Well we have successfully made it to Sai Gon, with a few detours along the way :) after spending two nights in Hoi An, which was a very beautiful beach side town, that had a wonderful buzzing market, nothing like England, but a 100 times better :) we decided to spend a few days in Nha Trang, a town further south in Vietnam. The trip on the coach was not nearly as fun, we did not have a sleeper coach, just a regular one this time, for a 12 hours trip though the night :S Sarah and I did not get much sleep, if any. What we did find it amusing however was how the coach managed to stop 5 times in the space of half an hour!!!! and pick people up from the side of the road. The word 'road' being used in the loosest sense as it was more like a pot hole filled dirt track that happened to have been carved out of the landscape, and whether you were going the same way as any one else on it did not seem to matter. The fact that we were in a coach though, made us feel totally secure :S lol. Any way, there were far to many people on the bus than there were seats, which meant people chose the sit right next to me and Sarah on the floor, and put their bags in our foot wells, making what little space we already had, shrink! lol. We got off the bus at 6am, not even close to rested, or in the mood for talking, and set off to find the hostel. This trip was compensated for by seeing the beach at 6 in the morning, just as the sun was starting to rise in the sky, that made up for everything :) We almost got led astray by a guy on a bike, who told us he would give us directions to our hostel, when we got there however we realised it was the wrong one and the women who met us was not remotely friendly towards us once she realised that we already had bookings elsewhere. After finding the correct hostel, we went straight to the beach and did not move for several hours :) The town was a bit more developed than Hoi An had been. The beach itself was much longer and the sea was a beautiful blue color, having a tan in February, who would have thought it???? :P We stayed an extra night there in order to check out the night life. I managed not to pay for a drink all night, yet was still drunk by the end of it, score :)
We came by bus to Sai Gon, thankfully on a sleeper bus this time, which was much better, minus the bugs that ate my ankle all night :S The hostel we are at this time is owned by a crazy lady who has no idea and can't speak English, it is making it very entertaining lol. We are here for a week, then flying to Bangkok, so there is plenty of time to explore and see what the city has to offer :)
Friday, 18 February 2011
Tuesday, 8 February 2011
The events of the evening....
Starting from the top.... one thing that Shalina forgot to mention in her blog was the swimming!! As there was quite a large group of us that already knew each other from the hostel i knew the night was going to be an unforgettable one. When we got back from the caves the tour guide asked everyone if they wanted a swim. He expected everyone to say no as it is winter here in Vietnam after all, oh no! There was a definate answer of yes, therefore we then all rushed to get changed. Unfortunatly or fortunatly (depending the way you look at it) Shalina didnt have a bikini with her so she didnt take part. Me on the other hand thought that it just had to be done...... therefore we all jumped of the highest point of the deck into the FREEZING waters below! I couldnt get back onto the boat quick enough, but of course the guys that we were with who were from Denmark had to be manly and go again! Definatly glad i did it as i was never going to have the chance again, anyway after we dried off the drinking started.....
After having a few drinks on our boat, we soon discovered that the other boat containing the other people from our group was next to us. Therefore we thought it was a great decidion to become pirates and attempt to board their boat! For the greater good of international relations, but also to see what their boat was like.
We soon discovered that climbing from one boat to another at night time, after a few drinks and following a Danish guy was not one of our greater moments! It took us about 30 mins of climbing up the back end of their boat to find out we could simply walk through the kitchen!!! Word of advice never follow a Christiano Ronaldo lookalike from Denmark attempting to board another vessel!
We soon made it up to the other boat, to find Vietnamise karoke in full swing! so we joined the party. It was all going so well untill we discovered the danes and the english have identical senses of humor at the result of two americans at the table. Who we proceeded to offend in every shape possible, i swear americans seriously just DONT get irony at all!!!!!!!!!I have never laughed so much in my life, my face was aching and i was in tears! So we made some friends for life there. After they had left their own boat and gone to bed, it was just our group left on their boat, unable to pay for own drinks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Therefore as a result the bar was raided, the vodka drunk (by one of the Danes) and a hell of alot of beer consumed. Then we went onto making our own drinks which definatly reminded me of uni :).
After many more drinks, 2 of the danish guys decided to do a bit more swimming and jumped of the top of the boat back into the freezing sea! In the pitch black and heavily under the influence!This would have been fine but they soon discovered that there was no way back onto the boat! after much confusion and laughing, they found a way up by literally climbing up the side of the boat where people were sleeping! It was at this point we were told to leave the boat and return to our own :)
It was back to bed for everyone, after we made sure all of our group had made the return journey in one piece. Only to find in the morning the americans had joined our boat and refused to talk to anyone! classic anglo american relations will never be the same :)
After having a few drinks on our boat, we soon discovered that the other boat containing the other people from our group was next to us. Therefore we thought it was a great decidion to become pirates and attempt to board their boat! For the greater good of international relations, but also to see what their boat was like.
We soon discovered that climbing from one boat to another at night time, after a few drinks and following a Danish guy was not one of our greater moments! It took us about 30 mins of climbing up the back end of their boat to find out we could simply walk through the kitchen!!! Word of advice never follow a Christiano Ronaldo lookalike from Denmark attempting to board another vessel!
We soon made it up to the other boat, to find Vietnamise karoke in full swing! so we joined the party. It was all going so well untill we discovered the danes and the english have identical senses of humor at the result of two americans at the table. Who we proceeded to offend in every shape possible, i swear americans seriously just DONT get irony at all!!!!!!!!!I have never laughed so much in my life, my face was aching and i was in tears! So we made some friends for life there. After they had left their own boat and gone to bed, it was just our group left on their boat, unable to pay for own drinks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Therefore as a result the bar was raided, the vodka drunk (by one of the Danes) and a hell of alot of beer consumed. Then we went onto making our own drinks which definatly reminded me of uni :).
After many more drinks, 2 of the danish guys decided to do a bit more swimming and jumped of the top of the boat back into the freezing sea! In the pitch black and heavily under the influence!This would have been fine but they soon discovered that there was no way back onto the boat! after much confusion and laughing, they found a way up by literally climbing up the side of the boat where people were sleeping! It was at this point we were told to leave the boat and return to our own :)
It was back to bed for everyone, after we made sure all of our group had made the return journey in one piece. Only to find in the morning the americans had joined our boat and refused to talk to anyone! classic anglo american relations will never be the same :)
Sun, Sea and Sand..........................................
Hello all, firstly thanks for the comments, it is ace to hear from you, it makes home seem slightly less distant :P
well we have had a pretty crazy few days, but they have been ace :) after celebrating chinese new year, we have a few relaxing days in the city as everything was shut, so there wasn't much choice, but it made up for the non stop trip so far. we decided we would go on a trip to Hai Long Bay, two days one night, staying on a ship. we were ment to get a rested nights sleep on Saturday in preparation, this however did not happen. there was a lovely Vietnamise crazy lady that managed to keep the entire hostel awake all night, apparently screaming at the voives in her head. as non of us spoke vietnamise we could not tell exactly what she was screaming, but it did not sound like she was asking them round for coffee.
it was an early start on a bus, where everyone was slightly more sleepy than anticipated, and then there was a three hour drive there. we conviently stopped at a service station about half way, where there just happened to be every type of souvaner going. other than a chocolate fix, they did not get much business from us. we arrived on the boat around 12, started walking towards this huge beautiful boat, all shiny and new, before being told that we were going the wrong way....................................our boat in fact was a lot smaller, a lot older and had a huge question mark hanging over it of whether it could flaot or not???? luckily it did, and after a delicous lunch we set sail. it has to be one of the most breathtaking views in the world, to say it looks like paradise would not be far from the truth. we sailed for around an hour before transfering to a smaller baot so that we could go canoeing around the floating villiages. for the sake of mine and sarah's friendship we will NEVER EVER EVER!!!! be doing that again :)
we got back from that................just and continued on the small boat to some caves. these again were beautiful and huge!!!! it never seemed to end. as we got bacl to the boat the sun was beginning to set, and even me with my heart of ice could appreciate it was a very beautiful and romantic place :) we enjoyed another delicious meal and watched the sun set over the many islands :) Sarah will tell you what happened next :)
the next morning we sailed around some more before returing to dry land. we had a 4 hour bus ride back to the hostel, with an hour to spare before we got on our overnight sleeper bus. a sleeper bus i hear you ask, what is that???? well, it is as bad as it sounds. it was a coash like england, however instead of seats, there were three rows of bunbeds, all with varying degrees of seat belts on them. there was no space for a western person, and no guranteed way of staying in your bed for the entire journey, especially with the coach driver having questionable skill at driving. we did however make it in one piece, if lacking greatly in sleep and some nerves :S we are now in Hoi an, about half way down vietnam, and have spent the afternoon chilling on the beach.................................bliss :)
well we have had a pretty crazy few days, but they have been ace :) after celebrating chinese new year, we have a few relaxing days in the city as everything was shut, so there wasn't much choice, but it made up for the non stop trip so far. we decided we would go on a trip to Hai Long Bay, two days one night, staying on a ship. we were ment to get a rested nights sleep on Saturday in preparation, this however did not happen. there was a lovely Vietnamise crazy lady that managed to keep the entire hostel awake all night, apparently screaming at the voives in her head. as non of us spoke vietnamise we could not tell exactly what she was screaming, but it did not sound like she was asking them round for coffee.
it was an early start on a bus, where everyone was slightly more sleepy than anticipated, and then there was a three hour drive there. we conviently stopped at a service station about half way, where there just happened to be every type of souvaner going. other than a chocolate fix, they did not get much business from us. we arrived on the boat around 12, started walking towards this huge beautiful boat, all shiny and new, before being told that we were going the wrong way....................................our boat in fact was a lot smaller, a lot older and had a huge question mark hanging over it of whether it could flaot or not???? luckily it did, and after a delicous lunch we set sail. it has to be one of the most breathtaking views in the world, to say it looks like paradise would not be far from the truth. we sailed for around an hour before transfering to a smaller baot so that we could go canoeing around the floating villiages. for the sake of mine and sarah's friendship we will NEVER EVER EVER!!!! be doing that again :)
we got back from that................just and continued on the small boat to some caves. these again were beautiful and huge!!!! it never seemed to end. as we got bacl to the boat the sun was beginning to set, and even me with my heart of ice could appreciate it was a very beautiful and romantic place :) we enjoyed another delicious meal and watched the sun set over the many islands :) Sarah will tell you what happened next :)
the next morning we sailed around some more before returing to dry land. we had a 4 hour bus ride back to the hostel, with an hour to spare before we got on our overnight sleeper bus. a sleeper bus i hear you ask, what is that???? well, it is as bad as it sounds. it was a coash like england, however instead of seats, there were three rows of bunbeds, all with varying degrees of seat belts on them. there was no space for a western person, and no guranteed way of staying in your bed for the entire journey, especially with the coach driver having questionable skill at driving. we did however make it in one piece, if lacking greatly in sleep and some nerves :S we are now in Hoi an, about half way down vietnam, and have spent the afternoon chilling on the beach.................................bliss :)
Thursday, 3 February 2011
Nanning to Vietnam....Shalina tells the story.
well.......................we have made it to Vietnam, Hanoi successfully, but it took some doing :P lol
we left our hostel in Nanning as the owner made us feel about as welcome as mold would be in his hostel, it was not great. we got ourselves sorted and found the train without any problems. we were on the train with the understanding that it would take around 14 hours, a hard sleeper, so we had prepared ourselves. this however was our first mistake........................
we left at 6.45 and the first train stop was at 10.30. an angry sounding Chinese man got on the train and was inspecting everyones passports. he seemed to take great offence to mine and Sarahs passports being all correct and with the right visa, even though he spent a good 10 min going through it determined to find a mistake. we were then told to get off the train with our bags so that they could be inspected, because apparently when they did it at Nanning station, it was not good enough???? this took about half an hour before we were allowed back on the train. the train however did not move again for nearly 2 hours!!!! by which time we were both in great need of sleep and starting to get slightly concerned that we may never see our passports again??? they did however return in one piece and we were on our way. not for long though..............roughly an hour later we were again stopped at a station, told to get off the train and take our passports with us. this was made even more entertaining by having to walk across the train tracks in order to get to where we needed to be, and with Sarah not having her contacts in, she was stupidly relying on me to guide the way???? this time we just handed our passports over for around 20 min to get it stamped, so roughly 1.30 we were on our way. we were woken up again though at 4.30 by the man telling us we had arrived???? only 4 hours before we were ment to :P we got off the train, not at all well rested and looked around to see how we were going to get to the hostel? a taxi was called and we were dropped straight outside the hostel :)
we had one further issue to overcome yet though........................when we rocked up at 5 in the morning, we found ourselves locked out of the hostel, and no clear way of how to get in??? lol. we found two other girls trying to get in also, and the street outside was covered in backpackers, so we did not feel that bad and could do nothing other than laugh. we did manage to get in after realising that the bell we had been pressing was not our hostel, but in fact a house!!! :P thankfully we did not have to deal with an irate Vietnamise person screaming at us at 6 in the morning, as we would not have been able to appologise successfully in Vietnamise :S so maybe they were out??? lol. anyway we eventually got some sleep before waking up again at 9 for our free breakfast. not the easiest starts, but it has been ace since arriving, so well worth it :)
we were dead all day, just wondered round near the hostel, but last night was Chinese new year, so we had the luck of celebrating two new years within a month!!! awesome! :)
they had free beer at the hostel, free champaign, (which looked strangely like snakebite?????) free shots of vodka (it was not nice vodka :S) free fireworks display and celebrations on a very international scale with the people inn the hostel :) it was an ace night, and well worth the hassle of getting here :) the city is dead today as everyone is at home with family, but that is a good thing as it means we can clear our heads without feeling guilty about missing anything :P
hope you are all well :) xxxxxxxxxx
we left our hostel in Nanning as the owner made us feel about as welcome as mold would be in his hostel, it was not great. we got ourselves sorted and found the train without any problems. we were on the train with the understanding that it would take around 14 hours, a hard sleeper, so we had prepared ourselves. this however was our first mistake........................
we left at 6.45 and the first train stop was at 10.30. an angry sounding Chinese man got on the train and was inspecting everyones passports. he seemed to take great offence to mine and Sarahs passports being all correct and with the right visa, even though he spent a good 10 min going through it determined to find a mistake. we were then told to get off the train with our bags so that they could be inspected, because apparently when they did it at Nanning station, it was not good enough???? this took about half an hour before we were allowed back on the train. the train however did not move again for nearly 2 hours!!!! by which time we were both in great need of sleep and starting to get slightly concerned that we may never see our passports again??? they did however return in one piece and we were on our way. not for long though..............roughly an hour later we were again stopped at a station, told to get off the train and take our passports with us. this was made even more entertaining by having to walk across the train tracks in order to get to where we needed to be, and with Sarah not having her contacts in, she was stupidly relying on me to guide the way???? this time we just handed our passports over for around 20 min to get it stamped, so roughly 1.30 we were on our way. we were woken up again though at 4.30 by the man telling us we had arrived???? only 4 hours before we were ment to :P we got off the train, not at all well rested and looked around to see how we were going to get to the hostel? a taxi was called and we were dropped straight outside the hostel :)
we had one further issue to overcome yet though........................when we rocked up at 5 in the morning, we found ourselves locked out of the hostel, and no clear way of how to get in??? lol. we found two other girls trying to get in also, and the street outside was covered in backpackers, so we did not feel that bad and could do nothing other than laugh. we did manage to get in after realising that the bell we had been pressing was not our hostel, but in fact a house!!! :P thankfully we did not have to deal with an irate Vietnamise person screaming at us at 6 in the morning, as we would not have been able to appologise successfully in Vietnamise :S so maybe they were out??? lol. anyway we eventually got some sleep before waking up again at 9 for our free breakfast. not the easiest starts, but it has been ace since arriving, so well worth it :)
we were dead all day, just wondered round near the hostel, but last night was Chinese new year, so we had the luck of celebrating two new years within a month!!! awesome! :)
they had free beer at the hostel, free champaign, (which looked strangely like snakebite?????) free shots of vodka (it was not nice vodka :S) free fireworks display and celebrations on a very international scale with the people inn the hostel :) it was an ace night, and well worth the hassle of getting here :) the city is dead today as everyone is at home with family, but that is a good thing as it means we can clear our heads without feeling guilty about missing anything :P
hope you are all well :) xxxxxxxxxx
Wednesday, 2 February 2011
Chuc Mund Nam Moi
HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! year of the rabbit :)
Ok from the beginning.......... Due to our massive journey and lack of sleep Shalina and I were having serious problems staying awake, however we soon found an answer to this problem.............Free beer at the hostel!! All our sleepyness soon disappeared and we were ready to bring in the year of the rabbit. On the way we had made ourselves a lil group of people, consisting of someone from Brazil, Poland, Canada, Germany, Australia, Denmark, New Zealand and of course we were representing England :). We went out for drinks after happy hour at the hostel then went to see fireworks over the lake...
The fireworks were AMAZING, the show went on for about 30 mins, nothing like what you get in Britain! With people packing the streets full drinking and cooking on open fires. It was at this point we realised the guy from Australia was having serious issues holding his drink, he was only 18 after all bless his lil cotton socks!
After the fireworks had finished we proceeded to find more bars, and the way to travel was by human train! By Human train i mean people holding onto each others waists from behind and running as fast as you can down a packed street. Perople soon get out the way, however after Denmark lead us into the middle of the road surrounded by mopeds we decided to stop the silly idea!
On the way we bought some sugar cane, which i decided to skin with a very sharp kitchen knife on the street unsupervised. When Shalina found me she shouted (im not going to lie i was scared for the first time). (I was not going to be held responsible for any loss of limb that Sarah may/was highly likely to recieve as a result of her actions! :P lol ) Anyway i did a magnficent job of skinning the cane. I hear you asking why sugar cane? Well its because its a traditional symbol of good luck for Chinese New year. You buy 2 eat one and keep the other one for good luck, and buy eat it i mean just take a massive bite then suck out all the sugar water.
Another traditional which was happening EVERYWHERE was burning the decorations and money on streets which brings you good luck.
Anyway we made it to the bar and at this point Shalina left me as she was sleepy, therefore Buckle was left unattained yet again!!!!!!!
The night was a blur from then, i would try to remeber it but its not really possible. I remeber drawing a massive Britsh flag on the wall of the bar (it was quite a master piece). It was ok tho because loads of other backpackers had previously drawn on the wall. Also i spent a while looking after the girl from Canada who proceeded to throw up EVERYWHERE! and i had to get the guys at the hostel to help us bring her back. I woke up with Marker on my face! plus a HUGE hangover!
Bring on the year of the Rabbit :)
Bucklexxx
Ok from the beginning.......... Due to our massive journey and lack of sleep Shalina and I were having serious problems staying awake, however we soon found an answer to this problem.............Free beer at the hostel!! All our sleepyness soon disappeared and we were ready to bring in the year of the rabbit. On the way we had made ourselves a lil group of people, consisting of someone from Brazil, Poland, Canada, Germany, Australia, Denmark, New Zealand and of course we were representing England :). We went out for drinks after happy hour at the hostel then went to see fireworks over the lake...
The fireworks were AMAZING, the show went on for about 30 mins, nothing like what you get in Britain! With people packing the streets full drinking and cooking on open fires. It was at this point we realised the guy from Australia was having serious issues holding his drink, he was only 18 after all bless his lil cotton socks!
After the fireworks had finished we proceeded to find more bars, and the way to travel was by human train! By Human train i mean people holding onto each others waists from behind and running as fast as you can down a packed street. Perople soon get out the way, however after Denmark lead us into the middle of the road surrounded by mopeds we decided to stop the silly idea!
On the way we bought some sugar cane, which i decided to skin with a very sharp kitchen knife on the street unsupervised. When Shalina found me she shouted (im not going to lie i was scared for the first time). (I was not going to be held responsible for any loss of limb that Sarah may/was highly likely to recieve as a result of her actions! :P lol ) Anyway i did a magnficent job of skinning the cane. I hear you asking why sugar cane? Well its because its a traditional symbol of good luck for Chinese New year. You buy 2 eat one and keep the other one for good luck, and buy eat it i mean just take a massive bite then suck out all the sugar water.
Another traditional which was happening EVERYWHERE was burning the decorations and money on streets which brings you good luck.
Anyway we made it to the bar and at this point Shalina left me as she was sleepy, therefore Buckle was left unattained yet again!!!!!!!
The night was a blur from then, i would try to remeber it but its not really possible. I remeber drawing a massive Britsh flag on the wall of the bar (it was quite a master piece). It was ok tho because loads of other backpackers had previously drawn on the wall. Also i spent a while looking after the girl from Canada who proceeded to throw up EVERYWHERE! and i had to get the guys at the hostel to help us bring her back. I woke up with Marker on my face! plus a HUGE hangover!
Bring on the year of the Rabbit :)
Bucklexxx
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