Vietnam (South)

AC: We headed to Nha Trang, the coastal 'resort' town to get some sunshine and warmth after the cooler and wet days in Hanoi! We enjoyed fresh seafood cooked for us right on the beach by a friendly old lady! We took, with the usual reluctance, a tour to the nearby islands - and, as predicted it was pretty much useless. We learnt our penultimate lesson with organised tours as we were spent most time on the boat instead of visiting the islands etc. A tip - forget the tours, just do it yourself! We then headed to Saigon for some more 'city punishment' of busy streets and crazy scooters. We made up for it though, with some great seafood cooked at our table at a 'crazy' local restaurant! The best of Vietnam was left for last! We took a bus to Can Tho in the Mekong Delta and after V drank some 'snake wine' (see the pics) we decided to rent some motorbikes and do a day trip into the heart of the delta with Christian (a french expat running a cheap restaurant). We had a great time as the photos will show - 'shopping on the floating market' & meeting the 'real' vietnamese people in their villages. It was really enjoyable and a lot of fun to meet the kids - who hadn't really seen too many 'strange faces' before. Wow! Next stop... the boat to Cambodia!
VG: Apres la grisaille du nord, ca fait du bien de retrouver le soleil sur la plage de Nha Trang! Surtout quand on nous y prepare des crevettes grillees sur le sable! Seule erreur de notre part: redonner une chance aux tours organises pour touristes...on a passe une journee sur un bateau, c'etait horrible (karaoke, nems froids, visite d'un aquarium hyper kitsch - voir photos de l'espece de bateau de pirate et de la crevette geante...). Apres ca nous sommes partis a Saigon en train, et c'etait de nouveau un enfer avec tous les scooters, le bruit etc. Alors on est vite partis dans le delta du Mekong. On a loue une moto grace a quoi on a pu enfin aller hors des sentiers battus et visiter un tres beau marche flottant et des villages oú quasiment aucun touriste ne va...du coup nous etions l'attraction touristique ! Les gens etaient adorables et les enfants nous regardaient comme des extraterrestres ! On a vu comment on fait des feuilles de riz, des nattes, et on a fait le plein d'essence avec une espece de pompe a eau ! (PS: l'alcool de serpent c'est pas tres bon).
:: View the photos from Nha Trang & Saigon
:: View the photos from the Mekong Delta Floating Market
:: View the photos from the Mekong Delta Villages