World
Tourer - Travel Information -
February to March 2013
Video
Postcards -
Travel Archives -
My Lifetime of Travel -
Photo Index
23rd March 2013
There is only nine days until I move out of my apartment and start
the trip back to
Australia (Australia
Photo Gallery) - I will be staying in a
hotel in
Nha Trang for two nights then
catching the overnight sleeper train to
Saigon
followed by a night in Saigon and then fly on to Bangkok. After a
night in Bangkok I will catch the bus down to
Jomtien
(for three nights) to say goodbye to old friends - followed by
another night back in Bangkok before flying to Sydney via
Kuala Lumpur. I will be back in
Sydney on the 11th April.
I am not sure if the name of the apartments where I am staying (Five
Continents House) got their name before or after the
tennants moved in but I have been here for a couple of months now
and during that time the following nationalities have stayed here -
Vietnamese, American, Indian, Australian, English, German, Danish,
French, Canadian and possibly others. Considering there are only 14
apartments I think that is quite a variety.
----
11th March 2013
I have just created a photo gallery of
my favourite photos (in no
particular order) contained within this site.
----
9th March 2013
Today I took the bike on another trip out of town - this time I went
North to Dai Lanh a small fishing village about 80 kilometres from
Nha Trang. I also went part way down the Hon Gom peninsula which
starts just before Dai Lanh. Dai Lanh is in a small bay with
mountains on three sides. There is a good beach that is sheltered
from all the seasonal winds. I may return for an overnight stay if I
get the chance.
There was also a sheltered (and empty) beach at the begining of the
Hon Gom peninsula where I had a quick swim. I did not go all the way
down Hon Gom as I think it is around thirty kilometres long and
mainly sand dunes.
----
8th March 2013
Yesterday I went for another walk around the local area covering
about ten kilometres in a circular loop. I am still amazed at the
diversity of the area - within a few kilometres of my apartment
there are rice fields, mountains, banana plantations, marble
quarries, market gardens, cattle farmers, a duck farm, water
buffalo, a large river, hot springs with mud baths and several
graveyards (both Buddhist and Christian).
Today I did the same circuit but on my motorbike and took a few
photos.
----
2nd March 2013
Due to health (and Australian residency issues) I have cancelled my
plans to retire to Hurghada, Egypt and therefore my apartment is for
sale - it is due for completion at the end of next month and is on
schedule.
The apartment is 28 Sqm on the third floor of the Tiba Paradise
Complex (actually five floors
above the pool) overlooking the swimming pool - For sale at the
bargain price of $15,000
----
23rd February 2013
Today I rented a motorbike and went exploring - I found the
beach -
it is several kilometres South of where I am in Mui Ne (in fact the beach
is not really in Mui Ne but between Mui Ne and Phan Thiet) and there
is only one small public access point with no sign (and easy to
miss) with all the beachfront developed with "Resorts". The beach
itself is OK except very (very) windy at the moment (normal for this
time of year) - good for kite surfing but the sea is too rough for
swimming and lying on the beach would result in a good sandblasting.
I went all the way into Phan Thiet (the main town of the area) which
is a small fishing town to the South of Mui Ne. I then rode all the
way to the North of Mui Ne but did not bother going to the sand
dunes (that are a local attraction) as the wind was too strong.
Tomorrow I leave by bus for
Dalat up in the mountains. Final
thoughts on Mui Ne - I wont be back.
Mui Ne Beach - South Private Resort Beach (No Entry) Fishing
Boats Sheltering From The Wind
----
22nd February 2013
I arrived in Mui Ne this afternoon after a six hour bus trip from
Nha Trang (it's only 250klms) - the trip is scheduled to take five
hours but we had a flat tyre and had to have a wheel change.
My first impression of Mui Ne is not good - there is really no
accesss to the beach which does not really matter as there is no
beach - just the sea and then a sea wall and hotels etc. I have had
a look on a map and there may be some beach further South. I plan to
rent a motorbike tomorrow and have a look around. I already know
this is the only time I will be visiting Mui Ne - No beach - no
atmosphere, bad restaurants.
Mui Ne Beach - The Concrete Beach
----
13th February 2013
So much for the "Happy New Year" -
Yesterday it finally happened - something I have been dreading for
years - my backpack got stolen whislt I was in swimming at the
beach. I was trying out a new beach that is the closest to where I live and is used mainly by locals rather than tourists.
For some reason I was even more relaxed than normal (which
translates into less observant and less aware). I
did not see anything - it would not have made any difference as I
assume someone just ran onto the beach, grabbed my bag and ran back
to their motorbike and rode off. There was next to nothing in it
that would be of any use to the thief but many things of value to me
- my glasses, my driving licences (Australian and Vietnamese), my credit
card and the keys to my flat and bike - my new 350,000 Dong mobile phone
was also in the bag (I had only made one call on it).
----
10th February 2013
"Chúc Mừng Năm Mới" (Happy New Year) from Nha Trang - Today is the
first day of the lunar new year, the year of the Snake. This period
is known as Tet in Vietnam and is the biggest festival of the year.
It is relatively quiet here in Nha Trang - whilst there are many
decorations etc. along the streets there do not seem to be many
"Activities" (I belive it is mainly an annual "Family
Reunion" similar to Christmas or Thanksgiving) - the shops are closed and the traffic is heavy but
other than that it is quieter than normal (and certainly no
comparison to the crazy period of Songkran in Thailand)
Previous Page