Wow - tomorrow I will have been travelling for 100 days (calls for a celebration!).
Didn't go to the Mekong today - I got chatting with a guy in my dorm who's been on the trip, and apparantly it is a waste of money. So, change of plan - instead I went and bought a bikini (XL - the sizes were obviously tailored for pocket-sized Vietnamese girls) . Then I went to the Rex pool and swam for a bit, then to the upstairs cinema at the coffee shop near the hotel. I paid for an expensive cup of tea, and made it last through two films: The Black Dahlia and Click. The cinema is great - yesterday I watched James Bond and The Wicker Man. It's nice to catch up on my movies!
Tomorrow is my last day. I plan to do not-a-lot and generally enjoy the last day of eating out in a veeeery looong time.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Day 98 - Ho Chi Minh
Well, didn't make it to the Mekong today (I completely overslept) - will have to go tomorrow. Instead I got a ride to the main post office to post my parcel. It cost £9 to send by airmail, and I really hope it gets to the UK before xmas - or at all!
The ride back to the hotel from the post office was somewhat of an epic adventure. On the journey to there I had spotted a street full of swimming wear shops and decided to try and get a ride there in order to get a new bikini. I explained the street, and that it was nearby, to one of the wrinkled old men perched on his motorbike. This elicited a big smile, lots of nods, and 2 fingers. OK, I think he knows what I mean - 2000? thats ok. I nod, hop on his bike and we whizz off (quite literally - this is the most crazy driver to date. Red light? Just a suggestion). 15 minutes later we are still going when we should have passed it waaay back. I decide to give up on swimwear and get him to take me straight to the hotel.
"Bui Vien"
He grins and nods, pointing staight ahead. OK, didn't think it was this far, but he seems to know best. Another 10 minutes pass and we are now leaving the city. Maybe not.
"STOOOOOOP"
Man does a (suicidal) hairpin u-turn and stops at the side of the road.
"Where are we?"
He grins and nods.
"Do you understand me?"
He grins and nods.
"You really don't understand a word I'm saying, do you?"
He grins and nods.
I march over to the hotel we have pulled up in front of. One of the guys speaks English and he gets me to write the address of where I want to go. I write the address of my hostel. He goes over and talks to the wrinkled old guy. Wrinkled old guy opens his eyes wide and chatters away in Vietnamese. Then points back the way we came and holds up 5 fingers. I look at the hotel guy for translation. Turns out the guy had no idea where I wanted to go, and just drove in a straight line out of the city (in the wrong direction), waiting for me to tell him to stop.
"He says that we are far far away from Ho Chi Minh, it will cost you 50,000 to get back there"
"FIFTY THOUSAND!!!"
Ten minutes of arguing ensue, and much scribbling on pieces of paper. 5 other people get involved in the debate and we finally all agree to a figure of 30,000 for the ride back to the hotel.
Back on the bike. An even more white-knuckle ride than before, and we are back in Bui Vien street. I hand the old boy the fare. He smiles and points to the sign, I laugh and pat him on the back. Moral of the story? Don't be vague, and don't presume you've been understood. Oh dear.
The ride back to the hotel from the post office was somewhat of an epic adventure. On the journey to there I had spotted a street full of swimming wear shops and decided to try and get a ride there in order to get a new bikini. I explained the street, and that it was nearby, to one of the wrinkled old men perched on his motorbike. This elicited a big smile, lots of nods, and 2 fingers. OK, I think he knows what I mean - 2000? thats ok. I nod, hop on his bike and we whizz off (quite literally - this is the most crazy driver to date. Red light? Just a suggestion). 15 minutes later we are still going when we should have passed it waaay back. I decide to give up on swimwear and get him to take me straight to the hotel."Bui Vien"
He grins and nods, pointing staight ahead. OK, didn't think it was this far, but he seems to know best. Another 10 minutes pass and we are now leaving the city. Maybe not.
"STOOOOOOP"
Man does a (suicidal) hairpin u-turn and stops at the side of the road.
"Where are we?"
He grins and nods.
"Do you understand me?"
He grins and nods.
"You really don't understand a word I'm saying, do you?"
He grins and nods.
I march over to the hotel we have pulled up in front of. One of the guys speaks English and he gets me to write the address of where I want to go. I write the address of my hostel. He goes over and talks to the wrinkled old guy. Wrinkled old guy opens his eyes wide and chatters away in Vietnamese. Then points back the way we came and holds up 5 fingers. I look at the hotel guy for translation. Turns out the guy had no idea where I wanted to go, and just drove in a straight line out of the city (in the wrong direction), waiting for me to tell him to stop.
"He says that we are far far away from Ho Chi Minh, it will cost you 50,000 to get back there"
"FIFTY THOUSAND!!!"
Ten minutes of arguing ensue, and much scribbling on pieces of paper. 5 other people get involved in the debate and we finally all agree to a figure of 30,000 for the ride back to the hotel.
Back on the bike. An even more white-knuckle ride than before, and we are back in Bui Vien street. I hand the old boy the fare. He smiles and points to the sign, I laugh and pat him on the back. Moral of the story? Don't be vague, and don't presume you've been understood. Oh dear.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Day 97 - Ho Chi Minh
Mid-way through my week in Ho Chi Minh. I'm liking it a lot actually - though it's not quite how I imagined. Lots of shops selling great fake stuff from amazing reproductions of works of art, through to DVDs and Gucci sunglasses. The streets are packed with motorcycles - apparently there are about 5 million of the things in Ho Chi Minh alone. Girls ride them in their coolie hats, knee-length gloves and face masks. Wrinkled old guys slouch around on street corners offering taxi-bike services (great way to get around - so much fuuun). Bu Vien, the street that I'm staying in, is backpacker central. A constant stream of scruffy, tanned travellers weighed down by enormous bags are entering and leaving all the bargain hostels and hotels. In the day time we all hang around in the numerous restaurants, and at night the numerous bars. Beer is cheap, food is good and everyone is friendly and generally chilled out.
There is also lots of interesting stuff to do. The day before yesterday, after writing my blog entry, I caught a taxi-bike to the war museum for a bit of history. It was interesting, but depressing; lots of tanks and planes, a room about all the war photographers and another about the gruesome after-effects of Agent Orange.
Yesterday I went with a group of people to the Cu Chin tunnels. 40 miles from the city, the tunnels in question are a warren of secrets passageways built underground by the Cu Chin guerillas during the war. We got to crawl through one - it was claustrophobic, and the original entrances are ridiculously tiny. If yesterday made me feel sorry for the Vietnamese, the spiked traps the guerillas left for the American soldiers made me feel slightly sorry for the other side too.Today I took a bike to the Rex hotel and chilled by the pool on their roof. It was nice to spend the day alternatively dipping and roasting. I also finished souvenir shopping. I'm planning to go to the Mekong tomorrow, but will hopefully post the stuff the day after. Who knows, maybe it'll get to the UK before xmas?
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Day 95 - Ho Chi Minh
Chào ban from Ho chi Minh (Saigon), Viet Nam. My second day here now (the first day didn't count - I slept for most of it)
I arrived here yesterday morning feeling awful. I had heard that the singapore terminal was heaven; swimming pool, restrooms, cinema etc., so had decided to save money on the taxi and room and sleep in the terminal. Bad idea. What I didn't realise that there is a whole seperate terminal (budget terminal) for Tiger Airways, the budget airline I had booked a flight with, and it didn't have 24 hr check-in. I tried to sleep in the basic, brightly lit entrance room, but the upright seats were uncomfortable, and the guy on the cleaning machine chugged by every 15 minutes. The flight was a quick one, 1 1/2 hours, and we touched down in Ho Chi Minh at about 8am their time. It was baking hot, and after Singapore very grubby. The first thing I did was go to the cash machine and become an instant millionaire - dong (yes, I know) is the official currency of Viet Nam, and there is approximately 30,000 dong to every British pound. Next I got on the bus into the city, which conveniently stops around the corner from my hostel; Yellow House Hotel.
The hotel is sandwiched between tourist shops, restaurants and other hotels. Free internet, and staff are lovely - they let me use a single room to have a hot shower whilst they prepared my bed in the dorm. Once my bed was ready I crashed out and slept until 6pm, when I briefly went out for pizza, then came back and slept all the way through to 8am this morning. My dorm is really a small room with three beds crammed into it. It's a bit cramped, but cheap and has air-conditioning so I can escape the heat (it's not really that bad, only about 32°, but it is not nice sleeping at this temperature combined with the humidity here).
Today I booked a trip to the Mekong and another to the Cu Chi tunnels. The rest of the time has been spent shopping. It's not like that - it's not for me, it's all souveniers! Actually, I lie, I also brought a new day pack for less than a fiver. After 3 months of lugging round inconvenient shoulder bags, I've finally seen the light. My bag is a posh North Face one with a million little pockets and clips. Why did I not get one sooner?
I arrived here yesterday morning feeling awful. I had heard that the singapore terminal was heaven; swimming pool, restrooms, cinema etc., so had decided to save money on the taxi and room and sleep in the terminal. Bad idea. What I didn't realise that there is a whole seperate terminal (budget terminal) for Tiger Airways, the budget airline I had booked a flight with, and it didn't have 24 hr check-in. I tried to sleep in the basic, brightly lit entrance room, but the upright seats were uncomfortable, and the guy on the cleaning machine chugged by every 15 minutes. The flight was a quick one, 1 1/2 hours, and we touched down in Ho Chi Minh at about 8am their time. It was baking hot, and after Singapore very grubby. The first thing I did was go to the cash machine and become an instant millionaire - dong (yes, I know) is the official currency of Viet Nam, and there is approximately 30,000 dong to every British pound. Next I got on the bus into the city, which conveniently stops around the corner from my hostel; Yellow House Hotel.
The hotel is sandwiched between tourist shops, restaurants and other hotels. Free internet, and staff are lovely - they let me use a single room to have a hot shower whilst they prepared my bed in the dorm. Once my bed was ready I crashed out and slept until 6pm, when I briefly went out for pizza, then came back and slept all the way through to 8am this morning. My dorm is really a small room with three beds crammed into it. It's a bit cramped, but cheap and has air-conditioning so I can escape the heat (it's not really that bad, only about 32°, but it is not nice sleeping at this temperature combined with the humidity here).Today I booked a trip to the Mekong and another to the Cu Chi tunnels. The rest of the time has been spent shopping. It's not like that - it's not for me, it's all souveniers! Actually, I lie, I also brought a new day pack for less than a fiver. After 3 months of lugging round inconvenient shoulder bags, I've finally seen the light. My bag is a posh North Face one with a million little pockets and clips. Why did I not get one sooner?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)