....more Vietnam- our time in the Deep South Mekong Delta......
Our next few destinations in Vietnam were a bit fiddly to organize, as they were either off the tourist trail, or a bit more difficult to travel to from one to another. We begrudgingly stayed a couple of nights in Saigon in between as a result. Deciding to mostly travel on public transport, we were able to observe other parts of Saigon on our long way out to the far flung bus stations of the city, and realized, it's really only Pham Ngo Lao (the backpacker area) that is overwhelming, with many other areas appearing pleasant and much less manic. Things looked up on our way to our first destination, Tay Ninh, when our bus driver stopped to buy us some food- a taste of things to come out of the city!!
Tay Ninh is famous as being the head quarters of the Cao Dai religion- a intriguing sect founded in 1919 by a mystic who began to receive messages during seances. Just what they were, or who they were from, we never found out, but it spawned a group of followers who believed in him and his mix of East and West, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, with a bit of Vietnamese ancient spirituality thrown in. Apparently, there are several million followers. We had seen many Cao Dai temples in the Mekong Delta region of southern Vietnam, where there are many devotees, but the complex in Tay Ninh was the biggest and most important, with hundreds of worshippers attending several sessions a day.
Tour buses come here every day from Saigon for a 20 minute visit, before whizzing on to the next place, and they were obviously used to herds of tourists at the temple. We were kept on a tight leash, not being allowed inside until everyone else had entered, only being allowed to observe from certain areas, and having to leave before the followers did. After waiting outside for some time (and trying to take as many sneaky pics as we could), we were requested to enter once more and shown around the interior, but we had to be very careful not to step on the wrong side of lines, and take photos when we were instructed to!! But it was definitely worth waking up early to attend the 6 am service, and see the place as the only foreigners there.
Because of the difficulty of taking too many photos, we missed many strange sights- such as the two old ladies sitting at the front who were dressed in what looked exactly like KKK outfits! The whole thing was rather strange, but fascinating, and the colourful highly ornamented temple seemed to match the bizarreness of the religion.
The added bonus of having time to visit the otherwise ordinary town of Tay Ninh for a few days instead of coming on a tour bus, was exploring at our leisure. In the small market, in particular, we were an attraction in our own right (some people even started laughing just seeing us!!), and the guest house we stayed in was bizarrely kinky. It was obviously designed with sexy time in mind with mirrors all over the entire room, blue lights and an en-suite bathroom with clear glass inside the room!! Having said that, the family who owned the place made us feel very special and welcome, despite not speaking a word of English, bringing us a fridge from downstairs and stocking it with free water.
Realizing the trip from Saigon to Da Lat was a long one, we decided to break the journey in Mui Ne, a coastal beach resort. In hindsight, a long bus ride would have been preferable to the boring strip of guest-houses and overpriced restaurants set along an average beach that was Mui Ne, but that's all part of travelling. No matter what the guide book says, and what you read on-line, you never know how you will react to a place unless you go and look yourself. Apparently people love the parachuting or kite surfing there, but for us long walks on the featureless beach followed by some mediocre food in not particularly friendly cafes didn't stimulate us much. It must be said we didn't put much effort in- perhaps the heavily promoted sand dune or Fairy Stream tours would have been worth a trip, but the time has come for us, when we know when to pass on the touristy crap and move on to somewhere more worthwhile.
This seems a good point to discuss our observations about the clothing habits of Vietnamese women. Women are almost always covered from head to foot. From the top down- a hat, often a traditional conical one, but always with a big brim, covers the head, sometimes with a hooded jacket underneath. A helmet is added if a motorbike ride is involved. A face mask covers the bottom half of the face. Not the thin Chinese style face mask- the Vietnamese versions are thick and washable. Long sleeves and trousers, often as a matching pyjama suit are normal. Often a jacket is wore over the top, even if the weather is stinking hot. The hands are covered by either long floppy sleeves of the jacket, long gloves, or fingerless gloves. If a short skirt or shorts are worn, a long wrap around skirt is often added, particularly for riding on a motorbike. Finally, socks with individual toes are the norm. How they function under all these layers in the heat we have no idea!! Needless to say, the beach is not a popular destination for Vietnamese women!! What is really lovely is that women of all ages and backgrounds wear the traditional conical hat- it's not just a clichéd stereotype! Not too many wear the traditional outfit of the ao dai any more, which is a shame. Some teachers and older school girls seem to be the only ones now.
We'd been looking forward to the cool climate of Da Lat, and as we travelled up into the hills from the coast on winding roads there was a definite difference in the air. The main roads changed from hectic highways with hot and dusty plantations mostly growing dragon fruit and rice, to slightly less busy roads lined with small farms, and higher villages with pine, silky oak, coffee and eucalyptus trees.
Da Lat had a fresh, well cared for feel to it and was full of flowers in the streets. For sure it's one of the most touristy places in the country, especially for local tourists, but there was also a pleasant centre (although still very busy and noisy) full of yummy food and drink options, and people who often spoke English and were friendly enough despite their exposure to tourists.
There was a huge difference in the fruit and vegetables available in the markets. The asparagus, artichokes, strawberries, apples, broccoli, cauliflower and various berries present indicated the cooler climate of the town. We had rain every afternoon, and although it cooled the air, it also meant things got wet, and nothing dried out over night- we're not used to that!! We curled up in our cozy room with a fluffy doona during the evenings with hot drinks and movies on the TV. Da Lat red wine was extremely pleasant and cheap (55,000 dong/AU$3.20) from the supermarket.
The funniest thing in Dalat was watching the Vietnamese tourists posing for photos. These holiday-makers took striking a pose to a whole other level, with acrobatics, costumes, and one guy even hiring out two great fluffy dogs for photo taking.
Unfortunately, we hadn't realized that the mega combination holiday of Reunification Day and Independence Day was arriving very soon, and we found out that our hotel was raising their prices by three! We spent a day traipsing around to more than 50 guest-houses and hotels around Da Lat trying to find another room, only to find EVERY single one was full! We couldn't believe how busy it was, and decided to cut our stay short, and escape to the non touristy region of the Central Highlands. It was a shame, as there was much in the town we didn't get to see, but we literally had no choice (unless we wanted to pay hundreds of dollars on a room for 4 or 5 nights). Bummer......
Travelling north from Dalat, up and down through the hills, the scenery switched between scenes of rice fields to pine forests and coffee growing prolifically everywhere. The French introduced coffee to Vietnam (along with yummy baguettes), and this area's climate makes it the perfect growing area. Pepper was also common growing on high trellises. The presence of churches in this area was also much more prevalent. Apparently only 7% of Vietnamese are Catholic, but there seemed to be an awful lot of churches!
Special mention must be made of our shockingly frightening mini bus ride between Buon Ma Thuot and Kon Tum- it is the worst we have experienced in years, and one which cemented our usual resolve never to take mini buses in South East Asia. Unfortunately, that was the only way to travel between the two towns in this instance. The driver was more mental than usual, speeding, swerving and overtaking in order to beat the other minibuses to pick up passengers. The more built up an area the faster he drove. The overtaking was taken to a new level with three or even four vehicles trying to pass each other in a row on the highway at times. Little regard was given to other traffic- motorbikes, bicycles and passengers had to get out of the way or be mown down. Needless to say, after four hours of this we were shaken but happy to be out and alive.
The towns of Buon Ma Thuot and Kon Tum are in the Central Highlands, although it didn't feel like we were very high and the temperature was quite hot. There are many minority groups living in the area, although their presence ins't obvious around the town. It's not like in northern Vietnam where you can see hill tribe people wandering around the markets with brightly coloured embroidered clothing and funny hats. We were a few years too late for that in the Central Highlands area!! Nonetheless, we enjoyed being away from the holiday crowds and in places where life goes on as normal and we could watch from the outside.
Kon Tum was unusual in that when we walked a couple of streets from the main drag, we found ourselves in small villages with fields, little cows and a rural feel. It was refreshing to stroll the streets and see small signs of a disappearing lifestyle. People here were very reserved, apart from one little boy who ran up to us laughing and holding up his middle finger and said "Fuck you"!! Perhaps they have had their fair share of tourists coming through to ogle them. These villages still had some rickety old houses and the central rong- the community hall and place of gathering with towering thatched roofs. Walking further away from Kon Tum, the scenery became more agricultural with hills in the distance, suspension bridges and more traditional houses on stilts, and the village rongs became grander.
Leaving the Central Highlands and taking a (big) bus down to the coast, we balanced out our previous horrendous journey, with a wonderful comfortable ride with the most beautiful scenery we have experienced in Vietnam on this trip. The winding road took us through small rustic villages with little thatched cottages, haystacks and rungs, towering pines and bamboo and gorgeous terraced rice paddies with people working away under their conical hats with water buffalo. A change in the weather when rain and mist appeared only made the scenery more atmospheric and spectacular.
A stop in the coastal town of Quang Ngai was really only to connect to the train, but we still had fun looking around the market, with the friendliest stall holder ladies all yelling out and laughing at us with their friends- a lovely atmosphere. People here, more than anywhere else we had been were curious and staring a lot- a sure sign not too many tourists get this way.
Once we left the Mekong Delta, the bus services were mixed. Mostly, they were fine, and as easy as we had previously experienced, well organized with clear numbers and signs, cheap, air conditioned and comfortable. Most buses insisted on a shoes off policy which really helped keep the buses clean. The sleeper buses really proved themselves to be superb, especially for Rich, as he could stretch his knee out on longer trips. Futa company continued to be excellent, with professional, clean and organized buses- unfortunately, they didn't travel to many of the places we were headed. Occasionally loud music or movies were annoying, and the non Futa buses were certainly of a lower standard. The bus we took during the holiday period was so crowded people were lying on the floor on mattresses, but no one seemed to mind too much! The two extreme bus trips mentioned in the text above were definitely the best and the worst!
Local buses in Saigon were simple to use and a real bargain, if a little circuitous. We were never asked for an extra fee for our luggage. We wondered whether Vietnamese people preferred to ride their motorbikes rather than take a local bus, as they were usually mostly empty.
Language and communication got a little better, with Sal finally cracking how to ask for iced coffee successfully!! (The most important requirement of the morning!) We learnt a few other basic words, but anything too complicated, such as road names, we wrote down, and people always understood what we meant.
We weren't impressed with the new style of iced coffees when we travelled north from Da Lat. They were made with very little condensed milk, making more of a short, strong drink, instead of the long milky sweet variety we had grown to love (poor us!!). Prices dropped to around 10,000 dong/AU$0.58 for a coffee in a cafe.
Fruit smoothies were a little harder to come by in this region, but we found a substitute in a refreshing salted lemon drink. We continued to love the huge variety of fruits on offer- mangoes, soursop, sweet pineapple, guavas and custard apples being the favourites.
Street food was generally the same as the first part of our journey, with the addition of nem nuong, the basis for a meal of roll your own spring rolls. The pork, along with rice noodles, salad, herbs, egg, and chilli is put inside a rice paper sheet of paper, rolled as you like and dipped into a peanut sauce. (30,000-40,000 dong/AU$1.75-AU$ 2.30 per person for this treat)
We also discovered banh mi op la, not only a delicious breakfast (fried eggs with herbs and pickled vegetable in a baguette), but easy to pronounce!! (10,000 dong/AU$0.58)
Our rooms continued to be excellent value with all the bells and whistle including air conditioning, fridge, hot water bathroom, toiletries, toilet paper, towels and satellite TV, and were mostly very clean, comfortable and run by friendly families. Prices ranged from 180,000- 260,000 dong/AU$10.40-AU$15). We haven't booked any hotels so far in Vietnam, finding it safer to investigate on-line beforehand where they are, and look at a few rooms on arrival.
.....more Vietnam- Hue and Hoi An......
Our next few destinations in Vietnam were a bit fiddly to organize, as they were either off the tourist trail, or a bit more difficult to travel to from one to another. We begrudgingly stayed a couple of nights in Saigon in between as a result. Deciding to mostly travel on public transport, we were able to observe other parts of Saigon on our long way out to the far flung bus stations of the city, and realized, it's really only Pham Ngo Lao (the backpacker area) that is overwhelming, with many other areas appearing pleasant and much less manic. Things looked up on our way to our first destination, Tay Ninh, when our bus driver stopped to buy us some food- a taste of things to come out of the city!!
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| Group of holy men outside the Cao Dai Holy See Temple, Tay Ninh, Vietnam |
Tay Ninh is famous as being the head quarters of the Cao Dai religion- a intriguing sect founded in 1919 by a mystic who began to receive messages during seances. Just what they were, or who they were from, we never found out, but it spawned a group of followers who believed in him and his mix of East and West, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, with a bit of Vietnamese ancient spirituality thrown in. Apparently, there are several million followers. We had seen many Cao Dai temples in the Mekong Delta region of southern Vietnam, where there are many devotees, but the complex in Tay Ninh was the biggest and most important, with hundreds of worshippers attending several sessions a day.
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| Stunning exterior, Cao Dai Holy See Temple, Tay Ninh, Vietnam |
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| Sneaky pics out the front, Cao Dai Holy See Temple, Tay Ninh, Vietnam |
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| All seeing eye, Cao Dai Holy See Temple, Tay Ninh, Vietnam |
Tour buses come here every day from Saigon for a 20 minute visit, before whizzing on to the next place, and they were obviously used to herds of tourists at the temple. We were kept on a tight leash, not being allowed inside until everyone else had entered, only being allowed to observe from certain areas, and having to leave before the followers did. After waiting outside for some time (and trying to take as many sneaky pics as we could), we were requested to enter once more and shown around the interior, but we had to be very careful not to step on the wrong side of lines, and take photos when we were instructed to!! But it was definitely worth waking up early to attend the 6 am service, and see the place as the only foreigners there.
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| Worshippers, Cao Dai Holy See Temple, Tay Ninh, Vietnam |
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| Different robes seemed to indicate different roles, Cao Dai Holy See Temple, Tay Ninh, Vietnam |
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| Colourfully busy interior, Cao Dai Holy See Temple, Tay Ninh, Vietnam |
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| Prayer time, Cao Dai Holy See Temple, Tay Ninh, Vietnam |
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| The alter with an eye on a giant globe, Cao Dai Holy See Temple, Tay Ninh, Vietnam |
Because of the difficulty of taking too many photos, we missed many strange sights- such as the two old ladies sitting at the front who were dressed in what looked exactly like KKK outfits! The whole thing was rather strange, but fascinating, and the colourful highly ornamented temple seemed to match the bizarreness of the religion.
The added bonus of having time to visit the otherwise ordinary town of Tay Ninh for a few days instead of coming on a tour bus, was exploring at our leisure. In the small market, in particular, we were an attraction in our own right (some people even started laughing just seeing us!!), and the guest house we stayed in was bizarrely kinky. It was obviously designed with sexy time in mind with mirrors all over the entire room, blue lights and an en-suite bathroom with clear glass inside the room!! Having said that, the family who owned the place made us feel very special and welcome, despite not speaking a word of English, bringing us a fridge from downstairs and stocking it with free water.
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| Stairway to heaven, Tay Ninh guesthouse |
Realizing the trip from Saigon to Da Lat was a long one, we decided to break the journey in Mui Ne, a coastal beach resort. In hindsight, a long bus ride would have been preferable to the boring strip of guest-houses and overpriced restaurants set along an average beach that was Mui Ne, but that's all part of travelling. No matter what the guide book says, and what you read on-line, you never know how you will react to a place unless you go and look yourself. Apparently people love the parachuting or kite surfing there, but for us long walks on the featureless beach followed by some mediocre food in not particularly friendly cafes didn't stimulate us much. It must be said we didn't put much effort in- perhaps the heavily promoted sand dune or Fairy Stream tours would have been worth a trip, but the time has come for us, when we know when to pass on the touristy crap and move on to somewhere more worthwhile.
This seems a good point to discuss our observations about the clothing habits of Vietnamese women. Women are almost always covered from head to foot. From the top down- a hat, often a traditional conical one, but always with a big brim, covers the head, sometimes with a hooded jacket underneath. A helmet is added if a motorbike ride is involved. A face mask covers the bottom half of the face. Not the thin Chinese style face mask- the Vietnamese versions are thick and washable. Long sleeves and trousers, often as a matching pyjama suit are normal. Often a jacket is wore over the top, even if the weather is stinking hot. The hands are covered by either long floppy sleeves of the jacket, long gloves, or fingerless gloves. If a short skirt or shorts are worn, a long wrap around skirt is often added, particularly for riding on a motorbike. Finally, socks with individual toes are the norm. How they function under all these layers in the heat we have no idea!! Needless to say, the beach is not a popular destination for Vietnamese women!! What is really lovely is that women of all ages and backgrounds wear the traditional conical hat- it's not just a clichéd stereotype! Not too many wear the traditional outfit of the ao dai any more, which is a shame. Some teachers and older school girls seem to be the only ones now.
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| Conical hat and ao dai, Da Lat, Vietnam |
We'd been looking forward to the cool climate of Da Lat, and as we travelled up into the hills from the coast on winding roads there was a definite difference in the air. The main roads changed from hectic highways with hot and dusty plantations mostly growing dragon fruit and rice, to slightly less busy roads lined with small farms, and higher villages with pine, silky oak, coffee and eucalyptus trees.
Da Lat had a fresh, well cared for feel to it and was full of flowers in the streets. For sure it's one of the most touristy places in the country, especially for local tourists, but there was also a pleasant centre (although still very busy and noisy) full of yummy food and drink options, and people who often spoke English and were friendly enough despite their exposure to tourists.
There was a huge difference in the fruit and vegetables available in the markets. The asparagus, artichokes, strawberries, apples, broccoli, cauliflower and various berries present indicated the cooler climate of the town. We had rain every afternoon, and although it cooled the air, it also meant things got wet, and nothing dried out over night- we're not used to that!! We curled up in our cozy room with a fluffy doona during the evenings with hot drinks and movies on the TV. Da Lat red wine was extremely pleasant and cheap (55,000 dong/AU$3.20) from the supermarket.
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| Strange things (plant) for sale in market, Da Lat, Vietnam |
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| Wonderful display of orchids, Da Lat, Vietnam |
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| Cool climate goods on offer, Da Lat, Vietnam |
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| Market stall , Da Lat, Vietnam |
The funniest thing in Dalat was watching the Vietnamese tourists posing for photos. These holiday-makers took striking a pose to a whole other level, with acrobatics, costumes, and one guy even hiring out two great fluffy dogs for photo taking.
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| Posers galore, Da Lat, Vietnam |
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| Raising the stakes, Da Lat, Vietnam |
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| Sal trying to get in on the act, Da Lat, Vietnam |
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| Glamour girl with glamour dogs, Da Lat, Vietnam |
Unfortunately, we hadn't realized that the mega combination holiday of Reunification Day and Independence Day was arriving very soon, and we found out that our hotel was raising their prices by three! We spent a day traipsing around to more than 50 guest-houses and hotels around Da Lat trying to find another room, only to find EVERY single one was full! We couldn't believe how busy it was, and decided to cut our stay short, and escape to the non touristy region of the Central Highlands. It was a shame, as there was much in the town we didn't get to see, but we literally had no choice (unless we wanted to pay hundreds of dollars on a room for 4 or 5 nights). Bummer......
Travelling north from Dalat, up and down through the hills, the scenery switched between scenes of rice fields to pine forests and coffee growing prolifically everywhere. The French introduced coffee to Vietnam (along with yummy baguettes), and this area's climate makes it the perfect growing area. Pepper was also common growing on high trellises. The presence of churches in this area was also much more prevalent. Apparently only 7% of Vietnamese are Catholic, but there seemed to be an awful lot of churches!
Special mention must be made of our shockingly frightening mini bus ride between Buon Ma Thuot and Kon Tum- it is the worst we have experienced in years, and one which cemented our usual resolve never to take mini buses in South East Asia. Unfortunately, that was the only way to travel between the two towns in this instance. The driver was more mental than usual, speeding, swerving and overtaking in order to beat the other minibuses to pick up passengers. The more built up an area the faster he drove. The overtaking was taken to a new level with three or even four vehicles trying to pass each other in a row on the highway at times. Little regard was given to other traffic- motorbikes, bicycles and passengers had to get out of the way or be mown down. Needless to say, after four hours of this we were shaken but happy to be out and alive.
The towns of Buon Ma Thuot and Kon Tum are in the Central Highlands, although it didn't feel like we were very high and the temperature was quite hot. There are many minority groups living in the area, although their presence ins't obvious around the town. It's not like in northern Vietnam where you can see hill tribe people wandering around the markets with brightly coloured embroidered clothing and funny hats. We were a few years too late for that in the Central Highlands area!! Nonetheless, we enjoyed being away from the holiday crowds and in places where life goes on as normal and we could watch from the outside.
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| Market scene, Buon Ma Thuot, Vietnam |
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| Checking out the goods, Buon Ma Thuot, Vietnam |
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| Back street, Buon Ma Thuot, Vietnam |
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| Mucking around in Buon Ma Thuot museum |
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| KonTum wall |
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| Sign on a school gate!! Kon Tum, Vietnam |
Kon Tum was unusual in that when we walked a couple of streets from the main drag, we found ourselves in small villages with fields, little cows and a rural feel. It was refreshing to stroll the streets and see small signs of a disappearing lifestyle. People here were very reserved, apart from one little boy who ran up to us laughing and holding up his middle finger and said "Fuck you"!! Perhaps they have had their fair share of tourists coming through to ogle them. These villages still had some rickety old houses and the central rong- the community hall and place of gathering with towering thatched roofs. Walking further away from Kon Tum, the scenery became more agricultural with hills in the distance, suspension bridges and more traditional houses on stilts, and the village rongs became grander.
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| Carved Catholic figure in seminary grounds, Kon Tum, Vietnam |
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| Figures in a museum, Kon Tum, Vietnam |
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| Giant rooted tree, Kon Tum, Vietnam |
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| Down the road out of Kon Tum, Vietnam |
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| She caught Sal for a selfie, so we got one too! Kon Tum, Vietnam |
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| Cute village girl, Kon Tum, Vietnam |
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| Playing with a stick, Kon Tum, Vietnam |
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| Lost in a dream, Kon Tum, Vietnam |
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| Doggies for sale by weight, Kon Tum, Vietnam |
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| First time we've seen dog meat for sale on this trip in Kon Tum, Vietnam |
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| Typical house on the outskirts of Kon Tum, Vietnam |
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| Church interior, Kon Tum, Vietnam |
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| Unusual style of the wooden church, Kon Tum, Vietnam |
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| Inside the rong, Kon Tum, Vietnam |
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| Bird's eye view, fishing with electricity, Kon Tum, Vietnam |
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| Heading out of town, Kon Tum, Vietnam |
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| Wonky house, Kon Tum, Vietnam |
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| The rong serves as a community hub, Kon Tum, Vietnam |
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| High roof of a village rong, Kon Tum, Vietnam |
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| View from the back streets of Kon Tum, Vietnam |
Leaving the Central Highlands and taking a (big) bus down to the coast, we balanced out our previous horrendous journey, with a wonderful comfortable ride with the most beautiful scenery we have experienced in Vietnam on this trip. The winding road took us through small rustic villages with little thatched cottages, haystacks and rungs, towering pines and bamboo and gorgeous terraced rice paddies with people working away under their conical hats with water buffalo. A change in the weather when rain and mist appeared only made the scenery more atmospheric and spectacular.
A stop in the coastal town of Quang Ngai was really only to connect to the train, but we still had fun looking around the market, with the friendliest stall holder ladies all yelling out and laughing at us with their friends- a lovely atmosphere. People here, more than anywhere else we had been were curious and staring a lot- a sure sign not too many tourists get this way.
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| Quang Nhai market lady |
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| Coffee filter |
Once we left the Mekong Delta, the bus services were mixed. Mostly, they were fine, and as easy as we had previously experienced, well organized with clear numbers and signs, cheap, air conditioned and comfortable. Most buses insisted on a shoes off policy which really helped keep the buses clean. The sleeper buses really proved themselves to be superb, especially for Rich, as he could stretch his knee out on longer trips. Futa company continued to be excellent, with professional, clean and organized buses- unfortunately, they didn't travel to many of the places we were headed. Occasionally loud music or movies were annoying, and the non Futa buses were certainly of a lower standard. The bus we took during the holiday period was so crowded people were lying on the floor on mattresses, but no one seemed to mind too much! The two extreme bus trips mentioned in the text above were definitely the best and the worst!
Local buses in Saigon were simple to use and a real bargain, if a little circuitous. We were never asked for an extra fee for our luggage. We wondered whether Vietnamese people preferred to ride their motorbikes rather than take a local bus, as they were usually mostly empty.
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| More comfortable than she looks! |
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| Empty sleeper bus seat |
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| Full to the brim sleeper bus during the holidays |
Language and communication got a little better, with Sal finally cracking how to ask for iced coffee successfully!! (The most important requirement of the morning!) We learnt a few other basic words, but anything too complicated, such as road names, we wrote down, and people always understood what we meant.
We weren't impressed with the new style of iced coffees when we travelled north from Da Lat. They were made with very little condensed milk, making more of a short, strong drink, instead of the long milky sweet variety we had grown to love (poor us!!). Prices dropped to around 10,000 dong/AU$0.58 for a coffee in a cafe.
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| Our favourite coffee style- lots of creamy milk!! |
Fruit smoothies were a little harder to come by in this region, but we found a substitute in a refreshing salted lemon drink. We continued to love the huge variety of fruits on offer- mangoes, soursop, sweet pineapple, guavas and custard apples being the favourites.
 |
| A lucky find, avocado smoothie |
Street food was generally the same as the first part of our journey, with the addition of nem nuong, the basis for a meal of roll your own spring rolls. The pork, along with rice noodles, salad, herbs, egg, and chilli is put inside a rice paper sheet of paper, rolled as you like and dipped into a peanut sauce. (30,000-40,000 dong/AU$1.75-AU$ 2.30 per person for this treat)
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| Roll your own spring roll joint |
We also discovered banh mi op la, not only a delicious breakfast (fried eggs with herbs and pickled vegetable in a baguette), but easy to pronounce!! (10,000 dong/AU$0.58)
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| Egg, bread and coffee breakfast |
Our rooms continued to be excellent value with all the bells and whistle including air conditioning, fridge, hot water bathroom, toiletries, toilet paper, towels and satellite TV, and were mostly very clean, comfortable and run by friendly families. Prices ranged from 180,000- 260,000 dong/AU$10.40-AU$15). We haven't booked any hotels so far in Vietnam, finding it safer to investigate on-line beforehand where they are, and look at a few rooms on arrival.
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| Weird, but great room in Mui Ne, complete with kitsch corner garden |
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| Kon Tum room |
.....more Vietnam- Hue and Hoi An......
Liked how the disembodied eye was captured from various perspectives as well as depictions of a group of devotees facing the icon. I appreciate the amount of difficulty in obtaining such images, so cheers.
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