Vietnam

Well, we finally made it. Waiting at Saigon domestic airport, 333 beer in-belly, for our flight to Hue.

Updates may be sparse for the next week[1. I think I’ve scheduled a post tomorrow… no, wait. It was the previous post. About Gmail. ], but I know you can wait it out. I’ll allow you to stray if need be — 50km rule and all that — but I’ll expect your attention again starting next week.

Speak ‘ron
Barto

Day 1, Getting to Hué

• Paperwork
• Car, plane, wait, plane, car
• The Shining
• Tea which tastes of the milk after you’ve eaten all the Froot Loops
• Cyclo x2
• Rice crepes, spring rolls, pizza, 333
• Followed by cyclo x2
• Thwarted shakedown attempt
• Refuse to go down for international power adapter
• Sleep

Day 2, Hué

• Tennis
• Swim
• Poached egg, toast, bacon, fruit, yoghurt, coco pops!
• Gecko
• Cycle
• Citadel
• Drink water
• Cycle more
• Drink more water
• Phở “Kem”
• Pool (with water)
• Pool (with cues)
• Rendang jerky, local beer no.2: Festival
• Nina’s, local beer no.3: Hue Beer
• Cyclo-free walk
• Complimentary water
• Sleep

Day 3, Hué to Hoi An

• Wake
• Phở, fruit, yoghurt, French toast, vegemite roll
• Sleep
• Tennis
• Swim
• Shana & Elias
• Checkout
• Walk, fall, blood, doctor, foamy disinfectant, bandage, ok
• Local beer no.4: Huda
• Banana crépe
• Cyclo, peak hour
• Swim
• Goodbye to new friends
• Hué train station, delayed, wait, wait, wait
• Finally, train, air con
• Vultures
• Taxi
• Disappearing gecko
• Midnight burgers
• Sleep

Day 4, Hoi An

• Bumblebees
• Crepes, cinnamon sugar
• No WiFi in our room, ethernet plug in the toilet (!!)
• Vulture laundry women
• 9 pieces of bespoke clothing, shoes, mended sandals
• $2.50 cocktails!!!, free wifi
• A bridge
• Conical headgear made from straw (x2)
• More $2.50 cocktails
• White rose wantons
• Pool
• Local beer no.5: Biere Larue
• Sleep for 10 hours

Day 5, Hoi An

• Vietnamese Independence Day
• Cycle
• Beach
• The Omnivore’s Dilemma
• Local beer no.6: Saigon
• Dancing dragon
• Cycle home (I won the cow game)
• 38 minutes x $2.50 cocktails
• Hot pot
• Balcony rats, geckos eating bugs, geckos eating geckos, piggy-backing toads
• Storm
• Temple Grandin, autism, cows
• Sleep

Day 6, Hoi An

• Massage
• Cycle
• Pottery barn
• Cycle home (I lost the cow game)
• Pool, omnivorous dilemmas, BBQ, beer, storm
• Balcony, dilemmas of the omnivorous ilk, snooze
• Sunset cruise (minus sunset), free-flow booze, canapés
• Eggplant hot pot with pork
• Room service banana fritters
• 90 minutes I’ll never get back
• Promises
• Alarm set for 5:20am
• Sleep

Day 7, Hoi An to KL

• Wake, shower, dress, pack, checkout, 30 mins
• Breakfast packs
• Taxi to Da Nang airport
• Fly Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh, babies crying in front, on left, and behind
• Mediocre Airport phở
• This is the waiting room
• Fly Ho Chi Minh to Kuala Lumpur, babies crying all round
• Quick exit through immigration, temporary Malaysian passports
• Taxi home
• Relax