The Imperial Hotel Vung Tau

... The hotels are modern with the odd oldie in between. After refusing one biker numerous times and having an English speaking Vietnamese guy explain we just wanted to walk, we opted to hire a motorbike to see the whole penninsula. We hired the bike for 120,000VND or roughly $15AUD from 11 til 3.30. We had a blast. Dave was in bikey mode and I just clung to the back.... we went around the whole penninsula and had a ball ...

... condition absolutely, you not only fish on the bank but also fish from a boat to see lightning quick-bites of crocodiles." Um, we'll pass. We then had the scariest time of our trip so far taking motorcycles back from the park during rushhour. It was absolutely nerve-racking and quite an adrenaline rush. Forget sky-diving, try moto driving in Saigon. I can't fathom how they do this everyday. Our moto ...

... mysteriously appeared out of the darkness of the night. It was purity in the early morning light, gentle and kind. The breeze was fresh with a taste of salty qi on the lips. I could never get tired of clicking the camera for the memory of a brief moment to capture the natural beauty of creation; at the same time, trying to compose the shots the way it resonated with my inspiration. After breakfast, we went to Ba ...

... dragging it around with us until we find a better place to ship from. Dinner...Difficult process, but ended up at a nice place. Were sent to the Rex Hotel (famous, big tourist trap, supposedly had traditional dancing but didn't so we walked out). Then walked around to a few different places and ended up at Lemongrass - good Vietnamese. Would have been a wonderful evening, but Baily was sulking, so it kind of ruined dinner. It was a long day.

... of the other ports. From the first glimpse out of my window this morning out over the Saigon River, I felt Vietnam. The pictures in guidebooks and history books of the marshlands and villages, it was all there. And yet that's not quite everything. I feel something more, a sense that something is waiting for me here, hidden in plain sight for me to uncover. I'm hesitant to say that this is what I've been waiting for, the unknown thing that will shake my ...

... down shops beside huge buildings designed with French architecture . We did the usually touristy things here for the two nights we were around. The main attraction in the city is the very ugly 60's designed palace that was the place where the North Vietnamese ran through the gates with tanks to signal the end of the Vietnam War. In teh basement of the building there are still the rooms that ...

... Nick!!!). New years eve here we come! 31st December 2006 - Goodbye O-Six We figured that New Years Eve is all about the evening, so we got up late, strolled the beach for a while, had some nice dinner, then headed to the club 'Hollywood East'. Inside it was just what we hoped for - A real party atmosphere, full to the brim and only 2 westerners in sight (they were Russian). The only annoyance was the outlawing of photos inside the club - I discovered that this is ...

September 27, 2006 Good morning Vietnam does not even begin to explain it. Starting last night at our logistical pre - port the mood was mixed among the faculty as they tried to explain the emotions surrounding Vietnam. By the end, it became quite clear that most of us could feel the things the faculty were talking about - and at the very least we felt for them. I can't imagine the time in which they lived, some of our faculty tried to explain the guilt they felt when their friend's ...

So................ We spent 2 nights in Hue, where a typhoon was just about to hit so thats why we were getting so wet! Our second day there was clearer and we managed to do a motorbike tour round some of the temples. That was great fun! We all got on the back of a bike with a driver and went round all these little places. We had lunch that day at a nunnery, where the head nun will force feed you ...

... came to paying for this trip, somehow we still managed to get it wrong and paid more than we had originally agreed. Tomorrow we will get it right. After lunch we thought we would do a spot of shopping at the Cho Bin Thanh markets across the road. We very quickly learnt that as soon as you slow down people will try to sell you anything. We purchased a couple of items and then I made the mistake of slowing to look at a skirt hanging up. I had two vendors from ...