Archiv der Kategorie: Vietnam

Vietnam, World Trip 2018-19

Beach time in Mui Ne

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17.01.-18.01.2018 Mui Ne

From Dalat we took the bus to Mui Ne. I expected a bus like the Futa busses we were used to from the South but unfortunately that was not the case. We got picked up by a rickety minibus that seemed like it would not make the trip. First we were hoping that this was only the pickup bus and not the „real one“ but these hopes were finally destroyed when we left the city behind us. Our 4 h ride took us on small roads though the country, rattling and shaking continuously due to both the road and bus condition. When we arrived in Mui Ne, we were happy to see that the stop was only a couple of hundred meters from our hotel The Bay.

During a break
Our bus…looks better on the picture than it was

After checking in and having some lunch, we decided to check out the beach. Unfortunately it was high tide and there was almost no beach left. Also, weather was grey and rather windy. Even with warm temperatures I didn’t feel like staying in the water for long, so we watched the kite surfers for a bit and then headed back to our hotel. Since mum was a bit sick, it was good to take it slow for a day anyways. I also had some things to organize like booking the night train to Danang and the taxi to Muong Man station, our hotel in Hoi An and the „desert tour“ for tomorrow.

Mui Ne beach
Mui Ne Beach

Next day, my dad and I woke up early and got picked up by a jeep which made our bus of the day before look like a Ferrari in comparison. Our driver was a grumpy young guy who didn’t speak much with us. He dropped us at the white sand dunes without another word, just pointing to the dunes. Not sure if we got ripped off, but every other tourist was driven into the dunes by their jeeps. But maybe this was really not included for us since we booked quite a cheap tour. In any case, we had to walk – and it was a long, hot walk through deep soft sand. We arrived on top of the highest dune quite exhausted and were suddenly surrounded by lots of Asian tourists in jeeps and on quads, screaming around and destroying the peace and beauty of the dunes with their loud quads and smelly jeeps. The dunes themselves were already underwhelming: not that big overall and we’d seen prettier ones in our life (e.g. in Morocco). On the way back to our jeep we got a bit lost and had to search for the correct parking lot since there are multiple ones. We then continued to the red sand dunes, much closer to Mui Ne again. By then, we were quite exhausted and the sun was burning down, so we only climbed the closest dune and took some quick pictures.

White sand dunes
White sand dunes
Red sand dunes

At this stage we were wondering why we even bothered to go on this tour: Unfriendly driver and underwhelming sights. The answer came when we visited the last 2 sights included in our tour: The fishing village / harbour was very picturesque and we quite enjoyed walking around between the boats and fishermen watching them work. There were also lots of pretty sea shells left behind and scattered all over the ground (such as crab skeletons and lots of waste sadly). I think we took much more time here than our driver wanted us to, but at this stage we didn’t care about him anymore. First time during a tour in Vietnam there was no need to discuss the tip for the driver/guide. Oh well, saved some money I guess!

Mui Ne Harbour
Mui Ne Harbour
Mui Ne Harbour

The second very much worthwhile sight and also our last stop was the Fairy Stream. Basically you walk in a shallow stream for about 30 min (and back the same way) in the middle of pretty vegetation and awesome rock formations! It really seemed like out of a fairy tale. We also enjoyed cooling down our feet a little, overall a way more enjoyable and easy walk than in the dunes! At parts you were knee-deep in the water but mostly the water was ankle-high at most. At the end of the walk, there’s a waterfall – so if you’re wondering in between if you’ve reached the end yet: you haven’t until you’re stuck at the waterfall and need to turn around anyways. Dad then took a shower in the waterfall, which must have been nice and refreshing – so good idea to bring your swimsuit (I didn’t know about the option).

Waterfall at the end of the walk
Fairy Stream
Fairy Stream

Since the last 2 stops of the tour ended up being quite nice, we felt glad to have done it in the end. Although, if I could choose now, I’d skip the White sand dunes and take the bus to the other 3 sights (which is easily possible). No need to even rent a scooter and risk being ripped off by the local police.

Since it was nice and sunny, we then joined my mum and sister at the beach for some sun bathing and jumping in the waves. Shower, late lunch and off we were again then… taking the taxi to the train station in Muong Man where we boarded the night train to Danang…

Mui Ne Beach – lots of kite surfers
Muong Man train station
On the night train
Vietnam, World Trip 2018-19

Dalat – a nice surprise in the mountains

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15.01.-16.01.2018 Dalat

From Can Tho we took the night bus to Dalat. It was our first experience with a Vietnamese sleeper bus. I must admit when we first got on the bus, we were all a bit shocked. Yes, there are little „beds“ for everyone but they are made for people Asian size with no hand luggage. Fitting us and our backpacks into the little space was a challenge. At one point I found a rather comfy position though and was able to sleep quite a bit.

Way too early in the morning we arrived in Dalat, took the shuttle to our hotel where luckily one room was ready for early check-in, so we were able to drop off our stuff and take a shower before heading off on our rental scooters. My sister and I put our parents on the back and off we were! Destination: Elephant Falls. It was a long drive, but quite a nice one with a viewpoint along the way and fortunately not a lot of traffic since we’re far from being expert drivers.

Arrived way too early in Dalat
The motorbike gang!

The falls themselves were spectacular and exceeded my expectations by far. It’s quite a climb to get to the different viewpoints and the bottom of the falls from where you have the most amazing view. Weather was nicely sunny – in fact a little too hot almost. We had expected cooler temperatures in Dalat but that wasn’t really the case.

Behind the falls
Elephant Falls
Climbing down to the bottom of the falls

After a refreshing fruit shake, we headed back to Dalat with a short stop at the Chua Van Duc pagoda which was nice but at this stage we’re getting a bit done with pagodas.
We also intended to stop by Cam Ly waterfall but couldn’t find it right away and then gave up. We did find a nice coffee place instead, as alternative program, with lot of funny and weird little sculptures clustered around the garden.

Refreshing fruit shake…can you spot us??
Chua Van Duc pagoda
Funny sculptures at the cafe

My dad and I continued our sightseeing a little longer afterwards, visiting the Linh Son pagoda in the city centre and driving all the way around the big city lake Xuan Huong – quite a peaceful drive.

Linh Son pagoda
Xuan Huong lake
Horse carriages at the lake

For the next day, we had booked a private driver which was cheaper than paying for 4 people to join on one of the organised tours, plus these tours didn’t appeal to us anyways (too many program points like „coffee farm“, „flower garden“, „xyz showroom“ etc.). Once again we were very lucky with our driver Chup who spoke decent English, explained us a lot and was overall just really helpful and kind. We had agreed on the route before, and which places to visit, but other than that it was our choice how long we wanted to stay in each place.

First we drove to the cable car at Robin Hill to take the same to Truc Lam Zen pagoda near Tuyen Lam lake where Chup was already waiting for us.  He showed us around a bit in the pagoda and meditation center grounds. We had not originally planned to visit this pagoda but it turned out to be really pretty – especially the setting in beautiful flower gardens. From the pagoda you can take some long stairs down to the lake and walk around the shore for a bit. Renting a boat is also an option but since the sun was burning down again, we gave that a miss.

View from start of the cable car
Taking the cable car down the mountain
Truc Lam Zen pagoda

Our next stop were the Datanla Falls nearby. The upper part of the falls is full of Asian tourists engaging in photo shoots but it gets more quiet the further down the trail you head. And DO go down all the way – even if it means paying for an elevator and a little jungle cable car! The best view of the fall is all the way from the bottom. I guess many people are not even aware that there is a 2nd fall after the first one which you reach rather quickly from the parking lot. We also took the „roller coaster“ but only to go up unfortunately. The price is more worth it if you buy a return ticket from the beginning though. It took quite a while to visit all of the falls, so don’t underestimate the time you need.

Datanla Falls – 1st fall
Jungle cable car
Datanla Falls – 2nd fall

A bit of a longer drive brought us to the Linh Phuoc pagoda afterwards. We were at first a bit reluctant to put another pagoda into our tour program but this one looked very pretty on the pictures we saw – and we were not disappointed!! In my opinion, this pagoda is a must see when you’re in Dalat and so far the most beautiful pagoda of Vietnam! Again, don’t underestimate the time you need to see all of it since there are multiple buildings and towers you can (and should) climb. Everywhere you look, there’s new things you discover. Little pieces of porcelain are placed into mosaics and dragons and other figures are staring at you from every corner. We were totally overwhelmed and didn’t know where to look first!

There’s also a little canteen among the pagoda buildings where our driver brought us for cheap and delicious „com chay“ (vegetable rice).

Re-energized, we then made our way to the old railway station of Dalat. The station by itself is not that interesting but there’s an old wooden train leaving from here and also some museum trains to look at. In the meanwhile there was a big tropical downpour happening so we were glad to be under the roof of the station.

Dalat Railway Station
Dalat Railway Station
Taking wedding photos

Unfortunately our last stop of the day was mainly outside and the rain didn’t stop quickly enough. The „Crazy House“ is a house built a bit similar to the styles of Dalí or Hundertwasser. There’s lots to explore and it’s a bit of a labyrinth, with little bridges connecting parts of the houses. It’s also a hotel where you can stay but seeing the masses of tourists I was glad we had picked a „normal“ hotel. This was the end of our tour and of a great day with lots and lots of different impressions! Also it meant our time in Dalat had come to an end. It’s definitely a city that I enjoyed a lot – more than expected – and so far it would be my choice of city if I were to stay for a longer period of time in Vietnam.

Crazy House
Crazy House
Crazy House
Vietnam, World Trip 2018-19

2 days in the Mekong Delta

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12.01.-14.01.2018 Can Tho / Mekong Delta

From HCMC we took a Futa Bus to Can Tho in the Mekong Delta. Can Tho is one of the biggest cities of Vietnam and the heart of the delta. Even though it is a big city, we fund it comparatively relaxed though. There is a river promenade which you can walk along without being disturbed by the constant honking of motorbikes. There are also some nice cafes where you can enjoy a cold drink or two. The first afternoon we just spent walking around in town and relaxing.

 

Relaxing in Can Tho
Some restaurant built on stilts
Modern pedestrian bridge

For the second day, we had booked a boat tour to see the two floating markets of Cai Rang and Phong Dien. The day started early at 5am when we met our guide Hai. The boat took us to Cai Rang first, stopping by a floating cafe bar on the way. It was still dark when the boat lady poured us some coffee, and when we reached the market, the sun was beginning to rise. Cai Rang floating market has more bigger boats trading with each other and the light first made it hard to take some good pictures. Then we got some fresh, hot Pho (noodle soup) – a good start in the day!

 

Floating cafe
Cai Rang floating market
Hot Pho for breakfast

We continued further along the river to reach Phong Dien floating market. This was the more photogenic market of the two – and also by now the sun was up, which made for better pictures. They built two towers on each side of the canal, where you can sit upstairs, have a coffee and watch the merchants selling their goods from their boats on the river. And this is exactely what we did! I really liked sitting on the tower terrace since you had a good overview, and it was an ideal spot to take pictures.

 

Phong Dien floating market
Phong Dien floating market
Phong Dien floating market

When the market started to dissolve, we continued our tour along smaller canals with lots of nice vegetation. It was a very peaceful boat ride – watching life on the canals and admiring the landscape.

 

Family boat tour! 🙂
Little canals with lots of vegetation
Simple houses along the canals

Later on, we also stopped by a rice noodle factory and a fruit garden – two rather touristy stops, but nevertheless interesting. We tried our hands on making rice noodles and admired some bright green rice fields at the fruit garden. Our guide Hai made the whole day so much fun and provided lots of interesting information. We could ask him anything, and so we did. At one point, he even sang a Vietnamese song to us while we were floating on the river – quite magical! If you’re interested in booking a tour with him, contact him via his facebook page: Tour in Mekong with Hai’s.

 

Rice field view from the fruit garden
Rice noodle factory
Fishermen boat

Since we woke up so early, it was only noon by the time we returned to our hotel in Can Tho. While my mum and sister wanted to relax a little, dad and I ventured out to see a bit more of Can Tho itself – and the arrange a little birthday surprise for my sister for the next day! In the city, we walked to a little lake and came across two rather new (but definitely impressive) temples – which reminded us more of Thailand or Cambodia, than Vietnam.

 

Thai-style temple
Street vendor in Can Tho
Local girl posing for pictures in Chinese temple

Next day, we had rented bicycles to explore the area around Can Tho a bit by ourselves. But first we had breakfast at Lotus Cafe, where the team had nicely decorated the table for my sister’s birthday and everyone was super friendly and attentive. I think we had two or even three waiters for ourselves! When the cake arrived, we sang a „happy birthday“ and the waiters and other guests joined in congratulating my sister. Definitely a „different“ birthday than usual 😉

 

Then, we started our cycling tour with the help of Maps.Me. We first went to Binh Thuy to see some old house and temples. We continued our way in a southwestern direction, passing through little villages along the way. I had expected to be more cycling in the nature, but actually the little roads were still heavily used by locals on motorbikes and other vehicles. It was nevertheless a nice tour – took us away from the typical tourist trail and into some areas that rarely see tourists. People were friendly, waving at us, kids shouting „hellooo“. In the middle of nowhere, we stopped at a temple and met a friendly monk, who started explaining every detail about the temple to us – in Vietnamese. I must have done a good job nodding and saying „ok“, since he continued and in the end taught us some kind of temple song. Such sweet random encounters are what makes travelling so great for me!

 

Old house along the way
Typical backroads around Can Tho
Typical backroads around Can Tho
Buying some baked bananas
Our sweet chatty monk

When we arrived back in Can Tho, we were all a bit tired – the tour had been a little longer than expected and the last part had been on roads with lots of traffic. Unfortunately there was no shower and bed waiting for us – but a sleeper bus to Dalat! After the initial shock about the size of our „beds“ in the bus, I think we all found an ok position to nap a little. Unfortunately, the bus driver kept playing music the whole night, else our sleep might have been a little better…