Another adventure is afoot...
There and Back again, January 2010... Vietnam via Singapore
So it begins, first leg, Moree to Sydney, Sydney to Singapore - January 15, arriving Singapore 1740 hours at Changi International Airport... Planner Kez and Accountant Cate are off on another Intrepid Challenge...
In Singapore, we meet our third Musketeer - I.T. Andrew from Northern Ireland - craicing young lad we met on our China adventure, who is also up for this Vietnam Experience. After a day in Singapore sampling Chilli Crab and other delightful taste sensations, we are Ho Chi Minh City bound to meet our travel companions and guide....
So 18 Jan is the first real day of the experience and we travel out to the Cu Chi tunnels - a network of over 250km of tunnels from the American War when the Viet Cong controlled a large rural area 30 - 40km from Ho Chi Minh City (then known as Saigon). The trip notes state that "at its height, the tunnel system stretched from Saigon to the Cambodian border. The network, parts of which were several storeys deep, included innumerable trap doors, specially constructed living areas, storage facilities, weapons factories, field hospitals, command centres and even cinemas and kitchens. Today the remaining tunnels have become a tourist major tourist attraction giving visitors a unique sense for what underground life was like during the war." I have to be honest and say I am not looking forward to this bit as I am not much of a war zone junkie!
In the afternoon it is a cyclo tour of the Ho Chi Minh City's highlights - dodging the cars no doubt on the way to the Notre Dame Cathedral.
Jan 19 sees us heading down to the Mekong Delta - the "rice bowl" of Vietnam, so hopefully there will be some lush paddy fields to take photos of (wish I had Tim's lens stablising technology on my camera - damn you Canon!)... at Vinh Long we hop on a river boat for a delta cruise to our evening farm stay accommodation. Next morning hopefully we will go to the floating markets at Cai Be then to the Trang Pagoda before heading back to Ho Chi Minh City where we board the Reunification Express sleeper to Nha Trang - ah, games of King in the Corner with fellow travellers, rickety beds and dodgy train toilets.
21 - 22 Jan we spend wandering in Nha Trang, then we fly to Danang then drive to Hoi An - looking forward to that one, quite a small city compared to the rest, retaining an old world character... if Luke Nyugen and Top Gear are to be believed...
Australia Day we travel to Hue via China Beach and the Hai Van Pass, which is supposed to be one of the most spectacular coastal roads in the world. Hue was founded as a royal city in 1687 and remains today one of Vietnam's major tourist destinations.
28 Jan we fly to Hanoi and wander for the day, then on 29th we head out to Halong Bay for a cruise and stay overnight on a junk in the bay (I dare say there will be a lot of boats out as it is a James Bond boat chase type of location with Limestone Karst formations in the bay - google images for yourself)... very similar scenery to Yangshuo in southern China on our last adventure (except with more water and no Mickey Dee's).
Our last two days before heading home is spent back in Hanoi, before flying back to Singapore, saying fare thee well to I.T. Andrew, and heading back to Moree via Sydney... I am exhausted just thinking about it - sooo much work to do in the mean time before I go... stay posted for photos and adventure tales...
Cheers
Planner Kez...
