Vietnam Blog Part 1 - Cantho, Mekond Delta and Ho Chi Minh
This has been a long time coming and I'm so sorry for such a delay but here is my second country stop on my amazing Asian tour!
Second stop on our trip of South East Asia was Vietnam. I had heard a lot about Vietnam from people before I went, so I was very excited to cross the border into Vietnam. We spent about 2 weeks in Vietnam, so I will be splitting it into a few posts. This post will look at my first 3 stops in Vietnam - Cantho, Mekong Delta and Ho Chi Minh (Saigon).
Cantho.
We start off with my transfer from Cambodia to Cantho in Vietnam. We got a bus to the Cambodian - Vietnamese border, where like the other borders, we had to cross by foot, this was verging on unbearable, the heat was scorching and we had a 15 minute walk between borders, and then a wait for a public bus at the end.
Eventually we got to our home-stay in Cantho and we could not be more excited to be still on our feet, although we still felt as though we were bouncing around on the rickety bus. This was a home-stay with the privilege of a fan in the rooms (which we were so happy about) and double rooms for couples.
(Above 6 photos: The surrounding area and the extended family homes)
After we had put our belongings on our chosen beds, we went for a tour of the surrounding village, that consisted of 50 families with around 5-7 people per household. Our guide was a local teen who was studying at university and was very informative and happy to chat. Once we returned to the home-stay we had a while to explore ourselves (but had to be careful of the river, which in some places was so covered that you could accidentally step in, with the water snakes and rats...no thanks). The family then came to cook local food with us and showed us how they cooked their home meals. We cooked Bánh Xèo (pronounced Bun Sale), which was a savory filled crêpe.
We went for lunch at Pho 2000, which is the restaurant Bill Clinton ate in when smoothing ties between Vietnam and America in 2000. Since then, this once humble restaurant has rocketed to the top of tourist lists and is in high demand. The restaurant looks like a fast food restaurant and as it only seats a small number of people, the service is like McDonalds with table service. The Pho is nice, but not the best I tasted on my trip to Vietnam, but worth a visit just for the US-Vietnamese history that Ho Chi Ming is steeped in.
(Above: The Minister's Cabinet Room)
(Above: The view from the central balcony at the Reunification Palace)
(Above: The entrance to the tunnels and hiding places)
After our morning at the tunnels, we got a bus back to central Ho Chi Minh and went for lunch at a dodgy restaurant opposite the War Remnants Museum, where the food was nice, but I suggest you don't visit the toilet before you eat! Although they did have the coolest decor!
(Above: The coolest beer wreath at our lunch restaurant)
We then walked to the Notre Dame Cathedral and the post office, where I wrote postcard for my family and posted them home to remind my family I am alive (I felt so old-fashioned and grown up all at once). Which then lead to an uncultured trip to the McDonalds next door as my boyfriend was desperate for a McFlurry and I wanted a tea and a book to dive into so didn't object.
(Above Left: The Notre Dame Cathedral; Above Right: The Post Office Exterior)
(Above: The inside of the post office)
(Above: The book store we visited - which made me so excited as a super book worm)
Our trip to the station for our overnight train took a detour through a food market that I would thoroughly recommend and then to the Ben Thanh Market where I had my first bartering experience for some sunglasses I had seen for the trip so far and was desperate to get my hands on them.
(Above: The food market on the way back from Ben Thanh Market)
(Above: The Ben Thanh Market)
(Above: The traffic volumes in Ho Chi Minh)
The sheer traffic volumes in Ho Chi Minh are baffling, it's so hard to depict in pictures but I did my best for you all. Once at the station, we got into our bunking groups, with mine being with Adam, Marco and Toby.
(Above: The view from my train bed)
Off to Nha Trang we go!!
Second stop on our trip of South East Asia was Vietnam. I had heard a lot about Vietnam from people before I went, so I was very excited to cross the border into Vietnam. We spent about 2 weeks in Vietnam, so I will be splitting it into a few posts. This post will look at my first 3 stops in Vietnam - Cantho, Mekong Delta and Ho Chi Minh (Saigon).
Cantho.
We start off with my transfer from Cambodia to Cantho in Vietnam. We got a bus to the Cambodian - Vietnamese border, where like the other borders, we had to cross by foot, this was verging on unbearable, the heat was scorching and we had a 15 minute walk between borders, and then a wait for a public bus at the end.
Eventually we got to our home-stay in Cantho and we could not be more excited to be still on our feet, although we still felt as though we were bouncing around on the rickety bus. This was a home-stay with the privilege of a fan in the rooms (which we were so happy about) and double rooms for couples.
(Right: The view from the main road at our home stay Left: Our bed for the evening)
(Right and Left: The main living area for games and food)
After we had put our belongings on our chosen beds, we went for a tour of the surrounding village, that consisted of 50 families with around 5-7 people per household. Our guide was a local teen who was studying at university and was very informative and happy to chat. Once we returned to the home-stay we had a while to explore ourselves (but had to be careful of the river, which in some places was so covered that you could accidentally step in, with the water snakes and rats...no thanks). The family then came to cook local food with us and showed us how they cooked their home meals. We cooked Bánh Xèo (pronounced Bun Sale), which was a savory filled crêpe.
(Left: Our home-stay family cooking Right: Our amazing dinner, including our Bánh Xèo)
The food was incredible, however our appetites were shrinking so we were struggling with the hospitable amount of food provided. After clearing the plates, we were all knackered from the journey and border crossing, so went to the outbuilding we were sleeping in and got into our beds, under our mosquito nets.
Mekong Delta.
The next morning we were up early for breakfast, then we took a short trip with our guide to the floating market on the Mekong Delta. On our journey to the waterside we were shown the water rats and snakes we had been warned of the night before, but in a vivid and torturous manner, which made the majority of the group so uncomfortable that we had to look away.
Once on our boat on the Mekong Delta, we sailed through the market where boats had flag masts with what they were selling attached to the top to make it clear.
If you wanted to buy things off the larger boats, you would have to clamber from your own onto theirs to purchase which was worrying and exciting at the same time. We bought Vietnam's famous iced coffee which is made with condensed milk and meant to be sweet, but as a non-coffee dreamer it was still to bitter for my liking, but is a must try. We also bought a hand-carved pineapple, although you are told to avoid hand-carved fruit in Asia, however we found this fine on the Mekong Delta as it is not washed in tap water.
From here we popped to a local market and then began the journey to Ho Chi Minh (Saigon).
Ho Chi Minh.
Once in Ho Chi Minh, we left our bags in the hotel and as we were restricted on time we went straight out to see the sights. The city is busier than you'd expect and is very developed and western.
(Above: Pho at Pho 2000)
After our whistle stop lunch, we went to the Reunification Palace (Independence Palace) and the War Remnants Museum.
(Above: The Reunification Palace from outside)
(Above: The outside of the War Remnants Museum)
(Above: The inside of the War Remnants Museum)
Both of these are very interesting and provide the other side of history we weren't taught at school, however, the opinions in the War Remnants Museum should be taken with a pinch of salt as they have some extreme biases, but do demonstrate how different sides saw the situation during the period. It does also make you realise that the war was longer than we do see, spanning from 1955 - 1975, with countries other than America. After a day full of history and travelling we let our hair down at a three floor bar called Donkey Bar, followed by a bit of a bar crawl.
(Above: Our night out in Ho Chi Minh)
This was a great night but felt quite dangerous on the walk back, mainly because the traffic and sheer amount of mopeds and tuk-tuk's whizzing around was overwhelming. It's incredible to see and you would see nothing like this in many other places!
The next day we were up bright and early for a day at the Chu Chi Tunnels. I was so intrigued to see what this was like as our tour guide had hooked us up with a really interesting guide for the tunnels. He was a Vietnamese war veteran who fought for South Vietnam for 8 years, with 3 of those with the US army as a translator, who gave us some really insightful stories regarding the war. Coming from the UK we are always quite detached from this war, however hearing stories first hand from someone who fought and experienced some of the horrific ordeals of the war was so grounding.
(Above: The tunnel entrance and our amazing guide demonstrating traps)
We then traveled through an 100m tunnel that was open for tourists and had been widened to prevent problems with tourists getting stuck, however the last 20m was the original size of the tunnels which became worrying for the group members that were left with me. There was an opening for people to get out when they realised the tunnel became smaller, it was so hot down in the tunnels and people being hidden down there for hours during the war must have been horrific!After our morning at the tunnels, we got a bus back to central Ho Chi Minh and went for lunch at a dodgy restaurant opposite the War Remnants Museum, where the food was nice, but I suggest you don't visit the toilet before you eat! Although they did have the coolest decor!
We then walked to the Notre Dame Cathedral and the post office, where I wrote postcard for my family and posted them home to remind my family I am alive (I felt so old-fashioned and grown up all at once). Which then lead to an uncultured trip to the McDonalds next door as my boyfriend was desperate for a McFlurry and I wanted a tea and a book to dive into so didn't object.
(Above Left: The Notre Dame Cathedral; Above Right: The Post Office Exterior)
(Above: The inside of the post office)
Our trip to the station for our overnight train took a detour through a food market that I would thoroughly recommend and then to the Ben Thanh Market where I had my first bartering experience for some sunglasses I had seen for the trip so far and was desperate to get my hands on them.
The sheer traffic volumes in Ho Chi Minh are baffling, it's so hard to depict in pictures but I did my best for you all. Once at the station, we got into our bunking groups, with mine being with Adam, Marco and Toby.
Off to Nha Trang we go!!