Holiday ends on a shit note!

We survived dodgy food for two weeks eating in markets and watching food being prepared on dirty chopping blocks off the floor, and it was the last meal, just hours before departure that brought me unstuck!

Breakfast was simply bacon and eggs with toast, nothing different to what I had every other morning. We headed to the airport and flew from hanoi to KL. Feeling a little funny didn't make me suspiscious because its a constant feeling over there. During our stop over the stomoch cramps started and let's just say "the brown river was running"!!

For the following 10 hours or so during the stop over and flight to melbourne I was as crook as a dog, not knowing which end was going to release fluid!

Enough info, but let's just say that flight was painful! Not enough to ruin the holiday at the end of the day though!!

Gotta go, toilet break!!

Times up

Well that's about it. Last day of holiday coming to an end. Tomorrow we will walk up the street for breakfast, come back to the hotel, checkout and head off to the airport.

Today we visited the ho chi minh museum which was pretty boring but certainly draws a big crowed. Lots of photos and just a handful of artifacts about uncle ho chi, boring for an anglo I guess!! We couldn't get to the morteum. The old guy isn't buried, he sits on a concreate bed in a massive freezer so fans can go and visit him - decades after his death!! Everytime we tried to get close to the building security guards blew their whistles at us and waved us away. It doesn't open to the public everyday so I guess we just picked the wrong time to go.

All in all, vietnam has been a fun trip, highlight being the overnight junk boat on halon bay. Probably wouldn't be in a hurry to come back, unlike bali vietnam doesn't rely on the tourists so they really don't cater for you as well. There are plenty of western cafes and resteraunts, but they aren't as "friendly" or as excited to help you and get your business like in bali. I'd still recommend others to come and see it for yourself though - cheap ass beers is enough reason alone!!

Hanoi

Yesterday we checked in to the dashing hilton in hanoi. It is certainly streets ahead of the hiltons in australia! The pool however is a little too warm, yesterday the pool temp was 28 degrees, more like swimming in a spa!

We walked around the old quater of hanoi this morning. The streets are named appropriately to the goods they are selling. Spice street (in vietnamese) has shop after shop selling spices etc. Very interesting and easy to find what you're looking for - if you speak vietnamese of course.

We took a cyclo tour this afternoon and went to the art museum. Saw many old and new artifacts. Took some photos of the lake in the middle of hanoi etc.

Much the same tomorrow and then friday we pack up and head home to dreary melbourne!! Can't live in 30+ degrees and high humidity forever I guess!!

How's the serenity

While sitting here relaxing on a junk boat sailing accross halon bay I thought I'd drop a line.

Sunday night we arrived in hoian and went straight to our hotel. We caught a mini bus first thing in the morning and took a 4 hour ride to halon bay port. Hundreds of junk boats line the docks. Just looking at them made my guts start churning. They don't really look sea worthy. Much to our surprise our "VIP" room was rather spacious and very comfortable. As well as that, halon bay is surrounded with massive rock formations, so the water is very calm, no chance of sea sickness! Too many beers was going to be my only enemy!!

So we stayed onboard overnight and woke at sunrise, a little too early while on holiday if you ask me! We've climbed to the top of mountains and explored caves. Not to mention the large amounts of fresh seafood that we've consumed!!

This afternoon we jump back on the bus back to hoian and arrive at the hilton. We drove past it yesterday and it certainly looks flash!!

Halon bay has certainly been a highlight of the trip.

Beer alert!

If only I found out about this earlier, just found the local beers aren't saigon larger or 333 which cost about $1 each. The local brew is actually only sold on tap and costs just around 1500 dong. Let's just say that I can pretty much now get drunk after spending $1

out of range

the last 4 days have been spent lazing on the beach and pool in hoi an. unfortunately there is no data services for mobile phones here so i havent been able to check messages or emails. we are off to hanoi tonight so blackberry should be up and running again. if you've left phone messages or emails for me i will check them tonight or tomorrow.

Lazy day

Today was a lazy day of doing not much. Casual stroll to the park and that's about it! We check out of the hotel tomorrow morning and take our flight to hoi an to stay at abeach resort. Swimming pool here we come!!!