Urban madness and sandy games

This post is sent from Myanmar where internet is restricted. That's why it looks a bit different than usual.   During our journey we came into contact with other travelers that went to Vietnam already and in most cases the story had a negative connotation: the hassle, the traffic, the noise, the not set prices, etc... and some even suggested to skip Vietnam which even the German couple from Laos ended up doing... and it was their loss. We are so glad we didn't let others' experiences influence our itinerary.   Whenever you come in contact with horror stories you have two options: either you believe them and change your plans or you listen to them carefully, keeping in mind that everyone has a different way of seeing and experiencing places and you decide to experience it yourself and that's what we did.   A 12 usd package was our entry ticket to Vietnam on board of a spacious and comfortable bus we did the route from Phnom Pehn to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). The border crossing was very different from the Lao-Cambodia one. In this case we crossed by bus, just getting off to pass our luggage through X rays scan, our visas checked and yet another entry stamp appeared in our passports.   The closer we got to HCMC the more motorcycles that appeared on the road and the more beeping sounds we heard, the avenues looked like a river of colorful helmets that mengled with some cars and buses. From the more than six million people living here around four million own a motorbike. That explains the picturesque scene of the local traffic.   We were welcomed by heavy rain, that stopped soon enough to let us find the Thai Nhi Mini (get it?) hotel, were we had to climb up 5 floors to get a nice and affordable room, with free WIFI and an excellent location.   After our first walk in HCMC we were fascinated by looking at the crazy traffic. As Angela once said, her hearth contracted like a raisin skipping not one but several beats every time we had to walk in between the monsoon of two wheelers. For a taste click here.   The next morning we kept on training our street crossing skills and went walking around trying to find an affordable camera, while discovering the city under 39 degrees, but for us this temperature is now normal so nothing to complain about. We found the newer model of our previous Canon and it was cheaper than in Belgium so yet another item on the list of unexpected expenses.   To celebrate our new addition to the family (we call it Hochi) we went to Fanny's ice cream. We are sure that there must be one place in the world where you can find the best ice cream in the world NAY the universe! Well ladies and gentleman, look no further; Fanny is ice cream paradise. The rum raisin one was not a scoop with some rum essence and a lost raisin in it au contraire mon ami, it was like they put a whole stake of dried grapes in and we are sure that we could have set fire to the ice cream as you could feel the rum going down to your stomach. If you have tasted cinnamon ice cream before and thought it was nice then you would feel cheated after you tasted the one from Fanny. You could imagine the magnificent prize winning cow that provided the milk for the rich creaminess and you were teleported to fields full of cinnamon orchards. Feel like an ice cream yet?    Sightseeing is very rewarding here, the french influence is evident in the architecture of many buildings, like the Mayor's house, the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Opera, the Ho Chi Minh Museum amongst many others.   This last one was a very nice place to visit, not because of the artifacts inside but because of the nice wooden floors, spacious rooms that were accentuated by the sunshine coming in through the original white wooden shutters. No wonder it's a popular place with couples to have their wedding pictures taken.   On the way to the Reunification Palace we passed the fortress of the US embassy, were we saw a small group of Vietnamese women protesting of which Jonny wanted to take a picture, only to have a soldier coming up to him waving his hands in disapproval. Our walking tour went further to the Cathedral and the magnificent post office, the luxurious Diamond Shopping Centre, and the botanical garden, including a very poor zoo.   Once again we needed to pamper ourselves after a long walking day so Fanny welcomed us again, this time to taste the mint and chocolate and the nougat flavors. Imagine yourself being Marco Polo going to the Orient and discovering tastes that have never touched any Westerners' pallet... Well, you get the idea.   Concerning our stomach Pho Ga (chicken noodle soup) was the tasty welcome to the exquisite Vietnamese cuisine that just got better every day.   We also visited the famous Jade Pagoda, a Chinese temple, very dark but popular place, you can see it by the huge amount of smoke from the incense sticks burning there. It is one of the oldest pagodas and is considered one of the most spectacular  in the city, but it did not seem so spectacular for us. Nonetheless we got a nice pictures.   To close our visit to HCMC we went to the War Museum containing evidence of the horrors committed by the US during the Indochine war. It is a very well organized exhibition with many documents, striking/shocking pictures and testimonials of Vietnamese and American people. Visiting this place only awakens the feelings of anger, frustration, impotence,sadness, ... Once again like in any war innocent people are the ones that pay the highest price.   The most striking part was the one related to the still growing numbers of victims of Agent Orange. This defoliant not only destroyed all the Forrest, but was also highly toxic for every living thing (dioxin being the major component). How can someone think of such a method to be used against an 'enemy'. The effects of it were so devastating that even today people carry it in their genes of which you sadly see examples of in the streets.   This said we could not leave the capturing Saigon with feelings of war. We had to move on and decided to end our visit with a flashpacker practice spending over half our day budget at the bar on 23rd floor of the Sherathon hotel. We had 2 for 1 happy hour cocktails, looking at the sun setting and as darkness set in enjoying the show of lights being turned on over this vast Metropolis.   Next day it was time to head for the beach. If you like the high buildings and inflated prices of Oostende/Benidorm/El Laguito Cartagena go to Nah Thrang. If you like peace and quiet go to Mui Ne where it's not allowed to build higher than 2 levels. Also a favorite spot for wind and kitesurfers of which you see many wetsuits and kites drying on the lines of the hotel.   We found the nice Hong Di bungalows with beautiful sand garden area shaded by palmtrees that double as hammock supports, only 20 metres from the sea. Falling asleep to the "wooshing" of the waves and the wind blowing through the palm trees, we were certainly able to do what we planned here, namely rest after more than two months of traveling. Life is wonderful!   However you shouldn't come to Mui Ne only for the peace, quiet and relaxed atmosphere but also for the red and white sand dunes. After a nice night of rest we went to the small fisherman town to get some transport to the white dunes. At our arrival a group of 15 motorcyclists got around us to offer transportation.   We used many methods to convince them: writing in the sand, pointing, discussing  petrol prices (nothing in Vietnam), etc.... and in the end we got half the price of what they offered and a pat on the back from the oldest guy saying "good deal".   It didn't take long for Jonny's motorbike to get a flat tyre so he moved to Angela's one. We ended up doing 15 kilometres with 3 adults on one scooter plus one kid. Might seem a lot but is a common site round these parts. Next to the sea we arrived to the magnificent white dunes. It was around 9 am and the sun was already merciless. The only sound you heard here was the hot wind rearranging the dunes. Walking on the dunes takes a lot of effort as the sand is very hard on the side the winds blows and very soft on the side where the sand, that is carried by the wind, is dropped but it's loads of fun to jump into it and sink knee high. After more than an hour of ravotten/patanear (of which you can see proof if you click here) it was time to enjoy the ride back into town again. This time each had a motorbike.   We had a well deserved splash in the South China sea, some posting on our blog (courtesy of the WIFI of the next door hotel) and some swinging and napping in the hammocks. The sun was setting which made us take the shuttle to the red dunes. The angle of the sun makes for nice colours and shadowplay on these dunes. Some kids walked along with us offering us rides on their sheets of plastic which we kindly declined. Again some ravotten/patanear and watching the last rays of sun on the dunes.   The day before we had placed an order at the restaurant we ate at and now we were ready to devour our first lobster and crab ever and my o my did we enjoy it.   Time to move on after these days of relative rest.   Be sure to check out our next post covering easyriding, coffee slurping, durian train rides and much much more.

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