Day 368
We were up early and not really feeling our best. Downstairs the restaurant was really disorganized. Nicole's breakfast never came and we just barley had our lunches made in time to get on the bus. When we got to the bus station Nicole went to grab us seats while I put the bags on the bus. I was then told that it was the wrong bus and I took them off and went to get her. As Nicole was getting off of the bus we were told that it was the right one and to get back on. Very confusing.
The bus was really nice and we both slept for most of the ride. We arrived to Ho Chi Mihn City, Saigon to the locals, in the late afternoon. It was my turn to do the hotel room checks and after looking at a few we conceded that there just wasn't any really cheap place to stay that had HBO. Once we had moved in and taken showers we quickly headed out for dinner. We were on a bit of a time crunch. For dinner we had a really yummy Sunday roast, Nicole had been craving it and I was along for the ride.
On the way back to the hotel we picked up some snacks from the 999 mart. We made it back just in time for Sweeney Todd to begin on tv. It was just as good as we had expected. We spent the rest of the night watching whatever came on tv.
Showing posts with label Delat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Delat. Show all posts
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Easy Day
Day 367
Over breakfast we decided to cut Mu Ni out of our plans and stay the day in Delat.
The thing to do in Delat is to take an Easy Riders tour. These are local guys who speak English well and have classic bikes. The English I can confirm, the bikes, I don't know. What I can tell you was that I thought it was quite over priced if you consider what I have gotten for much less not just in other countries, but also in Vietnam.
The first place we stopped was a coffee plantation. It was only sorta interesting, but they had these weird types of grass that closed when you touched them. Our second stop was a broom making family. Nicole has an odd love of brooms and quite liked this.
The highlight of the day was the stunning elephant waterfall. even in the dry season it was amazing. It was sad though that there was so much garbage scattered around. Oddly, many of the rocks at the bottom had the same octagonal shape that the rocks at Giants Causeway in Ireland had had. Nicole played the part of a mountain goat to climb up higher while I decided to stay put. I'm not taking any extra chances with my stupid foot! On the way back up I couldn't help but buy one more scarf from a local woman.
We stopped at a local place for lunch and a very drunk man proposed to Nicole. He was so drunk that the beer was dribbling down his chin as he spoke. Nicole said that she would marry him in the morning, but I think she might be skipping out on her promise.
Back in Delat we tried to visit a crazy monk that paints but he was out of the temple for the afternoon. Instead we headed directly to the Crazy House. My book had made it sound like this would be interactive somehow. However, it was just a Gaudiesqe structure that wasn't even finished. I think bits of it were down right dangerous to be walking around. Still, we managed to get several fun pictures of us in the place. Our last stop was the Delat train station which is known for its interesting avante guard decor. The tracks here no longer function so it is purely a tourist site. They also seemed to be doing some type of photo shoot here.
When we got back I was happy to be off of the bike, but had a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. We were only gone for about 4 hours and didn't make all that many stops, in fact they forgot to stop at the lake as we had requested later on. It wasn't really worth it. For dinner we went to a place that was American run. I don't know what I had expected, but it sure wasn't an over priced tortilla.
After dinner we met up with Jimmy, a Danish guy that we had met back in Chang Mai the first night that Nicole and I had gone out together. They both wanted to watch the Liverpool v. Manchester game, but it wasn't playing in the one bar that Nicole and I knew about. We ended up finding a place with homemade beer for 17 cents each, it wasn't that bad, with the game on. They were both very happy because Liverpool won.
After the game we went back to the bar we had started at. Much to our chagrin there were two really annoying Americans there. They kept going behind the bar and making their own drinks. They were pouring them double, triple or more the size of normal drinks. The bartender was obviously annoyed with them and told them that the bar was closing and that they needed to pay. They begged for one more and he put his foot down. They then refused to pay him extra even though they had poured their own drinks and they were extra extra strong. Eventually they gave him most of what they owed and walked out. As soon as the door closed he turned to the three of us and asked if we wanted another round. It was pretty funny. That was our last round though and soon we all headed out.
Over breakfast we decided to cut Mu Ni out of our plans and stay the day in Delat.
The thing to do in Delat is to take an Easy Riders tour. These are local guys who speak English well and have classic bikes. The English I can confirm, the bikes, I don't know. What I can tell you was that I thought it was quite over priced if you consider what I have gotten for much less not just in other countries, but also in Vietnam.
The first place we stopped was a coffee plantation. It was only sorta interesting, but they had these weird types of grass that closed when you touched them. Our second stop was a broom making family. Nicole has an odd love of brooms and quite liked this.
The highlight of the day was the stunning elephant waterfall. even in the dry season it was amazing. It was sad though that there was so much garbage scattered around. Oddly, many of the rocks at the bottom had the same octagonal shape that the rocks at Giants Causeway in Ireland had had. Nicole played the part of a mountain goat to climb up higher while I decided to stay put. I'm not taking any extra chances with my stupid foot! On the way back up I couldn't help but buy one more scarf from a local woman.
We stopped at a local place for lunch and a very drunk man proposed to Nicole. He was so drunk that the beer was dribbling down his chin as he spoke. Nicole said that she would marry him in the morning, but I think she might be skipping out on her promise.
Back in Delat we tried to visit a crazy monk that paints but he was out of the temple for the afternoon. Instead we headed directly to the Crazy House. My book had made it sound like this would be interactive somehow. However, it was just a Gaudiesqe structure that wasn't even finished. I think bits of it were down right dangerous to be walking around. Still, we managed to get several fun pictures of us in the place. Our last stop was the Delat train station which is known for its interesting avante guard decor. The tracks here no longer function so it is purely a tourist site. They also seemed to be doing some type of photo shoot here.
When we got back I was happy to be off of the bike, but had a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. We were only gone for about 4 hours and didn't make all that many stops, in fact they forgot to stop at the lake as we had requested later on. It wasn't really worth it. For dinner we went to a place that was American run. I don't know what I had expected, but it sure wasn't an over priced tortilla.
After dinner we met up with Jimmy, a Danish guy that we had met back in Chang Mai the first night that Nicole and I had gone out together. They both wanted to watch the Liverpool v. Manchester game, but it wasn't playing in the one bar that Nicole and I knew about. We ended up finding a place with homemade beer for 17 cents each, it wasn't that bad, with the game on. They were both very happy because Liverpool won.
After the game we went back to the bar we had started at. Much to our chagrin there were two really annoying Americans there. They kept going behind the bar and making their own drinks. They were pouring them double, triple or more the size of normal drinks. The bartender was obviously annoyed with them and told them that the bar was closing and that they needed to pay. They begged for one more and he put his foot down. They then refused to pay him extra even though they had poured their own drinks and they were extra extra strong. Eventually they gave him most of what they owed and walked out. As soon as the door closed he turned to the three of us and asked if we wanted another round. It was pretty funny. That was our last round though and soon we all headed out.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Wheels on the Bus Never End
Day 366
We were both exhausted when we got off the bus in Na Trang and we had further to go. The bus driver told us to wait at a particular hotel and that they would tell us when the bus was coming. I was finally able to check my email here. I was getting desperate because it had been days since aol had let me in.
At 7:10 we were told to go to another office and they told us that we missed the bus. The guy acted like we were total idiots for it. When I asked him what our other options were he said no. No? That's not an answer! I am so sick of people in Vietnam being so rude for no reason. I wanted to snap at him, my tired brain struggled to be nice. In the end he made a phone call and then another bus arrived. I don't know what that was so hard in the first place.
After about an hour on that bus (a comfortable sleeper that I slept on) we were switched to another bus. About 30 km's from Delat the bus stalled. After a few minutes it started again. This went on with the not starting time getting longer and longer every other km or so. About 3 km's out it stopped and wouldn't start. After about 20 minutes the bus driver started getting really angry and kicking the tires. At one point he sat down defeated and looked like he was about to cry. He gave it one last shot and it started.
When we got to Delat, about 2 hours late, someone from the bus company came on and apologized for the delays. This had never happened in Asia before. It was too late though, we didn't have time to get to any of the places we had planned on visiting that afternoon.
After finding our hotel we ate and then took showers. The only thing to do that night was to wander the town for a bit. Delat looked like a nice place and there were tons of people out. There were also a lot of new and trendy looking restaurants, but no one was in them. After a snack we ended up at the one real bar in town where we met a bunch of really nice English people. Unfortunately we were both way too tired to stay out and ended up back at our hotel around 10pm.
We were both exhausted when we got off the bus in Na Trang and we had further to go. The bus driver told us to wait at a particular hotel and that they would tell us when the bus was coming. I was finally able to check my email here. I was getting desperate because it had been days since aol had let me in.
At 7:10 we were told to go to another office and they told us that we missed the bus. The guy acted like we were total idiots for it. When I asked him what our other options were he said no. No? That's not an answer! I am so sick of people in Vietnam being so rude for no reason. I wanted to snap at him, my tired brain struggled to be nice. In the end he made a phone call and then another bus arrived. I don't know what that was so hard in the first place.
After about an hour on that bus (a comfortable sleeper that I slept on) we were switched to another bus. About 30 km's from Delat the bus stalled. After a few minutes it started again. This went on with the not starting time getting longer and longer every other km or so. About 3 km's out it stopped and wouldn't start. After about 20 minutes the bus driver started getting really angry and kicking the tires. At one point he sat down defeated and looked like he was about to cry. He gave it one last shot and it started.
When we got to Delat, about 2 hours late, someone from the bus company came on and apologized for the delays. This had never happened in Asia before. It was too late though, we didn't have time to get to any of the places we had planned on visiting that afternoon.
After finding our hotel we ate and then took showers. The only thing to do that night was to wander the town for a bit. Delat looked like a nice place and there were tons of people out. There were also a lot of new and trendy looking restaurants, but no one was in them. After a snack we ended up at the one real bar in town where we met a bunch of really nice English people. Unfortunately we were both way too tired to stay out and ended up back at our hotel around 10pm.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)