After the rain I went to have a little walk through town. Behind the hostel is a backpackers street full of small restaurants and bars. I walked around and ate some typical Vietnamese fresh spring rolls and a fish dish of spicy squid. After the food I went back to the hostel where I met up with Marc, a Canadian guy I met back in Phnom Penh who happened to be in Ho Chi Minh as well. That night we had some beers in the hostel bar.
Day 7
The next day Marc and I were planning to explore the city. We woke up fairly early, but unfortunately out of nowhere a big rain storm came over the city. We decided to wait for the rain to stop, I had never seen it rain so hard in my life.
When the rain finally stopped we went out and walked for a few good hours through district 1 of the city. This is where all the touristic things are. We first went to the market where we bought some t-shirts and had some food. After the market we checked out some pretty buildings. We ended up in the war museum which showed a lot of horible photos of what happened to the people in Vietnam during and after the war. Some of the photos were very gory and cruel. It did lack some background info about why the war was started in the first place and it was completely focused on what kind of terrible things the Americans had done to the people and the country.
After the museum I walked back to the hostel. The trafic in the city was crazy because it was rush hour. I took a video of the madness, as otherwise you wouldn’t believe it. I then had a shower and a little sleep.
I later met up with Marc and we went to get a foot massage to ease our feet. The massage was good, but the little girls are not strong enough to give a good massage. Afterwards we ate some food and went back to the hostel. There we played some pool with the other people in the hostel. Later that night we went with the people in the hostel out to a few bars in the backpackers street which was good fun.
Day 8
We had to get up early again as Marc and I were going to the Vietcong tunnels today. The Vietcong lived during the war underground in a masive tunnel system which is more than 100km long.
The tour was really interesting, even though the park itself was fairly touristy. We first stopped at a place where people with disabilities (caused by agent orange, the chemical the Americans used against Vietnam during the ưar) were working. They were creating handicraft stuff.
After that stop we headed over to the tunnels. We were guided through the place and were explained how the Vietcong worked and what kind of traps they used against the Americans. Half way we got to a shooting range where we had the ability to shoot some very heavy weapons like an AK47 and an M60. Marc and I chose to buy some bullets to shoot with the M60 (the gun Walter White uses in the final episode of Breaking Bad). The fire power was insane, but it was quite an experience to shoot with such a gun once.
Thereafter the tour continued and we had the ability to crawl through the tunnels ourselves. The tunnels the tourist go into are made a bit bigger, because otherwise we wouldn’t fit in them (this is why the Americans couldn’t get in, even if they found the entrance). The tunnel contained three diferent stages, and every stage the tunnel would become a little bit smaller. After each stage you had the ability to climb out. After the first stage most of the people in the group went back up, including me. Then a few stages later a British girl came out. When me and another British guy saw that even she had done it, we decided to go back in and do it too.
We went through all the stages. At some point we had to crawl on our knees and hands, because it was quite small. It also became really warm under the ground. Thankfully they’ve put some lights in the tunnel (there was no electricity in the tunnels at the time of the war). It must have been really hard living for such a long time underground.
After we got back out we sat down and watched a short video about the Vietnam war. We then got back on the bus and drove to town. At the hostel I had some sleep and a shower. That night we had a few drinks with a few people from the hostel.
Day 9
We woke up early again, as today we were doing a tour to the Mekong Delta. The Mekong Delta is on the border of Cambodia and Vietnam. The tour started at 8am, as it takes 3 hours to get to the Delta. From there we got onto a boat and went to the floating market.
Unfortunately the floating market is only busy in the early morning, so the market was quite inactive when we got there. The boat ride through the river was still good though. We then stopped at a factory where they were making coconut candy, rice paper (the stuff they roll spring rolls in) and poprice (popcorn but with rice). It was nice to see how they were making that stuff. After the boat ride we got into smaller boats which were rowed by locals. We then had lunch on one of the islands.
After lunch we had some spare time to explore the island by bike. Unfortunately the bikes were really bad and we only had half an hour, so we didn’t see much. Afterwards we caught a boat back to the main land. We then had another 3 hour bus ride back to the city. When we got back I was really tired. Marc, me and two British girls who were on the tour with us had some dinner in the backpackers street. Afterwards we went back to the hostel and we went straight to bed, as we were all feeling really tired. Besides I felt I had a bit of a fever so it was time to sleep.
Day 10
As my train was leaving at noon, I had some time to sleep in. When I got up I already felt a lot better and the shower did the trick too. I then grabbed a taxi to the train station and got onto the train. To my surprise I even had a bed in a compartment with three other people, which was really nice. I was finally able to stretch my legs and the ride was a lot more comfortable as the train doesn’t have to drive over bumpy roads.
Of course the girl at the tourist office lied to me again (they all do). She told me train would take 6 hours, but they turned out to be almost 9 hours. And also the price on my ticket was 6 dollars less than what she made me pay for, but thats something we tourists just have to accept.
I finally arrived after 8,5 hours in Nah Trangh. I had forgotten to write down the address of my hostel, so when I arrived I looked for internet to check my email. A guy on the street helped me to find a Wifi-spot, so I could check the address. Once I had the address he of course also wanted to help me find a taxi (so he can ask commission to the taxi driver). I disagreed and told him I wanted to find a taxi myself. Unfortunately every city has its own taxi companies, and only a few are not trying to charge ridicilous prices.
I waited for 5 minutes to look for a taxi, but I couldn’t find the company (Vinasun) I was looking for. He then told me the price would be maximum 100.000 Dong (3,5 euro). I had no idea how far it would be, so I agreed. Once I got in the taxi, the driver wanted to drive away, but he didn’t turn on the meter. I told him to turn it on. He refused and told me ‘no meter’. I then looked at him very stern and said, put the meter on or I get out right now. A bit angry he turned on the meter. The ‘helpful’ guy outside looked at me and said, you go by meter? I said of course!! The drive turned out to be only a few minutes and the meter told me 35.000 dong (1,25 euro). Unfortunately thís happens constantly in Vietnam. Everybody is lying and trying to trick you to make more money. Thankfully I know most of their tricks, but it does become annoying – especially after a 9 hour train ride.
I then finally checked in to my hostel. I dropped my bags and walked downstairs to a few guys having a drink. They were about to go out to the bars, so I decided to join them. Nah Trangh tuns out to be a pretty small beach town full of Russian tourists. As it is low season, the amounts of tourist are not very very much but thats ok. After a few drinks I headed back to the hostel and had some sleep.
Soon more adventures from Nah Trangh!
Oct 6th 2013 – Oct 9th 2013
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