The South East Asia/Oz Chronicles 2012/13: *Vietshazam*

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

A testing 16hr bus journey brought us across the Vietnamese boarder and onto Ho Chi Minh City formally known as Saigon. We checked into the Than Guesthouse http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/Thanh-Guesthouse/Ho-Chi-Minh/49646?source=adwordsbbnames&kid=702692&aid=2&gclid=CLT8tZLn6bICFS1U4god_j4A2Q which was clean and comfortable with a very helpful receptionist.

We had one mission that evening and it was to find somewhere to watch the All Ireland Final. One hour later we had tracked down the only place in the city showing the game... Phatty's...

After celebrating a great win for Donegal we were up very early to take our Mekong Delta tour - it's the region in Southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of distributaries.

Personally for us it was essential to fit in with the locals, in no way was it about the novelty of wearing a silly hat...

Through our tour we were brought to 3 different islands Phu quoc, Coconut and Unicorn. We got to taste some of the local produce, see how it was made and experience some of the local culture.

Karen particularly enjoyed meeting a new friend.

Then getting to choose from a traditional lunch menu, hmm now which shall i choose?!

On the way home i ran into The Karate's Kid's very own 'Daniel Son' making some shapes on a makeshift bridge...

Day three in on our whirlwind tour of Ho Chi Mhin we were up early again to take our Cu Chi Tunnels tour. The Cu Chi Tunnels are located in the Cu Chi district of Saigon, they are an immense network of connecting underground tunnels. They were the base of the Viet Cong and were of great importance in their resistance to the American forces during the Vietnam War.

Now you see it...

Now you don't...

There was 140m of tunnel that we could choose to make our way through, they were very small, dark and claustrophobic. We were the only girls out of a group of 25 that did the full length!

After our half day around the tunnels the bus dropped us off at the War Remnants Museum. Both of us had studied the Vietnam War in school and watched various movies based on its events but nothing could have prepared us for the story the museum told...

The images/text we were exposed to in the Museum were very raw, upsetting and graphic. Both of us felt that our previous understanding of the Vietnam War was some what one sided. The loss of life in a war that spanned from 1955-1975 was overwhelming and the after effects caused to future generations by the American's use of Dioxin and Agent Orange was sickening...

After our eventful day we boarded the 17hr night train to Da Nang. This is what we thought of it!

Hoi An, Vietnam

On board we were lucky to meet a lovely Australian woman who introduced us to two other Aussie's (Max & Acacia) who were kind enough to show us the best way to get to Hoi An.

At this stage i was tired , not fresh and desperately wishing the 50 min local bus journey to Hoi An was over. When on came my new Best Friend Forver! A little 80 yr old local man who sat himself down beside me. For the next 40 mins he looked me up and down, poked my leg saying 'bigggg', grabbed my arms proclaiming 'ughhh' and pulled the hairs on my arm with a look of disgust. At this stage i had been pushed completely over the edge, i grabbed his ankle and was able to fit my hand around it saying 'ughhhh', literally the man was about 7 stone! He laughed at me and from then on in i was apparently his No.1 - a beautiful friendship emerged!

We checked into the Sunflower Hotel http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/Sunflower-Hotel-Hoi-An/Hoi-An/47282?source=adwordshotelnames&kid=691926&aid=2&gclid=CJKsztmN6rICFUlT4god4RMAzQ this has to be our favorite hotel so far. Really clean, great room, fab pool and lovey breakfast!

On our second day we hired some bicycles, which was interesting with the crazy driving and the whole other side of the road thing...

Another day, another beach... The waves were amazing on An Bang that day!

Our time in Ha Noi was great, it was so relaxed that we stayed an extra two days. At night there was a great buzz throughout the tiny cobbled streets, a charming atmosphere.

The local dish Cao Lau was really tasty and really cheap, bonus. We also sampled some of the local beer and whiskey in the Aussie Bar and Why Not Bar.

On our final day we set off to Marble Mountains with Max and Acacia.

Hue, Vietnam

After saying good bye to Hoi An which would have to be our favorite spot so far we traveled north to Hue. We checked into the Hong Thien 1 in the main backpacker area http://www.booking.com/hotel/vn/hong-thienhotel-1.en.html?aid=311076;label=hong-thienhotel-1-t8CgYqVRv3L94uDHTEiLRwS11122263420;ws=&gclid=CMOup8uf6rICFS5U4godzQIApA again it was clean and comfortable.

Personally for us Hue was a resting spot between Hoi An and Ha Noi but we decided to make the most of our time and take a city tour of the Citadel, Imperial City, Pagoda and the Tombs of the Emperors.

From the off we knew it was going to be a good day when the 'Lady Bus' rocked up!