Phan Thiết and Mũi Né Trip

It's been really hot in Saigon with a heat index often above 100 degrees Fahrenheit.  So what do you do?  In Vietnam you head for the coast.  With over 2,000 miles of coast there are plenty of spots to choose from.  We decided to head back to the dual cities of Phan Thiet and Mui Ne -- it helped that a friend had a good deal at a fancy beach front hotel.  We spent our days playing on the beach, eating sea food, and playing Catan.  Enjoy the pictures.

  

Click here if you can't see the photos above.

The Khe Fruit

This fruit is used in Vietnamese spring rolls. It ranges from sour to sweet. 

Art - A painting made of rare stones

The other day while traveling in Ho Chi Minh City we came across this store that featured arts and crafts from around Vietnam.  In this shop was this:

Price $1,000

This picture costs $1,000 and is made up of thousands of small pieces of rare jewels.  Here is a picture of the small rubies and other stones that make up the picture.

Here is a list of the types of stones included.

Hue

Hue is the ancient capital of Vietnam.  In Hue you can visit the Citadel ( home of the king ) and the elaborate tombs of the monarchs.  Hue is known for their specialized delicacies that originated in the kings court.  The town is nice and a good change of pace from that of the bigger cities.

Here are some pictures of our visit to Hue.

Phong Nha

Phong Nha National Park is a beautiful spot to visit.  It is located in the Central Vietnamese Highlands.  It is noted for its cave and grotto systems.  In fact it is composed of 300 caves and grottoes.  This park is home to the biggest cave called Hang Sơn Đoòng.

Enjoy some pictures we took on our visit.

Cu Lao Cham Marine Park

Cu Lao Cham Marine Park is an island located off the central cost of Vietnam near Hoi An.  We booked a tour of the island.  The tour included a small walking tour of the small town on the island, lunch, snorkeling, and some time to relax on the beach.  It was very relaxing.

Here are some pictures.

Ba Na Hills

Ba Na Hills started in 1919 as a French resort.  The hills were filled with Banana trees.  So the foreigners called it banana hills which the locals shortened to Ba Na Hills.  The resort features the Guinness World Record for the longest single wire cable car system.  It also features a replica of an old French town and a theme park.

Here are some pictures.

Hoi An

The UNESCO World Heritage organization has described Hoi An as "an exceptionally well-preserved example of a South-East Asian trading port dating from the 15th to the 19th century. Its buildings and its street plan reflect the influences, both indigenous and foreign, that have combined to produce this unique heritage site."

In Hoi An you'll see examples of Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese culture and architecture. You come across small quaint roads and shops all accessible by bicycle. Hoi An is famous for their tailors and their lanterns. Even one of their bridges is featured on the Vietnames 20,000 Dong note.


We invite you to take a look. 

Da Nang

Da Nang is the largest city in central Vietnam.  It's known for its kind people and wonderful beaches called China Beach by the Americans.  We decided to take a trip and see Da Nang for ourselves.  Here is what we saw.

Thailand Trip

Thailand Trip

Itinerary

Bangkok (Day 1 - Day 3)

• Day One
• Travel
• Dentist
• Day Two
• Thai Grand Palace
• Blue Elephant Restaurant
• Shopping Mall
• Day Three
• Bethel
• Travel to Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai (Day 3 -  Day 10)

• Day Three
• Arrival at the airport
• Day Four
• Butterfly sanctuary
• Poo Poo Paper
• Tiger Kingdom
• Day Five
• Elephant Show and Ridding
• Day Six
• Winter Palace
• Hmong Village
• Day 7 - Day 9
• Thai Convention
• Day 10
• Travel Home

Pictures

If you can't see the slide show above click here.

Videos

Sweeping the grass

At the parks in Ho Chi Minh City they don't use lawn mowers. Instead they use a weed eater and then sweep the grass. 

Buffalo horn

Apparently this table is made with a Buffalo horn overlay. It was designed in Italy. What do you think?

Ho Chi Minh Flower Photos

Here are some more flower photos for you.

If you are having trouble viewing these pictures please click here.

Ice Delivery

How do you get your ice?  Here is a couple of pictures of a man delivering ice in Ho Chi Minh City.

Nha Trang

The city of Nha Trang is a famous beach / resort town in Vietnam.  After Da Lat we decided to spend a couple of relaxing days in here.  Our itinerary was: day one relax at their famous mineral springs / mud baths then dinner by the beach, day two snorkeling, day three head home.

Day One

We traveled to Nha Trang arriving about noon.  We had a nice lunch and headed off to the Mineral Springs / Mud Baths.  First you spend about 30 minutes in a mud bath.  After getting cleaned up you go into a heated mineral spring bath for as long as you like.  After that you're free to enjoy the heated and unheated mineral spring pools and heated mineral spring artificial waterfall.  After a relaxing afternoon we head off for seafood by the beach.  Then we stroll back to our hotel on the beach and saw these guys below creating their own fireworks show.  Enjoy the pictures.



If you can see the pictures above please click here.




Day Two

Day two started very early with My getting very sick from the seafood from the night before.  Let's just say there was very little sleep and we had to call off our snorkeling expedition.  She recovered after about 24 hours just in time for our 12 hour bus ride back home.

Da Lat Cowboys

As you would expect when you try to pronounce a name in another language it can come out sounding a little off. Because there are no words that end in s in Vietnamese they have a hard time pronouncing names such as Dallas. So they pronounce Dallas as Da Lat. In fact that's how they spell Dallas on their maps. (See below)

Well the interesting thing is that Vietnam also has a very famous city called Da Lat.  It is located in the mountains of Vietnam surrounded by pine trees.  It was founded by the French who want a place with cool weather so that they could escape the heat of the lower elevations.  The French brought with them things such as Strawberries, Artichokes, and Flowers.  Now Da Lat is well known for growing these things which can't be found in other areas of Vietnam.  So we decided to head on up there to see what all the fuss was about.  Here are some pictures of what we saw.

The Flowers

Da Lat is renowned for its flowers.  They have a whole large park just of flowers.  Here is a taste of what you can see here.

If you have a problem viewing this slide show click here.

Nature Scenes

If you have a problem viewing this slide show click here.

Crazy House

There is a famous house in Da Lat called the crazy house.  It is full of twists and turns.  Its architecture is supposed to imitate nature.  Each room has a different theme. 


If you have a problem viewing this slide show click here.

Coffee Chon

This is for all you coffee lovers out there.  The Vietnamese say one of the best coffee out there (it's also expensive) is Coffee Chon or Weasel Coffee.  They feed coffee beans to weasels then some time later they collect the beans wash and brew them for your drinking delight.  Sometimes we're glad we don't drink coffee. 


If you have a problem viewing this slide show click here.

Silk Factory


If you have a problem viewing this slide show click here.

Elephant Riding


If you have a problem viewing this slide show click here.



Da Lat Cowboys

Finally Da Lat also has horses.  So here is a picture of a couple Da Lat Cowboys.

Random Pictures

Here are some of the random things we've been up to.




Click here if you can't see the pictures.

Villa Royale -- Antiques, Collectibles, and Tea Room

The other day while out and about we ran across the Villa Royale -- Antiques, Collectibles, and Tea Room.  It was started by an Aussie man who has retired and likes to travel the world collecting antiques.  He brings them back to Vietnam to sell.  The whole bottom floor of his house / business is full of interesting items.  We thought we would share a few with you.




Click here if you have problems viewing the pictures.

Fruits

Tropical fruits may seem strange to us but they can be very tasty.


Click here if you are having problems viewing the pictures.

Animals

You never know what you're going to see in Vietnam.



Click here if you are having problems viewing these pictures.