Evening from Bali! It’s a whopping 30 degrees & we are currently chilling on our balcony after a busy day of surfing… Yes SURFING! O m g it was amazing! Harry was such a natural at it too! We have decided that we could quite happily live our lives as surfers in Bali, drinking beer / cocktails & soaking up the beautiful golden sunshine! Oh so lovely! It seems a long time since my last blog & so much has happened! Since then we have left Thailand, travelled the whole of Vietnam & now here we are on our second evening in Kuta, Bali!
Here is an update of what we have been up to!
Monday 28th March (Tonsai, Thailand) – we went on a “Seven Island Sunset & Snorkelling tour”.. It was AWSOME! The islands that we visited included – Poda Island, Chicken Island, Tup Island, Tang Ming Island & Si Island! After we had snorkelled at each island we went to Railay to watch the sunset, it was beautiful. We enjoyed an evening meal at a Thai buffet restaurant, followed by a fire show! The fire show was very impressive, but you would not believe how young the performers were!!? I mean there was a young child no older than FOUR YEARS OLD performing a fire act… A Poppy sized child juggling a fire stick!!! & If that’s not crazy enough… There was also a 10 year old child breathing fire!!! God help those precious young children!!! After feeling rather shocked by the “entertainment”, we returned to the long tail boat and then went on an exciting trip to find the Plankton! The glowing plankton was the most surreal thing ever, like something out of a Disney movie! It was so cool! We returned back to Tonsai at around 9pm and then headed straight to ‘Sabai Sabai bar’ (gosh I miss that place 😦 😦 ) We enjoyed a crazy evening with some crazy people & lots of alcohol! It was a great end to a fantastic day!
Tuesday 29th March – we got a long tail boat from Tonsai across to Ao Nang where we enjoyed pizza for lunch (you can’t help having a pizza craving!!) & then caught the sleeper bus to Bangkok.
Wednesday 30th March – we arrived in crazy Bangkok at 5am & yes believe it or not the party was still going!!!! We were welcomed by a world of Tuk Tuks & annoying taxi drivers… They just don’t ever seem to leave you alone nor do they take no for an answer!!! Anyhow, we got a taxi to our airport hotel at Don Muang or shall I say hotel with the “luxurious swimming pool”…. OR NOT because the false advertising meant that there was no swimming pool! Can you sense my disappointment?? Yes I wasn’t a happy bunny! Although, it was a cheeky bonus in some ways, as I made a formal complaint to Agoda, who responded immediately, offering a full refund! Winner winner!! Despite the hotel dramas, we had a lovely evening wandering around a Thai food market! We enjoyed a steak and salad each as well as a delicious fruit shake!
Thursday 31st March – goodbye Thailand 😦 4am wake up call (help!) ready for our early morning flight to Hanoi, Vietnam! Who would have thought that at 5am a tiny airport would be so manic?! Well it was a nightmare to say the least! We cued to check in our luggage for over an hour and then had to cue for security & immigration control, which left us exactly 6 minutes to get to the gate! Stressful times! Luckily everyone else had too been stuck in the airport cues, as the gate was still open when we got there! Also, the plane had been delayed! Phew!!!
We arrived into a rather wet & rainy Hanoi, which was a bit of a shock after bathing in 35+ degrees heat in Thailand! We checked into our beautiful hotel – “Serenity Diamond Hotel”, which was in the Old Quarter of Hanoi! In comparison to Bangkok, we both felt that Hanoi as a capital city was a lot cleaner! In the afternoon we took a walk around the city but soon got very lost!
Friday 1st April – we decided to take a tour of the manic motorbike city… We had a great day, visiting sights such as the ‘Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum’ (unfortunately we didn’t get to go inside though, as it was closed on Fridays), ‘One Pilar Pagoda’ and the ‘Botanical Gardens’. For lunch we eat in a beer garden in the city centre, we had noodles and vegetables, it was very nice! Even better beer was only 5,000 VND, which in GBP is 15p! It was crazy how busy the beer garden was, it was full of Vietnamese business men having a few sneaky beers in their lunch breaks! Either that or it was a half day Friday! Harry was big up the idea whichever reason it was! We also treated ourselves to a refreshing Vietnamese ice coffee on the lake…
In the evening, we went to a night market and then eat at a Vietnamese restaurant where we tried the famous ‘Pho’ (a soup with noodles and chicken) – I’m afraid to say that it was very disappointing! Whether it was just that particular restaurant that let it down I am not sure… But the chicken was boiled and still had the skin on, it tasted disgusting too! We ordered spring rolls, thinking that they would be an improvement, but they were very different to the Thai ones that we had loved and instead they were bland and stuck to our teeth. Overall, our first impressions of Vietnamese food was not too pleasant.
Saturday 2nd April – we went on a 2 day 1 night tour of Halong Bay… It took about 3 hours in the minivan and when we arrived we got straight on the boat and had a delicious selection of foods for lunch. I am glad to say that the food was much better than the previous night! After, we went kayaking around Halong Bay & saw lots of jellyfish… It’s a good job that we were not swimming! We also went to an Oyster Pearl Farm, which was at a fishing village in Halong Bay. It was interesting to learn that only 30% of the oysters caught contain a pearl & only a further 10% contain pearls of a high enough quality to be used in making jewellery. Therefore, in a necklace containing 50 pearls, 500 oysters were selected before it could be made!
In the evening Harry enjoyed a bit of squid fishing, whilst I chatted & sipped on cocktails! Definitely the better option!! 😉
Sunday 3rd April – we visited a cave, one of almost a 1000 that exist in Halong Bay & after had a cooking tutorial on how to make ‘Vietnamese Spring Rolls’! They were actually very easy to make, so I am sure they will be a popular snack when we are home! In the afternoon we returned to Hanoi & then caught a sleeper bus to Hue.
Monday 4th April – we arrived in Hue at 8am, checked into our hotel room & then went for a tour around the city. We visited the ‘Imperial Forbidden City’, which was build as a place of worship and homed the palace where the Emperor used to live.
Tuesday 5th April – we caught the morning bus to Hoi An… We arrived at midday and then had a bite to eat along the river in the sunshine, enjoying buy one get one free cocktails and beer! At last we had found affordable cocktails! In the evening we went to a night market & then chilled at a bar, which was calling for westerners to work there…. Cor we were tempted!!
Wednesday 6th April – we had a lazy morning by the hotel pool & then went to a local cafe where we treated ourselves to a ‘Vietnamese egg coffee’! Highly recommended! We had another day at the markets before heading back for an early night, as we were both feeling exhausted!
Thursday 7th April – I think the highlight of the day was the shoe market!! Unfortunately Harry’s Havana flip flops had failed us, which resulted in a mission to purchase a pair of flip flops asap! We came across the very place & a market with hundreds of shoe stalls & yes we did manage to replace them! Whilst we were there I thought I would enquire about where I could purchase a pair of Solillas Sandals.. A lovely Vietnamese lady offered to make me some, so I showed her a photo of the style, choose the fabric & then had my feet measured! I couldn’t believe it.. an hour and a half was all that it took for my amazing shoes to be made! It’s incredible how talented these ladies in Vietnam are! Huge credit to them!
After, we caught the sleeper bus to Nha Trang.. Thankfully this time the driver was more chilled and didn’t beep his horn as much as the last one did!
Friday 8th April – we arrived in Nha Trang at 6am and were fortunate that when we got to our hotel we were able to check in early. Seeing as it was such an unsociable hour of the day, we decided to have a few hours shuteye. We then spent the day at the beach soaking up a bit of sun, which was well needed, considering our Thailand tan was soon fading! 😦 In the evening we went to a lovely Vietnamese restaurant & the food was out of this world! We had a real selection of treats – noodles with fried chicken, steamed rice, pork with lemongrass and freshly made pork spring rolls! Delicious!
Saturday 9th April – we caught the 8am bus to Dalat, which took 4 hours to get there. For lunch we fancied a change, so decided to eat at a Korean Restaurant… the food was pretty tasty, but unfortunately soon after I started to feel very unwell, so went back to the hotel where I spent the rest of the day sleeping.
Sunday 10th April – thankfully I felt a lot better after sleeping from 4pm right through to 7am! We spent the day touring Dalat’s beautiful countryside on the back of a motorbike! It was great fun & the scenery was beautiful! Dalat is surrounded by hills, pine forests, lakes and waterfalls. Our first stop was at a ‘Cricket Farm’ & we even got to taste one! It wasn’t as bad as it looked, in fact it was very tasteless and if anything the texture was similar to a crispy chip! Apparently it is a popular dish in Vietnam! We also stopped at a ‘Coffee Plantation’. In Vietnam they have many types of coffee, one of which is produced by Weasels. They grow the coffee beans and then feed them to a Weasel, which passes the beans largely undigested. They collect the excrete, cleaning it carefully in boiling water and then it is sundried. Interestingly, it was actually the French Colonists who planted the coffee seeds, as they were the ones who realised that the conditions in the Southern Central Highlands were ideal for coffee plantation. We were able to try the weasel coffee, but it was very strong! Other sights that we visited included the’Linh Ann Tu Pagoda’, ‘Laughing Buddha’, ‘Elephant Falls’, ‘Flower farm’, ‘Chicken Village’ (where the locals live) & ‘Pongour Waterfall’…. Our favourite stop was Pongour Waterfall, as we were able to bathe in the waters, which was very refreshing, given the high humidity.
Monday 11th April – we caught a bus to Ho Chi Minh City, arriving there at around 3pm. We managed to find a cheap hotel in district 1, so checked in and then went for an early dinner. Due to the recent occasions where we had not enjoyed the aftermath of Vietnamese food, we decided to treat ourselves to Pizza Hut!!! Even better the pizza was buy one get one free!!!
Tuesday 12th April – we had breakfast at the hotel & then we were collected for the ‘full day Mekong Delta tour’. When we arrived we got on a boat, which went to a floating village. We stopped at a village that produced local honey and tasted honey tea. The Vietnamese swear by it as a natural remedy for good health and fighting illnesses. We also tried ‘Jack Fruit’ whilst we were there, but it tasted like vomit… So it’s fair to say we won’t be having it again!! After, we watched a series of mini cooking demonstrations of various Vietnamese treats, including sweet coconut candy, popcorn, rice paper & sweet wafers… I even got to make a sweet wafer myself! To finish the tour we watched a Vietnamese singing show & then went on a traditional Vietnamese paddle boat back to the bus.
We arrived back in Ho Chi Minh City in the evening and then headed to the backpackers street where we enjoyed Mexican cuisine! We also enjoyed a few drinks & a game of cards at one of the bars! An American gentleman at the bar kindly donated us some Brie and biscuits, which Harry demolished! (I was far to full up from dinner!)
Wednesday 15th April – we went on a tour to the Cu Chi Tunnels. We throughly enjoyed it & our tour guide was very knowledgable. Here are some facts about the tunnels –
1. The original tunnels were only 70-80cm wide. 2. The tunnels were first built in 1948 and it took 20 years for the Vietnamese to build them.
3. They were 200km but only 100km survived.
On the tour we went through the jungle and saw the original tunnels, as well as a number of traps similar to those made by the Vietcong. We also got the opportunity to crawl 100m through the tiny Cu Chi Tunnels – it was amazing!
After the Cu Chi Tunnel tour we returned to Ho Chi Minh City and visited the famous ‘War Remnants Museum’. We both left feeling very saddened by it all. The scale of the Vietnam War & the destruction that was caused was horrific. Not only that, but learning about it through the eyes of the Vietnamese people was very upsetting.
Thursday 16th April – we woke up early, ready to get to the airport for our morning flight to Kuala Lumpur. Despite our pre-booked taxi not arriving and having to get another one, we still managed to arrive at the airport in good time! Unlike at Don Muang Airport, Ho Chi Minh City Airport was much quieter & we we were less rushed this time! We even had an hour and a half to spare before catching our 11am flight! We arrived in Kuala Lumpur for a 2 hour transit and then got back on the plane to fly to Bali.
We arrived in Bali at around 18:30 and like in Bangkok were pestered by a swarm of taxi men! We spent a bit of time looking for accommodation, as we had not had a chance to book anything! This one taxi man would not leave us alone, he kept on asking us if we wanted a taxi, saying “cheap price, cheap price”….. He was SO ANNOYING! He even sat for half an hour, waiting whilst we booked our hotel and then followed us outside. He would not leave us alone! In the end we had to tell him to go away, as he was very strange. Little did we know that it would get better though!! We decided that to save a few bucks we would get a taxi outside of the airport.. Only to find that they were just as irritating! Anyhow, we managed to agree a price with a taxi driver but when we got in the car the cheeky bugger wanted us to pay for his parking… Errrrmmmm nooo!?!? It was hilarious though, as the taxi man went on and on & then Harry got irritated and pulled the hand-break up, telling him that if he was going to take the mick then we would get another taxi! That soon sorted him & we did eventually get to our hotel, despite him wanting to drop us 1km away from the hotel… Nightmare! I suppose it was an experience?!? But yes he was an idiot & we were relived to get to the hotel!!!
So there it is! We are loving backpacking & are having so much fun!
Out of the two countries that we have visited so far – we preferred Thailand to Vietnam.. We preferred the climate, cuisine and just loved the islands! We wished that we had known about extending our 30 day visa, as we would have loved to of gone North to Chang Mai, but unfortunately didn’t have the time to get there from the islands! We would have also liked to have visited Koh Tao and of done a Full Moon party at Koh Phangan – but there is always next time & we will definitely be returning! In regards to Vietnam, we enjoyed learning about the history of the War & our favourite place was Hoi An, but we would not be in a rush to return. We didn’t enjoy the Vietnamese food so much & found that the country was very polluted by all of the traffic. We are glad that we went though, as there are some incredible sights to visit & if we had of stayed a few extra days, we would have definitely paid a visit to Sapa!
Love to you all,
Jess & Harry! 🙂 xx
iwanttotraveltheworldblog 
Wow Jess and Harry, you are certainly packing a lot into your travels.. Both places sound amazing, although not too sure about the coffee?!xx miss you love you, mummy. X X
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