occasions so when we learned that this was one of our stops on the tour we both thought “oh no, another cheap tourist trap”.  We were pleasantly surprised to see upon arrival that this was the real deal, as in it was the daily market with only fresh produce on offer, and all the trade being done between boats.  We stopped here for a breakfast of pho and coffee eaten around a small table.  We guzzled down our broth which we found to be even better tasting than the pho we had in Hanoi.  But then we saw that the bowls were given to the dogs to lick after we had finished and wondered what that special ingredient they had used really was!  From the market we motored quietly along some of the thousands of tributaries of which the delta is comprised, stopping occasionally to purchase fresh fruit from local vendors which we munched as we made our way deeper into the delta.  We stopped once and took a walk through one of the paddy fields adjacent to the water, the walk coming to an abrupt end when we were told to watch out for snakes.  Our last stop was at a rice paper “factory” on the side of the river, factory being a loose term to describe the residence and outdoor work area where everything is done.  It was very interesting to see how labour intensive it actually is to make rice paper, with each sheet first made by pouring out the batter onto a hot plate, gently spread out to make it paper thin, lifted with a roller and laid out delicately on woven mats to dry out.  It was made to look so easy until you try it yourself and make a complete fool of yourself realizing quickly how much skill is actually involved.  I was lucky enough to also try my hand at making rice noodles and after that we tried a fried rice noodle “pizza”, with a delicious chilli sauce topping!  It was a great end to our time in the delta.

We left the town of Can Tho and headed north to the border town of Chau Doc.  I found Chau Doc to be a crummy town filled with a very poor and culturally mixed population.  I had a funny, uncomfortable feeling as soon as we arrived and wanted to leave for Cambodia the very next day.  But as luck would have it we couldn’t change our accommodation arrangements in Phnom Phen to arrive a day earlier than expected and ended up spending two nights in Chau Doc, much to my annoyance.  Rob reckoned I was feeling the Cambodian influence on the town as Cambodia isn’t exactly a thriving economy either.  Anyway we had to make the best of the situation, so the extra day in Chau Doc was a laundry day and a walk up Sam Mountain.  That little excursion started with a 6km motorcycle ride down the road to the small village located at the base of the hill.  From there we saw we had to walk through some form of graveyard and religious site to get to the top.  With me wearing a sleeveless top on the day I felt extremely uncomfortable going any further so off we toddled into the market to buy the infamous Roxy top, a horrible sequined thing which was cheap and good enough to cover my shoulders.  Little did I know that the Roxy top would be coming to the rescue again, in a completely different way, a week later!  A couple of thousand stairs to climb and we were at the top of the hill, known locally as the Million Dollar hill, called that because of the amount of shelling done by the Americans during the war.  Rob managed to get some panoramic views of the surrounding paddy fields before we made our way down using the access road.  He enjoyed the little climb up, I was just happy with the knowledge we’d be leaving early the next day!  We ended up walking the 6km back into town and spent a restful night in the hotel before catching a boat up the river the next morning to cross into Cambodia.  Vietnam was a great experience for us, and we both admit we could have spent a bit more time there, perhaps exploring more of the national parks located in the centre of the country. However, since the beaches of Thailand and Malaysia were beckoning, we didn’t want to linger in the cooler climate.  Next stop, Cambodia…