Saturday, March 18, 2006

Xin Chao

I am LOVING this!

It seems like a while ago now, but my time in the Mekong was terrific. Rice paddys, stilt homes, water buffalo (can we get a water buffalo?), boat trips swinging in hammocks and watching the watery world slip by. Also some sobering moments like the killing fields in Ba Chuc where 3157 Vietnamese were slaughtered in just a few days by the Khmer Rouge. There were three survivors, one of whom, a quiet pensive old woman that sold us water and snacks, saw her husband shot, her 6 daughters raped horribly and killed before she was raped and shot. She lost close to 100 family members that week. This country has seen so much violence.


Mekong Delta, near Chau Doc


I was very lucky to have a local friend in Saigon, Tuan, who looked after me and showed me the sites from the best possible vantage- the back of a motorbike, swirling along in the swarm of surprisingly calm fellow bikers. He was the perfect host.

Saigon

Now? Nha Trang for the most delicious seafood cooked on street corners clear blue waters, long sandy beaches and manicures/pedicures for less than $2 Australian!

Fishing Villiage near Nha Trang


Beach bliss- Island off Nha Trang


I have landed myself in a great group of travellers who have taken care of me and been thrown together with Penny from Brighton. A better room mate you could not find. Apart from my glamorous eye patch (a bug flew into it and left it pretty ugly but don't worry, I'm FINE) and a little hangover this morning from too much local beer and dancing and way too little sleep, I am well and having a fantastic time.

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