Back home Australia April 2010

Back home in Adelaide and we were welcomed with a most beautiful sunset. The picture is taken from our balcony. It's nice to be back home.

Bangkok 27th to 29th april 2010

Leaving the family in Bangkok. Photo taken in front of their shop and home in Bangkok (from left Garfield, Kak, Eh and Cartoon). We would like to thank them for their wonderful hospitality and care.

Photos taken at the local market in Bangkok. The first is of the market, the second is Kak choosing the vegetables for our meal that night and the third is of a cat sleeping on the scales in the market. Very cute. They tried to give the cat away to us but we had to decline. These foreigners - the pictures they take......

taken at night just near the house. Bangkok University and the highway taken from an overhead pedestrian bridge.

Eh's new business (a franchise called polar bear) which he has set up out the front of their home. It is in a street which comes alive at night with food stalls and restaurants lining the street. It is very popular and he is kept busy with many customers. We tried the ice deserts which are absolutely delicious.

Hue 24 - 27 April 2010

We caught a taxi to the airport on the 27th of April. Flew Vietnam airlines to Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) and then Air Asia to Bangkok. We had a 6 hour wait at the airport which was not very exciting. We visited a local shopping centre to fill the time and enjoyed a steamboat lunch just like the one we learnt to cook in Hoi An.


The front of our hotel in Hue called the Hue Holiday Hotel. It was set in a long narrow lane which provided a quiet haven far from the traffic noises. The staff were so very friendly and we very much enjoyed our stay here.

While in Hue we did a day tour and visited the Minh Mang Tomb, the Tu Duc Tomb, The Thein Mu Pagoda and the Citadel. We had lunch in Hue at a local restaurant and also visited a village where they make incense sticks.

Robert did another cooking class at the Missy Roo Restaurant and learnt to cook spring rolls both fried and fresh, prawn and pork pancakes and vietnamese beef noodle soup.


Tomb

Thien Mu Pagoda temple. The buddhist monks were praying while we visited.

The Citadel - moat surrounding the citadel.

The Citadel in Hue City. The entrance to a meditation garden.

Minh Mang tomb - the guardians of the tomb

The king on his golden chair at the Thien Mu Pagoda on the Perfume River.

Minh Mang tomb - One of the two obelisks near the Minh Lau Pavilion (one is ying and the other is yang).

Robert making incence sticks at a village. Training for a new career!!!

A local residence in Hue, typical of architecture there. Near our hotel.

We are now staying at the Hue Holiday Hotel. We are both having withdrawal symptoms of Hoi An which we loved. Hue is lovely but not a patch on Hoi An.

Today (Sunday) we went on a tour of ancient tombs and temples and the ancient citadel in Hue City. It was a good day. Tomorrow Robert has another cooking lesson booked and a massage for us both in the afternoon. We fly from Hue to Ho Chi Minh and then to Bangkok on Tuesday, so Monday is our last day in Vietnam. Hmmm!!!! Sad to say....

We are yet to find our favourite restaurant in Hue. Nothing is standing out yet but I am sure we will find it.

Photos to come......

Hoi An - Vietnam - 18-23 April 2010

Rode our bikes to the beach, only a 3km ride but it was a head wind so hard work. The weather turned quite wintry and watching the waves while drinking beer at a beach side restaurant was quite entertaining. Patricia was being entertained by a hawker trying to sell their wares - at escalated prices as always......

The sister of the tailor where Patricia had a dress made in Hoi An. She got to entertain us heaps while waiting for the last minute adjustments to be made to the dress.

The bike ride in the village on the island. Riding along very narrow paths between crops...

On the island, Robert assisted the ladies with thrashing the rice in the machine. They wanted him to have a go but he wasn't very good at it. He brought a smile to their faces in what was most likely for them another back breaking day in the field. Their laughter could be heard from afar. They even offered him a drink from their esky which he declined but it's good to know they look after themselves in such hot conditions.

Photo of the inside of the first hotel we stayed at. It was beautiful and had the best breakfast but the room wasn't very nice, so we shifted.

Across from 'our restaurant', a lady asleep at lunch time. That evening we bought some peanuts and ginger from a hawker and it turned out to be the same lady. In the morning, Robert had helped some restaurant owners unload ice from a boat, and she also turned out to be the sister of the restaurant owner. Suppose Hoi An's a small place and the people are so friendly. We think this is a pretty good photo. She liked it when she saw it too.....

The nice ladies that ripped Patricia off. Charged her 40,000 dom for 6 bananas. But they smiled a lot - no wonder - so got their photo taken.

As usual, we have found our favourite restaurant which just has the best food. Tried some others but we keep coming back. We did cooking lessons with them. The owner is a trained chef. We learnt how to cook spring rolls, water spinach with garlic and onions and a pork steamboat. So watch out, you may get steam boat next time you come to visit back in Adelaide....

The other feature is beer on keg. They call it Fresh Beer and it's 4000 Dom which is about 20cents a mug. Many restaurants in Hoi An have it also.

There are several islands in the area including a fishing village. There are several ferries which take locals back and forth for a small fee. There is a bridge but it's a lot further away. The girls in white are the senior school girls. Dressed in white silk. They look beautiful and some how manage to stay so clean. We took the ferry to the island with our bikes and rode for miles. It was very hot but we got to see village life close up.

Went on an hour river cruise, just us and the driver. Robert got to take the wheel for a short time, and nearly managed to clean up a fishing net rig. The driver took back over promptly with a big smile..... it was a great way to see the area and watch fishermen at work. The lady in the boat had dropped off produce at the produce market and was on her way home.

Robert with Andrew, the son of one of the stall holders who took a fancy to Robert. As usual he is the pied piper with most children. But he didn't buy the hat, thank goodness......

Views from the bridge to our hotel. At night the river is all lit up. We overlook the river from the restaurant at the An Hoi Hotel.


Patricia on the sleeper bus with a big smile. She hates normal buses especially overnight....

Stayed at the Thanh Van Hotel for 1 night and then shifted to the Ann Hoi Hotel which was recommended by someone along the way and it's been a good move. It's on an island with a little bridge which connects with the Old City. Now the old city is just great. It's being preserved well and is full of interesting shops, museums, restaurants, old dwellings being kept in their original state. A problem for the locals is that the whole city floods just about every year to varying heights, up to 2.7m high. Loving our stay here and will be leaving on Saturday to go to Hue, our last stop before flying back to Saigon and then to Bangkok.

Arrived in Hoi An. The sleeper bus was fantastic. You actually get to lie down horizontal. Patricia slept so well, lulled to sleep by the continual rocking motion. Robert not so good as he was on the bottom bunk and the road was pretty rough at times which is pretty normal for Vietnam. He finished up with a headache. Next time will make sure he is on top.

Well we are on our way to Hoi An leaving at 7pm, hopefully on a sleeper bus, fingers crossed. They look fantastic with beds that lay right back. We will be travelling all night arriving at 6.30am Monday morning. We have booked into the Thanh Van Hotel 1.

Nha Trang 16/04/2010

Our laptop is dead - didn't survive the lást bus trip due to rough handling. Not so easy now to do our blog but we will perservere.

Saturday 17 April -today we went on a city tour with a guide - our very own and it was good. We were able to ask the questions that we had nơ answers to and get a response.

Visited a mud spa and here is a picture of Patricia in the mud. It was an interesting experience. We followed it with a very strong shower - getting that mud off was difficult. Then we had a hot spring bath which we shared with a young Russian couple. It was enjoyable learning about each other's country. Hey - sâme same but different.

Now, can you even guess what this is????? Well, it's Robert. do you recognise the legs!!!! We visited a Buddhist temple and a monk offered this interesting service where you get gonged. We both enjoyed very much. One of those experiences that will be hard to repeat.

Friday 23 April - we went on a tour of the 4 islands near Nha Trang. Had a fantastic time. Photos below.

Robert jumping off the top of the boat. The idea was then to float in a floaty and enjoy a cocktail. Patricia managed to capture one of the jumps!!!


We visited an Aquarium on the island and this is the view from the top, of the local fishing boats in the harbour. They are very colourful. It's a treat to see them going out to sea at sunset, all in convoy. And then the horizon is lit with the lights they use to attract the fish, when the sun sets.

A Turtle and a Groper at the Aquarium.

The first hotel we stayed in at Nha Trang, St Paul's, had this amazing restaurant at the top for breakfast. It had sliding windows and was very breezy. The waitress didn't put the menu on the table, she held it while you looked.... and then most of the items on the menu weren't available. But she was so gorgeous and friendly, we didn't mind. When we say gorgeous, she had black hair greying at the temple. She looked at our hair and said the popular saying in Vietnam 'same same but different'. In other words, black or blond, but we still go grey. Should have taken a picture of her. We got kicked out of the hotel - hee hee!!! Not really, they were full the next night.


Some of the views on our trip from Da Lat to Nha Trang. Mountains, mist and a very windy narrow road. The road was being reconstructed - the whole 100 kms of it so it was a very slow journey. The last picture shows the road through a village. Everything was covered in dust and we felt sorry for the people living there.