The floating market of Cai Rang - 31st Jan

This morning we boarded a boat to visit the floating market at Cai Rang. It took us about half an hour to reach the market but on route we took loads of photos of all the other boats on the river and the houses either side which were simple wooden huts on stilts.

Homes along the river

When we reached the market it was great watching all the local farmers trading their produce on the water which was a centuries old tradition. The boats were full of fresh fruit and vegetables with sticks at the end of each boat displaying the item the farmer was selling. As well as this there were canteen boats selling hot noodle soup and little rowing boats selling lottery tickets.

Anyone for cabbages?

After a circuit of the market we sailed back to the hotel and boarded the bus to take us back to Ho Chi Minh. Fortunately the journey back was much quieter and we got back with no hold ups. Half way back we stopped again at the lovely service station and had some lunch.

More houses along the river

Market day in Can Tho

Currys delivery

Back at the hotel Andy and I went for a walk around the town. The preparations for Chinese New Year were really building and they'd closed the road outside the hotel as this was a main parade where there were lots of floral decorations and lots of statues of cats to celebrate the new year. Many families had brought their children to come and see all the festivities and they all seemed really excited having all their photos taken by the decorations.

In the evening we went out for our final dinner with Carolyn and Bonnie to the Lemongrass. Again the food was really great and afterwards we went for a final ice cream at Fannies.

Lemongrass restaurant

Lanterns for Chinese New Year

One final glace at Fannies

After this Bonnie and Carolyn headed back to the hotel but Andy and I decided to stop out for a beer. There was a bar by our hotel and we found a table outside. The beer was expensive compared with what we'd paid before but it was great just enjoying the atmosphere and sharing in people's excitement of the forthcoming Chinese New Year. I felt sad this was our final night in Vietnam but glad we had one final experience still to go in Cambodia before it would be time to head home.

Hoards of people coming to look at the decorations

View from our hotel room

Hue to Hoi An - 26th January

We had a new guide today called Hung. He was really enthusiastic and knowledgeable and gave us a great tour of Hue. First we went to the Citadel which is where the kings lived during the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945).

Breakfast

Much of it had been destroyed during the Vietnamese war and you could see bullet holes in the walls. Renovations were being done but it still felt a dreadful waste and very sad that so much history had been destroyed so pointlessly.

Entrance to the Citadel

Carp in the pond

The citadel was home to a number of Dynasty kings who lived in the central palace (1802-1945). They each had up to 200 wives ...busy men. The Mandarins had an important presence during this time and were split between Mandarin soldiers and Mandarin monks. They would all gather in the main square to greet the emperor.

We then visited the tomb of the fourth emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty Tu Duc. It was built between 1864 and 1867 and was a place of solitude for the emperor to go before and after death. It was an extravagant place with pagodas and temples and a big man-made lake however his tomb was very modest. The emperor felt he'd made mistakes during his ruling and deliberately wanted a modest burial. Tu Duc and his wealth were never actually buried here but in a secret location to stop grave robbers. Every one of the 200 servants who buried the king were beheaded in order to keep the secret.

Puppy on a bike

After this visit we headed on a long drive through Danang and onto Hoi An. We could have driven over the spectacular Hai Van Pass but the weather wasn't nice enough and instead we drove through a newly opened tunnel which was channelled through the mountain.

2 Pigs on a bike

Fishermen Huts

Carolyn had bought some pencils and caps to hand out to children and when we got into Hoi An we went to an orphanage to hand them out. The children all seemed really pleased.

By the time we got to Hoi An we were pretty hungry as we hadn't had lunch so we went to a restaurant Hung recommended. At first there was again a bit of a 'hoo haa' that it was too 'westernised' but the food turned out to be very traditional and delicious. As per the itinerary we were meant to have a city tour in the afternoon but by now it was 4pm so Hung said he'd come back and take us round the next day. This suited us fine as we were pretty tired. Bonnie and Carolyn went to a tailors to get some tailor made clothes and me and Andy went for a nice wander round the town. Hoi An was really appealing set on a river. It was an old town and prone to annual flooding. The town was geared to tourism and there were lots of cafes and bars. On the other side of the river a whole new complex of bars had been built but thankfully they'd been built in keeping with the buildings in old Hoi An.

After a wander round we went back to the hotel for a rest before heading out again for some food a walk around and we went to a bar for a couple of drinks before heading back to the hotel.

Andy's birthday – a day in the van and at the airport - 25th Jan

Happy Birthday Andy

Happy Birthday Andy

We woke at 8am and Andy opened his birthday cards. Then we got up and had a coffee on deck with the others. I'd mentioned to Dai about Top Gear coming to Halong Bay and he seemed to know the floating bar they'd gone to and asked the driver of the boat to take us back to port via there. When we passed it neither Andy nor I were convinced it was the same place but we went along with it anyway.

Top Gear Bar ????

We had brunch at 10.30am which again was a 10 course feast. They served a mix of breakfast and lunch together but yum yum – delicious. We docked about 11.30am and were transferred straight onto the minibus. The itinerary for today was quite disappointing as the only thing left to do was take us to the airport – 4 hours away – for an 8.00pm flight.

On route we required a 'not in the itinerary' toilet break and Dai was forced to take us to a pottery show house which had western toilets. It was still touristy with girls painting pottery and tourists leaning right over them taking photos. However the show house had some beautiful items and I could have easily bought a whole dinner set there.

Ten minutes later we had to stop at the scheduled 'on the itinerary' toilet stop which was back at the Tapestry Centre we'd passed on the way to Halong Bay. This was met with frustration but we were told the driver needed his lunch. I didn't like it here at all as again we were followed round by an assistant and the whole place felt more like a complete tourist trap rather than a charity supporting the disabled.

After we set off again it was only early afternoon and too early to get to the airport so Dai offered to take us on a walk through a village. This was nice to do - it was a quiet village but good to stretch our legs. We kept seeing some children peering round corners and watching us then hiding quickly when we waved at them. We also saw a big Catholic church which was unusual as the population is predominantly Buddhist.

 

Houses only ever decorated at the front

A light load ???

Chickens

We got to the airport four hours before our flight. We wasted some time in a bar with some drinks, chatted and read our books. When we checked our bags in there was still a good hour and a half before the flight was due to take off and so rather than go through to the lounge Andy and I went back to the restaurant for a bowl of noodle soup. It was really tasty and nice to have a bit of time to ourselves on Andy's birthday.

Airport Restaurant

The plane took off on time and we flew to Hue for stage 2 of our Vietnamese tour.

Saigon to the Mekong Delta - 30th Jan

This morning we went to Cholon, the Chinese district of Saigon to have a look around the ornate Thien Hau Temple, dedicated to the Goddess of the Sea. It was beautifully decorated with lots of ornate carvings. As it was so near Chinese New Year there were lots of people coming in to burn incense to clear the air of evil spirits. The smell was quite powerful. There were several incense spirals hanging from the ceilings with people's personal messages to the Gods attached.

Child seat on the bike

Thien Hau Temple

Spiral Incense burners hanging from the roof

Next we visited the Binh Tay wholesale market. This was a bustling place made up of lots of small stalls where sellers demonstrated the products they had to sell on a wholesale basis. As well as fish, meat and vegetables there were some unusual delicacies such as pots of seahorses, bags of dried prawns and stacks of sparrow's nests. There were also stalls selling ornaments, table decorations and lanterns. The stalls were family owned and had been passed through generation after generation. It was funny seeing the youngsters there and knowing their careers were already dictated as they'd be taking over the running of the stalls. Within the market there was also a big kitchen where people could buy their food – it looked really good but we were advised that our stomachs probably wouldn't cope with the hygiene. Washing up involved dipping the bowls in a bucket of water. Outside we could see all the motorbikes stacked full of boxes and packages, they speed pretty unbalanced as people drove off.

After this we boarded the mini bus for the 2 hour drive to the Mekong Delta. Unfortunately it was the last Saturday before Chinese New Year and the roads were packed with people leaving the city to drive to their family homes in the country. Leaving Saigon was quite busy but things cleared up when we hit the motorway as bikes weren't allowed which freed up the traffic congestion considerably. After an hour we stopped at the most beautiful service station I have ever been to. It had little thatched restaurants and shops and a large lily pond in the middle.

Beautiful Service Station

We boarded the bus again for the final hour however as the motorway had ended we had to go on the normal roads which were heavily congested. Fortunately our driver was in mobile contact with other drivers and was able to detour to getting us around queues (his ring tune was Abba 'Dancing Queen' which was quite amusing). However everyone needed to cross a large river and there were a limited number of bridges so queuing became inevitable at points. The police were out having to control the traffic and once we were over the bridge the rest of the journey was fine.

We finally arrived at Cai Be and boarded our boat for the journey up the Delta. The Mekong River is one of the world's greatest rivers and originates in China passing through Laos, Thailand and Cambodia before getting to Vietnam. It is known as the 'rice bowl' and provides the country's main source of rice and tropical fruit.

Homes along the Delta

First we passed by a floating market where boats were selling fruit and vegetables. We then docked at a small village and saw people making sweets, rice paper for spring rolls and popping rice – all to be sold in the markets. We were given some tea and were able to try the sweets.

A failed attempt at making rice paper

After this we boarded the boat again and sailed through the Delta to our destination for lunch. We should have been here at 12pm but because of all the traffic delays we finally got there for 4pm. Our host had made us a lovely meal including the regional speciality 'Elephant Ear Fish' which looked horrible but tasted great. We ate it as part of a spring roll.

Surprisingly tasty

After our late lunch we travelled on to the village of Vinh Long. We got some lovely photos of some Vietnamese paddling their boats and they were all friendly and waved to us. The driver of the boat offered us a coconut to drink and I tried it but didn't really like it.

Not that keen !

Our boat

At Vinh Long we boarded our minibus again and were driven to Can Tho for the night. The sunset on route was amazing and probably the most beautiful setting sun I've ever seen.

At the hotel we freshened up before going to the bar at the top of the hotel for our complimentary cocktail. Andy and I then headed out for a look round the town. There was a night market right outside the hotel which was full of people milling around. There were some tourists about but not many and it was the first time I felt some people staring at us. One little boy tugged my coat and shouted 'hello' but everyone was very friendly. After a walk around we went to a restaurant for some cheap beers and spring rolls before heading back to the hotel to bed.

View from our hotel

Dinner