We have fallen a bit behind on updating the blog lately due mostly to the fact of limited internet access the past couple of days, but we will fill you in on whats been happening up until the point of Monday 11th July (only the interesting bits).
So where I left off last time we were about to head over to diamond bay resort for our long awaited (brief) relaxation period after the incessant peddlers (locals constantly trying to sell you goods, for example we bought a pair of sunglasses each just before we made our way to the tiki hut for a relax, 2 minutes later another lady was trying to sell us the same glasses and wouldn't understand why we didn't buy any off her even after we explained that we already bought a pair 2 minutes ago and don't need another!) on the beaches and streets of Nha Trang and the belated recovery from the extensively exhausting Ho Chi Minh City.
Before I move onto the events of diamond bay I will quickly note that on our last night staying in the city of Nha Trang we came across Vietnam's very first (and probably last) ice bar! To be fair, it was more like a cold storage facility glammed with ice sculptures and a bar. Nothing awfully exciting considering it was a rather steep 160,000 VND ($8) just for entry. However the guy was nice.and let us purchase a drink and avoid the entry cost (it wasn't until a bit later on we realised why he did this). Turns out the place is no more lively than a cemetery. At one point there were kids playing around on the bottom floor, not exactly the bar scene we had expected. However nonetheless it was a very weird (and fresh) experience to come from 33 degree heat with 90% humidity to a tantilsing 9 below! Although the novelty (and the very high prices) wore off very quickly and we found ourselves retreating back down stairs to the warm area with the rest of the people.
So back onto the events of diamond bay, our first day purely ran on the schedule of NOTHING, which was a really nice change from the usual 'do everything, experience everything and see everything!' Approach that Lauren's loves ohh so much. On our second day in diamond bay we had a bit of an epiphany when deciding on what we should do that day. Our train of thought went a little like this... 'should we go to the beach today? Or the pool? Or the man made beach? Or maybe the bar?' It wasn't until we had collaborated all of our ideas together that we then realised we are living in paradise! After making a tough decision on what would occupy our day, we realised it would be best do all of it. Because honestly, can you have too much pool, beach and beer? The simple answer, hell no!
However I do have fears that all this relaxation has gotten to the mysterious mind of the one they call Lauren (or most commonly referred to as the peacock). For instance, as there is not an awful much to preoccupy Lauren and thusnot much to bear stress on her conscience, her minds looks to everyday events and objects to distort and manipulate them in ways that occupy the lack of outside stimulation. For example, we were casually eating french fries (or as referred to here as french fried due to that mischievous language barrier) and all of a sudden one flew of the plate (obviously Lauren had knocked it with her fork). As French fries are meant to stay on the place and eventually end up in your mouth, Lauren perceived this renegade french fry as a rebel and revolting against its right to be eaten. So as a fit consequence, Lauren sought to tell the french fry off and chew it extra hard, even harder than all the other ones. There were others that tried to escape their impending fate also, with other punishments forthcoming such as death by drowning (In tomato sauce) and stoning (mashed with the fork) other fries also warranted more extreme punishments such as being thrown to the dogs (thrown onto my plate were it was certain it would be eaten) or the ultimate punishment of exile (left on the plate, not to be eaten and left to rot therefore unfulfilling their life goal as an appetiser meal). Other things that make me question the sanity of the mind are an irrational fear or sea water to the point of throwing my thongs out into deep water (however this was mostly my fault as I threw bits of slimy seaweed with the water I was slashing her with.
After a day of fun, sun and a tonne of watery activities, it was almost time to check out of diamond bay and head into Nha Trang to wait for our 10 hour train to Danang. However the last day in Nha Trang wouldn't be complete without a cruise down the esplanade on the motorbike (well it was a scooter but motorbike sounds better). Luckily Roger (the guy from the oz Guesthouse) let us put our bags in this Guesthouse so we didn't have to carry them from 1pm to 10pm in time for our train. We found that because we had soo much time to kill what better way than relax under a tiki hut on the beaches of Nha Trang. However I was itching to get back on the bike and go joy riding, so I did. It turns out I did about 60km across the two days with majority on the last day. I must say though there is no better feeling than riding down the coast of a beach ride town and then all the way back up the north coast. The traffic is just awesome fun, and the roundabouts are an all new ball game. You just sorta drive into the middle while avoiding all cars to your right as they come full steam towards you. There is no 'give way' hierarchy employed in roundabouts you just have to weave in and out of various bikes while balancing because if you put your foot down to stabilise yourself you will probably loose a toe (I've still got all ten so I deem my ride a success). After returning to where Lauren was waiting (after being out well over an hour) I decided to just quickly nip out and put fuel in it to return it, however the madness consumed me and I was roped in for another brief shot. Brief turned into 45 minutes, but it was all worth it. That night we left for Danang on our 10 hour sleeper train which was quite enjoyable. But like always with this blog I must end it here because its our dinner time and the food is delicious.
So until then (and I promise we won't be soo slack this time, the next post will probably be up tomorrow morning) we will speak to you all soon so have fun and stay safe.
Kristian & Lauren.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Sickness, Sweetness and Awesomeness
As I write this most recent post I have unfortunately fallen under the weather with an intense cold. Not to fear as I am soldiering on through the blocked nose, puffy eyes, headache, blocked ears, retarded voice and constant sniffing, blowing and shooting gunk everywhere I seem to go.
Well as most of you probably gathered from the last lot of photo’s we kicked day 4 in Nha Trang off with a hot spring and mud bath visit located up in the hills of Nha Trang City. As we expected, it was a pretty popular thing to do on a Thursday morning seen as though nobody actually works (unless you’re selling books and glasses to sucker tourists). The mud bath and mineral spa treatment seemed expensive at the time as the package topped just over 900,000VND (which roughly translates to around $40 AUD which works out to be about $20 each), but for such a unique experience we thought we would spare no expense. As it turned out it was well worth every cent (or dong). You started by jumping into a mud bath for two which felt like you were literally sitting in a bath of chocolate milk, however it unfortunately did not smell like chocolate milk (nor did it taste like it as I found out in the previous lot of pictures) and was significantly thicker than you would expect a chocolate milk to be. After about half an hour in the mud baths you were then given a private mineral bath with a platter of fruit and your own set of reclining chairs which were happily accompanied by a rotating fan.
As part of the package we purchased, we were entitled to a foot massage which was weirdly nice, especially when they would play with your toes (surely you would have to have a foot fetish to become a foot massager because I certainly wouldn’t massage my feet let alone Laurens with her mangled little toes). After stabbing our feet with some pen looking thing and causing discomfort to my unsuspecting heels, they offered both of us a full body massage for just a little bit extra (it was 150,000VND each which is roughly $7.50, bargain!), I was more than happy to accept. There is something very calming and sensual about a complete stranger slamming their hands all over your body and poking you with sticks, but overall it was a very relaxing experience. After our massage we went off to the next session of hydrotherapy, which in simpleton words actually means jets blasting out of a wall and hitting you, or the equivalent of someone holding a high pressure hose and shooting you with it. As part of the package we were also granted free access to their pools, however it was a really hot day (the forecast was 33 degrees however the taxi outside temperature displayed 38, so we will just agree that it was damn hot) and what we didn’t realize was that the first pool we jumped into was the ‘hot’ mineral pool, and boy was it hot. After seeing the sign for the cold swimming pool we immediately jumped in however it was no colder than my usual bath temperature.
After leaving the spa we headed into Nha Trang for some lunch and met a fellow Australian named Roger who had been living in Vietnam for the past couple of years. He was really helpful actually telling us all about the place and some inside knowledge about things you would only learn if you were a local living here. However there was one thing that had been bugging us for a while and we were dying to ask someone: why are there so many Russian’s? We first started to notice when all the menu’s had the primary Vietnamese names and sentences, followed by the English underneath for the tourists, but underneath that was always a Russian translation. Turns out the Russian Mafia are quite big here in Vietnam, thanks to the relationship forged through the war and Russia siding with the North Vietnamese and the communist way of life. Also as it turns out, we had dinner at a Russian restaurant that night and had eaten at another restaurant owned by the Russian mafia (how cool!).
After eating at Roger’s Bar Oz restaurant over the road which have all traditional Australian meals (except for a parma) and quite a decent cheese burger, we noticed on his card that he gave us, he had scooter hire listed as one of the things his guesthouse (called Oz Guesthouse) offered, which I was very keen to do.
It was our last day staying in Nha Trang City (we only moved 15km down the road so it is still Nha Trang) and at The Light Hotel (we now much prefer Diamond Bay’s facilities) so we thought what better way to spend a couple of hours than to burn around on a scooter in the hectic streets of Nha Trang. I must admit, it is one of the best things you can do in Vietnam by a long shot. There just comes a feeling of overwhelming freedom when weaving through different streets and traveling anywhere you feel like going with nothing holding you back. Unfortunately I only had the bike for just over an hour because we needed to get back to the hotel to check out and move onto diamond bay, but it would have to have been on of the most exciting (and freakishly frightening at the same time) hour of my life. The traffic is just manic, there are motorbikes and scooters coming at you at every angle and every one of them goes around you as if you do not exist. Even the roundabouts are hilariously fun, people just storm in at every angle and drive without consequence, however there is some method to their madness as the whole system does actually work. And here comes the craziest part, Lauren actually rode on the back of the scooter for a bit of the journey (and secretly enjoyed it)! We started off on backstreets just to get used to the bike and the traffic but as the confidence grew I went lone ranger on the esplanade than runs the way down the coastal beach line of Nha Trang, however couldn’t go very far due to time constraints. Upon returning the bike to Roger (which in the ended up costing me about $5 for the whole time because he’s such a nice guy), he said that if I ever wanted to use it again he was more than happy for me to take it out anytime as long as I put fuel in it. This was a pretty generous offer seen as though it was actually his bike and not just a hire-bike he had sitting around.
After we had packed our stuff we jumped in a 20 minute taxi to our next hotel of Diamond bay. This was an extensively luxurious place located around the mountain which gave it its own private bay for guests to use at their leisure. After checking in we were given a guided tour in the golf buggy (because the place is do big they run golf buddies to different parts of the resort) with a friendly Vietnamese man who had obviously been taught English. However he was not taught normal English, it had been extremely Americanized and had a hilarious twang to it. He was also extremely polite, whenever he would like to tell us something he would start by saying ‘excuse me madam and gentleman, can I show you…’ and every time we would have to answer ‘yes you can show us…”. He also had a few stumbles as he would frantically try and remember the word he was trying to say, we just felt like finishing his sentences for him because it just sounded so painfully unnatural. It was a nice touch but a little bit over the top.
I think I’ll leave it at that for now as it is approaching our dinner time and we are getting on the free shuttle bus into Nha Trang for a bite to eat. I’ll post another entry tonight about Lauren fighting her French fries and also her attempt at drowning my thongs in the man-made beach. I am also aware that I owe an explanation as to the Lauren-loving-midget and the crazy cyclo, I can ensure you they are coming in due time.
Until then have fun and we will speak to you all soon,
Kristian & Lauren.
Well as most of you probably gathered from the last lot of photo’s we kicked day 4 in Nha Trang off with a hot spring and mud bath visit located up in the hills of Nha Trang City. As we expected, it was a pretty popular thing to do on a Thursday morning seen as though nobody actually works (unless you’re selling books and glasses to sucker tourists). The mud bath and mineral spa treatment seemed expensive at the time as the package topped just over 900,000VND (which roughly translates to around $40 AUD which works out to be about $20 each), but for such a unique experience we thought we would spare no expense. As it turned out it was well worth every cent (or dong). You started by jumping into a mud bath for two which felt like you were literally sitting in a bath of chocolate milk, however it unfortunately did not smell like chocolate milk (nor did it taste like it as I found out in the previous lot of pictures) and was significantly thicker than you would expect a chocolate milk to be. After about half an hour in the mud baths you were then given a private mineral bath with a platter of fruit and your own set of reclining chairs which were happily accompanied by a rotating fan.
As part of the package we purchased, we were entitled to a foot massage which was weirdly nice, especially when they would play with your toes (surely you would have to have a foot fetish to become a foot massager because I certainly wouldn’t massage my feet let alone Laurens with her mangled little toes). After stabbing our feet with some pen looking thing and causing discomfort to my unsuspecting heels, they offered both of us a full body massage for just a little bit extra (it was 150,000VND each which is roughly $7.50, bargain!), I was more than happy to accept. There is something very calming and sensual about a complete stranger slamming their hands all over your body and poking you with sticks, but overall it was a very relaxing experience. After our massage we went off to the next session of hydrotherapy, which in simpleton words actually means jets blasting out of a wall and hitting you, or the equivalent of someone holding a high pressure hose and shooting you with it. As part of the package we were also granted free access to their pools, however it was a really hot day (the forecast was 33 degrees however the taxi outside temperature displayed 38, so we will just agree that it was damn hot) and what we didn’t realize was that the first pool we jumped into was the ‘hot’ mineral pool, and boy was it hot. After seeing the sign for the cold swimming pool we immediately jumped in however it was no colder than my usual bath temperature.
After leaving the spa we headed into Nha Trang for some lunch and met a fellow Australian named Roger who had been living in Vietnam for the past couple of years. He was really helpful actually telling us all about the place and some inside knowledge about things you would only learn if you were a local living here. However there was one thing that had been bugging us for a while and we were dying to ask someone: why are there so many Russian’s? We first started to notice when all the menu’s had the primary Vietnamese names and sentences, followed by the English underneath for the tourists, but underneath that was always a Russian translation. Turns out the Russian Mafia are quite big here in Vietnam, thanks to the relationship forged through the war and Russia siding with the North Vietnamese and the communist way of life. Also as it turns out, we had dinner at a Russian restaurant that night and had eaten at another restaurant owned by the Russian mafia (how cool!).
After eating at Roger’s Bar Oz restaurant over the road which have all traditional Australian meals (except for a parma) and quite a decent cheese burger, we noticed on his card that he gave us, he had scooter hire listed as one of the things his guesthouse (called Oz Guesthouse) offered, which I was very keen to do.
It was our last day staying in Nha Trang City (we only moved 15km down the road so it is still Nha Trang) and at The Light Hotel (we now much prefer Diamond Bay’s facilities) so we thought what better way to spend a couple of hours than to burn around on a scooter in the hectic streets of Nha Trang. I must admit, it is one of the best things you can do in Vietnam by a long shot. There just comes a feeling of overwhelming freedom when weaving through different streets and traveling anywhere you feel like going with nothing holding you back. Unfortunately I only had the bike for just over an hour because we needed to get back to the hotel to check out and move onto diamond bay, but it would have to have been on of the most exciting (and freakishly frightening at the same time) hour of my life. The traffic is just manic, there are motorbikes and scooters coming at you at every angle and every one of them goes around you as if you do not exist. Even the roundabouts are hilariously fun, people just storm in at every angle and drive without consequence, however there is some method to their madness as the whole system does actually work. And here comes the craziest part, Lauren actually rode on the back of the scooter for a bit of the journey (and secretly enjoyed it)! We started off on backstreets just to get used to the bike and the traffic but as the confidence grew I went lone ranger on the esplanade than runs the way down the coastal beach line of Nha Trang, however couldn’t go very far due to time constraints. Upon returning the bike to Roger (which in the ended up costing me about $5 for the whole time because he’s such a nice guy), he said that if I ever wanted to use it again he was more than happy for me to take it out anytime as long as I put fuel in it. This was a pretty generous offer seen as though it was actually his bike and not just a hire-bike he had sitting around.
After we had packed our stuff we jumped in a 20 minute taxi to our next hotel of Diamond bay. This was an extensively luxurious place located around the mountain which gave it its own private bay for guests to use at their leisure. After checking in we were given a guided tour in the golf buggy (because the place is do big they run golf buddies to different parts of the resort) with a friendly Vietnamese man who had obviously been taught English. However he was not taught normal English, it had been extremely Americanized and had a hilarious twang to it. He was also extremely polite, whenever he would like to tell us something he would start by saying ‘excuse me madam and gentleman, can I show you…’ and every time we would have to answer ‘yes you can show us…”. He also had a few stumbles as he would frantically try and remember the word he was trying to say, we just felt like finishing his sentences for him because it just sounded so painfully unnatural. It was a nice touch but a little bit over the top.
I think I’ll leave it at that for now as it is approaching our dinner time and we are getting on the free shuttle bus into Nha Trang for a bite to eat. I’ll post another entry tonight about Lauren fighting her French fries and also her attempt at drowning my thongs in the man-made beach. I am also aware that I owe an explanation as to the Lauren-loving-midget and the crazy cyclo, I can ensure you they are coming in due time.
Until then have fun and we will speak to you all soon,
Kristian & Lauren.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Vinpearl, Vinpearl and Vinpearl!
So as I promised in the last post, I will go on to tell you about the midget and the events with the crazy cyclo.
But before I do such a thing, I'll go through some of the stuff we've been up to the last couple of days. Well our second day in Nha Trang was purely for the sake of relaxation. However this relaxation that we both were so eagerly waiting was prematurely ruined by a (massive) group of Chinese tourists that, on their own accord, decided to make our floor a playground, daycare centre, opera theatre, mobile calling station and every other vocal activity centre you could think of. You see now, this would be fine if it were in the afternoon, but nooo. It was at a rather abrupt 6:30am. After a few french mutterances, we gave in and got up at 7:30 (but boy did they get the stink-eye or glare down from us when we walked past them, I felt their souls burning).
When you look at the previous photo uploads you can see us both sitting in little tiki huts by the beach, that basically sums up what we did that day (in a nutshell). However one thing changed that day (apart from my wintery white skin colour), Lauren has lost her skills of batering. I'm not blaming her for this, I think it has more to do with the little old ladies and the little children that sell you souvenirs as its pretty hard to grind down a few dollars from an old lady that is carrying baskets that weight as much as my left leg.
So our third day was one of conquering fears and getting beaten up wilfully by a water slide (the pain was worth the gain, however I beg to differ now that the initial excitement has worn off). As you might have guessed we went over to a theme park, but this was no ordinary theme park, it was Vinpearl (refer to the previous lot of photos for the hollywood hills-like sign). Catching the worlds-longest cable car to an island inhabitted only by machines of wonder is something you can only dream about. Not only was the view of Nha Trang bay and surrounding islands fantastic (refer to the post below for photo's) but the approaching view of the rollercoaster and many upon many water slides (I counted around 12 at least 5 story slides) it was looking to be an awesome day.
Now its probably appropriate to mention that (I was not aware of this until the day myself) Lauren had never been on a water slide in her entire life. As in never ever ever, never ever before. I imagine you are as shocked as I was, but I was keen to change this. However with my consistent annoyance, it didnt take long to break this drought (pardon the pun; anybody who watches 'come fly with me' will get this). The first ever water slide that Lauren attempted was a run of the mill 5-lane multi-bump slide in which you go down on a rubber board on your stomach. Now before I move onto the hilairious stuff, it is noble to mention that apart from breaking this fear of drowning, Lauren also proactively reduced her fear of heights by climbing the 5 story waterslide (after many psych-up attempts and the consistent chant of "I'm not a wuss, I'm not a wuss!"), however also good to mention is that the stairs were the see-through steel rods that when looking side on it looks like a solid steel step but when looking down its like a mesh and everything below you (and how high you actually are) come straight to mind. After many attempts to back out at the top and many prayers to God, we both went straight down head first down the giant water slide. As I have had much experience with water slides in my time, the run down the slide went without hiccup. However unfortunetly I cannot say the same about Lauren. Also another quick point to mention is that just before we decided to go on the water slide Lauren mentioned that on all these types of activities she always manages to break something or hurt herself. While I, the loving boyfriend, ensured nothing could possibly go wrong (honestly though how often do you stuff up a run down a straight waterslide?).
So as we went hurtling down the point-and-shoot straight waterslide, I can see Lauren getting increasingly figgety with most of her body on the actual waterslide rather than the board your meant to be sliding down on. Then all of a sudden we went over the last bump in the slide and as Lauren unintentionally braced herself in the foetal position thus giving her a higher centre of gravity, effectively thrusting her into deep space (or at least up into the atmosphere) only to come crashing down on the only place lauren knows to fall upon, her face. After getting up all embaressed, and providing some pretty good entertainment to those who were watching, we migrated to the 'lazy river'. Now this 'lazy river' is actually a really good idea for a water park, you see it is a cicular river stream that surrounds the entire waterpark, effectively allowing people to float around to their next destination rather than walking on the steel melting pavements running throughout the park (I swear they chose pavements that attracted the most sunlight and conducted the most heat because they were beyond painfully boiling). But it was a really good way to see the park and a nice relaxing rest after the brutal waterslides. The brutallity of the waterslides was quite intense, lets just say they weren't out to please any nana's that like soft relaxing (non-painful) propulsions through dark eerie tubes. There are plenty of waterslides I could talk to you about but I'll spare you all your lunch break time and talk about just two. The first and probably most painful of all was just a simple straight 6-7 story slide that was designed for speed and speed alone. However what everyone forgets when meddling with water at high speeds (and those of you with boats and jetskiis would know what I mean when you are going very quickly across water and shards hit your faces and eyes) is that the faster you go the sharper and deadlier that little shards of water become. However while your copping this in the face stopping you from seeing absolutely everything (unless you have a glass eye, which you probably wont be able to see anything in the first place) there is a ripping sensation digging through your back from the rip your feet in front of you is making. However what was funny, in which the cat of nine tails whipping pain in your back was not, the fact that everyone who came down after me had the same reaction... get up and frantically rub your back trying to distract your brain from the pain whilst saying to who ever your with 'holy crap that hurt, is my spine still within my body? if not can you just shove it back in there for me please?". However apart from watching everyone elses reaction and swearing they will not go back, its always funny when you yourself go back for another and see all the other guys up their with you thinking the same thing ("how did I get up here again? Ohwell time to go down again, it didnt hurt that much did it?").
The second slide was called the black hole, and you never associate anything nice with something called the black hole. This next waterslide was no exception. It started as a simple black tube of darkness that went round in a circle. After leaving the spiral you were sent down a long incline that had the same sharp shards of water splashing in your face inhibiting you from seeing what comes next. As it turned out it was what was next that was the most suprising (and most painful). After your shot down the incline whilst not being able to see anything, your spat out into a circular bowl which, with the momentum you've gathered going down the incline, you are stuck whole-bodied to the sides of the bowl going round and round until you eventually slow down and slide down the hole in the centre. Now, Lauren was waiting at the end of the slide awaiting my arrival, and what she thought was thunder in the distance, was just my body slamming down like a ragdoll in the bowl after being spat out of the tube. This was the part that hurt, as the tube was not correctly aligned with the sides of the bowls facilitating a smooth transition between tube and bowl, there is a breif period that your body as a whole is airborn and its not a particularly nice feeling (expecially on the first run when your not expecting it). However I tried time after time and trial after trial to prepare myself for the slingshot out of the tube in order to acheive a soft landing, however it never happen (although I have a whopping sore elbow, back, left and right hips, shoulder and face so it wasn't a complete failure (in my eyes)). I think I had at least 6 attempts at it but could never master the gruesome landing, even some Vietnamese teens where laughing at the noise I made when hitting that bowl, which left me thinking that I'm missing something?
We finished the waterpark day at around 5 oclock with Lauren conquering another 3 waterslides before calling it a day. We left Vinpearl after a couple of rollercoaster rides and an upside down thing that made your eyes want to explode (and the guy next to me's stomach wanting to explode, thankfully not over me) and got to see the sunset over Nha Trang Bay from a very unique viewpoint (the world's longest cable-car). Also for some strange reason Vietnamese locals and tourists alike are very interested in the western tourists (possibly their awesomeness) to the point where on the way back in the cable-car the one next to Lauren requested a photo of Lauren and herself (which you can see on the post below).
So that basically rounds out our third day in Nha Trang and I'm sorry to say that the Lauren-loving-midget and the crazy cyclo will have to come in the next post because its time for our dinner.
Well I'll post todays events for you tomorrow afternoon (around melbourne knock-off time to save everyone doing work on a friday evening). Until then we hope everybody's well and don't forget to leave a comment if you would like.
Until then,
Swetchin & The Peacock
But before I do such a thing, I'll go through some of the stuff we've been up to the last couple of days. Well our second day in Nha Trang was purely for the sake of relaxation. However this relaxation that we both were so eagerly waiting was prematurely ruined by a (massive) group of Chinese tourists that, on their own accord, decided to make our floor a playground, daycare centre, opera theatre, mobile calling station and every other vocal activity centre you could think of. You see now, this would be fine if it were in the afternoon, but nooo. It was at a rather abrupt 6:30am. After a few french mutterances, we gave in and got up at 7:30 (but boy did they get the stink-eye or glare down from us when we walked past them, I felt their souls burning).
When you look at the previous photo uploads you can see us both sitting in little tiki huts by the beach, that basically sums up what we did that day (in a nutshell). However one thing changed that day (apart from my wintery white skin colour), Lauren has lost her skills of batering. I'm not blaming her for this, I think it has more to do with the little old ladies and the little children that sell you souvenirs as its pretty hard to grind down a few dollars from an old lady that is carrying baskets that weight as much as my left leg.
So our third day was one of conquering fears and getting beaten up wilfully by a water slide (the pain was worth the gain, however I beg to differ now that the initial excitement has worn off). As you might have guessed we went over to a theme park, but this was no ordinary theme park, it was Vinpearl (refer to the previous lot of photos for the hollywood hills-like sign). Catching the worlds-longest cable car to an island inhabitted only by machines of wonder is something you can only dream about. Not only was the view of Nha Trang bay and surrounding islands fantastic (refer to the post below for photo's) but the approaching view of the rollercoaster and many upon many water slides (I counted around 12 at least 5 story slides) it was looking to be an awesome day.
Now its probably appropriate to mention that (I was not aware of this until the day myself) Lauren had never been on a water slide in her entire life. As in never ever ever, never ever before. I imagine you are as shocked as I was, but I was keen to change this. However with my consistent annoyance, it didnt take long to break this drought (pardon the pun; anybody who watches 'come fly with me' will get this). The first ever water slide that Lauren attempted was a run of the mill 5-lane multi-bump slide in which you go down on a rubber board on your stomach. Now before I move onto the hilairious stuff, it is noble to mention that apart from breaking this fear of drowning, Lauren also proactively reduced her fear of heights by climbing the 5 story waterslide (after many psych-up attempts and the consistent chant of "I'm not a wuss, I'm not a wuss!"), however also good to mention is that the stairs were the see-through steel rods that when looking side on it looks like a solid steel step but when looking down its like a mesh and everything below you (and how high you actually are) come straight to mind. After many attempts to back out at the top and many prayers to God, we both went straight down head first down the giant water slide. As I have had much experience with water slides in my time, the run down the slide went without hiccup. However unfortunetly I cannot say the same about Lauren. Also another quick point to mention is that just before we decided to go on the water slide Lauren mentioned that on all these types of activities she always manages to break something or hurt herself. While I, the loving boyfriend, ensured nothing could possibly go wrong (honestly though how often do you stuff up a run down a straight waterslide?).
So as we went hurtling down the point-and-shoot straight waterslide, I can see Lauren getting increasingly figgety with most of her body on the actual waterslide rather than the board your meant to be sliding down on. Then all of a sudden we went over the last bump in the slide and as Lauren unintentionally braced herself in the foetal position thus giving her a higher centre of gravity, effectively thrusting her into deep space (or at least up into the atmosphere) only to come crashing down on the only place lauren knows to fall upon, her face. After getting up all embaressed, and providing some pretty good entertainment to those who were watching, we migrated to the 'lazy river'. Now this 'lazy river' is actually a really good idea for a water park, you see it is a cicular river stream that surrounds the entire waterpark, effectively allowing people to float around to their next destination rather than walking on the steel melting pavements running throughout the park (I swear they chose pavements that attracted the most sunlight and conducted the most heat because they were beyond painfully boiling). But it was a really good way to see the park and a nice relaxing rest after the brutal waterslides. The brutallity of the waterslides was quite intense, lets just say they weren't out to please any nana's that like soft relaxing (non-painful) propulsions through dark eerie tubes. There are plenty of waterslides I could talk to you about but I'll spare you all your lunch break time and talk about just two. The first and probably most painful of all was just a simple straight 6-7 story slide that was designed for speed and speed alone. However what everyone forgets when meddling with water at high speeds (and those of you with boats and jetskiis would know what I mean when you are going very quickly across water and shards hit your faces and eyes) is that the faster you go the sharper and deadlier that little shards of water become. However while your copping this in the face stopping you from seeing absolutely everything (unless you have a glass eye, which you probably wont be able to see anything in the first place) there is a ripping sensation digging through your back from the rip your feet in front of you is making. However what was funny, in which the cat of nine tails whipping pain in your back was not, the fact that everyone who came down after me had the same reaction... get up and frantically rub your back trying to distract your brain from the pain whilst saying to who ever your with 'holy crap that hurt, is my spine still within my body? if not can you just shove it back in there for me please?". However apart from watching everyone elses reaction and swearing they will not go back, its always funny when you yourself go back for another and see all the other guys up their with you thinking the same thing ("how did I get up here again? Ohwell time to go down again, it didnt hurt that much did it?").
The second slide was called the black hole, and you never associate anything nice with something called the black hole. This next waterslide was no exception. It started as a simple black tube of darkness that went round in a circle. After leaving the spiral you were sent down a long incline that had the same sharp shards of water splashing in your face inhibiting you from seeing what comes next. As it turned out it was what was next that was the most suprising (and most painful). After your shot down the incline whilst not being able to see anything, your spat out into a circular bowl which, with the momentum you've gathered going down the incline, you are stuck whole-bodied to the sides of the bowl going round and round until you eventually slow down and slide down the hole in the centre. Now, Lauren was waiting at the end of the slide awaiting my arrival, and what she thought was thunder in the distance, was just my body slamming down like a ragdoll in the bowl after being spat out of the tube. This was the part that hurt, as the tube was not correctly aligned with the sides of the bowls facilitating a smooth transition between tube and bowl, there is a breif period that your body as a whole is airborn and its not a particularly nice feeling (expecially on the first run when your not expecting it). However I tried time after time and trial after trial to prepare myself for the slingshot out of the tube in order to acheive a soft landing, however it never happen (although I have a whopping sore elbow, back, left and right hips, shoulder and face so it wasn't a complete failure (in my eyes)). I think I had at least 6 attempts at it but could never master the gruesome landing, even some Vietnamese teens where laughing at the noise I made when hitting that bowl, which left me thinking that I'm missing something?
We finished the waterpark day at around 5 oclock with Lauren conquering another 3 waterslides before calling it a day. We left Vinpearl after a couple of rollercoaster rides and an upside down thing that made your eyes want to explode (and the guy next to me's stomach wanting to explode, thankfully not over me) and got to see the sunset over Nha Trang Bay from a very unique viewpoint (the world's longest cable-car). Also for some strange reason Vietnamese locals and tourists alike are very interested in the western tourists (possibly their awesomeness) to the point where on the way back in the cable-car the one next to Lauren requested a photo of Lauren and herself (which you can see on the post below).
So that basically rounds out our third day in Nha Trang and I'm sorry to say that the Lauren-loving-midget and the crazy cyclo will have to come in the next post because its time for our dinner.
Well I'll post todays events for you tomorrow afternoon (around melbourne knock-off time to save everyone doing work on a friday evening). Until then we hope everybody's well and don't forget to leave a comment if you would like.
Until then,
Swetchin & The Peacock
New photos
Here are some photos of the past couple of days, enjoy :)
VINPEARL
On our way to Vinpearl via Cable Car
View of Nha Trang from Vinpearl
Kristian likes to think he is a better photographer than me..... in his dreams!
The monkey wanted to fight me!
Yes... that is two monkeys on a Cyclo
Kristian about to poop his pants!
Whilst Kristian was hanging upside down in the air I was taking photos of the beautiful sunset.
My new friend Jan who we met on the cable car coming back from Vinpearl.
(We are huge celebrities over here... everyone wants to talk to us and have photos with us!)
Nha Trang Hot Springs & Mud Baths
Relaxing in what smelt like poo
Kristian decided to dunk his head in and this is what emerged..............
Our mineral bath tub
xoxo
VINPEARL
On our way to Vinpearl via Cable Car
View of Nha Trang from Vinpearl
Kristian likes to think he is a better photographer than me..... in his dreams!
The monkey wanted to fight me!
Yes... that is two monkeys on a Cyclo
Kristian about to poop his pants!
Whilst Kristian was hanging upside down in the air I was taking photos of the beautiful sunset.
My new friend Jan who we met on the cable car coming back from Vinpearl.
(We are huge celebrities over here... everyone wants to talk to us and have photos with us!)
Nha Trang Hot Springs & Mud Baths
Relaxing in what smelt like poo
Kristian decided to dunk his head in and this is what emerged..............
Our mineral bath tub
xoxo
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Photos
Here are some photos from the end of Ho Chi Minh City and the start of Nha Trang.
Enjoy :)
xoxo
Two Ferrari's casually parked out the front of Gloria Jeans
Kristian ordered a drink at GJ's and this is how they spelt his name
BEST FRENCH FRIES EVER!
Our room on the train to Nha Trang
6.30am!
Just because it's a nice photo
Isn't it horrible waking up to this every morning??
Feel free to set this as your desktop background
I swear I'm not sunburnt... I'm a natural beetroot
A shot of Vinpearl hotel and Theme park (recognise the Hollywood style sign??)
What a striking resemblance to Chubaka.... (look into the sunnies)
Kristian won't nap.... but the peacock was out cold... once again
And for the finale... we caught the peacock in its natural habitat...............
Enjoy :)
xoxo
Two Ferrari's casually parked out the front of Gloria Jeans
Kristian ordered a drink at GJ's and this is how they spelt his name
BEST FRENCH FRIES EVER!
Our room on the train to Nha Trang
6.30am!
Just because it's a nice photo
Isn't it horrible waking up to this every morning??
Feel free to set this as your desktop background
I swear I'm not sunburnt... I'm a natural beetroot
A shot of Vinpearl hotel and Theme park (recognise the Hollywood style sign??)
What a striking resemblance to Chubaka.... (look into the sunnies)
Kristian won't nap.... but the peacock was out cold... once again
And for the finale... we caught the peacock in its natural habitat...............
Monday, July 4, 2011
Clarification + First days in Nha Trang
Before I start talking about Nha Trang I thought I would clarify some things up about the events before leaving Ho Chi Minh City. Well firstly, you might have noticed that in the last blog post I mentioned a peacock in the title of the post but failed to describe what the peacock was. For starters there was no peacock, the malnutrition and overbearing heat has actually gotten to Laurens head and she now thinks and refers to herself as the peacock. Let me explain, we were walking through the Ben Thanh Market on our second last day and decided to pick up some fans courtesy of a pushy little child insisting on selling us them (laurens weakness for little children got the best of her and we caved and bought 3). After the incessent groping all throughout the market (to the point where two girls would grab both hands and not let go), Lauren developed a noise (pronounced 'beh-ahhh' or a high pitch 'bahh') that acted as a defence mechanism whenever a threat is perceived (i.e. when a stall owner was going in for the pinch). This noise , which resembled a warning noise given by birds when there is a threat to their safety, eventually started arising in places other than the market (i.e. when she was hot or bothered or very tired). The noise coupled with the fan correctly placed upon her head and spread in a peacocks tail feather formation, gave rise to what we now know as 'the peacock'. So now whenever lauren is tired, hungry, bothered or anything in general, she has given up on the ye old reliable english language and resorted to primal instinctual short bursts of noise! I will try and upload a photo of the peacock sometime tonight as we dont have the memory card reader on us.
For all of those who read the first post (of when we arrived), you would have gathered that our perceptions of Ho Chi Minh City were a little cautious as the city is a bit intimidating at first glance. However all this changed looking back now as we found Ho Chi Minh City to be one of the more interesting places to visit in Vietnam. It is in no way suitable for the faint-hearted as there can be some (more like heaps of) nerve shredding moments sometimes with the language barriers or raod crossing but after you familiarise yourself with their way of life you find it is actually quite a peaceful, organised-chaotic little system that rules their way of life. Also as we mentioned earlier last week that it was looking like KFC for dinner, it didn't happen! We found a few quite nice (and very cheap) restaurants to eat at through the course of the week.
After leaving Ho Chi Minh City headed for Nha Trang, we boarded our first 'Golden' train sheduled to leave at around 8pm sunday night. To be honest, we were a bit nervous as to the conditions we were going to be staying in for the next sub-10 hours. However as the old rickety train rolled up, these fears rose ten-fold as the train was an old dirty thing that looked like it belong in the museum. However as I had previously read, and seen as though we were sleeping in the A/C soft sleeper class or first class, there was a seperate nice carriage attached to the back of the train for all us VIP's. The little dorms were actually very nice, with a plastic floor board look on the walls with power sockets coming out of every crevace making the trip more than enjoyable. The only weird thing was the fact that you were sleeping on a train, as neither of us had ever slept on one before. That weird feeling of when the train stops at one of only a few stations at night (which wakes you up) and for a split second you think your in a hotel room until the train moves again and you think its an earthquake. The only annoying thing was, as we were sharing a compartment with a chinese man and his daughter which were both really nice, the mans phone went off at 1am and scared the crap out of both of us as we were in deep sleeps faciliated by the smooth rocking motion of the train. However, after your phone rings and wakes everybody up, you'd think he'd put it on silent just in case? We'll your wrong, it rang again 20 minutes later just as we were getting to sleep! But wait, theres more! It rang a further 3 more times distributed throughout the night and early morning. As nice as he was, I did have an overwhelming urge to throttle him.
So we arrived in Nha Trang yesterday after our 9 1/2 hour train journey from Ho Chi Minh City. This is the kind of place we have been craving after the hectic and oh so crazy events in Ho Chi Minh City. It really is a lovely place, it has over a 10km beach strethcing right around the bay overlooking the mountainous Island of Vinpearl which has the iconic hollywood style "VINPEARL" white letters high in the mountain for everybody on the coast to see. We didnt get up to much yesterday as we were pretty much unwinding after our 5 days in Ho Chi Minh City. The only problem with yesterday is that we arrived in Nha Trang at around 5:30am and couldnt really check in until 2pm that afternoon. However persistence paid off and we were let in around 9:30am most likely because we were cluttering up their foyer. After a break in the room, we headed to the pool and the beach for a bit of a swim and a rest under the shady stick huts (where the peacock fell asleep). Turns out there is a brew house literally across the road from our hotel which is really really really nice (and to our amazement and confusion has its own pool even though its just a restaurant and not connected to any hotels).
That brings us to today (Tuesday 5th of July), we are basically taking it easy, going to have a walk around the main strip and purchase a hat to hide the peacocks head feather.
We will post some photo's tonight after dinner so they will probably be up by tomorrow morning considering the 3 hour time difference.
Also let us know if anyone felt the earthquake!
Until then we hope everyone is well and stay safe.
Kristian & the Peacock
Note: Stay tuned later on to hear about our crazy cyclo (psycho) and the midget that has a crush on Lauren. I forgot to mention until now.
Again sorry about any spelling errors or if anything doesnt make sense as this keyboard is horrible and this computer does not have spell checker.
For all of those who read the first post (of when we arrived), you would have gathered that our perceptions of Ho Chi Minh City were a little cautious as the city is a bit intimidating at first glance. However all this changed looking back now as we found Ho Chi Minh City to be one of the more interesting places to visit in Vietnam. It is in no way suitable for the faint-hearted as there can be some (more like heaps of) nerve shredding moments sometimes with the language barriers or raod crossing but after you familiarise yourself with their way of life you find it is actually quite a peaceful, organised-chaotic little system that rules their way of life. Also as we mentioned earlier last week that it was looking like KFC for dinner, it didn't happen! We found a few quite nice (and very cheap) restaurants to eat at through the course of the week.
After leaving Ho Chi Minh City headed for Nha Trang, we boarded our first 'Golden' train sheduled to leave at around 8pm sunday night. To be honest, we were a bit nervous as to the conditions we were going to be staying in for the next sub-10 hours. However as the old rickety train rolled up, these fears rose ten-fold as the train was an old dirty thing that looked like it belong in the museum. However as I had previously read, and seen as though we were sleeping in the A/C soft sleeper class or first class, there was a seperate nice carriage attached to the back of the train for all us VIP's. The little dorms were actually very nice, with a plastic floor board look on the walls with power sockets coming out of every crevace making the trip more than enjoyable. The only weird thing was the fact that you were sleeping on a train, as neither of us had ever slept on one before. That weird feeling of when the train stops at one of only a few stations at night (which wakes you up) and for a split second you think your in a hotel room until the train moves again and you think its an earthquake. The only annoying thing was, as we were sharing a compartment with a chinese man and his daughter which were both really nice, the mans phone went off at 1am and scared the crap out of both of us as we were in deep sleeps faciliated by the smooth rocking motion of the train. However, after your phone rings and wakes everybody up, you'd think he'd put it on silent just in case? We'll your wrong, it rang again 20 minutes later just as we were getting to sleep! But wait, theres more! It rang a further 3 more times distributed throughout the night and early morning. As nice as he was, I did have an overwhelming urge to throttle him.
So we arrived in Nha Trang yesterday after our 9 1/2 hour train journey from Ho Chi Minh City. This is the kind of place we have been craving after the hectic and oh so crazy events in Ho Chi Minh City. It really is a lovely place, it has over a 10km beach strethcing right around the bay overlooking the mountainous Island of Vinpearl which has the iconic hollywood style "VINPEARL" white letters high in the mountain for everybody on the coast to see. We didnt get up to much yesterday as we were pretty much unwinding after our 5 days in Ho Chi Minh City. The only problem with yesterday is that we arrived in Nha Trang at around 5:30am and couldnt really check in until 2pm that afternoon. However persistence paid off and we were let in around 9:30am most likely because we were cluttering up their foyer. After a break in the room, we headed to the pool and the beach for a bit of a swim and a rest under the shady stick huts (where the peacock fell asleep). Turns out there is a brew house literally across the road from our hotel which is really really really nice (and to our amazement and confusion has its own pool even though its just a restaurant and not connected to any hotels).
That brings us to today (Tuesday 5th of July), we are basically taking it easy, going to have a walk around the main strip and purchase a hat to hide the peacocks head feather.
We will post some photo's tonight after dinner so they will probably be up by tomorrow morning considering the 3 hour time difference.
Also let us know if anyone felt the earthquake!
Until then we hope everyone is well and stay safe.
Kristian & the Peacock
Note: Stay tuned later on to hear about our crazy cyclo (psycho) and the midget that has a crush on Lauren. I forgot to mention until now.
Again sorry about any spelling errors or if anything doesnt make sense as this keyboard is horrible and this computer does not have spell checker.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Crashing the baby gathering, the peacock and relentless groping
So we start our next entry from where we left off last night. We were off having dinner in Dong Khoi Street and relaxing after a pretty hot day (which is normal). We started to walk up toward the old french opera house and colonial meeting hall which both look very nice at night. While on our way we decided to stop at a fountain where there was a tonne of people hanging out, it wasn't until we got a bit closer that we realised it was a mass baby gathering of at least 50 babies just walking around and playing together with balloons! Lauren was in heaven, she thinks they are much cuter than normal Australian babies and had contemplated taking one or even 10 a few times. One baby in particular had a fascination with me and Lauren thinks it was actually my fault whenever she looked at me she started crying. I blame it on the irresistible looks, however maybe babies arent fully developed enough to appreciate the looks like the people in the market stalls do.
Onto today, as it was our last day today we decided to just have a last look around Ben Thanh Market and a stroll along Dong Khoi and surrounding streets. First was Ben Thanh Market, which to sum it up reminds me of a rabbit warren with all in laneways that are no wider than my torso and the fact that every stall you walk past they either grab your arm, shoulder, back or anything in general that is in their reach. They also have a fascination with pinching Lauren's arms, to the point where she was inches away from pinching back (or more like punching back)!
After we left Dong Khoi street we decided to go for a drink atop the Rex Hotel rooftop terrace bar which for some reason is high on the list of things to do in HCMC. Lauren read somewhere that it was only worth having one drink as it can be on the expensive side, and as we found out that tended to be the case. Let me put this in perspective, a beer in the restaurant we had dinner and even the hotel bar/restaurant were selling the same beer for 20,000 VND (just under a dollar), however atop the garden terrace bar (which was not as nice as it was hyped up to be and pretty crappy views of the city which is expected seen as though it was only on the 5th floor) it cost me for one beer 115,000 VND (just under $6)!
So that brings us to now, we are just about to have dinner at the hotel because we need to leave around 6pm to head off to the train station to board our 9-10 hour train to the seaside town of Nha Trang. We've stocked up on snacks as the sausage and bread offered with the fare probably wont fill me (or even the rats we saw yesterday, yes there were rats in the street).
We will post again next time we have internet which will hopefully be sometime tomorrow when we will update you on how the train journey went. Until then stay safe and have fun.
Kristian & Lauren.
Onto today, as it was our last day today we decided to just have a last look around Ben Thanh Market and a stroll along Dong Khoi and surrounding streets. First was Ben Thanh Market, which to sum it up reminds me of a rabbit warren with all in laneways that are no wider than my torso and the fact that every stall you walk past they either grab your arm, shoulder, back or anything in general that is in their reach. They also have a fascination with pinching Lauren's arms, to the point where she was inches away from pinching back (or more like punching back)!
After we left Dong Khoi street we decided to go for a drink atop the Rex Hotel rooftop terrace bar which for some reason is high on the list of things to do in HCMC. Lauren read somewhere that it was only worth having one drink as it can be on the expensive side, and as we found out that tended to be the case. Let me put this in perspective, a beer in the restaurant we had dinner and even the hotel bar/restaurant were selling the same beer for 20,000 VND (just under a dollar), however atop the garden terrace bar (which was not as nice as it was hyped up to be and pretty crappy views of the city which is expected seen as though it was only on the 5th floor) it cost me for one beer 115,000 VND (just under $6)!
So that brings us to now, we are just about to have dinner at the hotel because we need to leave around 6pm to head off to the train station to board our 9-10 hour train to the seaside town of Nha Trang. We've stocked up on snacks as the sausage and bread offered with the fare probably wont fill me (or even the rats we saw yesterday, yes there were rats in the street).
We will post again next time we have internet which will hopefully be sometime tomorrow when we will update you on how the train journey went. Until then stay safe and have fun.
Kristian & Lauren.
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