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Vietnam

• Having just travelled overland through Cambodia the change in the wealth of Vietnam was notable - the quality of the roads improved and it was a mere two hours to reach Ho Chi Minh city, more commonly known as Saigon. The law states that everyone must be registered with the police when staying in Vietnam, so every hotel owner should (and did) ask for your passport when you check in.

  Don't plan on making too many phone calls, the cost here is one of the highest in the world. Calling England was over £3 per minute. It's against the law to take an incoming call on a public phone, but our hotel owner didn't mind so it's worth asking.

  Transport around Vietnam is not as easy as some countries - apart from the obvious language differences, the government places restrictions on travel. Tourists are not supposed to use the trains and most other forms of transport charge foreigners at least triple the normal charge. Despite this increase travel is reasonably cheap but one result of this regulation is that most people stick to the same agenda organised by many of the travel shops - namely from Saigon to Nha Trang, Hoi An, Hue, and finally Hanoi.

  The countryside along the coastal highway is spectacular, with rice paddies stretching away to the mountains. Nha Trang is a small coastal town next to the South China seas and is famous for just one thing as far as backpackers are concerned - Mama Hahn's Green Hat tours. The basic outline is 'getting drunk on a boat' and in Mama Hahn's words "Don't be lazy!!!". This is one lady who knows how to drink and enjoy the day. Everyone piles aboard one or more boats which then head for the closest of a bunch of nearby islands. Drinking is encouraged as is smoking, the music is turned up and the rest of the day is a long party. Occasionally the boat moors off one of the islands and everyone swims for a while before the boat moves onto the next island. The $7 charge is worth it for the lunch alone - a feast of seafood and fruit, with about fifteen different dishes served!

• 2 subalbums 9 images
• 10/13/1999
• • Asia

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