Vietnam

Rex1
Wed 26 Dec 2012 07:25

After realising we would be without an engine while Monty and Mitch were with us for 12 days we decided to venture to Vietnam for a week. We needed 2 days to apply for visas at the embassy and Monty booked the flights and hotels. Greg treated the kids to lunch at the Raffles Marina staff cafeteria on their first day – he had warned them to dress up as he was taking them to a very special restaurant.  It is located in the car park of the marina (you might be getting the picture about the interior and ambience) but serves great canteen style food that costs about $10 for 3 people. We spent 2 days shopping in Singapore (is there really anything else to do here!) and went to the Newton Hawker Street Food Market – fantastic food, although Mitch got a shock when he ordered 2 lobsters which he thought were $6 each, only to have them cooked and told that would be $72 – it was $6 per 100gms! It is the same in supermarkets – yesterday there was 3 small pieces of steak for $5.95 per 100gms, so the total was $65. Just crazy, needless to say we haven’t had a steak since we arrived in Singapore.

We arrived at Changi airport on Thursday night ready for our flight to Ho Chi Minh, only to be met with a 4 hour delay on Jetstar, so we thought we should try the fish spa. We paid about $20 each to have hundreds of small fish suck and chew away at our feet in a spa for 30 minutes.  It truly is a weird sensation that takes a lot of getting used to and Mitch absolutely hated every minute of it and the fact he wasted $20!  

We stayed at Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) for 2 nights and did a half day tour on the first morning. The city is the largest in Vietnam with approx. 9 million people and nearly 6 million motorbikes and is the main commercial and economic hub. We stayed in a great hotel in the old quarter (District 1) and were close to everything. Vietnam’s population is approx. 87 million, but was only 32 million in 1979 so it is rare to find a lot of old people – the majority of the population is in their 30s. We visited the War Remnants Museum, the Independence Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral, the General Post Office, Ben Thanh market and then had traditional beef pho (noodle soup) for lunch. We also had some amazing pastries at a Vietnamese french bakery. Monty and I went for a Vietnamese massage for 2 hours (cost $10) – it was not for tourists and was located in a dodgy part of town – we even saw a rat outside. We enjoyed the massage, steam room and foot reflexology but were set upon by the massage girls at the end demanding a massive tip. We left for town pretty quickly and met the boys at the Park Hyatt bar for a few beverages.

On Saturday we took a 1.5 hour trip on a hydrofoil from Saigon to the port city of Vung Tau 125 miles south on the South China Sea. During the Vietnam War, Vung Tau was home to Australian Army and US support units, plus an R&R haunt for GIs. In the late 70s it was also an escape route for boat people fleeing the communist regime. Greg loved the river trip through the muddy water and mangroves watching local fishermen and large ships passing on narrow stretches. Vung Tau is popular with locals but not for international travellers as it has seen better days and has lost most of its charm.  We arrived to find our hotel was 45 minutes away from town, that they only had 1 room booked for us and the taxi driver refused to leave until we paid him more money than we originally negotiated! Greg was sick, so we spent the rest of the afternoon at pool. The beachfront resort was quite nice but there is no way you would venture into the waves. So after 1 night we were very happy to be leaving for HCMC again.

Back in HCMC we tracked down a chemist to get some cold and flu drugs – this man was hilarious sitting in his white coat at the counter looking very sick and smoking, but he had the goods. We also treated ourselves to a $4 manicure and a dinner at the Park Hyatt. I should mention that I lost Greg’s good Maui Jim sunglasses en route to Vietnam so he spent the whole trip upset about his bloody glasses – that’s why I think he was sick. So at every opportunity the ‘lost sunglasses’ were mentioned! To top it off Mitchell left his swimmers at the resort.

We had a beautiful breakfast on Monday morning before taking a flight to Hanoi. The buffet breakfasts in Vietnam are tasty, extensive and cheap with the inclusion of a Vietnamese coffee. Even I tried it every couple of days – they serve it with condensed milk, coffee and ice (you can also have it served hot). Maybe I could get to like coffee after all! Greg was not a fan and found it very hard to find a decent long black anywhere in Vietnam.

We arrived in Hanoi after lunch and took over an hour to try to locate the hotel – we gave up in the end and got out of the taxi and walked. They must be able to sense when hoteliers are staying because we arrived at the Church Boutique Hotel in the old quarter to be told there was a water leak and they were moving us to another of their hotels. It all worked out well as the other hotel was just 2 streets away and we were given the top floor suite with a roof garden. However at 4.30am a workman started to work on the hotel’s generator just above our ceiling!

Hanoi’s population is about 6 million and has been the political centre of Vietnam since 1010 – it is an exciting jumble of ancient relics, grand colonial buildings and modern developments. The government officially allowed private trade in 1986 under its policy of ‘renovation’. It is more cosmopolitan and cultural than HCMC. We stayed in the Old Quarter of the Hoan Kiem District which is centred around Hoan Kiem Lake. The old quarter is a jumbled warren of approximately 36 small, twisting streets originally portioned into trade guilds. It is still easy to see what each street trades in – shoes, stone masonry, bamboo, silk etc.  We loved it and were forever getting lost amongst the small streets and alleys – the tangle of power lines that are strung along each street is something to behold – no OH&S here.

We originally wanted to visit Halong Bay but we just didn’t have enough time so we opted for a day tour to the ancient capital of Vietnam, Hoa Lu and Tam Coc. We spent 2 hours on a small bus travelling south out of Hanoi along some very rough roads to Hoa Lu where we visited ancient temples, followed by lunch and a small rowboat ride and bicycle tour at Tam Coc (known as three caves). We spent 2 hours floating down a serene winding river flanked by rice paddies as we passed through three low lying caves. Most of the boats were rowed by women and they all used their feet to row and steer – so impressive and they make it look effortless. But while we were on the river Mitch and Greg were mucking about and Greg’s new pair of sunglasses fell into the murky river!!! Luckily these were $8 Vietnam sunnies. The scenery was just beautiful and the people welcoming, although some were seasoned salesmen after the tourist dollar.

We also visited the legendary Sofitel Metropole hotel in Hanoi that was just beautiful, we couldn’t afford to stay there so we did the next best thing and had drinks and dinner. Monty and I enjoyed a flight of French champagne for about $40 each and we also rugged up in blankets at the pool bar. Hanoi was just 18-22 degrees most days and we were not prepared for the cold. Thankfully Greg and Mitch had stumbled across a genuine North Face seconds outlet where we purchased some fantastic winter jackets for 1/5 of the real retail price. Mitch also had a suit made by a Vietnamese tailor – unfortunately they didn’t use the lining he wanted so he was a bit disappointed but he drove a hard bargain (his dad was very proud!)

Trying to cross the street in Hanoi was always exciting and dangerous and it was hilarious to see taxis that were Hyundai Getz’ (just like mine at home). We really enjoyed all the food in Vietnam and Monty, Mitch and Greg ate everything – pork, goat, frogs and NOODLES for breakfast, lunch and dinner! I particularly loved the fried northern spring rolls with minced crab, prawn, mushroom, onion and duck egg – I couldn’t get enough of them. Mitch and Mont also went out to sample the night life but Mitch did us proud arriving home at 6.30am – he blames it on the cheap price of Hanoi beer.

All in all we loved Vietnam and would all like to visit again with more time to explore – the food, people and country were beautiful and not to mention good value!