Ho Chi Minh City (Jan. 26, 2015)

Well, I made it safely to Ho Chi Minh City. It’s big, busy and very active, but pretty cool from what I’ve seen so far. I arrived at a Bus Station that was not walkable to the hostel, and hooked up with a Swedish couple who were sitting at the Bus Station having a coffee and assessing what they were going to do as a result of being dropped at a different station than we thought. So, I told them I had a booking and they were welcome to come with me, share a cab, and see if there was space at the hostel for them to stay. They said that was a good idea, and so we jumped into a cab and were dropped off at the hostel by 7:30 am. Of course you can’t check in at that time, but at least I could leave my luggage there and go walking around. The Swedish couple decided that they were going to get a hostel closer to the airport as they had an early flight in the morning. I walked them down the street to catch a cab, and we said our goodbyes. 

Add caption

Add caption

Add caption

The hostel is decent enough, but nothing outstanding. I think
I’m spoiled from having a private room for 10 days…..lol. It’s clean and breakfast is included. It’s also located on a quiet little street off a main street so it is quiet. It doesn’t really matter, as I’m only staying here for two nights anyway. I’m happy with the hostel in any case and find it’s location to be fantastic and central.

I walked around the area for a few hours today, waiting until it was time to check in. I saw the War Museum, and the Opera House. There is a performance going on tonight that looks like a traditional cultural thing, somewhere between Cirque de Soleil and something else, musical. It should be good and the venue is really cool. I got a single seat in a more expensive section as it was the only single left in the section and they wanted to get rid of it, so that was a nice break. It was worth about 400,000 VND more than what I asked for, but she gave it to me at the lower price to sell the single. Yeah!

War Museum

Outside the museum

Outside the museum

Me and an old tank

Opera House, later in the day

Opera House

Welcome sculpture outside 

Stage before the show

Ceiling inside Opera House

I took a look at Banh Thanh Market and stopped for a Bahn Cun which is the rolled rice pancake with bits of pork and mushroom in it. Also, it’s served with bean sprouts and fresh basil with cucumbers. Super delicious.

I went back to the hostel for a little rest as the bus ride to Ho Chi Minh was good, but not very restful. The roads were bumpy and I was at the back of the bus, so I didn’t get sound sleep, though I did sleep most of the way. So, I had a little lie down and slept soundly for two hours. Then I got up, got ready, and went to the Opera House to catch the show. It was called the A O Show and was absolutely fantastic. It was a large group of male and female performers who were in the best physical condition you could imagine. They did all kinds of beautifully choreographed movements using bamboo poles, giant wicker baskets, drums, and acrobatics. They had several Vietnamese musicians playing along to their pieces and it was the most lovely and impressive presentation I have ever seen. The physical condition and skills of these athletes/dancers/artists were incredible. I was so happy I went to see it.

Cast after the show, taking photos

Building across from Opera House

Store window

Another great building

After the show, I walked around the area, which is called District 1. The districts here are about as big as a little suburb so there’s lots to see. Here are some of the street scenes that I encountered while walking. A nice city with lots of lights and action. I am a little guilty to say that I was a bit hot today and this evening walking around. Now I know that no one is feeling sorry for me especially because I have been complaining for the past month about being cold. Well, no longer will I be cold for some time now. It’s back to being a bit sweaty and pulling out the hat and sunscreen……lol. Tomorrow I think I will go to the Ho Chi Minh Museum of Fine Arts. It looks interesting and I’d like to see that. 

Last Days in Dalat (Jan. 24, 25, 2015)

Jan. 24, 2015

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ZAKKERY! YOU’RE ONE YEAR OLD TODAY.

Today I got up, went to yoga, then out for coffee to my favourite place with the WiFi. While I was there, the guy that previously came to see me, showed up again. This time he had his little girl with him, who was about 10 months old. He saw that I was speaking on FT, and popped his head in and started waving to Livi, Zak and Amanda, who I was on FT with. I sang Happy Birthday to Zakki, even though in Canada, it wasn’t yet his birthday. In Vietnam, though, it was! It was really funny. Then he showed Livi some money, not sure why, and waved again and sat with his friends and had coffee. He is really quite nice, and definitely harmless. This time I took a photo with him and his daughter. For some reason, he wouldn’t smile in the photo, but was smiling all the rest of the time. It seems that all the people here put on a straight face when getting their picture taken. It makes this guy look hard, but he was really not at all. 

My friend from the coffee house and his baby.

Then I took the motor bike and went to visit Datanla Waterfall, which is about 5 Kms out of the city. It was another beautiful sunny day and lovely for a ride. The falls were amazing and totally different than Prenn, yesterday. It was a long walk down many stairs to reach the falls but worth the descent.

Pathway down to the falls

Datanla Falls

Close up of falls

On the way back up, I decided that my knees deserved a break, and so I opted to take the cable car back up to the top. As well, I was taking three yoga classes today, and didn’t want to fry my knee for those. It was a really cool ride and some great photo ops.

Looking back as cable car climbed

Looking up as cable car climbed

I found some Bun for lunch, at the market. It was delicious and the market food court was not your average Food Court, for sure.

My Bun lunch

The Food Court

The Food Court #2

Lady selling something to the girl eating

I rested for a while before going to the next two yoga classes. Then off I went and had two excellent classes. Rebecca and Jacek were there and told me that I should come by the house where they were staying, to visit after class, hang out with them and their land lady and her son. I did that, and had a great time. We sat around chatting and having some tea and wine, along with home made cheese, which her son and his wife make for a living her in Dalat. They have a little company called Oh My Buddha which is baking and cheese supply. The son, Jason, was very sweet to share some of his spicy and beer cheese with us, and gave me a homemade chocolate to try. All of them were great and the company with Mary Kay, Jason, Hung, his wife and Rebecca and Jacek were a lot of fun. I returned back around 11:00 and went to bed. 

A really relaxing day with lots of cool people and interesting sights. Hope your birthday was great Zakki. I know your party isn’t until tomorrow.

Jan. 25, 2015

Today I got up for the early yoga class and Rebecca and Jacek were there. They made a special effort to get up early, walk the hour it takes for them to get there, in order to take the class, go for coffee and something to eat with me. They weren’t going to be attending the afternoon and evening classes and it was our last day together. I thought it was super nice of them to do this. We had a really great time and delicious food. Another guy from the yoga retreat, Francois from Montreal, joined us for coffee and ended up showing us the yummy food place just down the street from the cafe. We all sat there for a couple of hours talking, enjoying the food and basking in the sunshine on the street table we were sitting at.

My lunch

Rebecca, me and Jacek at lunch

Then I went to the afternoon yoga class and the evening meditation class. I will be sorry to leave here, as I depart on the night sleeping bus tonight for Ho Chi Minh City. I stay there for three days, then board a flight for Bali. I will be excited to see another, new, warmer country, but will definitely have a hard time saying goodbye to new friends that I made here. I will keep in touch with Rebecca and Jacek and hopefully run into them again.

Me, Hai, and his friends having some dinner

This evening, I went for some Bun with Hai, the young guy from the hostel, and his friends. We had a fantastic last dinner and then I came back to shower and get ready to wait for the bus to Saigon. It was a great meditation at yoga tonight and they were really sweet and seemed sad to see me go. I felt kind of sad too and would happily come back to train with them. 

Waterfall and Flower Park (Jan. 22, 23, 2015)

Jan. 22, 2015

Today I went to yoga in the morning, then went for a coffee at a new cafe that I found near the yoga studio. It had WiFi and it was getting a strong signal so I sat in the sunshine, worked on my research for Bali and Ho Chi Minh City, and FT’d Julia. While I was talking to her, this Vietnamese guy pulled up in a big work truck, for coffee. He waved to me while on I was the FT, then proceeded to sit down at my table, and wave at Julia. It was so weird, because I didn’t understand one word he said and he didn’t understand one that I said. In any case, he stayed right there, talking to me in Vietnamese. Then he started pulling out money and shaking it at me. I didn’t know what he wanted, but thought he might be asking me for money, though it didn’t match his demeanour or facial expressions. He showed me 10,000 Vietnamese Dong, and pointed to my coffee. I still didn’t know what he was communicating and started to get a bit weirded out. He remained in the chair right next to me, his bare feet up, curled under him in the chair, talking to me and offering me cigarettes. Julia was wondering what he was doing too, but was amused because I wasn’t scared, just baffled. She was laughing and so was I. 

Anyway, once I got off the FT, I packed up my stuff, paid for my coffee and left. Upon reflection of the crazy situation, I think the guy was offering to buy me my coffee, and wasn’t asking me for money at all. He was really quite nice, but with such a language barrier, and then everyone in the cafe laughing and talking about whatever he was saying to me, I got uncomfortable and wanted to get out. In any case, he was not creepy, but just super friendly. I should have asked him if I could take his photo, so you could see him. I bet he would have obliged me quite happily.

An interesting, weird and wonderful encounter to say the least. After that, I bought my night bus ticket to go to Ho Chi Minh City on Sunday night, then finished booking my hostels for HCMCity as well as Sanur, Bali. I feel good about having those two things taken care of. At least I will have a place to lay my head when I get to each destination.

I sat in the coffee shop down the street from my hostel for a bit in the afternoon, hoping to draw, but it just didn’t seem to work, so I wrote a bit in my book and then drew a few plants amongst the words. That was great, and so was the coffee. A couple of hours later, I went to the afternoon yoga class. Hai, Sang and I were supposed to go out to the Bee Pub, where Sang DJ’s, but Hai had to work tonight at the hotel here, so we will do that tomorrow night instead. I just hung out, watched a bit of a movie, then crashed.

Jan. 23, 2015

I had another fantastic day. The sun is shining brightly in Dalat during the day and keeping me happy and warm. I went to yoga first thing, and stopped for coffee with a couple I met at yoga. We went to the cafe that I was at yesterday, where I met that gentleman....lol. Then took the motor bike to see one of the waterfalls called, Prenn Waterfall, that’s about 10 Kms outside of the city. It was beautiful and I enjoyed walking around the site very much. It was peaceful, serene and absolutely lovely. 

Coffee with Jack and Rebecca

Cafe from street view

View on bike going to falls

Prenn entrance

View on bike going to falls

First look at falls

Prenn waterfall

View from behind the falls

You could take a camel ride if you wanted

Then I got back onto the bike and went to visit the Flower Park. It is a beautiful, large place that is completely covered in gardens, flowers, and various trees and cacti. I spent quite a while there, looking around and sitting by a fountain watching the water and listening to the birds. It was also a relaxing place to hang. After this, I went back to the hostel and took a rest until the evening yoga class. 

Me at the flower park

A friend at the flower park

Flower park

Fountain I sat beside

Another selfie at flower park

Instruments made of flowers

Clock at flower park

I ended up going to dinner with the couple I have been seeing at yoga. She’s from Wales and he’s from Poland. They are permanent travellers who are staying in Dalat for one month. They live at a home stay, which is owned and run by a woman named Mary Kay, who is from Kentucky. Her son is married to a Vietnamese woman and they have a business making cheese and pasteries, here in Dalat. Super interesting, so I joined them, Mary Kay, and a guy that was also at yoga, named Matt, from England. We went for Hot Pot and Barbecue to a cool restaurant near where they live.

All of us at dinner

It was really cold by the time we finished dinner so I gave Matt a ride back to his hostel which is just near mine, then went to bed. A really great day, as they all have been. I am going to miss this little place and would love to return to it someday.

A Sunny Day in Dalat (Jan. 21, 2015)

This morning I got up bright and early, feeling really good, and went to yoga. I took my computer with me, as suggested by my brother, to use in a cafe to see if the internet was better. Yoga was great, and so was the internet. A whole new perspective today. Yeah! Everything is working and no viruses. Whew. Thanks to mom and Jon for listening to me and helping me not to freak out. The day looks much brighter today, because of the sun and the fact that I haven’t been infected and my dear laptop is still working perfectly.

I went to that Audiophile Cafe to work and drink coffee. What a great place to listen to jazz, do my blog and research where I will be going next and looking into the areas to stay and where to book. 

My next stop is Ho Chi Minh City, which I think I will go to on Sunday night, instead of Friday night. I’d like to do a bit more yoga, relax in this smaller town a bit longer and just take it easy. That will leave me three days to look around Ho Chi Minh which I’m sure will be long enough. It’s a lot more expensive, busy and work to find my way around. So I will investigate whether I can keep the bike, the hotel room and book the bus ticket for Sunday night, on the sleeper bus.

I fly to Denpasar, Bali on Jan. 28th, Julia’s 50th birthday! Wish you were coming with me Jules. Anyway, I have started looking into where to stay and what to do on the Island of Bali. It seems quite a bit more expensive, but looks lovely. I may just stay in Denpasar city for a day or so, or look into booking a flight to Gilli Island which was suggested to me by Jordana as being amazing. I saw a place to stay that wasn’t too bad, so I may do that, and take it from there as to where else to visit. I see that Ubud in the centre of the island is popular, but I’m not too much into the super touristy spots if possible. I’ll do more research and see.

So when I got back to the hostel, I met one of the young guys who works here at the door, with his IT friend. Both speak great English, and I told him that my problem was the internet speed and not a virus. He said that it was because there was a damaged line under the ocean, which I’ve heard before. Hai, the guy who works here, had told me to go to yoga and do what I wanted, then when I returned, he could call his friend if I needed help with the computer. I went for coffee, and returned a bit later than I had expected, to find him and his friend Sang, here waiting and then going for lunch together. I thanked them and said that I had hoped he hadn’t come here just for the computer. They said ‘no’, that they are best friends and were going out for lunch regardless. They were going for dry noodles and invited me along. I happily agreed. Hai drove my bike, with me as a passenger, and Sang rode on his own bike. It was a great afternoon chatting with them (they’re both very artsy, and about 22-24 years old). Both of them were brought up in musical families and are pretty mature for their age. We chatted back and forth and they asked me lots of questions and I asked many of them as well. It’s so interesting learning about another person’s culture and true way of life. We went for coffee afterwards before returning to the hostel. Hai was only on a lunch break, so we had to get back. 

The Coffee House

Our coffee delights

L to R: Hai, Sang, Me

My dry noodle lunch

View from the cafe

After that, I rested, then went to the 5:30 meditation class, worked on my computer and went to bed. A fantastic day with lots of new friends and experiences.