Morning, so why beep beep I hear you ask from across the globe. Well as mentioned before, there are no rules to driving over here - except to beep you horn at every passing vechicle, person or animal... even if they are no where near you. Yes this does not sound that annoying, but try sleeping on a uncomfy bus with a megaphone beep beep horn and then maybe you'll see why we hate beep beep horns soooo much! Anyways back to the adventure that was Vietnam.
So we arrived in Danang after a 13hour sleeper train journey and then got the bus to Hoi An. Now Hoi An definatly made up for the icky journey as the fishing town is soooo picturesque. The buildings are a burnt yellowy colour and it has a river running through the old town with fishing boats bobbing along making the town look very tranquil. We soon realised that this town had sooo many tailors, where you could order any clothes in any fabric and have them custom made especially for you - a shopaholics dream one might say! So Lou and I proceeded to think very carefully about the most practical things we needed...erm which of corse involved pattern dresses, some even made from silk... an essential for backpacking yes? In the evening we had a lovely meal and our first dessert of the trip! ( we are sooo easily pleased)
The next day we had to go and collect our clothes and make sure they fitted right, unfortunatly I had taken a turn for the worst and was not feeling my best - the dresses soon cheered us up though. Whilst the rest of the group decided to hire bikes to explore the town more I really needed to go back to the hotel to lie down, so Lou (being an excellent nurse) and I started to trek back to our room. After about an hour we realised our 20minute walk had gone a bit wrong as we arrived back at the tailors from where we started... not great in the heat especially as I was trying extremly hard not to throw up in the street!! Eventually we managed to get back via the doctors where I was given medicine (I know everyone is sighing a big sigh of relief.) In the evening Lou and the rest of the group went to a cooking class. It involved exloring the local food market and then making salad rolls, crispy pancakes, mango salad and chicken marinade. Lou assures me that she will be cooking all this when we get back to anyone who is willing to try it!
We sadly waved goodbye to Hoi An to start our journey to Hue. We travelled up Hai Van pass (seen the top gear episode where they go up here on motorbikes?) which had amazing views. Once we had arrived in Hue (which is actually said like who) we went on a motorbike tour. Sorry if I go on a bit at this point as this is a major highlight of the whole experince so far. We were on the backs of bikes (and yes dad we had helmets on) and were driven around by locals - needless to say there was a lot of smiling, thumbs up and nodding. When we first started I was gripping on for dear life, but soon realised how much fun letting go was and proceeded to wave my hands around in the air for most the ride - I know so cool right! We visited alot of places including the emperors tomb 'Tu Duc Tomb', Ho Quyen where there use to be elephant V tiger fights and a pagoda where the young monks trained and lived. Our local tour guide really made this a tour we wouldn't forget as he put on a one man show and acted out different scenes showing the different parts f the history of Hue. We also stopped at a place where they made the cone hats and incense - Lou had a go at making some incense and seemed to do a good job. That evening we visited a restaurant that is run by a family that are deaf and dumb, they allow their customers to right messages on the walls and ceilings as this is very visual for them. Lou and I left our mark too! This was an amazing day and an experince we won't forget in a hurry.
We were meant to leave the next day but unfortunatly the flooding had stopped any trains running so our only option was to fly out the next day. At the time this was a bit of a bummer but after hearing horror stories of trains being flooded and people on buses drowning I think we were all relived to by pass such an experince. Lou and I decided to explore the shops of Hue a little more - not one of our best ideas as the market was so claustraphobic with it low roofs, maze like alley ways and 'intereasting' smells. We got out of there pretty sharpish. By this time we were in dire need of water so headed for the supermarket, where we proceeded to walk around gormlessly in our fruitless search. All in all a pretty non-eventful day but all part of the adevnture I suppose!
We arrived in Hanoi after a short flight and transfered to bus for a 4 hour journey to Halong Bay. Lou and I had a balcony over looking the beach and the islands which was amazing! We then went on a private boat tour and had a late lunch of various sea food which was yummy. The boat took us to the caves in Halong Bay which were spectatular, we also visited a floating fish farm nestled amongst the smaller islands. Here Lou very bravelly held a massive crab which looked part ailen part sting ray - sooo brave!! We then meandered through the islands as the sun was setting, a truely magical day.
After travelling back to Hanoi the following day, we had free time to explore the city. We took a wander around the streets and realised we were a tad lost so decided to get a taxi to the lake to go on pedallos. Our cab driver was very funny and played some 80's asian pop - we think he enjoyed our singing and dance moves. That evening we went to drink 20p beer on the street sitting on plastic chairs - a different kind of experince! We then proceeded to a local Vietnamise bar where we stuck out like sore thumbs, however we were soon accepted when we danced our little hearts out and sang along to the english tunes. A funny night was had.
Our second day in Hanoi was a little overshadowed by tiredness, but we put on a brave face and trekked down to the 'world famous water puppet theatre show' - Now when you see something that is world famous it is not too silly to expect something amazing. Hmmm oh how you are wrong, Lou spent the whole show laughing and I nearly fell asleep. It was a very odd show with no story and puppets in water for some reason oh and was in Vietnamise so we understood nothing. Again I think we will just have to put this one down to part of the experince.
So that was our time in Vietnam, we were often stared at or laughed at which was sometimes uneasy, we bartered hard at the markets (even over knickers - some how I have lost 6 pairs of undies in the space of three weeks, our theory is when we put our clothes into the local laundrette they keep a pair??) and survived floods. I can't say it was my favourite country but we definatly had some of our best memories made here.
Lots of love to you all
Steph and Lou x x x
Saturday 23 October 2010
We are billionaires in Vietnam
Yes it is true, we are billionaires here in Vietnam! We have both achieved what Travie and Bruno could only sing about... shame it is dong and not pounds though. Anyways, so it is my turn to update our blog and tell you all about our adventures in Vietnam. As many of you know I was a tad ill (sob sob) so some of these mini adventures are just from Miss Vas I did not do some things and laid in bed feeling sorry for my self (sob sob some more.)
So Vietnam started of in an interesting way of having to bribe the officials to speed up our crossing! Whilst waiting for our passports to be stamped I was stroked on the arm by a local lady - amazed at my height and white skin. At the time I thought ahhh how amusing, little did I know that this was just the beginning of the stares, stroking, laughing and being pointed at! Lou braved the toilet (squat loo) and in her words 'the worst toilet ever seen in the whole entire world!' This was not helping me overcome my fear of using a squat loo, as I still hadn't used one!!
So we arrived in Saigon after a short bus journey (only an hour) and went on a tour of the fishing town which is built on the river. We stopped at one of the floating fisheries and saw how they go about their daily lives. Both Kerry, one of the girls on the tour, and Louise tried to catch the fish with their hands (the local way) but just weren't quick enough. We also stopped of at one of the villages and had to climb a rickety bridge to get to it - a tad scary. They keep a pole which shows how high the water gets during the floods, in 2000 it was higher than me!!!!
The next day we arrived in Ho Chai Minh the capital. I have never seen sooooo many motorbikes in all my life! There don't seem to be any road rules here at all - just alot of beeping! When crossing the road me and Lou even held hands, the best method was to walk slowly and keep looking straight and let the bikes swerve round you, and what ever you do DO NOT RUN! We went to the local market and did what we do best - shopped! Lou bought some shorts, but had to change behind a small blanket thingy in the middle of the market held up by me - very funny experience, especially as other tourists stopped to have a look!
So by this time I was suffering bad with my tummy (I know I may of mentioned this once or twice!) but decided I wanted to go with the rest of the group to go and see the only remaining tunnels from the war - bad decision on my part as I spent most of the time in the loo. So Lou and the rest of the group had the chance to crawl through one of the tiny tunnels used by the soldiers, apparently you had to crawl along on your knees and it was v hot and claustrophobic - can't imagine what it was like for the soldiers who had to live underground during the day. That afternoon the group went on a tour of HoChai Minh, but Lou was a bit vague about what they saw, so I don't think I missed out on too much!
That evening we took a night train to Nha Trang. It was Emma's birthday (another girl from the tour!) so we decided to celebrate on the train. I for some reason thought the alcohol would help my tummy and was quickly convinced by the others to join them in the celebrations! Vaughn our tour leader managed to bump us up to 1st class so we were travelling in style, sort of! Our cabin became the party cabin and needless to say alot was drunk, cake was eaten, rice wine was tried, songs were sung and confetti was stuck to our faces - kindly licked by Louise!!! Around 3 in the morning after about an hour sleeping I heard banging and shouting and was convinced we were at our stop, so I woke the cabin (Lou, Emma and Lorna) and we all got ready really quickly and in a panic.... that was until Lorna pointed out it was 3 in the morning and we weren't arriving in Nha Trang till 5. Let's just say the girls still haven't let me forget it yet. oops!!
Once we had actually arrived in Nha Trang sleep was in order. Once we were all refreshed we decided to go to the mineral mud baths for some pampering. This was amazing and refreshing - though trying to clean mud out of your bikini in a public shower is not for the shy! After our lazy day we decided to go and sample the local night life. We ended up in this bar called Oasis, where Lou and Lorna played pool with a local woman for agggeeess - the cheap alcoholapparently made them pro pool players! So about 2ish we decided to head home, but Jaff (our only male on the tour at this point) pointed out that while we had been busy dancing the night away the road had turned into a river. Somehow he managed to convince us our only option was to stay at the bar and continue with the dancing and drinking. Eventually we headed home about 4ish when the road was a little less like a river.
So the next day was a bit of a washout and was spent at the beach and in the pool. generally recovering from the night before antics. That evening we boarded our second sleeper train, but we were not in 1st class this time and we sure noticed the difference! Beds already been slept in, stains we rather we didn't see and bugs. Luckily we didn't see any bugs in our room, but we heard many a scream from the girls next door! Needless to say we all started to creep ourselves out convinced bugs were going to attack us in the night. The night was spent looking like a mummy wrapped in our sleeping liners and spraying bug repellent! An experience yes, one we want to repeat... no!
So I have been waffling on now for aggeeeess and still haven't told you everything about Vietnam so stay tuned for the next installment tomorrow and hopefully some more piccys uploaded onto facebook! We hope everyone is good at home and we both love getting messages so please keep them coming :)
Till tomorrow, much love
Steph and Lou x x x x
So Vietnam started of in an interesting way of having to bribe the officials to speed up our crossing! Whilst waiting for our passports to be stamped I was stroked on the arm by a local lady - amazed at my height and white skin. At the time I thought ahhh how amusing, little did I know that this was just the beginning of the stares, stroking, laughing and being pointed at! Lou braved the toilet (squat loo) and in her words 'the worst toilet ever seen in the whole entire world!' This was not helping me overcome my fear of using a squat loo, as I still hadn't used one!!
So we arrived in Saigon after a short bus journey (only an hour) and went on a tour of the fishing town which is built on the river. We stopped at one of the floating fisheries and saw how they go about their daily lives. Both Kerry, one of the girls on the tour, and Louise tried to catch the fish with their hands (the local way) but just weren't quick enough. We also stopped of at one of the villages and had to climb a rickety bridge to get to it - a tad scary. They keep a pole which shows how high the water gets during the floods, in 2000 it was higher than me!!!!
The next day we arrived in Ho Chai Minh the capital. I have never seen sooooo many motorbikes in all my life! There don't seem to be any road rules here at all - just alot of beeping! When crossing the road me and Lou even held hands, the best method was to walk slowly and keep looking straight and let the bikes swerve round you, and what ever you do DO NOT RUN! We went to the local market and did what we do best - shopped! Lou bought some shorts, but had to change behind a small blanket thingy in the middle of the market held up by me - very funny experience, especially as other tourists stopped to have a look!
So by this time I was suffering bad with my tummy (I know I may of mentioned this once or twice!) but decided I wanted to go with the rest of the group to go and see the only remaining tunnels from the war - bad decision on my part as I spent most of the time in the loo. So Lou and the rest of the group had the chance to crawl through one of the tiny tunnels used by the soldiers, apparently you had to crawl along on your knees and it was v hot and claustrophobic - can't imagine what it was like for the soldiers who had to live underground during the day. That afternoon the group went on a tour of HoChai Minh, but Lou was a bit vague about what they saw, so I don't think I missed out on too much!
That evening we took a night train to Nha Trang. It was Emma's birthday (another girl from the tour!) so we decided to celebrate on the train. I for some reason thought the alcohol would help my tummy and was quickly convinced by the others to join them in the celebrations! Vaughn our tour leader managed to bump us up to 1st class so we were travelling in style, sort of! Our cabin became the party cabin and needless to say alot was drunk, cake was eaten, rice wine was tried, songs were sung and confetti was stuck to our faces - kindly licked by Louise!!! Around 3 in the morning after about an hour sleeping I heard banging and shouting and was convinced we were at our stop, so I woke the cabin (Lou, Emma and Lorna) and we all got ready really quickly and in a panic.... that was until Lorna pointed out it was 3 in the morning and we weren't arriving in Nha Trang till 5. Let's just say the girls still haven't let me forget it yet. oops!!
Once we had actually arrived in Nha Trang sleep was in order. Once we were all refreshed we decided to go to the mineral mud baths for some pampering. This was amazing and refreshing - though trying to clean mud out of your bikini in a public shower is not for the shy! After our lazy day we decided to go and sample the local night life. We ended up in this bar called Oasis, where Lou and Lorna played pool with a local woman for agggeeess - the cheap alcoholapparently made them pro pool players! So about 2ish we decided to head home, but Jaff (our only male on the tour at this point) pointed out that while we had been busy dancing the night away the road had turned into a river. Somehow he managed to convince us our only option was to stay at the bar and continue with the dancing and drinking. Eventually we headed home about 4ish when the road was a little less like a river.
So the next day was a bit of a washout and was spent at the beach and in the pool. generally recovering from the night before antics. That evening we boarded our second sleeper train, but we were not in 1st class this time and we sure noticed the difference! Beds already been slept in, stains we rather we didn't see and bugs. Luckily we didn't see any bugs in our room, but we heard many a scream from the girls next door! Needless to say we all started to creep ourselves out convinced bugs were going to attack us in the night. The night was spent looking like a mummy wrapped in our sleeping liners and spraying bug repellent! An experience yes, one we want to repeat... no!
So I have been waffling on now for aggeeeess and still haven't told you everything about Vietnam so stay tuned for the next installment tomorrow and hopefully some more piccys uploaded onto facebook! We hope everyone is good at home and we both love getting messages so please keep them coming :)
Till tomorrow, much love
Steph and Lou x x x x
Sunday 17 October 2010
We loved Cambodia!!
Firstly I appologise for not updating everyone sooner.u know what I'm like lol! Since arriving 2 weeks ago me and steph have been so busy and loving every minute of it.
Crossing the border into Cambodia was pretty hectic.we both witnessed a pick pocket stealing a phone from someones bag.from then on we knew that we had to make sure we were safe with all our bags.after crossing the border at poipot we made our way to siem reap.this was my favourite place in Cambodia.when we arrived at our hotel they welcomed us with cold towels and orange juice.we felt like royalty :)
we have been really lucky with the hotels we have stays at.we have both had a double bed each.
The first evening in siem reap we went to a place called new hope,a foundation that has been set up 2educate children. The children that go to new hope live in slums and are very poor so most of them couldn't read or write before.
We went there on tuk Tuks.was the funniest journey as it was down a dirt track an the tuk tuks were going all over the place was difficult to stay in lol! We met the children and went in the class which was so amazing.we then had a traditional dinner cooked for us. One of the courses consisted of crickets and snake mmmm!!!
We also visited Angkor temples in siem reap.we got up really early 2 see the sunrise but we never actually saw it coz it was cloudy hehe! We will be putting photos up soon so u can see the 1000s of pics that were taken there.
We also went to the night Market,it was filled with pretty much everything.we also had a doc fsh massage which is where tiny lil fish nibble on ur toes and eat ur dead skin.pretty sick but was really good for our feet, I also had a whole body massage,I was swung round like a rag doll lol! I felt so good after it though.
Not only have we eaten crickets and snake but we also tried tarrantula.walking back from the Market some man asked us if we wanted to try some and we both thought why not :)
after siem reap we heads to phonm Penn the capital of Cambodia.there we went to s21 prison and the killing fields.that was quite a shocking day,seeing how millions of people were tortured and killed.we saw the mass graves and there is still clothes and bones coming ups from the ground when it rains and washes the top layer of soil away.it was awlful what happen and even the people of Cambodia still don't know why it happened.
Me and steph also tried to visit the royal palace in phonm Penn.when we left our hotel it was raining slightly,we thought it would stop but it didn't for about 30mins.by the time ut stopped we were knee deep in rain water and trying to make our way back to the hotel.was the funniestexperinces I have ever had.
The last stop in Cambodia was sihanoukville.on the bus journey there steph ha here iPhone stolen.have no idea how ut happened.very sneaky!! She also got btten by ants as she was stood on an ants nest when we stopped for a loo break.
The first thing we did after we checked into the hotel was go to the beach.I saw a jelly fish in the sea so didn't go in lol! Such a wimp!!
We had the best meal on the beach in the eve and we also had buckets of vodka lemonade and lime.they were very stony lol! After dinner we went to a uv club and painted ourselves with paint.was such a good night.pics of that will be up soon aswell.
We are now in Vietnam but will update u about that very soon. We are both loving every minute.
Missing everyone lots
love lou and steph x x
Crossing the border into Cambodia was pretty hectic.we both witnessed a pick pocket stealing a phone from someones bag.from then on we knew that we had to make sure we were safe with all our bags.after crossing the border at poipot we made our way to siem reap.this was my favourite place in Cambodia.when we arrived at our hotel they welcomed us with cold towels and orange juice.we felt like royalty :)
we have been really lucky with the hotels we have stays at.we have both had a double bed each.
The first evening in siem reap we went to a place called new hope,a foundation that has been set up 2educate children. The children that go to new hope live in slums and are very poor so most of them couldn't read or write before.
We went there on tuk Tuks.was the funniest journey as it was down a dirt track an the tuk tuks were going all over the place was difficult to stay in lol! We met the children and went in the class which was so amazing.we then had a traditional dinner cooked for us. One of the courses consisted of crickets and snake mmmm!!!
We also visited Angkor temples in siem reap.we got up really early 2 see the sunrise but we never actually saw it coz it was cloudy hehe! We will be putting photos up soon so u can see the 1000s of pics that were taken there.
We also went to the night Market,it was filled with pretty much everything.we also had a doc fsh massage which is where tiny lil fish nibble on ur toes and eat ur dead skin.pretty sick but was really good for our feet, I also had a whole body massage,I was swung round like a rag doll lol! I felt so good after it though.
Not only have we eaten crickets and snake but we also tried tarrantula.walking back from the Market some man asked us if we wanted to try some and we both thought why not :)
after siem reap we heads to phonm Penn the capital of Cambodia.there we went to s21 prison and the killing fields.that was quite a shocking day,seeing how millions of people were tortured and killed.we saw the mass graves and there is still clothes and bones coming ups from the ground when it rains and washes the top layer of soil away.it was awlful what happen and even the people of Cambodia still don't know why it happened.
Me and steph also tried to visit the royal palace in phonm Penn.when we left our hotel it was raining slightly,we thought it would stop but it didn't for about 30mins.by the time ut stopped we were knee deep in rain water and trying to make our way back to the hotel.was the funniestexperinces I have ever had.
The last stop in Cambodia was sihanoukville.on the bus journey there steph ha here iPhone stolen.have no idea how ut happened.very sneaky!! She also got btten by ants as she was stood on an ants nest when we stopped for a loo break.
The first thing we did after we checked into the hotel was go to the beach.I saw a jelly fish in the sea so didn't go in lol! Such a wimp!!
We had the best meal on the beach in the eve and we also had buckets of vodka lemonade and lime.they were very stony lol! After dinner we went to a uv club and painted ourselves with paint.was such a good night.pics of that will be up soon aswell.
We are now in Vietnam but will update u about that very soon. We are both loving every minute.
Missing everyone lots
love lou and steph x x
Monday 4 October 2010
Things we have learnt....
So it is half four in the morning and I am waiting for our tour to Angkor Temple, so I thought why not share some of the things me and Lou have learnt in the past couple of days... and hopefully give you a little insight into our travels so far.
Love S & L x x x
- No matter how excited you are, sitting on the tarmac at Heathrow for over an hour is boring.
- It is HOT in Bangkok i.e. leggings and hoodie are not great clothes to arrive in - also trying to fix a broken bag (louises) is not great in heat either!
- Don't be smug: Went to bed at 11 on the first night thinking ooo we have no jet lag, only later to wake up at three in the morning and not able to get back to sleep!
- Local bus rides here are an adventure all by themselves.
- We can read a map! Walked back from the market all by ourselves with a map that only showed hotels. Pity there wasnt a scale, as it took us agggeeeesss.
- Re walking through Bangkok: Two white girls, one who is tall and the other curly hair get alot of stares!
- Thai food is yummy
- Pack your bag the night before - v stressful having to pack our bags for the tour in the morning!
- Bugs love me - have been bitten alot since being here even though I have been dousing myself in repellent :(
Love S & L x x x
Friday 1 October 2010
See you later...
So the day has arrived and in approxiamtly 7 hours we will be leaving for the ariport! I finally finished packing my bag last night and have managed to cram everything in steph style - no doubt the things I need the most will somehow end up in the middle of the bag, but oh well! Louise has been a tad more organised (what I hear you say!!!) and packed a couple days back, but somehow cannot fit her toothpaste in and asked me to take it for her - hmmm I think she just doesn't want it to explode in her bag or is using me as a drugs mule (this is a JOKE mother)
Have said alot of goodbyes - but someone who likes to think they are a little wise said it's not goodbye its just 'see you later' which I like :) A highlight see you later was when Lousie and I were sung through all the things that we would miss i.e. halloween, xmas, new year, chinese new year (?) birthdays and Hannukah ( I like to think this was mentioned because adam was there?)
I think I am a little too excited as I keep putting my bag on and wandering around the house imagining im at the airport... on that note I have to go and finish my list of things to do - just to give you a little insight it involves re-painting nails a less depressing colour and getting my eyebrows done. I know these are possibly the most two important things I need to do before leaving the country.
Next blog will hopefully be from Thailand... if we get on the right plane, dont lose Louise, dont lose tickets/passport etc.
See you laters x x x
Have said alot of goodbyes - but someone who likes to think they are a little wise said it's not goodbye its just 'see you later' which I like :) A highlight see you later was when Lousie and I were sung through all the things that we would miss i.e. halloween, xmas, new year, chinese new year (?) birthdays and Hannukah ( I like to think this was mentioned because adam was there?)
I think I am a little too excited as I keep putting my bag on and wandering around the house imagining im at the airport... on that note I have to go and finish my list of things to do - just to give you a little insight it involves re-painting nails a less depressing colour and getting my eyebrows done. I know these are possibly the most two important things I need to do before leaving the country.
Next blog will hopefully be from Thailand... if we get on the right plane, dont lose Louise, dont lose tickets/passport etc.
See you laters x x x
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