While waiting for our Indian Visa's to be processed we hung out in Hanoi. Unfortunately the weather was terrible it just didn't stop raining for a week. But will such a massive choice of cafes we were content with just relaxing with tea, coffee and plenty of Pho! Heaven. After the stress of China it was just what we needed!
We had a couple of random nights out at the Bucket Bar on MA Mai, those things are strong! It's amazing how easily you can get pick pocketed too in Hanoi and some old women tried to get into Dave's pocket (the language Dave used is not suitable for this blog!).
From Hanoi we headed back to Hue where we had visited before for a night with our Canadian friends Jess and Rachel. Bucket Bar the night before our 12 hour trip was not a good idea. Me and Jess actually had to ask for a late checkout from our dorm because we were glued to the toilet.....getting to old for hangover's now!
The girls introduced us to a new card game called Skip- Bo (made by UNO) we played it every night without fail!
We then went to Hoi An mine and Dave's favorite spot. The weather was starting to clear up and we did get a few nice days. Dave finally got a couple of shirts tailored at the famous Kimmy's and the Girls got a whole new wardrobe!
We rented mopeds and again went to Hang out at An Bang Beach while the weather was lovely. We went back to our favorite vegan restaurant and did another Cooking class which actually turned out to be a complete let down. But we were still happy with our previous cooking class. Plus it was fun to do it as a little group.
From Hoi An we got another night bus to Nha Trang. Shitty journey but it was the last one we were going to have to do.
Nha Trang turned out to be the loveliest part. The weather was amazing so we ended up staying 5 days this time. We had some great nights out and spent most days just lazing on the beach topping up our tans! We found a little street vendor who made amazing Vegetarian sandwiches. I think at one point we all ate 3 in one day! We made friends with a dog called Neigh Neigh too she was a Dalmatian and had just had puppy's!
We went to a Hot springs resort just outside nha trang which we missed last time. We were a bit dubious as the weather was stupidly hot that we didn't thing that hot springs and mud baths would be a good idea. We were very wrong! Rachel didn't come as she had been stung by a jelly fish a couple of day's earlier and didn't want to aggravate it. So Dave, Jess and i went anyway. It was super cheap. We had a private mud bath and a mineral rinse off. The we all treated our selves to a Vietnamese massage with FEET! It was actually really great! After that we had a long steam and went and chilled out under a fast flowing waterfall to get rid of all our dead skin. Finally we relaxed in a warm jacuzzi before heading back to Nha Trang for our dinner. and the price? each? 7 quid!!! hahaha!
We were sad to leave Nah Trang but we had to get moving. We decided to head inland and up to Dalat which we had missed out on our previous trip. Just 6 hours on a bus was nothing but it was the smallest bus possible!not that comfortable. Dalat was lovely and we found a really great deal in a hotel where we stayed for 2 nights.
We decided to to a famous Easy Rider tour for the day. This rent motorbikes! All four of us had our own drivers and they took us on an amazing road trip all day! We saw some beautiful scenery. We visited a Coffee plantation (did you know it grows on trees? ) and also a fresh flower farm and rice wine factory. We saw how they make Weasel coffee too which is famous in Vietnam. They give the coffee beans to weasels to eat and when they are passed through into their poo the re-collect them and roast them into coffee beans. Apparently it gives the coffee a unique flavour! It's very expensive!
We visited a rice sorting factory and the giant Elephant Falls (we got a bit wet). After an amazing and extremely filling lunch we had a drive through the mountains seeing all sorts of wildlife just hanging in the roads! Needless to say our bum's were a bit sore! We were extremely lucky with the weather too as it was sunny all day!
From Dalat we took an 8 hour bus back to Ho Chi Minh City. It again was nice to be back somewhere so familiar. We booked on a 2 day 1 night tour of the Mekong Delta which we also missed last time. It was pretty cheap but wasn't as amazing as we thought it would be. Just a lot of driving at least 20 hours in a 48 hour period. They rest of the time was spent on a boat! We did however have an amazing meal in a place we stopped off to sleep. This little street kitchen was right on the river front and we all ordered BBQ meat and seafood (for the veggies). We thought it would just arrive ready BBQ'd but they brought 3 giant terracotta flowerpots filled with white hot coals complete with a grill on top. Then they brought our raw marinated meat and seafood and we got to cook to our own liking right at the table! Plus we had some really Yummy Ochre! Was just the perfect meal.
We headed back to Ho Chi Minh and said our goodbyes to the girls :( we were sad to leave but they were off to the Philippines and we had to fly to KL before heading to India. We finished out trip with a session at the 12p Beer Hoi stand. No better way to enjoy Vietnam. Now after spending over 2 months there would we go back?? Again and again and again and again!
Next stop India!
To view our pics from Vietnam please click on the link below;
https://picasaweb.google.com/112941139607408893724/Vietnam2ndTime29thSeptemberTo25thOctober2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCKrno8yx9cm5Yg#
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