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Previously in Vietnam: 2002 Lao Chai and Ta Van Village, Sa Pa; 2021, Hanoi, Christmas Hanoi - YouTubeVideo 2021, Cat Cat, Sapa Trekking, 2012 Hoi An, Vietnam, 2011 HaLong Bay and Hanoi and 40 years ago, 2015 YouTube Hanoi Rain
Yes, we are on the way: one month Vietnam, on month India, one month Penang - we will add to this every couple of times...
Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport
My waste of a time of a clip of the flight screen - though I thought it was interesting
Vietnam 2025
Narda in italics – Terrell whatever…
January 09
Leaving for Guangzhou.
Dinner at Marcellina with Janie. and Leon. They picked us up because we were having a meltdown about our car insurances. Which we decided to check at the last possible moment.
Then came another near disaster
We took a walk seeking gelati which we did not find because Helena (gelati queen) was in Goolwa. So, I decided to practise losing a bag. Luckily, I was unsuccessful and found it on a quick and slightly panicked return to the restaurant.
Packed. Well, Narda had us packed a month ago – she likes to start early. I suppose that as she would say (did say), we would have a roller-coaster of a time before we left. She was correct. Brendan, Sofie, Arha in tow (11-months) down from Pakistan for two-weeks, leaving the day before us, having ourselves packed and ready was a rather good notion.
Now we are flying on China Southern and I'm practising saying thank you in Chinese. “Sheshe”.( E as in egg)
The hostie said, “very good”.
The China Southern flight turned out to be one of our best ever.
We did a house-exchange with folks from Denver a few years back. Because of COVID they didn’t get to our house until now. They will arrive soon. So, we were flat out getting setup for them to live in our house for a month – followed by our regulars from Wales/UK. Along with it being Christmas and so much family coming and going and meals here and there and everyone flying off to some place or the other.
I told the story to the boredom of all those around again, I think I even told it in our Denver blog a few years ago; but here it is again. So, we were staying in this beautiful large home in Denver. They had a marvellous bathroom with light-coloured marble top sink (probably six feet). One evening, as I have been doing forever, I mixed some oils together for my hair (I forget the formula for then as I change it often). Somehow, perhaps, my container leaked or got knocked over in the night, the oil pooled on the light-coloured marble top. About a four-inch spill. I quickly soaked it up the best I could, but the stain was still there. We went to various kitchen shops and came home with some liquid that we were told would remove it – just put a cloth over it and twenty-four hours later it would be gone. It wasn’t. It had grown by a shocking disproportionate amount. We went to a hardware place, and they said ‘this will definitely remove your troubles – in twenty-four hours’. It didn’t. with only a few days left in our stay and me in total panic we decided to use something that changed the whole once-was-white marble into a lovely grayish colour. We rang the house owner’s maintenance person who we were to contact if we had any issues with anything and he told us not to worry as the owners were quite chilled people. And that is that story. They never complained – I said sorry many times and at least once to them. Now they are at our house, and I still feel I owe them something. Of course, if they want to change our old wood bathroom top to another colour to make us equal that is fine. And this is why I do not have AI write my blogs – how could it? Stupid AI. I asked how much carry-on luggage for China Southern, and it said five kilos which made me panic all the way to the airport when I thankfully discovered it is eight kilos, and my backpack weighs 7.7 kilos with computer and camera and lens and nothing else. So, piss off AI.
I like China Southern. It is the airlines we took often during the three years we lived in China and wandered back and forth to Australia. So much better than Singapore Airline which we made lots of complaints about sometime in the past. The food is probably the best for the airlines between Adelaide and Asia. I think we were the only westerners on this flight. Didn’t know there were so many Chinese people in Adelaide – of course, there are hundred less now. We are overnight in Guangzhou so we can be rested for our flight to Vietnam where we will scamper about as the elderly do for a month before hopping over to India for a month, we recently got a five-year visa for India so looks like we will be still going there when I am 82-83. Damn!
Ah. China sun. We know that one.
Terrell tackling his oyster omelette!
The second flight was a smaller aircraft, and my dickie knee got significantly dickier. Oh well.
I have been reading “The Dharma Bums” by Jack Kerouac, after reading all about the future of AI in “Nexus” by Yuval Harari I needed to get back to my roots and read something from the 1950’s beat generation – a bit before my time but I always have related to that time and even considered myself a beatnik in the 1960s before the hippie movement replaced it.
Just read where he hopped a freight train from outside of San Francisco down to LA. I did that once in about 1967. He used to hitchhike across the states. I did that heaps, San Francisco to NYC and back but that was the 1960s. Now we just fly all over.
You may know Kerouac from his famous book, “On the road” one of the leading beat poet/novel authors of the day. Oh, I ramble here – just saying after “Nexus” reading Kerouac on a flight to China and beyond is good. Perhaps I will only read books/poems from the 1950s- 1960s from now on as it is better for one’s peace of mind. Hello, 2025!
Just one night in Guangzhou. Not having a Chinese SIM card for just a 12-hour stay we asked at a service desk to ring our hotel for how to get there and that worked out fine. Gate 38 where the shuttle to the Marriott stopped every hour. We got there at 8 pm and aside of a too warm room with an air conditioner that didn't cool the room down all night; we even got an hotel person to help but all night nothing happened and we were awake in our very warm room a lot.
We took the six am shuttle to terminal two, allegedly the largest in the world, it was big, found the closest to breakfast we could find which for me was an oyster omelette - it was deep fried, strange but excellent. Narda couldn't eat such a concoction and ordered two eggs but due to a lack of English or Chinese on our part we got cups of warm tea with milk. I put in ‘toast’ in my translator and she offered me beer. I suppose ‘toast’ to the Chinese means to toast like cheers mate. Welcome to China.
Now on our flight to Saigon which Narda refuses to call Ho Chi Minh due to some political reasoning of hers. More translation fun. Apparently I am the only one who is a vegetarian on this flight which sent the servers into a fringy thrashing about looking for me and ended by giving me what all the meat-eating fanatics were digging in with upmost gusto and suggested I just separate the obvious roadkill of indistinguishable origins from the vegetables; potato and a string bean, and learn to accept my lot in life. Sometimes I wonder if the real reason I have been a vegetarian for sixty years, since about 17, is for all the attention it generates. I do love animals, but this is beyond love, I am sure.
Then comes the coffee. The Chinese seem to like to mix milk and heaps of sugar in their coffee. Being diabetic I don't want sugar. So that puts them into a tizzy too and off they go to make my coffee without sugar. Damn I am needy. Needy but happy.
I had separated my roadkill from the potatoes and lonely single string bean and so did Narda who has no issues with eating sentient creatures, so we swapped and were happy in our individual consciousness-specific needs fulfillment and enlightenment. Now I am offered a serving of what she calls porridge but in reality, is creamed rice with at the most six kernels of corn and wait… there are little pieces of chicken. Do they never give up trying to force dead animals into me, talk about a world-wide conspiracy. So, I separate and conquer and eat. I didn't have the heart to inform her or whatever pronouns people use these days that I am on a low carb diet. It gets more difficult being me all the time.
Saigon arrival
Saigon (I refuse to call it Ho Chi Minh, this city is not just about one person. I spoke with a resident, and she fully agreed)
Here we are in our Airbnb on the 9th floor of a very tall building. One of a cluster. It's a town all by itself with 2 supermarkets, a swimming pool, a couple of restaurants and many many coffee shops. The clientele is young Asian couples with preschool children. We are pretty much the only oldies and the only westerners.
It's all very friendly
Not a tourist in sight!!! Bonus.
We arrived at the airport about ten am and as with any airport it was chaotic and crowded. We signed up for grab taxi last year and have been told it is one of the best services there is anywhere. So easy; we put in the location of where we wanted to go, the app had already listed exactly where we were and a few minutes our car was reported in front of us. Being a bit confused for our first shot at this we got someone to assist and soon we were on our way. The cost for the 45-minute journey, in USD, was for $9.67 and a $1.97 tip which was 20% to our flat arriving about 3 pm. Our place is on the ninth floor of a new 34-story building. Very flash. The first thing we did was take a nap. We walked around the complex, a city within itself, about six-towers with lots of shops on the ground level. Not finding a restaurant that we could figure out we bought groceries and made dinner at home. Our first day in Saigon was a success. We couldn’t figure out their TV, which was a large screen with a projector on the opposite wall. We found YouTube and saw the awful destruction of the fires in LA.
A day out.
Started with a 15-minute walk to our neighbouring high rise village here in section 7. Quite a scruffy walk. They have their own “shits creek”. But when we got there it was a whole other world, with stately mansions and leafy streets
We kept on walking to a main road where we found a bus, bus #20 which took us all the way to district 1 for a princely sum of 24 cents each (or 13,000 Vietnamese dongs)
We found, by chance the new metro which has two lines going about 15 stops. There was a huge crowd. A Saturday and it's all free. Off we went. Got off a few stops in and had a coffee and came back.
On the way out we took the wrong exit to avoid another queue. Terrell made it undetected and I tried to follow and got stuck. The bloody male staff member told Terrell to tell his wife to learn to follow instructions. 🤣😆 fat chance!!
Today we decided to take a ferry somewhere. Bus #20 took us pretty close, a bit of walking and dodgy road crossing…….there is a walk way but no traffic stops for you so you just have to step on to the very busy road and keep walking slowly… not watch any traffic. They just drive around you. It's terrifying.
The ferry had tickets for us to a seaside town called Vung Tau.
The ferry was fast and furious. Quite impressive with more than 100 people on board. We enjoyed standing at the back outside watching the wake and the many other boats we passed.
Then came the quest for dinner. We had planned to try some of the impressive list of “must eat in Vietnam” supplied to us by Brendan a long term resident of Vietnam.
Well it was chaotic. So many people milling around. We finished up in a park (on walking street) full of kids listening to extremely loud hideous music. But there was food.
We bought chicken teriyaki and shrimp and salad, definitely not from Bren's list. But it hit the spot. Then a Grab taxi home. Given the chaos this was a minor miracle.
I had 'the Banh Xeo' as illustrated in the clip above, like a dosa (a thin, savoury crepe in Indian cuisine made from a fermented batter of ground black gram and rice) with prawns etc rolled into rice papers 89.000 ($3.60 USD) - Narda had 'Cha Gio' (spring rolls made by wrapping filling in clear rice paper wrappers (bánh tráng) and then frying them.) 79,000 ($3.20 USD).
Realizing we were not leaving today; after packing up everything and starting out the door I looked at something I posted and saw we had the wrong date and we are to leave tomorrow. Oops. So we are having another day in Saigon, decided to get a Grab into the centre of town again - about 45-minutes and about seven bucks to amend our error.
Took Grab to Notre Dame only to discover it was closed for renovations, for the year.
Walked across the street to the groovy old post office. Saigon Central Post Office is notable for its perfect combination of Neo-classical European architecture and Asian decorations.
The history of Saigon Central Post Office dates back to the late nineteenth century, when Vietnam was part of French Indochina. After successfully invading Saigon in 1863, the French started establishing a communication system by constructing Saigon Telegraph-wire Department, which was the precursor of Saigon Central Post Office. The designer of this building was Gustave Eiffel, who was the architect of some iconic constructions including the Eiffel Tower (Paris), Statue of Liberty (New York) and Long Bien Bridge (Hanoi). (the internet)
Because they like to dress for Tet coming up apparantly these women like to go to historic sites and strut their stuff.
Walked around Book Street had coffee -
Wandered over to The Independence Palace (Vietnamese: Dinh Độc Lập), also publicly known as the Reunification Convention Hall - It was the site of the Fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975 that ended the Vietnam War, when a North Vietnamese Army tank crashed through its gates.
walked all over looking for bus to train gave up got Grab for $2.10 which included tip - lunch at train station - Grab home $7.10 including tip - about 40 minutes
Nha Trang
We packed our bags, cleaned the apartment, and then discovered that we still had another day.
Scary
Oh well. The train ride was beautiful. Clean and easy. I could even manage the climb up to the top bunk.
Our next apartment was interesting. We have a bunch of young folk next door from Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.
It's a 3 floor hike upstairs, but the location is brilliant. Close to the ocean, the train and lots of eateries. Today we found the best one on the 7th floor of a shopping mall. A never closing restaurant with decent prices and a good selection of food. The only thing is that you have to share it with a bowling alley.
We took the pristine electric bus to the Marriott Hotel which marks the entrance to the overhead. We finished up being “used” in some sort of promotional endeavour.
Today we took another bus ride in the opposite direction finishing up in a new construction out of town on a peninsula.
Bus 23 just started a few months ago and is the first all electric bus in Nha Trang. It is very expensive compared to Saigon where buses were about 30 cents USD. In Nha Trang we paid a whopping 62-cents each. Gosh. In Australia we pay nothing. Oh wait! That is because we are seniors and get free transportation. We also get free seniors coffee at McDonald's. The actual rule is that we are supposed to buy something for $4 then get a free 'senior's coffee' but most places give us the free coffee and we buy nothing else because, really, what is there to purchase? I am a vegetarian of sixty-years (not my age just the length of time I have not eaten animals). McDonald's has nothing else to offer except sweets and then of course being a diabetic I don't want that either. In Vietnam no one offers us senior coffee or anything for free.
This is the other side of Nha Trang, the older part. The sea is more suitable for swimming and boating.
Legend of the Fairy and the Fisherman
At the heart of Nha Trang lies the beautiful Hon Chong Promontory, which is shrouded in a captivating legend. According to the tale, there once lived a lonely fisherman named Lang and a mesmerizingly beautiful fairy named Nang. Despite the mortal-immortal divide between them, Lang and Nang fell deeply in love, much to the disapproval of the other fairies.
As the story goes, Nang's wings were cut off as punishment for her forbidden love, forcing her to remain on Earth with Lang. Their eternal love and bond have since become an enduring symbol of romance in Nha Trang. Today, the Hon Chong Promontory stands as a reminder of their love story, drawing countless visitors who come to witness the sunset and seek blessings for their own relationships. (I believe this is true as I read it on the internet)
Because it is almost lunar New Year - the one of the snake - everything and everyone is in a festive mood.
There are block after block of bonsai trees and flowers. A very colourful city.
And amazing sculptures
Po Nagar is a Cham temple tower founded sometime before 781. We visited this wonderful place for an afternoon. Walking there from our flat and taking a Grab taxi home.
Always a challenge to get food - without meat - Narda takes over...
We neglected to tell the story of the Bluey Crocs.
Arhan's birthday was rapidly approaching. What to get? Being a Bluey Fan #1 before the age of #1 what else was there in the world of Bluey - which I refer to as 'that cult' but to purchase Bluey Crocs for a child who has yet to take his first step but who of course would go head over heels (probably the wrong expression) for such a gift. So off we went looking for them. We had seen other children with them on, and this being Vietnam, surely we could find a knock off copy of them for peanuts or some such substance. I thought hey! 120,000 dongs sounds like a lot, and yes, that does equal five dollars US, but five bucks goes along ways here.
We found there was only one place that had any left. These things sell out apparently worldwide. Vincom Mall behind Gold Coast Mall or perhaps it was Gold Coast Mall next to Vincom Mall, whatever, we found them. Yippie. What on sale too? Oh know, $55 USD or simply put, 1,323,085.61 dongs. Yes they did round it up to 1,323,085 dongs. Lucky us. Well that was a bit painful (for me) but now we had them.
We bought size 8 - he will be able to wear them long into the future. All the smaller sized were sold out. It's a cult.
Ok. All we need to do is post them to Pakistan so Arhan could have them in time for his birthday in a week. The store said no. We left forDaNang the next day which is really what this blog will be about but I had to tell this last story from Nha Trang.
BTW, Bluey apparently is the #1 watched cartoon in the world. Americans complain that their children are speaking with an Australian accent. Perhaps I should watch it as I have been in Australia since 1981 (except for three years teaching in China and nine years teaching in New York during that time) and Narda says I still sound like a Yank. We met a girl who is in film school in Melbourne last night at her parent's cafe, here in Ninh Binh, who spoke with a perfect American accent. She said she watched the Disney Channel as a child, and she too was a Bluey fan. See it's a cult.
I will come back to this posting attempts later on.
Previously in Vietnam: 2002 Lao Chai and Ta Van Village, Sa Pa; 2021, Hanoi, Christmas Hanoi - YouTubeVideo 2021, Cat Cat, Sapa Trekking, 2012 Hoi An, Vietnam, 2011 HaLong Bay and Hanoi and 40 years ago, 2015 YouTube Hanoi Rain
