My Mum and Joan (close family friend) made the trip to come and see me in Vietnam.  They started in Hanoi and did the same Intrepid trip that Niels and I had done almost 4 years to the day.  I caught up with with them in the Backpacker District centered around Bùi Viện Street for dinner and the next day they were off to Cu Chi Tunnels.  Now when Mum says Cu Chi Tunnels, it sounds like a train, Chu Chu, very funny.

After the tunnel tour I went to their hotel and we caught up then got a taxi to my place and had a quick look around the neighbourhood and then headed to work so they could meet the Habitat Team.  We had wanted to go out for snails, however because of the Lunar Calendar, the restaurant was closed, so we found another one.

We had clams, octopus and goats udder.

Joan and Mum had their first taste of the motorbikes and a friend (Huy) and I drove them home to their hotel.

The next day was a sleep in and I picked them up at their hotel along with one of their tour group members, Rachel from Switzerland and we took the local bus to my house.  From their we wandered through the Pink Catholic Church, the local market and then hit one of my favourite restaurants, Bun Cha:

I noticed the new sign that they had just put up.  We then went to get our nails done which cost 35,000 VND ($2 AUD), it was Joan’s first time.

The one thing that made me laugh was the time it took for them to choose the colour! Well as you can see it was a very tough day so we went to one of my favourite cafes, Sonate and we had hot chocolates to rev us up again.  We then headed back to the hotel via one of my favorite shops here, Ginko and I got this cool toy made out of rice paste, like play-dough.

This is made by hand and is one of the most-loved traditional toys of Vietnam, especially in the mid-Autumn season which is now.  It is hand-made from glutinous rice powder into colourful animals, flowers or fictional characters.  The artist, Pham Tien Hien, who was born in the craft village of Xuan La – where the art of making To He originated 300 years ago and is still preserved now.  He has 30 years experience.

I met a lovely Japanese lady, Masako at Network Girls and we have kept in contact and she has introduced me to much of the Japanese cuisine.  We met Masako and we went out for a Japanese meal in an area of HCM that is known for all things Japanese, Le Thánh Tôn Street.  To keep in the tradition of eating weird things, we ate cow tongue

Can’t you hear what it is saying?

I then made sure the “girls” were home early as they had a big day ahead of them…

MOTORBIKES IN HO CHI MINH.

If you have ever been to Vietnam, you will know what I mean.  You don’t truly appreciate the definition of chaos until you have experienced it here.

I organised one of the local Xe Ôm to drive Joan as I had Mum.  A Xe Ôm is a motorbike taxi.  Departure was at 8am and off we went in search of views of the city.

You wouldn’t believe me but the city is to the right.  Our Xe Ôm driver may need some instructions next time.  From there we headed to Cat Lai, a port and we used a ferry to cross the Siagon River to get to the other side.

We drove around in the rice fields and stopped for a coffee and had a great view of a Lotus Pond

This is not a normal stop for foreigners so we were a bit of an entertainment for the locals.  From there we went back to the city via a large bridge.  We clocked 50km, used 1.2 litres of fuel at a cost of 20,000 VND ($1.20 AUD).

I left them to rest at the hotel and then I met them at the base of the Bitexco Tower.  We went up to level 52 and had a couple of drinks and enjoyed the views and seeing where we had traveled that day.

We then had a delicious dinner and I said my farewells.  They had one more day in Ho Chi Minh and then Sunday morning they were off to Cambodia.

I had a great time with them and showing off Ho Chi Minh City and all it has to offer.

 

I often think about my Dad, he died in 2010, way too early and as the quote goes “the good die young”.

My father never made it to Vietnam so I wonder what he would have thought about it.  I think if would have loved it, he would have been tall for once in his life:).  Dad was an avid toothpick user and every restaurant has them so that would have made him happy.  He rode around on a motorbike at home on the farm so I am sure he would have loved this, if not for the challenge.

On a more serious note, Dad respected people who were hard working and didn’t complain and the Vietnamese certainly embody this.  Throughout history the Vietnamese have fought many wars and in recent history against the French and Americans and they certainly showed determination and a fighting spirit.  Dad was a history buff so the country would have intrigued him.

My Mother arrives today in Ho Chi Minh, so it will be interesting to hear her and Joan’s experiences of their time here in Vietnam and who knows what chaos they have created along the way. As my sister would say, the Crazys are in town.

 

 

Hong Kong is only 2 hours flight from HCM, so I had to go.  I had been there once before when flying back from Europe in 2003 for one night and at that time it was crazy.  I was interested to know what I would think of it now.  View of Hong Kong flying in.

I got the subway from the airport to my hotel and I surfaced at about 10:30pm on Thursday and was greeted by a 7-Eleven and men drinking beer.  I then walked along the street that my hotel was on and was swamped by Indians wanting to sell me handbags, watches, accommodation and the occasional drugs.  This was a culture shock.  I finally found my accommodation and relaxed in my room.

The next day I woke up and headed for Victoria Peak.  The main feature other than the view is the cable car.  I took the star ferry across and had a bizarre conversation.  I was sitting looking at the view and behind me in a Texan accent I hear “is this the red bus?”.  Excuse me, is this the red bus?”.  I worked out that this person was talking to me so I turned around and said the only thing logically possible “this is a ferry”.  He then waved tickets at me and I said that I think he is in the right place as I have seen other people with those tickets.  He asked if I was a local and I said that I live in Vietnam and then he asked if I was from England.  As you can see this was an interesting conversation and adds to the stereotypical view of an American.

I was planning on going up the cable car however I somehow found myself on a double decker bus heading up the same hill.  I almost threw up on the bus due to motion sickness, it is becoming a theme here in Asia.  At the summit, there were big changes from when Niels and I were here in 2003, they have a massive viewing platform now.  The day wasn’t so good for viewing so I didn’t hand around but made use my selfie stick.

I made sure I took the cable car down, man it is steep. The guys in red are ready to pick up the bodies that don’t make it down:)…

From there I wondered around and enjoyed the parks and walking along sidewalks that were even, no motorbikes and generally orderly.

I had dumplings for dinner and then went to the water front to watch the lights and then on the way home I saw a wedding and the groom winked at me, seriously.

The next day I decided to go to Macau, a former Portuguese Colony and about an hour ferry ride from Hong Kong.  On the way it started to pour down.  I arrived and took a bus into town.  The architecture is wonderful.

The ruin on the right is of St Paul’s. It was a shame that it was raining as it made it harder to get around and enjoy the views.  I then went to the Macau Museum on top of a hill.

I then found a New Zealand Shop and stocked up on chocolate fish and Griffins Ginger Nuts then caught the ferry back to Hong Kong and managed to resist the temptation to go into the numerous casinos in Macau.  Back in Hong Kong I ended up in an Irish Bar and watch the Wallabies vs the Springbok and then Manchester United vs Manchester City.

With my last day in Hong Kong and I went to Star Avenue.  It was funny, when I mentioned to my friends in Ho Chi Minh that I was going to HK, they mentioned this.  It was interesting walking around all the movie stars’ hand prints

Jackie Chan at big hands and you know what they say about big hands…….. The statue is Bruce Lee.  It wasn’t until I looked at the photo afterwards that I saw my legs were doing a mirror image.  I think this is very clever.

From there I caught a taxi to Sky 100, 100th floor inside viewing. While waiting, I had fun with the free app.

It was a great view.

And I had some more fun.

I had a wonderful time in Hong Kong, I ate a lot of dumplings, chocolate and hot chocolates, did some shopping and relaxed.  I found Hong Kong quiet after Ho Chi Minh, yes a weird thing to say but it is true.  People seemed to be busier here, less similes and more serious.  I will be back.

A couple of things I noted that were different to Ho Chi Minh:

• They drive on the left side of the road which is right.  They drive on the right side on the road which is left.  No, they drive on the correct side of the road which is the left hand side.  Now that wasn’t confusing was it
• You have to ask for plastic bags when you buy something and you have to pay for them
• It is quiet, yes, it is still noisy, but still quieter than HCM, not beeping scooters
• Even though they drive on the left hand side of the road they still walk on the right hand side of the pavement.
• They walk a lot faster than Vietnamese here on the street
• You can use Pay Wave
• Cantonese and English (British accent) is used for all announcements.  I finally knew what was going on.

 

I was invited by Nam to visit his hometown, Ca Mau over the long weekend for Independence Day (2nd September).  This is to celebrate the Independence from France in 1945.  I got Oscar all saddled up again for the big journey. This is the second part of my journey around the Me Kong, I took the first one on the 19th to 23rd August. Me Kong Tour Part 1We decided to leave early to try and miss the traffic, 6am, but someone slept in so it was 7am and  the traffic was surprisingly good.  We stopped just outside My Tho for our first break and went to a typical rest stop.

This is the gang: Trang, Nam and Phương (left to right).

We made it to Can Tho and caught up with Thế Anh, Trang and Bích again and they put on a wonderful lunch.  This is where I stayed on my last Me Kong trip.

Trang, Nam, Thế Anh, Trang, Thế Anh and Bích’s Mother, Bích and Phương (left to right)

They had a few surprises for me, mouse and baby bee (aka larva).

I know you are all dying to know what the mouse tastes like.  It is a little bit like chicken but much stronger and it is quite hard to eat as everything is so small, I felt like a giant trying to eat a chicken.  The Larva has a milky taste and is quite nice too. After a few laughs we got back on the road.  Along the way we found some more larva for sale. The bag on the back is how we carried it and there were still live bees so they had a free ride.

It wouldn’t be a journey without a little bit of rain so we waited it out.  We made it to Nam’s province and we had a ferry crossing.

The raised wooden box at the bottom right corner is what you turn around on as there is only one way on and off the ferry. From there is was narrow roads and steep bridges to cross the canals and it was getting dark so it made for some fun riding.  We made it to Nam’s place safely and were welcomed with a delicious dinner.  I met Nam’s Mother, Father and Sister (Lam).  For dinner we had Cháo with chicken, kind of thick rice soup that has the consistency of porridge and fresh prawns (shrimps) cooked in water and beer.  All the meat was home grown.  Nam’s father is a maths teacher and also owns a Shrimp farm.  After our long journey we deserved a sleep.

The next day the weather was perfect and we went to the Shrimp farm/pond by boat.  I asked if there were sign posts and there aren’t, you just have to know where you are going.  Their house is beside a canal and there are always boats going past selling things, salt, fish, ice etc. We headed off.  Below they are constructing a retainer wall to stop erosion.

We bought ice on the river too.

Once we got to the shrimp pond we went out on a small boat around the pond.  The water is changed every 2 months and there is a small pond where the baby shrimp are kept and raised until they are released into the big pond.  They don’t feed the shrimp, they live off what is in the water.  To regenerate the pond they drain the water and let the sun do its work.  They have nets around the outside of the pond that they take in once a day and a wholesaler comes to their pond once a day to pick up the shrimp.  Now this is an interesting fact.  You can eat your own shrimp, however, if you grill it you can’t.

The Shrimp farm I went around on the boat is on the right and you can also see the baby shrimp pond.  They use Calcium Carbonate to control the pH, which is between 6 and 8.

Nam’s father sleeps almost every night when it is the shrimp season at the pond in a hut to stop the theft of his product.  The hut has electricity and we steamed the shrimp and crabs.

Along with the food we had beer and rice wine which was distilled by Nam’s father.  In the photo we have me, Nam’s father, Son (Nam’s father’s cousin), Nam, and Trang.  So the custom is that if I take a shot of rice wine I then nominate the next person however getting to the bottom of the bottle there was confusion of the rules:).  It was a wonderful day out at the pond and canals, my highlight of the trip.

We then went home and Nam invited some friends around for food and beer so we were back into it. It was great to meet his friends and see the family life here.  It is peaceful, reminds me a little bit of home.

The common thing for young people to do at night is go to the local coffee shop so we spent an hour or so there with his friends, looking at the night sky and night life of the river.

The next day we meet some of Nam’s friends at a different coffee shop and then left for home at about 9am.  There seemed to be more traffic on the road and then once we got passed Can Tho where we stopped for lunch, we got into a traffic jam and then it rained.  This is how heavy it was, the water is off the roof at the coffee shop.

 We waited here for about an hour for it to stop and then we were off again.  We struck rain again and we made it home safely at 9pm.

A special thanks to Nam and his lovely family for having me to stay and making me feel so welcome.  It is a special place and I have some great memories.

Map:

Distance

Ho Chi Minh to Ca Mau: 327 km, 12 hours riding

Ca Mau to Ho Chi Minh: 332 km, 12 hours riding

Total: 659 km

Petrol: 155,000 VND ($9.06 AUD).  Filled up 5 times.

One of my favourite things here in Vietnam is driving my motorbike around.  I can’t explain exactly what it is but it is addictive.  You always have to be alert, looking for the unexpected, I find it is like a game where you have to pick the path of least resistance. So Oscar (motorbike) and I decided to saddle up and explore some of the Me Kong.  A friend of mine, Nam, was going in the same direction so he offered to ride with me to my first stop, Can Tho.  We left HCMC at about 1:3o pm on Friday.  We stopped in Mỷ Tho for a refreshment and this was our halfway point.  We then crossed a number of massive bridges and one built with Australia.

We made it safely to Can Tho and had pancakes for dinner (famous in the Me Kong).  You take pieces of the pancake which has prawns in it and wrap it in the greens and then dip it in the sauce, delicious!

We then went to a friend of Nam’s, Thê Anh where we were staying to unpack and freshen up.  Then it was off to the city centre which was amazing with the lights and a new walkway and a couple of beers.   I then had a tour of Can Tho and saw the night street food markets and Can Tho University.  The next day was an early start to look at the floating markets, the biggest in the Mekong.  I had three tour guides; Bich, Thê Anh and Nam.  People come from all over the area in their boats to buy produce and take back home and then sell themselves.  It is like the Rocklea markets in Brisbane but on the water.

From there we went to Thiên Viện Truc Lâm Phương Nam Pagoda.  It was opened about 2 years ago and is the biggest in the Mekong.  On the inside of the bell, people post their wishes.

From there we went to a fruit garden and relaxed.  By that time it was time for lunch and for me to get on the road to my next destination, Ha Tien.  I had an awesome lunch of fish in rice paper rolls.

I was not entirely on my own, I had Google Maps and a holder on my motorbike so I could navigate on the run.  So of course, within the first 15 mins I took a wrong turn, however, it was the only one of the whole trip!  It was a beautiful drive and I made it to Ha Tien on dusk.  I checked into my hotel and then went for dinner and the night markets.  I had seafood for dinner and I ordered some squid, however when it arrived this is what it was, yep fish.

It was all good.  I then wondered around and listened to the entertainment that was on offer, from what I could understand (probably not much after my dinner order) it was a local night were anyone could sing, it wasn’t Karaoke as there were no words and there was live music.  At one point, I think more people were looking at me than the stage.

The next day I had a couple of sights to see in the area around Ha Tien, the beach, Mui Nai beach and a pagoda at Da Dung Mountain.  I had prawns for breakfast and enjoyed the view and breeze.

The scenery around the pagoda was magnificent and this is what I have always pictured Vietnam to be like.   

The Pagoda, was on and in a mountain and you walked halfway up the mountain and then around it. There were caves where there were statues of Buddhas and alters and in other caves there were lights and pathways.  I ended up going into one of the caves and I thought it was the path.  The access was very hard and myself and a couple ended up helping each other to get out of the cave.  We then continued together and I had a drink with them afterwards.  Mui Mui is a teacher and her friend transports seafood.

This was one of my favourite places from the trip and I would love to come back here again sometime.  From here it was off to Chau Doc and this route would take me parallel with Cambodia.  It was rice harvesting season, normally 2-3 times a year so there was lots of activity on the road, they dry their rice on the road.  All the moving of the bags are done by hand so it is hot and heavy work. They use the canals to transport the rice from the fields to a central location.

I arrived in Chau Doc and found myself at another Pagoda and again with great views.  I think I was more of an attraction than the Pagoda as I had my photo taken a lot.  I decided I would do the same.  How cool is the surfing Buddha!

To the left is where I had driven from today and to the right is Cambodia, can’t you tell?

I found my hotel and had a good dinner and early night.

The next day I was off to Tra Su, a forest in the canels.  There was a bit of off road driving which was great.  I spent an hour on the water between two boats, one  a motorboat and the second a row boat.  It was magnificent, green, birds, quiet, reflections and views.

What about this scenery, it was amazing.

From here I made my way to Cam Mountain, another pagoda with a very big Buddha.  On the way I stopped for lunch and the restaurant had a puppy.  For 30 mins the puppy played with my feet, it was entertaining for the guests as well as the puppy.  Where at home can you eat your meal and play with a puppy at the same time?   Note, I didn’t touch the puppy with my hands.

Cam Mountain was the highlight of my trip, see if you can figure out why…  I arrived at the bottom of the mountain at the sign and I was surrounded by motorbikes within seconds.

Over the next 30 mins, using a mixture of head shakes, hand signals and google translate I worked out that only locals can take the road used by cars to the top and that I will have to go up with a driver on another path as the road is too dangerous. I am thinking, how dangerous can it be?  So after bartering and parking my bike I jumped onto the back of the motorbike and off we went.  It all started off very easy and then after some weird instructions from the driver, he was sitting at the very front of the seat and I was right behind him, I mean right behind him,  I soon realised why.  It was steep and narrow!

It was a wild ride and I loved every minute of it.  Because it was so narrow in places and lots of blind corners, the horn was vital and it took about 30 mins to get up.  This is what was waiting for me.

PS, that is not a double chin, I was trying to look like the Buddha, great facial muscle control on my behalf.

A famous dish in this area is Dien Dien Flowers, the yellow ones.

We then went up to the very top and got this wicked view.

The way down was great, less daunting.  After that the open road was a little quiet and I proceeded to Hong Ngu.  

I did a little bit of exploring in the city and look what I found, mice, these are for eating.

After that discovery I had seafood for dinner and then a well deserved sleep after all the excitement.

This was my last day on the road, Hong Ngu to home via the province Dong Thap and I visited another forest, Tram Chim, by the rivers.  Because I was by myself it was too expensive to hire a boat so I rented a bicycle and looked around.

From there it was home.  These are some of the cool things I saw along the way, drying fish (I call it Fish Jerky) and tiny hay bails.

 

I stopped for lunch and I got engrossed in a soap opera along with the staff.  I got to Tan An and was following the signs to HCM and arrived at a Toll Booth and something wasn’t quite right, there were no motorbikes.  This doesn’t happen in Vietnam.  So I contacted Nam and sent him a screen shot of where I was and asked “Can motorbikes go on the motorway?” His reply was “NO, you can’t do it”.  Apparently there are some road rules that are obeyed.  I made it back to HCM to be welcomed by rain, the only time on the whole trip.

Map:

The route that I took in an clockwise direction.

Petrol:

Filled up 6 times for a total cost of 230,000 VND ($13.50 AUD). With a 3.7 L size petrol tank, I used approximately 16.8 L.  Pretty good if you ask me.

Distance:

Day 1: Ho Chi Minh to Can Tho: 178 km

Day 2: Can Tho to Ha Tien: 211 km

Day 3: Ha Tien to Chau Doc: 150 km

Day 4: Chau Doc to Hong Ngu : 111 km

Day 5: Hong Ngu to Ho Chi Minh: 181 km

Total distance travelled: 831 km

The average speed is about 50 km/hr.

Highlights:

Best company: My tour guides, Nam, Thế Anh and Bích in Can Tho

Number of foreigners spotted: 4, not including me, I can’t spot myself, or can I?

Confusion created by language barrier: 2.  Harm done: 0

Missed the most: chocolate, I hunted high and low and couldn’t find any.  Massive learning curve for me!  I should probably have said Niels here right?

Rain: only when I got back to Ho Chi Minh

Number of times I had my photo taken: 5

Weirdest thing I saw: mice being sold at the markets

Best experience: Motorbike ride up Cam Mountain

Best scenery: Tra Su

Most surprised me: The Me Kong is like one big city, I thought that there would be gaps of civilization where there would be just farm land but almost along the entire journey there were houses and people along the road.

A BIG Thank You: Nam for helping me prepare my itinerary, my guide from HCMC to Can Tho, fitting by mobile phone to my bike and advising that I can’t ride on the motorway:).  Also for introducing me to your friends.