Saturday 16 May 2009

Can Tho Night, Saigon, Mui Ne

Hello All Again,

Update from Mui Ne now, which is a nice beach location really hot, nice sand, nice beach sand dunes.

The last night of Can Tho was absolutely amazing! I went out with this French guy called Giles, who we have been traveling with for the last few days (I suspect we'll be traveling together for the next few weeks). We went to Bar 79 in Saigon, tiny joint off some side street, sat down had a few beers then these two old Vietnamese Guys came and sat down next to us, so we got talking for a while which was really cool. Some of the people out here are so friendly especially if you go to the bars that are not for the tourists and for the locals. After sitting with these two Vietnamese guys for a couple of hours Giles and I started to get up and leave, after to old boys had left, a whole table of 20 something’s invited us to sit down with them and eat. They also bought us a beer and decided it would be the perfect occasion to buy a bottle of rice wine and feed us copious amounts. Not the best this I must admit before getting a bus at 8 am the next morning!

Saigon was our next port of call, a pretty cool city, unbelievably busy! We stayed right in the centre of town in the main backpacker area. I did all of the touristy things that there are to do, visited the independence palace (where the southern Viet Govt was run from and is still occasionally used today), went to the rich district, very nice. I also went to the US war crimes museum, which quite possibly the best museum that I have been to in a very long time. I found it fascinating, horrifying, deeply moving and extremely educational all at the same time. It’s just interesting to get the view from the other side. Unfortunately I do not have photos of Saigon and the damn battery ran out on both my camera and my phone!

The first night in Saigon we went to meet on of toms friends in a really nice bar, bloody expensive though! The second we decided to opt for one of the local cheap bars. It seems that there are so many more travelers out here that I have met in Kampot, Ha Tien, Can Tho, Saigon and now Mui Ne!

Arrived in Mui Ne this afternoon, straight to the beach and in the sea for a good couple of hours. Rented a moto this afternoon and drove to some massive sand dunes just outside of the town to watch dusk. We're all getting up at 4:45 tomorrow to watch the sun rise over at the dunes, and on that note I had better be getting to bed to get some much needed rest.

Adios

Jared

4 comments:

Chris said...

Great time it sounds like you are having! I wish I had done this when I was your age. Easy on the comments on the war crimes museum for your grandpa Frank. Two sides to every story. When is your snowboard getting here? If it does n0t make it we can come up with an alternative. Looking forward to seeing you in depleated, but snowboarding condition.

Unknown said...

Sounds like your having a fantastic time ! Very jelous... what on earth is rice wine! Sand dunes must have been a neat thing to see. very you...
Hope all is well! talk to you soon. love you lots
sis
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World Roamer said...

Chris

I know, that's why I chose not to say to much on the matter. I also understand that there are two sides to the story. I also understand that the VC deliberately hid amongst the locals in order to confuse the American troops, as well as massacring many civilians themselves. However in the west we always assume that we're getting the full picture, a little naive I guess. From visiting this museum I now feel that I have a better overall view of the war in Vietnam.

Looking forward to coming out and seeing you guys in the not to distant future!

Ashleigh, the dunes were awesome. As soon as you arrive on you motorbike a dozen kids come running up to you with effectively tea trays saying "you slide down"... NO.

Jared

Chris said...

I totally agree! That is why this trip is so great for you, it allows you to gain a perspective of parts of the world that I will never have.