Something Fishy.....

Today is the last day of the school holidays & I have been busy making the Sprouts some shorts before heading back to work, these fish shorts are also available to purchase in the online store......

The tiny enemy...

I have been offline a lot lately as things have been very busy behind the scenes.

We finally started our kitchen reno, for the last 6 months its been downhill to the bench & uphill to the fridge as the floor has slowly sunk under years of termite damage.....

Needless to say the bbq has been getting a workout!

Mekong Meanderings......

I do love the Mekong Delta area but it is hot hot hot & humid! There are a few options to choose from when booking a trip from Ho Chi Minh, a one day tour which I don't suggest as it is a 3hr bus trip just one way to the boat, or a 2 day tour & so on. We chose the 2 day tour with a night in a hotel which cost us $18 each (breakfast included), there is a home stay option for a few dollars more. 

After a day of cruising around & seeing how simply people live we did feel a big clean out & donate was on the cards when we got home (which we did do).

As night fell we checked in & decided to head off for some dinner. We found a little local place, no English so a lot of pointing & sign language, sat down for a beer & soon discovered the place was crawling with rats, literally! to the point where they were fighting & squealing & running across the floor so much it was like watching a tennis match. It was at this point I slightly regretted ordering some spring rolls for a snack however I did see them taken from the freezer & not made on site so Mr Sprout & I were okay about eating them. I really wanted to take a photo because the rats were really funny but Mr Sprout thought it would be rude, so no photo!

We headed back to the hotel & ate in the cafe next door which much to our amusement had a list of the Chef's best dishes & top of it was Stir Fried Rat. Though tempted I opted for Bird no idea what sort but it wasn't chicken as that was also on the menu & Mr Sprout had Eel, both were delish.

The next morning we headed off to the floating markets which I found to be the highlight of the trip as we got up close & personal with all the boats & bought lots of yummy food & snacks. Which we really didn't need as we had bought loads of candy at the coconut candy farm the day before!

Next stop Nha Trang & the night bus to get there..........

Cu Chi Tunnels

I am the first to admit that I am not a big lover of organised tours not because of the destination or the tour company but because in our experience there is always a painful person on a tour & we were not disappointed on a tour we took to the Cu Chi tunnels.

I do not understand why some people travel if all they do is complain about the country they are in & compare every little thing with their own country, usually in a really loud & obnoxious voice. One example of this man's ire was the fact that the entrance fee to the tunnels is not included in the tour price, a point which was made to all of the other people on the bus by the booking agents & was written in the literature. Mr Sprout did point out it's not really something worth swearing & carrying on about considering it only cost $6 for the tour & the entrance fee is only $3.

 

It truly is a fascinating place to visit, however I have no idea how people lived down these tunnels for so long. After walking hunched over through one on my first trip to Vietnam I was definately not doing it again, way too claustrophobic for me. Mr Sprout on the other hand got right into it, so much so that he got stuck in one of the hidden entrances which I had warned him not to try...

after a fair bit of sucking in his chest & wiggling he was able to pull himself up & off we went to the tunnel walk. Because he is 6'5 his walk became a crawl & he was quite glad to get to the end & get back out. It was a great tour & ended with Tapioca dipped in nuts & tea.  

It was a scorching day & quite a long bus trip so once we got off back in town the first thing we did was find a street vendor selling beer & within 10 seconds we had little stools to sit on & the coldest stubby holders you could find, an absolute bargain at only 70c a beer.....we may have stayed for 2 or 3 more cold ones!

Ladies A-Line Skirts.....

will soon be available again! I am slowly working my way through the last of my orders so stay tuned.....

Ho Chi Minh - at night

I must say our nights in Ho Chi Minh were very tame there are many clubs, pubs etc you can go to but just being on the street & seeing all the local people on motorbikes was enough action for us. During the days the sidewalks are full of parked up motorbikes & at night the sidewalks are full of small plastic chairs & pop up bars/cafes...

We found the best & cheapest places to sit & watch life were on Bui Vien which was very close to our hotel  you could sit and stay for just a beer or three & there was no pressure to order food. I was saddened to see that this area has become quite touristy with a lot of Western food restaurants where you are charged too much and  are served as fast as possible & they get you out. Why go somewhere & eat what you eat at home when you can get fantastic tasty local food?

We ate street food & would grab whatever went past & in this instance it was a woman with a large basket, we had no idea what was in there but was told it cost 15,000 dong (75c) it was a bag of sliced green mango with fresh chopped chilli & salt to dip it into, a perfect addition on a hot sweaty night with a cold Saigon beer.

One thing about this area is that everyone is super friendly & the people sitting next to us were expats working in Vietnam & gave us a heads up on a quiet place to have a dinner or a drink which I must say can be a lifesaver if the constant beeping & noise gets too much. Our only directions were "It's on this street keep walking & look up for light's"

We found it! It is the Duc Vuong Hotel which is lovely & quiet. You do need to get a lift up to it, which was rather funny as hubby & I were onboard & we stopped at level 3 to take on 3 more people... the buzzer sounded for overweight & one had to get off. The limit was 6 people max 400kg definately not a Western elevator. However the rooftop was quiet, had excellent staff, awesome views & Vietnamese food at a great price.

Next stop - Cu Chi Tunnels

Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh on a budget...

Mr Sprout & I kicked off our holiday in Ho Chi Minh, so many motorbikes & not so many road rules or so it seems!

I'm all about saving a dollar or two when it comes to accommodation while on holiday & if you are spending most of your time out & about, exploring, trekking or touring I just don't see the point in paying big bucks on a room that you are in for only a few hours at night.

Being my 3rd time to Vietnam I did have some local knowledge as to the more quieter budget area's to book into which is why I chose to stay at Ti Ti Hotel which is in a little alley (motorbike & pedestrian access only) just a few metres away from the main budget area. For $14 US a night we had a Queen sized bed, window (cost's more but well worth it), fridge, bathroom, phone, satellite tv & air con & some rooms also have balconies.

A bargain at $7 each! the only draw back is that there are no lifts in many of these buildings so when you are handed your key I always send a little prayer up that it's a low number...it was 502. But we pretty much left our room at 8am & returned at 10pm so we only had to go up 5 storey's once a day & the room was always spotless & made up when we returned.

One of the main reasons I absolutely love Vietnam is the food & the freshness of it, every morning we had iced coffee (very thick Vietnamese filter coffee with sweetened condensed milk over ice) 

& a large fresh baguette filled with egg,cheese,tomato.cucumber,soy & chilli sauce. We would sit on tiny (to my butt's size & Mr Sprouts 6foot5 size!) plastic stools while our breakfast was made. Total cost 

56,000 Dong or nearly $3 Australian. Yes those big baguettes were $1 each filled! Mr Sprout had the meat version one morning I don't know what sort of meat it was but I did try a bite & it was delish. 

Will post next time about our evening dinings.....aka beer drinking it was so hot!