Hue, just about three quarters of the way to Hanoi...
Doesn't look an inspiring place to stay and if it wasn't for the fact that Hoi an to Hanoi was a 15 hour ride then I wouldn't have stopped at Hue, pronounced Hwee. Bus pulls into a side street opposite another $10 room hotel. It's in reasonable condition and I'm not feeling tip top so don't want to pound the streets for the sake of a couple of dollars. As always an abundance of hotels and guest houses, cafes, restaurants and a host of informal dining. Lunch is a banana pancake and as usual in Vietnam's formal eateries the portion is small. Anyone with a healthy appetite is unlikely to be satisfied with a single order. A potion of Spaghetti bolognaise for example could be picked up in 1 hand and anything of Italian origin is usually up to 3 x more expensive, adding to the disappointment. I mean, I don't mind paying if the portion is fair. A 3 course meal generally is going to cost around £5-7.
Downside to busing around Vietnam with a bunch of Europeans is sooner or later a cold virus will claim another victim. Just a sniffel today, so I'm going to sleep it out. Tomorrow is a dragon boat ride on the perfume river, Hue.
Sunday, 12 February 2012
Thursday, 9 February 2012
Hoi An 10th february 2012
Bicycle ride in Hoi An...
The beach is a little to much hiking in my opinion, so I'm going to hire a push bike. The land around here is flat, the climate is cool, much cooler of late, ideal for a bike ride. Just under £1 gets a reasonable cycle, good tyres and with fairly good brakes, but no puncture repair kit! Surprisingly, food the the hotel is the cheapest I've seen in Vietnam , so it's the good old fruit salad and yogurt, with a coffee here before heading off beach bound and vying for road space.
Out of town towards the village of Cua Dai, a 4 kilometre ride according to the map. Between the town and the village is an expanse of farmland, rice fields mainly with figures and conical hats dotted in the far distance. About 30 minutes to the beach, typically palms, cafes and loungers on the sand. Not many people around, a handful of tourists and a few locals. The sea is rough here, waves breaking quite away out and again crashing onto the shore. Mountainous islands loom on the horizon, but shrouded in haze and mist. Beach is clean, no garbage anywhere and probably to breezy for the flies, haven't see any at all. A good spot to spend a couple of hours and not unreasonable prices either. Quite cold by 3pm so back on the bike and into the old town for another look around. Loads of tourists on bikes, queuing for boat rides and generally milling about.
Early night, early bus in the morning. Eating at a place for locals, couple of doors from the hotel. No signs indicating its a cafe, just that I noticed an open door and some Chinese cackling. Good noodle soup for 18,000 vnd. Hoi An is good for a couple of days stopover. A few tours are available basically a bike ride down some lanes or walking tours around the town centred on the Japanese bridge. Further afield there is marble mountain to look at.
The beach is a little to much hiking in my opinion, so I'm going to hire a push bike. The land around here is flat, the climate is cool, much cooler of late, ideal for a bike ride. Just under £1 gets a reasonable cycle, good tyres and with fairly good brakes, but no puncture repair kit! Surprisingly, food the the hotel is the cheapest I've seen in Vietnam , so it's the good old fruit salad and yogurt, with a coffee here before heading off beach bound and vying for road space.
Out of town towards the village of Cua Dai, a 4 kilometre ride according to the map. Between the town and the village is an expanse of farmland, rice fields mainly with figures and conical hats dotted in the far distance. About 30 minutes to the beach, typically palms, cafes and loungers on the sand. Not many people around, a handful of tourists and a few locals. The sea is rough here, waves breaking quite away out and again crashing onto the shore. Mountainous islands loom on the horizon, but shrouded in haze and mist. Beach is clean, no garbage anywhere and probably to breezy for the flies, haven't see any at all. A good spot to spend a couple of hours and not unreasonable prices either. Quite cold by 3pm so back on the bike and into the old town for another look around. Loads of tourists on bikes, queuing for boat rides and generally milling about.
Early night, early bus in the morning. Eating at a place for locals, couple of doors from the hotel. No signs indicating its a cafe, just that I noticed an open door and some Chinese cackling. Good noodle soup for 18,000 vnd. Hoi An is good for a couple of days stopover. A few tours are available basically a bike ride down some lanes or walking tours around the town centred on the Japanese bridge. Further afield there is marble mountain to look at.
Hoi An February 9th 2012
The road to Hoi An
Bus rolls out of Nha Trang just after 7pm, but not before all the confusion is sorted out. The ticket count has issued seat numbers to some, but not everyone. I'l claim the middle seat, slightly less restrictive in leg room since I can dangle both sides if necessary. It's a sleeper bus so the lounger seats should recline in theory - some more than others, some not at all. Oh well, mines not too bad and with my inflatable pillow for added comfort I should be able to snatch a little sleep here and there. Should be in Hoi An by 6.30 next morning according to the ticket. Couple of stops to exchange cargo and pick up locals.
The road to Hoi An is rough, the driver is in a hurry and likes to use the horn frequently. A full moon on the left provides enough light to see an outline of the mountainous terrain on the right that this road is snaking through. Some colourful language from the back as the driver continues to speed along the narrow bumpy road with ravines either side. An hour or so, and the terrain changes into lowlands and the road widens, but is still bumpy - it's bumpy all the way, not much sleep for anyone! A stop for refreshments and toilet at 11pm, but given my previous experiences on sleepers I have an empty bottle on standby.
Bus rolls into the Hoi An bus stand at dawn. It appears to be out of the main town area hence a collection of taxis and bikes milling around the entrance. A rather nice young lady touts a hotel room for $10, even has a taxi ready to take perspective customers to go and take a look - sounds good. It's quite a bit cooler here, cloudy too, but still warm enough to wear a tee shirt. Queuing up to get this room, going to have to wait until the current occupants check out. I can have a free coffee, then they bring me some tea, and I can tap away on the Internet whilst waiting.
A quick poke around the locality whilst waiting for the room. There is quite a charm about the place, as though time has passed it by. Characterised by Chinese lanterns adorned on every door, lamp post and across the streets. narrow alleyways and no traffic, except the odd moped. This is the old town, small, quaint, quiet and preserved. It's part of the tourist trail on the way to Hanoi - the halfway stopover. A bustling market area fronts the river, mainly produce, a few ducks, chickens and lots of locals, alive and kicking. Ferry boats, engined and row variety ply the waterways, with makeshift landing areas by the market.
This is clearly a tourist trap with tourist prices as far as eating is concerned. Quite expensive (from a Vietnamese perspective), close to Saigon prices and portions are just as small. Local, as opposed to tourist eating, seems limited in Hoi An but I did find a cafe that had coffee at 18000 dong, the average being 28,000 dong around this part of town. Quite a selection of street food heading away from old town but only being used by a few locals, risky for the tourist since most of that food would have been hanging around for a few hours. Top tip on eating street food - eat it only if you have to wait for a seat. Hoi An is famed for it,s textiles with many small Shops offering garments made to measure and within 24 hours. Prices are said to be reasonable too. The town has a couple of beaches, one for locals and one for tourists, that's an exploration for tomorrow, but right now I need to catch up on sleep.
Top tips on using open tour buses. A ride in a top lounger will be slightly less bumpy and closer to the air conditioning system. The lounger just before the middle door, row 10, reclines the most since there is no restriction. People larger than 5 foot 8 would be better In a middle lounger since there can be space both sides for those big legs. Gents may like to take an empty bottle since the middle stairwell is ample space to do your business, especially at night. Ear plugs and an inflatable cushion will help with comfort on overnight trips. Getting off the bus at any point, take your stuff, that's just good practise anyway. Rows A to C run from right to left getting on at the front door.This applies to T. M. Brothers coaches, although I would imagine most of the others will be similar in operation.
Bus rolls out of Nha Trang just after 7pm, but not before all the confusion is sorted out. The ticket count has issued seat numbers to some, but not everyone. I'l claim the middle seat, slightly less restrictive in leg room since I can dangle both sides if necessary. It's a sleeper bus so the lounger seats should recline in theory - some more than others, some not at all. Oh well, mines not too bad and with my inflatable pillow for added comfort I should be able to snatch a little sleep here and there. Should be in Hoi An by 6.30 next morning according to the ticket. Couple of stops to exchange cargo and pick up locals.
The road to Hoi An is rough, the driver is in a hurry and likes to use the horn frequently. A full moon on the left provides enough light to see an outline of the mountainous terrain on the right that this road is snaking through. Some colourful language from the back as the driver continues to speed along the narrow bumpy road with ravines either side. An hour or so, and the terrain changes into lowlands and the road widens, but is still bumpy - it's bumpy all the way, not much sleep for anyone! A stop for refreshments and toilet at 11pm, but given my previous experiences on sleepers I have an empty bottle on standby.
Bus rolls into the Hoi An bus stand at dawn. It appears to be out of the main town area hence a collection of taxis and bikes milling around the entrance. A rather nice young lady touts a hotel room for $10, even has a taxi ready to take perspective customers to go and take a look - sounds good. It's quite a bit cooler here, cloudy too, but still warm enough to wear a tee shirt. Queuing up to get this room, going to have to wait until the current occupants check out. I can have a free coffee, then they bring me some tea, and I can tap away on the Internet whilst waiting.
A quick poke around the locality whilst waiting for the room. There is quite a charm about the place, as though time has passed it by. Characterised by Chinese lanterns adorned on every door, lamp post and across the streets. narrow alleyways and no traffic, except the odd moped. This is the old town, small, quaint, quiet and preserved. It's part of the tourist trail on the way to Hanoi - the halfway stopover. A bustling market area fronts the river, mainly produce, a few ducks, chickens and lots of locals, alive and kicking. Ferry boats, engined and row variety ply the waterways, with makeshift landing areas by the market.
This is clearly a tourist trap with tourist prices as far as eating is concerned. Quite expensive (from a Vietnamese perspective), close to Saigon prices and portions are just as small. Local, as opposed to tourist eating, seems limited in Hoi An but I did find a cafe that had coffee at 18000 dong, the average being 28,000 dong around this part of town. Quite a selection of street food heading away from old town but only being used by a few locals, risky for the tourist since most of that food would have been hanging around for a few hours. Top tip on eating street food - eat it only if you have to wait for a seat. Hoi An is famed for it,s textiles with many small Shops offering garments made to measure and within 24 hours. Prices are said to be reasonable too. The town has a couple of beaches, one for locals and one for tourists, that's an exploration for tomorrow, but right now I need to catch up on sleep.
Top tips on using open tour buses. A ride in a top lounger will be slightly less bumpy and closer to the air conditioning system. The lounger just before the middle door, row 10, reclines the most since there is no restriction. People larger than 5 foot 8 would be better In a middle lounger since there can be space both sides for those big legs. Gents may like to take an empty bottle since the middle stairwell is ample space to do your business, especially at night. Ear plugs and an inflatable cushion will help with comfort on overnight trips. Getting off the bus at any point, take your stuff, that's just good practise anyway. Rows A to C run from right to left getting on at the front door.This applies to T. M. Brothers coaches, although I would imagine most of the others will be similar in operation.
Nha Trang February 8th 2012
Nha Trang...in 8 hours
The bus for Hoi An leaves at 6 tonight, giving me about 8 hours to explore Nha Trang. The hotel reception gives me a map and points the way to the beach, about a 6 minutes walking.
The place is smart with plenty of development underway. Take a pinch of Benidorm, a handful of Blackpool and throw in a few bucket loads of Chinese and we have a Vietnamese beach resort in one of the most picturesque settings I've ever stumbled across. Bright blue sea, miles of golden sand and with a mountainous backdrop encompassing all sides of the bay. Mountainous islands populate the bay and beyond into the far distance, but the closest, called Vinpearl, has a cable car link which looks like a fun ride over the sea.
To the left, high rise blocks and the touristed part of the beach. To the right, towards the cable car, and it's quiet. A couple of cafes, deck chairs among the palms and some abandoned former restaurant premises it looks like. The promenade is shaded with palms and a cooling breeze makes this a pleasant walk. Very few people, mostly locals but hardly any tourists.
The cable car doesn't seem to be getting any closer, an optical illusion perhaps, but let's keep going anyway, see what's over the hill. A small concrete pier with some rather big boats moored along side, then about 50 little fishing boats all anchored, a colourful scene against the island backdrop. It's a little fishing hamlet, a development of concrete, and wooden structures on stilts extending slightly offshore. Beyond the hamlet, around the corner is the main port and a stack of Maersk containers. A host of tourist boats moored against the quayside with associated touts looking for a gullible tourist. A 1 hour boat ride around the bay is $20. Properties on the hillside, accessible by steep concrete steps into narrow alleyways makes for a scenic photo and a glimpse into a relatively tranquil pace of life.
The cable car place must be close since I can now here whirling motors and squeals as the cars launch. The terminal is in a smart, nicely manicured complex with gardens and a central statue. Vinpearl is the island destination for these cars, an exclusive resort by the looks of the posters and with prices to match. According to the information posted around an access all areas ticket is in the $53 mark. Just the car ride and back will be around $23. For $7 there is the option of being taken in a kayak, but extra charges apply at the island and for a kayak it looks quite a distance. The cable car ride would be a novelty, but the resort part doesn't appeal, so I'm passing this by since time is at a premium. I'm sure the good folks at Vinpearl can be Googled to find out what exactly they have to offer to justify the prices. It's taken about 2 hours getting here, stopping for a coffee (18,000 vnd) and looking around the fishing hamlet.
Time to head back find something to eat and prepare for the over night bus to Hoi An. The sun is setting, giving that golden glow to everything, and that means another set of photos to capture the scenic beauty this place has to offer. There could be more to see the other end of the beach, towards the extending concrete, commercialism and sunbathing tourists, that'll have to wait until next time! A plateful of steam rice, spicy vegetables and 3 pieces of chicken is dinner and at just 20,000 vnd ( $1 ), is good value. Generally eating here is cheaper than Saigon by far and portions are larger also! Overall, Nha Trang is good value for money in accommodation and food, I could easily spend a few weeks here. Time to join the other passengers at the ticket office and wait for the bus to roll in, just around the corner.
The bus for Hoi An leaves at 6 tonight, giving me about 8 hours to explore Nha Trang. The hotel reception gives me a map and points the way to the beach, about a 6 minutes walking.
The place is smart with plenty of development underway. Take a pinch of Benidorm, a handful of Blackpool and throw in a few bucket loads of Chinese and we have a Vietnamese beach resort in one of the most picturesque settings I've ever stumbled across. Bright blue sea, miles of golden sand and with a mountainous backdrop encompassing all sides of the bay. Mountainous islands populate the bay and beyond into the far distance, but the closest, called Vinpearl, has a cable car link which looks like a fun ride over the sea.
To the left, high rise blocks and the touristed part of the beach. To the right, towards the cable car, and it's quiet. A couple of cafes, deck chairs among the palms and some abandoned former restaurant premises it looks like. The promenade is shaded with palms and a cooling breeze makes this a pleasant walk. Very few people, mostly locals but hardly any tourists.
The cable car doesn't seem to be getting any closer, an optical illusion perhaps, but let's keep going anyway, see what's over the hill. A small concrete pier with some rather big boats moored along side, then about 50 little fishing boats all anchored, a colourful scene against the island backdrop. It's a little fishing hamlet, a development of concrete, and wooden structures on stilts extending slightly offshore. Beyond the hamlet, around the corner is the main port and a stack of Maersk containers. A host of tourist boats moored against the quayside with associated touts looking for a gullible tourist. A 1 hour boat ride around the bay is $20. Properties on the hillside, accessible by steep concrete steps into narrow alleyways makes for a scenic photo and a glimpse into a relatively tranquil pace of life.
The cable car place must be close since I can now here whirling motors and squeals as the cars launch. The terminal is in a smart, nicely manicured complex with gardens and a central statue. Vinpearl is the island destination for these cars, an exclusive resort by the looks of the posters and with prices to match. According to the information posted around an access all areas ticket is in the $53 mark. Just the car ride and back will be around $23. For $7 there is the option of being taken in a kayak, but extra charges apply at the island and for a kayak it looks quite a distance. The cable car ride would be a novelty, but the resort part doesn't appeal, so I'm passing this by since time is at a premium. I'm sure the good folks at Vinpearl can be Googled to find out what exactly they have to offer to justify the prices. It's taken about 2 hours getting here, stopping for a coffee (18,000 vnd) and looking around the fishing hamlet.
Time to head back find something to eat and prepare for the over night bus to Hoi An. The sun is setting, giving that golden glow to everything, and that means another set of photos to capture the scenic beauty this place has to offer. There could be more to see the other end of the beach, towards the extending concrete, commercialism and sunbathing tourists, that'll have to wait until next time! A plateful of steam rice, spicy vegetables and 3 pieces of chicken is dinner and at just 20,000 vnd ( $1 ), is good value. Generally eating here is cheaper than Saigon by far and portions are larger also! Overall, Nha Trang is good value for money in accommodation and food, I could easily spend a few weeks here. Time to join the other passengers at the ticket office and wait for the bus to roll in, just around the corner.
Monday, 6 February 2012
On the way to Hanoi 6th February 2012
Fast forwarding the blog..back to conclude Saigon adventures soon.
Saigon to Nha Trang..
8am the bus pulls away from Pham Ngu Lao road only to pull in again, twice more further down, now the bus is filling up, but still a few empty seats one of which becomes a temporary bag store. Not seats as such, but loungers that can be either upright or nearly flat. According to the schedule, should make Nha Trang by 6.30 tonight. Bus isn't in tip top condition but I didn't pay top dollar either so I don't mind and it's comfortable enough, with air conditioning. Driver number 2 hands out bottles of water to everyone.
Nha Trang is a coastal town roughly quarter of the way between Saigon and Hanoi, being a picturesque and pleasant location to stopover according to research. The ticket is an open tour, designed for tourists to hop on hop off, something not available by train yet, and it was only $34. Slow going getting out of Saigon through an area reserved for heavy industry - lots of steel and concrete. Bus go's via mi une about 4 hours away, the road is small and despite having a tarmac surface is still a bumpy ride! The bus is pulling in to what seems to be a European equivalent of the good old service station. A coffee here is around 90p, but I have enough supplies until lunchtime at least.
Approaching Mi une and the scene could almost be a replication of a town in the Arizona desert. It,s very flat with block buildings on sand. The landscape changes soon into hills and sand dunes. 1245 and the bus pulls up opposite a ticket desk and a restaurant with the menu in Russian. 25 minute stop for some fast food and a coffee from the shop further along. There isn't an abundance of cafes or accommodation that i can see from the brief stop here.
The road to Nha trang is small, still bumpy but is along some spectacular scenery. The sea on the right, mountains on the left, and some very rural scenery. Rice fields, duck farms, cattle and various plantations. Salt mines and even a wind farm along the beach. Mountains are getting higher, the peaks are in clouds. On the road now for 4 hours without a stop and the driver seems quite reluctant to make any unscheduled stops. The woman are getting agitated. The driver finally stops at the request of a rather large Russian lady. I wouldn't mind some biological relief also and grab the opportunity.
Not much to see of Nha Trang at night, except for avenues of lights. Looks like they're stretching out the Chinese new year a bit. I'm looking out for places to stay, not to much around here , I don't see much in the way of guesthouses or even hotels for that matter. Bus rolls into a side Street, everyone disembarks here. As if by magic a man pops out from nowhere holding a book of photos. "You need hotel", he asks. $10, has tv, fridge, air-con and Internet, even running water so, yes, I'll take it. Well, despite a host of internet scare stories about tour buses in Vietnam, I have at least survived the first part of this long, long bus trip to Hanoi. Next.....overnight to Hoi an.
Saigon to Nha Trang..
8am the bus pulls away from Pham Ngu Lao road only to pull in again, twice more further down, now the bus is filling up, but still a few empty seats one of which becomes a temporary bag store. Not seats as such, but loungers that can be either upright or nearly flat. According to the schedule, should make Nha Trang by 6.30 tonight. Bus isn't in tip top condition but I didn't pay top dollar either so I don't mind and it's comfortable enough, with air conditioning. Driver number 2 hands out bottles of water to everyone.
Nha Trang is a coastal town roughly quarter of the way between Saigon and Hanoi, being a picturesque and pleasant location to stopover according to research. The ticket is an open tour, designed for tourists to hop on hop off, something not available by train yet, and it was only $34. Slow going getting out of Saigon through an area reserved for heavy industry - lots of steel and concrete. Bus go's via mi une about 4 hours away, the road is small and despite having a tarmac surface is still a bumpy ride! The bus is pulling in to what seems to be a European equivalent of the good old service station. A coffee here is around 90p, but I have enough supplies until lunchtime at least.
Approaching Mi une and the scene could almost be a replication of a town in the Arizona desert. It,s very flat with block buildings on sand. The landscape changes soon into hills and sand dunes. 1245 and the bus pulls up opposite a ticket desk and a restaurant with the menu in Russian. 25 minute stop for some fast food and a coffee from the shop further along. There isn't an abundance of cafes or accommodation that i can see from the brief stop here.
The road to Nha trang is small, still bumpy but is along some spectacular scenery. The sea on the right, mountains on the left, and some very rural scenery. Rice fields, duck farms, cattle and various plantations. Salt mines and even a wind farm along the beach. Mountains are getting higher, the peaks are in clouds. On the road now for 4 hours without a stop and the driver seems quite reluctant to make any unscheduled stops. The woman are getting agitated. The driver finally stops at the request of a rather large Russian lady. I wouldn't mind some biological relief also and grab the opportunity.
Not much to see of Nha Trang at night, except for avenues of lights. Looks like they're stretching out the Chinese new year a bit. I'm looking out for places to stay, not to much around here , I don't see much in the way of guesthouses or even hotels for that matter. Bus rolls into a side Street, everyone disembarks here. As if by magic a man pops out from nowhere holding a book of photos. "You need hotel", he asks. $10, has tv, fridge, air-con and Internet, even running water so, yes, I'll take it. Well, despite a host of internet scare stories about tour buses in Vietnam, I have at least survived the first part of this long, long bus trip to Hanoi. Next.....overnight to Hoi an.
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