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Saturday 4 July 2015

HCMC


Today after a beautiful breakfast on the terrace we were picked up from the hotel at 8.00am and transported to the Jetty in Saigon to board our speed boat which will take us on our journey down the Saigon River, through the connecting tributaries and finally along the Mekong Delta.

We are served Vietnamese rolls and coffee along the way to our first stop which is a Pagoda with a beautiful colourful Buddha on full display.  Our journey continues onto a local market where fruits are bought for our enjoyment later.  Our next stop is to a small village where we are treated to fresh coconut juice straight out of the shell and home made whiskey - very interesting.  We forge onward to the house of "Mrs 5" - there is a story regarding the reasoning behind the allocation of numbers for people, but that's for another time.  At this stop we are treated to a special visit by the family pet ..... a 65kgs python!  Very creepy :(

Next stop is the orphanage where we enjoy the local fare of lunch.  A visit to another pagoda and then it's back onto our boat for a fast ride home.   A long but enjoyable day.

Tonight we dine at the hotel's restaurant, which I would thoroughly recommend.  A perfect setting for our final evening in Vietnam.

Sights along the river

Lady Buddha 


Buddha

Planting the incense with a special wish

Fruits in the market

This greenery absolutely chokes the waterways

Along the Mekong

I at least stood in the background :)

See ..... I even touched her

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Perfect finish to the day!

 

Friday 3 July 2015

Hoi An to Ho Chi Min




After breakfast we packed and headed off for the airport in Da Nang at about 9.00am for an 11.00am flight to Saigon.  A 380,000 VND taxi ride to the Villa Song for a seamless check-in.  The hotel is about 20 - 25 minutes out of town, which considering how busy HMC is, doesn't worry me in the least!  The room is not large, but there is a balcony overlooking the pool and the hotel is quite beautiful.
Reception

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View from the balcony

The rear of the hotel at the garden bar

The hotel is right on the river

Another view of the rear of the hotel




















Tonight we went to La Villa which is about 5 - 10 minutes away by taxi.  It was sublime :)

The photos went in at the top of this page by mistake :(

I decided to have the set gourmet menu while Gordy settled on a la carte.  We were presented with a plate a four tiny morsels, including leek soup and gourgers, then a tiny dish of steak tartare with a quail egg was presented for the amuse bouche.  Crab ravioli, scallops, steak, cheeses, chocolate dessert with the most divine banana sorbet.  They then brought out a plate of another four tiny desserts including macarons and chocolate dipped glace orange, with herbal tea and a drink like limoncello only made with orange!  Thoroughly recommend!
 



Thursday 2 July 2015

Notes on Hoi An

We were picked up from the airport by the driver from the Hotel  – US$18

We are booked into the Essence Hotel and Spa.  We were offered cold towels and drinks on our arrival while we were being checked-in.  Spacious rooms which included a separate living area to the bedroom and a large bathroom with a large bath and sink, plus an additional shower recess all finished in black stone(B409).  We are overlooking the pool and the rice fields.  A complimentary bottle of wine and fruit platter (which was replenished daily) plus purified water. 

Drinks and food are served by the pool.  They also provide complimentary herbal iced tea.  You have the free use of bikes and there is a bus that takes you into the township throughout the day.  A cab ride back to the resort is VND20,000 which is about $2.

RESTAURANTS:
We dined at Morning Glory, Mango Mango, Cargo and twice at the Hai CafĂ© (Red Bridge), which I would recommend.   If going to Morning Glory in the summer make sure you make a booking so that you can be seated upstairs in the air-conditioning.  Check out the Hoi An Roastery – great coffee.  Food is extremely cheap!

CLOTHES
We ordered clothes from The Bi clothing shop, which is where they drop you off from the bus.  Two suits and a couple of dresses were ready within 24 hours but some slight alterations meant we picked them up a day or two later.  The suits, including two pairs of pants and silk lining were approx. US$200 each.  All dresses seem to be around US$50.  Shirts around US$35.   Go prepared with exactly the style of clothes you want made.  They do have catalogues with a range of modern fashions available. 

Yaly Couture comes highly recommended by the locals. I have ordered another dress, US$72.   They have a much wider range of fabrics so would recommend them.

I purchased a citrine ring for US$95.  I have no idea if the stone is good or not but it is very pretty and not a fortune.

Billabong shorts for A$9, and Polo collared T-shirts for US$12 in the market.  We did not negotiate for these.  A Longchamps bag for A$20 and a serving platter – down from US$50 to US$15!  There are quite a few copy bags, mainly Michael Kors, Burberry etc plus a large range of leather bags and shoes.  I purchased a beautiful hand made baby quilt for US$100 from Mekong quilts who are a non-profit organization.

The markets are amazing, with local traders selling everything from clothes, fish, poultry, fruit and vegetables, any number of trinkets, jewellery, crockery.  It’s a cacophony of noises and smells

Glasses!  Did not realize you can buy glasses here for a fraction of the price!  I recently bought Bulgari glasses ($525 at the local optometrist, I purchased them for $335 on line, then paid $300 for the lenses!)  Have just ordered two pairs of glasses – Tom Ford and Chanel – and Gordy bought two pairs of titanium glasses, all with lenses for US$485!  Our eyes were tested and they are going to be ready to be picked up tonight at 7.30pm! (Ordered at 12.00pm!)  Gordy also bought RayBan sunnies for US$45!    This place just keeps getting better J

TOURS
I booked a bike ride L which was 10kms taking us out of the city, then through the paddy fields before boarding a motor boat which takes us to an island where a bar-b-q is cooked for us before we then motor back to Hoi An watching one of the most stunning sunsets I have ever seen on the way.  We even got to ride a water buffalo! US$50 per person.   A good tour but not being confident on a bike I was a little nervous.

I arranged a private tour to My Son, a religious area of the Champa Kingdom, where many temples are built so huge historical and religious significance.  Unfortunately the Americans destroyed a majority of the beautiful buildings in just one week during the war.  It is a UNESCO Heritage site in line with Angkor Wat and similar sites.  US$39 per person.

Our final tour was a cooking tour.  Picked up from the hotel there were ten people on this tour.  We were dropped at the markets where we shopped for the produce we would use during the cooking class.  We then boarded a motorboat for a 45 minute trip down the river to then board a row boat for the short trip to the cooking school.   We were taught four dishes, which of course we ate, before being taxied back to our hotels.   US$50 per person.

The first tour I booked through Urban Traveller while the other two I booked through the hotel.  I would recommend all as they all offer a unique experience.
Obviously there are many other tours you can book through the hotel and other tour offices.  The Essence also offers a cooking class for US$30 per person.

On our last full day we did the historical landmarks in Hoi An, including the Japanese Bridge, The Assembly Hall and an old Vietnamese house.

While staying at the Essence take your laundry across the road to the lovely lady opposite the hotel.  Leave it in the morning and it will be washed and have it ready for you by the afternoon and extremely cheap! 

Vietnam has approximately 90 million people and 38 million bikes!  60 thousand people in Hoi An, one million in Da Nang, seven million in Hanoi and ten million in Ho Chi Min City where we are heading next!


Day 5 & 6

Last night after a relaxing afternoon we headed back into town to Mango Mango that somebody had recommended.  It was quite nice but I think some of the other restaurants were better.

Today is our last full day and as we have been on tours for the past three days we decide to stay close to home today.  After breakfast we head back into town and visit some of the historical landmarks - the Japanese Bridge, the Assembly Hall and an old Vietnamese house.  We also find an optometrist where we buy four pairs of glasses - Gordy buys two pairs of titanium glasses for reading, I buy a pair of Tom Ford and Chanel, one for reading one for distance - they test our eyes on the spot, we pay US$485 and are out of the shop just before 12pm.... they are ready by 7.30pm tonight!  Amazing!
A few other nicknacks are added to our stash then we head back to the hotel for a swim and a bit of R & R - back to The Hai Cafe for dinner tonight.  We end up at the Hoi An Roastery for coffee after our meal (which we had discovered during the day) .... the best iced coffee!
Japanese Bridge



The Assembly Hall




Mitseko - a lovely shop selling all silk clothes etc















Wednesday 1 July 2015

Cooking Tour



The Thuan Tinh Island Cooking School
As per usual ..... the photos have not attached in order!  Oh well.......
Salad rolls

Beef salad
Again we are picked up after breakfast at 8.15am to head off for our cooking tour.  There are ten of us in this tour and we head to the market to 'shop' for our ingredients.  The sights and sounds are extraordinary as we wander from stall to stall.  Shopping done we board our boat for a 45 minute trip down the river to two smaller boats that take us the extra distance to the cooking school.  It is slightly off-putting when you know that all the meat is NOT refrigerated, then you realise you have been no doubt eating the same food for a few days now anyway!
Vietnamese salad rolls (Goi Cuon), crispy crepes (Banh Xeo), beef salad (Bun Bo Nam Bo) and beef and noodle soup (Pho Bo) are on the menu today and we make all the food including the sauces.  A taxi takes us back to the hotel....and to the air conditioning!

The shrimp were live - at least that keeps them fresh


This is not for the faint hearted


Life on the river

My Son

We were picked up from the hotel for our private tour to My Son (pronounce 'me son'(g)) at 7.30am.  It's approximately 45 kms to the ancient religious site and takes about an hour by car.   This is the site of the Cham empire and is a UNESCO world heritage listed site.  The area is located in a valley surrounded by mountains all around and was home to many temples constructed between the 4th - 14th centuries.  Unfortunately many of the temples were destroyed in a single week by the Americans during the war.  In the meditation room stands a monument from the Champa people alongside bombs left over from the war.  You can still see huge craters in the ground where the bombs were dropped.  The tour through the ruins ends with a concert by local dancers and musicians before returning to the hotel.

The meditation house

The architecture is very similar to Angkor Wat

A grim reminder of the war
































We head straight to the pool on our return and spend the afternoon relaxing.  It is so hot at the moment that you really do need to spend time in your air conditioned room or in the pool.



Late in the afternoon we head back into the township for a further fitting for our clothes then a quiet wander around - well..... we were quiet, everybody else was very noisy! :)

Walking along the river we find a bar for a couple of quiet drinks before wandering around the corner to the "Cargo" restaurant for dinner.  Haven't had a bad meal yet!


Stroll beside the river
One of the restaurant boats


Dinner at "Cargo"

Beef in coconut 'flaming'