Hi all Apologies to those who didn't know that we were going to Vietnam. And to everyone - please feel free to NOT read my verbose emails about our experiences!! :) So.... we're in Vietnam and loving it! The people are gorgeous, very charming and totally taken by our multi-coloured family! The boys (especially Ramesh) attract a great deal of attention. They have to constantly put up with their cheeks and chins being pinched or patted... Or else there is someone grabbing them around the shoulders for a squeeze!It's priceless seeing R's longsuffering look! We just keep telling them to "SMILE"!!! Ben and I think this is wonderful because it's generated conversations with the locals that would normally never have taken place.
We had a very busy first day in Ho Chi Minh City because as well as meeting Morris and another friend we also had to find our way around the place to book a plane ticket, train ticket etc for the next few weeks. Early the next morning we caught a bus to Vinh Long in the Mekong Delta which is about 3 hours south of HCMC ----- or so we thought!!! We ended up 5.5 hours later in Can Tho which had been our original choice (good floating markets near here), but the distance had discouraged us. Ben calls it serendipity - I call it a basic lack of communication! Isn't it wonderful when you try to communicate and neither party knows what the other is saying??? Interesting things happen! So after a speed read of the Lonely Planet's "where to sleep in CanTho" section we found ourselves a hotel. It's in a lovely spot right on the Can Tho River - $30 a night for an enormous room (12 foot high ceilings!) with a huge double bed and a huge single bed (which is big enough for the boys to share).
Today, for 5 hours, we cruised the waters of the CanTho River and the might Mekong River in a long skinny boat (for $2!), with a rarely used motor, mostly paddled by a woman. These waterways are the lifeforce of these people. What an amazing experience..... These people live in stilt homes over the river and they wash their clothes, their hair, their dishes, their animals (dogs, pigs!), their boats, and themselves in the river. It's their street, their backyard, their playground, their livelihood, their food source, their bath, their water source, their toilet and their bin!!!! (yes, it's dirty - but not enough to feel yuk! The boys wanted to hop in!! No- I wouldn't let them!) I spent over half an hour this evening, sitting by the river, sketching the boats and the women who row them. One woman posed for me and then requested the sketch which she proceeded to show the other boat women. The next thing I knew they had my sketchbook and paddled it over to the other boats to show off!! Then I had requests for sketches of each one. By this stage there was a crowd of about 8 people gathered!! I stopped after 2 sketches (actually I ran away!)! Too much stress - I can't work under those conditions!! :o)So as you can see we are very much enjoying ourselves and will keep you posted with our updates as we backpack up the country. VIETNAM 2006
Itinerary
Wed 5 April: leave for Vinh Long (Mekong Delta) - book in for a homestay if poss.
Thurs 6 April: homestay with a local family on the river in Vinh Long (in a house on stilts on the Mekong River)?
Fri 7 April: catch bus back to HCMC
Sat 8 April: Cu Chi Tunnels tour and Cao Dai Temple
Sun 9 April: meeting and sightseeing HCMC - Cholon
Mon 10 April: Fly to Danang then taxi to Hoi An
Tue 11 April (Hoi An Legendary Night festival!! )
Wed, Thur & Friday 14 April: spend in Hoi An
Sat 15 April: hire car from Hoi An to Hue
Sun 16 April: Hue (citadel, market and pagodas - boat ride on Perfume River)
Mon 17 April: DMZ tour
Tue 18 April: leave on Reunification Train (night train) to Hanoi
Wed 19 April: Hanoi
Thur 20 April: Halong Bay Cruise (2 day 1 night cruise with Handspan Travel Tour)
Fri 21 April: Back to Hanoi and take night train to Sapa
Sat 22 April: Sapa
Sun 23 April: Sapa
Mon 24 April: night train back to Hanoi
Tue 25 – Thurs 27 April: Hanoi
Thurs 27: leave for Perth (2.40pm)
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