On my final day in Vietnam I had gotten up late (09:30 a.m.) and finished packing my stuff together and thought, I just had to visit the Sushi restaurant again where I eat at the evening before. The restaurant is called “The Sushi Bar“and is located in District 1. I can highly recommend this Sushi Bar if you’re ever in Saigon.

It was here where I had the best Sushi of my life and realized what crappy Sushi we actually get in Europe. They even had Matsusaka beef on the menu! Even though this was on my long-term wish list, to taste Kobe or Matsusaka beef, I chose not to, because I wanted to try it in Japan. It was tempting though, despite the price of over 30 USD for 150 grams of beef. But considering the way these cows are raised and treated, well worth it in my humble opinion. For those who haven’t heard of  Kobe or Matsusaka beef, be sure to check out the Wikipedia articles that I linked above or watch the videos below.

After my some excellent sushi, for which only paid about 10 USD, including a big portion of sushi, soup, dessert and three cups of green tea, it was time to go to the  Ho Chi Minh City airport and fly back to Hanoi. I was booked on a Jetstar flight and was already worried that they weren’t as reliable as Vietnam airlines, because I’ve heard and read negative reviews about Jetstar’s reliability. And so my  flight was delayed together with another Jetstar flight. Murphy’s Law had stricken again – “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong”. I guess I wasn’t flying Jetstar again Albeit the delay, I had 3 hours to spare on my arrival at the Hanoi airport.

I took this time to exchange the rest of my Vietnamese Dong into Euro that I still had left in my wallet.  So I went to the next currency exchange booth within the airport and what followed was a prime example of why communist countries truly suck. The guy behind the counter asked me for my passport, which was fair enough, as for most things in Vietnam, such as booking or staying at a hotel, they requires you to present your passport in order to complete the transaction. But that wasn’t all he needed. He also requested my plane ticket. Looking somewhat confused, I complied and handed over my plane ticket with which I just arrived from Saigon. As he took a look at the ticket details he said that he can’t use this ticket because it’s a domestic flight. I then asked him if he would exchange my money if I presented him with my ticket to Korea. He nodded his head, at which point I replied back that I’ll just exchange my Vietnamese Dong in Korea where they make currency exchanges a lot less painful and left the counter.

Why on earth would anyone need a passport AND a boarding ticket leaving the country in order to give back local currency?! That’s why I hate communist countries – they don’t have any sense of logic, just make up mediocre laws, create lots of bureaucracy, tax the hell out of their citizens so the state can ultimately employ itself! [End of rant!]

Most Expensive Beef in the World – Made in Japan

Taste Testing Kobe Beef

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In morning it was time to head off to the famous Cu Chi tunnel network located in the Cu Chi district of Ho Chi Minh City. On the way there we stopped and visited a handicapped handicrafts shop that supported handicapped people that were mostly victims of Agent Orange used during the Vietnam War. An hour later we arrived at the Cu Chi tunnels. The Cu Chi tunnel network were very impressive, particularly the methods used to conceal their presence. Even the smoke from the cooking stoves were eliminated through ingenious ways. At the end of the tour you were also given the opportunity to fire an assault rifle at the shooting range, for some cash of course

Here’s a short clip a took of some people releaving their stress. You may not notice it, but the noise was extremmly loud and not comforturable at all.

Here are some more impressions from my visit there.

Handicapped Handicrafts

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Cu Chi tunnels

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In the evening I went climbing at  X-Rock Climbing to relax and get some exercise. My interest in climbing had already been sparked up again by my fantastic rock climbing experience in the Lan Ha Bay. Back in my old school days I used to go climbing with my girlfriend, who was an avid climber and taught me the tricks of the trade. After a few climbs my hands, especially my joints and tendons, were so sore that I to take a half an hour break from climbing. And it was also during this time where I met a few expats from UK who were working for Osprey, a backpack company. Before I went on my Vietnam trip I was looking for a backpack and was torn between the Osprey Argon 85 and the Aircontact PRO 70+15, of which neither would have been a bad choice, as they both felt very comfortable on my back with 20 kg load.

So here I got to talk with a products manager from Osprey. I couldn’t resist to make some suggestions on how to improve the Osprey Argon 85 and what additional features I would like to see in their next refresh, basing my experience on my backpack, the Aircontact PRO 70+15. Although I’m not very confident that you’ll be able to see these improvements and new features in their next backpacks, at least I can say I tried

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Arriving early at the Da Nang airport I had plenty time to search for an accommodation in Saigon. It didn’t take long until I discovered a Lonely Planet “Our Pick” guesthouse called  “Miss Loi’s Guesthouse”. I was to discover the next morning that the editors at Lonely Planet nailed that pick. Miss Loi’s Guesthouse was located in District 1. The rooms were very clean and the staff was very attentive and helpful. And considering that the cost only 12 USD per night, which is extremely cheap for Saigon, it was fantastic bargain. I didn’t care much for the very thin bed sheets, but who’s complaining for that price. Miss Loi’s Guesthouse definitely gets a 5-star rating from rucksacktravel.com  Unfortunately, I forgot to take some pictures of the guesthouse.

After I settled in my room, I suddenly realized that I forgot my Lonely Planet guide in the cab as I was driving from the airport. I thought I’d give the taxi company a call the next morning and have them look for it. It was also then, when I started to fully contemplate how dependent I’ve become on Lonely Planet. Way to go LP! But luckily the guesthouse had an older copy of the guidebook, so I was able to plan out my day and visit the Reunification Palace, the War Remnants Museum and the Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens (ranked eighth among the oldest zoos in the world). Below you’ll find some of the pictures I took during the course of that day.

While I was in the Reunification Palace I got a call from the taxi company letting me know that they weren’t able to find my guidebook. Well, I didn’t have much hope anyway, so I decided to get another copy at a local book store. After visiting 4 or 5 book stores, which oddly enough all didn’t have Lonely Planet guidebooks in stock, I thought this was no coincidence and decided to interrogate a sales rep. I asked him if I can purchase an original LP guide in any book store in Saigon or if it’s just not available in general. Finally, he told me that the Vietnamese government does not allow the selling of LP guide books. So my hunch was right! The reason is most likely the history section that every LP guide has at the beginning of the book.

Now, I was left with no alternative than to commit a crime and purchase the most current LP on the black market a.k.a. the streets. It didn’t take long to find a complice who would sell me a copy. I haggled down the seller from 10 USD to 5 USD. The original would have cost over 24 USD and the copy was extremely well forged. Damm, why did breaking the law feel so good?

In the evening of that day I decided to go to the Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens and found some strange and peculiar things there. One of things I observed really quickly, was the fact that some of the animals there weren’t in really good shape. Take the lion in the video below for instance. See how he’s walking back and forth with an apathetic look? That’s a very strong indication that the animal has a mental problem, often caused by stress or other factors such as limited activity or lack of exercise. Other animals in the zoo were in the same kind of condition, though luckily not all.

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I then attended a meeting at the zoo that reminded me of the executive meetings at the company I work for. It was pretty much the same. A bunch of executives sitting together talking bullshit the whole time

The Reunification Palace

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The War Remnants Museum

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The Streets of Saigon

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Botanic  Gardens

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Wow, that was quite a day! At 8 a.m. I was picked up for my first scuba diving experience, something I actually wanted to do for a very long time. The last time I tried to go scuba diving was when I was about 13 or 14, but the diving school did not let me due to my age. Arriving at the Hoi An pier, we took a 1-hour boat ride to Cham Island. During the boat ride we got first instructions on how to breathe, equalize our ears, and more importantly, what to do in case of emergencies – not that I was worried of course. One of the instructors explained that most people have problems equalizing the pressure in their ears when descending to deeper depths. If you can’t equalize your ears then you cannot or should not continue the descend or otherwise your ear drums could poop.

Once we arrived at the island, we put our gear on and jumped in the water. Right from the start I had trouble staying afloat. Normally what you do is inflate your vest, which I immediately did after jumping in the water. But for some odd reason I was struggling to stay above the water. Remember, without some air in your vest to compensate for the heavy equipment you have on, you go down like a rock – really fast. I then noticed some air bubbles coming out of my vest. Was this normal? Was this something I should be alarmed about? So I was flapping my fins quite hard at which point I told one of the instructors about my problem. He said it was fine and I had nothing to worry about. After a few minutes nothing changed, so I asked another dive instructor to take a look at my vest. He did and told me to go back to the boat right away and put on some new gear, because I had a leak in my vest that was draining my air supply. Oh great, I thought, what a fantastic start. I was just glad I was persistant and realized the problem before we hit depths of 12-18 meters.

Returning to the group, we started our dive in the shallow waters and did a few exercises such as reaching for our air intake, clearing our masks of water and communicating in sign language. Before we knew it, we were finally under water. I looked at my gauge and read 3 meters, 5 meters,…man this was blast! I luckily didn’t have any problems with equalizing the pressure in my ears. We continued our dive to about 12-14 meters and before we knew it, it was all over. In total we spent about 45 minutes under water, which seemed like 10 minutes. Reaching the surface I knew I was infected! The diving bug has bitten me.

Despite the limited visibility under water, my first scuba diving lesson was a fantastic experience. I’m sure I want to continue with scuba diving, either with a PADI open water license or a NAUI license (NAUI courses are often considered of better quality, as they are a non-profit organization, unlike PADI that is a profit-oriented organization) once I get the next chance.

After scuba diving some of us went to another island and engaged in a little snorkeling and chilled out in the hammocks afterwards. At around 4 p.m. it was time to go back to Hoi An and from there to the Da Nang airport to catch my flight to Ho Chi Minh City (a.k.a. Saigon).

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Scuba Diving on Cham Island

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Note: Not me, but pretty close

I remember this day, because it was the day I hit the beach and came back to my hotel to take a shower, only to realize that I’d gotten the worst sunburn of my life. And before my fellow readers say: “Well, you should have used sun lotion.”, believe me, I did. But despite applying sun lotion (SPF 20) every 30-45 min. I got a sunburn on my whole back and even legs!

Because I didn’t have a headache, severe fatigue or fever, my sunburn was not severe. And remember, the redness of a sunburn does not tell you the severity of the sunburn, but I sure did look like I grilled tomato. Unfortunately, I didn’t take a whole body picture of myself, but then again it sure wouldn’t have been a pleasant site.

Anyway, I definitely had to do something about my sunburn, as I wanted to go scuba diving the next day. At the next pharmacy I requested Aloe Vera Gel, 1,000 mg of vitamin C, 400 UI of vitamin E and 15 mg of beta carotine.

At this point you’re probably wondering if I wanted to become a professional drug dealer, but I can assure you that wasn’t my intention. My list of drugs had some logic behind it, which I’ll explain later on in this post. The only thing the pharmacy didn’t have, was beta carotine, but that was on the more “exotic” things on my list.

I was, however, surprised to see that they had and even recommend the Forever Living Product Aloe Vera Gel. That was exactly the tube I left at home, thinking I wouldn’t need it. I paid a total of VND 420,000, which was around US $ 20. Another reason why I just love Asia – it’s still cheap, even though the Aloe Vera was US $ 14 by itself, but well worth it. I can certainly testify that the Forever Living Product Aloe Vera Gel is an abolutely awesome and very effective product. I’ve used it on many occasions including on burns, rashes and other skin emergencies. The redness of my sunburn was significantly decreased in the morning after I applied it the night before.

So why did I choose those specific vitamins?

Consuming extra doses of vitamin C aids the healing process of burns and other wounds. Vitamin A and E, which are antioxidants, speed up the healing process. Good natural sources of vitamin A are green fruits and vegetables. Cereals and nuts on the other hand, are high in vitamin E. You can even apply vitamin E directly on your sunburn. Many people experience faster healing by applying the vitamin E liquid form the capsule to the sunburn. You could also use argan or nigella sativa oil for this purpose. I’ve also read that zinc is not only responsible for healthier skin, but can also aid in a quicker recovery time. I haven’t tried zinc myself, but it can’t hurt to include an extra portion of zinc rich foods (e.g. crab meat and fish) in your diet for the next few days.

This is also one of the many reason you should eat a very healthy diet. The better your diet, the better your body can absorb such “blows”. Drinking plenty of freshly pressed vegetable and fruit juices after a sunburn is the best remedy you could possible use in such a case! Try to drink as many undiluted juices as possible, preferable vegetable juices (especially broccoli), as vegetables generally contain more nutrients per calorie than fruits do. Don’t worry, vegetable juices with broccoli actually taste pretty good if you add other vegetables and a lemon or lime to it as well.

I’d also recommend you to use the natural form of vitamins, meaning, eat whole foods and try to avoid synthetic vitamins. Vitamins in their natural form are significantly more effective than synthetic based vitamins. I read somewhere that 37 mg natural vitamin C is just as effective as 1,000 mg synthetic vitamin C. See what I mean? Nature has all the answers. But if you just can’t increase your daily intake of fruits and vegetables, go for the pills and remember to choose the red pill.

So let this be a lesson to all you people. Instead of relying on sunscreen, wear sun blocking clothing! Coolibar for example, offers a wide variety of sun protection clothing. You can purchase Coolibar shirts like these at Amazon. Alternatively you could also use a high quality full spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 60-65 like the Fallene Total Block. I’d recommend getting the Fallene Cotz SPF 58 though, which is also water resistant.

And should you still get a bad sunburn like me, try to minimize the damage to your skin and body using natural remedies like the one describe above.

Before any pharmaceutical company tries to sue me, please read my disclaimer and think again.

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For the morning I organized a half-day trip to My Son. Surrounded by jungle, the My Son temples were constructed between the 4th and the 14th century A.D., which is older than Angkor Wat. But don’t expect too much, as the complex is only about 100 square meters and most of the temples were destroyed by the Americans in the Vietnam war. It’s still worth seeing though and spending a couple of hours in the ruins. If you do go though, then go really early! We were at the site at around 9 a.m. (departure from our hotel was 7 a.m.) and the temples were some what crowded by tourists. And remember, I was visiting this site off season too. Most hotels offer different times to go to My Son, so take the earliest possible bus in order to get some good photo shooting opportunities. If you’re curious, then take I look at some of the photos I shot.

My Son Temples

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Once I was back from my trip to My Son, I didn’t do much, besides stroll the streets of Hoi An, which I would describe as a mixture of Heidelberg fused with Japanese and Chinese architecture.

Hoi An Streets

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Because I couldn’t go to Bach Ma, as described in my previous post, I had time until 2 p.m. at which point my bus would pick me up.

So I was on my way to get some breakfast, when an older Vietnamese guy asked me where I’m from. After some hesitation I replied: “Germany!” After hearing my answer, you could literally see his face brighten up. He then went on and told me that he has family in Munich. After a short discussion he offered to have breakfast with me, despite him being busy that day. He also mentioned that he would’ve invited me to his house if he just had more time. So off I went to have breakfast with him after he scouted out a suitable restaurant where they cooked fresh food. During our motorbike ride to the restaurant, he was very informative, explaining that you have to be very careful in Vietnam when you go to a restaurant on the street and one should always check if they cook fresh food, because often they just recook the food from the previous day.

I must say, I had a very nice conversation with him over breakfast. Finishing my plate he offered to pay, which I politely refused. He then brought me back to my hotel where we both said goodbye.

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As I arrived at the Hue train station I got offered a hotel with apparently no strings attached. I was sceptical at first, but the guy offered to drive me to the hotel for free, to take a look at the rooms and if I didn’t like the hotel, there were no obligations. The guy also conveniently mentioned that the hotel is no. 42 in the Lonely Planet guide and around US $8-10. For Vietnamese standards he spoke fairly good English. I was convinced and took a look at the hotel, which was very nice and clean. It was actually the nicest and cleanest hotel I’ve stayed at while in Vietnam. And with US $8-10 per night, also one of the cheapest! One of the girls at the reception explained to me later on that the hotel was just recently built. That explained why the light switches were still wrapped in plastic Here are some pictures of my room.

My Hotel Room in Hue

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Finally settled in, I went to visit some of Hue’s famous sights.

Hue Citadel, Imperial Enclosure, Forbidden Purple City, Pagoda

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Before I went back to the hotel I called the travel agency where I booked my bus, train and flight tickets to confirm my sleeper bus to Hoi An (my next stop on my trip) and conveniently found out that my bus leaves at 2 p.m. and not what was originally booked, 6 p.m. That meant that I couldn’t go to Bach Ma the next day. Even though this was an optional stop on my itinerary, I would’ve really liked to see the Bach Ma National Park. While this situation was to blame on the poor organizing skill of most Vietnamese travel agencies, I can’t really complain, because I was the one who chose to have a very tight itinerary to begin with. Beggars can’t be choosers. Ultimately, I don’t regret having a tight schedule to see more of Vietnam, even if briefly.

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In morning after my arrival in Ninh Binh I setup a tour with my hotel to see the Tam Coc area, which turned out to be one of the nicest tours during my time in Vietnam. The mode of transportation was on the back of a motorbike – the best way to experience the scenery around Ninh Binh.

One thing I noticed right away, was that the people in Nihn Binh and Tam Coc were extremely friendly and welcoming, greeting me and the French couple I was with. This was the total opposite from what I encountered in Hanoi. The people in Hanoi were extremely pushy, unfriendly and sometimes even aggressive, though not violently. I’ve spoken to travelers I met along the way about my experience with Hanoian people and they seem to all agree with my observation. I’m not saying that every person in Hanoi is this way, but it sure seems to apply to most people living in this city. So you can imagine it was truly refreshing when people starting waving at me.

Well what should I say about Tam Coc? It was so beautiful that it’s really hard to describe. It was a mixture of Thailand and the mountain hills of Japan like you often see in the movies. So here are some pictures and videos, which of course can’t do this region any justice. There are also some pictures of a village I visited, where I had the opportunity to take a photograph of a lady preparing dog for dinner. So be sure to check out the pictures below. Enjoy! Oh, if you want to the receipe for the dog dish, drop a message I’ll send it to you.

Tam Coc

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A few Short Clips of Tam Coc

I was very glad I came here. Ninh Binh is not your normal tourist destination and I only saw a handful of tourist all day. This is generally were you meat locals. So definitely visit Ninh Binh if you want to go off the beaten track on your Vietnam tour.

In the evening it was time to catch a soft-sleeper train to Hue – a 12-hour ride. At least I got to sleep on the train and save on the hotel cost.

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It was time to head back to Hanoi to travel onwards to Nihn Binh. That meant traveling all day from 8 a.m. – 10:30 p.m. via bus, which was pretty exhausting. So there was not much to report on this day.

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