Day 171 - Returning Home!

It's time to go home, but just for a while.
 
Day 171 - 11th December

So it's confession time. My travelling time is up. Not forever but for a while because in two days my niece is being christened, in a few months one of my friends is getting married and in September next year, I am best man at another friend's wedding. Team those with Christmas and you'll see why I'm going home.

So nobody at home knew and I set off around lunchtime into a windy and very wet Singapore city, heading on the MRT towards Changi airport. It was an impressive place, big enough to be three football stadiums combined.

I had a two hour flight from Singapore to Ho Chi Minh which was pretty mundane and not much to write about. I was offered a meal which I took on. It was a tasty sweet and sour pork with rice and a fruit cup for dessert.

I then had a six hour stopover in Ho Chi Minh airport. I settled in a bar and did some reading over a few beers. The excitement was building and I was ready to be at home. Unfortunately one thing stood in my way - a 14 hour flight back to London.

I sat and waited it out. The beer was cold, the book was funny and the time flew away before I knew it.

I couldn't wait to get home. In less than 15 hours, I'll be back on home soil. In 18 hours, I'd been knocking on my front door! Come on!!!

Vietnam recap

Well, two months down, and so much more has happened. Vietnam has been pivotal in my travels, I know that already. It has shown me so many different things, offered me so many different experiences and left me with a deep sense of loss at having to leave. 

Again the people I have met have made this part of the trip and some of the things I've seen wil never be describable to people back home.

So my highlights of each place:

HANOI - 28th July - 31st July and 02nd August - 04th August

Top 5 moments:

- Meeting Dutch chaps, Matthijs, Jordy and Sèbastien.

- The Old Quarter.

- The Water Puppet show.

- Hoa Lo Prison.

- The street food.

SAPA - 01st August - 02nd August

Top 5 moments:

- The Sapa Squad.

- The trekking through rice fields and villages.

- Being conned out of 400,000 VND.

- Za, our tour guide.

- The epic games of Mafia at the home stay.

HALONG BAY - 04th August - 06th August

Top 5 moments:

- Sitting up all night with the stars, waiting for sunrise.

- Kayaking.

- Cat Ba Island.

- Swimming at night.

- Monkey Island.

PHONG NHA - 07th August

Top 5 moments:

- Riding a motorcycle for the first time.

- Zip lining and caving.

- Meeting Danish double, Anne and Julie.

- Easy Tiger.

- The landscape.

HUÈ - 08th August - 09th August

Top 5 moments:

- The Indian restaurant.

- Playing Jenga in a nightclub.

- Banana pancakes!

- Hiring motorcycles for the ride to Hoi An.

- Julie and Anne crashing the bike within 30 seconds of leaving the hire place.

HOI AN - 09th August - 15th August

Top moments (there's more than five because there were too many to pick from):

- Suits - selecting, fitting and buying.

- Falling down the stairs in Why Not club.

- Cargo - the best desserts in town.

- Spraying Sèbastien with the bidet hose.

- Convincing Sèbastien to stay on with us all the way to the end.

- Losing the bike lock and having to saw it off.

- Meeting Mr Xè.

- Watching Dayana eat crab and explain why she's never seen any Disney movies.

- Playing the Green and Black / CB game with Julie.

NHA TRANG - 16th August

Top 5 moments:

- Funky Monkey boat trip.

- Snorkelling with fish and sea snakes.

- Karaoke.

- Vegetarian dinner place.

- The poached regs at breakfast - finally, someone who can cook an egg well!

DALAT - 17th August - 19th August

Top 5 moments:

- Canyoning.

- The Crazy House.

- The bed bug terror.

- Winning with Julie at pool against Sèbastien, Jordy and Anne.

- The Bee Bar

MUI NE - 19th August - 20th August

Top 5 moments:

- Duning and quad biking.

- The beachside hostel.

- The live music bar.

- The relaxation.

- The food.

HO CHI MINH / SAIGON - 21st August - 23rd August

Top 5 moments:

- Cu Chi War Tunnels.

- Walking Tour.

- War Museum.

- AB Tower sky bar.

- Last drink with the Crazy Gang.

Vietnam was something really special, I'll never be able to go anywhere without remembering it. A special thanks to everyone I met this time around, and a extra special thanks to Jordy, Sèbastien, Anne Banana and Lady Julie - you guys made this for me!

Special notes:

Matthijs - You are a down to earth guy, my friend. It was great meeting you in Hanoi and Hoi An and I'm glad we had some good talks over beers. I hope to see you in England one day or perhaps when I come to The Netherlands. All the best.

Dayana - Thanks for the banter and for entertaining me when you ate crab. If I still know you in a year, and you still haven't watched a Disney Movie, I'm going to send you every Disney Classic to watch. I swear! Good luck in London and stay away from Budapest!

To the members of my crazy gang:

Jordy - What a guy! Your organisational skills, diplomacy and general zest for life is something that made you easy to be around.

I want to give you a big thanks for pushing me to do all that crazy crap, like kayaking around giant islands in Halong Bay, zip lining, cave swimming and motorbiking in Huè and all the way to Hoi An, getting me to buy ANOTHER suit from Mr Xè, abseiling off huge rocks and especially for telling me not to be a pussy and giving me the motivation to do the 11 metre cliff dive! 

Thank you buddy and I look forward to visiting you in The Netherlands and for you to come to Old Trafford to watch a United game with me!

Sèbastien - What's happening Ricki? Watching you go from being conservative in every respect to a maverick with a cavalier attitude in just under four weeks has been a pleasure.

We may have done the Rush Hour impressions to death, but we ruled them. Thanks for being my wing man on the joke front, for giving me a good run for my money at pool, for sharing my indulgence of food at all times of the day and especially for singing 'Don't Stop 'Till You Get Enough' with me at Karaoke. I'll never forget that.

Equally, thanks for staying with the group in Hoi An. It wouldn't have been the same without you if you'd left, and sorry for sending your food back to waste time and for orchestrating you missing your flight. I did it for the gang.

As with Jordy, I'll see you in The Netherlands and when you come over to England for the game . . . And Johnson, what panties you wearing man?

Anne Banana - Ah, what an angel. Your happy demeanour and fun style of living just made it impossible for me to dislike anything about you. 

I'm always going to remember wrapping you in a white towel and cradling you just because we all wanted to see your baby face in that scenario and your giggling in the night when I was trying to go to sleep. Talking to you was so easy and I'm glad we had the chance to travel the majority of Vietnam together, seeing some crazy stuff and both of us learning how to ride bikes. You rocked it.

One thing I'll also never forget is your ability to steal my things. In our time together, you took precisely three towels, two door keys and a bar of my soap. It was lucky I was aware really.

Keep those smiles coming and I'll see you in Copenhagen! That's a promise.

Lady Julie - Best until last they say. The way in which you can look like you're going to kill me and then produce this sweet smile is something I'll really miss.

At times I know you were missing home and the people there but without you in the group, I wouldn't have had someone who could attempt to bring my energy levels down (sorry but like all others, you failed, but nice try).

Our bus trips and sleeping arrangements are going to take some time to get used to not having. It was always fun playing the green and black / CB game, doing impressions of your voice and learning Danish with you. I'm practicing still, I swear. I won't miss you pouring water over me, pinching or punching me. Oh, and I definitely won't miss you asking me to repeat everything five times.

I'll miss you Lady, and I'll really miss applying the antiseptic gel to your cut. It was the highlight of my day.

Keep your eyes open - one day, I might just appear in Denmark for surprise piña coladas!

Best of luck to you all, and thanks. You made my Vietnam trip!

Day 61 - Good Bye Vietnam!

The market place - farewell Vietnam.

Day 61 - 23rd August

Another early start and one I didn't really want to come.

Jordy came down to reception with us and bid us goodbye. I couldn't resist jumping into his arms dramatically as the hostel staff watched on, laughing.

Sèbastien and I boarded the bus and headed towards the border of Vietnam and Cambodia.

The bus guide didn't understand what I meant by a business visa initially. But after several attempts, the penny dropped and he was able to help me.

When we arrived at the Vietnamese border, we waited in line for our passports to be stamped and then were told to re-board our bus. It was a pretty simple process so imagine my dismay that they didn't bring out the rubber gloves! Oh well, better luck next time, aye?

As I turned back, I took one final look at Vietnam. What a country, what an experience, what an adventure she gave me!

Day 60 - Walking tour, the museum and the break up

Ho Chi Minh Town Hall.

Day 60 - 22nd August

Well, it'd been two months since I'd left home and I realised time was moving faster than I thought.

It was going to be a sad day - the famous five, the crazy gang as I liked to call it, were about to split up (and I'm not talking about One Direction).

Adam in all his glory.

We took to he early morning, 9am walking tour, our guide, Adam from Leeds, Yorkshire was going to spend three hours with us, walking around the main sites of Ho Chi Minh.

Our first stop was the statute of Thánh Giòng, a legend who helped Vietnam overcome China's invasion with a trio of iron aids - a sword, armour and a horse. He was hailed as a god and when he won the final battle, he flew off on his iron horse to heaven. A nice fable to start the day with.

The opera house.

The post office.

The same place where the American troops boarded a chopper after the war. It was pretty awesome.

The tour included visiting sites such as the town hall, Notre Dame and the post office. The market was also a key visiting point. Adam showed us before and after images to really bring the history to life and we also learned about Thích Quảng Đức, the famous monk who set himself on fire in protest.

The group picture from the tour. Anne Banana is behind me and Jordy.

My man, Sèbastien always lurking when food or drink is involved.

It was an interesting tour and we learned so much that we never would have without this type of tour. On the way back we tried the speciality street refreshment, sugar cane with lime. I definitely recommend it if you visit Vietnam.

Our last lunch together saw us at a vegetarian restaurant with fancy dishes and chopsticks. The Pad Thai and brown rice was really good and we all looked a bit subdued knowing it was probably our last meal together.

The girls wanted to do a spot of shopping whilst us chaps wanted to hit the war museum. In some ways, I wish I'd gone shopping - actually no, I hate shopping but the museum was so intense and emotional, I struggled. Each exhibit revealed new horrors of the Vietnam war.

I didn't take anymore museum pictures out of respect and also because it was pretty horrific to look at.

The images of dead bodies, the torture methods used by the U.S. and the effects of Agent Orange on the innocent people left me disturbed. Once again, it was difficult to be wholly against what America did because the picture was one sided. There was hardly a mention of any American compassion, which I'm sure their was. I honestly don't believe every soldier used the barbaric methods depicted in some of the exhibits.

Following that intense end to the afternoon, we headed back to say goodbye to the girls. Julie was already shaking with fear about the flying home and Anne Banana seemed subdued with the thought of leaving Vietnam. I could've been wrong.

The tears flowed and us boys kept a stiff upper lip, although I'm sure all of us wanted to join in with them. We bared our nipples to them from the curbside as the taxi pulled away - one final act of craziness from the crazy gang members. And they were gone!

A few minutes after, I realised Anne had my room key! Not for the first time. Our final mishap had taken place as a group and our taxi driver was going to return it for us.

We readied ourselves and headed out for dinner. We caught the United v.s Newcastle game whilst eating dinner which was good. We then went a hunt for a bag but failed, so instead we put on shirts and jeans and headed over to the AB tower for drinks at the sky bar.

The lads at the Sky Bar.

The view of Ho Chi Minh by night was exceptional and the three of us guys enjoyed one last beer together before our departures the next day (Sèbastien and I to Siem Reap and Jordy to the Mekong Delta).

I was genuinely sad by the time I went to bed. The girls were gone so I had no one to keep me awake with giggling and foreign chit chat and Jordy and Sèbastien were quiet. Everyone had something on their mind. This is the best group I've travelled with and because of the length of our travelling time together, I think this could be the best I'm going to get!

On a more positive note, I was off to Cambodia in the morning to prepare for my volunteering placement, starting Monday. New adventures, new people and new experiences. That's what travelling is all about.

Day 59 - Hello Madame Saigon . . . C C Tunnels, Piña Coladas and power cuts

This place is littered with French architecture.

Day 59 - 21st August

6am in Ho Chi Minh is an interesting experience. People are wide awake, exercising, dancing and doing early business. We were left on the roadside and made our way to our hostel just a few hundred yards down the street.

It was a nice place, clean and with nice thick pillows - how I miss a pillow that isn't as flat as one of daily banana pancakes I eat. We booked up tours for the Ci Chu Tunnels (Me, Sèbastien, Julie and Anne for a half day, Jordy for a full day) and quickly checked in.

We had a light breakfast at a bakery and then set off for the day.

The two and half hour bus ride was OK. Not a lot of bumping and well air conditioned. I could live with it. We made a pit stop half way as usual to see how the locals worked and made items for us Westerners. It did make me feel bad for them but not enough to make me part with any money.

Booby trap.

One of the cramped tunnel entrances.

When we arrived at the tunnels, our tour guide took us around, showing us where his father had served and also the different places the Guerrillas or Viet Cong had built tunnels, laid booby traps and how badly the Americans had attacked them. If I'm being honest, I think it was a little one sided, making out that all the Americans were evil. Granted, what they did in principle was horrific, the balance is not quite there to make it an accurate account of both sides of the war.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed the tour, feeling a little claustrophobic in the tunnels and Julie jumping at the surrounding gun range fire, but all this contributed to me getting a feel for how it might have been at one point during the war.

The lady want Coladas, we got Coladas.

When we returned, Anne and Sèbastien took naps whilst Julie and I went for Piña Coladas. It was nice chilling out, waiting for Jordy after an intense day at the war tunnels.

This was delightful.

As were these.

When he returned, we went out for dinner. We'd had a pre-dinner snack of noodles and kebab beforehand but it wasn't enough to fill us up. Julie had an eventful meal, first being shaken by a sudden power cut and car backfiring which sounded like a bomb and then a cat jumping down on her in the candlelight as we all laughed.

The selfies had to be done. Anne's is priceless!

I had a migraine coming on, my neck was all taut. So I headed back for a lay down. This was not well favoured with the group, who wanted to go out but after an hour, I was feeling better. We sat in a bar on the rooftop and had piña coladas before Jordy headed back.

The four of us went to play pool and I Skype home. My little niece, Emmy is getting bigger and she is looking as cracking as ever. I can't wait to see her again.