crellston RTW Bangkok
Mar 15th, 2008, 10:29 PM
#43
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Finally got around to updating this trip report.
HUE
As we could not get a flight from Hanoi directly to Hue, we flew to Danang, stayed overnight and got the train to Hue. It took 4 hours and the journey is certainly the most spectacular train journey I have ever experienced. The 1st class fare (only 2 dollars) included a hot meal and a drink. The track hugged the coastal path the whole way, with mountains on the other side ( and some very long tunnels through them). The journey went past miles upon miles of beautiful sandy beaches (including China Beach).
The Perfume River was grey rather than perfume but much local life can be seen, including the Dragon boats. The Citadel and the Purple Forbidden City are the main sights to see in the town. The Dragon boats can take you to the Tombs of the previous Emperors whio chose to be buried in this area for its beauty and good feng shui (but obviously not its weather!).
Ho Chi Minh lived in Hue for a while and there is a museum which we visted dedicated to him which showcased stome really strange items, including photos of people with captions like "Honourable American-killing compatriot" or "leader of the 11 ladies of the river". Also included items gthat his family may once of used (like a wardrobe), or a radio that he offered to Mr X and even a bow tie that someone wore when in mounring for him.
Hue is known for its pancakes called Bang Xeo. They are rice pancakes, fried in the wok and folded over and filled with bean sprouts, pork and prawns. Hue claims to be the culinery capital of Vietnam and while in Hue we tried out many restaurants, including the 3 run by deaf and dumb families (same menu in each), also a place called Bloom which is run as a training centre for orphans and which was excellent and similar to Friends in Phnom Penh.
We did try an Italian resaurant called Mediterranean for a Pizza. However, when I sent back the Pizza (less than 50% was covered in a VERY meagre topping) I got the check (after asking 3 times!)and paid and left whereupon the Italian owner chased after us and remonstrated that his Pizzas were perfect and we had nothing to complain about! Bizarre! If in Hue, stick to teh Vietnamese food.
We also visited largest market called Bang Da, which is now mostly geared to tourists in the centre and for locals on the perimeter. Great Pho breakfasts in the local section - during which time, the locals stopped to view us eating.
HUE
As we could not get a flight from Hanoi directly to Hue, we flew to Danang, stayed overnight and got the train to Hue. It took 4 hours and the journey is certainly the most spectacular train journey I have ever experienced. The 1st class fare (only 2 dollars) included a hot meal and a drink. The track hugged the coastal path the whole way, with mountains on the other side ( and some very long tunnels through them). The journey went past miles upon miles of beautiful sandy beaches (including China Beach).
The Perfume River was grey rather than perfume but much local life can be seen, including the Dragon boats. The Citadel and the Purple Forbidden City are the main sights to see in the town. The Dragon boats can take you to the Tombs of the previous Emperors whio chose to be buried in this area for its beauty and good feng shui (but obviously not its weather!).
Ho Chi Minh lived in Hue for a while and there is a museum which we visted dedicated to him which showcased stome really strange items, including photos of people with captions like "Honourable American-killing compatriot" or "leader of the 11 ladies of the river". Also included items gthat his family may once of used (like a wardrobe), or a radio that he offered to Mr X and even a bow tie that someone wore when in mounring for him.
Hue is known for its pancakes called Bang Xeo. They are rice pancakes, fried in the wok and folded over and filled with bean sprouts, pork and prawns. Hue claims to be the culinery capital of Vietnam and while in Hue we tried out many restaurants, including the 3 run by deaf and dumb families (same menu in each), also a place called Bloom which is run as a training centre for orphans and which was excellent and similar to Friends in Phnom Penh.
We did try an Italian resaurant called Mediterranean for a Pizza. However, when I sent back the Pizza (less than 50% was covered in a VERY meagre topping) I got the check (after asking 3 times!)and paid and left whereupon the Italian owner chased after us and remonstrated that his Pizzas were perfect and we had nothing to complain about! Bizarre! If in Hue, stick to teh Vietnamese food.
We also visited largest market called Bang Da, which is now mostly geared to tourists in the centre and for locals on the perimeter. Great Pho breakfasts in the local section - during which time, the locals stopped to view us eating.
Mar 15th, 2008, 10:40 PM
#44
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In Vietnam, all hotels or families who have foreigners to stay must register the foreigners' passport with the police. While doing the paperwork, our guest house owner pointed out that we only had a few days left on our visa.... (we thought we had a couple of weeks left). We got the Visas in Vientienne and didn't notice that the 30 days ran from the date of application not the date of entry. Not wishing to spend time in a Vietnamese gaol!, our first mission was to organise our departure from Vietnam BEFORE our visa ran out. Not as easy as it sounds, as all flights are booked up (again because of Tet) until after our visa expired. Penalties at the airport are apparently VERY severe and it is difficult to get extensions. It took nearly all day and we ended up searching all airline and nearly all destination's in Asia - directly and indirectly from HCMC. Ended up paying a lot for business class flights to Bangkok.......
From then on we relaxed and spent time enjoying the sights and the life of Saigon.
We had decided to stay in the backpackers area of District 1, Pham Ngu Lao. Our guest house, Ngoc Son at $12 a night was down a very long alleyway in a local part of town, about 15-20 minutes walk from the main tourist area of Saigon (where rooms go for $100-$750 a night). The guesthouse owner spoke great English and he, and his family were really friendly, It took us a couple of days to days to find but there were some good and cheap places to eat nearby in Bui Tien street and we were really pleased to have chosen this area. Finally tried the "Bia Hoi" the local "fresh beer" - very nice and very cheap too at 25c a glass. We continued to do a lot of walking in Saigon, averaging 7-10 miles a day.
Two of the most beautiful buildings in central saigon are the Post office and the Catholic cathedral. also very interesting were two of the main temples in Cholon (Chinatown). One of the oldest and one of the largest, Thien Hau, is the temple that many of the boat people visited in the 1975 exodus to pray for safe passage on the water, as it is dedicated to the goddess of the sea (obviously didn't work for a lot of them!). Today, the temple is well maintained by donations made by those overseas Vietnamese that did survive the boats and have found a successful life overseas.
We also went to the War Remnants Museum (no photos here) which we had seen on a previous trip here. This time the museum had grown substantially and was still expanding. it appears, when compared with previous visits, that material around the "american" war had been watered down somewhat and the exhibits extended, to cover other wars around the world. The theme seemed generally to be around the communist fight against capitalist aggression in Africa, Europe, Cuba etc. Most evocative/horrific were the were photos of the effects of the Napalm and Dioxin (Agent Orange) used in Vietnam. It seems the world never learns the lessons of history!!! There were the planes/tanks and artillery used during the Vietnamese war and relatively new exhibit replicating the prison cages used by the South Vietnamese regime. More like a theme park really and not nearly as moving as Tuol Sleng in Phnom Pen.
Another trip was out to the Reunification Palace - previously known as the Independence Palace. It was here that a North Vietnamese Army tank rammed through the gates to overthrow the president of the South of Vietnam and ended the war in 1975. The tank is still in the garden.
There is also a plane in the garden, which two pilots (from the South and acting against orders, as they were really communist spies) used to try to kill the president by bombing the palace. They did not succeed. One of these pilots is, bizarrely, now the Vice President of Vietnam Airlines and still flies government dignitaries around today!
The traffic in Saigon is terrible. Really, really noisy and most drivers have mastered the art of being able to not look where they are going and never meeting the eyes of anyone. We were trying to walk across the road using a Zebra crossing (not that they mean anything at all here!) and were right in the middle of the road when one guy came around the corner, still looking behind him and ran straight into me. Unfortunately, the motorbike driver did not even fall off and just carried on regardless.
It is normal for both sides of the road to be used for travel in both directions motorbikes frequently ride along the pavements as well and red traffic lights are routinely ignored. I look back fondly to the first time I visited Saigon 20 odd years ago and all you had to contend with were the bicycles! My considered opinion is that in Vietnam, Hanoi has the noisiest drivers (always, and I do mean always, sounding their horn) but they will at least try not to hit you. Hue has the most considerate drivers. Saigon, however has the worst drivers in the entire world who are simply incapable of traveling and looking in the same direction at the same time. I lived to tell the tale with a bruised and grazed leg (which later got infected) but is OK now).
From then on we relaxed and spent time enjoying the sights and the life of Saigon.
We had decided to stay in the backpackers area of District 1, Pham Ngu Lao. Our guest house, Ngoc Son at $12 a night was down a very long alleyway in a local part of town, about 15-20 minutes walk from the main tourist area of Saigon (where rooms go for $100-$750 a night). The guesthouse owner spoke great English and he, and his family were really friendly, It took us a couple of days to days to find but there were some good and cheap places to eat nearby in Bui Tien street and we were really pleased to have chosen this area. Finally tried the "Bia Hoi" the local "fresh beer" - very nice and very cheap too at 25c a glass. We continued to do a lot of walking in Saigon, averaging 7-10 miles a day.
Two of the most beautiful buildings in central saigon are the Post office and the Catholic cathedral. also very interesting were two of the main temples in Cholon (Chinatown). One of the oldest and one of the largest, Thien Hau, is the temple that many of the boat people visited in the 1975 exodus to pray for safe passage on the water, as it is dedicated to the goddess of the sea (obviously didn't work for a lot of them!). Today, the temple is well maintained by donations made by those overseas Vietnamese that did survive the boats and have found a successful life overseas.
We also went to the War Remnants Museum (no photos here) which we had seen on a previous trip here. This time the museum had grown substantially and was still expanding. it appears, when compared with previous visits, that material around the "american" war had been watered down somewhat and the exhibits extended, to cover other wars around the world. The theme seemed generally to be around the communist fight against capitalist aggression in Africa, Europe, Cuba etc. Most evocative/horrific were the were photos of the effects of the Napalm and Dioxin (Agent Orange) used in Vietnam. It seems the world never learns the lessons of history!!! There were the planes/tanks and artillery used during the Vietnamese war and relatively new exhibit replicating the prison cages used by the South Vietnamese regime. More like a theme park really and not nearly as moving as Tuol Sleng in Phnom Pen.
Another trip was out to the Reunification Palace - previously known as the Independence Palace. It was here that a North Vietnamese Army tank rammed through the gates to overthrow the president of the South of Vietnam and ended the war in 1975. The tank is still in the garden.
There is also a plane in the garden, which two pilots (from the South and acting against orders, as they were really communist spies) used to try to kill the president by bombing the palace. They did not succeed. One of these pilots is, bizarrely, now the Vice President of Vietnam Airlines and still flies government dignitaries around today!
The traffic in Saigon is terrible. Really, really noisy and most drivers have mastered the art of being able to not look where they are going and never meeting the eyes of anyone. We were trying to walk across the road using a Zebra crossing (not that they mean anything at all here!) and were right in the middle of the road when one guy came around the corner, still looking behind him and ran straight into me. Unfortunately, the motorbike driver did not even fall off and just carried on regardless.
It is normal for both sides of the road to be used for travel in both directions motorbikes frequently ride along the pavements as well and red traffic lights are routinely ignored. I look back fondly to the first time I visited Saigon 20 odd years ago and all you had to contend with were the bicycles! My considered opinion is that in Vietnam, Hanoi has the noisiest drivers (always, and I do mean always, sounding their horn) but they will at least try not to hit you. Hue has the most considerate drivers. Saigon, however has the worst drivers in the entire world who are simply incapable of traveling and looking in the same direction at the same time. I lived to tell the tale with a bruised and grazed leg (which later got infected) but is OK now).
Mar 15th, 2008, 10:46 PM
#45
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Our 4th visit to Bangkok this year -it is beginning to feel like home! The first thing we noticed upon arrival in the city is how well behaved the traffic was when compared with Saigon (at least no one actually TRIES to run you over here!)
Our first night was spent at the Swan Hotel which is a small hotel (our first with a pool) by the Chao Praya river, just behind the Oriental Bangkok's most prestigious (and expensive). One night here was cheaper than the breakfast at the Oriental! \
As we walked out for dinner that evening, we passed by the New Road Guest House which was own by the same Danish outfit, Jysk, as the place we stayed in Hanoi, so we decided to change hotels the next night as it was cheaper and we were planning to stay a week or so. Being Danish owned it was frequented almost exclusively by Danes and it was odd being the only non blonds in the place! Good food and reasonable rooms and a great location by the river and the ferry to Wat Po massage school, where we went just about every other day and by going to the school rather than the temple itself, we have had the best massages ever in all our visits to Thailand.
There are lots of good restaurants in the area ranging from the ultra expensive China House, to great street food and everything in between, including many well known to Fodorites, like Harmonique, Himlai Cha Cha and Tongue Thai and Gallery Cafe (distinctly underwhelmed by Tong Thai and Gallery Cafe, both of which where great places 10 years ago but sadly no longer).
The reason we were staying so long this time was that we have quickly come to realise that with traveling for so long it really is necessary to plan in advance, so it was good to be close by some cheap, Internet facilities, particularly at the General Post Office (CAT) where we were almost on first name terms with the staff.(CAT internet is very fast and 100 baht for 3 hours with a card you can use in any CAT place)
We seemed to be hitting places just at the "wrong" time. This time is was election time and no alcohol was being sold for a day and a half anywhere. A major problem!!
We went to see Atonement at the Cineplex in Siam Paragon quite a good film, but a great cinema complex. Later we decided to dine in the basement food hall of Siam Paragon. What an amazing place. One of the widest selection of "street" type food from all around the world all in air con comfort. Ideal, if, unlike us you are a bit nervous about eating food from the stalls actually on the street. Highly recommended for anyone visiting Bangkok, especially as you can round it off with a beer at the Hard Rock Cafe.
Finally, it was time to think about moving on so we took a walk along to Huamlampong station to reserve our seats on the sleeper train to Trang in the south where we where heading for Hat Yao and onwards by boat to Koh Libong.
Could this be our last visit to Bangkok?
Our first night was spent at the Swan Hotel which is a small hotel (our first with a pool) by the Chao Praya river, just behind the Oriental Bangkok's most prestigious (and expensive). One night here was cheaper than the breakfast at the Oriental! \
As we walked out for dinner that evening, we passed by the New Road Guest House which was own by the same Danish outfit, Jysk, as the place we stayed in Hanoi, so we decided to change hotels the next night as it was cheaper and we were planning to stay a week or so. Being Danish owned it was frequented almost exclusively by Danes and it was odd being the only non blonds in the place! Good food and reasonable rooms and a great location by the river and the ferry to Wat Po massage school, where we went just about every other day and by going to the school rather than the temple itself, we have had the best massages ever in all our visits to Thailand.
There are lots of good restaurants in the area ranging from the ultra expensive China House, to great street food and everything in between, including many well known to Fodorites, like Harmonique, Himlai Cha Cha and Tongue Thai and Gallery Cafe (distinctly underwhelmed by Tong Thai and Gallery Cafe, both of which where great places 10 years ago but sadly no longer).
The reason we were staying so long this time was that we have quickly come to realise that with traveling for so long it really is necessary to plan in advance, so it was good to be close by some cheap, Internet facilities, particularly at the General Post Office (CAT) where we were almost on first name terms with the staff.(CAT internet is very fast and 100 baht for 3 hours with a card you can use in any CAT place)
We seemed to be hitting places just at the "wrong" time. This time is was election time and no alcohol was being sold for a day and a half anywhere. A major problem!!
We went to see Atonement at the Cineplex in Siam Paragon quite a good film, but a great cinema complex. Later we decided to dine in the basement food hall of Siam Paragon. What an amazing place. One of the widest selection of "street" type food from all around the world all in air con comfort. Ideal, if, unlike us you are a bit nervous about eating food from the stalls actually on the street. Highly recommended for anyone visiting Bangkok, especially as you can round it off with a beer at the Hard Rock Cafe.
Finally, it was time to think about moving on so we took a walk along to Huamlampong station to reserve our seats on the sleeper train to Trang in the south where we where heading for Hat Yao and onwards by boat to Koh Libong.
Could this be our last visit to Bangkok?
Mar 15th, 2008, 10:53 PM
#46
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I will continue posting here but for some photographs and a bit more detail here is a link to our blog:
http://www.travelpod.com/members/candcthai
http://www.travelpod.com/members/candcthai
