Kim's update

Oh well 5 days in and here's my take on things so far. As Tony said we had a lovely time in duty free before we even left the country. So now busily trying to drink 3 bottles  of alcohol in 2 weeks before we fly out of Vietnam. We are going on a cruise once we arrive in Tokyo and you are only allowed 750ml of wine each, not the Whisky and Gin we have 😁 Oh well its a tough task but we will give it a go!!! We had our name down to buy 2 extra seats each for the flight to Ho Chi Minh, it's a promo Air Asia does and of course relies on Air Asia not selling out their flights, so you don't find out until you book in. With anticipation we asked at the counter as we checked in and was told, the plane takes 375 people and they had 373 tickets sold, so no extra seats for us 😁

For me the flight was pretty good I had the window seat and we had booked seats where you get more leg room and no one in front of you.

It was great to touch down in Ho Chi Minh and got through customs in about 15 minutes, happy days. Stepping outside and those familiar smells were bliss. Off we walked to the domestic airport, we had decided not to hang around in Ho Chi Minh and head straight for Da Lat. With now a 6 hour wait in the airport due to our perceived 2 hour extra delay, a nice cold beer or 4 was looking good!!! As you know that all turned to crap and now 24 hours after leaving Tas, I'm sitting outside the airport in the sweltering heat, fuming, finding accommodation in Ho Chi Minh because we had the stuff up with our flight to Da Lat and have to wait another 24 hours. Using my favourite Vietnamese phrase Ôi chúa ơi, OMG with a "f" in there too I was not in the best spirits.😁😁 We made it to our hotel and had a quick wander around to find something to eat, a bloody à la carte restaurant at $75 which is REALLY expensive in Vietnam but we were tired and couldn't be bothered. Poor Tony order a King Prawn, notice the "A" one bloody prawn, not that big, so luckily his darling wife was happy to share her noodles. We made it back to our room and was even too tired to make a start on our Whisky, straight to bed for us!!!! The next day was a new day and off we went exploring. Probably the highlight of the day was Tony having his first Asian massage. I chose a foot massage and Tony who had a sore back opted for the back and shoulders. Being the masseur  connoisseur that I am, I was teasing him saying, if they ask you for a happy ending say no!!!  We followed a staff member up the stairs and they directed us into a locker room to put our bags in a locker and handed Tony some shorts and top like pjs, by this time Tony is getting a little nervous and has to change into them while all these other blokes are either redressing or undressing and I'm standing there saying it will be ok. Off we go to separate rooms and I'm chuckling away to myself. I couldn't wait to finish my foot massage to see how Tone survived, he did and may even consider another one 😜

Off to the airport we go again and another delay, Ôi chúa ơi !!!!!! Oh well more Saigon Special beers. I'm busily emailing our accommodation to say I don't reckon we will be there until around 10.00pm, mmmmmm 11.30pm we get there after a 1.5hr taxi drive that was supposed to be 35kms from the airport. I hate to say this but Ôi chúa ơi what a bad driver this women was, all over the road and of course lost!!!! We were on these back dark roads and Tony is saying she is going to take us to a shed full of thugs and that will be the end of us!!!! When we finally arrived we refused to pay her all of the money saying with the help of Mr Trung from our accommodation  translating, that it was her fault the fare was that much because she got us lost, she reckoned she wasn't lost at all, Ôi chúa ơi!!!! I started taking pictures of her number plate and taxi licence sticker saying I was going to complain and then walked away giving her the finger!!!! What a bloody day. I said to Tony we will probably be black banned now, the word will be around and no taxi driver will pick us up. Thankfully that wasn't the case but we were certainly wary of getting in a little green hatch back taxi thinking it might be her!!! I feel a bit sad we didn't do much in Da Lat but it was cold and dreary and thank god I brought my "puffer jacket" and a pair of socks.

Our next stop was Nha Trang via a bus and I was a tad nervous as I had read the bus trip through windy roads with drivers who could not drive could be harrowing at the least but oh well we have survived some pretty bad bus trips before. We started the trip and every-time the bus driver put on the brakes I could hear the brakes make a funny noise Ôi chúa ơi again 😄. We had one near miss but luckily the road was wide enough for three buses side by side...just.

Anyway we arrived in Nha Trang after about 4 hrs on a cramped bus to a blissful 27 degrees, yayy. Our accom was great with sea views, cable tv and action everywhere. For the next day we decided on a mountain bike tour of some villages, rice fields and the odd temple. 35kms with 33 degree heat at about 80% humidity made it hard work but it was great. It was overcast but we both got burnt even though we had sunscreen on. We were the only two on the tour as our guide explained to us Nha Trang is full of Chinese and Russians and they are not fit enough to even consider a bike ride!!!  Good for us 😄 Our guide tells us you can do a Ho Chi Minh to Hanoi mountain bike ride for 28 days, worth considering 😄. One of the highlights for me was riding through the city navigating the traffic on a push bikes, going through roundabouts, dodging cars and buses. Gives me more confidence if I was to hire a motorbike. Our guide took a heap of pics but hasn't emailed them yet, so watch this space. Tomorrow we are off snorkelling and then late train out of Nha Trang at 9.30pm to Hoi Ann, life is great 😄