World Tourer - Travel Information - September to December 2016
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World Travel Blog - September to December 2016
10th December 2016
Pho Bo Hanoi (in Nha Trang)
This morning I had breakfast at the "Footpath Restaurant" at the end
of the lane where I live. It is run by one woman who only serves one
dish,
Pho Bo Hanoi (Hanoi Beef Noodle Soup) and only operates for breakfast. It was
delicious and as I normally only eat a small breakfast I struggled
to eat it all (but I managed). The cost was 30,000 vnd (about $1.30 US)
which is great value.
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3rd December 2016
Nha Trang
I am now back in Nha Trang after a week in Australia - it was good
to catch up with family and friends. I had been hoping that the
rainy season might be coming to an end by now but it is not. During
the trip into town it was pouring with a lot of local flooding. The
forecast is for heavy rain for the next week.
It is only 9 days until I am on the go again with my trip to
Hanoi, Sapa and Halong Bay.
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17th November 2016
"Mr. Cheap" Travels Again
Now that I am settled in Nha Trang I will resume my travels. Next
week I return to Australia for a week (AirAsia $316 AUD each way) then
in December I have booked a 4 day trip to
Hanoi, Sapa and Halong Bay (Vietjet
to Hanoi $70 AUD each way). For
January I just booked a trip to Vung Tau (South of Saigon), a beach
town that I have not been to before - Airfare (to Saigon Jetstar $27
AUD each way), Hydrofoil Saigon to Vung Tau ($12 AUD each way) and
the hotel in Vung Tau for two nights ($13 AUD/night).The plan is to
have a trip away each month.
I have realised that if I am to stay here long term I may have to
forget about learning Vietnamese and learn Russian instead as it is
very close to becoming the number one language of the beach and the
"Tourist Area" in Nha Trang.
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8th November 2016
Pháp Viện Thánh Sơn
Today I rode out to
Pháp Viện Thánh Sơn which is a
Buddhist temple about 25 kilometres west of Nha Trang in the
countryside. It was good to get out of the city and see something
new (I only discovered this place existed yesterday). The road was
good for most of the way but the last few kilometres was potholed
and then a mud track. The place is amazing - it is still a "Work in
Progress" construction was started in 2006 and still has a way to
go.
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6th November 2016
Long Walk
Today I went for my first walk since moving into town and luckily it
was not raining. I went South along the coast as far as the start of the
Cable Car to Vinpearl and back
which is more than 12 kilometres. On the way back I passed the old
airport and saw that a large sign has been erected showing the
planned development of the land - when finished it will house an
increase of about 25% of the Nha Trang population. With all the high
rise construction along the beachfront and the development of
northern area Nha Trang is a rapidly growing city (very similar to
the "Gold Coast" in Australia) although it appears to me that the
only industries are tourism and fishing.
----
4th November 2016
City Living
I now live in Nha Trang City (right in town) at the rear of the
"Tourist Area" in a quiet lane about 300 metres from the beach. I
signed a 12 month lease yesterday for a one bedroom
apartment on the top floor at the
Hoan Oanh Hotel. I have been moving
in over the past two days whilst the weather has been terrible -
there are not supposed to be cyclones in the Nha Trang area but I
have encountered many cyclones in my life and it sure seemed like a
cyclone to me (very, very strong winds and continual torrential
rain) with most of the roads turning to rivers and many trees and
signs blown over. It is still pouring as I type but the wind has
eased.
Fishing Boat Aground on Nha Trang Beach
Debris on Nha Trang Beach
Lounge Area of My New Apartment in Nha Trang
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25th October 2016
Vinh Hy
Back home after a trip down the coast to Vinh Hy (about 90
kilometres south) - I took the scenic route along the coast after
Cam Ranh and the road is terrific, it seems quite new and there was
almost no traffic, with the ocean on one side and tropical covered
mountains on the other. I stayed at the Vinh Hy Resort which is
right in Vinh Hy village (a small fishing village). The resort is
quite large and right on the harbour, with a "Water Park", Swimming
pool, a restaurant and a lot of bungalows. It was deserted and I
may have been the only guest.
The weather was fine for the trip down but not so on the way back as
it poured all the way getting heavier as I got closer to Nha Trang.
Luckily I had my heavy duty poncho and remained relatively dry.
Beach on The Way to Vinh Hy
Sheltered Bay on The Way to Vinh Hy
Vinh Hy Harbour
----
20th October 2016
Night in Town
My night in Nha Trang last night was good and I will probably make
it a regular thing (maybe every second week). My room at the Sen
Vang Guesthouse was exactly the same as on previous occasions (I had
not stayed there for more than three years) and I believe is the
best value in Nha Trang - some of the recent reviews of this hotel
have been bad but I have no idea why. There is a hotel 20 metres
(Adam Hotel) away that is rated much higher in Agoda but I have stayed at both
and Sen Vang is twice as good for less!
I ate at a restaurant I had not been to before (despite the fact
that it is on the corner of the laneway where Sen Vang Guesthouse is
and Hung Vuong Street) it is called Hong Duc and is what I call a
50/50 restaurant, meaning that it is a "Locals Restaurant" that
caters to tourists as well. The food is good and also the prices
(Mr. Cheap). I also had a Kebab from a street vendor that was
delicious (I will be back) that cost 30,000 Dong for large (ie. Less
than $1.50USD).
I did notice that the restaurant menus are now mostly in Russian -
when I first visited Nha Trang the menus were in Vietnamese and
English - now it is Russian, Chinese, Vietnamese and English (in
that order).
----
19th October 2016
Nha Trang Tourist Area
Tonight I am staying in town, in the tourist area, I am booked in
the Sen Vang Guesthouse ($7USD - A/C single room, ensuite bathroom,
cable TV, WiFi and fridge) where I have stayed several times
before. I was booked in last Wednesday but it poured with rain all
day so I did not go. I will not be doing much other than going to
the beach etc. but I plan to try a restaurant that I have not been
to before.
----
30th September 2016
Mui Ne
Yesterday I rode down to Mui Ne (220 Kilomtetres south) to see if
it had improved since my first visit three and a half years ago. It
had not, in fact I believe it is worse. I do not understand why
anyone would say it is a great place with a great beach - in my
opinion it is an ordinary place with an ordinary beach. I had booked
a hotel for two nights but only stayed one. The only two things I
got from my trip to Mui Ne was a sore backside and a bad case of
food poisoning.
----
27th September 2016
Street Food Tour
This afternoon I went on the
Lanterns Restaurant street food
tour and I learnt a lot about the local street food available. I am
glad that I did not have lunch as there was so much food to try. I
really liked the fact that it was a fairly fast paced tour covering
many food outlets. The
Lanterns Restaurant website said
that the tour included seven dishes but it was actually more as
there were some side dishes so all up I think there was ten.
I enjoyed most of the food and will be eating street more often from
now on. My favourites were the
Banh Trang Tron (Spicy stirred rice
paper salad), the
Banh Xeo (Seafood pancakes) and the
Banh Canh (Rice noodle soup).
Banh Tran Tron
Banh Xeo
Banh Canh
----
26th September 2016
Cooking Class
On Saturday I took a local cooking class run by
Lanterns Restaurant - it was
excellent and very well run. I have decided to also do their "Street
Food Tour" and will be taking that tomorrow. I look forward to
learning about the local street food and of course tasting it.
My only street food so far has been
Banh Mi (a Subway like baguette),
Banh Boa (a steamed bun) and
Banh Trang Nuong (BBQ rice paper
with topping - rice paper pizza) each costing less than $1.
Banh Mi Banh Bao
Banh Trang Nuong
----
22nd September 2016
Monsoon Season
I think the monsoon season is starting - over the past few days we
have had late afternoon/evening thunderstorms and yesterday's was
torrential. This is my first time in Nha Trang during the rainy
season but I checked the annual rainfall and it is less than Cairns
and less than half of Mission Beach and since I have been living in
the tropics for more than seven years now tropical rain is not new
to me.
I was planning to have a night in town once a fortnight staying at a
hotel and so I booked a "Seaview Apartment" at the Tri
Quan Hotel and Apartments and got a small room with no view
(not even a window) when I asked at reception they told me there was
construction going on in the apartments and they were only using the
hotel rooms - I was told if I wanted a seaview I could go to the
rooftop and have a coffee!
As far as I am concerned it is fraudulent to sell something you do
not have (I booked with Agoda).
I checked out about one hour after I checked in and came home.
I may still stay in town once in a while but I think from now on I
will stick with the hotels I know.
----
16th September 2016
Dalat Trip
I just got back from my quick trip to Dalat - it was a good trip
although I found myself wishing I had my
Honda CBR250R here as it would have
been more comfortable and made the steep grades up the mountain so much easier to handle -
although my new
Honda Blade is better
than the
Honda Wave I had when I last lived
here. Dalat is pretty much the same as it was although seemed
quieter than my last visit but there is a large underground shopping
centre "Dalat
Big C Supercenter" that was not here last time.
I stayed at the Tulip Hotel which was fine if a bit expensive by
local standards. I got a phone call from reception at 10.30 pm
telling me my motorbike was "gone" (I immediately assumed it had
been stolen) - luckily it was a language problem they simply wanted
the key to the bike so they could move it to undercover storage
somewhere.
Xuan Huong Lake, Dalat
Another view of Xuan Huong Lake
The Outside of Dalat's Big C Supercenter
Skylight For Dalat's Big C Supercenter
Skylight For Dalat's Big C Supercenter
Dalat Greenhouses
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13th September 2016
Dam Market
This morning I went for a ride to Dam Market (Cho Dam), the largest market in
Nha Trang, unfortunately they appear to be in the process of
expanding or replacing the original market building. The result is a
mess and I will not be visiting again until it is sorted. I have
noticed since being back in Nha Trang that the traffic has increased
considerably (probably 50%) and every ride is still an adventure.
I am planning to ride up to Dalat on Thursday, returning Friday (140
kilometres each way up the mountains to 5,000 feet) - first trip on
my new
bike.
----
9th September 2016
My New Honda Blade
I bought a new
Honda Blade motorcycle yesterday to get around on. It
cost 19.3 million Dong - which is only about $1140 Australian
dollars including registration. To celebrate I had a beer at my favourite location on Nha Trang Beach -
Louisiane Brewhouse (a brewery on
the beach, genius).
I am just about sorted now and will start to relax a bit. "Life is a
Holiday, Old Chum".
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