The Vietnam Master Post Part I

We thought we’d try something a little different for our posts on Vietnam. Given the massive detour and stress with the visas, we’d fallen a little behind on the blogging front (which I think is understandable!) and so we’ve decided to condense our Vietnam trip into one itinerary post, complete with pictures from a guest photographer – Joe’s dad Guy! We were incredibly lucky that Joe’s parents decided to sync up their annual holiday with our trip this year so we were treated to a two week stint in rather different style to our normal strict budget backpacking...

Days 1-3 Ho Chi Minh City

The first few days of arriving in Vietnam were spent recovering from our flights, getting over our jet lag and exploring the hot and humid city on foot. Highlights included:

• The French Quarter – an area of the city with government offices housed in French colonial buildings with a backdrop of shining skyscrapers and designer stores, as well as large statue of Ho Chi Minh himself.
• Zoo and botanical garden complex- which animal lovers may wish to avoid (the cages and conditions are questionable, though they do have a nice collection of bonsai trees).
• Vietnam History Museum – the exhibits here have detailed information in English as well as Vietnamese, and gives some insight into Vietnam’s ancient past.
  
• Bitexco Tower/Eon Heli Bar – this is highest restaurant/bar in Saigon which is accessed through a shopping mall. It does offer views over the city but is a little expensive for what it is.
• A day trip to the Mekong delta.
• War Remnants Museum – this place is known colloquially as the ‘American War Crimes Museum’ and details some very graphic aspects of the Vietnam War. The exhibits include upsetting photography and testimonies, including the continued genetic devastation caused by exposure to the highly toxic Agent Orange, but on the whole the information is enlightening.
  

Days 4-6: Muine

After the busy streets of Ho Chi Minh we headed to the small coastal settlement of Muine. I say settlement because the area is mainly hotel complexes and resorts with a small town attached. Our days here consisted of lounging by the pool and heading to the beach as well as the following day trips:

• Phan Thiet – this is a city close to Munie that houses a whale museum (which was unfortunately closed when we tried to visit, so we can’t vouch for its content!)
• Bike ride in Munie – for this we hired bikes and had a guide from our hotel to visit the morning markets and catch a glimpse of the fishing boats in the bay (again unfortunately the wind was pretty high on the day we visited so barely anyone was on the water)
• Champa Ruins – a small selection of ancient originally Hindu temples that transitioned into Buddhist temples and which are now being restored (not exactly sympathetically)
• White Sands – Some impressive white rolling sand dunes is an area about 40 minutes from Munie – there were guys here offering dune buggy rides so it got a little hairy as they hurtled down the dunes.
• Ta Cu – This mountain resort is home to the largest reclining Buddha in Vietnam at the top of steep mountain, accessed by a cable car ride and climbing some 300 steps.
  

Day 7: Nha Trang

This was a stop over day – a place to sleep before a flight but arriving in the dark meant we didn’t appreciate its beauty until the next morning when we woke to see this: