Sunday 24th Nov.
Hoi An is a delightful, charming and authentic town, with
the city center around the river port, tailor shops are a very big part of the
scene here, around 300-500 different tailor shops.
We ordered some clothes the day before, so in the morning we went to the tailor, to try on our ordered clothes, and get measured up again, but since the electricity had been off the whole night, and stayed off most of the day, the tailors haven’t made our clothes yet. It didn’t matter for us, because we were gonna stay in Hoi An for some days anyway, so no rush.
Cargo club (that we read about in our bible) served the most amazing lunch, I even had a dark bread sandwich. The bread we eat most of the time, is light flour baguette, and we’re pretty tired of that. We spend most of the day on the local market, trying to find some tableware that we already fell in love with in Hanoi, but didn’t want to buy them back then. But now we thought about the bowls for almost a month, so now was the time to buy them, for the right price and send them home.
We bargained in every single shop we visited, and eventually figured out their price limit. When we got tired of all the bargaining, we tried to teach the Vietnamese shop owners, how they should run their business, we suggested them to put price marks on all their stuff, tried to tell them it would be easier to sell, they would earn more money, save their energy of bargaining all the time, and that more people would come and visit them, because tourists just want the right price from the beginning. While visiting a market in Lao, we saw the effect of this. There was only ONE shop that had put price marks on all their stuff, and that shop was literally full of foreingers and local people. So that’s how you run a good business around here.
In the one shop they misunderstood our point, and for some reason they thought we were trying to annoy them, instead of helping them.
The town was still out of electricity, so as it got darker, a lot of noise from all the generators began, and ruined the charming riverside restaurants. Late afternoon we went to the tailor again, and now we could try on our clothes. Erik ordered one suit and 3 shirts, and as soon as he tried it on, we were amazed over how well it fitted him, and we immediately ordered one more suit for him. It was just perfect, and we would never find anything like this at home. I ordered a winter jacket, that with a little adjustment would fit me perfectly, the bikini I got was very nice aswell but the pants to small. So they still had some days to adjust the small details.
We had a very local dinner with lice and biip. That’s how many Asians pronounce rice and beef. We were dragged by the loud music into Volcano bar, and couldn’t resist their offer, we got free drinks all night for only 80.000 dong (20kr). We took advantage, of that and had a good last night with Luijica.
We ordered some clothes the day before, so in the morning we went to the tailor, to try on our ordered clothes, and get measured up again, but since the electricity had been off the whole night, and stayed off most of the day, the tailors haven’t made our clothes yet. It didn’t matter for us, because we were gonna stay in Hoi An for some days anyway, so no rush.
Cargo club (that we read about in our bible) served the most amazing lunch, I even had a dark bread sandwich. The bread we eat most of the time, is light flour baguette, and we’re pretty tired of that. We spend most of the day on the local market, trying to find some tableware that we already fell in love with in Hanoi, but didn’t want to buy them back then. But now we thought about the bowls for almost a month, so now was the time to buy them, for the right price and send them home.
We bargained in every single shop we visited, and eventually figured out their price limit. When we got tired of all the bargaining, we tried to teach the Vietnamese shop owners, how they should run their business, we suggested them to put price marks on all their stuff, tried to tell them it would be easier to sell, they would earn more money, save their energy of bargaining all the time, and that more people would come and visit them, because tourists just want the right price from the beginning. While visiting a market in Lao, we saw the effect of this. There was only ONE shop that had put price marks on all their stuff, and that shop was literally full of foreingers and local people. So that’s how you run a good business around here.
In the one shop they misunderstood our point, and for some reason they thought we were trying to annoy them, instead of helping them.
The town was still out of electricity, so as it got darker, a lot of noise from all the generators began, and ruined the charming riverside restaurants. Late afternoon we went to the tailor again, and now we could try on our clothes. Erik ordered one suit and 3 shirts, and as soon as he tried it on, we were amazed over how well it fitted him, and we immediately ordered one more suit for him. It was just perfect, and we would never find anything like this at home. I ordered a winter jacket, that with a little adjustment would fit me perfectly, the bikini I got was very nice aswell but the pants to small. So they still had some days to adjust the small details.
We had a very local dinner with lice and biip. That’s how many Asians pronounce rice and beef. We were dragged by the loud music into Volcano bar, and couldn’t resist their offer, we got free drinks all night for only 80.000 dong (20kr). We took advantage, of that and had a good last night with Luijica.
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| Boat guides on the river |
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| Snake-scorpion wiskey |
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| Erik trying to teach shop owners how to run a good business |
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| People eating in the middle of the entrance to a market |
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| Drinks at Volcano club |
Monday 25th Nov.
Woke up by our alarm clock, we had to go to the tailor and
try the clothes on for the last time. We were all 3 still drunk when we got
there, and could barely see out of our eyes. Erik & I decided to go
straight to bed again after finishing breakfast. Very hangovered! Oopsi! We
were suppose to leave to Nha trang the same afternoon, but that wasn’t gonna
happen. We’re getting to old to drink all night and get up the next morning.
It’s just not possible anymore. We slept till late in the afternoon, said
goodbye to Luijica (that managed to go on a busdrive). We decided to go and
bargain again, about the tableware, that we wanted so bad.
We finally found a lady that gave us the right price, and she wrapped it all up -so now we had one less thing to sort out the next day. After a satisfying experience at “cargo club”, the day before, we again placed our butts in their chairs and enjoyed their delicious food , it’s really worth to pay a little extra for. The rest of the night we were hiding in our hostel room, still feeling sorry for ourselves. Haha!
We finally found a lady that gave us the right price, and she wrapped it all up -so now we had one less thing to sort out the next day. After a satisfying experience at “cargo club”, the day before, we again placed our butts in their chairs and enjoyed their delicious food , it’s really worth to pay a little extra for. The rest of the night we were hiding in our hostel room, still feeling sorry for ourselves. Haha!
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| Charming Hoi An |
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| The tableware that we send home |
Tuesday 26th Nov.
Today we were ready to leave Hoi An, we just needed to
sort out how to send all our clothes, and our tableware home. Apparently the
tailor shop are use to help people out with this, so they just called the post
office and they came with a box and a weight for all our stuff, so we didn’t
even have to worry about bringing it to the post office. Such a relief to get
rid of some of all the weight in our bags, and now we’re crossing fingers that
the package will get home safely.
We got a tracking number and everything, so hopefully the package will make it all the way to Denmark.
Our bus was not before 5pm, so we spend most of the day on a small charming restaurant by the river, and worked on the blog. The humidity was ridiculous high, and even though we just had a shower in the morning, we were already sweating like pigs again, and smelled like them aswell.
I already felt sorry for people leaving with the same bus as us, but on the other hand, they probably smell just as bad. We got picked up by a minivan that drove us 300m to a so called bus station, which was a restaurant, like all others in town, here we should wait for 40 min for the sleeping bus.
The guy there, wanted us to buy some food, because we were going on a longer journey. If the agency that we bought the tickets through, had told us that we could get food “on the way”, I guess no one would have stocked up on food before we got there, but the thing was that we were dropped off there for the purpose, to order some of their food, but no one of the 15-20 people we were with, bought anything from there. So that’s a stupid business. If they had just informed people about the restaurant before the trip, they would most likely have been smoking busy, but now they were annoyed of us not buying a single thing from them, because everyone already ate.
The most stupid part was when he said that we should walk towards the bus, and we walked back the same way, as we came from, with the minivan. The asians really keep surprising us and we don’t wanna be judgemental, but their level of stupidity has probably not even reached the top yet.
For the first time since we started our journey we got on a bus, where the round-eyed were in the majority. A very nice feeling after all.
We got a tracking number and everything, so hopefully the package will make it all the way to Denmark.
Our bus was not before 5pm, so we spend most of the day on a small charming restaurant by the river, and worked on the blog. The humidity was ridiculous high, and even though we just had a shower in the morning, we were already sweating like pigs again, and smelled like them aswell.
I already felt sorry for people leaving with the same bus as us, but on the other hand, they probably smell just as bad. We got picked up by a minivan that drove us 300m to a so called bus station, which was a restaurant, like all others in town, here we should wait for 40 min for the sleeping bus.
The guy there, wanted us to buy some food, because we were going on a longer journey. If the agency that we bought the tickets through, had told us that we could get food “on the way”, I guess no one would have stocked up on food before we got there, but the thing was that we were dropped off there for the purpose, to order some of their food, but no one of the 15-20 people we were with, bought anything from there. So that’s a stupid business. If they had just informed people about the restaurant before the trip, they would most likely have been smoking busy, but now they were annoyed of us not buying a single thing from them, because everyone already ate.
The most stupid part was when he said that we should walk towards the bus, and we walked back the same way, as we came from, with the minivan. The asians really keep surprising us and we don’t wanna be judgemental, but their level of stupidity has probably not even reached the top yet.
For the first time since we started our journey we got on a bus, where the round-eyed were in the majority. A very nice feeling after all.
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| My new spring/fall jacket |
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| Eriks new suit |
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| The terrific tailors |
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| A hard day on work...!! Hoi An |
Wednesday 27th Nov.
After a mix between deep sleep, and walking up a million
times during the night in the bus (mostly because of the constant honking), we
were knackered when we got to Nha Trang, around 6am. Just before we got dropped
off, the rain was pouring down the windows and the bus dropped us of in the
biggest poodle in the city, what a great choice! The persons emptying the
trunk, dropped a lot of the backpacks into the poodle, their job were finished
so they didn’t care, if people got their bags wet. Luckily I was quick out of
the bus, and carried me and Eriks into a dry spot. At this point I was happy
that we already had folded our rain covers over the bags, actually just to
protect them when they’re in the trunk, we did experience some oil on our bags
a few times, so now we’re taking more care of them and using the rain covers
every time we travel. Finding a hotel was easy, a guy was handing out flyers
about a hotel, and after a look around on the hotels nearby, we decided to
check the guys place out.
A great valuable room, on the 9th floor with a great view over the sea and beach front. Unfortunately the weather was windy, rainy and cloudy, but still hot and high humid.
Nha Trang is the beach capital of Vietnam, and there’s certainly something about Nha Trang, with it’s beautiful beach and restaurants offering some of the best vietnamese cuisine.
This part of the country has its own microclimate and sadly we came in the middle of the rain season. It didn’t take us long to decide to move further on the following day.
I thought we might as well see a little something while we were there, so we walked around to experience the city on street level, and in a little valley we found a pagoda and a big statue of Buddha. So at least a little sightseeing in Nha Trang.
This was one of a few nights where we stayed in our hotel room, just relaxing and watching tv. We felt spoiled to have a tv in our room, and could watch animal planet, discovery and national geographic. Even some of our favorite channels.
A great valuable room, on the 9th floor with a great view over the sea and beach front. Unfortunately the weather was windy, rainy and cloudy, but still hot and high humid.
Nha Trang is the beach capital of Vietnam, and there’s certainly something about Nha Trang, with it’s beautiful beach and restaurants offering some of the best vietnamese cuisine.
This part of the country has its own microclimate and sadly we came in the middle of the rain season. It didn’t take us long to decide to move further on the following day.
I thought we might as well see a little something while we were there, so we walked around to experience the city on street level, and in a little valley we found a pagoda and a big statue of Buddha. So at least a little sightseeing in Nha Trang.
This was one of a few nights where we stayed in our hotel room, just relaxing and watching tv. We felt spoiled to have a tv in our room, and could watch animal planet, discovery and national geographic. Even some of our favorite channels.
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| View from 9th floor |
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| Manual sewing machine |
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| Another hard day at work...!! |
Thursday 28th Nov.
We arranged a bus to Mui Ne, and left around 8am. Now we
were really looking forward to some sun again, and specially to go surfing. Mui
Ne is kite surfers paradise, and we had been excited about the surfing for quite a while. The bus
ride went so smoothly, that we actually couldn’t believe it… But luckily
enough, cause Erik had some stomach problems, so we didn’t wanna spend more
time than necessary, in the bus.
After almost 6 hours we arrived in Mui Ne, with sunshine from a clear blue sky.
After an orientation around the 12 km long beach, we were told where all the backpackers were hanging out, and found a little hidden guesthouse in a narrow alley.
All of a sudden we bumped into Jack (that we met on Cat Ba island in the north a month ago), and later Lluis, Alice and Sarah. This was so great. We knew that they would be around this area, but considering how long the beach area was, it was quite a coincidence, to meet them.
Some in their big group of motorbiking people stayed in the same little guesthouse as we did. It really feels like the world is a small place after all.
We catched up and hang out with them most day and night. Only interrupted by a swim on the windy beach. We were concerned if we would be able to surf there, because the wind was really strong and the waves very powerful, and as beginners that would probably be a problem, but we would check it out next day.
After almost 6 hours we arrived in Mui Ne, with sunshine from a clear blue sky.
After an orientation around the 12 km long beach, we were told where all the backpackers were hanging out, and found a little hidden guesthouse in a narrow alley.
All of a sudden we bumped into Jack (that we met on Cat Ba island in the north a month ago), and later Lluis, Alice and Sarah. This was so great. We knew that they would be around this area, but considering how long the beach area was, it was quite a coincidence, to meet them.
Some in their big group of motorbiking people stayed in the same little guesthouse as we did. It really feels like the world is a small place after all.
We catched up and hang out with them most day and night. Only interrupted by a swim on the windy beach. We were concerned if we would be able to surf there, because the wind was really strong and the waves very powerful, and as beginners that would probably be a problem, but we would check it out next day.
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| This monkey only had 20 centimetre of leash, and was a tourist attraction on a restaurant.. Very wrong!! |
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| Reunion with the Cat Ba crew.. Henrich (Norway), Sarah (Aus.), Lluis (Spain), Jack & Alice (Aus.) Vietnamese Traffic |
Friday 29th Nov.
Rented a motorbike in the morning, and went to check out the Malibu beach, for surfing opportunities, here it should be perfect to wave surf. Sadly for us it was even more windy this day, the grain of sand were blowing in the strong wind and hurt when it hit our skin, specially while we were driving, so no surfing for us.
We came to Mui Ne for the purpose of surfing, so we were a bit sad
about the weather conditions, and after a look on the weather forecast, we
found out that the wind was getting stronger the following days, so there
was no possibility that we could surf here.
With a little sad mind, we met up with Sarah, Alice etc. for lunch at Joe’s. After watching kite surfers jumping on the waves, with eyes full of envy, we biked to some red sand dunes, to watch the sunset. It had become a bit cloudy, so we didn’t bother sticking around for the sunset, plus the sand was blowing in the strong wind, so every little inch of our body was covered in the sand, and on the top where it was most windy, it was hard to open our eyes without getting sand in them.
Oh well, it was nice to see anyway (just as Råbjerg Mile in Denmark – but red). I was really desperate to do some water sport, so on the way home we stopped at a sailing club, but their renting prices was unbelievable high, so we skipped that, and decided to leave next day, since we had no luck in anything here, despite meeting Lluis, Sarah, Alice etc. Getting rid of all the sand on our bodies was quite an experience, the waves was more powerful now and I got knocked over by a huge one (watch the video for details). The night went by with some drinks at Joe’s.
We should have enjoyed dinner with all the others, but Erik is really getting into the layed back lifestyle, so we didn’t make it in time. Well, all the “young ones” were getting drunk again, and we went back to our guesthouse early, to be sure that we would make it to Ho Chi Minh the following day.
With a little sad mind, we met up with Sarah, Alice etc. for lunch at Joe’s. After watching kite surfers jumping on the waves, with eyes full of envy, we biked to some red sand dunes, to watch the sunset. It had become a bit cloudy, so we didn’t bother sticking around for the sunset, plus the sand was blowing in the strong wind, so every little inch of our body was covered in the sand, and on the top where it was most windy, it was hard to open our eyes without getting sand in them.
Oh well, it was nice to see anyway (just as Råbjerg Mile in Denmark – but red). I was really desperate to do some water sport, so on the way home we stopped at a sailing club, but their renting prices was unbelievable high, so we skipped that, and decided to leave next day, since we had no luck in anything here, despite meeting Lluis, Sarah, Alice etc. Getting rid of all the sand on our bodies was quite an experience, the waves was more powerful now and I got knocked over by a huge one (watch the video for details). The night went by with some drinks at Joe’s.
We should have enjoyed dinner with all the others, but Erik is really getting into the layed back lifestyle, so we didn’t make it in time. Well, all the “young ones” were getting drunk again, and we went back to our guesthouse early, to be sure that we would make it to Ho Chi Minh the following day.
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| Fishermen village |
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| The red dunes |
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| Kids... |
Saturday 30th Nov.
Like Saturdays at home, where you sleep in, wake up, turn to
the other side and sleep again. I love these days. It’s actually rare that we
sleep in, most days at least one of us is fresh and impatience, to go and do
something (most of the times its about being hungry and finding some food).
This day I was the one being hungry and dragged Erik out of bed to go with me. After a quick goodbye to the others, we were off to Ho Chi Minh, with a sleeping bus. I appreciated the sleeping bus this day, I felt so tired of doing nothing the last few days. It’s really taking a lot of energy.
We’re very surprised over the southern part of Nam, they are much more use to tourists, and more friendly, than the northern part of Nam. People here are also more civilized, specially compared to Lao, where it feels like you’re traveling 50 years back in time. We were amazed that we actually got dropped off, in the big backpacker area in Ho Chi Minh. We only had to walk over the street, to be in the middle of it. A lot of the hotels where we asked for availability and prices were fully booked.
We had one good offer on our hand, but wanted to check out more hotels before returning. We’re both a bit stubborn when it comes to the price, so we were sure that we could get a cheaper one. We met a very good english speaking older lady, that offered us a good price, and after seeing the room, and getting told by other travelers, that it included breakfast, we decided to stay there. At first she didn’t offer us breakfast in the price, so she didn’t seem to be happy when we asked for that. She said we already got it to cheap, but as we were about to turn around and walk away, she agreed on the price and the breakfast. So our patience pays it selves off. I love when you can feel, that you pushed them to their limit, then you know you made yourselves a good deal.
It was dinner time already and we were starving after 5 hours in the bus. Just around the corner from the little quiet alley we stayed in, we bumped into Lluis again (and 2 others from the big motorbike crew, Martin & Emma). There’s over 200.000 people living in this part of the city, plus it’s loaded with backpackers from all over the world, and still we run into the same people over and over again, it’s freaking incredible.
We sat and talked over a few beers, and split up early on the night. Through our host we booked a tour to the tunnels from the war, early the next morning, so we wanted to get a prober sleep.
This day I was the one being hungry and dragged Erik out of bed to go with me. After a quick goodbye to the others, we were off to Ho Chi Minh, with a sleeping bus. I appreciated the sleeping bus this day, I felt so tired of doing nothing the last few days. It’s really taking a lot of energy.
We’re very surprised over the southern part of Nam, they are much more use to tourists, and more friendly, than the northern part of Nam. People here are also more civilized, specially compared to Lao, where it feels like you’re traveling 50 years back in time. We were amazed that we actually got dropped off, in the big backpacker area in Ho Chi Minh. We only had to walk over the street, to be in the middle of it. A lot of the hotels where we asked for availability and prices were fully booked.
We had one good offer on our hand, but wanted to check out more hotels before returning. We’re both a bit stubborn when it comes to the price, so we were sure that we could get a cheaper one. We met a very good english speaking older lady, that offered us a good price, and after seeing the room, and getting told by other travelers, that it included breakfast, we decided to stay there. At first she didn’t offer us breakfast in the price, so she didn’t seem to be happy when we asked for that. She said we already got it to cheap, but as we were about to turn around and walk away, she agreed on the price and the breakfast. So our patience pays it selves off. I love when you can feel, that you pushed them to their limit, then you know you made yourselves a good deal.
It was dinner time already and we were starving after 5 hours in the bus. Just around the corner from the little quiet alley we stayed in, we bumped into Lluis again (and 2 others from the big motorbike crew, Martin & Emma). There’s over 200.000 people living in this part of the city, plus it’s loaded with backpackers from all over the world, and still we run into the same people over and over again, it’s freaking incredible.
We sat and talked over a few beers, and split up early on the night. Through our host we booked a tour to the tunnels from the war, early the next morning, so we wanted to get a prober sleep.
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| Watching waves and kite surfers |
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| Ready to Ho Chi Minh City |
Mui Ne Beach
Sunday 1st Dec.
Merry Christmas everyone. We tried not to think too much
about the fact, that our families would get together at home and celebrate 1.
Advent, and eat some of the food we miss the most. The thing we miss the most
though, is still cold danish cow milk, and now it’s not even allowed to mention
the word anymore.
Anyway, our host knocked on our door, to tell us it was breakfast time and she made us omelets with bread, butter, jam and tea.
Tunnel Tony, came and picked us up, for a day in the tunnel area. Tony was 62 and the kind of guy that mentioned himself in third person. He would ask himself why, as soon as he finished a question. Tony answer – Tony look – Tony 100%. He was a good entertainment source on the way through the tunnel area. Sometimes we had a hard time understanding his point, but he could get away with it, through his charming smile, missing teeth and missing finger. It was interesting to see the brutal traps from the war, as well as the airholes in the earth, the shooting range and the tunnels.
Some of the tunnels were accessible for tourist, they expanded them, so they were less creepy. But I only managed to walk 10m. then it got too claustrophobic for me, and I quickly took the first exit I saw. Erik was more brave, and finished the small, narrow and steamy hot tunnels. The second time we could walk through a tunnel. I didn’t even bother trying, but waited patient for Erik to survive his second underground journey. This trip was a little to touristed for our taste, but it’s not allowed to experience the tunnels on your own, so we had no other choice. At least we got a little history out of it, and understood the war and how people survived a bit more.
We got back to Ho Chi Minh City, and walked around to find a hair trimmer for Erik, but again with no luck, so now I was tired of looking for that hair trimmer, and considering how cheap it is to get a haircut, like 70000dong (17kr), it’s a waste of time to walk around for hours to find one. So eventually I got Erik convinced to visit a hair dresser, and sneaky as I am, I could get a pedicure at the same time. It’s a win-win situation. We got it all fixed for 120000dong (50kr).
At night time, we meet up with Lluis, Savannah, Sienna and Andrea (a part of the big group, we met, in Mui Ne), and celebrated our sweet and independent life.
Anyway, our host knocked on our door, to tell us it was breakfast time and she made us omelets with bread, butter, jam and tea.
Tunnel Tony, came and picked us up, for a day in the tunnel area. Tony was 62 and the kind of guy that mentioned himself in third person. He would ask himself why, as soon as he finished a question. Tony answer – Tony look – Tony 100%. He was a good entertainment source on the way through the tunnel area. Sometimes we had a hard time understanding his point, but he could get away with it, through his charming smile, missing teeth and missing finger. It was interesting to see the brutal traps from the war, as well as the airholes in the earth, the shooting range and the tunnels.
Some of the tunnels were accessible for tourist, they expanded them, so they were less creepy. But I only managed to walk 10m. then it got too claustrophobic for me, and I quickly took the first exit I saw. Erik was more brave, and finished the small, narrow and steamy hot tunnels. The second time we could walk through a tunnel. I didn’t even bother trying, but waited patient for Erik to survive his second underground journey. This trip was a little to touristed for our taste, but it’s not allowed to experience the tunnels on your own, so we had no other choice. At least we got a little history out of it, and understood the war and how people survived a bit more.
We got back to Ho Chi Minh City, and walked around to find a hair trimmer for Erik, but again with no luck, so now I was tired of looking for that hair trimmer, and considering how cheap it is to get a haircut, like 70000dong (17kr), it’s a waste of time to walk around for hours to find one. So eventually I got Erik convinced to visit a hair dresser, and sneaky as I am, I could get a pedicure at the same time. It’s a win-win situation. We got it all fixed for 120000dong (50kr).
At night time, we meet up with Lluis, Savannah, Sienna and Andrea (a part of the big group, we met, in Mui Ne), and celebrated our sweet and independent life.
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| Handmade handcraft, a quick stop on the way to the tunnels |
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| That a comfortable working position |
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| Dryed rice paper - for spring roles |
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| Tunnel Thomsen |
The war tunnels
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