SAIGON HCMC VIETNAM
Visit some of vthe main tourist spots around Saigon HCMC including the War Museum and the re unification palace used by the former South Vietnamese government prior to the War with Northy Vietnam.
We are getting museum and temple fatigue, so decide to take time out from our adventure for a holiday. Somebody told us about a beautiful Island off the South West coast mainland called Phu Quoc. We book flights with Vietnam Airlines and board a small 70 seater plane for the 1 hour flight over the Mekong Delta. Phu Quoc only has a handful of tarmaced roads the rest is dirt track. We manage to find a small resort on the 17kms long west coast beach, which is a beautiful palm tree lined unspoilt white sand stretch of coast. The resort is called Beach Club and has about 12 rooms in bungalow style accomodation right on the beach front. Our rooms are nearest to the beach and the smell and the sound of the sea is arelaxing change from the hustle and traffic fumes of Saigon HCMC. Originally we only intended to stay for 3 days, but the daily swim in the warm crystal clear sea and accompanying landscape outside our front door is so appealing that we decide to stay for a week as island beachcombers and absorb this beautiful unspoilt place.
The resort owner tells us that International Hotelliers are planning to develop the coast and a new airport to accept bigger jets is on the drawing board, so things will change soon, meanwhile if you plan to visit Vietnam try to build this place into your agenda.
We hire motorbikes ( Mike hasn't been on a motorbike since he was 18 so needed a few hours by himself to practice ) and visit the Island to find unspoilt deserted beaches and small fishing villages the main industry for the locals. We find tiny bays and beaches down dirt tracks not on the map.
Tuesday 28th March
Totally relaxed and refreshed head back to Saigon HCMC via Rach Gia and the Mekong Delta by local bus.
Our plan is to head North to Hanoi and across to Hong Kong. We buy a 30 day open tour bus ticket for 18 US dollars that will take us up to Hanoi and allows us to hop off and on the bus at various locations along the main highway that follows the coast along the spine of Viertnam and the South China sea.
We stop at Dalat a cooler climate town high up on the Lan Dong Plateau, then the coastal town of Nha Trang another opportunity to Swim in the Sea. We decide to stay a few days at this delightful town a sort of Vietnamese 'Brighton'.
There are Islands off shore where you can swim and Snorkel, so we book a boat trip for the next day..
Monday 3rd April
8am Board boat with a group of Irish / british travellers. Brits bring a cool box full of beer, by lunchtime the singing and dancing is in full swing much to the amazement of the Vietnamese on board, who are gob smacked at the amount of alcohol consumed and sight of bikini clad white skin on show. Most Vietnamese want white skin and cover up face, arms, hands, to protect from the suns rays, the opposite to most westerners who want bronze brown skin like the Vietnamese. So you have the bizarre sceneario on the beach whereby locals are fully dressed and westerners have virtually nothing and can be spotted from a mile across the beach.
Wednesday 4th April.
Hoi An - A beautiful coastal town with a huge market and french achitecture, with part of the town being pedestrian only. A Unesco world heritage town, hardly touched by the American Vietnamese war, so it still looks much the same as when it was first developed by the french over 150 years ago.
Friday 7th April.
Hue - a university town and another Unesco site. We take a day tour to the DMZ ( demilitarized zone ) between North and South Vietnam where most of the action took place during the American / Vietnam War. Part of the tour includes a visit to the tunnels built by the Viet Cong ( North Vietnamese ) to hide from the Americans. We go underground into narrow long clay mud tunnels to feel what it must have been like - the tunnels run for miles with intricate ventilation shafts cleverly consealed. Hard to believe that people lived undergroubnd like this for the duration of the War apparently 17 babies were born underground while the action was taking place above. American bombing and military action was evident everywhere with deserted helicopters and tanks scattered around the various stopping places on route. The Vietnamese are still discovering land mines and unexploded bombs at some of the sights - thirty years after the action.
Sunday 9th April
A change of mind for the last leg of our Vietnam jouney North - we take the Train rather than Bus.
posted by MartineandMike @ 6:43 PM
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