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. 

Day 58 - Duning in Mui Ne

For some reason this reminds me of Utah.

Day 58 - 20th August

Morning pancakes and my first banana smoothie shake was followed by a swim. God, this travelling malarkey is tougher than I thought.

We checked out - our bus to Ho Chi Minh was at 1:30am so we no longer required a room for the night. We left our luggage at the hostel and set out for our day on the dunes.

Eloy was joining us on a tour out to the Dunes. It was $6 U.S. for the guide and 300,000 VND for the quad biking - a very reasonable price I thought. I was ready to try quad biking. The excitement from Huè had returned again and that sense of adventure filled me again.

Our guide, Tan picked us up in a jeep and cruised us down the coastal road to Fairy Stream. The winding sand path led us towards the waterfall, past beautiful orange sand dunes and natural streams. Walking bare feet in the refreshing water was great and we sunk into the sand as we went. My childish ways got the best of me as I hung from a fallen coconut tree like a monkey, doing my best King Kong impression. Julie and Anne didn't look too convinced.

Selfie time! 

On the way back, I tried the same trick on the street with no hands. It worked well, just hanging with my legs. When I tried again, I slipped and landed on my head. This brought great amusement to Jordy, Sèbastien and Eloy. Luckily the girls had walked ahead, sparing me further embarrassment.

The fishing village.

Flicking sand from my hair, Tan took us to the fishing village on the bay. Our attention was distracted more by the cows walking down the beach. The 'village' was more like a village hall of boats rather than houses, just floating on the water near the shoreline.

As we quickly moved on, we reached the white dunes and the quad bikes. We rented them for around £10 and waited a few minutes whilst they prepared them. They didn't look in great shape, with wires hanging down everywhere, the seat being loose and the handbars looking more worn out than my favourite pair of jeans.

I set out last, following the others up the sandy driveway towards the giant dunes. Sèbastien was stuck, digging himself in deeper as he tried to accelerate his way out. I hopped off and helped him escape and as he drove off, I realised I was stuck! Bugger. So I had to wiggle mine out too (the quadbike I mean, not anything else you dirty devils) and I made my way over the first dune to find my companions. 

I revved my engine and went for it, flying towards the top of the dune and as I reached the summit, I knew it was too late. The other side of the dune sloped dramatically and I was soon hurtling down the other side, out of control. As I applied the brake, I flew over the handlebars, visions of my childhood bike accidents all flooding back, and tumbled down the dune. As I looked back, the quad was rolling towards me. A little less gracefully than what 007 would have done, I rolled over and waited for the quad to stop flipping.

I only sustained a cut to the foot and shin so I was lucky. 

When I tried to restart it, the engine had fallen out so I had to find a guide - that was about as easy as finding an oasis in a desert - to fix the problem. He twisted a few wires, electrical taped it back to the battery and sent me on my way.

As I shot off again, the battery fell out again and I was stranded half way up a bloody dune. I was beginning to think quadbiking wasn't for me. I only managed six or seven minutes in the end but it was good fun and a new experience, I suppose.

I'm in the middle, wait for the result!

This was a bad idea. Those dunes are steep.

Collectively, we walked back up the dunes for photos and I set the bar low by hurtling off the top of one of the sand hills, rolling down it until I smashed into the sand at the bottom. I wasn't concussed or dazed so I got the others to join in. 

Lady Julie did not comply.

So I made her comply!

The aftermath!

Yes, sand was in my mouth too!

On our way to the final stop, I brushed the sand from every part of my body while wondering why I'd had done it. YOLO was no longer a good enough reason!

The final stop promised a sunset over the red dunes but as I've learned being in Asia, a promise is like a Vietnamese bus - it rarely turns up when you want it too. True to that analogy, the clouds that had been missing all day suddenly formed, hiding the sun - of course they did, they knew I was there!

So to entertain ourselves, we chose to roll down the dunes again. This time Julie joined us - not by choice but by force! Groups of children mobbed us to buy sand sleds but we stood strong, not wanting to encourage child labour even if we did want to help them out really.

After coming back with more sand inside my shoes than Tony Robinson and Time Team, we all had an evening swim before we had dinner at the live music bar. Everyone looked tired after an afternoon duning so it was going to be a long night. Jordy and Julie took a nap at the bar whilst I did some book writing whilst Sèbastien, Anne and Eloy took on a massage.

I was joined shortly after by a Dutch brother and sister who were travelling with their parents on a trip which was reward for passing their university exams.

After a long night, we finally boarded the night bus to Ho Chi Minh, formerly Saigon. It was going to be another long night but I had my Danish buddy to keep me company - a thing I will miss when I leave for Cambodia in a few days.

Day 57 - A Mui Ne Paradise

That pool was small, but definitely worth it.

Day 57 - 19th August

So the bus to Mui Ne was ready to collect us. We had a spot of eggs with bread and then left Mr Peace in peace (sorry, I couldn't resist). Mr Happy gave me a GIANT hug when I left and I quickly disappeared down the street to board the bus.

My first mistake of the day was wearing my thick, long sleeve shirt. The heat this baby can store is unreal and I was soon sitting on a poorly air conditioned bus, sweating many parts of my body off. When Julie wanted to take a nap, using me as a human cushion as she has done since Hoi An, I felt like I'd been plunged into a lava pit. She seemed to sleep peacefully as I roasted so at least someone was happy.

When we arrived in Mui Ne just after lunch, we were greeted to a bright blue sky, the sound of waves rushing on the shore and tropical looking beach eateries which I knew we'd be exploring sooner rather than later - we're with Sèbastien remember!

We made our way to the hostel and I could already tell it was going to be great. From the lobby, we overlooked the pool and the villa type rooms. The staff were really friendly and helpful and we booked up to go duning the next day.

Our lunch spot!

So our first day in Mui Ne was relaxing. We took to the seafront to have lunch. It was a nice little place, with good food and pancakes. We all sat around and discussed the plans for the day. Everyone just wanted to chill out, sunbathe and sleep. Anyone who knows me will tell you I can't sit still on a lounger for too long because a. I get sunburned b. I get too hot and c. it's boring. 

However, I decided to embrace a little relaxation and lay on a sun bed with Jordy and the girls. True to form, within two minutes, I was writing my blog and a chapter of my book. I didn't want to waste my downtime.

The lads went into the pool for a whilst I filled out some postcards and talked to some newbies. Another Dutch guy, Eloy spoke with us as did two girls from England. 

We then headed back to the room late afternoon for showers. I quickly popped out for magnets and a postcard and then readied myself for the evening.

A meal fit for a king.

We went to the same place for dinner and indulged in more food. I swear I've lost weight since being here but I'm eating so much more than I normally would at home. Julie took to flicking water all over me as usual and Sèbastien dipped in to everyone's dish as was custom at many dinners with him. He's a food man.

We all were pretty tired but chose to pop over to the live music bar on the other side of our hostel. It was run by a Russian woman with Vietnamese staff. That was a strange dynamic but we managed to order a three litre tube of beer between us so all was well.

Julie was disappointed not to get a Piña Colada but enjoyed a beer with us. I then had a great talk with her about her life and mine. It was interesting to hear about how her life had unfolded and now I've found a Danish buddy for life - don't worry Lady, your secrets are safe with me!

After a long day, we all retired and rested up for a day of duning and quad biking!