Vietnam deplam...1st part South Vietnam

Hello all,

How could I define Vietnam in only one word?... BEAUTIFUL (Deplam in vietnamese)!!. Each single destination I have been at has something special and different to offer, mountains, beach, canyons, dunes, monuments, atmosphere, craziness!
The scenery here is just...amazing...some destinations need more time than others to discover their beauty, but every single one has really deligthful views...underwater sometimes!.

Travelling in Vietnam is so easy..., there are cheap buses going from South to North stopping at each interesting destination..for only around 20US$ !!. At the same time, this helps a lot in meeting new people..and this has been definitely, even more than the scenery, what has made my time in Vietnam so nice!!.

Andrew, Anne Sophie, Alex, Asier, Brianna, Caroline, Courtney, Daragh, Dave, Eliane, Gael, Janelle, Jo, Jose Ramon, Isabel, Kim, Paul, Patricia,Therese and many others thanks for all these moments spent together...you all have made my time in Vietnam so special. Hope I will see u all later on somewhere ! (at the moment I am writing this lines, I have bumped into Daragh and Caroline...in Malaysia...the world is really so small!!)

After this brief (?) introduction, here u are the path I have taken, from South to the North:

Mekong Delta: green rice paddies, quiet canals, floating houses and floating markets. The region main economic activity is rice growing...Vietnam is the 2nd worlwide rice producer , and most of this rice is produced on this area..., 3 crops per year and virtually all the surface of the mekong delta is used for rice growing.

The Mekong delta is something really picturesque, and it is so amazing cause everything here happens on the river...do u want a cup of coffee?..no worries, just raise your hand and someone will bring it to your boat!

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon for the non-initiated ;-) ): the busiest place I have ever seen on earth...where u can sit down on any crossing and spend hours regarding how Vietnamese are living on the edge...driving their motorbikes !

9 million people is living here, in a maze composed by wide green avenues...and small alleys off main streets

Close to HCMC u can visit the Cao dai temple. The Caodist religion is an eclectic mix of catholic, buddhist and confucionist religions...a sort of mother of religions which tries to implement the best of each. The colorful temple is completely different to any other temple I may have seen before...

Mui Ne: peaceful place on the coast side, a strong wind area very appreciated by kite surfers...At the same time, it's got one of the best countryside views of all Vietnam. I let you judge...

Some pics of the red dunes, white sand dunes with its nenufars and a sunset view taking from Mui Ne fishing village

Dalat: mountain station, cold weather, waterfalls, pines, pines, pines everywhere...someone would say we are in the Pyrenees or in Grenoble surroundings!.

Here u are some pics with Alex after climbing a 4100m high ;-) mountain, and with Daragh and Caroline in one of the waterfalls on Dalat outskirts.

and crossing a bridge over the nice (and very dirty!) Tiger waterfall

Nha Trang: beach resort, nice beaches, nice party, the place to meet people and to go partying until late...beside that...the best scuba diving site in Vietnam!!...Partying and diving...and explosive cocktel I would do not recommend to anyone...can u guess arrive at the hotel at 3 am, and wake up at 7am for diving...with a hangover like hell...??!!

As I had enough time to spend around, I decided to take my Open Water Diver certificate so I can dive now down to 18 meters deep. The most amazing dive I did, in a place called Madonna rock, consists of a set of narrow caves plenty of fish and corals...definitely one of the best experiences I have ever had in my life!. A picture of me splashing, just before going deep down...

As any other destination, Nha Trang has another face, far less well known, and far away from the beach resorts and night clubs. At the north bound of the city you can see how people lives from fishing or any other activities beside tourism. Very picturesque and very cheap!, a whole plate of tasteful barbecued seafood by only half a US dollar...viva Vietnam!!

And that's all so far. I will try to post soon the trip at North of Vietnam. Until then, take care!.

Jona

...to be continued...

South of Cambodia

Hi all folks,

Hope you still remember that I am backpacking throughout southeast asia ;-)...last chapter was more than a month ago! ..it's been 'two whiles' since then!!. Please forgive me, but it is just that Vietnam is so nice and so..HUGE..that it really leaves you little time to accomplish 'administrative' tasks such as updating your blog..!

After my apologies, here we go!, last chapter, Ratanakiri, northeast of Cambodia, remote and dusty region. After a couple of days sick (of course that happens when travelling), I headed to the south to change my mind...I needed some rest and to chill out on the beach while sipping a beer...After 12 hours of bus, I finally got to Sihanoukville, exactly on the 17th of february. For those who travel or have travelled in Asia, you may know that this day is the Chinese New Year (or Tet)...the most important holiday in Asia. That means that prices double and moreover it becomes nearly impossible to find any accomodation...Arriving late in the evening does not help either....so we ended up in a free dorm in one of the most popular night clubs in Cambodia..UTOPIA!. Hopefully I met Sophie, Claire and Emilie, three very nice french girls who work in Pekin as french teachers. We spent our time in the south together and we really had a great time, hope I see u again in China!.


Indeed, it was really utopic to go to bed at 4am...to try to get asleep with the full volume music in the bar until 6 pm...and to be awaken up by millions of mosquitoes seeking your blood...hopefully next day the magnificent Otres beach did some nice work and we could finally take some rest...
The Cambodian coast cannot compete with Thailand's in natural beauty (at least that is what most people says!), however it still has got a couple of spots reachable by boat which are, in my own view, impressive...here u are a couple of pics of an unknown beach in the area and Ko Ta Kiev island. For those who are looking for some adventure, u can even overnight in this island in the so called 'Tonty's Jungle Camp', run by a nice english man (Jonathan!) who has cleared out the jungle to make some 'rooms' (basically an hammock with a mosquito net on top of a wooden floor!).

Before logging off, check out a couple of sights the national park of Ream offers

And that's all for the time being, see u in a bit !!

Jona