Việt Nam - Week 1

Our travels through Vietnam have begun. This week has been a whirlwind of tours, site seeing and long distance travel. On our day in Ho Chi Minh city, also known as Saigon, we set out to see the Cu Chi tunnels. There is 250km of tunnels running underneath the ground where the citizens of Cu Chi lived when the Americans were attacking during the Vietnam war. The tunnels had a hospital room, kitchen, bedrooms and even a theatre. Unfortunately, you aren't allowed to see much of the interior as the tunnels are literally the size of a tiny Vietnamese person. There was a stretch of a few meters where you could crouch down and waddle through a section of tunnel. Dustin, Mark and Mary went down, but I opted to stay above ground where claustrophobia couldn't trap me!

The Vietnamese are currently celebrating their new year holiday called "Tet". The cities have been dead but are slowly coming back to life as the holiday is ending. Ho Chi Minh was much more modern and clean than I had expected. I thought Vietnam would look and feel more like Manila but it has definitely surprised me with its modernity, friendliness and cleanliness. On our one night in Ho Chi Minh we went out for Pho, a traditional noodle soup with beef, chicken or pork. After we devoured this DElicious meal, we walked around for awhile before being invited to a rooftop restaurant serving $0.50 beers. The view was fantastic and the beers were cheap!

The next day we flew to Hanoi, the biggest city in the northern part of Vietnam. Once again, the city was fairly dead but we made the most of it. The following morning, we set out on our bus ride to Halong Bay where we set sail on an overnight cruise around the bay. We got to stop and explore a magnificent cave before beginning our food, beer and karaoke filled evening on the boat. Once we docked and made the journey back to Hanoi, we had 30 minutes to get food and hop on our overnight sleeper bus to Hue, a city on the centre coast of Vietnam. The journey took around 12 hours and fortunately you are given a chair that reclines, so I was able to sleep decently. We are now in Hue (pronounced Hoo-way). Today we rented motorbikes and toured the city. Tomorrow we leave to Nha Trang, a beach town farther south of here. It will take us around 12 hours or more. We had no choice but to hire a private driver for $120 each as all the trains, buses and even flights were sold out due to the holiday. So the driver will stop along the way at some scenic places and we should be on the beach by bed time tomorrow! Vietnam has cost a pretty penny in travel. Luckily the food and rooms have been cheap! Vietnam has been great so far, the food is amazing, the beer is cheap and the people are amazingly helpful and friendly. Looking forward to hitting Vietnams beautiful beaches next week!