Saigon

Officially now called Ho Chi Mihn City after President 'Uncle Ho' who liberated Vietnam from the French and the Americans. There are significantly less pictures of him around than in Hanoi - no surprise there, and the people still refer to it as Saigon.

Although hanoi is offically the capital, by all intents and purpose HCMC is the main hub of the country. Our time in the city has been spent in the multi screen cinemas, in KFC, in the water park, as well as all the cultural and historical spots.

The Re-unification Palace is a shadow of it's former self when the french were here. The original french palace was bombed and an autere soviet looking palace replaced it. In 1975 the north Vietnamese troops raided the palace and officially ended the war - the south vietnamese president handed over power and the country was united. Nearly a million south Vietnamese where forced to leave the country (mainly for the US), but the poorer ones got on boats - ie. the boat people.

Still today, if you or any member of your family helped the Americans in any way during the war, your career prospects are severly hindered. There are lots of cyclo drivers in Saigon who were professors, doctors, teachers, but there citizenship was taken away and they can't work or own a property.

We spent a harrowing afternoon walking around the war remnants museam which gave a no nonsense display of the atrocities the Americans committed in the war. Completely objective of course! There were photos of agent orange victims with no skin on their bodies and the grandchildren (3rd generation) of exposed people with horrible deformaties. Photos of the fighting were brutal and we came out feeling emotionally exhausted. Thankfully Saigon has great ice cream so that cheered us up!

We sepnt another afternoon at Saigon's Dam Sen waterpark. It had wave pools, a lazy river and water slides and literally thousands of kids. We were the only white people there, so were treated like celebrities with everyone wanting to talk to us and of course splash us!

Mui Ne Beach

There is a saying in Vietnam: 'Same same, but different'. It refers to the difference between yourself when you are young and when you are old... I think! This has been our saying while relaxing in Mui Ne. Everyday - get up late, have big breakfast, go to the beach, have a snooze at noon, back to the beach for a boogie board/swim and then about 5/6pm go out for dinner, drinks and games of pool. Same same, but different!



Not much to see here really - a few sand dunes, sunsets, lots of restaurants.



Other photos are off falls on the way to Mui Ne, typical Pagodas outside Dalat and some of the island off Nha Trang. Vietnam has surprised us with its beauty.

Cold strawberrys and stew

Dalat is in the central highlands of Vietnam - high in the hills so the temperature is a lot cooler. It rained a lot while we were here, but we enjoyed the cool weather and winter fruits that aren't available elsewhere in the country. English stew to keep us warm as well!

One day we walked around Dalat's lake and another we did a tour on motorbikes. Dalat is an ugly city really and if it wasn't for the climate, we wouldn't have come. It has some good history and was left relatively unscathed during the war although lots of the minority tribes made trouble for both sides. The photo above shows a minority woman (75) in her kitchen cooking bamboo roots - very basic (open fire) and very smoky!

We saw the old railway station (see photo), tiger falls (see photo) and a few amazing pagodas.
One of the most disturbing things we saw in this area was the process by which silk is made. First a family gets some silk worm eggs, puts them on racks in their house and wait until they grow and roll into a silk ball. The family then sells them to the factory where girls stand all day in hot, noisy, stinky, filthy conditions unravelling the silk. The machines then make the cloth.

We visited a 'crazy house' which the 2nd president's daughter had built (see Garry and the spiders web). It was a bit like being in Alice's wonderland.

Easy Riders

Here we are again at the beach. We were glad to see the sands of Mui Ne after 2 days on the back of a motorbike. We are still walking a bit tentitively!! We have a great hotel just off the beach, but it is still raining.

We left Dalat on Monday with our 'Riders' Hung and Quang who promised to show us the 'real Vietnam'. We certainly did see the sights of the central highlands: the good and the bad, the rich and the poor. The area is full of the most amazing waterfalls - far superior than any seen in New Zealand. The laughing Buddha was one of the highlights - as I said to Hung (a serious Buddhist) "Do people really worship that?" It was met with a stern response!



We travelled through some amazing countryside and saw many local ethnic minority tribes. Many of the hill tribes are very poor, due mainly to the fact that they are Christian and will not tow the 'party' line.

In England it is polite not to discuss politics and religion when you have just met someone, but the Vietnamese know little else. We had some tense conversations about religion and about Western 'niavety', but I think we remained friends - at least after a few glasses of rice wine!

Nha Trang and the big fish

Sam has a thing about fish. It is probably because she has watched too many films with titles like 'Piranha', 'Monsters of the deep', 'Terrors on the high seas' or seen 'Jaws' one too many times. Whatever the reason, the reality is that when she is in the water and a fish comes near - she has a panic attack.

Nha Trang is famous for it's great beaches, islands and you've guessed it - big fish and coral. We set off for Mun Island early in the morning and were in the water by 9am. Garry loved every minute of it and was diving down to see the fish and coral. After several panic attacks Sam started to relax until she saw something that looked like a huge sea snake (an anaconda??!).

Apart from fish and the beach, Nha Trang's only other attractions are a big fat buddha on a hill and some great food. We have entered the rainy season down south, but you know what they say - more rain, more rest.

Hoi An, two pair of trousers, two shorts, 9 shirts!

Hoi An was a very expensive city for us, not because there is a lot to do particularly, but due to the amazing tailors the city boasts. Sam had a whole new wardrobe made to measure and Garry had 2 shirts and 2 t-shirts made. All the latest Next catalogues were available and people were ordering suits galore. We are still in denial about ever having to go back to work so we passed that one. Not bad though - a Next suit (3 pieces) for $40.


Hoi An is an old city - relatively untouched by the war. It has some great architecture and pagodas and a lovely river running through it. We only took one trip: My Son was built somewhere between 1200 and 1500 AD by the Cham dynasty. It was a foretaste for Angkor Wat - in ruins now - bombed to hell, but still very visible.

We had a our first Vietnam beach experience here - rather stressful on the first day, but got easier. The trouble is that you sit down with a beer, your MP3 player and your book and start to relax when a small boy interupts you asking if you want to buy some post cards, then a lady comes along pulling at your toes asking if you want a massage, then a girl comes with cigarettes... it never ends. Tough life eh???


We got talking to a train worker the other day and he earnt $30 a month (about 17 pounds). He nearly fell over when we said we both earnt $3000 each. We are extremely rich here and it is clear to see why the Vietnamese view us as a walking bank.

Visitors to Vietnam

Hi Debbie and Rich. Give us an email at: Samikazi75@hotmail.com

We are in the South of the country - by the time you get here we will be either in Dalat or Mui Ne heading towards Saigon.

We will arrange to meet you if you let us know your plans.