Saigon at night

We will work our way from the south to the north starting with The Mekong Delta:

The Mekong delta region 39,000 square kilometers of area where the Mekong river flows into the sea. There are many tributaries and small canals that make up the delta area. The Mekong region is where the majority of the rice crops are grown, there are also many fruit orchards in certain areas. The Mekong is a beautiful place to visit and it has become a popular destination. Most tours offer a trip to Cai Be or Cai Rang floating market, Boat trips to islands where you can experience the manufacture of rice paper or coconut candies. You will also get to enjoy some good food and beautiful scenery. There are also river cruises available from smaller 6 person boats, to a massive river cruise ship. A person can have a good Mekong experience on a 1 night stay, but longer trips are available. I found a 1 day trip was nice, but a

Around town

 little rushed, and 4 days was too long. Click here for more detailed

December to April is the best time to visit the south of Vietnam. There are short downpours during the wet season from May to November but they tend to only last a short time so you can still enjoy a visit during these months (just go for lunch when you see the black clouds developing). The Mekong Delta can experience severe flooding during this period making travel very difficult.

Next to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon):

Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) is home to some 9 million people. In spite of the city’s size it’s fairly straightforward deciding which part of the city

road near Saigon

to stay in. Travelers will most likely go to one of two areas: Dong Khoi which has mid-range accommodation or Pham Ngu Lao where you’ll find most of the budget accommodation in HCMC. There are Ho Chi Minh City Hotels to suit the requirements of all visitors ranging from backpacker hostels to 5-star hotels. One block of of Pham Ngu Lao ia Bui Vien St where I prefer to stay, there are many nice little bars and nightspots to quench your thirst after a busy day. You will be close some excellent shopping. Downtown you will find very high end stores selling name brands and expensive products. In sharp contrast, you will also witness street vendors selling cigarettes, books, and nick nacks.

Mekong river

 ( I have written about this in past blogs) Ben Thanh market will also be close by where you can hammer out some great deals if you have the mind.

 To visit the main tourist attractions you will need at least two full days. The main Things to See include the Hotel de Ville, the Reunification Palace, the Museum of Ho Chi Minh City, the War Remnants Museum, Notre Dame Cathedral and the Jade Emperor Pagoda. If you’re quite adventurous it’s also

Making coconut candy

worthwhile taking a taxi to the Chinese district of Cho lon where you can visit a number of busy pagodas and street markets. Not many tourists head out this way so you may feel a little out of place but it’s worth doing just to observe life on the streets and provided you use your common sense there’s no reason to worry about heading off the beaten track. Once you’ve seen the main sights you’ll want to consider some Tours. The most popular is a half day trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels where you can see part of the 200km network of tunnels which the Viet Cong used during the American War. You

A buffalo out of water

 can make this a full day tour by including a visit to the Cao Dai Temple in Tay Ninh on the Cambodian border. This is the home of Caodaism, a Vietnamese religion which is a combination of other major religions

A caged Rooster

Traffic is a nightmare all over Ho Chi Minh City and the worst place must be the traffic circle outside the Ben Thanh Market. Your lasting memory of this city will be the sheer quantity of motorbikes on the roads and guess what … they never stop at a pedestrian crossing! Watch how the locals cross the road before you even attempt it. It’s simply a question of keeping moving slowly forward without making any sudden rash movements, this way any motorbikes will go around you. Generally it is hot averaging from 31 to 35 degrees year round and the rainy season in Saigon is from May to November similar to the Mekong. Again December till April is your best time to visit.

Now lets head into the country on an open tour bus……….

A view from Chau Doc

Vietnam is a beautiful country. From the watery delta of the Mekong with its breathtaking shades of green, speckled by the bright color of flowers and fruit, To the jagged tranquility of Halong Bay and it’s amazing rugged sights. The country is filled with history. There are Ancient Cham ruins to explore, and beautiful Buddhist temples to visit. White choral sand beaches, and misty mountain top get aways. There is a lot to see and do. After this introduction, I will be pasting information provided by other sources because there are people out there who have done a much better job than I can to inform you of specific areas. I will add my impressions where I feel needed. 

Back to the culture shock…. When you first start touring Vietnam, you might get the impression that it is a dirty place. In the past it was so, but they have become much better over time. The main reason it may look messy here to many it that there is always construction and building improvements

An Ancient cham

 everywhere. There are also houses built against all of the roads as the people here can open some king of business and try to make a living. The combination of demolition waste, building materials, home built structures and businesses, along with the street side industries can look a little messy. Try to ignore and look beyond and you will see the natural beauty of this country, or better yet…. Look at all the activity as part of the charm as I do. So now you have decided that Vietnam might be the place for an exotic holiday different from any you have taken before. Tou may have a few questions such as: 

Is it Safe? 

Vietnam is one of the safest countries in the world to travel. The government has asked that the foreigner be treated well and what the government here wants, it usually gets. The people in their ever industrious ways have learned

Developement on the end of NhaTrang

that is easy to make money from a tourist by providing a good service, so you will find no lack of friendly people willing to help you. Like any other place, there is petty crime. Snatch and Grabs, pick pockets, and other minor scams to get at your money. Actual muggings are rare unless you are silly enough to walk down the quiet streets in a foreign and poor country drunk at 3am. Just use common sense and do not draw extra attention to yourself with bulging fanny packs and the like, and you will be fine. I myself was a victim of laydyboy pick pockets. ( see blog (see post A sucker born every minute). So do not worry about walking around tightly grasping your packs and wallets. Generally you will be fine. 

Will I get sick? What should I take? 

Before you come here, you should consult with your local travel inoculation centre. The recommended shots are typhoid, Japanese Esephalitis, yellow fever and Hepatitis a and b.

You really do not need to worry about malaria unless you are going to spend time deep inland, and there is nothing you can take to

Hon Chong beach

 prevent dengue fever. But what about the local bugs?

Our bodies have a bit of trouble adapting to the bacteria that is in the water here. It is generally best to avoid consuming even small amounts of the local water. A person can do this by always keeping a golden rule. “If it is boiled, or if I can peel it, it is safe to eat”. If you keep this rule in mind, you should never get sick from the food. People are sometimes concerned about the condition of the food. They see it sitting in the sun in open air markets. All of the food is fresh and will be sold in the morning. By noon it is all gone and does not sit there for the next day. I have not seen people suffer from food

Hslong Bay

poisoning, even though it may look like it can happen. It is also a good idea to always check the ice in your drink. If it is round or has rounded edges, it was made with purified water and is safe. Most restaurants now serve this kind of ice as they are as much on a clean water kick as us. If the ice in your drink looks jagged as if broken off a block, be very wary. Ask if you can about the source of the water. If you cannot determine it is safe, do not drink it. The water here can sometimes cause some very bad bouts of diarrhea. It is a good idea to bring some Imodium or other such anti-Diarrhea product just to be safe. 

Tomorrow I will start to write about specific destinations and what there is to see. And do.

Kids on a swim

oops!!! This post is from Feb 20. I did not realize that it did not get posted

As I closed for the night, the main door latch broke off in my hand. Huh!! Always something. We are still fully booked and things are going well. I think I will need to find a night receptionist quickly, Sleeping in the hotel and getting up very early everyday is slowly taking its toll. For the first time since I got here, I was forced to have a 20 minute nap. The streets are still alive with the New Years celebrations. There are dragon dancers showing up at random locations causing traffic jams as curious onlookers stop to gape at the martial arts spectacle. I do

A trap in Chu Chi

 not know how they do it. I see the same young men displaying their arts all day and evening long, and it looks very tiring. They are beaded with sweat by noon and a person can see the pain of the efforts in their faces, but still they persist. I have to admire them.

A bit of weather front has moved in and Nha Trang has cooled to a chilly 26 degrees. A pair of Swedes that were staying with us found the cloudiness not to their liking, so they have moved on south hoping to break through the

Hands up

front. I wish them luck. From what I have been able to see, the mildest and calmest climate is here in Nha Trang. Oh…… about the climate (oooooo ya gotta love my segways

Vietnam is over 3000 Km long so temperature can vary quite a bit depending on the season. I have been asked many times when the best time to travel to Vietnam is. That is a bit of a difficult question, but I will do my best to give you a clear answer.

Loom in muslim village

in Vietnam there are two seasons, the cold season occurs from November to April and the hot season from May to October. The difference in temperature between the two seasons in southern parts of Vietnam is almost unnoticeable, averaging only around 3ºC. It is much more noticeable in the North where differences of 12ºC are not uncommon. In the northern regions, the rainy season from May to September (it’s hot, heavy rain), and the dry season from October to April (it’s cold, little rainfall). The annual average temperature is in the 20 to 25 degree range, but in winter the average

Paddling on the Mekong

temperature is around 16 and can go as low as 3 degrees. There is over 100 days of rain fall making it hard to hit the best weather.

The south is a sharp contrast There is almost no noticeable difference in seasons and it is not as stormy as the north. It can get quite hot during the summers, especially in the Mekong. From Ho Chi minh City all the way up the coast, the climate is generally similar with the exception of Nha Trang. Nha Trang is blessed with some of the mildest weather in the world. The rainy season only lasts about one month, and then, it may only rain for a week or two with sunny afternoons and stormy mornings. Nha Trang is surrounded by a number of mountains that shelter it from storms and weather fronts. The climate is mild all year around with an average temperature of 26-28

Future boat driver

 degrees. Most if not all of the typhoons that hit Vietnam veer slightly to the north and miss Nha Trang. Other areas as close as 10 Km can be devastated, while this locale remains untouched. That is probably why the ancient Cham people thrived here.

So here it is in a nutshell…. Depending where you want to spend your time will influence your decision. If you intend  to spend most of your time touring south and central Vietnam, I would suggest winter Maybe January of February. It will be fairly dry and the temperatures mild at 26 – 32 degrees. However, travel to the north is not so pleasant at this time. It can be chilly but tolerable in Halong Bay, but it can be darn right miserable if you plan to go to SAPA. If only coming to the center and Nha Trang in particular, almost any month is good. Just remember that October-November is the rainy season. The north is a little trickier. If you do not want to be cold, summer is the best, however, is becomes rainy and hot.

South Mekong Girls

In my opinion, if a person wants to do an entire country tour from top to bottom, April – June may be the best months. There is a good chance that the warmer weather has set in the north and the south is not in its hottest time. For myself, I do not mind January through March. I would much rather deal with a little chilliness than be confined to air-conditioned hotel rooms. I hope this answers some of your questions. If you have more specific questions…. Please ask

Todays photo’s brought to you by Brad

I arrived in NhaTrang at 7:00 am., waking up 20 minutes before arriving in NhaTrang. It was a nice break from the confusion and rush of getting the hotel in order. I met with the manager of a large hotel to pass on some vitamins that Ken had brought from the Us. His name is Tan, a nice fellow. I was treated to a nice buffet breakfast before heading to the hotel to pick up li’l Sissy. Back to the confusion!!

I arrive to find my cleaning lady scraping the new paint off the stairs in order to get rid of paint splatters. She has scraped it down to the old paint. I then am doing room checks to see that everything is in order when I discover to my horror that all of the wiring and controls for my new neon sign are located on the floor in the middle of the 1^st floor balcony. One child or rainstorm will destroy all of my efforts… Then my night receptionist comes to work after too many beers, and when I go to work on my computer, I discover that the browsing history is full of pornography sites, a great thing for a government inspector to see…… My handyman storms out in a rage about something, and more unseen expenses have surprised me….and later in the evening, an official of some sort cruised up on his bike to ask why we had no flag displayed yet…. Egad!!!! Will it ever stop??

 The boat driver turned out to be quite the adept and concentrated on the heavy waves. Somehow he was able to read the timing and the severity, riding some almost surf board like, and others crashing into head on. I was not able to get any photo’s as I was too busy trying to unclench my but from the bamboo seats. The water calmed and we merrily chugged our way. There is a tourist facility called Unicorn Island that I have been to before. It is a delightful place visited by many tourists, but another less touristy venue was on Hau’s mind. The boat veered its way down a narrow rivulet or channel for a ways and docked at a little used concrete stair. We climbed and proceeded to a coconut candy factory located close by. Here we learned

Making coconut candy

of how a coconut was processed from its raw state into a delicious treat. Nothing is wasted. The husks are used for fire and for all sorts of goods. And of course the pulp is turned into candies and other tasty items. It is a small world…. At this not to visited site, I ran into another tour operator who I just

Our transportation

happened to meet a day earlier in my hotel…. Huh….We then walked a short distance through the jungle and came to a road where a man with a cart and pony were waiting for us. Up into the cart we went for a long ride up island. I felt sorry for the poor pony having to haul my fat carcass in the hot sun. I truly

Banana tree

 hope those animals are well cared for….. they look pretty exhausted to me. Anyway….. As we trotted along, I beheld one of the most unusual sights of my life. There were two young men with fishing poles at a small ditch. The poles were a long bamboo with a line tied to the end. At the other end being

Homestay

used for bait was a duck!! I am not kidding. I guess that the duckling swims around and threatens  The baby mud fish. In it’s baybies defense, the adult mudfish will nip at the ducks feet in order to scare it off. The duck will have a hook dangling undernieth to snare the fish. How ingenious!! And cute too.

Home made wiskey

  We were dropped off at a location in the middle of nowhere and proceeded to journey through beautiful narrow paths in the jungle. After walking for a while, Hau thought we might be getting lost so he asked a local for directions. No problem! We were on the right track. On our trek, a large insect of

Duck bait at the end of the line

some sort was buzzing around the back of Hau’s head. I thought it was a bee, but when it landed, I was slack jawed to see the mesmerizing beauty of one of the most colorful beetles I have seen in my life. I did not know beetles could be pretty to look at. At last at our destination, we encountered a

Catch of the day?

 monkey bridge. We crossed and arrived at our destination. The resort is called the An Khanh Vuon Dau….They offer a homestay which is a very interesting way to enjoy Vietnam If you are interested in a jungle stay, you can email Mr Vo Thanh Dung at ankhanvuondau@yahoo.com . There was to be three of us for lunch but Ken was not attending, therefore, Hau invited a local to dine with us. He was a very thin man that seemed to have no interest in food, so we called the driver to make his way to us and have lunch and a drink. It took him a while and many phone calls from being lost but he finally made it. I feel saddened that Ken is not here with us. It is a beautiful spot and the company is good. It got to be around 2 pm and it was time to head back as I had a night bus to catch to come back to NhaTrang. Traffic was light at that time of day and we headed back via the old highway. ( For those of you that were with me last year) I asked if we could drive by some cafes that I thought might lead to some interesting photo opportunities. They feature road side hammocks where a person can nap in the afternoon. For us it was about coffee time, but for many others it was sleep time. Even though there were many shops, we elected to find one that had people awake. We did eventually find a place and we were dropped by the driver. Hau and I walked a hundred yards or so to a place that had a couple of pretty waitresses swinging in a hammock out front.

Well….. there is that word count thing again…..

Kimmy and Kenny

Ah…. Where to begin. I could probably start by saying I have had the honor of meeting some very nice people. Ken has many friends here and I had the extreme pleasure of meeting a few so far. Kimmy invited us to lunch and took us to a very nice buffet place in downtown Saigon. She has a magical personality and I hope very much she will look me up when visiting NhaTrang.

My pal Hau

Yesterdays blog was a short one. Hau came banging on the door and we were set to hit the road for a trip into the Mekong. Here we were waiting for Ken to join us when sadly he announced that he is suffering some heave diarrhea. Which leads me into today’s sub topic:

A foreigner here must pay very close attention they what they eat. The food is wonderful and most things can be consumed safely, however, anything that is washed with local water must be treated as suspect. More importantly is the ice in your drink. There are two kinds of ice here. There are ice factories now that make ice from purified water. These can be recognized

Orange Dragons

 because of a rounded shape and a small hole in the middle. They can be large or small in size. If you are drinking an iced beverage, check to make sure there is some evidence of this round ice. If you cannot see, or if it is crushed ask to make sure it is ice made by machine and not cut from a block. Also,

Mekong river

most restaurants that are set up western style, are washing with purified water so vegetables can be consumed safely, however, in local spots, unless it is boiled or peeled do not eat it. I have as of yet not had a problem by following these two basic rules. Now on with the story:

Ken retired to his room and Hau and I were off by our selves to try a new

The drive on new highway

 highway that had just opened the day before. It reduced the time it takes to travel to the Mekong by three hours. The drive was beautiful. There are police at both ends of the new freeway to stop any motorcycles and trucks from entering and cars only are allowed. This may change but it made the ride pleasant. Since ken was not able to attend, it allowed me more time

On the Mekong

to get to know Hau. Our driver was surprised that this was the first time he had seen Hau travelling in his shorts and a tee shirt rather than formal attire. Hau explained to him that this was a trip with a friend and not a tourist. I was honored. I now consider him a very good friend, and I hope to spend time with him whenever he is here in NhaTrang, or I in

at the docks

 Saigon.  For any of my readers, if you plan to come here and need somebody to organize your trecks…. Hau is your man. Check out this website www.visitindochina.net Anyway…… back to Mekong. The drive took us only

Restaurant on water

1hr 10min to a town named My Tho. My Tho was founded by the Chinese back in the 13^th century. At that time a group of Chinese approached the King (or Emperor) of Vietnam and asked for land to live. The  King not wanting much do do with then gave them a piece of land far away, empty, and useless at the

Hau and our boat driver

 time. The Chinese thrived and eventually flowed to the north where they established a very large Chinatown in Saigon. If you go to do business there, you will probably end up in Cho Lon eventually. We arrived at a newly build boat dock to have a private boat waiting for us. We were way ahead of any

Looking back on our boat

tourists so we were alone (just the way I like it). Our small boat was chugging away across a wide section of the Mekong river when oh…oh…… A gentle wind started blowing, and the tide started to move in. The waves in the river grew to ocean size. The boat driver commented on the size informing us they were the largest he had ever experienced. Maybe it was that we were going earlier than normal, or perhaps somebody up there wanted me to have exciting things to write about.

On the Mekong river

Well……. After the waves started getting really big, I saw a bit of congers come over the drivers face and he started to concentrate on his driving. I also was becoming a bit concerned, I saw the same thing in Hau. Were we going to make it to the other side? Would the little boat be worthy of the task? Where is Batman??  Or Superman for that matter?? Do not change the channel. Stay tuned.

I have returned to see that NhaTrang is starting to fill up. Many hotels are totally booked and I am sure that our place will be also. I have discovered a disturbing thin upon my return.

Bridge over the Mekong

 The lady that operated this place before me has been hiding and witholdong taxes fron the government for years. They are rightly angry and will be keeping an eye on us as new owners….. Great!!!  So much for charging the big bucks for a quick slingshot into profitability. While most hotels will triple in price the next two weeks, we will have to rent out rooms at a regular rate, or perhaps a little bit higher, but not as we intended. Maybe I can get a crowd that will drink coffee and beer in the lobby to help. Oh well……..This place is too much fun to worry about it now.