Yes,
how do lose weight & other wanderings as we wandered off
the Reunification line from Danang to Saigon.
Our simple plan was that the trip itself takes 12 hours & has only 3 or 4 stops.
Why not hop off at each stop & explore what all the heavily marketed tours to our age cohort miss.
First stop was
Route : DA NANG - DIEU TRI, SE1 (1141/1726)
Type of ticket: A/C soft seat Just where is Dieu Tri & yes you gather the French influence is still here when each station name has a ‘Ga’ in front. It is in fact the station for a small city Quy Nhon which does have a great location on a bay. As there was in a past war an airstrip on the beachfront then the city does have a very attractive presentation & hence our random pick for a hotel. So the no 1 place to see here according to Tripadvisor is actually a 10K trip to ‘Life is a Beach’ although the fishing village is actually Bai Xep. It won’t get any better if you wait another 2 years to visit there. We mentioned the Haven last time. Yes any beach is great for body & soul & relationships. Next stop is Route 2: DIEU TRI - NHA TRANG -1338/1743/0230+1)
Type of ticket: A/C soft seat Don’t believe the soft seats as this is pre several wars train carriages where we rumbled on through the countryside which is still very traditional rice growing & very labour intensive. We may have seen one tractor on the whole journey.
Nha Trang is Vietnams 4
th largest city & until we disembarked at the Ga we were completed ignorant about it. However the Russians are very aware as there are Russian Minimarts, Russians menus & a Surfers Paradise beachfront of all the major hotel chains. And that is not the only place they are flying directly to according to our local Vietnamese baker. One
highlight there was rewatching the RWC final when we first crashed in our hotel room. [
what was the score?]
Our next stop
Route 3: NHA TRANG - BINH THUAN, SE5(1144/1614)
Type of ticket: A/C hard sleeper 6 berths sharing cabin Yes a cabin with 6 bunks in it but fortunately only 3 of us in that but we couldn’t sit up straight which meant we stood & viewed the world as we
rocked & rolled past.
Binh Thuan, now where is that & why does the reunification train stop as it is a fast 40 minute taxi to the next hotel. We discovered that yes The Russians have arrived at Mui Ne. Yes
the beach is picture perfect with coconut palms all along. In between ordering the omelette & having it we walked the 5 m to the beach& swam. How good is that! Mam says ‘
thank god you are not Russian’ .
Final stop
Route 4: BINH THUAN - SAIGON, SPT1(1332/1714)
Type of ticket: A/C soft seat Saigon & yes the beer is good. It was here when we turned right on the first stay to explore that we admitted that yes we must have lost some weight. Yes we needed a belt as the shorts were slipping down. So yes to lose weight · Enjoy the included breakfast at the hotel. · Walk 2 hours in the am in 30C & repeat another 2 hours in the arvo. · As you don’t feel the need or have the social reasons to dine in the evening then enjoy 2 Saigon beers. · Repeat for 2 weeks wandering on foot. Yes it is that simple. & yes it is a future financial matter for us all as we read. Globally, obesity is an increasing problem. The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that 2.8 million people die each year as a result of being overweight or obese. And it’s clear from WHO that the size of the problem is growing with the prevalence of obesity nearly doubling between 1980 and 2008 . In 2008 it was estimated that 1.4 billion adults were considered overweight and more than 500 million were obese. Around the world, obesity is believed to contribute to approximately 44% of diabetes, 23% of ischaemic heart disease and 7-41% of certain cancers1 Unfortunately, Australia is at the forefront of the obesity problem and this represents a substantial health, societal and financial issue for all Australians. The most recent Australian Health Survey 2011- 20122 showed that nearly 63% of Australian adults are considered overweight or obese, with 28% considered obese. Data projections to 2025 indicate this figure will rise to 70% and 34% respectively. In terms of population, this would result in an estimated total of 16.9 million Australians being either overweight or obese3 When the average retiree couple spends 7000+ p.a or 140,000 in retirement on medical expenses then
You have the option of wandering on an overseas trip or wandering through the medical establishment.
It is your choice.
If you are working & have financial commitments then there are incentives to have your BMI as
‘
the Body Mass Index (BMI). According to this index, someone with a BMI greater than 25 is considered overweight and those with a BMI greater than 30 would be considered obese.’ These incentives can be up to 12%
off your Life premiums & one even offers rewards such as air points if you attend a gym.
On our last & 29
th day before we admitted that ‘
we were ready to go home’ we invested in Levi jeans for $12, tailor made leather shoes for $105 & the dentist we checked offered fillings US$18 – 67 & crowns US$80 & implants US$1640. A fraction of what it is here.
Some observations we took away from Vietnam
· Learn the names of Vietnamese dishes.
· Wear shoes as every pavement will stub your toes.
· All the men smoke.
· & very scary 99% of
children don’t wear helmets on the parent’s scooter. ‘
Kids need Lids’.
· Wander off the beaten tourist track if you are a traveler.
· Pollution from those 2 stroke scooters could be a major concern as elsewhere demonstrates.
· We were treated with respect & honesty everywhere as one needs to when there are 92 million living in an area about the size of NZL we guess.
That was completely different from the goon Craig who in flak jacket & sirens & holstered gun accused us of crossing the line twice without indicating. He doesn’t have the authority to issue tickets which is an issue with us. He ‘
doesn’t eat fruit cake’ & would be very stressed in Vietnam.
Ps. Why not continue to NOT watch the goons on the news as you will be happier.
As others do if you want to ‘
ask us how’ we may have some financial or other ideas for you.
We do have some
leading edge financial tools for you.
Only today we read of why having 2 testamentary trusts might be useful & yesterday
19 non drug solutions to back pain that also has a huge financial cost. We might just help you with coaching your family to do their HW or tutoring for maths Naplan as we have tonight with those we know. When the rules change as they do including 1st January this year & next the answers change as we discussed with Joe this week. Call us on 07
3848 1088 or
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our website.
John McAuliffe Call
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