Author Archives: Mel

Day 11 Vietnam: Ha Long bay – Hue

Posted on July 6, 2024 by Mel

After my Long Island iced tea adventures last night I woke up at 4am from all the sugar (I felt fine – thanks to B for making me have hydralyte lol) and watched the sunrise.

After an early brekkie we joined a guided tour to explore Luon cave. We chose to go in a sampan rather than a kayak which was a good call as we watched all the kayaks ram into each other. We went through the cave and into a little inlet area, then came back out and saw monkeys!

We were back on the boat around 9am where we had time to shower and then move all our stuff to the dining area. We were then able to sit on the deck or in the dining room – the deck was hot but the dining room was full of idiots. It was a tough choice. They served a light brunch at 10am and then we settled the bill before it was back to the terminal and the 2.5hr drive with a private driver to Hanoi Airport. Settling the bill required me to stand up for about 10 mins on a boat that was ricking back and forth which made me very motion sick…that kept up for the entire rest of the day. Lucky me. I almost threw up multiple times in the car and then at the airport so ended up aching to use one of my odansetron wafers. That definitely helped.

The flight to Hue took just over an hour and it’s a very different kind of place! A little slower paced.

We went to dinner near the hotel – a place called “Hahn Restaurant” which was recommended. It had lots of local people in it which is always a good sign! We tried one of the “Hue specific dishes” here called Nem Lui.

This dish is made up of grilled minced pork rolls on lemongrass stick served with rice paper, vegetable and peanut sauce. You stick it all in the rice paper, wrap it up and then pull the lemongrass out. Then dip!

We are staying 2 nights in Hue at the Eldora Hotel which is a bit flash!

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Day 10 Vietnam: Ha Long Bay and Lan Ha Bay.

Posted on July 5, 2024 by Mel

The boat has early starts which isn’t that big a deal since all the children on board are up early anyway….and they are not quiet. The sun also wakes you up! For those who wanting to be up very early, sunrise is 5:15am followed by 6am Tai Chi on the deck. We skipped both on the first morning on the boat but made it for a 6:45am light breakfast.

Between 7:30 and 8am our group split into those returning to Ha Long Passenger Terminal after 1 night and people like us (across multiple boats) who are staying 2 nights on board. We hopped on a smaller “day boat” with a mixed group to transfer to Lan Ha bay. Lucky us had a group of Australian backpackers on board…behaving exactly as the stereotype suggests. Sigh. On the way to Lan Ha Bay we stopped at Bo Hon Island and had the option to kayak at Dark and Bright caves area. This was a no from me due to the twisting. We got to walk through the cave on Bo Hon island instead which was really cool…and full of bats! Then sit for a little at a beautiful beach.

We were then supposed to head to Ba Trai Dao beach (Three Peaches Beach) for swimming in the crystal water and lazing on the white sand. Apparently there was a change of plans and instead they anchored in Lan Ha Bay and people were able to swim in the bay and jump off the boat. I was a little disappointed as I had been looking forward to that particular beach.

Lunch was served on the boat at 12:30 before we started the 1 hour return to Ha Long bay. We had one additional short stop at the Pearl Farm Exhibition Center and Museum to learn how to raise a pearl farm and harvest pearls. It was hugely touristy /sales focused and you could tell most of the people on the boat were not impressed with it and would have much preferred the beach visit. In addition, they left us there for an hour! I was pissed.

We transferred back to our main boat around 3:30pm to freshen up and relax in the cabin as there were no staff on board – they had gone to collect the new overnight guests. From 5-7pm we had another happy hour (cocktails…yum) followed by 7pm dinner. The boat was totally full last night and I was not coping with the noise levels or the people…I drank 7 Long Island iced teas to help lol. We requested a private dinner this time after seeing the dining area was set up for multiple larger groups and eventually they moved us upstairs which was really nice of them.

I didn’t have to take meds this time after I ate shellfish the night before….despite being assured it wasn’t in the food. They definitely had that sorted this time. It was another beautiful sunset as well, we have been lucky with the weather.

Last night on the boat tonight before we transfer to Hue tomorrow!

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Day 9 Vietnam: Hanoi – Ha Long Bay

Posted on July 4, 2024 by Mel

This section of our trip was done with a larger tour group with “Oriental Sails”. Overall we were happy we went with a smaller boat but of only 13 cabins but visiting the “sites” at the cave and beach was literally hell for us. Imagine 3000 rude tourists stuck in 30m square of beach, ocean and/or cave. No thanks.

We put our scopolamine patches behind our ears before brekkie. These aren’t available for sale in Australia but can be legally imparted and they are amazing – B had no nausea from it and I had minor nausea. Important to test them beforehand though as the small percentage who get side effects get some pretty wild ones you wouldn’t want to experience on a boat in the middle of a bay for the first time!

We were collected by a shuttle bus at 8am from our hotel in Hanoi and arrived at the pier around midday. The terminal was insanity with tourists and guides everywhere. By 12.30 we were (happily) on the boat! We enjoyed a welcome drink while getting a brief introduction about the 2 night cruise and the Vietnamese version of safety guidelines (so…none). We were able to check in to our cabin then.

We had a late lunch while cruising in Ha Long Bay. After about 1.5hrs, we anchored at Titop Island area. Here we had the option to join in on a guided visit to Sung Sot Cave (also called Amazing Cave) which is one of the biggest caves in Ha Long Bay. It was a pretty epic cabe once we got into it but the insane crowds were almost enough to turn us off even trying. We could also climb to the peak of Titop Island for a panoramic view of the bay or relax on the beach…both again came with about 3000 jerk tourists all shoving each other out of the way. We found far more enjoyment from watching the sunset back on the boat with happy hour.

Evenings on the boat have a few options – we can select a communal or private dinner followed by karaoke, cooking classes, relaxing/napping or even join in squid fishing with the crew. After the crew tried to kill me with a full shellfish menu (lucky me…) we watched some of the kids squid fish while we waited for the toddler in the cabin next to use to finally decide to sleep.

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Day 8 Vietnam: Hanoi – Ninh Binh – Bai Dinh – Trang An

Posted on July 3, 2024 by Mel

Today was our last day in the Hanoi area and it was…a little challenging. We have found this part of Vietnam is really, really tourist focused. As in big groups of jerk tourists. That combined with not really vibing well with our guide means we haven’t enjoyed it as much as we had hoped. We have still seen some amazing things though and the food has been delicious.

We left Hanoi this morning for a 2 hour drive to Ninh Binh Province. Our first visit was to Hoa Lu – Vietnam’s former capital before it was moved to Thang Long (Hanoi) in 1010. We also visited the remains of Dinh and Le Kings’ Temples as well as Bai Dinh pagoda – the largest pagoda in Asia. We climbed up and down about 1000 stairs here in 90% humidity and it was definitely not the best experience for me. I had to sit and recover for a good 30 mins and am now having back spasms.

Lunch was at a mass tourist restaurant and to say I was unimpressed is putting it lightly, I acknowledge there are limited options in the area…I was still grumpy about it though.

In the afternoon, we went for a 2hr cruise along the streams in the Trang An area. Along with about 400 other tourists, we rowed through 5 grottos with beautiful stalactites (from 70 to 320m length) and traveled along some beautiful canals with mountain scenery.

Off to Ha Long Bay tomorrow…the centre of “large groups of tourists” in Vietnam lol. We may not make it out without punching someone.

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Day 7: Vietnam – Hanoi sites, food tour and train street

Posted on July 2, 2024 by Mel

Today we started our Hanoi exploration with a walk around The Temple of Literature, which was founded in 1070 by Emperor Ly Thanh Tong to worship Chinese philosopher Confucius. It then became the first university of Vietnam, also known as the Imperial Academy.

We then visited Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum (outside only because the site is closed for maintenance until 15 August each year) and saw the headquarters of the Vietnam Communist Party which is ipposite. We also wandered around “Uncle Ho’s” house on stilts and beautiful garden. Near the mausoleum is the One Pillar Pagoda, an 11th-century wooden temple built on a single stone pillar in the water. It was designed to resemble a blooming lotus and is said to be a just visit for couples with fertility issues. We saw a lot of women there rubbing the statues for good luck

We stopped at My Nge Hong Ngoc which is a not for profit set up by the government to support second and third generation sufferers from Agent Orange physical side effects. The sales staff are a little pushy (not really a surprise) but I mostly ignored them and focused on the fact 80% of whatever I bought went back into supporting skills, education and home care for these people. I got to talk (and have a photo) with the lady who hand stitched the beautiful silk artwork we bought. She has been stitching these for 28yrs and is one of the only artists who does the lotus flower designs. Similar to the Friendship Village, the cause is a good one even if some of the “sales stuff” is a bit much.

In the afternoon, we walked a bit further into the Old Quarter of Hanoi (where our hotel is) and stopped at Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son temple to learn about the legend of the lake and turtle tower. I SAW A TURTLE! We then had an arranged cyclo tour back to the hotel. I wouldn’t do the cyclo tour again even though it is an ethical form of tourism here – it’s not our sort of thing and the traffic is stressful.

Dinner tonight was another food tour! Omnomnom. This one was a bit cheaper than the Saigon tour as it was a small group one. It was also someone organised via our northern tour guide and I think I prefer doing my own research for these sorts of things. We met out guide (and random extra member who was an English backpacker) at the hotel at 5:30pm. We were generally happy at the end of this tour as although it was a hit more informal than the one in Saigon, it was all different food that we had not tried yet. We did note it was definitely less organised than other ones we have done. Despite that, we went to special corner shops, random dark and alleys and up terrifying stairs in restaurants of The Old Quarter.

We tried a variety of street foods including Bún chả ( Grilled pork with noodle) which was made famous by Obama on his visit here, Phở bò,gà (a version of Pho which was dry chicken noodle soup), Bánh cuốn (Steamed rice paper rolls), Bánh Mỳ (Vietnamese sandwich) but Hanoi style with dipping bread, Hoa quả dâm (Mixture fresh-fruit with condensed milk cream and coconut icecream) and Cafe trứng
(the infamous Egg coffee).

During the tour the guide told us about Train Street which is literally a spot where a large passenger train comes through and there are heaps of tiny bars on the side so we went for a look. It’s exactly what it sounds like. Aussie OHS would have a fit haha.

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Day 6: Cai Rang Floating Market (Can Tho) and Hanoi

Posted on July 1, 2024 by Mel

After another early breakfast at the eco lodge that not only didn’t feed me last night but also has beds that feel like concrete….our guide collected us. We caught an early morning cruise to Cai Rang Floating Market- the busiest floating market with heaps of boats. So much people watching! We ate some tasty fresh fruit purchased from one of the boats.

We were meant to walk around a village and visit a rice husking mill but as you can see from that last photo, the weather turned. Instead we went back to the pier early, had highlands coffee and people watched some more. We then visited Binh Thuy ancient house and learnt all about the different aspects of pottery, Chinese gifting and family life during the Nguyen Dynasty.

Around 10am we headed off for Can Tho Airport to take a domestic flight to Hanoi. This meant saying goodbye to our south Vietnam guide John and driver Ben.

When we arrived in Hanoi we were met by our northern guide (Lucie) who took us to the hotel. She is very efficient! In a 30 min car ride she booked us on a food tour tomorrow night, moved our meeting time to 10am instead of 8am and showed us heaps of dog photos haha. She also recommended a restaurant a few mins walk from our hotel (Palago Hotel) in the old quarter.

The restaurant was called Cha Ca Tháng Long and serves Cha Ca – a unique specialty of the Hanoi people. Cha Ca can be made from mudfish or snake headed fish, but the best one is made from Hemibagrus (Ca Lang). The fish bone is removed to keep the meat moist, it is seasoned, covered by hanana leaves and grilled by coals to about 70% cooked. It then comes out to the table and a small table hot plate is used while serving to keep the Cha Ca hot. Cha Ca is served with roasted peanuts, rice noodles, spice vegetables (dill, spring onion, coriander, mint) and fish sauce. It turned out they also have a 2023 Michelin guide mention so I’m super glad we went!

Note to self: next time I plan a trip itinerary like this I need to build in a few nothing days throughout rather than lump them at the end. We have done 3 x early wake ups in a row and have 8 more to go. I have regrets. It’s been so long since we had a trip like this I didn’t even think of it!

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Tropical climates: mosquito repellent, sunscreen, motion sickness and travel vaccinations / meds

Posted on July 1, 2024 by Mel

We have now been to Indonesia (Bali), Thailand and Vietnam in terms of tropical / summer trips and holidays. In each place we have encountered different issues around mosquitoes, sunscreen and motion sickness. Below are what’s worked and what to be aware of as one-bagging, 100ml max limited, pasty-white Australians 🙂

Sunscreen

  • sunscreen is readily available in both Indonesia and Thailand to Australian standards (UVA/UVB 50+) but is expensive so needs to be budgeted for
  • Vietnam did not have many places selling Aussie appropriate sunscreen. Everywhere was k beauty 50ml bottles that were skin whitening and useless. The Internet lied to us about availability and this was an issue while travelling, especially for me who is very sun sensitive. Next time, we will have to allow 200-300ml each of sunscreen in separate 100ml containers in our carry on allowance. For this try we went to multiple places and finally found some small cancer council tubes….at $25 AUD each. Lesson learned.

Bug repellent

  • Last time we travelled to Indonesia and Thailand we took DEET liquid pump spray. It’s now very difficult to travel with that out of Australia and it’s also a challenge when capped at 100ml for carry on only. It’s also worth mentioning Thailand is less of a hassle with mosquitos and has a lower risk of Dengue Fever on the coast so not quite as bad.
  • In Vietnam, we were very aware of the risk of dengue, malaria and that we were visiting in wet season and spending time on the Mekong delta. After some research we used Natrapel Picardin Wipes I got off eBay. These aren’t sold in Australia but are absolutely fantastic and don’t count as a liquid
  • In addition to the wipes, we treated our “main outfits” with permethrin spray for Vietnam. This stuff is extremely toxic if used incorrectly so make sure to read instructions carefully when applying to clothing before you pack. It definitely worked though, we could see the bugs landing on us, not biting and then falling off! Again, not readily available in Australia but can be purchased off Amazon US

Motion sickness

We both get motion sickness of different types. I mostly only get sick in the car and I feel nauseous but don’t often throw up. Bs takes more effort to start (unless we are on a boat, then he’s screwed) but once it starts he can’t stop the vomiting and it is awful. We have tried all the standard meds with minimal luck but seem to have found a good solution now.

  • For cars and buses B only needs Dramamine. This isn’t available on its own in Australia but again…thank you Amazon. I still need a mix so have been taking Dramamine/kwells/caffeine as a combo and that’s making a big difference. In the process of discovering this combo worked we also learnt that travacalm original changed their ingredients a few years ago and this is actually what they have! It’s still hard to find them in Australia post covid though
  • We are spending 3 days on a boat in Vietnam this time so purchased some scopolamine dermal patches from NZ. These stick to your skin behind the ear and last 2-3 days. We are hoping this addresses the issue with motion sickness while on the boat!

Travel Vaccinations and Medications

  • For Thailand and Bali we have never had any special vaccinations. For Vietnam, it was recommended we have a hepatitis double course as well as the encephalitis one (very expensive) as we were going in wet season when there is lots of standing water…and spending time in freshwater rivers. Rabies vaccination wasn’t recommended unless spending extended time in the mountain regions.
  • In terms of medication, Bali and Thailand have private hospitals so worst case you can often get things there. Vietnam was a bit of a different story and I ended up with a letter from my GP and a pack of meds as I was concerned if my back started spasming I wouldn’t be able to access any heath care. We also brought standard meds with us – Panadol, ibuprofen, multivitamins, sting spray, antihistamines, motion sickness stuff, gastro stop etc.
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Day 5: Mekong Delta – Ben Tre – Can Tho

Posted on June 30, 2024 by Mel

After breakfast, the guide and driver collected us at 7:30am and it was a 2- hour drive to Ben Tre province crossing Rach Mieu bridge. Our first visit was at a brick kiln to see how to make bricks traditionally by printing and baking. Those brick kilns are opened in summer time only when there is enough sunshine to dry bricks.

We also visited a coconut processing workshop located along the canals where we drank fresh coconut water.

Upon arrival in Hung Vuong Pier, we boarded a motorized boat on Ben Tre River – one of the tributaries of the Mekong river – while sight-seeing every day activities along the river such as fishing and boats transferring fruits, flowers and rice to local markets and some even bigger coconut factories!

We stopped the boat to visit a coconut candy factory (o bought so much haha) and met some local musicians who performed traditional music. We also sampled some local fruit.

We hopped off the boat and took a Tuk-Tuk (motorized cart) to lunch at a local riverside restaurant. After lunch, we took a rowing-boat (Sampan) along a beautiful water palm creek. We got to say hello to locals…although did it quietly as many were having post-lunch naps on their sampans!

We rejoined our driver to go to Can Tho city which was another 3.5hrs driving and included a slightly nerve racking car ferry. We are staying one night at an ecolodge here which is locally run and pays living wages to locals. I won’t name it as unfortunately our experience hasn’t been amazing – but that was influenced by a very short notice change due to their renovations running over. So, I don’t think it’s reasonable to take this as an accurate reflection. The view has helped soften the blow of no food for me lol

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Day 4: Ho Chi Minh City / Saigon final day – Cu Chi tunnels and reunification palace

Posted on June 29, 2024 by Mel

After breakfast, our local guide collected us at 7:30am and we were off to visit the Cu Chi Tunnels, which are 70 kilometers North West of Ho Chi Minh City. We went early as it was going to be a very hot day…and crowds suck. I am still not coping well with the long drives and feel nauseous a lot because of the stop start approach to driving…even Dramamine can’t save me!

On the way out we stopped at a local factory that employs those injured/with limbs missing from the Vietnam war. They learn how to fresh lacquer art (an old tradition) and sell this to tourists with 50% of sales finding going into programs and supports for them. Very cool type of artwork with shells and beautiful shiny final products.

The tunnels are about a 1.5hr drive from HCMC and make up an underground city with living areas, kitchens, storage, weapon shops, field hospitals, command centers. They were created in 1948 to assist the Viet Minh to combat the French. During the American/Vietnam War, the entire area of Cu Chi was designated a fire free zone and was heavily bombarded. Since 1988, two sections of the tunnels have been open for visitors.

B had some fun firing an M60 machine gun as well.

We headed back to HCMC before lunch and our guide took us to visit the Reunification Palace. We also had lunch at Home Saigon which was absolutely delicious.

We were back at the hotel around 3pm for a poolside rest before tomorrow’s adventure up the Mekong Delta and change of location to Can Tho!

Dinner was Pho at the place full of locals again – it was delicious.

I will miss you Saigon food…..

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Day 3: Vietnam – Ho Chi Minh City / Saigon Walking Street Food Tour

Posted on June 28, 2024 by Mel

Today we had another day mostly to ourselves so more pool time for me as tourist adventuring starts tomorrow. We were recommended to eat at Den Long restaurant by our local guide which is a short walk from the hotel.

We had rice paper rolls, beef spicy noodle soup and some delicious fruit drinks! Well worth a visit.

In the evening we went on a street food tour! We chose one which was a walking one as I’m not confident at all on the back of a motorbike. We went with Street Food Man who comes highly recommended both online and by people we know https://streetfoodman.com/private-street-food-evening-walking-tour-in-ho-chi-minh-city. The cost is quite high for Vietnamese food at $49 USDpp but you’re paying for the experience and guide as well.

Our local guide picked us up at 5:30pm at our hotel by Grab car. We started our food adventure in a non-tourist district tasting ‘Bánh Xèo” and “Bánh Khọt” – The Central, and South’s Rice Pancake with a lot of fresh Vietnamese vegetables and herbs.

We then walked along a street known for its barbecue seafood vendors and headed to a local-favorite restaurant to taste the best “Bò Lá Lốt” (Beef in Wild Betel Leaves). 

We then walked down alleys of food in the heart of street food district (district 3) and sample a tasty “Bột Chiên”, Pan – Fried Rice Cakes with egg and spring onions which is cooked by a local chef with over 25 years experience We also tried sugar cane juice mixed with a little orange – delicious!

We also had to try the tasty Banh Mi – Saigon Baguette!

We kept walking into the centre of district 3 where Nguyen Thien Thuat is – the old appartments now home to dozens of famous Vietnamese street food vendors. On the corner of Seafood alley, we sat with locals and had delicious BBQ seafood (I am allergic to prawns, so some of ours was replaced by BBQ meat)…our menu here was scallops, beef noodles and chicken wings We also tried homemade Forest Banana Sticky Rice Wine which is brewed in a clay pot by Street Food Man owner Vinny and is 40% alcohol!

We finished off the street food walking tour at the night flower market by enjoying an amazing dessert of icecream and folding down the petals of a lotus flower to get it to bloom.

Our local guide then took a Grab car back to our accommodation with us to ensure we got home safely around 9:30pm. We paid in cash at the end and made sure to tip the guide as well – so $49 USD each for the tour and an extra $10 USD to the guide.

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