2024 update.

 

2024 update.

Looks like that's all I wrote at the time, let's see what I can remember! 

The road between Hoi An and Hue crosses the Hai Van Pass which gives spectacular views of the coast, but because of all the rain, our safety was number one priority and there was a potential for landslides on the high road so we travelled through a fairly new tunnel.

Marble Mountain was as described. A mountain made mostly of marble that had been quarried in parts. There were many, many steps to the top and they were hard going. Ken has a 'trick' knee so opts not to climb and Keith really isn't well so he goes to the hospital to get checked out. Long story short, he has dengue fever which can be very dangerous. He has to leave the group but not until his replacement arrives. Keith is a bit of a foodie and he takes us to a restaurant that is vegan (he tells me this in confidence, 'see if anyone twigs') They don't. The Buddha Chicken is just like eating real chicken and everyone is surprised when the secret is out. We get a new TravelIndochina guide. Nice fella, young Aussie, but I don't remember his name. I stayed in touch with Keith for quite a while after our tour. He settled permanently in Vietnam, married and had 2 boys and now runs a bar in Saigon.

Hue is the former Imperial capital of Vietnam, I'm talking centuries ago. We were taken on a cyclo ride around the walls of the citadel and then we went inside. It was very large and ornate. Our local guide was great fun and his mother even made moon cakes for us.

Boat rides are always a good thing and it gives the locals a captive audience. Must be a prime contract to hawk your goods on a river cruise. Anyway, the Perfume River was lovely and the sellers not too pushy, I guess they hoped there was time for us to change our mind and realise what an opportunity we were passing up!

I can't remember the name of our hotel but I remember where it was so I checked google maps. It's called the Hotel Saigon Morin. Not sure if that's what it was when we stayed there but it was a great place.

I think it was here that I went to dinner with Mary and Claire and we shared a bottle of really dubious red wine from Dalat. Hopefully they've perfected their skills in the passing years. Trevor and I met up with Mary and Claire when we went to England in 2013.

This is where we realised how much the protests in Bangkok were really going to impact on us. Our Aussie guide advised us that we should book new flights home that didn't transit BKK. Talk about experience being a great teacher! I didn't have access to the amount of money that new flights required. Luckily Pauline did so we got flights booked that took us through Kuala Lumpur, back to Sydney.

Very hazy on dates, 16 years later but I know we did a road trip to Hanoi and then on to an overnight boat on Halong Bay. Hanoi is all hustle and bustle but you can always find a quiet corner, there are some lovely parks.

Ho Chi Minh once lived in Hanoi and we visited an expansive park/garden where his stilt house was located. There were also large koi ponds with some very big koi fish. His final resting place is also in Hanoi but he doesn't get to 'rest in peace'. Every few years, his body is taken to Russia for whatever it is that they do to keep him preserved. Poor bloke! One of the group got a bit cranky that we didn't actually go into the mausoleum. The itinerary said we would 'visit' but didn't actually say we'd go in and see him. Little bit misleading I s'pose.

Halong Bay is amazing and I got to go back. I feel sorry for the guides in a place like the departure point for Halong Bay cruises. It was heaving with people and he did a great job of making sure we all made it onto the right boat! It was on the return trip to Hanoi that we discovered the delights of chilli salt on fresh pineapple. Roadside vendors were selling and we were buying. I'm not a chilli fan but the guide persuaded me to give it a go and it was pretty good!

Hanoi was our final stop on this wonderful tour and I was absolutely exhausted. I felt like I could have slept standing up. Turns out, I had some sort of virus and medicine being a process of elimination, the doctors did a lot of blood tests and chest x-rays. Malaria was ruled out, as was dengue fever. Never did get a definitive diagnosis, but I felt like I had a recurrence a couple of years later, but nothing since. Certainly made my GP sit up and take notice! Something different for him to deal with.

We arrived home 2nd Dec 2008. Had a terrific time.