Yes that was the Number 1 place to see according to Tripadvisor when we travelled to Quy Nhon which is a city almost no non Vietnamese has heard off.
‘Life is a beach’ is the name of a backpackers’ place that is in a small shipping village called Bai Xep. There are the fishermen paddling out in their circular wicker ‘dinghies’ to their small blue coloured fishing boats. A very picturesque spot ideal for a jigsaw or a postcard. Yes we did swim there & refresh body & soul. No we didn’t contribute to the Christmas tree constructed using ‘dead’ wine bottles. Chris from Mittagong has The Haven next door booked 3 weeks ahead.
It was here we concluded that the beach is really a place to refresh & review body & soul.
Antony* must agree as he sent this sent us this link whilst we travelled. He called it Freedom, fun and discovery !!!
We planned a year ago for both educational reason & rejuvenation a trip abroad which was not helped by a poor $AUS although that helped many portfolios.
That was the concept & from there we need to turn into reality.
Yes we started by using Kenny a travel agent for our air tickets even though we can all do that online today.
We also used LE travel agent to arrange our ‘independent’ travel within Vietnam as we hadn’t been there before.
So we landed in Hanoi which apart from being propositioned by a ‘sort’ on a scooter & an incident with a taxi with his meter running too fast was a letdown. It shows how the socialist system stymies initiative. We did stay at a 3*+ star hotel which was good & friendly but the 5*we stayed at was cool & expecting tips. They just didn’t care enough.
The organised ‘independent’ tri p started with Ella who was a happy guide who introduces us to egg coffee & showed us around the streets of the Old Quarter & over a prewar 2.4Km bridge over the Red River. Stops that even though we had a map we could not discover.
Then off to Halong Bay. We had heard of this from our tennis playing accountant ‘you know what I mean’.
Halong Bay is a very mystical place & rightly is a UNESCO site. However as the trip to there is a very boring four hours by road then you need to have two nights out in the Bay IMHO.
The next stage of our trip was a twelve overnight ‘rock & roll’ on the Reunification train to Hue. Yes twelve hours in a pre generational sleeping cabin for four. A very good history lesson for others. However the track itself compares more than favorable to that what we read of Australian tracks e.g. SYD to MLB line or QLD.
At Hue we were met by our new guide Minh who guides p.a seventy families, couples & small groups around there & Hoi An. The 5* hotel we stayed at was built by the French a century ago & the bedrooms were huge. However we were ripped off by the laundry bill which we reported on Tripadvisor.
Minh then guided us to Hoi An which is another UNESCO site. Yes a tourist thrashed China town where a major business isw tailored suits for Europeans. It was our 3 hour cycle tour through the paddy fields & flooded coconut grove where the Koreans battled in the ‘American’ war guided by Sue that we enjoyed most.
Our ‘independent’ tour ended in Danang which very soon will look like Surfers as it has a great My Khe beach also known by the marines as China Beach. All the Major Hotel chains are there & it will be a very different place in 5 years. It has an international airport. Harry who escaped there 35 years ago & had not returned could not wipe the happiness & smile off his face.
We stayed at a very happy 3+ Hotel in the city where there was not an English sign to be seen. It was here that we had an Italian wool pair of trousers done for $40. How good is that! It was at the local price as no spoken English at all which meant no cuffs on the trousers.
After several great swims at the beach we decided to check out the opposite direction. When suggested to the Hotel manager she says ‘ you need Easy Rider’. Henry then carried us on his Honda Custom motor cycle over 100K of track & road & byway where there were swarms of scooters & other traffic competing for the same too narrow strip. We recalculated our life cover several times & reflected that we always told clients not to ride in shorts & T shirt. It was ‘Zen & the art of a Motorcycle’.
So for the first half of our Vietnam adventure we thank all the agents & guides who made it fun & possible & who cared. They simply made it rewarding & efficient & we refreshed our ‘battery’.
Yes we have NOT discussed Life is a beach where we wandered & reminded ourselves of 38 years ago.
If as Maria* did to discuss WA vs. her 2 properties here in QLD or
Kerry who wrote when we met up IN HCM
Do you have iPhone with face time? or Skype would do. Let us know hey?....Enjoy your flight and I will catch up with you later. Thuy need to hear what yo have to say me thinks!
Cheers, Kerry
As every Australians’ best friend Scott writes 8 in 10 Aussies work to pay the social security bill of 270B then
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No we won’t serve egg coffee.
John McAuliffe
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