Tamarind Restaurant LP

So for our one month anniversary we decided to check out Tamarind restaurant in Luang Prabang. It comes highly recommended, and we weren't disappointed.

The restaurant prides itself in doing traditional Laos food.
When we got to the restaurant we were worried that we wouldn't get a table as it was pretty busy, but luckily someone was just leaving as we arrived so we managed to grab their table.
The menu explains how traditional Laos food is ordered and how it should be eaten. You should never order one main for yourself but rather a number of dishes for the table and share. It can be considered rude to pull one dish in front of yourself to eat.

Using this advice we ordered the rice & dips set, the stuffed lemongrass and the bean salad to share.

I also ordered a lemongrass granita - which is probably as far from traditional as you can get- but it tasted delicious.

When the food arrived the waiter explained how to eat it. The sticky rice comes in a bamboo basket. You then take a bit out the basket and form it into a ball, which is then dipped into the various dips that come with it. The dips included a tomato and onion dip (kind of like a salsa), a smoked aubergine dip, and sweet and smoky chill dip that comes with dried buffalo skin on top and a green chilli dip. It also came with dried river seaweed with sesame seeds, that were like chips and very delicious.

The stuffed lemongrass is made by rolling minced chicken and herbs into a cigar shape, then stuffing it in the lemon grass and deep frying. It was served witha peanut dipping sauce, that was actually just ground peanuts in a watery type sauce. Very different to the 'normal' satay type peanut sauce but it was delicous nonetheless. The green bean salad was served warm and had a delicious garlic and soya sauce.

Afterwards Jeremy had some coffee and ordered a sweet tray for desert. It was explained that these sweets will normally be eaten as snacks as like a lot of Asian countries Laos people don't normally eat desert.
These were interesting and most had a jelly like texture. One was made from sticky rice that was cooked and slightly sweetened and steamed in banana leaf. This had a very interesting texture.

All in all it was a great meal, the food was really good and it was nice to try some traditional food. Recommended.





The restaurant




The rice dipping platter




Jeremy and the food! Stuffed lemongrass in the front, dipping platter in the middle and the green bean salad back right.



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Location:Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang Day 19

So our second day in LP was also our 1 month wedding anniversary, and we hadn't planned to do much but ended up doing quite a bit.
We decided that we would hire bicycles and cycle around the city, so after breakfast we headed off to find bikes to rent. After going to a couple that needed our passports as a deposit we eventually found someone who would accept our drivers license and we were ready to go. As I said before Laos is quite relaxed so hiring bikes is a very good way to see the city.
We decided that we would go to get massages and had read that the Red Cross charity give massages and the money you pay will go towards charity projects in Laos so it seemed like the best place to get a massage! The building itself is a bit run down and tired, and the place is a little grotty but the massages were really good and very cheap. We paid 40 000kip (just over 3pounds) for a 1 hour full body massage. The women used a balm which reminded me of tiger balm - but just not as strong- which she rubbed over my body during the massage. And while it is similar to a Thai massage in that they use their body weight to press down on your muscles, she didn't click my joints or twist my body like a Thai massage normally does. This is a not a bad thing because sometimes a Thai massage is more of a workout than it is relaxing :) The massage was very good though and just what we both needed.
After the previous day's heat we decided to have a look online to try and find a public pool somewhere in Luang Prabang where we could go for a dip. We found a bar that has a pool and decided to go check it out. La Pistoche is a bar pretty far out of town, down a side road in between the houses. The drive there was amazing in itself. As soon as you turn off the main road the roads become gravel and the houses become more and more rural. With the mountains all around you it really doesn't feel like you are in a town anymore and we stopped a couple of times just to admire the view.
Anyway we got to the bar and really enjoyed the pool. You pay 20 000kip to use the pool for the day and we also got some fruit smoothies which were really good and we shared a pad thai which was also tasty. I don't think many people know about the place so it wasn't too busy. And later on we were joined by a fair few Laos families who bring their kids to swim too. The pool was heaven in the heat and we lazed around for a couple of hours, reading and catching up on our blogging.
After looking at the map I suggested that we go for a bit of a drive before heading back to the guesthouse. I had seen that there were 2 bridges that crosses the Nam Khan river so thought we could cross both of them and that way see the other side of the river banks too. LP is surrounded by the Mekong river on one side and the Nam Khan river on the other. We crossed over the Sisavangvong bridge, which is a bridge for motorbikes and cyclists only and has some wooden slats over which you can drive in single file. Across the river is even more remote as it is almost unaffected by tourists so it was really nice to cycle through the streets. We then decided to cross the river using the bamboo bridge. This bridge only exists in the dry season, as during the wet season the river is too strong and the bridge which is made completely from bamboo is swept away. Each dry season a family rebuilds it. You have to pay 5000 kip (about 40p) to cross the bridge and this is used for materials and labour to rebuild the bridge next year. While we were crossing the bridge it is easy to imagine that you have stepped back in time and we enjoyed watching the kids swimming and playing in the river below us.
Once we reached the other side of the river we started making our way back. We passed by a temple and decided to stop and take a look. After a short stop, the sunset and river looked too tempting so we bought some beers and took the flight of steps down to the riverside to enjoy the sunset. Halfway through our drinks 2 girls came down with a longtail boat driver for a sunset cruise. We decided to join them. What a great way to see the sunset, he took us up the river for about 30mins before turning around. It was quite an eye opener to see the families washing their clothes and themselves in the river as its easy to forget how poor the Laos people are. They are all smartly dressed and living in built houses, rather than the mud huts and tattered clothes you see in Africa, so you forget that they are just as poor. We noticed that the family a couple of houses down from our guesthouse cooked all their meals on a clay pot in which fire is made outside their house. They obviously have no kitchen and all the food is either cooked in pots on top of the 'braai' or braaied. We saw many people washing themselves and even shampooing their hair in the river, all the while keep covered up in their silk skirts. It was a truly memorable experience and a sight I will always remember.
As a special treat for our anniversary we decided to go to Tamarind restaurant for dinner as we had read good things about it. I will do a separate post on this as I think it merits its own post...
All in all it was a great day and a great one month anniversary!




The pool at La Pistoche




The streets on the outskirts of LP




Sisavangvong bridge




Bamboo bridge




Sunset cruise




Bathtime on the banks of the Mekong




Cooking outside the house
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Location:LP

Luang Prabang Day 18

So we decided to skip the 26hour bus journey from Hanoi to Luang Prabang and flew instead. Our flight was slightly delayed by Vietnam Air, but they let us know the day before the flight that they time had changed and it suited us better so we weren't complaining. And when we got to the airport we were given a free lunch, so we were pretty happy about the time change. We are never going to say no to some free pho :)
Flying into LP you get to see the beautiful mountains of Laos and even from the plane you can see that Laos is going to be a lot more relaxed than Vietnam was. Flying into HCMC was like flying into an ants nest with all the bikes and people but flying into LP it's more mountains and green spaces. This is exactly what we want to see after 2 weeks of crazy Vietnam and I could already see that I'm going to love it.
As we arrived in LP and went through passport control I had the immigration officer staring at me for about a minute not saying anything. I started getting nervous that something was wrong with my visa only for him to say "you are very beautiful!!" lol first time I have ever been picked up in passport control. A pretty interesting place to pick up men, but hey.
We didn't have anywhere to stay in LP but had read that there are tons of places behind Joma bakery so we decided to make our way there. Once we got the bakery the aircon and fruit shakes sounded to good to miss so we decided to sit down for a bit. Little did we know we will be visiting Joma quite a bit in the trip....They are pretty much like a Laos starbucks, the food was good and they were about 2 mins from our hotel so it was a convenient breakfast stop!
Anyway we eventually ended up at Somjith guesthouse the main selling point being the balconies...although LP was so hot that I don't think we used it once. But the room was good and cheap and the place is family run so it was a good choice.
After settling in we headed out for something to eat and ended up at Saffron cafe. One thing about LP is the number of bakeries/cafes around. Because it was a french colony at one point there is still quite a strong french presence which means a number of cafes, good coffee and loads of baguettes. I suppose it's not really a true reflection of Laos but they are awesome after a couple of weeks of Asian food. We got a great salad and wrap which was exactly what we needed. Jeremy even went as far as to say its one of the best salads he has ever had...but I think that might just be the lack of salads talking ;)
We headed off for a walk around town and happened across a temple with some monks doing their prayers. It was a pretty awe inspiring thing to hear, about 20 or so voices chanting in a temple in front of you that is glistening and glowing in the sun that is setting over the mekong behind you.
We couldn't miss the sunset so headed over to the river for a sundowner, a sight we saw quite a bit in LP but one I never tired of.
We then decided to walk around the town a bit and check out the Laos new year celebrations. Unfortunately for us we had just missed the main bit of the new year where everyone is out on the streets spraying each other with water. It sounds like it would be an amazing thing to have seen and I wish we had planned that a bit better! But oh well. We went to the main temple where they have a buddha statue. Everyone then takes water and pours it in big gutters which then pours the water over the buddha statue. There are also monks around the temple that have bracelets and flowers etc that people seem to buy. All the while there are monks chanting, and people praying. The mixture of the incense,chanting and perfumed water makes for a very spiritual atmosphere. It made me really interested in the religion as there are so many symbolic rituals and customs which makes it fascinating.
After seeing this I did some research and found here:
Water is for washing homes, Buddha images, monks, and soaking friends and passers-by. Students first respectfully pour water on their elders, then monks for blessings of long life and peace, and last of all they throw water on each other. The water is perfumed with flowers or natural perfumes. Some people prefer flowers in the water to give a pleasant smell, as well as adding cologne/perfume. The idea of watering came from the legend of King Kabinlaphom, whose seven daughters kept his severed head in a cave. The daughters would visit their father's head every year and perform a ritual to bring happiness and good weather.
In late afternoon or evening of the last day, in the temples, the Buddha images are moved back to their permanent homes. On that same evening devotees go to wats to listen to the monks chanting as an act to ask for forgiveness from the monks as well as from the Buddha images for what they did (pouring water on them) in this past few days that might have accidentally touched them (monks and Buddha are not to be touched). After that, a vien tien – a candlelight procession – takes place around the wat and that is the end of the Lao New Year celebration.
One thing we did notice straight off is that Laos is a lot more conservative than Thailand and Vietnam. They request the ladies not to walk around in Bikini tops and men can't walk barechested. It is also frowned upon to show affection in public. I think this is probably due to the strong religious presence.
I ended up buying a longer skirt as I felt uncomfortable at the temples, especially during the new year rituals, in my shorts.
It definitely makes for a change from Thailand and Vietnam's sex industries and girls in short skirts...but its definitely not a bad thing! Although all that goes out the window once you get to Vang Vieng, but that we will talk about in another post.
Candice




Little boy outside the temple while the monks are chanting




Temple in the sunset








New year celebrations - washing the buddha




Sunset over the mekong
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Location:Luang Prabang

Halong Bay Day 15,16 & 17

We decided to do the 2 nights 3 days ha long bay tour. Most people that do the South East Asia route and go through Vietnam will tell you to stay at Hanoi Backpackers. It also comes with great recommendations so we decided to stay there for our time in Hanoi. We stayed at the original hostel. Sadly they were doing reservations so the rooftop bar was not open so we missed out on that front. They did have happy hour at 5 in the street. The nice thing about the backpackers is the English guides who work there who can tell you about the good places to eat and places to go out. We also found out later that the new Hanoi backpackers 15 minutes walk from the old one was fully operational so we went to check it out. It's really cool built over a couple floors and has a great vibe.

Anyways back to Ha Long Bay. We were picked up at 7:30am. Our guide Steve an Irishman was an absolute legend.
I got chatting to him quite a bit. A qualified Actuary he worked in Australia for 11 months before going backpacking through asia. He decided that he liked Vietnam and Hanoi so got a job through the hostel.
He does the tours 6 days a week but then also gets a chance to stay on castaway island which i will talk more about later. He is not the only guide I met about I met 3 others and their stories are all pretty similar. They were backpacking through Asia went to Hanoi and the Hanoi backpackers did a trip to Ha Long Bay and enjoyed it do decided to stay. None of the are employed legally they are simply on tourist visas.

The trip from Hanoi to Ha long bay takes about 4 hours. The road is really bad and busy which makes for an interesting bus ride. I've mentioned it before but the rules of the road are non existent in Vietnam and we had a few near misses. It was raining when we arrived which was a break from the overwhelming heat. We got on a small long tail type boat which takes you out to a bigger boat waiting in the bay. We got onto the big boat were given our rooms. After that we were served lunch on the boat which was really good. Most meal times inI Vietnam involve rice. We had crispy pork some veg, potato chips. After that we were summoned to the deck of the boat to begin playing drinking games. The Hanoi Bacpacker tours have a reputation of having a party atmosphere and we were not to be disappointed. Steve said he had 4 drinking games he would teach us. The first one was really simply it involved heads and tails with a coin toss and depending on if you get the call correct or not you drink. Suffice to say you end of consuming quite a bit of beer fast. After a bit of drinking we all went for a swim in the bay which was good. It was then time for kayaking. We hopped into our kayaks and paddle through the bay and ended up on a hong with a cave. Quite interesting paddling in a kayak a bit tipsy. One guy had to much to drink and had to be taken back to the boat. Another game that applied right throughout was Buffalo. For those that don't know you aren't allowed to drink with your right hand. If you drink with your right hand and some catches you and says buffalo you have to down your drink. Whilst we were paddling some people were caught buffalo by Steve which was quite funny. Steve was very strong about this rule and would hassle you till your drink was done. From the cave we went to a small fishing village. By this time it was getting Dark so we left our kayaks at the village and got a boat back to our big boat in the bay. After a shower and a nice dinner it was time for drinking games again. The boat had happy hour on the cocktails with by two get one free. We played a game with a couple packs of cards where each card had a certain rule with people having to do different things. After all the stiff drinks it got pretty wild. We were broken up into two teams so when you picked a certain card it meant that you could challenge the other team. Steve obviously had played this game a couple times so made suggestions to each team about what we should dare the other team to do. Some of the dares involved thinks like drink fish sauce out the other teams belly buttons, Sadly I was captain I the team so ended up doing this. Not a pleasant experience but being spurred on by 15 other drink people I couldn't exactly say no. One dare was ludicrous which was to sniff salt out someone's else's bum which some guy ended up doing. Another one of the cards I think 8 meant the whole game stoppe d. You had to stand on your chair and tell one of your most embarrassing moments to everyone. Their we're a couple Americans aboard the boat and needless to say some of the stories were quite interesting. One guy told how he was caught having sex in a park by a granny. I had a good chuckle at a Spanish girl who in her broken English said " I like sex on beach. Once I get caught having sex on beach". What was remarkable about this was that on the Saturday night she ended up with a Dutch guy in full view of everyone having sex in the water. Clearly she was not lying.
Anyways after the drinking games the music was turned up a big party erupted on the boat. We all ended up at about 1 in the morning on there deck of the boat.

We were woken up early on the second day at 7:30am. Needless to say everyone had a massive hangover. Breakfast on the boat was not great eggs which looked like rubber and bacon which was so crunchy it had been so deep fried. There were some bananas so I opte for those. Time to change boats onto another boat which would take us to castaway island. Castaway island from my understanding is owned by Hanoi Backpackers. Its really just a beach with some huts, a bar and eating area, toilets and showers literally in the middle of nowhere in Ha log bay. The great thing about the day is that there are loads of activities organised. You can choose between wake boarding or tubing, do rock climbing, play volleyball, kayaking or just generally relax. It was really a good day on the island and everyone had a good time. lunch and dinner were served again which with both were 10 times better than the breakfast. Candice and I did the tubing which good fun although we were flung from the tube quite a few times an had some nasty wipeouts. Candice has a massive bruise on her leg and I ended up with a couple myself. All the time whilst you are on the boats in Ha long bay you spot the Jelly fish which are massive. Literally bigger than anything I have seen. My only worry after coming off the tube is that one would get hold of me but fortunately I was lucky enough not to.

During dinner in the evening I was not feeling great quite queasy and nauseas so went and had a lie down from 6:30 till about 9pm. After waking up I went back to the main area an drinking games were in full swing. The good thing is that our group had joined up with another group so some people were playing the games and others had opted out and were just having a quiet drink. I personally was still a bit worse for wear from the previous night so just took it easy. The next morning we were woken early again to make the long trip back through Ha long Bay and then another 4 hour bus journey back. We were essentially away for 3 days two nights and it was really good and we met a lot of people during our stay. I added a couple of them on Facebook an hope to stay in touch when we are back in London.

The party boat aside Ha long bay is also dubbed the 8th Natural wonder of the world. To be honest it's an extremely scenic place. I had seen lots of pictures online but actually being on the boats in the bay was a brilliant experience the place has a surreal kind of feel to it. I would highly recommend the rock hard rock long tour through Hanoi backpackers but if you dont do it do go to ha long bay as it worth seeing.





Halong bay crew



Ha long bay



Kayaking



Chilli sauce out the belly buttons



Party time




Castaway island


View from our beds at castaway island




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Location:Ha long bay

Hanoi day 14

After our lovely train journey we arrived in Hanoi.
Hanoi is the capital city of Vietnam and just as crazy busy as HCMC. We met up with Ben an american guy we met on the train to Danang and shared a cab with him and another american couple as we were all going to the same backpackers.

We had booked to stay in the Hanoi backpackers cos it has a good reputation and has been recommended by lots of people. Unfortunately for us they are busy renovating so we actually stayed in a hotel next door to the temporary hostel and it meant that the legendary rooftop bar was out of action. On a side note we did check out their new hostel and it looked awesome. We didn't see the rooms but the terrace bar etc looked amazing and made us quite jealous!

As we arrived we were told that the power was out as the grid was overloaded because of the aircons etc so we couldn't check into our rooms yet. After 12 hours on a train it wasn't the best news but we decided to go for a walk instead. We found a Pho24 which is basically like KFC but for pho. We decided to check it out and the Pho was really good actually. On the way back to the hostel we walked past Fanny's icecream and with a name like that and Jeremy's competition ice cream eating abilities we decided we had to try it.The ice cream was seriously good, they have tons of different flavours and even do speciality platters where the icecream is shaped like sushi or springrolls.

After that we went back to the hostel and still no power. At this stage a shower couldn't wait so we showered by torchlight which was an interesting experience!

We then went for a walk around the city to Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum. Here you can basically see Ho's embalmed body. Ho Chi Minh is something of a vietnamese hero and his pictures are everywhere. For someone that wanted to be cremated so as not to cause a fuss, the adoration is quite weird, he must be turning in his grave (or glass box as it were). Unfortunately for us it was closed but we got some pictures outside.

Hanoi is a big city but it definitely has a different feel to it than Saigon. The streets are lined with trees and there are lots of smart clothing shops and boutiques etc. I really enjoyed walking around and getting lost in the streets and there were definitely some interesting sights....One of which is the endless amount of street cafes which serve some weird and wonderful meat. Whole roasted ducks with their beaks still attached, little whole roasted birds(they looked like they could be sparrows or something similar.) and even snails.

After some street beers at the hostel and chatting to some fellow travellers we headed out for something to eat. For dinner we looked up a restaurant in the guide book and decided to check it out. Quan An Ngon. It was seriously good and I would recommend anyone visiting Hanoi to go there. Basically like a slightly more upmarket street kitchen you have tables in the middle with different stations on the outside cooking up different specialities. We ordered some Dalat wine (a vietnamese wine) which is the only affordable wine and actually has grown on me. At this stage I think all of us were a bit sick of beer. After looking at the menu we couldn't decide what to get so decided to order bunch of stuff for the 3 of us (Ben joined us for the day) to share. We got chatting to the one waiter who could speak english and he decided to be our guide for the food. Hetook us to each station and explained what the food was and if we liked the sound of it we ordered some. Needless to say by the time we were done we had ordered tons of food. Everything was really good though and it was a good way to try out the different foods on offer.

After dinner we decided to head back as we had a 7am wake up call for our Halong bay adventure which Jeremy will blog about later!!


Candice



Hanoi- train running through the city



Mausoleum



Street food


Some of the yummy food




The restaurant



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Location:Hanoi Vietnam

Hue - the Imperial city Day 13

First things first,Hue is pronounced hu-ay, not hue as Jeremy keeps calling it :) Although I still have to correct myself everytime I say it.

So after our train journey we arrive at Hue train station. We heard loads about the taxi & hotel touts outside the station but we still got haggled and bombarded. One guy tried to convince us that he was working for one of the hotels we had found in the guidebook but we didn't believe him as almost everyone was trying to get us to come with them. Only after the taxi drove behind this guy almost the whole way did we realise he was telling the truth. We felt pretty embarrassed once we realised this!
We eventually started walking to the town and flagged a taxi that was driving past. We didn't have anywhere to stay and just gave him a name of a hotel we picked online. What a good choice. We stayed in Hung Vuong Inn which is a family run place above the restaurant. Everyone was so friendly, and we ate dinner in the restaurant which was really good. We tried the Hue speciality which is a mixture between a filled omelette and pancake.It is deep fried and filled with beansprouts, pork and shrimp and was very tasty. The kitchen is behind a glass screen which means you can see them cooking the food which is quite reassuring in Vietnam as some of the kitchens our food came out of before were pretty dodge :)After dinner we decided on a early night as I was feeling a bit ill and went off to bed.

Up early the next day we had some fruit smoothies downstairs which were delicious and off we went to check out the town.
We walked to the imperial part of the city which has a citadel and old temples. It was a pity that we were leaving for Hanoi that night as they were busy setting up for a festival around the moat that looked like it would be good.
We walked around a bit and checked out the old city which was pretty intersting. It was originally built in 1802 but was heavily bombed in the war so has been restored since then.

After the imperial city we decided that we needed a break so stopped for some beer at a riverside cafe and spent some time just watching the world go by.

We had decided to pay a little extra (well 6 dollars to be exact) to check out late which was the best money we have spent in a while! After a shower and packing we decided to check out an Italian restaurant that had been recommended. After a week and a half of rice and noodles it was good to have some pasta and pizza!

We went back to the hotel checked out and hoped that our train journey would be better than the one from Nha Trang to Da nang. We had booked a soft sleeper so we were hoping it would be good.
Luckily someone was looking out for us as the compartment was clean and lovely and only had 3 of us in it. We had a long journey ahead (over 12hours) but it went by quite quickly.

Next stop Hoi An.





Hue speciality- Banh Khoai


The river in Hue





Imperial City wall- Noon gate





Riverside local huda beer- yum!
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Location:Hue Vietnam

Hoi An Day 12

After my last post about Hoi An we went for a nice run around the old quarter on the town. Its so humid and hot that after 6kms you are absolutely soaked in sweet. After the run we decided to try one of the recommended restaurants. It was called Cafe Can and we tried some of the local dishes. We ordered a white rose (banh bao) as a starter which is steamed manioc parcels of finely diced crab or shrimp complemented by a crunchy onion flake topping. For main I had the cao lau which was a nice little dish. Its thick rice flour noodles bean sprouts and pork rind croutons. Legend has it that the genuine article is cooked using water from one particular local well. Candice had some fish which was served in a banana leaf which was also very nice. The nice thing about each place we have visited in Vietnam is that most of them have a unique type of food or speciality. Some places also have a local beer to which is great. Chase an american chef who we met in Nha Trang and then we bump into him every now and again in different the various towns we are visiting also keeps telling us which different foods to try.
Hoi Ann is also well known for its tailors. Literally just outside the old quarter on some streets every second shop is a tailor. On our way back to our hotel I saw a really nice shirt so I thought it would be at least a good idea to have one made. I inquired about price and the woman said that if I took two I would get a cheaper price. I wasn't in the mood for bargaining so ended up taking two. The Woman in the shop was very helpful and did our measurements in record time. Candice had a dress made which she was really happy about.
We were leaving the next day at 2pm but she said that she could have the clothes ready at 11.
We got up early on the day of departure so that we could do some final exploring. On our way out I decided to ask the tailor if she could fix my jeans with a hole.She happily obliged and did a really good job on them. Navigating through the old quarter we took a walk over and some pictures of the old chinese bridge. Hoi An at some point was a port for the chinese and the buildings which are ancient really feels like you have gone back in time. We stopped for a shake and some water to refuel and then headed back to the tailor to pick up our clothes. We got there at 11 the time she said we should be there but there was nobody in the shop. We sat in the shop waiting and she eventually appeared on her motorcycle. Whilst we were in the shop 5 South African girls came in who were also getting stuff made and we chatted to them for a bit. Candice tried on her dress and it was slightly to small. The tailor lady took one look and said no problem. She took the dress from candice and headed off on her bike. She came back about 10 minutes later with the dress altered.
It was a scorcher of a day and our train was at 2:45pm so we had to make the most of the day so continue to walk around the old quarter and its shops. Candice found a nice little clothing shop and bought one or two items. We continue a little further down the street and noticed the blocked off. It turned out to be a school with children all leaving. It looks like the kids leave the school at lunch and then come back at 2 when its cooler in the afternoon. I noticed the kids all hustling around a bike with a very old man who was selling ice cream. It was a day for ice cream and the kids were like flies on a fish carcus all jostling to get one.
Time to head back to our hotel and Im sweating my chops off so had a swim in the pool. We chilled for about half an hour then the taxi driver picked us up to take us to Da Nang to get our train. Another interesting car journey. The rules of the road don't exist in Vietnam its absolutely mental. I've only seen once accident in Vietnam but its amazing we haven't seen more. The most fascinating thing to me is how they just drive on the wrong side of the road at oncoming traffic to get to a side street. Our train was slightly delayed but it was also our first journey sitting and not sleeping. Candice had read the journey from Da Nang to Hue was worth seeing so we did the train seating instead of sleeping. It was also a good way to break up the journey from Da Nang to Hanoi. The journey was really scenic. The tracks wound along the mountains and there were great views of the sea etc. The trip was also memorable because we were two of about 4 westerners in the carriage so the Vietnamese people were very inquisitive and interested of us. You really do feel like all eyes are on you and stick out like a sore thumb. The train we are on is going all the way to Da Nang so the served some food on the train. You get a plate and the point out a couple things. I was tempted to try some but the flies and cleanliness put me a tad off so I gave it a miss.




The Ancient Bridge.




A Vietnamese woman.




The ice cream seller




The train








Train food




View from the train

Hoi An Mango rooms

Jeremy is going to blog about the rest of Hoi An I thought I would do a quick post about a restaurant we went to called Mango Rooms

We were just walking around trying to find somewhere for dinner and saw the restaurant, remembered reading about it somewhere so decided to check it out.

Once we sat down we realised it was a little more upmarket than we were used to on this trip. But we decided stuff it lets splash out so we went for the tasting menu. This is basically 4 courses and some wine for 800 thousand dong which is about 25 pounds.

The restaurant prides itself in presenting vietnamese food in a modern way, and let's just say they definitely delivered.

Each course we had a choice between 2 things, so we just went for different ones each time and we weren't disappointed.

The restaurant is along the river so it has some really good views and its pretty unique because the kitchen is in the middle of the restaurant so you can see all the food being prepared!

It was seriously good and I would def recommend to anyone that goes to Hoi An




Green papaya and shrimp salad and grilled fish with mango salsa




Imperial spring rolls (fried- an Hue speciality) & Soft rolls




Grilled duck breast with a curry sauce and mango rice - seriously good. And tempura prawns with stir fried veggies




Caramalised banana with ice cream and coconut sauce. By this point we were so full we could only share a desert.




Mango rooms


View from the balcony

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Location:Hoi An

Hoi An Day 11

Im sitting typing this in our hotel/Flashpakers/hostel whatever you want to call it in Hoi An. Before the trip we only booked our accommodation in Bangkok and a bit of Thailand. The idea was simply to find a place as we arrived. Our budget for accommodation is 20 quid a day. I did some checking before we left of places to get a rough estimate on price and 20 quid was ample for both me and Candice i.e a tenner each. The reality is 20 quid is more than enough. We haven't really stayed in a back packers yet its mainly budget hotels as they fit our price range with a bit to spare. The place we are currently in has an indoor swimming pool which is handy after a day in the sun. It took me a while to adjust to the heat in Vietnam. I think I mentioned it in a previous blog post but it really is quite potent. Everyday except one has been 30 plus and the humidity is close on 100%. At least thats what the app on my iPhone says. You need an afternoon nap most days as the sun drains you. I have felt better the last couple days by drinking at least 2 litres of water and having an istonic drink which keeps you hydrated.
On the train up here we slept in a six sleeper cabin which was a really interesting experience. The cabin was a hard sleeper as the soft sleepers were sold out. A hard sleeper sleeps 6 people is pretty small and not the most comfortable. It was myself,Candice and an American plus three Asian/Vietnamiese people.
I was lying awake reading and out of the corner of my eye I spotted a massive bug. On closer inspection of the cabin I noticed one of the people had a bag of like dry leaves that seem fairly fresh that they were transporting with them. I'm not sure if that was the source of the bugs but I was squatting bugs pretty much the whole trip. The cabin also smelt quite bad like urine to be exact so not very pleasant. Either way it was an experience even though its not that fun waking up with a bug crawling on you. When we arrived at the station after about 11 hours on the train we teamed up with the american to make the trip to Hoi An. We decided to give Da Nang a miss as its the third biggest city in Vietnam. Hoi An is 30km from Da Nang. Its a world heritage site and has a lot of charm. The beach is about 3-4km away which we stopped at today for a swim on our way to Marble mountain. Hoi An is very well known for its tailors and you can get clothing made for next to nothing. The interesting fact about it being so touristy is that the people here speak better english. In Ho Chi minh City (HCMC) and Nha Trang the english is pretty bad so its hard to make conversation and sometimes get exactly what you want. The really weird thing about Nha Trang is the amount of russians their on holiday. So much so that when I had a haircut at the local hairdresser beautician she spoke russian to the woman that came in. On our boat trip in Nha Trang, in the resturants and bars there were just plently russians. Its also interesting we met Chase an american guy and a british couple on the boat and last night when we were in Hoi An old told we saw them both. We had a beer with Chase. He is a chef from America here doing some food travel writing.
The one negative about Vietnam is the vendors on the street and even the shops trying to get your attention to sell you something or the other. Literally "you want to by something very cheap price happy hour for you". It gets a little annoying if you sitting eating or just having a drink and someone wants to sell you something. I realise its there livelyhood but they also don't take no for an answer. Now and again you will say no and they will say "why not good price buy something". No thanks I don't want anything. "Please buy something cheap price for you". I'm okay thanks really just want to relax. "Please sir buy just one thing". Okay how much. Lets say I've ended up with some interesting sh!t.  I have a couple paintings, braclets etc. Anyways thats the only negative and without the tourism Vietnam would suffer. Just googled tourism and GDP and its seems like it contributes quite a bit.38% in 2004 thats 8 years ago. Tourism and GDP. The coffee in Vietnam is really good if you are a coffee drinker. Its served short and strong in most places like a expresso. You can get a normal cup of coffee but its usually served with condensed milk instead of normal milk which gives it a different taste. Bit sweet sometimes but a good energy booster.
When we drove from Da Nag to Hoi An I took notice of the roads and it seemed pretty quiet. Nothing like HCMC so we rented a bike today. We drove to marble mountain which was good. Its basically a cluster of five marble and limestone hills sticking out the ground which has caves and massive statues of buddhas carved out of marble. The one cave had holes in the top with the sun beaming down. I took some pics so will post them but it was pretty picturisc. After that we drove to Cua Dai beach and just relaxed. We had some seafood there. It was pretty cheap but wasnt that great. Candice and some prawns and rice and I had fried rice with Calamari. The sign said fresh but Im not sure how fresh it was. Either way I was hungry so still ate it.
Going to take a dip in the pool now and then try and go for a run. After that we will find some street food in the old city. We leave tomorrow for Hue. We are going to stay there one night and then head for Hanoi and Ha Long Bay. Hopefully I wont leave so long till the next post.
Cheers
Jeremy.  

Sun, Sea & Blue Skies - Days 5-10 Candice

So I am sitting at a bar killing some time before we catch the overnight train to Hoi An. I have just managed to find a glass of Two Oceans for 2 quid and Jeremy has found the liverpool game so all is well.

We haven't been blogging much here because we haven't been doing that much to be honest. The beach and sunshine couldn't have come at a better time and we really enjoyed just chilling.

We caught an overnight train from HCMC to Nha trang which was surprisingly good. A four sleeper cabin with beds that were pretty similar to those you find in Europe. We arrived at about 6am and luckily had pre booked a hotel that let us check in early. After a quick nap we headed off to the beach which is a long stretch of sandy beach and is just heaven. We rented some sunloungers and chilled for the rest of the day. That night we had dinner at a cute outdoor restaurant where they bring you a mini braai and you braai your own food. We had a selection of meats and seafood and it was delicious.

The next day we spent pretty much the same way, except this time we rented loungers at a place called Louisianne brewhouse which is an awesome beach side restaurant that has a pool. Renting the sunloungers for just over a quid a day allows you unlimited pool access which is just what we needed.I would recommend a visit there if you are ever in Nha trang. (It was so good we ended back there today!) They also do a passion beer which is their own brewed beer with passion fruit juice. A winner. After dinner we went for a drink at the Why not bar and tried their 1pound bucket. Not bad at all. Ended up chatting to a British couple and 2 ozzie guys and went with them to a club called the Sailingclub. This club is like something out the movies. Right on the beach, amazing decor and lots of beautiful people.

Thursday we booked to go on a boat trip to visit the 4 islands around Nha trang and to snorkel. When we booked we were given the choice: party boat or proper snorkelling. We went for the party boat :)
You basically spend the day on a converted fishing boat and stop off at various islands to swim in the sea. To be honest the snorkelling was crap but the day was awesome. We went on the funkymonkey tour and just after lunch we were treated to the funky monkey boy band. That has to take the cake for the most random thing so far. We are in the middle of the ocean and the next thing you see they have whipped out an electric guitar,bass guitar and some home made drums. We had the crew members singing us a bunch of different english and vietnamese songs. Jeremy even had a go too. So funny.
You then hop off the boat in the middle of the sea for happy hour. Basically one guy in a massive tube handing out cups of the most dodgy 'cocktails' while you float in the sea on tubes. So much fun.

Yesterday we decided to rent a bike and took a trip out to the mineral mud bath outside Nha Trang. The bike was a good idea, you get to see so much more - although I think Jeremy had to adjust to the no rules on the road thing. It's slightly disconcerting to see someone riding towards you on the wrong side of the road...and not just once or twice its a regular thing!! But he did a great job, his trick is to ride really slowly and check 3 times before turning anywhere.

The mudbaths were a great experience. You basically wallow around in an outside bath of watery mud for 15mins,rinse yourself off then lie in some mineral hot water pools. Afterwards you are free to swim in the big hot water pool and generally just lazing around. It was really relaxing and my skin definitely feels a bit softer because of it. After that we went back to the hotel for a nap and then headed out on a 'sunset' cruise on the bike. This was great fun, especially when we decided to stop off for a snack off one of the street vendors. I think we were of the first tourists she has served and she was very amused by us. But the cheese and salad baguette we got was a winner. So amazing how such simple food can taste so good.

Anyways I think thats enough for now, we will blog again from Hoi An...

Candice




Just about to start our braai.



Nha Trang Beach




Funky money boy band with guest star Jeremy




Happy hour...




Mud Bath




Us on the bike

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Location:Nha Trang