Vietnam

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

VG: Ca y est ! Vous allez enfin pouvoir nous voir dans la grisaille et la pluie ! Dans le Nord du Vietnam il fait frais et c'est couvert. L'arrivee a Hanoi, ca a ete un peu le choc ! Ville surpeuplee ou tout le monde circule en scooter dans tous les sens et en klaxonant tout le temps ! Impossible de marcher sur les trottoirs a cause des scooters gares et des gens qui cuisinent par terre ! Il faut le voir (et l'entendre) pour le croire: c'est pour ca qu'on innove avec un petit film. Nous avons pris le train du Nord au Sud pour voir Hue (citadelle avec l'ancienne cite interdite et tombeaux imperiaux) puis Hoi An ou on s'est fait faire des vetements sur mesure. C'est genial: on arrive, on choisit un modele, un tissu, ils prennent nos mesures et quelques heures plus tard, c'est pret a porter !!! Evidemment on mange tres tres bien et on adore rencontrer les Vietnamiens en dehors des sites touristiques (voir les photos des enfants en particulier!). La ou il y a beaucoup de touristes, les gens sont beaucoup moins sympas... Snif !
AC: Vietnam! We arrived into a cloudy and cold Hanoi and made our way south along the coast through the cities of Hue and Hoi An. Instead of writing just which towns we visited (you can see them in the photos), this time I'll try and paint you a picture of the life here. The streets of the big cities are just a dis-organised chaos of motorbikes, scooters and buses. To cross the road, you just simply begin walking, don't look left or right, just walk and the scooters magically dodge you (sometimes only by inches) as you get to the other side of the street! The old saying 'He who hesitates is lost' holds very true here in Vietnam. The trains are a good experience too - especially the sleeper cabins, with 6 beds in each - you become quite aware of all the noises some people make when they sleep!! The people are fantastic - especially the kids in the smaller towns - they just love to have their picture taken and then check it out on the digital camera. They smile constantly and even more so when you give them a couple of sweets (check out the photo of V being swamped by the kids in Hoi An). We have had tailored-suits done (that is an experience in itself!), eaten fantastic foods, met some friendly other travelers (thanks to Severine for the photos!) and been amazed by the countryside and scenery. A word of advice (reference to the first photo of me in Hanoi) - in the big cities, have very small change ready to 'pay' for photos, even when you didn't ask to have the fruit seller put her equipment on your shoulders!!! Next stops - Nha Trang, Saigon and the Mekong Delta.
:: View the photos from Hanoi
:: View the photos from Hue
:: View the photos from Hoi An

View & listen to a short video-clip of Hanoi traffic
[NB. It's probably quicker to "right click" on the link, and choose 'save as' to download to your PC to view] - (Filesize 19Mb, please be patient!! )