Ho Chi Minh:
Well, first stop was Ho Chi Minh City; previously known as Saigon, but renamed after 1975 to the name of a national hero.
The only really notable point of the city is just how many mopeds and motorbikes there are, i.e. billions. I was planning to buy a motorbike and travel up the Vietnamese coast, but after seeing how they I drive I decided that here wasn't the best place to learn. I'll learn in England and come back again in a couple of years to do it. Lizzie and I rented a couple of "cyclos"; push-bike taxis that have a seat on the front. We were on them for a day and checked out some Chinese temples, interspersed with narrowly avoiding calamitous moped drivers on roundabouts.
Nha Trang:
Nha Trang is a coastal town that could easily be on the Coste Del Sol, but not in a particularly bad way. It's main bonus point is the luscious beach; the first I've been to since Goa in India. We spent a lot of time sunbathing and larking around in the drink...plus a boat trip which took us around the islands. That was crazy, and involved a lot of beer-guzzling and being entertained by our host "Funky Monkey". We were served up a mouth-watering lunch on deck and "treated" to the crew's "band" playing "classics". The "drums" consisted of several cooking pots, turned upside-down with "Yamaha" etched on to the sides.
All very beautiful, though, and I DJed here in a place called "Why Not?". My ace travelling companions, Matt, Steph, Holly and Lizzie supported me and I played my track "Filth Hut" for the first time in public. Good times!
Funky Monkey
Funky Monkeys
Click on pic and check out the dude with the mic.
Our lunch on the boat trip.
Hoi An:
Hoi An was my favourite place in Vietnam....such a picturesque little riverside town, with massive Colonial-French and Chinese influence. On our first day here on the quay, Groove Armada's "At The River" player over and over in my head. There are more tailors than you can shake a mannequin's arm at, and I got a couple of quality three-piece suits cut and shipped back to Blighty. I kind of want to come home early just so I can strut about in them. I bumped into Thomas Allard here, a mate from London! He joined the team for the rest of Vietnam.
There's also a great, paradise beach a couple of kilometres out of town that we rented bicycles and cycled to.
Hue:
Hue Hey we're the Monkeys.
Hue is ok, but is another large town / city. However, we all rented bikes with drivers for the day, and were taken to all manner of tranquil temples and forts. I had some kind of Harley Davidson type bike and it was awesome! When we got out of the city it was very, very beautiful.
We also went to the monastery where the monk who burned himself to death in protest lived.
Hanoi:
The capital of Vietnam, and surprisingly scenic. The main backpacker places are in the old quarter of this city, and whilst busy, retains a lot of culture and French influence. Here is where we booked our tickets to Halong bay...
Halong Bay:
So...on to Halong bay! This place is incredible. If you haven't seen it, you really should. It's a vast expanse of water, dotted with thousands of rugged limestone islands jutting straight up out of the water. We took a traditional Junk trip to Cat Ba Island and some caves, and trekked up through the national park. It really is like the island on Jurassic Park! We sea-kayaked to Monkey Island (I know; great, eh?) but the sea got a little choppy so we ended up paddling around these fishing villages built entirely on the water. There were loads of dogs kept on these pontoons that went berserk whenever we got near, and our crafts were assailed by a bunch of completely naked children. They took immense pleasure from slithering up on to the kayaks and leaping off again. A certain member of our party wanted to take one home as her own child, but we held her down.
Jurassic Park
And so, back to Hanoi and then a brief flight down to Bangkok again, to head down to the south Islands and the infamous Full Moon Party. I parted company with Matt and Steph here as they were then going to China. Goodbye, Team Alpha....it was a good run. I also parted company with Lizzie and Holly, with the promise of meeting them down in Thailand.
Onwards to paradise!
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