Hong Kong, Saigon and Bangkok- April 2006

Fiona

2006-04-23 22:26:34

Day 6
We caught a taxi to Sinh Cafe and after returning twice to the cafe the bus eventually started on its way. We left at 8am, returning at 8.05 and 8.15 for latecomers! We had a three hour drive to Cao Dia Temple. This is in the middle of a huge complex. Three religions join together here to worship- Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. The Temple means Holy See and the eye icon can be seen in the middle of a triangle.Along the way we saw many paddy fields and villages and you could just imagine yourself back in the Vietnam war.
We arrived at the complex about 11am and had a wonder around the outside of the temple but it was way too hot! There are prayers said 4 times a day and at the midday one tourists are welcomed in to the temple to witness it. You are also allowed to wonder around before hand and take photos. Graham Greene called it the Walt Disney fantastia of the East and I could see where he was coming from. It is very brightly coloured and has eyes. saints, dragons and various other symbols draped on the walls, ceilings and pillars. Just before midday you go up to the balcony and watch the followers dressed in red, blue or yellow march into the temple followed by others in white. It is a well choreographed ceremony and the singing and the gongs and the actions were absorbing and atmospheric. After lunch we headed back the way to the Cu Chi province to visit the tunnel complex. This complex shows how the people lived and fought against the Americans. Before our tour we were shown a film shot during the war of the tunnels. It was dubbed in English but showed the war from the Cu Chi peoples point of view. The people caused havoc for the Americans, popping up all over the place, killing and disappearing again. They ate, slept and recuperated in the tunnels during the day and came out at night to fight. The Americans recognised the importance of Cu Chi and said that if they ever lost Cu Chi, Saigon would fall.
There were over 200 km of tunnels and these were on 3 levels. The first level was for battle, the second level was for living and where they cooked, ate and slept, the third was where the hospitals were and also led to a river exit in case Americans ever got that far. Our guide took us through the jungle and showed us a secret tunnel opening. Of course we were asked to find it first and couldn't. The opening was so narrow that only the slimmest man in our party managed to get through it. We were also shown other tunnels and airholes along the way. They set up reconstructions of the underground kitchens, hospitals, meeting rooms along the way. We also got to see the traps and they looked lethal. We were then led to a tunnel which had been widened enough for westerners to get through. I had had no intention of going in but the guide didn't ask- he just told us and I didn't want to be the only one to say no. Well it was the longest 40 m of my life, It really is cramped, pitch black, hot and does drop down in level several times and round several bends and I have no idea how they could possibly have lived like that. I hated it and can imagine people having a fit down there. Trouble is, once you start you can only go on and finish. One of our party was down there a long time. She must have just have frozen with fear! I have to say I'm glad I experienced it but if we ever return there is NO WAY I am going down there again! After a cup of tea in a clearing and some sugared manioc( which was a staple food) we were back on the bus to Saigon, arriving just at rush hour. You literally could not see a square centimetre of road for the thousands of bikes. By the way, there is a cacophony of beeps continually on the road. These can mean any of the following
I see you and will make sure I miss you
Get out of the way
My car's bigger than your one
I don't know why I am beeping my horn- its just that everyone else is
We arrived back about 5.30, had a wash and went to the lounge- well we couldn't waste all the free drink and snacks could we!!! We had booked what is supposed to be the best restaurant in town for the evening- Hoi An. It is in an old Vietnamese house with wooden panels and fancy teak tables and chairs. Good service and great food. It was time to play with our food again. We had dragon pancakes filled with prawns and Hoi An rolls with minced prawns and herbs. We had to wrap these in lettuce etc again. For main course we had chicken in pandana leaves and hoi an beef. We took a taxi to the other famous war hotel- the Rex and sat out on the roof terrace listening to the band, who I have to say, where not great. Still, it was a "must do" and we did it! We went back to our hotel and bed as we had another early start the next day.

Edited by Fiona 2013-04-20 09:47:07

Fiona

2006-04-24 20:54:17

Day 7
This was the day we were going to the Mekong Delta. We made our way to the Sinh Cafe again and this time our bus left on time and did not have to backtrack. It only took us 1hr 50 mins to arrive at our destination. Before we got on the first of many boats that day our guide showed us a big map of everywhere we were going to. It looked like a busy day! I wasn't too sure of the boat as I hate having to leap on to one! However, I did it without going for a swim and off we went down the river. We had about 50 mins to our first stop. Along the way we passed the floating fish market which was doing a roaring trade. Our first stop took us to a jungle clearing where they make rice paper. A rudimentary mill crushes the rice with water then the paste is spread on to a flat heating iron. It is then transferred to bamboo to dry. It can be rolled or grilled. Grilled its like a popadom. We tried some before we moved on. A few minutes walk took us to the coconut carving. We watched the process then I had just had to buy a few things. We bought four rice dishes and two wine glasses - these were quite unusual and of course we have already tried them out! We stopped there for lunch which came in the £5 ticket price. There was plenty to eat- soup, rice, grilled meat and a bowl of steamed veg. After lunch we headed for the boat again. This was actually a new boat waiting for us at the other end of the small island. This time we had some mountaineering to do to get on to the boat! Half an hour later we jumped from a great height off that boat and leaped on to smaller boats. We had about 4 of those for our party. We then made our way up narrow waterways. The scenery was stunning. The boats stopped at different landing stages as there was no room for more than boat. We watched our guide disappear in the distance on his boat as we alighted. Then our boat sailed off leaving us there. We looked at each other- where were we supposed to go? A Japanese tourist started striding purposely off. Ah good- he was on our boat because he knows where we are going. Off we followed. 10 mins of going up one path and down another and I realised that the tourist hadn't a clue where we were. Further more- we couldn't even find our way back to the river. We were lost in the jungle!

Edited by Fiona 2013-04-20 09:49:15

Fiona

2006-04-24 21:46:06

Day 7 continued
"I don't believe this- can you imagine the headlines?" I said. Has anyone got a mobile phone on them? Well nobody did. We walked past a hut with some men sitting outside watching us closely. They started to shout. Then we saw them pointing back the way at a small bridge over a river. We had to go that way. After we walked the plank, the Japanese tourist suddenly perked up and began to get animated. He had finally recognised the route! 5 mins later we arrived at the clearing which had several tables laid out and was either for Alice in Wonderland or it was for us. That moment our guide appeared with the rest of the party and was surprised to see us here already( which worried me all the more. After all, there was a party of Americans with us and our guide had been a pilot in the war- he had never said which side he fought for!) I am only joking about the guide( I think!!). We are told this is where they make rice wine and honey. Lots of people around there kept bees. A local appeared with a square honeycomb thick with bees and invited us to put our finger into the honeycomb. He had to be joking- there were hundreds of bees and they wouldn't take too kindly to you trying to get to their honey. However, a few brave souls tried - I wasn't one of them! I was still recovering from nearly being lost in the jungle! Husband did try though. We all had a seat and were given cups and shown how to make up a drink with hot water, honey and a squeeze of kumquat. Next there was a bottle of rice wine to be sampled and a dish of local fruits. Amongst this was the durian fruit. It is said to taste like heaven and smell like hell. It is the fruit which airlines won't allow on and hotels ban! Sorry, I thought it tasted awful! The other fruit was lovely though. Remember, this was also in the £5 ticket price. At this point 3 locals turned up with musical instruments. I knew the guitar but not the other ones. The girl who had served us the drinks sang 3 songs. They sounded so sad and our guide told us that they were songs the females used to sing when their men were away fighting. Many of course, did not return. It is something that will stay with me. Sitting in a jungle listening to local music, They had a sense of humour though and finished with Auld Lang Syne. I couldn't believe it. The Vietnamese are a very proud nation and seem to want visitors to understand a little about them. We were then introduced to a pet python and several photo opportunities. We have already had photos of pythons draped over us so we declined the offer!
A short walk and this time it is to a rowing boat where we glided peacefully down the water ways with not a care in the world apart from the fact the boat was letting in water! We were then put into a canoe and went up really narrow waterways. Finally we were transferred to a slightly bigger boat where we sailed for half an hour before our next stop. This was where they made coconut candy. It was amazing watching all the stages - no mass production here! Our final boat journey took us back to the bus. By this time I was leaping over the edge of the boat like an old hand!
We got back to the hotel in time to wash, change and head to the lounge for a couple of drinks(!) We went on to Vietnam House for a meal where it was hands on again. The service wasn't as good as in the other two. It was another highly recommended restaurant. I thought it was good but would not rush back.
After that I wanted to see the Continental Hotel ( of the Quiet American fame). It had obviously seen better days so we did not stay on for a drink- some of the old photos were interesting though. We went on to the Underground Bar which is another thing in the list of "must dos"Â and then went back to the hotel. It was good to get into bed knowing we could have a longer lie in the morning. The locals had a different idea though.

Edited by Fiona 2013-04-20 09:54:39

puddleduck2

2006-04-25 07:29:17

Wow Fiona, what a cliffhanger!! I'm so pleased you weren't lost permanently.
It sounds like a right adventure (all except the python as I have a phobia about snakes!). I can just imagine the singing you've described, it sounds beautiful.

shirleyV

2006-04-25 12:43:25

I'm loving this report Fiona - will definately be visiting Vietnam next year, Saigon sounds just my kinda place, can't wait for the rest of this report, fascinating.

xenosuk

2006-04-25 17:22:19

Great report Fiona. I'm looking forward to the Bangkok part, because it doesn't look like our idea for combining Hong Kong and Hainan next year is as easy as we first thought, so we're now looking at Bangkok/Krabi instead (which was what we originally thought about last year!)

I saw your question about the Manhora Dinner Cruise earlier this year and would be interested to hear if you made it and what you thought of it, because we're thinking about doing the 3-day/2 night one whilst we're in Bangkok.

Actually, I think I'll start a new topic about that, because I've got a few questions I'd like to ask which relate to the longer cruise.

tracy99

2006-04-25 17:42:30

it's great reading your report fiona! especially when, you can picture it all.it's about 5 years,since we visited,but your report,makes it feel like yesterday!
i'm so glad you decided to do,the mekong delta trip.i definately think,you wouldv'e missed out, on a great day,if you had decided against it.
i can remember looking out,of our hotel window & being amazed,at all the bikes.you certainly didn't want.to leave the window open for long.i can still hear all that beeping now!
i honestly can't remember,the trips being so cheap.i'm sure we paid more than that.my sister,is over there,at the minute & she phoned me the other night & said they had just paid £5,for the mekong delta,even she couldn't remember us,paying so little,last time,so that's an excellent price!
the thing that hit home to me,when we visited the war museum,was the dates on the photographs & realising,it wasn't that long ago.
i wouldv'e loved to return,with my sister,but in my job,it's impossible,at this time of year,especially as she's visited cambodia as well!
glad you enjoyed it fiona,
tracy

Fiona

2006-04-25 22:35:02

thanks everyone for the feedback. Its good to know someone is reading it!
xenosuk
we never did the dinner cruise. But we will some time!

Fiona

2006-04-25 22:35:38

Saigon- last day
So much for our long lie. I couldn't believe it. 6am. Wide awake with Vietnam's version of the worst Eurovision Song Contest group ever! Yes, on the pier 19 floors down from us, complete with speakers going full blast. It was as if they were in the room. I got up and went over to the window, expecting to see hordes of screaming fans. But no. There was the group and a handful of early birds in the background kicking a ball about. I have absolutely no idea what that was about but it continued unabated until 8am. At this point we got something along the lines of bingo. At 8.30 we got a brass band. You may think I am joking but I'm not!! By this time a few locals had given up the will to live and had joined them to see what it was all about. Sunday morning is obviously banned from being a day of rest in Saigon.
Just after 8.30 we got up and went to breakfast. After that we caught a taxi and went to the Military Museum. Caught a taxi- that's a strange phrase for Saigon because normally the taxi catches you! It follows you down the street shouting after you- its either that or the cyclo man.
The museum is where they have the tank that broke through the gates of the Reunification Palace while the Americans were taking off from the roof by helicopter. The museum attendant seemed really pleased that non- Vietnamese wanted to visit and asked us where we came from. When we said Scotland he said oh, bird flu! The exhibits are in English sometimes but often not. So, not many tourists visit it compared with other museums. I found it gloriously one-sided- the North Vietnam side. The south army didn't get a look in and some of the captions were hilarious. We saw the famous photo of the Americans escaping and the caption was -Generals and senior officials of the USA and puppet government outdoing each other in fleeing overseasÂ. Another one of 5 Presidents which said -Five US presidential terms of office with five warfare strategies failed completelyÂ. There were loads of similar captions. While we had a quiet chuckle to ourselves we had to remind ourselves that what they said was true! I could have stayed longer but it was very hot. We asked the attendant how far away Notre Dam Cathedral was and he assured us it was 5 minutes walk. 20 mins later we decided that he must have known we had been laughing and told us a lot of rubbish. The temp was in the late 90s and we were melting. We walked past the Embassies and they are guarded closely.
Eventually husband decided he wanted to go shopping. We went in to a shopping centre where he stood in a/c bliss for 10 minutes till his shirt dried and then we moved on! We found Notre Dam and also the General Post Office which is very impressive. After that we nipped back to the hotel for a cooling drink and then went off to do some shopping. There are a lot of nice smaller shops in the district and we had a successful wander around. After that we took a taxi to the Reunification Palace only to find it was closed for refurbishment! ïŒ Oh well, something to visit if we return. Time for lunch and one last must doÂ in Vietnam- a bowl of pho( pronounced furÂ). It's a rich broth with bits of beef or chicken with noodles. You get to add your own mint and beansprouts. The small place we stopped at had the sign "no delicious, no pay" on the window. I was really proud of myself - eating soup with chopsticks is not easy you know. By the way- it WAS delicious! In the afternoon we relaxed by the pool for a couple of hours before packing and saying good bye to Vietnam. We will be back!

Edited by Fiona 2013-04-20 10:01:04

Fiona

2006-04-27 20:45:45

Bangkok
We flew with Lufthansa to Bangkok. Very efficient. When the flight is down as being 9pm that means that they are actually taxiing at that point, not still loading passengers as most airlines seem to be. We took a limo from the airport and arrived at the Landmark hotel at 11.30. We had booked a deluxe corner room on the executive floor. We checked in and had our free welcome drink then we went to unpack . We have been in a corner room before and knew what to expect. We weren't disappointed! We nipped down to the Huntsman bar on the ground floor for a drink and then came back to unpack.
We have been to Bangkok before and this time was meant to be more for relaxation after the hectic times beforehand. We have never before used a swimming pool in BKK but that was going to change! So my report here is going to be far less detailed!
On our first morning we went down to the lounge for breakfast- very nice and I swear they do the best omelettes I have ever tasted! We got the skytrain to Saphan Taksin which is the pier stop. We got day passes for the skytrain which are about £1.50 and stops all the rooting about for change. We caught the tourist boat up the river. I was to find out later just how luxurious it is! You get four grades of boat. The tourist boat was about 50p and gives you a commentary and they try not to let you jump too far to get off the boat! The bottom class of boat costs about 7p! We went to Wat Arun- which is also known as the Temple of the Dawn. Very impressive. Within this you have the main prang ( pagoda) surrounded by 4 chedi( satellite pagodas).These are covered in thousands of pieces of porcelain which sparkle in the sun and a lot of elaborate decoration. I like the warning signs- one told us that dangling dolls was forbidden(??) Around these is a balcony which has 120 buddha images.There are pavilions and chapels you can enter as well. The main temple area has steep steps to climb. We decided against it- both of us were melting in the heat already and I didn't fancy it with the vertigo I was suffering from anyway.
After that we went to the Siam Paragon mall for some shopping. This is a designer store and I couldn't really see any bargains. We had lunch there. We then took the skytrain to Victory Monument and then a taxi to Vimanmek Mansion( know as the teak palace for obvious reasons. This is in a very pretty park- the The Dusit Garden. The residence was built for Rama 5th( Chulalongkorn of the King and I fame. The film is banned from Thailand by the way and nobody can mention it!!)You have a guided tour and there are 72 rooms packed with gold, crystal and original furnishings. Well worth the visit. Rama V was a great fan of Europe and and countless rooms were done in "European style".
Off back to the hotel to make good use of the lounge, its free drinks and snacks. The Landmark is a first class hotel. You can't fail but be impressed. Off at night to Tongue Thai. This was the one time that Nancy Chandler let us down!

shirleyV

2006-04-28 17:03:43

Keep it going Fiona!!! fab report I like the Landmark hotel too, especially the beer in the Huntsman pub!!

Fiona

2006-04-28 18:18:42

Thanks Shirley. I have promised myself that I will finish the report this weekend, write hotel reviews and post photos - especially of Vietnam!

shirleyV

2006-04-28 18:57:26

That will be great - looking forward to the photos. Not too long until I am back in the far east now!!

Fiona

2006-04-29 08:08:03

Nancy Chandler produces a first class detailed map of Bangkok. Take a look at her website here. This really is a "must buy". However, on this occasion she let us down as Tongue Thai restaurant was not exactly where she had it and we eventually arrived hot and half an hour late! Her ears should have been burning! Food was fabulous and I would definitely pay this a return visit. Try the steamed seafood in a coconut shell! After, we went 5 mins walk to the Oriental hotel and the Bamboo Bar. It plays jazz and they had a first class band on. It was certainly our kind of place. Our next place was the Dome and the Sirocco bar. I can't remember how high it is- I think about 65 floors. It has an open air terrace. You lounge on oversized sofas and plump cushions as you look out over the skyline. Most people only go for the one drink as you certainly pay top prices - but splash out and go, it is certainly worth it!
We got a taxi home as skytrain stops at midnight. On the subject of taxis we read that you should always have your destination written down in Thai. This is all very good but we discovered that most taxi drivers can't read! They can also have very bad eyesight!! We got to where we going all the time as if the driver looked confused we didn't get in! We had some giving a price without knowing where our hotel was! We even got out a taxi one time only to have another taxi driver asking, as we got out, if we needed a taxi!!!
The next day was going to be shopping. We went to Siam again. There are several malls there and all fully a/c. We still managed to got soaked in sweat in the 5 minutes walk between them. I didn't get as much done as I would have liked due to this labrynthitis I have just now and we had to have several prolonged stop for juice! We moved on to the Silom complex where I managed to buy even more handbags and spent a fortune in Jim Thompsons outlet(silk). We also bought another carry on bag for the aeroplane to take all the purchases. Husband also spent a fortune. However, there were certain things that were more expensive in BKK than home- designer jeans and trainers and husband was looking to buy external memory box for the pc. ( that's all I know about it! Price for that was the same as UK) I also found that some makes of shoes were similar to UK prices. We also went to Central which was our favourite mall. We discovered it the last visit to BKK. We did not go to MBK as I wasn't impressed with it before. We went back to spend a couple of hours by the pool before getting ready for evening.

Sunbear

2006-04-29 14:08:50

Was reading about skyscrapers and was surprised to discover the Dome is the highest outdoor restaurant in the world....no wonder its a bit breezy up there.

Fiona

2006-04-29 20:03:59

I didn't know that Sunbear!
I have added a few Vietnam photos to the gallery. These will be in the upload gallery for the next few days.

Fiona

2006-04-30 18:38:26

That evening we went to Vientiane restaurant which is just of Sukumvit Road. It has a big thatched roof but is open at the sides. When we arrived there I wasn't too sure about sitting outside as it was so humid. However, they have lots of fans including those mist fans which really help to cool things down. Mind you that didn't help when we sampled our first dish! The restaurant specialises in Northern Thailand and Laos and had a group playing traditional North Thai music and some dancers. The menu had some dishes I didn't really fancy in it-deep fried frog, ducks feet, fried ants eggs to name just a few! We decided to play safe ( or so we thought!) and ordered chicken and mango curry, steamed prawns with lemongrass and herbs and shrimp cakes with rice. The curry came first and I can safely say that is the hottest thing I have ever tried to eat -and I can eat hot! After that I'm not really sure what the other courses tasted like! By the way we were asked if we wanted hot or medium and had asked for medium! The place was certainly different both in looks and in food and had been recommended on several sites but to be honest, I wouldn't put it down on my "must return" list.
From there we had a 5 mins walk to another place that had been written about quite a lot- Face. It had been down in the list of possible restaurants but we had chosen Ventiane instead. We went there to have a look around and have a drink. It's set back from the road and quite an unusual layout inside with lots of separate rooms to dine in or have a drink and with pools and koi carp. Steps up to the various levels are open and have no banisters. So I would recommend that ladies don't go there in high shoes! I tottered up in my shoes but took them off to come down again( and I'd only had 2 drinks!) It was quite nice but filled with people who talked very loudly about their latest business ventures or yachts or second homes. Not really our type of place!
The following day I relaxed by the pool in the morning and husband went off to do 10k in the gym. Great gym by the way. In the afternoon we went on a couple of walks from Lonely Planet- one to an old part of Bangkok and the other to China Town. This was the first day proper of Songkran - starting off in the early evening anyway and there was lots of preparations for the festival. Songkran is their New Year festival and it is a water festival. The idea is that water is sprinkled over you and some nice smelling paste is smeared on your face. Well, the idea had taken off big time over the years and the sprinkling of water now comes in the form of buckets, high powered water pistols and hoses! The paste consists of bags of flour! NEVER take a tuktuk during the festival. We saw several bemused tourists getting off soaked to the skin and clarted in flour. China town is great to wonder around in. I wasn't too sure what was being sold in some stalls but you eat it and its really popular!
That evening was our last night proper and we had booked the Mango Tree which we knew was quite special. However it is just past Patpong and I was worried we would not get there dry! I was "caught" only once and it was only with an ordinary water pistol. The Mango Tree was superb. We will go back again! We had pomelo salad( you just have to try that), shrimp rolls, basil chicken and prawns with basil and peppercorns.
We then went to O'Reillys close by and were going to another bar but when I looked up the street it was in it was full of people with hoses and buckets. Songkran can wear thin pretty quickly! We ended up in a huge barn of a place on a road just opposite our hotel- Gullivers. Handy! By this time I was a bit wet!

Fiona

2006-04-30 19:18:02

The last day dawned. We had decided to revisit the Grand Palace this morning. We got to the ticket office without being caught by the many open trucks with large buckets of water, filled with locals and smaller buckets! Many were caught though! We had had a guide the first time and so opted to do a self guided tour with the head sets, It was just SO HOT that day and the Palace is so crowded that by the time we had got the headphones I was just dripping in sweat- looking as if I had been soaked by the locals. The Palace is a huge complex and is just stunning . You can't even start to describe it. We spent a couple of hours there( must add some photos of it to the gallery) but had to give up then. We had been going on to Wat Po to see the reclining Buddha but the heat won. As we left the Palace I decided that I wanted someone to throw a bucket of water over me! Typical- we got to the tourist boat without incident! We went to Jim Thompsons house for lunch - we have toured there before and it is well worth it. Lunch there is good and then we went on to the shop to spend some money! We spent the afternoon by the pool listening to the mayhem of the streets below as Songkran continued.
We packed and left for the airport later- we had the room till 8pm so made full use of the lounge before hand! At the airport two couples arrived for our flight absolutely soaking and covered in flour and not very amused! Bangkok is great but I think I would try to avoid it during Songkran again. We were in Hua Hin one year for it and all water throwing stopped after dark. We loved it and also we had been on a relaxing break- not going out and about visiting various places. Even the more adventurous younger ones on our flight found the festival a bit wearing after a while! The flight home went smoothly and I slept most of the way.
So that's it- another Far East adventure over with with lots of brilliant memories!

prada

2006-05-01 08:32:42

report

Superb report, I have been following it closely and am sorry its come to an end!

xenosuk

2006-05-01 08:56:04

Yes, excellent report Fiona. I really appreciate the tips about the Bangkok restaurants and think we'll avoid Vientiane and Face after what you've written. Don't particularly fancy eating fried ants eggs or listening to a bunch of hooray henries, but it sounds like we must give the Dome a try, if only for one drink.

Our previous visit to Bangkok was 15 years ago and was the last stop on a whirlwind far east "taster" tour, so we were too tired and confused to appreciate it properly. We're going to make it our first stop next year, before going on to Krabi for a week or so of beach and nature, so hopefully we'll get to see it properly this time.

We'll try our best to avoid the worst of Songkran in Bangkok, but we're fairly restricted on when we can go. I've tried to Google for when the festival takes place next year, but there don't seem to be any fixed dates yet, just sometime in April! We'll just have to keep our fingers crossed that it's either the 3 days when we're on the river cruise, or after we've moved on to Krabi!

Anyway, glad you enjoyed your holiday - what have you got planned next?

Elaine

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