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The last day in Saigon
Today was our last full day in HCMC, my last proper day of holidays (at least for now). L feeling a whole lot better, not 100% though, so after a pretty good hotel breakfast (pho, and lots of other little bites — and unlike the last hotel, no baconfail) we headed out for a wander and last shop. L got a Vietnam starbucks mug to add to her stash. Wandered into a swanky mall, lots of european designer brands and prices similar to Perth before heading off for another massage. We went with the 90 minute body massage, and it was quite relaxing if with a bit of stretching thrown…
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Ho Chi Minh City
Full day in HCMC/Saigon (actually no one calls it Ho Chi Minh City, it gets used for official things, but everyone still calls it Saigon). I’ve lost count of what day we’re up to on this trip, but it was Thursday (I think). Had breakfast with the few remaining members of our tour, same wretched hotel breakfast made palatable by the pho. L still not feeling great, very full of flu, so went back to bed soon after. She left me in charge of procuring some souvenir bowls at the market, so a-wandering I went, crossing the roads without fear, entering the large market of haggling doom with a brave…
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Day 12 – Mekong Delta to HCMC, last day of tour
Woke up in the heat of the Mekong Delta for the last day of the Intrepid Food Adventures tour of Vietnam (though I’m probably going to do a summary tour post in a day or so once I’ve had some reflection time). Had a fabulous final breakfast of omlette and fresh baguettes, home made jam, coffee, and fruit (I think). A couple of the family’s children were running around, so there were some pics and lots of cute smiles all round. It has been a highlight of the trip, simple pleasures, eating food of the region, nothing flash, fancy or slightly fake. One of those days to realise that there…
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Day 11 – HCMC to Mekong Delta
Hotel breakfast as covered previously, pho the only saving grace but even then probably the winner of the worst meal of the trip – Hoi An hotel takeaway at least had the excuse of it having to be packable. Then it’s on the bus to the Mekong delta, minus a quick delay while the police shook down the bus driver for going outside the white lines on the freeway. The freeway is the only place in the country they enforce road rules apparently, and then it’s about a 6 million VND fine and 30 days suspended license, or something like that. Tour group all pitched in to help cover the…
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Day 10 – Hoi An to Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC)
I’ve been avoiding talking about the American/Vietnam war mostly, as I’m here for food not politics. Heading south, it’s harder to avoid, there are still scars and remnants and today’s tour was war heavy. Probably a good think L wasn’t 100% so took a rest day in the rather poor quality hotel room. Up early in Hoi An to bus to Danang for the flight to HCMC. Hotel kindly packed us breakfast for eating at the airport. The breakfast was nothing flash, the only edible part were the over hard boiled eggs, the rest was old bread, weird green fruit that no two tasted the same (looked like a small…
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Hoi An part 2
Food: There was much good food in Hoi An, but I’m going to give the award to the 30000 VND ($1.50) pho and tea two doors down from the hotel/resort we were staying at. Lovely fresh flavours, lots of fabulous chilli paste, and very unpretentious – the owners’ small child was running around (at least we thought it was the owners’, it could have been anyone’s) and was happy to be picked up and smiled at. It wasn’t an official recommended place, just somewhere we wandered into walking back one night. Also not official but very popular with our group was the local fresh beer hall, 3000 VND (15 cents)…
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Days 7,8,9 – Hoi An 1
Condensing all the days in Hoi An into one post, as a way of catching up and also for continuity reasons. Hue to Hoi An by bus, a fairly long but pretty drive, three mountain passes and at the top of the tallest one remnants of French bunkers and an even older gate. Lunch stop was at a bakery along the beachfront in Da Nang, had a steamed bun and a vol au vent type thing, nothing special but apparently the baguettes were fabulous. Also had a quick break to take some photos of the little boats the fishermen use to get to the bigger boats, groovy little half balls.…
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Day 6 – Hue
Hue. Pronounced Hway. As in the sound a sleep deprived traveller makes when stepping off a train into bright light, holding a backpack, trying to balance. Hue. Hue’s schtick is that it’s an old and cultural city, the capital from 1803-1945 or thereabouts, home to 3 loved kings, 1 hated one, and 9 others who generally seem to have been treated with a mixture of reverent indifference. It’s a bit of a weird city, trying to figure out the whole narrative — there’s a lot of emphasis on the damage to the city from the American and French Wars (and always the damage caused by the invaders, not the local…
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Day 5, Halong Bay to Hue (the longest day)
It’s good to be writing this from a mostly comfy hotel bed (I probably haven’t mentioned they like hard beds over here) in airconditioned comfort, as this day was a killer. Woke up in time for breakfast on the boat in Halong Bay, followed by a short demonstration on vegetable carving. The chef does an impressive trick making a fish net out of a carrot. We then toodled back to the shore, hopped off the boat into the waiting bus for the long drive back to Hanoi. There’s only dual carrigeway for part of the route, the rest is just a lane each way and all the trucks, cars, buses…
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Day 4, Halong Bay
Have fallen a few days behind as it’s not easy typing on the bus, not quite being built for us larger western types. Am writing this on the road from Hue to China Beach (nowadays called Da Nang Beach). We’ve passed a few war graves on the road. A couple of days ago we were in Halong Bay, the pristine wilderness, World Heritage listed etc place. Looks fabulous, lots of dragon teeth peaks rising out of the ocean. Had a fantastic seafood lunch, with a local baked clam as a favourite. Took t Worked it off in the afternoon with an hour or so kayaking with L around the Bay,…
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Day 3 Hanoi
Writing this from day 4, on top of a boat cruising Halong Bay. Yesterday was food food food. Morning was an early start, down the lobby at 745am for a quick stroll around the corner for breakfast pho. A perfectly civilised breakfast it is too, with extra doughnut crouton type thing. Yummy soupy goodness. Next stop was some local coffee, VN is one of the world’s biggest exporters of coffee, and we had a taste of the local brew. Not too bad, nothing too special but I think a bunch of that is down to the drip brew. We followed this with a stroll through the markets, quite busy, some…
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Hanoi – Day 2
First full day in Hanoi. Started with breakfast in the hotel, where I made a fusion breakfast of pho, crispy bacon and smoked dried fish. Quite yummy. Then a leisurely stroll down to the Temple of Literature, Vietnam’s oldest university, where the guidebooks say it’s possible to escape the bustle of Hanoi for a while. It really just swaps the bustle of the city with a bustle of tourists, less noisy but still a lot of people around. A handful of possibly Japanese young women wanted their photo taken with L and myself, not sure why. Strolled back, via an icecream parlour where I had durian frozen yogurt/icecream. Quite tasty.…
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Hanoi Day 1ish
Made it to Hanoi, through customs and I’m again in the old communist block. Not that it really shows, anyone wanting a totalitarian/nationalistic look and feel these days might as well check out Australia on January 26 — there are a bunch of flags around here right now but none on cars. Interestingly, judging by the building developments going on at the airport, they are less strict on branding than Western Australia. While I’m talking branding, Vietnam is a land of few fonts, it really is. There’s one used all over the place, somewhere between franklin condensed and impact. See it all the time. Sans serif rules the roost for…
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Transit – Changi – Vietnam Day 1
With Country Joe and the Fish in my head (Feel like I’m fixin’ to die rag http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xuUBCF3KKxc) we’re off to Vietnam. It’s our honeymoon, so first a huge thanks to everyone’s very generous contributions to our travel registry. We’re here because of you all, thank you. Here is presently Changi, the Golden Kris lounge at Terminal 3 (in true Singapore Airlines style, the posh lounge is the Silver Kris, the partner members are gold). I’ve just eaten congee for third breakfast. I succumbed to its charms. I’m no big fan of congee, if I want to consume something that kind of feels like warm vomit, well let’s just say I…
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vietnam -1 day
Almost packed and ready for a new adventure. A quick stop in Changi and then it’s two weeks in Vietnam. Stay tuned.
