Singapore and Vietnam - 22nd December - 4th January

Hello!
So this will eventually (hopefully) be a post about my amazing trip to Vietnam and Singapore over the Christmas holiday. Unfortunately (and amazingly) we did so much  that it is a very daunting prospect to write a blog about it. In fact, the further away we get from the holiday, the less likely it is that I'll ever finish it. However, you never know.
For now, I've finally managed to string together something about the few days we spent in Singapore, and a photo diary of our time in Vietnam. So enjoy, and maybe one day in the future you can read all about the amazing country that is Vietnam too...


So our long trip started with flights from Osaka to Kuala Lumpur, then from there to Singapore, finally arriving in Singapore on the morning of December 22nd. From the airport we made our way to the hostel, and quickly changed from our sweltering Japanese winter clothes, to something much lighter to combat the Singapore dry season. Then we were off to see what Singapore had to offer. First stop was to get some chicken and rice - the national dish, so we headed to the well-known food market and not only tried some chicken and rice (it was ok, but a bit bland I thought) we also got us something called carrot cake, which was nothing like cake and we don't believe it had carrots in it either. However despite not knowing what it was, it was still very tasty.

Chicken and rice at the food market

 Then we made our way to the Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel for our expensive Singapore Slings. On the way to the Long Bar we went through a mall which was highly distracting as I kept seeing shops that I had forgotten about and which were very English as the Americans I was with had never heard of them - Marks and Spencers, Dorothy Perkins, it was a very strange feeling.  Anyway, back to the Slings... These were actually incredibly nice, very sweet and very alcoholic (I couldn't finish mine!), and we had a really relaxing time, feeling like we had gone back in time a bit due to the decor and general atmosphere. I had a great time cracking the peanut shells and dropping them on the floor, but I had to pass the nuts over to someone who would actually eat them! So once finished, feeling very tired and a little tipsy, we headed back to the hostel for a rest and shower.

Yummy drinks and fun peanuts!

Delicious!

 That evening we went out to explore the area a bit. We went to see the marina bay sands and skyline which was beautifully lit up. We spent time taking lots of pictures and walked over the the Merlion to take more. It was very relaxing and very beautiful.

Marina Bay Sands

Singapore Skyline

Merlion

The next day we wanted to do a little bit more sightseeing. Mainly, my fellow travel companions wanted to go on the Singapore Flyer - the tallest Ferris wheel in the world. It was ok, but just the same as the London eye with a different view. Singapore is still interesting to look at but definitely better at night. After the Flyer we went to a pub for lunch (which was obviously very exciting and tasty!).

On the Flyer

Then it was back to the hostel and then out again for what I was the most excited about - the Night Safari: the world's first nocturnal zoo. We got there and started off the evening right with a Ben and Jerry's ice cream! Once we got to the front of the line to the safari however we discovered a cock-up with our tickets - they had already been used in July! Uhhh what? So we were told we had to buy more, which we were a little upset by, but in doing so were treated to some amazing customer service. We were bumped to the front of the safari line and got reserved seats for their animal show. Awesome! Anyway the safari ride was great. You sit on this tram and get driven around the park whilst a guide tells you about each of the animals. There were only one or two enclosures where I couldn't see the animal they were talking about so that was pretty great. Another fun aspect of the park is the fact that you can't see any barriers separating you and the animals. It really looks like they could just come out to the car, which was terrifying at the hyena enclosure when one ran towards us. I'm not really sure how they do it but I'm thinking really powerful electric fences. Just looked it up - apparently hot wires designed to look like twigs stop the animals getting too close to the edge of their enclosure. After the safari we got to see the animal show where they showed us various animals doing very clever things - including some very cute otters recycling! Then we were back out in the park completing the walking trails which allowed us to see more of the animals at our own pace. During these walks there are also two houses - the fruit bat and the flying squirrel house. It's crazy how close you got to the animals - you really could reach out and touch them. Not that anyone did, but it was very tempting. One flying squirrel did us the honour of flying right above our heads - I swear I felt my hair move in his draught. It was fantastic! That was it for the night safari, and Singapore. The next morning, we would be making our way to Vietnam. First stop, Hanoi.

On the tram for the safari

Overall I had a great impression of Singapore. It was a very clean place with helpful people. The weather was extremely welcome as it wasn't too hot, but didn't rain on us either. Although it was a little expensive it was really nice to be surrounded by things I recognised and knew.


Vietnam
When I decided to make this blog into a book, I knew that I needed to re-read all the entries to check for spelling mistakes and any weird grammar I may have used. This then led me to discover that I never did write about Vietnam - which I was very sad about. So, nearly a year on, I am undertaking the not-so-small task in writing about it now. Using the photos as I guide, I will try and fill in the blanks about the trip, and try to remember all what I was feeling at the time.


Hanoi
Stepping off the plane into Vietnam was a bit surreal. Everything went fine though in collecting our luggage and exchanging money into Dong, the only hitch we encountered was that no one turned up to pick us up from the airport like we had orginally arranged! This was a little bit worrying and definitely frustrating, but luckily Todd had the nerve to go and ask to use a phone and managed to get through the hotel and organise a pick-up. A little bit later, we were shimmied into a taxi and were headed off to the hotel in one of the most hair-raising car rides of my life. The fact that my seatbelt didn't work was not the most encouraging of things, especially once we had got onto the 'main road' which was little more than a wide flat space where hundreds of cars and bikes were weaving in and out of each other. There were no road markings, and no real sense of organisation that we could see, yet despite our fear the drivers all around us seemed to move fluidly between each other. It took a while getting used to, and I don't think I ever fully relaxed, but after a while I did watch the crazy driving with more admiration than fear (though also bewilderment at how anyone could drive this way). It turns out, traffic would be one of the main things that we would struggle to get used to in Vietnam.
We finally made it to our extremely nice hotel and were welcomed with a fresh watermelon juice which was absolutey delicious. We were then let to our beautiful rooms and left to our own devices. We didn't stay in our rooms long though as it was lunch time and we were all ready to try some Vietnam dishes. Therefore on the way out to lunch we stopped at reception to ask for recommendations and ended up going to a place just a short walk from our hotel.

Our hotel room in Hanoi

At first we were quite overwhelmed/underwhelmed by our eating arrangements. During our trip we realised that this was actually the norm for most places to eat on the streets of Vietnam, but we were a little worried at first when we turned up to the restaurant to find that we were eating in an open-sided building on little plastic chairs/stools and tables that kids in playgroup would be more used to back home. This was definitely a novelty at first, but over the week we soon became used to it, and the strange charm of seemingly eating in someone's front porch! Our first meal was that of bun cha - a delicious pork and noodle dish that was also presented with a dipping broth that we believed had sliced apple in it, and some pork spring rolls. It also came with a large plate of salad leaves (which we didn't touch as we were all to aware of how we could get very sick eating them!). The food was incredible, and so much for so cheap. It was too bad that we never got to eat this meal again, but we were definitely all very contented afterward and were looking forward to sampling the rest of Vietnamese cuisine if our first meal was anything to go by.

Bun cha for our first lunch

Boosted by our first success of food, we then went for a little explore around Hanoi. We heard there was a prisoner of war prison near by (Hoa Lo Prison) so we decided to go and check that out first. It was interesting to see - if not a little bit disturbing to see the living quarters that the prisoners had to exist in. Not the most civilised of prisons I had ever seen, but it was still interesting none-the-less as there was a lot of English information given on the more notable prisoners, as well as the general living conditions and standards of all the inmates.

Prison in Hanoi

Heading to this prison however gave us our first taste of walking around the streets of Hanoi/Vietnam, which is an experience in itself. Basically nearly everyone gets around using mopeds and motorbikes and there seems to be a constant stream of them driving down the road. This makes it extremely difficult to cross the road if you are westerners who are used to some sort of order when it comes to it. However, having hardly any traffic lights, and no sort of pedestrian crossings, we quickly had to learn to do as the Vietnamese do when it comes to crossing streets. Have you ever watched the Disney film Mulan? There is a scene in the film where Mulan's grandmother tests the luck of a cricket by closing her eyes and walking across an insanely busy road. Well that's kind of what it felt like to cross the street in Vietnam, except that instead of the vehicles crashing around us, they simply kept going just avoiding us instead. The trick to it is to walk confidently at a constant speed - not too fast and not too slow, thereby allowing drivers to anticipate your next step so that they know whether to drive in front or behind you. It took me quite a while to get used to - my heart jumping into my mouth everytime someone told me I needed to cross. However, once we got it, it was actually quite fun knowing that what you were doing was really dangerous, but that there wasn't any real danger as long as you kept going. It was like dropping a stone in a stream and watching the water divert around it - picture that, but with the stone moving from on side of the stream to the other, and that is how I can describe crossing the road in Vietnam!

Not quite used to crossing the road with all the bikes wizzing past

Dinner that night was to be a traditional one as it was Christmas Eve, and I had spotted a pub-style restaurant a little way away from our hotel. It was incredible! And just enough like traditional food at home to make me feel very happy indeed. It even ended with a bread pudding with custard.. custard!! Something I hadn't really thought about since being in Japan, but it quickly came back to me when the waitress told us what was on the pudding and brought it to our table. I was beyond excited- which is pretty sad I know, but as I always say, it's definitely the small things that become important when you are thousands of miles away from home.

Christmas dinner at a local pub! Yum!

Bread pudding with custard?! Yes please!

Christmas family!

Feeling very content we then headed back to the hotel and were greeted by a Christmas card placed on our bed. This coupled with the greeting card and flower petels from the morning made for a very welcome welcome back to our room.

Cards on our bed at the hotel

The next day was our sightseeing day around Hanoi which we had chosen to do through a company called HanoiKids, where our tour guides were students who volunteered to be tour guides to practice and improve their English whilst showing foreigners around the tourist sights. We didn't have to pay for the guides but were expected to pay for any of their expenses such as travel, entrance fees, and food, a cost we were more than happy to pay to get our own private tour guide who was happy to listen to where we wanted to go, but also offered up ideas of other places they thought we should see. Our tour guides were lovely - we had two boys and one girl, though sadly (badly) I can't remember their names. They were very informative though, and the whole day was made much more relaxed and so much easier than it would have been if we were trying to see these things on our own. First up we went to see Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum and the area where Ho Chi Minh used to live. This included seeing the Presidential Palace - an incredibly bright yellow building that he never lived in as it seemed far too grand, his stilt house, and the house that he used to live in along with his garage full of extrememly nice cars.

Presidential Palace

Ho Chi Minh's home

Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum

Our tour guides couldn't quite believe it when we told them we wanted to actually go into the Mausoleum, but who could really pass up the chance to see the most revered man in Hanoi, even if he is dead?! So we did. And it was really eerie and very surreal. You weren't allowed to stop in the room that held his body, nor take pictures, but it was a large room and you were able to walk slowly around him - seeing him from three different angles. It was just so strange to look at this body and know that he once lived and breathed - he didn't look real at all. I was sad to find out that his dying wish was to be cremated, but that the people of Hanoi ignored this embalming and displaying him instead. I'm glad I got to see him, but also feel quite strange about it too.

After we had come out of the Mausoleum we then headed to the Temple of Literature - the site of Vietnam's first national university. Our guides had a lot of interesting information to say about this temple as, because they are all university students, this temple has a lot of meaning for them. We went through each of the area with our guides giving us bits of information about them, including why the turtle statue has a shiny head (students rub the head for luck - our own guides had done this themselves). I'm sure they told us about other things too, but unfortunately I have forgotten those parts.

Temple of Literature

The turtle has a shiny head because students rub it for luck

National dish - Pho. Noodles with beef and citrus

After the temple we headed for lunch (in another person's front porch) where we got to try Pho (pronounced 'fuh') which was very good. It was nice to try it with our guides as they were able to tell us exactly what everything was, and how we were supposed to eat it. That meant that this meal was a lot less overwhelming than yesterday's, and therefore much more enjoyable. After lunch our guides took us to another place to have a traditional dessert of fruit with condensed milk and ice. It was really delicious and very refreshing and I would have loved to have had it again, immediately after I finished my first round!

Fruits and condensed milk with our tour guides!

After this, finding out we were teachers and interested in the schools of Japan, our female guide suggested that we go to visit her old high school, which was an awesome offer and one we couldn't pass up. So we went there and after a brief talk with the principle, we were invited in to look around - something we definitely couldn't have done on our own. It was really interesting to look around, especially noting the similarities and differences between this school and the schools we teach at in Japan. One thing that really stood out to me was how many pedal and motorised bikes there were in the bike park. We were around to see the students leave on all these bikes as well which made for a pretty impressive sight. I also really liked to see the drum out in the courtyard which was used to symbolise the start and end of lessons instead of a school bell. One other point to note was that each classroom had a picture of Ho Chi Minh at the front of the room so that all students could see him everyday. It was really interesting and a great experience and one that we were all really pleased to have got to do as it was such a surprise.

Tour of a local high school

Corridors

Drum to call beginning and end of lessons

So many bikes

Picture of Uncle Ho above the blackboard

After that, it was time to head back to the hotel to say goodbye. It was a really great day, made all the better and easier because of our lovely guides. I would highly recommend anyone who visits Hanoi to check this company out as it is well worth that personal touch. That evening, after a busy day of walking and sightseeing, the couples decided to do their own thing for the rest of the evening - Todd and I ended up having a lazy night in our room, getting room service and watching A Christmas Carol (the Jim Carrey movie). After all, it was Christmas day!

Our lovely tour guides for the day

The next morning we were picked up at our hotel in a minibus and taken west to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Halong Bay where we would be spending the next couple of days on a junk boat. Halong Bay is a stretch of water that has huge limestone formations throughout which makes for a pretty spectacular sight. On our tour we would be able to go onto one of these limestone islands to explore the caves that had formed inside, as well as getting to visit on of the numerous floating villages in the bay. The fact that we got to spend the night on one of these amazing boats was just an added bonus.
We got to our boat and were welcomed aboard with a fresh warm juice. Then we were allowed to go and get aquainted with our living quarters for the night - a really nicely decorated room with windows looking out onto the bay. It was brilliant to be able to lie in bed and watch the rocks go by. Our little bathroom was also very cool - having a porthole window in the shower meaning that you could get the fresh air whilst showering (as long as you were careful to check that there were no other boats going by who could get more than they bargained for looking through the window!). After checking out our rooms we also got to look around the rest of the boat, and ended up relaxing on the top deck on very comfortable sunbeds before heading down to lunch. It was still a bit breezy and ever so slightly chilly sitting up top so we couldn't exactly sunbathe, but the sun was warm and it was certainly very enjoyable lying there and taking in the surroundings. Lunch was absolutely delicious. I was a bit picky when they asked about dietary requirements and told them I didn't like nuts, and they made the extra effort to give me salad without any nuts on it, which I felt really bad about but was also extremely pleased. The food was amazing - lots of fresh fish - and I tried a lot of things that I never had before.

Junk boat - our home for the night in Halong Bay!

Warm juice as a greeting

Our room with windows out into the bay

Very relaxing

Lunch on the deck

After lunch we all headed onto a smaller boat to be taken onto one of the islands so that we could check out one of the caves, go kayaking, and watch the sunset before heading back to dinner. It also gave us a great opportunity to see and take pictures of our boat from a distance. The caves were immense and very cool to look around, and the beach afterwards was absolutely beautiful with white sand. I was really feeling the kayaking though so instead we strolled along the beach, went for a bit of a paddle, and relaxed on the beach.

Limestone caves

We then headed back to the boat and went to our rooms to shower and get ready for dinner. I really enjoyed the shower finding it a lot nicer than some showers in a lot of hotels I had stayed in back in Japan so that was a pleasant surprise. I think I had it lucky though as I must have been one of the first to shower - at dinner Dani and Sergio mentioned that their shower was pretty cold, but we think that might have been to do with the fact that they took a nap before showering, and so were probably the last two on the boat to do so. We got to dinner in good time though and settled ourselves at a nice table set for four. We then decided to splash out and ordered some cocktails to celebrate the evening. We ordered Halong Memories, and were a little worried when bright green drinks turned up. Having taken a sip, all grimacing, we discussed the interesting taste of our drinks and came up with how they tasted like some kind of mouthwash, and not the nicest tasting mouthwash at that. However, we all duitifully finished them (I actually started to enjoy mine by the end) and all had a good laugh about how they certainly wouldn't be something we'd forget in a hurry.

Halong Memory - one I won't forget (it tasted like toothpaste)

Dinner was exceptional though, and made even more exciting by its presentation. The chef had clearly been working very hard to prepare our meals, and even harder still to create the decorations - just check out this pineapple bird hovering over our shrimp!

There were definitely a few interesting parts to our meal too, but I tried and liked everything and was suitably full by the end of it. At the very end we were even treated to a (rather painful to watch) puppet show by 'Harry Potter' which was very entertaining if not a little cringey. I think all of us were losing steam at this point too and were just ready to go back to our rooms and collapse for the night. Luckily the show didn't go on too long and we were able to get into bed and fall asleep pretty quickly - it was very comforting to be lulled to sleep by the gentle rocking of the boat.

We were up early the next morning as we wanted to see the sunrise. I can't remember what time we set our alarms for, but it definitely wasn't at a civilised hour, and we were very quiet as we made our way up to the top deck for prime seats. I had planned ahead and listened to our boat host yesterday say that we should bring our blankets up with us in the morning so I definitelymade sure to grab mine before heading up. Todd however didn't plan ahead and I must say I wasn't the most sharing when he got too cold and wanted in on the blanket! You know me when it comes to being cold - I wasn't the most gracious. However, it was all good and I'm very glad we got up to see it, even though it was very cold.

Up for the sunrise

After our delicious breakfast we all got into a smaller boat again, and then from that boat got into an even smaller boat (this one holding just the four of us and our rower) and we were taken over to a nearby floating village. This was really cool. People actually live in these houses that float in the bay, raising their family, sending kids to the floating school, and making their money by fishing. Going to see one of these villages was probably a highlight of the trip for me. It was fun to look at the houses and note the nets that some houses had up around them to make sure that the small children didn't fall into the water and drown. Families even had pet dogs and cats! We were let out onto the 'village' part which held a tiny school and a little tourist shop. Once looking around here we got back into the boat and were let out again by a pearl farm where we were shown how they actually make pearls grow by adding a small grain of sand into each shell. There was a shop here as well but we chose not to buy anything as everything was pretty expensive.

Getting a tour around a floating village

Floating house

Floating school

Our taxis

Making/finding pearls

We were then taken back to our junk boat and were fed lunch as we headed back to the mainland. The whole Halong trip was a huge highlight to our trip and I would definitely recommend anyone heading to Vietnam to book themselves onto a junk boat for at least one night. Once off the boat, our experience wasn't quite over as we stopped off to see a traditional water puppet show on the way back to our hotel. Not really knowing what to expect we were greated with this small looking set and began speculating about what we were about to see. I don't think any of us had any real idea though and were both surprised and greatly entertained when the show started and the puppets came out from behind the screen to perform on the water in front. The show was really fun to watch and I laughed on several occassions as well as marvelling at the movement of the puppets and the tricks that were performed. I still had no idea how it worked until the very end when the puppeteers came out to take their bow. They were dressed in waterproof overalls that covered them up to their torso, meaning that they were controlling the puppets in front of the screen whilst they stood behind it. I assumed that meant that they couldn't really see what they were doing throughout the show which made it all the more impressive. I didn't know what to expect when we sat down to watch the show, but I was definitely a fan by the end, and would have loved to have seen more if I could.

Water Puppet Theatre

The puppeteers! Crazy!

After the puppet show we are taken back to the hotel for our final night in Hanoi. We decide to make the most of it and head out to check out a nearby night market in the hopes of grabbing some souvenirs. Getting to the market a little too early, we head to a coffee shop situated at a busy junction to cross off a couple of things on our Vietnam bucket list - drink Vietnamese coffee and sit and watch the crazy traffic go by from high up. We achieved both these things. The coffee is absolutely delicious (it's got condensed milk in it so you can't really go wrong there) and the view is spetacular, and we spend a bit of time playing with our cameras trying to get a good time-lapse photo of it. After this we have a look around the market, and take one last stroll around the colourfully lit Hoan Kiem lake before heading to our final Hanoi dinner at a very nice French restaurant. Full of delicious food and wine, we make our way back to our hotel for a very early start in the morning back to the airport and down to Ho Chi Minh City.

Delicious Vietnemese coffee looking over the busy streets

The Huc Bridge

Hoan Kiem Lake (Turtle Tower)

Posh French restaurant for our last night in Hanoi

Ho Chi Minh

We arrived in Ho Chi Minh City in the morning due to a rather early flight. The hotel in Hanoi were absolutely amazing. We were supposed to have an early flight anyway and would have to leave our hotel before breakfast, upon hearing this the staff at the hotel told us that someone would get up early to serve us breakfast anyway (despite us telling them there was really no need). After getting back to our rooms we discovered an email letting us know that our flight had actually been rearranged to two hours earlier than originally scheduled, so we went downstairs again to let reception know of the change in times. Although they couldn't get someone to serve us breakfast that early, they made sure that someone was sleeping on a camp bed in the foyer so we had someone to see us off, and they also packed us some food for us to take with us for the journey! Absolutely amazing service that we weren't expecting at all. It definitely made a very early start that much easier.
We arrived at our hotel and was able to check in to Todd and my room where we changed and dumped our things. Then we were out again on the streets getting some food (I think we went to an American-style place, but I can't quite remember), then onto do some sightseeing including popping into Ben Thanh Market - an absolutely huge covered market that had loads of touristy souvenirs. Again we didn't buy anything here but made a note of a few things that we might want to come and get later on. We then walked up to the Renunification Palace - the site of the end of the Vietnam War where tanks crashed through the gates of the palace. We saw the tank that stopped the war which was pretty cool, unfortunately the rest of the building had been demolished and rebuilt over the original palace so there wasn't the grandeur that I was expecting - actually the entire building was pretty ugly, even though there was meaning behind its concrete look. It was fairly interesting going inside though, especially when we went down into the cellar to see communications room and also a shooting range where the targets were clearly American soldiers!

The Renuification Palace

Tank that stopped the war

We didn't spend too long at the palace instead choosing to go and see a much more spetacular building - Saigon Central Post Office which was designed by Gustave Eiffel. Still a working post office, this place was absolutely massive with huge domed ceilings and old fashioned telephone boxes. It was really exciting to look around it and take some photos and I'm really glad it has managed to stand the test of time.

Saigon Central Post Office

We were pretty tired by this point so headed back to our hotel to relax and freshen up before the evening's entertainment. As I have already mentioned, there are a lot of bikes in Vietnam that constantly drive up and down the streets. So what better way for us to get a different perspective of these streets than hurtling down them on the back of a bike? So that's what we did. We booked a tour with the XO Bike Tour company - an all-female bike tour guide group who take you round to see the sights, sounds, and tastes of Ho Chi Minh City depending on which tour you choose. We chose the Saigon by Night tour which promised to take us to the various districts of the city that we definitely wouldn't have made it to without a guide. It was fantastic. We all got behind our tiny drivers after meeting them outside our hotel (they were dressed in beautiful traditional clothes that were very eye catching) and that was it, we were off. Now I have to admit, I was pretty tense at first, holding onto the back of the bike like my life depended on it (and to be honest it kind of did)! But after we got off I realised that I couldn't spend the next to hours tense up like that or I wouldn't be able to move the next day! Therefore once back on the bike I allowed myself to relax a bit more and trust my driver and had a much more enjoyable experience because of it taking in the sights and feeling the rush of being on a bike in all the manic traffic (I only feared for my life a couple of times in the the few hours so that's not really bad going).

Our bike guides for the night

On our bike tour

The guides were really interesting. We drove around to various spots and got off our bikes to  listen to information about it. In between times however, whilst we were driving from place to place, my guide was great in offering loads of little bits of information, even though I did struggle to hear her at times over the noise! We stopped off at one point to have some food and a drink, and this was one of my favourite meals in our whole trip. We had been given a choice at the start of the tour of three things we could eat, and Todd and I went for Bahn Mi - a baguette filled with cold meat, cheese, pate and vegetables. It was incredible. We washed this down with a glass of sugar cane juice which was so sweet but very tasty and had a good laugh trying to learn some Vietnamese phrases (of course, I have forgotten them all right now), and were given a little phrase book that we could keep and attempt to use for the rest of our trip. It was an absolutely brilliant night and a great way to start our trip in the city. I just wish we could have tried riding the bikes ourselves, but then I'm not sure how well that would have gone!

Delicious sugar cane drinks

I want a go!

Not really having much to do and see in the city itself, we booked ourselves onto a couple of tours that took us to some more interesting places outside. The first day we were off to see the Cu Chi Tunnels - the tunnels used by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War greatly aiding them in their resistance to American forces. Before we went to the tunnels however, our first stop was Cao Dai Temple, a huge, bright yellow temple that houses the ideal religion of Cao Dai -  a fusion of the teachings from Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism, with elements of Christianity and Islam. We got there in time to watch the morning prayers which was interesting to watch. The temple was so lavishly decoracted as well so we spent a long time just looking at all of the colours and patterns adorning the walls and columns.

Then we were off again, heading to the tunnels. When we got there we were shown a very well hidden entrance to one of the tunnels - it was tiny! No wonder the Americans never found these entrances. of course I was first up to drop myself down inside. Now I'm not the biggest person around but even I found it quite a small fit!

Checking out the Cu Chi Tunnels

Tiny entrance

This wasn't the entrace to the tunnels that we were going to look around in later on, so we hopped out of there and got taken on a tour around the area getting told about the various techniques the Viet Cong used to keep their tunnels secret and hidden. We were also guided through a set of traps that they laid out for the Americans which involved a lot of extremely sharp spikes! These traps were incredible, very deadly and usually impossible to get out from, the Viet Cong were definitely a cunning lot. Just watching these traps get set off, and imagining the damage they did was enough to make anyone squirm - it was fascinating, but definitely more than a little unnerving.

Being told about the Viet Cong traps

Tank stopped by the Viet Cong

More trap viewing - ouch!

 We were then taken to the entrance of one of the tunnels that we were allowed to make our way through. Apparently these tunnels had been increased in size so that tourists could go through them, which made me rethink just how small the Vietnamese soldiers were at the time, as at some points even I was having to crawl through on my hands and knees, and Sergio had to lie down and slide himself along to get through a particularly small point! How on earth these soldiers were able to run through these tunnels with a gun in hand is a complete mystery to me. Very hot and sweaty, we emerged from the other side, glad that our particular tunnel didn't go on any longer. Todd especailly started to feel a bit claustrophobic towards the end.

Going into the (slightly larger) tunnels

Bit of a squeeze!

This was a really interesting day and definitely another highlight of the trip. Once again I would highly recommend anyone visiting the area to get a tour out to the tunnels. I may even be tempted to go back again if I ever make it back to Vietnam. That night we went for a stroll around the city and did a bit of shopping in the night market, before calling it a night and heading back to the hotel (Todd and I indulging ourselves in getting another Banh Mi for dinner).

Ben Thanh Market - the largest old-style market

Trying out his bargaining skills

The next day we were off again, this time on a tour to see the Mekong Delta. This was pretty interesting (the water was pretty disgusting to look at with lots of debris floating along on it, though mainly bits of vegetables!), and we were given some information on our surroundings whilst we cruised down the river, including the interesting fact that whatever was for sale on a particular boat was tied up to a long pole so that people could see what they were selling. There were a few stops up the river, one where we stopped at a small shop selling different sweets quite cheaply which we all bought for omiyage for our schools back in Japan. I also bought myself some banana sweets which were absolutely amazing - kind of like caramelised banana, it looked pretty horrible as a black square gooey blob, but tasted amazing. We then stopped off for lunch and all had a quick nap on the very inviting and comfortable hammocks! Then we all got into a little boat (four to a boat again), popped on our traditional hats, and had a relaxing ride up a smaller river and back to our bigger boat to take us home.

Mekong Delta

Tasty fruits we kept being given

Taking a break

And that was it for our last day in Ho Chi Minh City, and also our last day all together for the next day Dani and Sergio were flying back to spend a few days in Kuala Lumpur, whereas Todd and I were making our way to the small Vietnamese island of Phu Quoc. In hindsight I wish I had just one more day to explore Ho Chi Minh City itself, but I'm still glad I got to see all of the things I did anyway. We had a delicious dinner at a nearby sports bar restaurant, and then went for cocktails on the roof of our hotel to finish off our amazing trip together. I was sad that we were saying goodbye to each other at this point, but I was also really grateful that we had had such a brilliant trip together so far, and that it wasn't the end of the holiday just yet. So goodbye Dani and Serg! Thanks for an amazing trip, and see you back in Tokushima!

Our last drinks together in Ho Chi Minh

Phu Quoc

To get to Phu Quoc, we got onto the smallest plane I have ever travelled on in all my life! Not the most confident flyer anyway, I was pretty terrified at the thought that this plane would be taking us to our final destination. The propellers weren't even encased! There was only about 4 steps to get up onto the plane! There were only about 19 rows! It was not enjoyable, and surprisingly very noisy. However, despite my trepidation, we made it to the island safe and sound, and were transported to our resort with no problems.

Tiny plane to our island getaway

We had opted to spend a bit more to get a room with air conditioning which turned out to be a very good shout as it was hot on the island! Our chalet was very cute, with a nice big bathroom and two beds to spread out on. We only had one problem and that was that after dropping our bags we went on our balcony to read and relax for a bit, only to discover later that we had locked ourselves out! Whoops. No problem though, as reception had a spare key!

Our little home

After relaxing, we went for a 2 minute wander down to look at our private beach (private with the other resort guests of course) then we went to the New Years Eve party held by the swimming pool which boasted a huge and delicious buffet dinner, along with live entertainment (mainly the guests making a fool of themselves, us included). It was a nice evening, and definitely very different to how I've spent my new years evenings in the past. The party actually finished at 11 o'clock though, which was a bit weird, and to be honest we had left before that as well, not being able to eat anymore and having enough of being asked to play games in front of the rest of the guests. We headed back to our room for a bit before heading down to the beach with drinks in hand for the countdown to the new year. A much quieter affair compared to last year, but much more intimate and still very enjoyable.

Preparing for the new years celebration

New Years buffet

Drinks on the beach at midnight

The next few days were spent in pretty much the same way. We got up at a leisurely pace, put on our swimming stuff, and made our way down to the beach - kindle in hand. We spent our days lounging by, and swimming in the sea, which was incredibly warm and had crystal clear water. It was absolutely beautiful and a wonderful way to start the new year. When we weren't on the beach or in the sea, we were taking a stroll down into town to check out the market, and get some yummy food. We even had a drink in Moe's Bar one night!

What we did for the next couple of days

Our resort

Last night sunset

It was a beautiful and romantic way to end our holiday, and to see in the new year, and it was with a heavy heart that we left the island heading back to what we knew would be an incredibly cold Japan. This trip has to be up there with one of the best trips I have ever gone on, and Vietnam is now high up on my top countries list. I had an amazing time and loved everything about it, from the crazy traffic/taking your life into your hands whenever you crossed the street, to the bargaining at the markets, to the delicious food and friendly people. I would definitely be up for going back to Vietnam again, because I know there is so much more to see and do. What a holiday!