Peaceful, with reasonable prices and extremely safe, were his main observations. Forty years on from the war with the US, Staermose felt that the country has experienced a great deal of positive changes.

“In the ancient town of Hoi An and the capital city of Hanoi, the local lifestyles are in general very laid-back and relaxed. There are numerous excellent cafes and restaurants that offer both local fair and overseas cuisine, and there are everywhere”, said Staermose.

“Although the weather here can be very hot and humid, Hanoi has many lakes and it is actually very pleasant to explore the city on foot”.

“That applies if you are young and single, or if you have a young family, like my friends who are based here. For the right kind of person, because of the cost of living here, the quality of life you can enjoy for the money you pay is really very difficult to beat”.

Source: VOV

So flew here yesterday, plane delayed, then pick up guy got puncture – all very entertaining. It’s quite built up and fairly noisy, but much less than Saigom. I had dinner and a foot massage and then went to bed. The food here by te way is great. Fresh ingredients, lovely spices – just fab.

Today I decided I would hit the beach. Got there at about 11am. Lay in the sun, bathed in the South China Sea (how exotic does that sound?!) for about 3 hours and then headed back as I was being wrapped in hot clingfilm later in the afternoon. In those 3 hours, I got burnt. Don’t tell my Mum. Patchily burnt. I had factor 30 on and everything – but there you are. I am going on a snorkelling trip tomorrow so intend to be VERY CAREFUL INDEED!

What’s that? Oh you want to hear more about being wrapped in hot clingfilm? Well, it was a first…..

Nha Trang is ok – but there is a sort of undercurrent to it (not talking about the sea). I’m even more on my guard here than in Saigon. I shall enjoy it, but won’t be sorry to get to Hoi An which I think it’s much slower and quieter and has a lot more culture going on. You won’t be surprised to hear that I preferred the Caravelle to the ‘Paradise’ bar earlier where I had a gin and tonic to the strains of “Don’t want no short-dicked men’. Well quite.

There were free noodles and bread rolls available or you could pay for hot food. Being time conscious I ordered bacon and eggs to slide into a bread roll incase our ride turned up early…hopeful as ever. We were picked up just after nine in an already packed bus for our transfer to Halong bay. Sadly the last seats were towards the back of the bus and we both knew that this would mean a certain amount of time being airborne as we traveled over the bumps in the road.

Sure enough as we began our four hour journey we were shaken up and down cocktail style. Thankfully I managed to drift off to sleep after a while in the normal awkward upright position to which I had become accustomed. We reached the halfway point and pulled in behind two other buses both packed with tourists and headed to Halong bay. The halfway point was a huge warehouse style building containing lots of local merchandise from wooden sculptures to silk dressing gowns. My first thought was of how I would have referred to this as a “friends store” in India and smiled to myself. We set off again after what seemed like five minutes break, back into our uncomfortable seats for the second leg of the journey.

At last we arrived in Halong city. It was overcast but I was excited about going out on a traditional junk boat to visit the limestone outcrops in the bay. Julie had told me a lot about it while I was in India and had passionately recommended I do the three day trip. We were checked in at the harbour and passports handed over to the harbour police. Although I was reluctant to leave it behind, our guide explained that they had changed the procedure after a boat sank a couple of months ago. It was so the harbour police knew who was out in the bay if anything should happen. Our guide reassured us that only one or two boats sank a day, before seeing the horror on our faces and correcting himself apologetically. We were taken by smaller boat to our junk and it didn’t quite match up with what I’d been shown in Vientiane. The wood was worn and the varnish peeling on our sturdy look vessel. I went to the top deck to take some photos and was greeted by a pile of rubbish and scattered cigarette butts. I was a bit miffed, even more so after lunch when we began to compare how much we had each paid for the trip. Although I’d tried really hard not to get ripped off by the various operators I felt embarrassed that I’d recommended the trip to Aruna. The group of us couldn’t help but laugh about it as we drifted slowly through the mist towards ‘Surprise Cave’.

The cave was a short walk up the face of the cliff behind the masses ranks of tourists that arrived just before us. The cave was beautiful, set over three caverns each bigger and more impressive than the last. The third cave was huge and would easily have fitted two if not three football fields into it. The limestone formations inside were weird and wonderful with the many guides trying to describe what they resembled. Even though I’ve got a vivid imagination I found it tough to spot what they were pointing out. Though the one I did see was the turtles head, surrounded by money, placed there by people as a wish for long life. Once back on the boat we cruised to part of the floating village to pick up our kayaks.

We went for a paddle around some of the islands and to look at the small open water caves. They were two man kayaks and although I’d wanted to explore on my own I headed off with one of the guys we’d met on the boat. There was a limited amount of time to explore but we managed to see a fair bit of the shallow water filled caves and various shrub covered white islands before we had to head back. We were one of the last ones back before we pulled the anchor in and headed for a smaller quieter part of the bay. As the sun began to sink behind the islands through the mist we could just make out their shadowy silhouette against the horizon. The crescent moon peaked out from behind the thick cloud cover and we all agreed how nice it would have been to see the star filled sky.

We sat down to our second meal on board and were served thick chicken soup, fluffy rice, potato croquettes, cockles and stir-fried chicken with vegetables. It was all very nice but as we all agreed, just not enough as we sat there discussing what meal we had missed most whilst away traveling. Bizarrely I was craving baked sweet potato with cream cheese and steamed green beans. Yes, of all the things that i could have chosen to eat, that was my choice. The evening finished with most of us sat on the top deck swapping traveling stories and experiences from countries and places we’d visited. It was very civilised as we sat laughing at the other boats moored up next to us murdering various karaoke songs and playing guess that tune. All in all, it had been an experience.

Tuesday, 31st August
We arrived in Nha Trang yesterday but not early enough for me to be bothered to write about it. We checked into the Blue Sky, another great value place. We seem to have our hotel routine down now. Our tips:
1. Identify on the map where you want to stay. Don’t deviate.
2. Every person who hassles you; get a flyer.
3. Listen to the quoted price and offer at least $2 less.
4. Say you will look, NEVER take your bag upstairs.
5. Have a cost in your head you won’t go over.

Nha Trang is our first beach town this trip (ignoring the Cat Ba Island 10 minutes in a sardine can sea). It has everything you would expect in a beach town; restaurants, bars, a health spa. Actually it doesn’t have a British-style pier with impossible claw teddy bear games. It doesn’t have rock. I take it back it has everything you would expect in a n0n-sh*t beach town. We half worried the place might be a party town, in Asia that means your skull vibrating so hard your teeth fall out. So far seems perfectly chilled.

The beach at Nha Trang is less white than my Coca-Cola stained teeth but it is clean and there aren’t any stones. The sand is hotter than the core of the Earth but not as orange. The water is clear and flat as a witch’s car tyre. That was until the afternoon when all of a sudden it took the murky shade of milky urine.

With the 2 Kiwis we hired sun loungers for about a quid for the whole day and got a few beers in to assist what could have been a difficult day lying down. Quickly it was obvious that for a whole minutes peace you would have sold your left b*ll*ck. Vendors left, right, centre. Books they made themselves, Armani sunglasses and cheap unbranded food on tap. Doesn’t matter that I am reading a book through my sunglasses covered in crisp crumbs with chocolate round my mouth.

These f**kers are persistent.

Sometimes it’s funny. One of them kept saying “don’t be cheap Charlie”. Another “she give you happy ending”. Nothing winds them up like sarcasm or ridiculous haggling – “all the sand you can carry”. Wasting their time is more fun.

It was quite funny how they all cover themselves up. You could be mistaken for thinking this was Tehran. Two eyes trying to flog you sunglasses. It was the same in South America – like having a tan reduced your social status. Spending all day on the beach chopping pineapple for 10p a fruit has already done that. From my Western perspective anyway. I could be sat out here til I shrivelled and died and still not be dark enough to reprint Catcher in the Rye.

In the afternoon we went to a place in town where you barbecue your own food. #7 up for me – crocodile! Ironically it was not snappy in cooking.

Wednesday, 1st September
Being on the coast we had to get signed up for some snorkelling. Again we steered clear of the party boat trip, still haven’t replaced those fillings. Now I managed to forget to take notes today so will have to do this from memory:

1. The range of fishes was incredible – standard cast of Finding Nemo (who wouldn’t give an autograph) including the colourful extras who didn’t make the Director’s Cut. There were sea cucumbers who made me feel very inadequate.
2. At one point under the sea I looked over at Hayley. I saw more than I bargained for. A whole boob! Best snorkelling ever.
3. At the second snorkel site no-one got out the boat. I thought I would, just to p*ss anyone off who might have wanted to go home. 25m out from the side and I couldn’t work out what was on the sea floor. Some sort of rope maybe? Nope. No. F**king snakes! Tons of ‘em. And massive.
4. I got abused once more for not jumping off the top of the boat. By a German I have never met.

Thursday, 2nd September
Happy Vietnam day. Happy everyone gets a day off and goes to the beach and then that beach miraculously gets covered in sh*t within about ten minutes. Time for us to find sun loungers that cost £1.50 not £1. What does 50p get you?

“No peddling!” Sweet. A lady on a bike was dragged away by the scruff of her neck and shot in the head.

Oh, not that peddling. Still, dried up the sunglasses and fake Quavers a treat. A 100 yr. old woman sat right next to the sign. Her hat blew into the area but she was too scared to get it. We’d paid for men in cowboy hats to police the border. There isn’t much more to say when the main characters on the beach aren’t allowed anywhere near you.

Later in the afternoon the first rain in 3 days hit. It would seem the longer the dry spell the worse the storm. The Vietnamese were like meerkats; the dark and ominous clouds hadn’t even got out of bed by the time they were straight-backed and sniffing the air and tasting it for signs of impending doom. The beach emptied quicker than the NYSE when the bomb alarm sounds. Under our lounger we held out for all of five seconds before darting under the nearby bar roof. We watched as the horizon disappeared in a cloud burst. Finally a chance for fair-skinned Sam to uncover himself.

My ADHD saw me go out to the sea in the rain (which was warm), but then come back in when I swam within 2 feet of a giant turd. Have I said this before? Savages!!!

Friday, 3rd September
With our last day in Nha Trang we decided on a trip to the Thap Ba Hot Spring Centre. All in for a fiver each. We caught a taxi to the outskirts of town into the hills to where all the Vietnamese hang out. Apparently.

The place was ram-o and a class divide was obvious. Our fiver put us firmly at the top of the ladder. Up to where the private mud baths were. 4 in a wooden tub filled with silky mud, good for the skin apparently. I dipped my head under and came out aged 15. After a relaxing half-hour we washed it all off and the wrinkles returned. Second puberty in one burst of water. Took about four hours to clean it all out of the crevices; dangerous in the heat when mud hardens like dental resin.

We followed the floating arrows down our first class perch into the thermal bath. 40 degrees doesn’t sound like much, but when you’re pinker than a homosexual packet of bacon from several days in the sun it STINGS!!! SH*T!!! Literally unbearable for more than a few minutes. Let’s move to the next part of this relaxing and skin soothing day…

…into the blasting mineral shower. Pelted with water out of holes so small that it pierced the skin. Hmmm, fiver was it?

And so the treatment ended, now to relax by the pool in the blistering heat. Doesn’t get better than…no…no, that little Vietnamese fella just flobbed in the pool. From the side. Regular floor just doesn’t have that splashing sound.

That’s it. The Vietnamese and I are well and truly over. I don’t hate them, I’m just sick of them. Partially it’s the quantity; rarely can you find yourself a little bit of quiet space. Multiply quantity by percentage of sellers of cheap cr*p per 1,000 inhabitants and the ears burn through overuse. Sprinkle in aggression. Add the pushing, the dogged resistance to queuing politely and the best of all…the spitting. Nothing like the chilled out Laotians or happy-go-lucky Thais.

Right. Latest rant over.

To be honest I was freaking out at first. We had to set up gross sheets on our beds (if you even want to call them beds), our room was avelyn, myself, and 4 other locals who were pretty nice, it was dog-sweat-hot in the cabin, and I was constantly thinking that everyone was out to steal my stuff… even my shoes (I didnt want to leave them on the floor!).

I don’t know why I was in this mode of thought bc in the end, everyone seemed pretty nice. Anyways, I locked my bag up and slept with my fanny pack tied around my had so tight it was basically cutting off my circulation (have my life in there). Inserted my headphones into my ears and slept like a baby as soon as the train departed, but I did wake up multiple times to make sure my bag was still there and that nothing was taken out of my fanny pack while I was asleep. After 6 hours we arrived in Nha Trang.

Taxi dropped us off at Hien Mai Hotel! BEAUTIFULLLL for $10 per person per night. Luckily the owners were awake at 5:30 am to let us in and they weren’t all booked up! The hostel was just built 1 month ago acc the warm welcoming owners, who didn’t speak much english. We made the choice to stay at a NICE hostel this time around bc this is our “beach day,” but more importantly, we want to be comfortable walking on the floor without slippers haha

I got lost around the city on an early morning walk until avelyn and I decided to head out to breakfast. Choosing to sit outdoors, we ate at a nice restaraunt joint (NAME) where we were served Ginseng iced tea instead of typical water. View of the palm trees and greenery in front of the beach. I got an omlette with a baguette, 1 tomato, 2 cucumbers, 2 small pieces of lettuce…. formed a very strange sandwich! But, I got a delicious drink with it (i am more of a sucker for smoothie-like drinks than I am for fresh cut fruits!)… a passion with yogurt drink.

First thing after, I went for a 15 minute jet ski ride, I couldn’t resist. It may have been $17 out of my budget (yes, I got ripped off), but I had a great time as its been a while since the last time I did it. It was rather funny how I was given NO explanations of anything (i.e., what area of the waters I am not allowed to jet ski on)

The rest of “beach day” was complete and total relaxation. Relaxed on the sand, got wet in the warm South China Sea water, gazed into the view of the sea and mountains, spoke with some other foreigners.

Lunch was the highlight of the day!! There was a woman sitting in the sand in front of us with a few pots filled with FRESH seafood (a fisherman was periodically bringing more lobster, shrimp, snail, scallops, crab that he had just caught), cooking it on some type of stove she formed. She cooked us some tasty lobster, shrimp, snail, and scallop, set up a tarp for us on the sand where the water was almost reaching our feet, and we ate our seafood lunch in the fantastic view (me, with a Tiger beer in hand). It was a great view aside from the occasional locals blocking it to try and sell us something over and over again. Overall, the seafood was great, the scenery was fantastic, and the way we were served was memorable… all for only $7!

Time for a MUDBATH at the Thap Ba Hotspring for $9. After wrinsing ourselves in mineral water, we spent 15 minutes bathing in a fullout mudbath, and then sunbathed for about 20 minutes until the mud became hard on our bodies (this is the part that led to a HUGEEE sunburn on my back… the only part I couldn’t reach to put sunscreen on ). Ended with a HOT mineral bath, waterfall, and swimming pools. I told you we were relaxing! On the plus side, my skin felt almost like a baby afterwards.

Hungry once again, we shopped around at the different restaraunts for dinner and found one called Andy’s Chopsticks, which attracted us with its cooking station in the front. A very old-style, but classy restaraunt, I ordered the Chicken in Clay Pot (Vietnamese dish), steamed rice, and fresh lemon juice for $4.50. An amusing dinner with a group of 4 drunk westerners sitting beside us, we really enjoyed the restaraunt and the atmosphere… even Andy was a standup, nice guy.

Too full for dessert, we wait out until about 9:30 to find a bar to drink at. It’s the first time we’re going to a bar in Asia (I know its pathetic, but we were jetlag the first 2 days in Saigon unfortunately). As we were en route to Why Not Bar, we passed a happening bar in front Backpacker House Hostel called RedApple Bar, which was lively and filled with several westerners. We jumped in and tried the local beer for $1 called Larue…. not much better than Boreale, but we still ordered a 2nd one. I beat avelyn in a game of pool and then we enjoyed a long, FUNNY, hilariousss converstaion with 2 others tourists from Scotland…. wow, what a funny night with them, even though I left rather early!

Back at the beautiful hotel, time to sleep, party boat tour tomorrow.
Again, sorry that I can’t upload the pics until I’m back in Hong Kong.

Time for BED!!

The conference also announced the National Tourism Year 2012 which will be hosted by the province.

It is part of activities to continue promoting images of land, people and tourism products as well as advertise the province’s plan to organise a National Tourism Year 2012.

Last year, the province received more than 1.6 million visitors, a year-on-year increase of 13%.

On the sidelines of the conference, the provincial tourism association introduced tourism destinations and organised exhibitions and meetings among businesses.

On the occasion, Thua Thien Hue Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism signed a memorandum of understanding on promoting tourism cooperation with Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi Departments of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The Vice Director of Thua Thien Hue Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Nguyen Quoc Thanh, said it was a good chance for the province to promote tourism. It will improve the quality of services and infrastructure to attract more visitors.
(Source: VOV)

The film is part of the national action programme in tourism and the national tourism promotion programme in 2010 initiated by Vietnam.

Covering a tour of four nations, the documentary will become a significant drawing-card for foreign tourists, said Nguyen Phuc Thanh, Head of the Organisation and Personnel Department under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism at a seminar held in Hanoi on January 19.

With an array of short documentary films, the programme will use 3D and 2D vision to feature the history, culture and daily life of the four countries, with Vietnam at the centre.

It focuses on new, mysterious and attractive destinations – from the Temple of Literature, Thang Long Imperial Citadel, handicraft villages in Hanoi; the Mekong river, Luang Prabang ancient capital city and Thap Luang of Laos to Angkor Wat temple, ancient capital city of Angkor Thom and Sea Lake of Cambodia and Shwe Dagon pagoda, Mandalay ancient capital city and Bagas city of Myanmar.

At the seminar, representatives from Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia expressed their support for the Vietnam’s initiative idea and took the occasion to introduce their special cultural and historical destinations.
(Source: VNA)

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the People’s Committee of Hanoi City and the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO will organise a ceremony to grant UNESCO certificate to the Giong Festival as a world heritage in Hanoi on January 22.

The Giong Festival was the third cultural heritages in Vietnam recognised by UNESCO in 2010 along with the 82 doctorate steles in the Temple of Literature and Thang Long Imperial Citadel.

It is an annual traditional festival held in many provinces across the country to commemorate the glorious victory of the legendary saint Giong, one of Vietnam’s Four Immortals, the four chief cult figures in the pantheon of genii worshiped by the ancient Vietnamese people.

The ceremony aims to promote the festival as well as the country and people to international friends and improve public awareness to preserve the priceless cultural value of the heritage

The fact that Vietnam received a record five million foreign tourists and 28 million domestic visitors, earning VND96 trillion, has been selected as one of the top ten tourism achievements in 2010.

Among the events were: a promotion programme named “Vietnam – your destination”, the 50th anniversary of the birth of the tourism sector (1960-2010); National Tourism Year 2010 held in Hanoi and the programme “Strategy for Vietnam’s tourism development by 2020, with a vision for 2030”, projects to develop tourism in the 2011-2020 period and the campaign to promote Vietnam’s tourism in China, Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia and Western Europe.

Other outstanding highlights include the launch of a tourism television channel; a national seminar on the development of Vietnam’s tourism in the context of proactive international integration, the international seminar titled “Tourism – important momentum for socio-economic development”, a tour to plant a flag on Fansipan peak on the occasion of the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long Hanoi and the international tourism exhibition in Ho Chi Minh City.

(Source: VNA)

A conference on tourism promotion for the central Province of Thua Thien-Hue has been held in Hanoi to introduce tourism services and cultural programmes to the Province this year.

Festival goers will be immersed in the conspicuous cultural ambience through Vietnam’s divine culinary and bonsai arts. Cuisines from distinct geographical regions across the country will be featured: the culinary specialities of the south, the delicate cuisine of Hue with its royal meals, vegetarian food and popular dishes to be served in the city’s splendid gardens, and the authentic tastes from the north.

Visitors will also have chance to meet prominent culinary researchers and experts, talented bonsai artists, antiques collectors and other artists in the country in the variety of fascinating artistic programmes and community activities.
For the national year of tourism in 2012, hosted by Thua Thien-Hue Province, the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism will launch many tourism programmes.

For example, the department will organise tours to discover the treasures of Hue and help tourists understand the legacy of the Nguyen dynasty by experiencing the culture and visiting pagodas.

Let’s Experience Hue will introduce tourists to Hue festivals, crafts villages and royal life. Tours take visitors on various routes through the provinces and allow them to discover the heritage of the city. For those who want to relax, there will be walking tours that take visitors to forests, to rest by Lang Co Beach and to discover ancient houses.

“Thua Thien-Hue is an attractive destination for tourists as tourism is the key industry of the province,” said Phan Tien Dung, director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.“In 2010, Hue received 1.5 million visitors, 700,000 of which were foreigners.”

At the conference, a co-operation memorandum was signed between Hanoi’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Department and its counterparts from Thua Thien-Hue Province and HCM City. A similar conference for the same purpose will take place in HCM City on January 19.

(Source: VNA)

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