Vietnam

Wednesday the 14th of July

Hello everybody, sorry about the length of time since the last entry. I know you are all thinking that I have just become lazy and can’t be bothered putting entry’s on anymore and well, yes quite frankly your right. However that is not the reason why I have been lacking in the entry department. The reason is the website has run out of disk space, luckily I have the option of buying more (I say luckily but I am not sure for who?) The only problem is the guy who adds the space is away for a few days, in fact the only reason you are reading this is that I have deleted a few old pictures to make a bit of available space. Anyway this is all getting a bit boring and technical, suffice to say for pictures and more entry’s you will have to wait until I get the additional disk space added.

Now that the excuses are out of the way I will fill you in on what we have been doing. We left Cambodia on the 7th of July and crossed into Vietnam at Moc Bai and headed straight on to Saigon (or Ho Chi Minh City depending on who you ask.) I think both Lou and I were expecting Vietnam to be very similar to Cambodia but to our surprise it was quite different. Yes there are similarities such as I am taller than everybody, they both seem to have thousands of moped drivers who seem intent on running me over and they are both extremely hot and sweaty but ultimately they are very different countries. Vietnam seems a bit more developed with better roads and infrastructure and the standard of living seems a lot better than in Cambodia. Also we found the locals seem more used to the tourists and there seems to be less people with their hands out.

I think it is safe to say both Lou and I enjoyed Saigon and the surrounding area. On our second day in Saigon we visited the war remnants museum, which along with the downed US planes and abandoned tanks also had an amazing gallery of pictures. Some of them were a bit gruesome but then again it was a very gruesome war. It also had some unexploded bombs of various designs, with the largest being about the size of an elephant and with the ability to destroy everything within a 100 metre radius. Looking at these bombs and planes it was hard to understand how the Americans with their giant bombs and planes lost to a peasant army. On visiting the Cu Chi Tunnels a few days later we learned how they had lost.

The Cu Chi Tunnels are the legendary tunnels used by the Viet Cong during the war. These tunnels were amazing, not only in the construction but also the shear cheek the Viet Cong showed. At the height of the war they estimate that there were about 150 miles of tunnels in total, these tunnels were an elaborate spiders web that stretched from the Cambodian boarder to Saigon. They even tunneled under the American military bases so they could launch surprise attacks from inside the base it’s self. Another reason they tunneled under the American bases was that during the really heavy bombing they figured the safest place to be was under an American base as there would be no bombs falling there. Those Viet Cong were a very clever and cunning bunch and this was also shown by the array of traps and mines they left for the Americans. When we arrived at the tunnels we were given a quick guided tour and then they let us go down through a few tunnels. These tunnels were a tight squeeze but only about 15 metres in length. After going through a few of these the tour was coming to an end apart from the main attraction. This was a massive tunnel of about 250 metres which was 8 metres under the ground and thinner than the previous tunnels. In fact the guide (who was about 5 foot) said that in the middle it got so narrow that even he had to crawl.

On hearing this most of the group decided that they had seen enough of the tunnels but oh no not me. For some unknown reason (I suspect it is because I am a twat) I decided that I was going to crawl through. The fact that I am about 6 foot 2 and considerably wider than your average Viet Cong solider should have sent the alarm bells ringing but it did not. So 10 minutes later I found myself 8 metres underground half stuck in the middle of the tunnel, covered in mud, soaked with sweat, with bats flying around my head and with grazed knees and knuckles. I can honestly say that the last 100 metres of that tunnel were the longest 100 metres of my life. When I finally emerged I looked like I had been living down there for 15 years. Even the guide had a good laugh at me. I have to say that Lou found easy but then again she is only 5 foot 1 and about the size the tunnel was designed for.

Well that has used up the last of the disk space so I am going to have to call it a day but I will fill you in on everything else as soon as possible.

Ruairi aka Tunnel Rat Redmond

Sunday the 18th of July

Well still no disk space so this will have to be a quick entry (horrify I hear you all cry!) I should have the new disk space tomorrow so some pictures will be added over the next few days.

Well where do I start? We left Saigon about 6 days ago now and on leaving Saigon headed straight to Dalat, which although is only about 70 miles away meant a bus journey of over 8 hours. I really am not going to moan about transport in London on my return as quite frankly the tube seems like space flight in comparison to the buses here. Having said that the buses in London are not that far removed, sort it out Ken and stop titting about with the Olympics. Delat is 1450 meters above sea level (one of the reasons why the bus was so slow, whats your excuse Ken) which meant that the temperature was a lot cooler than Saigon and in fact Dalat is the first place in South East Asia where we have not needed air-conditioning. On first arriving in Dalat we were both a bit disappointed as it was 6.00pm and there did not seem to be anything there. This meant we ended up having an early night with no dinner, which is obviously dangerous for somebody of my slight figure as there is real danger of me wasting away to nothing, don’t laugh!

The following day was a vast improvement though as we grabbed some bikes and headed out for a cycle. The bikes were not up to much as mine had no brakes and was a ladies size but as it was the best one I could find it had to do. The ride was 12 miles there and 12 miles back but as it was up and down hills it was tough going, so much so that at one stage I felt so weak I stopped at a road side stall and ate 8 bananas in under 3 minutes. I think the locals looking on thought I was some strange greedy giant monkey. The purpose of the ride was to visit the Tiger Falls, which were very pretty but the monkeys and other animals they had caged up there left a sour taste in your mouth.

The next day I decided to have a round of golf on what turned out to be the best golf course I have ever played on. It was a full 18 hole with the 9th hole being rated as one of the top 500 holes in the world. I even had my own caddie. I would love to tell you that I played like Tiger Woods and broke the course record but in truth I played more like Tony The Tiger and if I did brake the course record it was the record for the most shots taken. But then we all know it is not the winning it is the taking part, yeah right. I am not sure which loser came up with that statement but one thing is for sure they were definitely a loser.

Well after the few days of chilling out both physically and metaphorically, we are now in Nha Trang, which is on the coast and back in the hot zone. It is weird just the few days in the cool of Dalat and both Lou and I are finding Nha Trang unbearably hot. Luckily there is 4 miles of beach to help keep you cool. In fact I am just back from the beach where I have spent the day lazing in the sun, we even both had a full body massage (less than 2 pounds each) while lying on the beach, what luxury.

So much for a quick entry, I think I have ended up rambling on as usual so I better wrap it up here. So long for now folks.

Wednesday the 21st of July

We are now in Hanoi after flying from Nah Trang on the coast of Vietnam. Originally we wanted to stop off at Hoi An as it is meant to be a beautiful place, famous for its silk tailors who russel up custom fitted silk wardrobes for next to nothing. Alas there were no aeroplanes available to go there and we were in a rush in order to visit Laos, so we decided to come straight up to the north of Vietnam to their capital Hanoi.

After a 1 1 /2 hour flight compared to an aproximately 25 hour bus ride we arrived this morning. So yes we pushed the boat out a bit but the buses here do take forever and stop annoyingly every hour or so for the local speciality of noodles and dried fish. People here seem to eat far more regularly than us back home but still manage to stay slim, I wonder what their trick is? I snack quite regularly but it doesn't work for me!

Anyway so far from what we have seen, mainly from our hotel balcony that is, Hanoi seems like a nice place and not too hectic. We are staying in the old quarter where the buildings are rather nice, of French influence I think.

Our plan was to cross the land border into Laos, after perhaps taking in a tour of Halong Bay but we are not sure yet if we have time. We have also made a bit of a blunder as we are not actually sure whether we can cross into Laos from the north as the guide books only mention 2 land border crossings in the middle of the country. So we may have to fly again (oh blast!) or travel back down the country (No!)

I think we are both getting a bit too used to living the life of Riley who lunches. So much free time. So much travelling. So much lunch! Its going to be strange coming back to London and not having much time to yourself again. Guess we should make the most of it, and eat all the dried fish we can! Well thats all for now.
L x

Friday the 23rd of July

Well our time in Vietnam is almost up as tomorrow we leave Hanoi and fly to the capital of Laos. The original plan was not to fly at all while traveling around Vietnam and Laos but we have had a bit of a comedy of errors and now find ourselves getting on two planes within the space of a week. Originally we flew from Nha Trang up to Hanoi as we decided that we did not have enough time to travel by bus (over 30 hours which would have meant breaking the trip into stages.) So the plan was to fly to Hanoi and then cross into Laos from Hanoi. It would have been an excellent plan but for one minor hiccup, we cannot get a direct bus from Hanoi as the only boarder crossings into Laos are back down in the middle of Vietnam (near Nha Trang.) So basically ladies and gentleman we have inadvertently flown right past where we should have crossed into Laos. As neither Lou nor I fancy getting a bus back along the same route we have just flown we have opted to fly to Laos instead. The flights are only about 40 pounds more than the bus so it is not to bad just slightly annoying but at least it will teach us to read the guidebooks before making decisions.

Well what can I say about Hanoi, it is a very pretty city with lots of lakes but the rain here is something else. We knew we were traveling through South East Asia during the wet season and expected lots of rain but so far we have found it not to bad. Most places so far have had a daily downpour in the afternoon but it normally only lasts an hour and then blue skies return, not so in Hanoi. Hanoi seems to be the complete opposite, with rain all day apart from an hour break in the afternoon, sounds a bit like an English summer.

I have really enjoyed Vietnam but one thing I won’t miss is the traffic. Trying to cross the roads here should be made an Olympic sport, as you need the speed of a 100-metre runner and the agility of a gymnast. So far, as far as I can discern there are only four questions on a Vietnamese driving test. These are as follows.

Questions
1) When driving if within a radius of 150 metres you can see, buildings, people, other vehicles, animals, trees, roads or sky, you must?

2) When driving if you cannot see anything within a radius of 150 metres what is wrong and what should you do?

3) What should you do when approaching a red light?

4) If you see a tourist you must?

Answers
1) Increase speed and repeatedly beep your horn.

2) You have gone blind; don’t panic, as this does not affect your ability to drive. Simply increase your speed and repeatedly beep your horn until either your sight returns or you come to a stop by crashing into a tourist.

3) Increase your speed and repeatedly beep your horn or just drive on the pavement.

4) Aim directly for them, increase your speed and repeatedly beep your horn.

So how many did you get right? All the Vietnamese government needs to do to decrease the thousands of deaths on the roads here is one very simple thing. Swap the brake and the horn over, as it seems that none of the drivers can find the brake but they all know where the horn is!

Well that is about all from Vietnam I am afraid. It has been fun and I could definitely see myself coming back. However time stops for no man and I can hear Laos calling me.