Well I didn’t have the best nights sleep AGAIN there were bugs all over the place AGAIN, and when you pay an extra 10,000 for air cond make sure it works. Seeing as the ferry did not leave until 1pm I just lay in bed and was finishing my book, it was a good read and a good ending. Then time to get onto the ferry I went to get some breaky around the corner then jumped on board. The Ride was really smooth, and fast we went a long way (62 miles) and it was around 2:30mins so the boat was flying. I went on the Bien Xanh express ferry and it was 180,000 or $13AUD, so I thought that was good value compared to the Jetcat in Sydney.
When I landed there were about 13 billion people asking me to stay in their hotel, I also had no map, no idea where the hotel I wanted to stay in was and also how bloody big the island actually was. I was used to people saying things are very far so it will cost a lot, so I told them the most I will pay to the hotel is 10,000 as I knew he was getting a cut anyway. It turned out that it was 32km most of it on dirt road to get there which was a long way! I was a little edgy at first on the bike going round the corners fast on dirt, but you get used to it. When we rocked up I was a little put off we went down this dirt track about 500m and I was thinking what the… when I got to my room I realised it was 30m from the water with a hammock and the beach was amazing. I had my own bungalow which was sweet!
The island was much more remote than I thought and relatively untouched, 90% of it is protected forest, however the beaches are amazing the one we rode past on the way would have been 12km easily or perfect beach and perfect water. in 10 years this will be Phuket for sure. I hired a bike for that arvo and the next day for 80000 which was pretty cheap, and I knew I would get some good value. When I was going on the bike to head into town I bumped into a Swedish girl Frida and met another guy Eddie. We had dinner together and then went for some drinks. The one thing lacking is a night life it is very peaceful, but not a lot to do at night. We went back to our hotel and swam until about 2am on the beach, there was this great luminos plankton in the water it looked amazing. The next day Eddie and I organised to go riding around the island as Frida was leaving.
Well I didn’t have the best nights sleep, there were bugs all over the place, but thems the blows. I got up had a shower and went back to my favorite noodle place for breakfast which was great. The lady/mother was telling me her daughter was 18, it happens a lot over here. They seem really forward in setting up their daughters. After breaky I was getting a bus to Cantho, so I jumped on a bike and this guy took me to the side of the road where a bus was coming. No one speaks any English and you never really know what is going on.
After being offered a ticket for 100,000 Dong on the side of the road and turning it down the bus finally came. There was a little misunderstanding about the price but we eventually sorted it out. I am of the opinion now (four days later) that if you want a normal trustworthy price make sure they go to the bus station instead of the side of the road. The ticket people just yell things out that change if you argue where as locals get one price. The bus was hot and long, when I finally got to Cantho I got on another bus to head to Rach Gia where I could get on a ferry to Phu Quoc island. The second bus trip was particularly punishing because the driver would not get off the horn the whole trip.
When I landed in Rach Gia I found a hotel right near the ferry and had a lie down, I was on busses for about 6-7 hours. The ferry left the next day at 1pm so I could have a sleep in. Then I kept reading and almost finished but there was about 100 pages to go the next day!
It is really easy to start to get comfy in a city, I could have seen myself staying in Ho Chi Min for another week without to many problems at all. Once you start meeting people and finding out where to go around! Well I was excited about today, I was moving on and I was going to buy Harry Potter. I jumped on a bike and headed to the book store, it was 570,000 Dong. To put that in perspective I pay 190,000 for accommodation, about 15000 for a beer and about 20-40000 for a meal. So this was pricey but I had been waiting ages for it. Then I went back read a few chapters, packed my bags (now pretty full, books are tooo heavy), jumped on a bike to Mien Tay Bus station. When I arrived I bought a ticket to Mytho a town on the Mekong delta, which only took around two hours in a small bus.
I checked into a hotel, read a bit more then went to get some lunch. I found this great place and pointed and grunted for food, then ended up with a great beef noodle dish, it was a winna. Then I decided to go on a river tour which is what everyone says you should do. I boarded a ferry to Ben Tre and this guy in a rickety old boat who spoke no English took me around. Then I realised how much of a tourist hoax it was, they take you to about three places where they want you to spend money and relax on the river. They were very nice settings but over priced and I just ate. They took me to this food place where they had live fish, yabbies, snakes, squirrels and everything else that they would cook up for me if I wanted. When I said how much is yabbie they said 250,000 Dong, when I said no they said 100,000 I settled for some coconut juice for 5000. When I got back to Ben Tre I had a look around town and bought a shoulder bag to carry things in.
When I arrived back at the hotel, Australia were playing Japan in the soccer so I sat with about 10 Vietnamese guys who couldn’t really speak English but knew I was from Australia. Talk about a frustrating game, they did not play well at all and shouldn’t have won. The thing that is most annoying is how Japan are taking lessons in diving from Italy. After this I went back and got some more noodles then read more Harry Potter
Well I had another little sleep in which was good and decided to get a lonely planet for the area so I would know what to do! I managed to pick one up for 40,000 Dong which is around $3-4 so don’t ever buy one in Australia if you are heading around these parts. Then after a bit of a read I decided to visit Cholon to visit some markets and also check out some Pagodas which is like a temple. I also decided to get a sim card for my phone MobiPhone :) hope it works other countries. My number is +84 90384 5918
There was no way to travel now but a bike so I hit it up, and it was a good ride. It made me want to buy a bike, I think I might when I get back. It is quite funny how you ride, shorts t-shirt and thongs, don’t worry mum they don’t crash much. When I arrived at the market it was manic, they were tiny isles that could fit about 1.5 people so it was pretty hard to get around. One thing I really don’t understand about Asian markets and shops it that they have everything the same next to each other. So if you want to buy a hat there are 15 places with all the same hats, and about 15 million hats all up.
After this I met up with Whitney and had a look around at some Pagodas, they were pretty hard to find, we only really found one, but it was good. They are decorated with wooden dragons and weapons and statues. Then I went back to my room for a little siesta in the cool air cond. Later that night I met up with Whitney and some of her friends and we went out to dinner with some other expats that she knew.
I also saw this cool place where you can order dinner and then watch a free movie (latest release), but it is all normal prices not like la premier. I think that would take off in Australia.
When I arrived home i read up on the Mekong Delta and a few towns that I was going to visit tomorrow!
