Asia

Vietnam: Floating Markets and Mushroom Hostels

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At 3am I’m woken up by the announcement of our arrival. I look out the window to the bus station and can see the address printed on a sign. We are indeed in Can Tho. Who could have suspected we would ever arrive an hour early?! Not I. Now we’ve got more waiting to do before the market opens. Fortunately, the bus station is playing Chernobyl (a crappy teen horror flick) on a little tv in the corner of the room, so that keeps us entertained for a bit.

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Vietnam: Free Movies and The Waiting Game

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Today we leave Saigon to continue on south to the Mekong Delta, which is famous for it’s floating markets.

We’re trying to be as thrifty as possible, and to avoid paying for one nights accommodation in Can Tho (main city in Mekong Delta area) we have made pretty elaborate plans.

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Vietnam: War Museums and Ho Chi Minh Nightlife

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Our 95,000 dong ($4.75) hostel has an included free breakfast, which we plan to take full advantage of. We walk down to reception where a small table with some baguettes, margarine, and bananas are sitting on a table. It’s not the most exciting, but free is free, so I eat two bananas and a baguette to tide me over until lunch.

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Vietnam: Saigon and Big Bowls of Pho

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I wake up feeling so over heated. Tamara has the fan side of the bed and while I’m getting a bit of air flow, it’s not enough. I’m dyin’. I get up and try to take a cold shower but there’s no water. Perfect.

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Vietnam: Mui Ne Beaches and Sand Dunes

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Tamara and I spend our morning searching for a good spot to lay on the beach. Mui Ne has like 20 kilometres of beach, but in the morning the tide is high and there isn’t much exposed sand. We buy half a kilo of bananas and a mangosteen for 20,000 dong ($1) and find an empty, stick covered patch of sand to lay in. So far, I don’t understand the hype about Mui Ne.

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Vietnam: Dalat Crazy House and Long Bus Rides

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Despite my best efforts with my bug net, I have a pretty terrible sleep. I wake up before my alarm and am unable to make myself rest anymore. I’ve been sleeping so well everywhere else, but perhaps I can attribute it to the intense heat that covers most of Vietnam. Dalat is in the mountains, and maintains a comfortable temperature. I believe it was 25 yesterday. It’s a nice break from constantly feeling like you’re melting.

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Vietnam: Weasel Coffee and Waterfalls

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My alarm is set for 6:30 but I hit snooze a few times before getting up. Whenever I stay somewhere for more than one night, and sometimes even then, my backpack looks like it’s exploded. Stuff goes everywhere, nothing is folded or rolled properly, it’s terrible. Staying for three nights is like a curse. I have a lot to pack up.

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Vietnam: Vinpearl Land

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For our last full day in Nha Trang we’ve decided to splurge a bit and visit Vinpearl Land, a theme park on an island just across the water. Tickets are 550,000 dong ($25), which is over our budget, but we’ve had a relatively cheap last few days and we get to take a sweet cable car to the island.

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Vietnam: Nha Trang Booze Cruise

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8:30am is when we are to be at the travel agency where we booked Nha Trang’s popular booze cruise. Some friends of mine whom I met traveling in Thailand last year suggested this to me, and for $10 all inclusive boat, most booze, snorkelling, and entertainment, I figure it sounds like a pretty good time!

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Vietnam: Beaches and Mud Baths

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Tamara wakes me when we’ve arrived in Nha Trang. I don’t know how it’s possible but I always sleep like a rock on these buses! Everyone gets off, and I go get the driver to let him know we’ve lost the iPod touch in the abyss below our chairs. He gets a stick and tries to reach underneath, but can’t find anything. We know it’s down there, we saw it last night.

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