We lost our luggage in Hanoi. 3 trips to the airport (50 mins away from Hanoi) and 24 hours later, we're ready to start out Vietnam holiday!...
Vietnam is so under-developed and filthy but fantastically cultural!! Life here is like nothing of what we're used to. Communication is really bad here - no one speaks English!! There are people hawking their wares of all sorts all over the streets... our money means so much to them. Amazingly, there are no beggars to be seen! Stray cats and dogs everywhere. No fast food chains. People eat on road side stalls and squat on little stools on the footpaths. Ladies in traditional Ao Dai (Vietnamese get ups) walking the streets with rice paddy cone shaped hats and carrying poles on their shoulders with baskets hanging off them storing fruit or snacks to sell, or balancing baskets of goods on top of their heads in the middle of the city. And the traffic!! Sheez -We have never seen so many motorbikes in all our life!! It's just like on telly! Hardly any traffic lights, no one obeys road rules, everyone drives on the wrong side of the road, playing chicken is standard play and the adrenelin pumps each time you attempt to cross the road! You'll definitely find the famous 25c bowls of noodles here, but they are Lin size, not Ben size! Meals at regular restaurants and cafes are about $1-2, beers are ridiculously cheap between 50c and $1. The only place in the world where cans of iced tea or coke are more expensive than beer. Alcohol in general is dirt cheap. Ben's drink of the trip is Long Island Iced Tea. At $5 a pop, you can just imagine...
Hanoi has such a French influence. The architecture is pretty and lots of French words everywhere. It was FREEZING!! No one told us we had to bring jackets!! It averaged 15-18 degrees during our stay! We had to buy parkas and beanies from the locals just to keep warm! I was chuffed at my $5 purchase that certainly did it's job at keeping me cozy! Ben's parka purchase was not so easy - try looking for a jacket to fit a 6'3" anglo built male in a country where the average male is my height and half Ben's build! Nevertheless, we managed to find a Nike rip-off for $25 (+pants) which was almost too warm for Ben's liking!
Hoi An is a gorgeous town stuck in old school. Roads in the old town are not bitumen and the shops are all like you see in an old Chinese movie - lots of wood and lanterns. We got lots of cool stuff tailored for really cheap - I got a long woolly duffle coat, and some beautiful traditional chinese silk brocade cheongsams and outfits made - The whole lot for under $100! I also took some dresses for them to copy and they did a fantastic job! Ben got 18 shirts, 3 pants and 3 pairs of shoes made (mind you, there ain't no way we were going to find size 13 shoes off the shelf for Mr Big Foot over here). We are very impressed by the workmanship of the tailors - much better than our Thai experience!! Only problem now with our limited wardrobe space, is that we're not sure where we're going to keep the clothes at home! Looks like we're going to have to buy a bigger house! Tomorrow we're off to My Son to check our the remains of the old Champa Kingdom
Everyone keeps asking us if we're married or here on our honeymoon! If I had a dollar for every time I was asked if I am Vietnamese, I'd be rich!! Apparently I look Vietnamese to the locals?? - or they're just trying to get me to buy something...
Vietnam is so under-developed and filthy but fantastically cultural!! Life here is like nothing of what we're used to. Communication is really bad here - no one speaks English!! There are people hawking their wares of all sorts all over the streets... our money means so much to them. Amazingly, there are no beggars to be seen! Stray cats and dogs everywhere. No fast food chains. People eat on road side stalls and squat on little stools on the footpaths. Ladies in traditional Ao Dai (Vietnamese get ups) walking the streets with rice paddy cone shaped hats and carrying poles on their shoulders with baskets hanging off them storing fruit or snacks to sell, or balancing baskets of goods on top of their heads in the middle of the city. And the traffic!! Sheez -We have never seen so many motorbikes in all our life!! It's just like on telly! Hardly any traffic lights, no one obeys road rules, everyone drives on the wrong side of the road, playing chicken is standard play and the adrenelin pumps each time you attempt to cross the road! You'll definitely find the famous 25c bowls of noodles here, but they are Lin size, not Ben size! Meals at regular restaurants and cafes are about $1-2, beers are ridiculously cheap between 50c and $1. The only place in the world where cans of iced tea or coke are more expensive than beer. Alcohol in general is dirt cheap. Ben's drink of the trip is Long Island Iced Tea. At $5 a pop, you can just imagine...
Hanoi has such a French influence. The architecture is pretty and lots of French words everywhere. It was FREEZING!! No one told us we had to bring jackets!! It averaged 15-18 degrees during our stay! We had to buy parkas and beanies from the locals just to keep warm! I was chuffed at my $5 purchase that certainly did it's job at keeping me cozy! Ben's parka purchase was not so easy - try looking for a jacket to fit a 6'3" anglo built male in a country where the average male is my height and half Ben's build! Nevertheless, we managed to find a Nike rip-off for $25 (+pants) which was almost too warm for Ben's liking!
Hoi An is a gorgeous town stuck in old school. Roads in the old town are not bitumen and the shops are all like you see in an old Chinese movie - lots of wood and lanterns. We got lots of cool stuff tailored for really cheap - I got a long woolly duffle coat, and some beautiful traditional chinese silk brocade cheongsams and outfits made - The whole lot for under $100! I also took some dresses for them to copy and they did a fantastic job! Ben got 18 shirts, 3 pants and 3 pairs of shoes made (mind you, there ain't no way we were going to find size 13 shoes off the shelf for Mr Big Foot over here). We are very impressed by the workmanship of the tailors - much better than our Thai experience!! Only problem now with our limited wardrobe space, is that we're not sure where we're going to keep the clothes at home! Looks like we're going to have to buy a bigger house! Tomorrow we're off to My Son to check our the remains of the old Champa Kingdom
Everyone keeps asking us if we're married or here on our honeymoon! If I had a dollar for every time I was asked if I am Vietnamese, I'd be rich!! Apparently I look Vietnamese to the locals?? - or they're just trying to get me to buy something...
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