The centre of Vietnam… just before the Ben Hai river which was the former line between the South and North Vietnam.

First stop in that region is Hoi An which is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site… Hoi An is in a way similar to Luang Prabang in Laos.  A cozy and small city really colorful and particular for its houses’ architecture but also tailor made clothes.  Of course, we could not resist of making dresses, jackets and top… First time in our lives, an evening dress was done just for us in a few hours! ;-)

One of the top excursion from Hoi An is My Son… An ancient Cham city also recognized as World  site by the UNESCO.  The ruins are nestled in a valley surrounded by hills… A really peaceful place with a lot of history. A pity, the Vietnam war has destroyed a lot of the temples.

After having burdened our backpacks with our new clothes, time to move to the next stop, Hue!  Hue is located at about 5 hours drive from Hoi An and is known for its palaces, pagodas and royal tombs.  We decided to join a day tour in order to visit the different highlights. We have been particularly surprised by the beauty of the royal tombs dating from the 19^th and 20^th centuries… They look like castles and all have a specific architecture!

Important point… just to let you know that since Hue we are under the rain and clouds… we are starting our preparation before coming back to our rainy Belgium ;-)  Who says it is always sunny in Asia?

See you in the north of Vietnam for our next post! On our agenda… Hanoi, Halong Bay and Halong Bay “on the rice paddies”! J

22-02-2011 om 16:10 geschreven door Marjan & Isa  

Vietnam… the last destination of our trip unfortunately! Arrival at the Ho Chi Minh City airport from Manila in the middle of the night! First challenge… avoid any taxi issue at the airport! Indeed we heard a lot from fellow backpackers that finding a taxi with a proper meter is a bit though…  But we managed quite well… passing the last few months in Asia has definitely helped. We escaped the first “weird” taxi driver who wanted us to pay before even leaving the airport and found a proper taxi J

In Ho Chi Minh (also known as Saigon), we had the luxury to sleep in an amazing house … A BIG THANK YOU to Isabelle and Olivier to warmly welcome us during these few days… and making us remember what a cheese tasted! J

Just to give you a flavor, this is what the Lonely Planet is mentioning about Ho Chi Minh City… “Fasten your seatbelts! Ho Chi Minh City is a metropolis on the move and we are not only talking about the motorbikes that throng the streets”.

We walked around Ho chi Minh City for an afternoon visiting the Reunification palace, the cathedral, the central market… Crossing a street is indeed a challenge between all the motorcycles. (To give you’re an idea, more than one person out of two in Vietnam has a motorcycle!)

The day after we left for a one day excursion to the Mekong delta…  and more specifically to Vinh Long and Cai Be where you can admire a floating market. We also visited some typical villages well known for preparing coconut candy’s, rice cookies and honey.  A great day even if under the clouds…

After spending 3 nights at our friends in Ho Chi Minh, it was time to take the backpack again and head up north to Mui Né which is a coastal city at about 6 hours drive from Saigon.  We enjoyed an afternoon at the sea and visited the Mui Né sand dunes… quite amazing! You have the impression that you are in the middle of the Sahara but you are in the south of Vietnam. Check the below pictures!  We also had the chance to go to one of the close by fishing village.  Fisherman have really special boats being in a shape of a bamboo basket!

Again, time to go up north to Hoi An and Hue which are two world heritage cities located in the centre of Vietnam.  Of course, we had the “luxury” to enjoy a 17 hours bus drive ;-)

22-02-2011 om 14:55 geschreven door Marjan & Isa