back again.

On the insistence of an old friend, I dug around the internet and found my blog again. A few days later, I found the user name and passwords I needed to re-log in. So now, I blog again.

Since Halong Bay

It has been a few days since I last wrote, and only now have I had the change to find a computer and some time to get something down. We are in Hue now, and plan to catch the early bus to Hoi An for a few days of rest and shopping. Ha Long Bay was incredible, the boat was really cool and we had some interesting things for dinner served to us- one including some sort of praying mantis that lives in the ocean. The trip was a nice time to relax, but after seeing the caves and the rocks for two days, I was ready to move on and see more of Hanoi. We stayed only one more day in the capital, then made our way via bus to Ninh Binh in the evening. In the morning we decided to do a day trip around the area, as Ilona had read about it in the Lonely Planet and suggested it was a quiet, but nice place to go see. She wasnt wrong, the countryside is gorgeous and we saw several temples and pagodas as well as climb a hill and cruise a river all punctuated by the guides wisking us around on their motorbikes. It was alot of fun- we only got back to our hotel in the evening and had nothing else to do but wait for our bus and 10 hour bus trip to Hue. The bus ride wasnt too bad, I managed to get 3 seats at the very back and could sorta lie down in a contorted postition. We arrived in Hue at 6 30 am this morning, and since then we have seen the temples and palaces of the city. It is a wonderful sleepy little place compared to the cities we have been to, and tomorrow morning we leave again for somewhere with a little more to see. I think we both are a little templed- out, after having seen about 10 of them this trip so far. Sorry for the brevity of this post, there is too much to put into these last few days, you will have to wait until I get back to hear the entire stories.

Hanoi, Cu Chi and an AK 47

I write this in our hotel in Hanoi, a few thousand kilometres from where we started in Ho Chi Minh City only a day or so ago. Since I wrote, we have visited several places around the city, seen a temple and the Viet Cong tunnels and even fired an AK47. Following lunch after writing my first post, Ilona and I went for a walking tour of the city, helped along by two rickshaws. Our first destination was the War Remnants Museum, a collection of old American hardware and numerous images of war and a few scale models of POW cells. We then decided to try our luck and walk through district 5, hoping to find some food and then a way back to our hotel in district 1. On the long way round we saw a Pagoda and an interesting view of the city. An incredible traffic jam which seemed to have all the traffic moving at the same time, yet in different directions. It sounds crazy, but it works quite well- everything flows, just really really slowly. I was shocked today when our cab driver went 80 on the road, it seemed so fast. After the traffic jam, we saw a little of the municipal park before having tea and a night out frequenting the various nightspots throughout the backpackers area.
The following morning it was an early rise, with our tour bus for the day leaving at 8 15. It didnt end up leaving until 8 30, but that did not stop us from trying to eat breakfast as fast as possible in order to not be late. The Cao Daoi temple was 3 hours away by coach- only 110 kms, but by the speed that transport in Vietnam goes, the 3 hours was well needed. The temple was amazing, decorated with dragons and filled with a riot of colour. We arrived just before the midday prayers and saw the temple fill with worshippers and all pray. The religion is apparently a hybird of 3 of the regions religions, Confuscionism, Taoism and Buddism.
We only had a short time at the temple, as the major part of our tour was still to come: the Cu Chi tunnels. We saw Vietcong traps, hiding holes and even got to crawl through a tunnel underground. I thought the tunnel was small and cramped, but apparently it had been widened for tourists. The highlight of the tour was went we were allowed to fire some of the old weapons from the war. At $1 US a bullet, it is expensive but so much fun. Those guns are so loud- the earmuffs seemed to do nothing to stop the crack of the rifle. After the tour was over, it was an hour long bus trip into the city again and back to bed early- we were both exhausted.
Today was more of a travelling day. After having breakfast and packing and checking out, we got to the airport and flew to Hanoi. Hanoi is very different to Ho Chi Minh, with strong French influences in its architecture and feel. The city was shrouded under a blanket of cloud when we flew in, and has been ever since. It is even about 20 degrees cooler here than in Ho Chi Minh, and I have felt the need to buy some more jackets and pants- for really cheap. Tonight Ilona and I will be seeing some markets close to our hotel that are only open weekends, so that should be good. Tomorrow we start toward Ha Long Bay and our stay on the boat, which is something I cant wait for.

Hello All

After arriving in Singapore Airport, I ran around like a madman trying to get all the things I needed before my flight left. I had only a few minutes to check basketball scores, buy a new memory card before I had to run to my flight. It was a short flight to Ho Chi Minh City, and after I got there it was a slow and interesting wait at Immigration. They packed us all into one room and about 8 lines all waiting on one immigration officer to let people through. After that it was easy to get out- but finding Ilona was another matter. After walking out the airport gate and being mobbed by all these taxi drivers, I finally found Ilona and we got ourselves a cab and made our way into the city centre4. We found ourselves at a 3 star hotel called the Oscar Saigon which gave us a free breakfast and a room with a brick wall for a view. That night we ate at a place just around the corner and got a full meal plus drinks for only 12 US between the both of us. It is all very cheap over here, and you can negotiate just about everything. This morning after we ate our very nutritious and pleasing ( what the hotel called its breakfast service ) breakfast, we made our way to the travel place and have just booked our trip up north and plan to see the tunnels and temples that are near the Saigon. I am writing this in a internet cafe that has no door, and has about 10 scooters lined up at the front. It is mad here, you dont even bother trying to follow the road rules- there are none. You just cross and dont stop- they move out of the way for you. I should find a way to upload pictures soon, but this will have to do for now.

Nearly there

As I write this it is less than 18 hours before I take off to Vietnam. All is packed, and aside from a few monetary withdrawls, I am ready to go. Our trip is vaguely planned out, and hopefully I will be able to update everyone on what we are doing when I get over there. I may have to search to find a way to update pictures, but I have heard that there should be enough internet cafe's. Until then, I can only wait and look forward to enjoying Vietnam.

Back again.

Its now a long time since I last wrote anything toward this blog, and the basketball season has come and gone. I recieved the MVP award for the league and now look forward to the next year. I have almost finished my 2nd year of uni and have a holiday lined up. Life goes too fast. Anyway, have a look at some pictures I took on a photo tour through Guildford a few days ago.

From basketball

It seems that I might not be able to play this year. All depends on a clearance apparently. We shall see if this will come to fruitition. Oh, the picture is a slightly wonky one of the skyline from halfway up the hill.