Tuesday 31 December 2013

nothing is better than Independence and freedom




To walk off the tiredness of the night train ride our first day in Hanoi was centred around Ho Chi Minh. First stop was to see the man himself and so we headed to the west of the city to his Mausoleum. White uniformed guards strictly preside over this part of town and make sure that you are walking on the right side of the street, not putting your hands in your pockets when you walk through the mausoleum and do not talk. Thus is serious business walking past the most revered leader of Vietnam.  His words of "nothing is better than Independence and freedom" are so true. In neighbouring China personal freedom and speech is suppressed and here enterprise flourishes, creating a new Vietnam and very different to the country I visited 16 years ago. The economy here is booming and the younger generation have it all to play for. It's refreshing as the western world is under the shadow of the next generation being worse off.
Then the Ho Chi Minh museum offered more insight into his life before we checked into our hotel for a well earned siesta! 

My daily pho



The streets are bursting with motorbikes, pavements full of mini restaurants and vendors selling French bread, flowers and fruit. The street food here is extraordinary. Every morning I have a pho Bo, beef noodle soup, but the northern dish, Bun Cha, barbecued sliced pork, with noodles, herbs and fish sauce is one of the best things that I have tasted !!!! We're keeping a tally of food, beer and ticket expenditure and so far my half for 12 days is £60 .... For booze, food entry tickets !!!

Thursday 26 December 2013

Hoi An - the city of a thousand lanterns

Happy hour, if you don't look you'll never know and you promised to buy later chime from ever street corner from the street sellers. Wherever you sit you will be approached.  No I don't want peanuts, a fan, a doll or a fridge magnet!!!! These beautiful streets are lined with old Chinese merchant shops and are painted a gorgeous hue of mustard yellow, at night the city comes alive with the glow of lanterns from the shops, restaurants and street lights. Unesco protection ensures that there is little change here with a no car zone in the old streets it's a mix of cycles and people on foot walking through these old streets.
I had my annual bike ride and spent Boxing Day cycling along rice fields, where the farmer rode the water buffalo and went to the beach. Then returning back to town we cycled through villages and across coconut groves and past fishermen on the rivers. Hoi Am is a very special place and tourism makes it one of the most wealthy areas in the whole of Vietnam. So no I don't want to buy a lantern, have clothes made or buy a book mark, but I do want to wander around this magical city and explore it's living history!

Monday 23 December 2013

I'm a millionaire !!!!

My wallet is now bulging with 2,000,000 Vietnamese dong. After a night train heading up north we're now relaxing in the soviet suburb of Nha Trang. There's Russians everywhere! All the restaurant signs are in Russian and there's Russian hotels, with peak season here for them to escape the harsh winter and come to lie on the beach and soak up some sun rays. Our hotel is amazing and immediately we stand out bringing in our rucksacks and quickly make full use of the sauna and steam room to relax after our night train journey. This is living the high life! 

Sunday 22 December 2013

Every man is equal


This appears in the American Declaration of Independence and was the first words shown in the harrowing yet incredible war revenants museum in HCMC. As the world protested against the war, the atrocities that went one were captured by the war photographers. This resulted in some of the most powerful pictures that I had ever seen, and coupled with an event in the museum for the opening of an exhibition of war paintings, with army generals and war survivors taking part, made it all the more real.
The chemical weapons room was full of distressing pictures of its effects, and staggering statistics of the sheer volume  of chemical warfare used. Children sharing the same birth year as me had their independence and Normal quality of life  taken away. Horrific birth defects were still showing into the late 90's, so the scars of war carry on. Many of the street beggars are agent orange victims, so the horror of war is still there to see.
The antidote to this was to have a fabulous cup of coffee and do our own walking tour of the city.

Friday 20 December 2013

I have it in your size

Don't you just love Asia when you are double the size of the locals and buying bras is impossible!!! Especially when you walk along the street of market stalls and they hold up tiny clothes ,  but tell you they have it in your size....Like they have especially seen two or three tops together! Feel more in tune today, although being wide awake from 3am presented challenges in the afternoon. Thank goodness for snoozing on the bus getting back to HCMC after a trip to the Mekong Delta. Saigon has changed so much since I was last here sixteen years ago. Now there's a wealth of hotels and not so many street children, either selling real Vietnam war remnants or themselves!!! There's boutique hotels, boutique shops and travellers can use Vietnamese dong and not just American dollars, but there's still chaos on the roads with millions of motorbikes and believe me, crossing the road is a challenge, but you just need to stride with pride and the bikes will swerve around you !

Wednesday 18 December 2013

6 million motorbikes

The smell of the Dorian fruit really signifies my return to south East Asia. The streets of Ho Chi Minh hum with the motor bike engines and the constant asking of if I want to buy sun glasses, when my glasses are dark is new and amusing. It's so funny that one minute you are cocooned on the plane, sipping my new favourite tipple of whiskey and ginger and then you're walking the streets in a jet lagged haze circumnavigating the crazy roads, amputee beggars and no I know I've only just arrived but I do not want to buy a Tintin in Vietnam T-shirt (but I might be interested in a fridge magnet!!!!  

Check out my small video trying to capture as many bikes as I can in 10 seconds on Instagram - follow shertzog

Tuesday 17 December 2013

One sleep to Saigon

There's nothing more exciting than finishing your packing and taking a breath and thinking of the adventures ahead of you.

One last check on cash, passport and camera stuff and then I'm off to bed .... Tomorrow night I'm sleeping on my Vietnamese Airlines flight, fingers crossed for good neighbours on board.

Here's to travel.....