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So we arrive in Vietnam and it takes us 2 hours to get through the border control. This seems to be the shape of things to come. Saigon seems so busy and crossing the street is a challenge. We're told by a local to just walk slowly and let the bikes and cars avoid you. If need be you just put your hand up and the cars will stop. Otherwise you'd wait for hours to get across. We get a top floor room with a balcony overlooking the backpacker district. Class views to watch the crazy traffic below.

Saigon and Nha Trang

Gareth Penpraze
2007-04-20 22:59:01

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be you just put your hand up and the cars will stop. Otherwise you'd wait for hours to get across. We get a top floor room with a balcony overlooking the backpacker district. Class views to watch the crazy traffic below.

We go to see the Chu Chi tunnels where the Viet Cong fought the Yanks uderground on the way being taken to a souvenier place with everything being made by handicapped people. Mostly overpriced junk that Americans or Japenese would buy. You couldn't see the entrance's to the tunnels and I'm not surprised there were so many casualities. They set traps in the jungle and would launch surprise ambushes on the Americans. They stayed down there all day and came out at night to fight. You had to go on your hands and knees to get through the tunnels, even then they were widened for the tourists to go down. After we went to a war museum back in Ho Chi Minh to see loads of war memorabilia and pictures taken during the war. Some pretty shocking pictures.

We get our ticket sorted to go to Hanoi, stopping at Nha Trang, Hoi An and Hue all for $16. The bus to Nha Trang is almost 12 hours and 560kms. Its good to see the countryside but its a waste of a day. Some woman keeps trying to put her seat back and digging into my knees. Not a comfortable journey at all. The bus slows right down to make sure we arrive just after dark and stops at their guest house. People jump on the bus and try to sell their rooms and others try to grab the bags. We manage to wrestle free and get away while they are shouting down the road after us. We walk for a half hour, take a taxi journey and settle on $17 a room, the most expensive we've had since leaving!!

The beach is only 5 minutes walk so we spend the day lazying about the beach. You can get anything you want on the beach. Seafood cooked infront of you, drinks, bracelets and necklaces, snorkles, books, paintings, you name it they have it. We decide to do a tour to some islands the next day taking in Monkey Island on the way. The beaches are amazing on the islands with all sorts of wildlife caged up - Ostriches, deer, parrots, elephants and of course the monkeys. I'm a little worried about getting a scratch or something from the monkey's - guaranteed rabies!! We finish off watching a show where the monkeys are all suited up doing handstands, lifting weights, walking tightropes blindfolded. I just wonder how much punishment they have been through to learn and do the tricks. Check out the video up top.

We just spend the next day on the beach again. By this time we know all the sellers by name. There's a group that do paraglyding but aren't busy at all. So one of the sellers asks if we want a go, first for $6 and I say no, then they offer $3 (usually $20). So why not I think. Its absolutely amazing. He took me out over the ocean and back along the beach and you can see the whole way over the city, at one point I thought I was going to land on a German couple that were on the tour the day before and then one of sellers. I didn't realise after I'd have to start selling the paraglyding to others on the beach but for full price. It seemed to work though and the guys were really happy not to mention the huge smile on my face as well.

Next stop Hoi An, the cheapest clothes making town on Earth!!