Nha Trang
Am continuing my battle with food sickness. Had a brief spell of lucidity in Hoi An and was able to order an ao doi, traditional vietnamese dress. Was kind of cool to be able to order something at 10 pm and get it the next day handmade. My youngest brother also ordered a suit and my sister ordered a two piece skirt outfit. Them's some nimble fingers.
Got to Nha Trang a couple of days ago and found it unappealing. It is Vientam's answer to South Beach in Miami or Gold Coast in Brisbane. Either way, not really up to my tastes. On our first night we were shuttled to the wrong hotel and ended up staying at a 2 star hotel for a night. Not a big deal, right? Well, the hotel was also a pimp hotel and I saw alot of guests with "companions" that night. The next day we moved to the right hotel and I promptly became sick again the next morning. I think it was bad karma to move....
The picture is the outside of the cheesy and equally inadequate facilities of an aquarium. The whole experience was saddening as the facilities were left to be desired. The guide talked about how to cook and eat each individual fish we saw.
Took off for Saigon today and saw a little bit of the city. We went to some wood making factory where they make those inlaid wood stuff and an embroidery place. Got a picture from the embrodiery place, the pictures they have are amazing as they stitch a picture onto fabric and the picture looks almost flawless. My younger brother purchased a rather large piece and he said he was going to put it up in his new place.
I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that I can recover sufficientely overnight. Tomorrow, we're suppose to go to Vung Tao, famous beach outside of Saigon.
My first impression of Saigon is that it is THE city in Vietnam. Much more cosmopolitan, traffis is somewhat orderly compared to the rest of the country, and we're in a Best Western all suite hotel with FREE wireless access. Since it is a US based company, the internet service here is the best I've seen since entering Vietnam. No trouble opening up US websites, etc.
Siblings took off after dinner to wander around the city while I try to keep from yakking in the hotel room.
Words of advice when coming to Vietnam (could be applied to rest of Asia):
1) Bring penciliin for all potential food bourne illnesses.
2) Bring toilet tissue as you never know when you'll need to go in public places.
3) Bring sanitzer as you never know when soap is available in those public places.
4) Bring $100 or $2 new US bills....They bring in the most value when exchanging money as locals find them luckiest. I've been able to get 500 dong more per dollar because of a $100 bill versus $20. $2 are rare and is a very popular novelty. In any case, exchanging cash for cash is the most economical way of trading currency. Withdrawals from ATMs are the worst form of getting local currency. Local jewelers are the best source for changing cash.
Got to Nha Trang a couple of days ago and found it unappealing. It is Vientam's answer to South Beach in Miami or Gold Coast in Brisbane. Either way, not really up to my tastes. On our first night we were shuttled to the wrong hotel and ended up staying at a 2 star hotel for a night. Not a big deal, right? Well, the hotel was also a pimp hotel and I saw alot of guests with "companions" that night. The next day we moved to the right hotel and I promptly became sick again the next morning. I think it was bad karma to move....
The picture is the outside of the cheesy and equally inadequate facilities of an aquarium. The whole experience was saddening as the facilities were left to be desired. The guide talked about how to cook and eat each individual fish we saw.
Took off for Saigon today and saw a little bit of the city. We went to some wood making factory where they make those inlaid wood stuff and an embroidery place. Got a picture from the embrodiery place, the pictures they have are amazing as they stitch a picture onto fabric and the picture looks almost flawless. My younger brother purchased a rather large piece and he said he was going to put it up in his new place.
I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that I can recover sufficientely overnight. Tomorrow, we're suppose to go to Vung Tao, famous beach outside of Saigon.
My first impression of Saigon is that it is THE city in Vietnam. Much more cosmopolitan, traffis is somewhat orderly compared to the rest of the country, and we're in a Best Western all suite hotel with FREE wireless access. Since it is a US based company, the internet service here is the best I've seen since entering Vietnam. No trouble opening up US websites, etc.
Siblings took off after dinner to wander around the city while I try to keep from yakking in the hotel room.
Words of advice when coming to Vietnam (could be applied to rest of Asia):
1) Bring penciliin for all potential food bourne illnesses.
2) Bring toilet tissue as you never know when you'll need to go in public places.
3) Bring sanitzer as you never know when soap is available in those public places.
4) Bring $100 or $2 new US bills....They bring in the most value when exchanging money as locals find them luckiest. I've been able to get 500 dong more per dollar because of a $100 bill versus $20. $2 are rare and is a very popular novelty. In any case, exchanging cash for cash is the most economical way of trading currency. Withdrawals from ATMs are the worst form of getting local currency. Local jewelers are the best source for changing cash.
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