Temperature Change

Saturday, January 2 - Coming just a few hundred kilometers north to Hanoi has made a real difference in temperature. Even in Nha trang, the weather was reaching at least 30 degrees every day. But it's a lot chillier here.

When we landed yesterday, it was drizzly (the first rain we've seen since leaving Malaysia) and only 17 degrees. We had to dig our sweaters out of our backpacks as soon as the luggage came off the carousel.

We walked around old Quarter last night - such a bustling area, full of narrow streets and loads of shops, restaurants, and bars. It's charming, if a bit chaotic with pedestrian and moto traffic. We're anxious to see it in daytime.

so today we're off to do the walking tour outlined in Lonely Planet. We might need to pick up an umbrella or a wind breaker because the weather is calling for rain all day. Our hotel room doesn't have a window, so we're not sure yet what we're up against.

Last stop: Hanoi

Friday, January 1 – Happy New Year, everyone, from our final destination in Vietnam. Okay, in truth it’s not really our last stop. We’re planning a side trip to Halong Bay over the next couple of days, which will include an overnight stay on a junk cruise ship in the harbour. Can’t wait.

In the meantime, we’ve checked into the Hanoi Fortune Hotel, took a little walk around the neighbourhood, and scouted out a few places to eat. We even stopped at a very local pho place - with very tiny stools and little tables on the sidewalk right next to the traffic.

Okay, what's next?

New Years Eve in Nha Trang

Thursday, December 31 – We’re so lame. Here we are, in a vibrant , bustling resort town with loads of bars and restaurants, and we decide that, after walking around town for a bit and seeing the locals and the backpackers all celebrating in their own parts of town, that the best choice for us would be to buy a couple of bags of chips and some drinks and head back to our room to watch TV.

We’ve become old people.

Well really, if we were back in Ottawa, it probably wouldn’t have been much different. Yes, we probably would have made it to a house party, but we probably wouldn’t have stayed much later than midnight.

As it was, we barely made it to midnight as we turned off the light. Of course, we had another early flight the next day, so we have an excuse, but still. Old.

Anyway, have a look at the few photos we snapped around town before we hit the sack.

Hello, my Friend!

Thursday, December 31 – If someone stops you in Vietnam to chat, they want something. Invariably. If someone approaches you in English, be wary. It might be a motorcycle driver who wants to give you a tour. It might be a handicapped person selling postcards. It might be an artist looking to show you his portfolio. It might be an unemployed person looking for spare change. It might be a tour operator looking for clients.

It’s sad to say, but it’s never just someone looking to meet a new person. The lesson is: be prepared when you hear the question “How are you today, my friend?”

Wine and Cheese

Wednesday, December 30 – On our first night in Nha Trang we were just exhausted. After all, we had woken at 4am and hadn’t slept all day (aside from an ocean-side doze).

As a result, we didn’t feel like heading out to a restaurant to eat (plus, we’re starting to get a bit “riced out”). So we scouted out a store that offered wine and selection of cheeses – Gruyere, Edam, laughing cow. We picked up enough for dinner and then found a street vendor who was selling Banh Mi – a type of stuffed baguette sandwich. She sold us a couple of fresh warm baguettes and sent us on our way.

Dinner was ready!

Sailing Club

Wednesday, December 30 – The Sailing Club was our hang out during our stay in Nha Trang. It’s about a 2 minute walk from our hotel, they have beautiful grass huts and comfortable beach chairs, and there’s a bar and restaurant attached. It was ideal (if a bit pricey).

Plus they had a very good-looking security guard. We were naughty and took a few photos of him when he wasn’t looking (Shame on us!). Anyway, check him out along with these other shots we took around the sailing club.

Not an Ordinary Beach Town

Wednesday, December 30 – We’ve decided there are two typical styles of beach town. The kind we visited on Langkawi earlier in December is a proper beach town. Little shops lining a small two-lane road with lots of little restaurants that back directly onto the beach. That’s the type of beach town we’ve grown accustomed to – the same type we visited in Costa Rica early in 2009.

The other type of beach town is more resort-based – with large high rise Sheratons and Novotels lining the main street. There are very few if any little restaurants on the beach itself. This is what Nha Trang was like. It’s closer to a city than a village. This is what we imaging Honalulu must be like.

To be perfectly honest, we prefer the beach village style better – it just seems homier – but Nha Trang has captured our hearts as well. It’s a really lovely place to relax on the beach, and while the small business might not be clustered quite so closely together, there are still lots of little shops and restaurants in which to drop a few bucks.

Arrived in Nha Trang

Wednesday, December 30 – We had to wake up at 4am in order to make our 6am flight to Nha Trang, so we were tired and cranky by the time we arrived at the hotel. But the crankiness soon faded when we saw that we were only steps from a beautiful beach on a sunny day!

We were worried we wouldn’t be able to check in, since we arrived at the hotel around 7:30am – but they couldn’t have been more accommodating. They had our room all ready and waiting. And yes, we know it doesn't looklike much, but for $15 a night, who cares. It was clean and close to the beach! So we ducked in, changed into swimwear, grabbed a bite at a nearby Pho restaurant (one of the worst so far) and then high-tailed it to the beach to rent some deck chairs.

Who can stay cranky on a sunny beach?

Horny Drivers

Tuesday, December 29 – One last note about traffic in Vietnam. Everyone uses their horns. Motorcycles honk at pedestrians and cyclists, cars honk at motos, trucks honk at cars, and busses honk at everyone.

The honking isn’t meant to offend – like it is in Canada - it’s just about serving notice that you’re coming up behind someone and are about to pass. Still, it can get pretty noisy during rush hour.

But what’s most interesting is, if you stay in it for a while as a passenger, you start to notice some patterns. Everyone has their own way of honking. Many people simply use a short toot-toot, but one taxi we took, for instance, used 4 sharp taps in quick succession. Every time it was the same. Another cab driver simply laid on the horn – which seems a bit excessive given the short bursts most drivers use.

Some vehicles have help to create a unique sound. Many cars have a two-tone horn that alternates quickly back and forth, like a fast british siren (doo-dee-doo-dee-doo). And the city busses have a loud horn, that has a slow decay rate. So once the driver lifts his hand, the horn fades slowly away.

It’s the music of the city and, annoying as it can be as a pedestrian, it’s still fascinating.

Found ‘Round HCMC

Tuesday, December 29 – Basically We spent the better part of two days walking around the city. But what really turned out to be the big draw wasn’t the few simple and uninspiring tourist spots, but rather the everyday culture. Things that are probably mundane to the average denizen of HCMC – street vendors, traffic snarls, Market colours and smells – are all new and fascinating to visiting Canadians.

Still, we’re probably pretty much done with HCMC. It’s a big metropolis, but it’s not a pretty city. Functionally, it’s more like NYC – a place to go for shopping and nightlife and food. But travelling as a backpacker means nightlife and shopping are right out. There’s no room to carry purchases, and you can’t pack clothes for going out dancing.

So in the future, we’d be more likely to spend our time in NYC – it’s closer and easier to navigate, although much more expensive too. We probably won’t be back to HCMC. Certainly not on this trip. On to beachier and better!

Our New Toy

Tuesday, December 29 – With no tax and slightly lower prices, we decided to take advantage of our host country and buy a new pice of camera equipment. Haven’t had a chance to play with it yet, but our new Speedlight SB-600 flash will hopefully make low-light photographs look better than we’ve been able to

Wanker Taxi and Back on the Bus

Tuesday, December 29 – In order to get to Cholon (Chinatown) we had to have help. We chose to take a metered taxi, since the guidebook suggested rides within town generally only cost a few dollars.

Well, not this one. The meter started where it was supposed to, but it seemed to climb very quickly. It wound up costing us about US$20 for the ride. If that were the price in Ottawa, we wouldn’t have batted an eyelash, but this is Vietnam!

We probably should have negotiated a price rather than relied on the meter. Oh well. Lesson learned.

We decided not to chance it on the way back to our hotel. The public bus terminal was right smack in the middle of Cholon and we had some experience with the bus. It cost us only about US$0.15 each to ride back to our area of town – and it was pretty much just as fast as the cab.

For anyone going to HCMC, it’s worth figuring out the bus system.

It’s a bit different from what we’re used to in Ottawa. Instead of paying when you get on the bus, you just go sit down (how civilized) and after a few minutes, once you’re had a chance to get comfortable, the bus conductor (who works alongside the driver) comes along to sell you a ticket. Nice system.

Of course labour is cheap and plentiful and so HCMC can afford to have two employees on each bus and enough busses running to prevent a “standing room only” situation – the norm on Ottawa busses – that would make it tricky for the conductor to do his job.

Chinatown: Temples and Markets

Tuesday, December 29 – Day two was a bit harder to fill. After having completed the Lonely planet walking tour there wasn’t a lot left. But the guidebook did have a suggestion: Chinatown (an area of town called Cholon.)

Chinatown is much less Chinese than it used to be, but there’s still a good size population there, as well as a biiiig wholesale market and several beautiful Buddhist pagodas. We spent our time checking out those sites.