Tag: Vietnam

Vietnam, 9 to 27 February 2012, placeholder and links

We took a wonderful trip back to Vietnam in early 2012. Our first visit in 1996 had been somewhat limited by time and some difficulty back then travelling comfortably off the beaten track. So we did “the Grand Tour” back then but had always wanted to go back and see some other places.

This 2012 trip took in Saigon, Can Tho, the Mekong Delta (including a home stay in Ut Trinh), Dalat and then rest and relaxation in Ninh Van Bay.

Bad place to drop something - a major junction in Saigon
Bad place to drop something – a major junction in Saigon

We took some good photos, just under 200 of them worth seeing assembled here for all to see on Flickr.

001 Feb 10 Dinner at Park Hyatt Saigon P1020058

Here is a link to all 379 photos; those worth seeing and the rest:

P1020070

Here’s the Ultimate Travel itinerary: Vietnam Tour February 2012 Ultimate.

Here are some Six Senses Ninh Van Bay Menus.

Here is a map of the Ninh Van Bay Resort, where we enjoyed some good rest and relaxation at the end of our trip:

Ninh Van Bay Map

 

I have written up the travel log, which,  if you want to read it going forwards from the start, begins here:

Vietnam Holiday Days Zero & One: London To Saigon Via Bangkok, 9 & 10 February 2012

Vietnam Holiday Days Sixteen & Seventeen: Ninh Van Bay, Last Day, Then Away, 25 & 26 February 2012

25 February 2012

Another glorious day. We skip tennis on grounds of Ged’s sore throat and full itinerary for the day.

Arrange to take Dinner On The Jetty.

At breakfast we chat to Daisy’s German friends from the earlier yoga class – they turn out to be medical academics from Heidelberg – still we get confused about whether or not they are joining our class later.

After breakfast we do a Vietnamese massage workshop – Ged acts as a model and Daisy learns the techniques. We meet some young sunburnt Hong Kongers there.

Then back to our villa for a last day of resting and reading by a private pool.

Ged read the end of The Marriage Plot, a couple of Alexander MacLeod short stories on the Kindle and starts A Visit From The Goon Squad.

I have a dreadful feeling I didn’t quite get going with nor did I finish Goon Squad. I’ll need to dig that one out again.

Later we take our complimentary sunset cruise (gold star to Ân for remembering to switch wine for bubbly) and then get ready for dinner.

Dinner on the jetty (see menus) was excellent – Ged found opportunities to tip most of the people who been looking after us – chef Basha Ched Tuong, Leo (food and beverage), Ân… Gary the GM joins us for quite a while and helped us to get through our bottle of Alsatian Tokay/Pinot Gris. Excellent meal.

The last supper…on the jetty

26th of February 2012

Another glorious day, but sadly we are leaving. After some early morning R&R we pack.

Vietnam Holiday Days Fourteen & Fifteen: Ninh Van Bay, Way-Hey!, 23 & 24 February 2012

23 February 2012

Glorious weather today. Played tennis at 9.00 a.m. – I won 6-2.

After breakfast we try Reiki self relaxation class – Daisy probably gets a bare pass – I get an epic fail.

Then we enjoy the sun and Ged starts The Marriage Plot...

…by Jeffrey Eugenides…I enjoyed this novel but not as much as I had enjoyed Middlesex on an earlier holiday.

We go to cocktail party at the gallery and then on to Dining On The Rocks. We wait nearly an hour for our first courses which turn out to be our second courses blah blah – all resolved in the end I suppose but £300 plus dinners shouldn’t be that way.

Ged has “Aromas” and Daisy has “Rock” (see enclosure) both with wine pairings.

When we get home housekeeping has left us no water which irritates Ged further.

First world problems, I know, I know…

24 February 2012

Glorious weather again – we play tennis early on but Ged still wins 6-2 and it is still O-T-‘ot.

Staff queue up to apologise for yesterday’s misdemeanours and Ân brings a bottle of wine for our troubles, which will do nicely for dinner.

While Ân is with us, we spot and photograph an amazing blue headed tree agana [depicted above] which changes colour rapidly once it realises it’s on show.

We enjoy our sundeck and take a snack lunch of a club sandwich to share.

Stroll the beach & some R&R before dinner.

Then we try whole fish (grouper) cooked in banana leaf with all sorts of gooey goodies inside the leaf, served with rice paper and stuff. Preceded by beef in lalot leaf starter. Excellent meal.

Vietnam Holiday Days Eleven, Twelve & Thirteen: Ninh Van Bay Days, 20, 21 & 22 February 2012

20 February 2012

Rose/breakfasted a bit earlier on a brighter day.

After breakfast (Ged tried chicken with egg noodles today), Ged cracked on with Sense Of An Ending and even gets to start Exit Ghost today in the sun.

I am a great fan of the novels of both Julian Barnes and Philip Roth. I do recall very much enjoying the Barnes (Sense) whereas I found Exit Ghost a little below par for Roth.

Daisy does Tai Chi class and both [of us] enjoy some sun on our deck and some beer.

Play tennis just before dusk to avoid the heat – Daisy won 6-3 – pleasant at that hour.

Then back for a late siesta and then on to dinner where Basha [chef] has specially prepared the five spice duck for us very well it’s good isn’t it. We also enjoy a starter of dry spice beef salad and additional main teriyaki tuna – best meal at Six Senses so far for sure.

21 February 2012

Woke to a misty rainy morning – rain will not relent all day sadly.

Ged goes off to do some work on the photos before breakfast and then again after, while Daisy does Tai Chi.

Finish off the photos and chat briefly with German couple who wanted our villa and wanted to use the PC – they must hate us but they don’t show it!

Then decide to have a satay nibble & some wine in the room – very nice.

Then attempt to play tennis but the court is waterlogged so we switch to badminton, Ged pulling off a surprise two nil win 15-8, 15-11)! Good fun.

Went to a “cocktail Martini” event in the bar and chatted with a nice Israeli couple.

They were a very interesting couple. She was in publishing and seemed a lot older and more high falutin’ than her man. We felt a bit sorry for them as they were only at the Six Senses for two nights; that wet day was their only full day there.

Then went home for an hour and then went to dinner to try caramelised pork belly done properly – uber-fatty but good with morning glory and tasty brown rice – more like red rice. Starter of cabbage chicken salad.

22 February 2012

Rose to another wet morning. Rested in and took late breakfast.

But then someone turn the lights on and it brightened up in a jiffy.

Soon the resort dried out – we enjoyed our sundeck round our own pool and read (finished Exit Ghost in my case) and had tea in the library with sandwich nibbles.

Played tennis in the evening – I won 6-4 – and thus met Françoise who sorted us out.

After tennis we got ready for dinner and had enormous ribeye steaks after a duo of tuna starter.

Very good meal.

Vietnam Holiday Days Nine & Ten: Narry A Ray In Ninh Van Bay, 18 & 19 February 2012

Our first couple of days at Ninh Van Bay were not blessed with good weather. Still, there were plenty of compensations at the Six Senses Ninh Van Bay even when the weather was not so good.

18 February 2012

Rose quite early to a rainy day. Potter then rush to get into breakfast in time!

Straight after breakfast Ân shows us a couple more villas – we fall in love with the one-off beach bungalow villa.

We look through photos while waiting to move and then we move into our new bungalow.

Unpack, potter and finish reviewing the photos.

Then Ged goes to the library to sort through photos for several (successful) hours, Daisy joining him for a while.

Then get ready for dinner and go down for a meal of mushroom ravioli with prawns (highlight) followed by poor mains of Thai seafood curry and caramelised pork belly, followed by ice cream.

Comparatively late night after following cricket and catching up on the news.

19 February 2012

Take breakfast in better time today. Ged had beef pho noodle soup, Daisy chicken egg noodle soup.

The weather is a bit better but still not good so we arrange to have our complimentary spa treatments this evening before dinner. Also chose to have a Vietnamese barbecue dinner.

Potter for much of the day and get used to new villa and such – look at shop.

Borrow a couple of DVDs and chat with Gary the general manager from Lichfield!

[Parenthetically, it was that conversation with Gary that persuaded us to try Six Senses Zighy Bay a couple of years later. The property had poor reports from its troubled launch but Gary convinced us, having been sent there to sort out the difficulties, that the property was now very special indeed and well worth trying. Gary was right.]

Play tennis – Ged wins six four – mid afternoon (it’s cool enough). Have some siesta and then a complimentary treatments. Daisy has a foot massage and body scrub, Ged has hand (arm) and body scrub. Very nice.

Then Vietnamese barbecue. Lots of spring/hand roll things (variations on a theme) plus salads and barbecue tuna probably the highlight – also grouper and a mackerel type fish. Could’ve pigged out but as usual we didn’t. Tried various desserts with limited success.

Vietnam Holiday Day Eight: From Dalat To Ninh Van Bay Via Nha Trang, 17 February 2012

Ged was feeling very poorly this morning – had ginger tea only while Daisy ate just a light breakfast.

Some comedy moments on pick up as Cuong (guide) and Hien (driver) go past us as we walk up to reception, but somehow they, the luggage and we all end up in the right place and off we go.

We stopped to photograph a vista [see headline picture] before going up high passes in unbelievably heavy rain – like a pea soup.

As we came down the rain is less intense and even stopped for us to visit a village in Khanh Vinh district…

The outskirts of the village guarded by piglets

…[populated by] the Raglai minority people…

…where we took a photo opportunity with Price of Fish…

…then on to Nha Trang where we drove past the cathedral, looked at the Po Nagar Cham Towers and saw the Long Sun pagoda from afar

Then went to Ninh Van Bay pick up place and got speedboated across to our resort…

…where manager Gary and our butler Ân greet us. Ân shows us to our villa & then shows us several alternatives as ours is quite dingy. Will look at a couple more tomorrow.

Then we unpacked a little & took early dinner, comprising a seafood pancake Banh Xeo, soft shell crab with mango salad and Hanoi duck breast salad (reminiscent of our first night in Hanoi all those years ago) followed by Mekong Tiger Prawn (skewers). Also tried the home-made ice cream (highlight!)

Meal quite good. Slept well.

Vietnam Holiday Day Seven: Another Day In & Around Dalat, 16 February 2012

Overnight walking shoe cleaning in incident – Daisy went off early and search about missing shoes which were “still wet” – oy. Rescued – clean and more or less dry!

Breakfast of noodle soup (beef for Ged, chicken for Daisy) Vietnamese coffee without the paraphernalia. Passion fruit juice & breads/Danish.

Off touring circa 9:15. First stop, cable car panorama – we took the panorama without the cable car! [see headline photo above]

Next stop – on to Truc Lam [Zen] Buddhist monastery swarming with tourists again but with admittedly beautiful gardens and vistas.

Then on to see Bao Dai’s summer palace… …

…and then the crazy house, all similarly swarming with (mostly Russian) tourists.

Next to the Dalat railway station…

… then around Xuan Huang Lake before stopping at a place (I am told I described as) “another fucking botanical garden” – named “Flower Park” from what I can gather.

Then a wild goose chase for mosquito tablets and return to base.

Goodbye to guide Chien and driver Minh as the drizzle starts.

Then we venture up to pool and bar, landing at the latter and ordering some beer, nuts and chips just before the heavens open. We witness a French couple drinking and going off to get soaked and then returning for a cocktail!

Janie bought some items in the shop while we wait for the rain to subside. Then back to the room for some R&R and then get ready for dinner.

Dinner of Chinese style marinated beef wrapped in piper lolot leaf served with rice vermicelli (bánh hỏi) followed by a mixed meat and seafood hotpot – too much food but very enjoyable.

Reasonably early night but Ged woke up in the early hours feeling very poorly indeed!

There is a placeholder with links to all of the photos, itineraries etc. for this Vietnam holiday – here.

Vietnam Holiday Day Six: In And Around Dalat, 15 February 2012

Took breakfast (beef fried rice “Dalat style” – whatever that might be – for me, boiled eggs for Daisy).

Set off a little later than planned. First stop a nursery, mainly roses [see headline picture], then, after a panorama stop [above], a rice wine distillery where they also keep [civet] weasels in cages to make weasel coffee.

No we did not try the resulting civet coffee – we found the sight of these poor animals in cages offensive

Next to silk factory where we saw jacquard looms for the umpteenth time and bought some clobber.

Then on to the elephant waterfall, quite tricky and more or less worth a scramble on the rocks!

Then to the Linh An Buddhist temple and gardens where our guide Chien explained the basics of Buddhism to us again for the xtieth time.

Next stop the cricket farm (hurray it’s the cricket season) where we did not try the fare.

Writing this up, as I am, in March 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, this might be as close to pictures of live cricket as I get to see for months

Then back into town for lunch where we did try the fare and met a solo Belgian girl who was not enjoying Vietnam. Touristic set meal of chicken salad, “deer” on crispbread stuff, fish which was salty but tasty and a decent plate of vegetables.

Then round the town market in the drizzle at a quiet hour and then on to K’Ho Lat village where it was pouring with rain. First into the church (Catholic) named K’Ho Lach, where animist totems share space with Catholic symbols.

Real wet rain by then (thoughts of exploring Langban mountain abandoned). But we went to the village store! (Cultural knickknacks) and then (rain subsiding, mercifully) went to meet the big chief K’Ran Hai. He showed us musical instruments how’s the local rice brew and a and told us all about it in reasonable English and excellent French. He had been a nurse in hallway et cetera et cetera.

Then a walk around the village before exhaustion set in. Back to hotel to try to get boots cleaned!

We tool a lighter dinner of pasta with the local wine while following England’s cricketing fortunes on the phone and reviewing pictures on the cameras.

There is a placeholder with links to all of the photos, itineraries etc. for this Vietnam holiday – here.

Vietnam Holiday Day Five: From Mekong Delta Home Stay In Ut Trinh To Dalat, 14 February 2012

“Enjoyed” the country and river sounds homestay – rose quite early wrote up and had breakfast.

Then off for a walk/cycle around Cat Thia area of Delta…

Ged was invited into this rather grand Cat Thia home
This girl persuaded Ged to take her photo
Daisy met this gang on her cycling tour

…then boat to Cai Be and then car to Saigon.

Visited another Parkson mall taking coffee and bought ginseng.

Then flew from Saigon to Dalat.

On the plane, a western gentleman sat in his seat near ours, until a couple (local?) bustled along and threw him out of that seat so they could be together. Seems they should have sat in front of us but instead he did so, with a remarkable good humour and tolerance – in the end all of us were laughing.

Washed and scrubbed before dinner at lovely resort Ana Mandara Dalat. Combination of artichoke salad, bon bon? of young papaya and greens with beef & prawn wrapped in pork on a bed of noodle, bland chicken curry and a slow cooked dish of pork ribs in caramel fish sauce and steamed rice.

There is a placeholder with links to all of the photos, itineraries etc. for this Vietnam holiday – here.

Vietnam Holiday Day Four: Mekong Delta Boating And Home Stay, 13 February 2012

Up and out early for our breakfast cruise on the (lucky) Lady Hau [depicted above] boat, with other hotel residents, to the start of the Cai Rang Floating Market.

Then switched to our own boat where we meet Hiu and Hoa (Captain Birdseye). Captain Birdseye is a very good sailor when there are no other vessels around.

Unfortunately, the floating market has rather a lot of vessels, so we end up in tangled in someone’s anchor and Captain Birdseye goes under about three times failing to release us. He ended up cutting us loose, going under a fourth time and then sailing round finding a replacement anchor for the aggrieved boat.

Eventually we move on to Binh Minh village specialising in dried tofu…

…where we walked around – this village is only aspiring to be cultural and only a minority of households have achieved culture. We met some children and gave some pens. We also picked up Dhi Bay – (Mrs No 7) who prepares a lunch on board– Very tasty – pork stuffed courgette flower, spring rolls, chicken and some river prawns.

Daisy helped Dhi Bay with preparing luncheon

We then stop at Phước Hậu – a cultural village thank goodness [don’t ask how the dictate app imagined that village’s name is spelt], where Daisy cycled with Hiu and I walked with Binh. Very pleasant.

Daisy met this elegant lady on her cycling tour
Ged met this wonderful old-timer on his walking tour

We saw people growing mint and families playing cards – everyone was very friendly.

Comedy moment as Captain Birdseye crosses to the wrong side of the canal as Binh and I cross to meet him but eventually we pick up Daisy and Hiu and go on to Ut Trinh.

Captain Birdseye helps Daisy to board

Short stop at touristic nursery opposite (too long for Ged) and on to home stay, greeted by a rather sad/sickly looking Mrs Ba.

Mrs Ba cooking up a storm

Soon we meet Rowan and Cindy from Belgium and Manuel the German from Tokyo. Also Parisian Globetrotters Eloise (eight) and her parents.

Cooking class, dinner with our own freebie Park Hyatt wine and chat about the world afterwards.

There is a placeholder with links to all of the photos, itineraries etc. for this Vietnam holiday – here.