I haven’t update things in a while, so thought I’d start doing some reflecting on Vietnam. Of the three countries we’ve visited, Vietnam is by far and away the best. It is AWESOME! SlowCoach was a reluctant tourist when we set out, and on many occasions through Cambodia he’d get frustrated at the things that went wrong and say “I hate Asia!”. But Vietnam?! He loves it and wants to come back. And so do all three boys. We started in Saigon. City of three million motorcycles.

I swear all three million of them were on the road every time we tried to cross. The Lonely Planet guide described crossing the road in Saigon as an extreme sport – and that pretty much sums it up! Having said that, we really did get the hang of it. You just slowly venture out into the traffic and meander your way across (remembering that they drive on the opposite side of the road to aussies!) and it’s kind of like wading through peanut butter. Eventually they start going behind you and you make it a bit further across!
Every time we went outside in Saigon, Sparkle would light up with a big grin on his face and say “I love Saigon!” He was enchanted by the traffic and had no concept that it could potentially be dangerous. He bought himself a lovely little rice paddy farmers hat – the conical straw hat thing – and wore that every day. All the Vietnamese people, young and old, would pinch his cheeks or hold his hand and smile and ask where he’s from and how old he is and say how adorable he was.

He’s a bit tired of it now and refuses to wear the hat, thinking that will lessen the compliments. It doesn’t!
We spent three nights in Saigon and could have stayed longer. We did a half day tour to the Cu Chi tunnels. They were interesting but the tour felt too long and drawn out – lots of standing around listening to war stories. I just wanted to see the tunnels and get out. The tunnels were the last thing we saw. We’d been “touring” for four hours before we saw the tunnels then 15 minutes later they were all over and done with. Having said that, the tunnels are worth having a look at. And if you’re brave enough (I’m not!) going through them! They’re 1.4m high and 80cm wide and the lowest level down is 8-10m underground. I went down to the entrance and was going to through but I just couldn’t summon the courage. It’s dark!!! And narrow! And there’s no turning back! SlowCoach and the boys all went through. I don’t feel I missed out on anything!
We went to the Ben Thanh Market several times. Under cover. Lots and lots of stalls. Lots and lots of “Madame! Madame! How much you pay!?” I’m getting tired of haggling! Picky’s getting really good at it. He offers about a third of the starting price and haggles to half way between. Sparkle listens to the price then tells them the amount he’s actually willing to pay straight off and gets haggled higher. It’s definitely an art and not one I’m particularly keen on learning! We have got some great bargains though!

The only other thing we did in Saigon – aside from eat eat eat – was the Dam Sen Water Park . My undying thanks to Troy for this recommendation! The kids adored it and so did SlowCoach and I! It may well be the best $20 we’ve spent in a long time! A lovely cool, fun way to fill in a whole afternoon.

We discovered Pho noodles in Saigon. Yum! Even the boys have taken to eating local food – although they do still try and eat pizza any opportunity they get! But noodles are WAY cheaper than pizza and I’m penny pinching. So noodles it is! We’ve all just about mastered the art of chopsticks – although I’m finding my skill comes and goes!
We had planned to go to Dalat and then Nha Trang after Saigon, but alas, I had not anticipated the huge holiday that is had by the Vietnamese on April 30 and May 1. Every bus and train going anywhere out of Saigon was booked so in the end the only thing we could do was grab a plane and fly to Hoi An. Which is where I am now. And when we arrived in Hoi An our booking had been lost so I had a moment of panic. But two doors down from our (not)booked hotel, we found Thanh Xuan and they’ve looked after us beautifully!
We’ve had four nights here and will spend one more. In all honesty, five nights here is probably a bit much. Maybe if I wasn’t running out of money it wouldn’t be so bad! But all we do is sleep late, have a lazy breakfast, wander around the town and eat lunch for a few hours, watch a movie on the laptop, wander around town and eat dinner for a few hours, watch another movie, then go to bed. Actually, upon reflection, it’s not all bad! And we’ve been measured up for all sorts of clothes which I’ll be picking up at 6pm today. Nice cheap tailor-made clothes! Not quite as cheap as the markets … but these will actually fit me perfectly! And SlowCoach has a lovely new tailor-made suit jacket with red silk lining. Very beautiful!

Hoi An is a stunning little town. The ancient buildings and streets and all the lanterns everywhere are truly beautiful. We’ve spent a bit of time sitting on the water’s edge just admiring the town. We’ve found the best bakery ever (The Cargo Club) and treat ourselves to something hideously decadent every day! Usually I get a banana crispy but today they were all out, so it was the white chocolate kahlua cake for me. Life’s tough! The food is fabulous everywhere but our favourite little cheap vietnamese place is Jean’s Cafe. Great meals. Plenty of it. And we feed a family of five for $15. Can’t complain about that!
Tomorrow we’re hiring a minivan and driver to take us up to Hue. Apparently it’s about a four hour drive. We will spend our last four nights up there then start the long journey back home at the end of next week!