A big hello from Vietnam

[Lellyj]

Lovely to hear news of your trip, Frozzie! Thanks for sharing!  Glad to hear you're having a good time.

[Carine]

Like the lantern pic.  Hope the weather is kind to you:  send all the rain to Tamworth please 

[Frozzie]

that rain and looks like floods came down in around half an hour but didnt stop anyone driving around...alot of roads flooded then it subsided within a few hours after the rain had stopped..and that was only the first few days..the market shot is ben thanh markets that i found not really worth the visit..and the lantern shot is the garden bar at the rex hotel..lovely view and quite pretty but western food..

had a bit of trouble getting onto the forum..;i have found out htat vietnam block alot of websites and I cant log onto facebook at all and can usually only check my french email account..

yesterday we xere up at 5am and went to Vung Tau for the day...i caught up with a guy I found online that is an aussie and has several restaurant bars in vung tau and we had an amazing day with him on a war/battlefield tour...his name was Glenn who owns the Tommy Bar and Restaurants...great guy and he took dad up to where he was based during the war, where he was hit (and lost his leg on a mine) and also a great museum not yet open to the public which is a private collection (an amazing colllection) of war memorabelia over a thousand years, the location of hte long tan battle...all in all a good day..

today checked out more shopping but this time Saigon 2 whch was worth the visit...not impressed iwht the markets as theyu seem to be more expensive than the actual air conditined shops...

oh got ripped off on a tuk tuk ride..cost alot more htan a  cab even when they quoted a different price before leaving....

have found hre are alot of con artists here ..who tend to play dumb and say they understand nothing when they do...mostly cab drivers or some shop owners...most things are just as expensive as at home so we havent bothered much with alot of shopping but its good to check out certain areas...

oh also did some tunnels but not hte chi chi tunnels some other ones..that was a laugh...i crossed the tunnels the whole way ent over at the waist...and came out filthy dirty but can say i have been in them once...thats enough lol

tonight we are out to a vietnemese bbq garden which sounds nice...last day tomorrow bevfore heading back saturday...

enough time for another massage and beauty treatment...a quick look around then will have to pack for the flight etc..

hope you are all well 

[judydawn]

Enjoy the last couple of days there frozzie and thanks for the reports.

[johnro]

Frozzie it certainly seems like you packed in many special moments in the 10 days with your family xx The Vietnamese people are so friendly and can never do enough for visitors   

[Frozzie]

well its our last day today...had a lovely time...only had one attempt at swiping my bag and we were all dressed up to go on a dinner cruise so sticking out like a sore thumb!!! the average salary here is around $250 US a month so i can see why they would try to swipe bags or rip people off but generally we had a good time....we only stuck with the vinasun taxis as the others have alot of faulty meters so you end up paying alot more...except the all green cabs apparently they are also ok but vinasun also have staff everywhere who can hail a cab for you....there are many what i call tourist security in green uniform that are there to help out in many things....vietnam is not expensive by european standards but not cheap either...some things are cheap like alot of food, drinks, taxis etc but not shopping not really unless its bad knock offs...

we have enjoyed our time here though and precious tme with my parents....i hate goodbyes but they are inevitable....i loved the ben thanh markets at night...not hte same as the day time but more street markets around the market building...that was worth the visit..also saigon square one and two but i preferred two..less people and easier to bargain!  Alot of them think your loaded so ask ridiculous prices also so advise dressing very casually, no jewellery etc...they also know the prices for the same items in the US , europe etc which is why in some places there is on point coming down...they say alot of stuff in shops is genuine but i believe nothing is genuine here...very good copies but not great..we were looking for a camera lens here but the most we could get off it was around 50 so its ont worth it ..

anyway long flgt home ..we will be back sunday...looking forward to gettig back to home and thermie...i bought a couple of vietnemese cookbooks...the best meal i had was a pretty basic restauraant all vegetarian, nobody spoke english but the food was realy tasty!!


i wil write more and add some phtos once we are back home...lots of DD with locals taking photos with her lol...even some tourists at the post office yesterday and DH got interviewed by some local students as part of their degree....had to have an interveiw in english...

lovely people but would have loved to have seen this country ten years ago...even less...everyone keeps saying how much its changed in the last year or two...

ciao for now..look forward to checkig out all the new reicpes you have all posted   

[Twitterpated]

Glad you had a great time Frozzie. Looking forward to having you back again and reading your regular posts. Shame about the taxis though, I find this is a common thread in some of the nearby countries and you really need to be on the ball. When we travel I rarely wear any jewellery as it does seem to make you a target at times.

Looking forward to reading your posts about your trip.

[Very Happy Jan]

The power line photo made me smile frozzie.  It's like that in Koh Samui and Phukett as well.

[Halex]

Thanks for the photos & all the news about your trip, very interesting.

Have a safe trip home.

H

[fundj&e]

What type of questions did they ask ur DH Frozzie
if the interview was anything like the bali  interviews, it was a scam, it happens all the time in Bali.   
Never give out your really name
Room number
Plans that you have like tours, dinner

Have a safe trip home
uni

[achookwoman]

Frozzie,  thanks for sharing your holiday with us.  I really enjoyed Vietnam again.  Safe trip home.

[JuliaBalbilla]

Hi Frozzie, I am glad you have had a good time and loved reading your posts.  Have a safe jourmey back 

JB

[Frozzie]

The power line photo made me smile frozzie.  It's like that in Koh Samui and Phukett as well.

they were everywhere and we even saw a guy up there obviously adding a new line lol...no equipment just him and his bare hands..amazing like the window washers who just have a rpe and a piece of wood to sit on...

[Frozzie]

What type of questions did they ask ur DH Frozzie
if the interview was anything like the bali  interviews, it was a scam, it happens all the time in Bali.   
Never give out your really name
Room number
Plans that you have like tours, dinner

Have a safe trip home
uni

thanks guys
back home now and up at 4.30am but had a good sleep...one thing i hate about travellig is always the flight itself and then the decalage with the time diff but im very happy that DD is still sound asleep!

uni not to worry they were actual students they had university clothes on and asked pretty standard questions and nothing abut where we were staying etc and luc also had to ask them questions as part of their project...they had to do an interview in english but also be interviewed in english....

im also weary about telling anyone where we are staying or where we are going...some restaurant staffed asked while we were there and I didnt tell them either...people dont need to know where your staying....the big hotels are heavy on security for a reason..and many many shops.....found its mainly to stop pick pockets or bag snatchers entering etc

I didnrt particularly like the idea that if your an expat or tourist and have money etc (money for vietnam which is the average jo ) that everyone dotes on you whether it be to cross the road or in shops or at the hotel etc etc... Dont get me wrong I liked the fact that things were done for us everywhere we went but i didnt like the reaction of others that it was expected....and the expat kids were worse...they treated the locals like their personal help....i know its very typical of asia and i love the service orientate'd attitude but found some people quite disrespectful

but anyway home now, had a grezat trip and lovely time with my family...very hard to say goodbye and DD kept asking where nanny and poppy were...we will be back to skype ina couple of weeks once mum and dad finish their holiday in vietnam!!

today will be post holiday organisation and getting back into a routine..will attempt to read the several pages of posts that have been done during my short absense...   spoke too soon kids are both up so its going to be a longggggg day...they are of to school this mornign but will see if they go this afternoon or not 

[Bedlam]

Welcome home Frozzie, the hardest bit of having a holiday
All the washing and organising and feeling exhausted.
So nice to have been there for your mum and a surprise, even better!
Take it easy.x