Monday 8th November

My 'itinerary' for the day had me starting at 8am at the local Canada Service Centre, but I didn't actually wake-up until 7:55am! I wasn't dismayed though - the fact that I slept from midnight to then was a relief - my jet lag is easing.

The three must-haves for the day were to get my SIN (social insurance number); open a bank account; and set-up a Canadian telephone number. I was expecting a big line at the Canada Service Centre for the SIN, but I was greeted immediately and walked out with the SIN 15 minutes later (the card will be sent to the Whistler Post Office for me to pick up in 2 weeks).

Conveniently, across the road was the Royal Bank of Canada. I'd decided to set my account up with them because a) they had a branch in Whistler Village and b) they were the largest and most trusted in Canada. The building was very old and opulent - a 'concierge' greeted me and directed me into an office to meet with my account manager. As we started the meeting, she gave me an 'agenda' and pencil so I could write questions, notes, and comments throughout the meeting!! Setting up the bank account was no problem (I didn't even have to put any money into it), although I didn't get a credit card. As a temporary resident, I would need to give them the amount of money I wished my credit limit to be as a safeguard (i.e., if I wanted an $8000 limit, then I'd need to give them $8000 placed in a term deposit I couldn't touch).


Next, I boarded the sky-train again to a beauty salon in South Vancouver. This was the only place in the whole of Canada which sold Napoleon products, and I desperately needed some lip gloss. (SInce I have lots of allergies - surprising to some people, maybe - I have to use Napoleon lipgloss, as it's the only lipgloss I don't break out with, vaseline excluded.) They only had two options, saying they could order it in for me, but I took what they had.

Back in downtown Vancouver, I now needed to connect my phone with a local company. There were three main options: Bell, Telus and Rogers. Bell had crap customer service so I didn't bother with them, and Rogers made you sign-up to a 12 month contract unless you wanted pre-paid, in which case you couldn't get data (I wanted data options as I would use my iPhone for surfing the web). Telus were great - friendly and professional - with great options. Unfortunately,  I couldn't sign up for a post paid plan as I didn't have any Canadian issued ID, so I settled for a pre-paid option initially (and will apply for post paid later). This ensured I had a Canadian phone number, ability to call local numbers, and could surf the web. I stopped in at the nearby 7-11 to pick up an international calling card (4.5c/minute to Australia).

I called in at Starbucks to replenish my energy - I'd been given a free voucher there previously since they forgot my order - and then was back into Sears (department store) to pick-up the final things on my list. On the way home, I called in at a 'loonies and toonies' store (that's what they call their $1 and $2 coins) and bought a cheap striped bag to transport all of my new clothes to Whistler in. (I think I'm only allowed one bag on the bus tomorrow, but can pay for a second bag).

Phew - shopping complete! (Well, until I get to Whistler at least). But it's no rest for the wicked, as I had to do my laundry (first time I've done it in 3 months!).

Sunday 7th November

After watching the sunrise (as per my previous post) and breakfasting at the hostel, I caught the sky-train to the Metropolis at Metrotown mall, about 20 minutes away. The sky-train was interesting - as I mentioned before, there were no staff about - vending machines disbursed tickets, and a line on the ground demonstrated where the 'fee paying users' area was. Whilst on the train, I managed to catch a glimpse of Stanley Park and the waterfront - with all this shopping, there was no chance for any sightseeing!

The mall was MASSIVE, bigger than any mall in Australia with over 450 stores. I'd read that you should be prepared to spend the whole day there - and half of Vancouver seemed to as well. After yesterday's purchases, my list was a little narrower, but more specific. Whereas yesterday's had been more like 'jeans', 'tops', 'jumpers', today's was based around what the gaps were from yesterdays purchases. For example, I'd bought 2 pairs of jeans but no jumpers; and I'd bought the boyfriend blazer but didn't have a top to wear with it.

HIgh on my list was pyjamas. I'd researched the mall during my sleep-deprived night, and decided to start with Old Navy, a cheap unisex clothing store. Score: blue flannel pyjamas and a fluoro red top, as well as a hoodie, for under $60.

One thing high on my list was a 'pea coat', which reached just below my waist. It was the kind of thing you need if you were walking around the shops - you don't need a snow jacket; you don't want a winter woollen coat; and you want more than a jumper. But do you think I could find one? (Insert answer here: no!)

I found another hoodie at American Eagle - I'd actually tried it on yesterday but abandoned it, thinking I'd find others (I didn't). By the end of the day, with a few more items purchased, I found Forever 21, a massive clothing store. I'd visited this in Singapore, but the Singapore one was completely different. The clothes here were amazing, and sooo cheap!! I purchased a dark purple, metallic skirt and a luxurious gold print t-shirt for only $40 (for both), ticking off the 'nice outfit' requirement off my checklist.

I was so tempted to get a taxi back to the hostel but I reminded myself that I'm poor, and took the Metro home instead. Walking out on the nearby eating streets, I ended up at one of the burger places (I am not kidding, every second store is either a burger joint or Starbucks). The vegetarian burger was listed on the menu at $5.95 - not too bad I thought. "What would you like on it?", the server said. "What does it come with?" I replied. "Nothing - you select whatever you like to go on it.? By the time I added on the basics, the whole meal ended up being more than $18!! (Fries and 'pop' included).

I spent the remaining hours of the day (literally - I fell asleep bang on midnight) playing on the internet on my iPhone and writing lists - what to do tomorrow, how to get there, what was left to buy, where I needed to go in Whistler. Tomorrow was to be another busy day ...

Monday 8th November

Saturday 6th November

Of my three days in Vancouver, I have two week-end days and one week-day. The week-day will be dedicated to getting a SIN (Social Insurance Number), setting up a bank account and finding a phone plane, whilst my week-end would be dedicated to - SHOPPING!


I was supposed to have started work in Whistler on the 15th of November, which would have given me 10 days to acclimatise, shop, and set myself up, but I had been requested to start a week early, thus leaving me with only 3 days to achieve this all. Considering I have been in Asia for the last three months, I am not equipped for Canadian winter conditions at all! And, all of the 'essentials' (i.e. shampoo, conditioner, soap) have just run out, so I need to replenish them all!

The day started with breakfast at the hostel. The free buffet breakfast was luxurious and very American - bagels with cream cheese, toast, scones, etc. I had wholemeal toast (healthy) with cream cheese (not so healthy) - but hey, I'm in North America so I need to blend in! (Ok, I admit, I did take my vegemite down with me but I didn't use it!)

The shops in Vancouver open later than in Australia - 10am on a Saturday  - so I did a loop of Robson Street (the main shopping strip) whilst waiting for them to open, wearing in my new boots. There were some amazing stores - like a chocolate shop whose whole window display was different flavours of toffee apples! (Toffee apples dipped in chocolate with marshmallow and nuts, for example).

My first stop was Zara, the British store that is all over Asia yet hasn't found its way to Australia. I had a big list of things to buy, and unlike at home I couldn't dilly-dally about buying things (I never impulse buy normally). I'd told myself that if I liked it, and it was 'on the list', then buy it. (Ski clothes I'd buy in Whistler, using my staff discount, but I needed things like tights, socks, jeans, long sleeve tops, jumpers, a nice outfit, winter coat etc as well as nail polish, make-up and so on.)

At Zara, I purchased a puffy, knee length winter coat and a long sleeve cotton top. One annoying thing here is that the price shown is without tax. So you may think you're getting a bargain, but then add 12% on top of that! (A combined federal and local tax). Second stop was to Levis for some jeans. Now, I have not worn jeans in about 3 years. In fact, I don't even own a pair of long pants. For me, I don't feel feminine unless I'm wearing a skirt/dress with tights/stockings and heels. My body just isn't made for pants.

I'd read in Asia that Levis had a new concept in store - rather than define jeans by their size (i.e. 10, 12) and cut (bootcut, skinny), they also introduced a 'curve fit'. The Irish girl (also on a working holiday visa) who assisted me was brilliant. I told her exactly what I needed, and what my body shape was, and she grabbed me the styles I should try - and they all fit and looked good! I was soo worried about buying pants, so to buy two pairs of jeans in the first store I looked at was brilliant. To top it off, they were cheap - costing me $150 for the two pairs, not bad for Levis).

At American Eagle Outfitters, I scored a boyfriend blazer, long and black (as opposed to the one I had made, which was silver and short). It looked great with the dress I had on, and I figured I could wear it with a pair of jeans as well for dressier occasions.

Along Robson Street I continued (OPI nail polish found - in Australia it's $20 a bottle, here less than $10 - and I even got a top and base coat at 2-1!) until I got to the Pacific Centre, where I'd found Nine West the previous evening. I took a pitstop for lunch (tacos - Mexican food is everywhere!) before continuing on. I found a great department store called "The Bay", where I scored the make-up I desperately required. They had a great department full of Canadian winter clothes (i.e., supporter clothes for the Winter Olympics), including the famous red gloves. I was so tempted to buy things but I had to concentrate on the task at hand!

After almost 7 hours of shopping (when you HAVE to buy clothes, you force yourself to try on anything that looks good - and even stuff that doesn't!), my weary feet dragged themselves back to the hostel, where I promptly fell asleep at 5pm. I didn't mean to, but I was soooo tired - and of course, I woke up at midnight and couldn't get back to sleep. Daylight saving ended at 2am, so I lived through that hour twice, eventually getting back to sleep at 2:30am. I awoke again at 4:30am and that was it - I listened to the person in the room next to me snoring and watched the sunrise (breakfast wasn't until 8am and the shops didn't open until 11am, so I had hours to kill!)

One interesting thing about my room: I share an ensuite. To use it, I unlock the door on my side, enter the bathroom, and lock the door on their side (then, vice versa on the way out). Only a toilet and shower is in there - sink and mirror are located in my room. Odd concept!

Saturday 30th October

After almost 12 hours in an 80cm space, I was glad when the bus finally pulled into Nha Trang bus station (not before it pulled in for petrol ... 1km from the bus station!)

The rain was pouring down but somehow, as everyone else sheltered in the roadside station, I managed to flag down a Mailinh taxi and went straight out to Diamond Bay Resort, home of the 2008 Miss Universe pageant, where I was to meet Kym, Debbie, Donna and Julie from Moree, as we had arranged in Hoi An.

Arriving at the resort at 7am, I was cautious about calling them up so early, but as Kym had said, she was an early riser and was well awake when I knocked on their door. I dropped my bag and showered, and then they managed to get me into the breakfast buffet by using one of their breakfast tickets for tomorrow (I ... ahem ... altered the date on the coupon).

They were due to leave at 1:30pm for their 3:55 flight, so we hade a few hours to kill after breakfast. As the rain was pouring down, there wasn't a lot we could do, so the ladies all retired to their rooms whilst I hit up the gym. I almost had to swim to the pool - the water was literally up to my knees, and of course my running shoes (which have a mesh front) were absolutely soaked, so I ended up doing weights and strength work barefoot!

We all had lunch in the restaurant - about the only two places accessible in the resort were our rooms and the restaurant, situated in the same building as the lobby - and then we got the bad news: we were stranded. The road to Nha Trang was flooded, the airport was closed, the train tracks were flooded and the buses were stranded. I had planned to leave to Ho Chi Minh City on a lunchtime train tomorrow, but on hearing that the tracks were flooded decided to purchase a flight first thing Monday morning (there were none left on Sunday). The ladies were stuck - our afternoon revolved around calling the airport and airlines to see if they were re-opening, but it was to no avail. They weren't going anywhere that night - but neither could I!

So, after travelling to Nha Trang to take up their offer of a free room, they all ended up staying in the resort for the night they'd paid for - so I bunked down with Kym in one of the double beds. The resort was very helpful though, offering all of the guests a free dinner due to us not being able to get out. I was starting to think it wasn't too bad - free breakfast and dinner, internet, water, a gym - what else could you ask for? (Provided I could get out on Monday!)

Friday 5th November

My biggest travel day so far started with a 5:30am wake-up call - well, actually it started even before that, because I was up at 5:15am. Effectively, this was 4:15am, as there was a one hour time difference between Malaysia and Vietnam which wasn't in my favour.

The Tune Hotel was at LCCT, the low cost carrier terminal of KL airport, but my flight to Hong Kong left from the main termainl at KLIA so I took a shuttle bus from the airport, taking about 25 minutes. I was one of the first to check-in, managing to score a window seat, and then filled in my time (surprisingly, quite easily), at the airport.

One thing I'd discovered last night whilst ensuring I had all of the required documentation for entry into Canada (Letter of Introduction for working holiday visa; proof of insurance; proof of funds) was that I'd printed out the wrong Letter of Introduction. When the Canadian consulate had first sent the letter, they'd put the wrong date on it, stating I must enter the country before Feb 5 2010 (this was actually the date they'd issued it - it should have read Feb 5 2011). They'd corrected it when I'd prompted them, but when I printed my documentation I must have given Mum and Dad the one with the correct date, and the other one to myself. I was fairly sure it wouldn't be a problem - hey, it would be in their system and they could tell by the issue date - but I didn't want to take any chances. But - where do you find a printer in an airport?

The only options were business centres, generally located within airline lounges. For economy class plebs like myself, the rates for entry to these lounges were sky-high - the 'budget' one I found was almost $40 for 1 hour's entry! Luckily, I found an alternative - there was a transit-hotel located within the international terminal, and I was able to use their business centre to print the correct letter for a much more reasonable rate (and even check the latest gossip on Perez Hilton whilst I was there!)

I've said this before, but I hate playing the 'how much money do I need at the airport' game. That morning, I'd known I'd need money for the bus, breakfast and a printer; optionally, I'd also like a magazine and chocolate, should money be left over. With the first three must-haves out of the way, I was left with exactly the right amount of money to buy two blocks of Aussie Cadbury chocolate, duty-free (hey, who knows when I will next see it??)

My flight to Hong Kong was with Cathay Pacific, the first time I'd flown with them (similarly, my next flight was with Air Canada, also an unknown quantity to me). The seats had plenty of leg room (I had Aussie seat mates) and an entertainment console in the back of the chair in front - having flown budget carriers for so long, I'd forgotten these existed! The flight passed quickly as I watched Salt (even though I hate Angelina Jolie, I must give her props - it was a great film) and half of some stupid movie with Paul Rudd, Dinner for Schmucks.

On arrival at Hong Kong airport, I made my way to the transfer desk of Air Canada to pick-up my boarding pass for the flight (my bags having already been checked through from KL). Unfortunately, my travel agent in Australia had failed to book the vegetarian meal for me, and I was told they needed a minimum 24 hours notice, so I would be stuck with a meat dish onboard!

Hong Kong airport brought back memories for me, having been the first international airport I'd ever flown into back in 2001 on my trip to Europe. Entering through the transfer area, you are deposited into an area with a handful of shops, and I was gobsmacked - I was sure there were heaps more shops than this! Eventually, I realised the 'main' shopping hall was about 300m away (yep, the airport is so big you can't even tell where the main bit is!) and headed for it. I had five hours to kill, so I was going to hit every shop there!

The shopping at the airport was great - all of the luxury brands, like Prada and Gucci; as well as numerous bookstores (I tried and failed to find a British Columbia guidebook), souvenir stores and make-up brands. The food selection is quite ordinary, though I was happy to see there were a number of "watch this space" areas for places like McDonalds, Ben and Jerry and a pizza parlour. (I remember the first time I came, I didn't have any Hong Kong money so I had to find somewhere to eat that took credit card - I ended up eating a hamburger with fries for $25!)

There are numerous free internet terminals situated around the terminal, so I made use of one for a while, and then waited to board the plane. Looking outside the window, I was worried we wouldn't be able to take off - it was cloudy and raining, with low visibility. I really couldn't afford any delays arriving into Canada!

As the flight departure time drew close, I held my breath that I would have no one seated next to me. Unfortuately, just before take-off two people ran down the aisle and stopped at my aisle - isn't that always the way! I was a little wary about flying Air Canada, as I'd heard some not so good stories about it, but it was fine. Similar to Cathay Pacific, it had inflight entertainment (this time on demand), and we were served three meals throughout the flight. One key point of difference between Asian/Australian airlines and North American airlines are the flight attendants - in Asia, they're all young and pretty; whereas for North America, they're quite old. (I'd first noticed this on a United Airlines flight to Los Angeles - the flight attendants were overweight and wore Texas bouffants, chewing gum whilst they chatted to their colleagues). There were 13 flight attendants and 4 pilots on-board - this sounded like a lot, but I guess it was a 12 hour flight.

After a 3.5 hour flight, 12 hour flight, and 5 hour stop-over, I finally set foot into Canada at 2pm, a mere 4.5 hours after I'd left KL (yep, there is a 15 hour time difference between the 2). I joined the immigration line for new students and workers to receive my working holiday visa (the letter of introduction needs to be produced to the customs officials, along with proof of funds and insurance). The customs officials were all young and good-looking but very serious about their jobs - I got the boss, who was very friendly, asking lots of questions about my trip in Asia. (I'm never sure if they're just being friendly or trying to suss me out - I'd like to think the first!)

One of the things that first struck me about Canada was how polite everyone is. Whenever you say "thank-you", they always reply, "welcome" (yep, welcome, not 'you're welcome'). Think about that in Australia - we either don't reply or we'll say, 'no worries' or 'no problem'. When I'd first approached an official at the airport to ask where immigration was, he asked me to wait a moment whilst he assisted someone else. When he came back, someone else came up to him to ask for directions, but he asked them to wait a moment as I was first. Simple things!

I noticed this more and more as I entered Vancouver city, and over the coming few days - it's almost like they're too good! Another example: their (driverless) sky-train has no staff at the stations or on-board - it's just expected that you'll buy a ticket.

Tipping my taxi-driver (aah, tipping, one negative to Canada), I checked into my room at the HI Downtown hostel. I'd make sure to book a single room, as I knew that with sleep deprivation from the flight, jet-lag, and the numerous shopping I would do, I would need a room to myself. The easiest way to get over jet-lag is to start adhering to the new destination's timezone immediately, so I headed out into the city straightaway.


It's no wonder Vancouver is consistently voted the most liveable city in the world (along with Melbourne). The streets were wide and clean; the autumnal leaves were falling form the sky; electric buses were zooming down the clean streets. I was in love!!

I was glad to find that I was a short walk away from the two main shopping areas: Pacific Centre (mall) and Robson Street. I wanted to leave the shopping until the next day, but one stop I did make was to Nine West, which I was delighted to find in the Pacific Centre. As I'd arrived into the country wearing a pair of jelly shoes, I thought it appropriate to be my first stop! $450 and 3 pairs of shoes later (a pair of heels, boots, and flats - all occasions covered), at least I had one item ticked off my list.

As I walked down the streets, I felt like I was in a movie. You know how you watch movies and they're shopping at Sears or Walmart; eating those monster burgers at a diner; driving Chevrolet pick-ups - well, that was real-life here! And, despite us both speaking the same language, the slang terms definitely have an impact. For example, my burger needed "ketchup" (not tomato sauce) and my softdrink choice was actually my "pop" of choice. Giving my date of birth was '1/12/83', not '12/1/83'. All these little nuances!

Across the road from the hostel was a 24-hour 'drugstore' (like a massive Priceline/chemist), and I stocked up on toiletries that I would need in Canada. Yes, I could get them in Whistler, but I know they're all expensive, so I was really saving money. I loved looking at all their food (frozen sandwiches!) and souvenirs (seriously, they have the best souvenirs ever - heaps of Winter Olympic merchandise; snowdomes, flag paraphernalia). As with everywhere else so far, all of the shop assistants are super-friendly, unlike Australia and the UK - you're always greeted when you enter; and when you ask for assistance, it's like you're the one doing them the favour!

Despite the numerous eating options around, I grabbed an easy dinner from Subway (I think because there were just too many options - so much Mexican food and so many burger joints!) and retired to my room, waiting for the jetlag to kick in ... which it did ... thank goodness the hostel has free wireless, because I was on my iPhone surfing the web for hours that night!

Thursday 4th November

Final day in Asia (I'm not counting tomorrow, as that's simply my flight from KL). I was awoken at 5am with a phone call from home - as I had spoken to my parents for a week (through a combination of them not being able to get a hold of me and vice versa), they had started to get worried and thought I must have already been in Vancouver (I guess ... which explains the time of the call).

I enjoyed a bit of a sleep in after that, packed my bags, and then headed down to the Post Office to post a parcel home. I was worried about how much money I had in my wallet, and the parcel ended up taking most of it - 611,000 dong (such a stupid amount!)

Months ago, I had read an article about a chocolate cafe in Ho Chi Minh, and had ripped the article out of the magazine, intending to find it once I arrived. I decided to treat myself to the cafe as a prize for my last day of travelling, however no taxi drivers knew where it was! (I think the world was trying to tell me something ....) I ended up at Gloria Jeans with a frappucino, which was nowhere near as nice as a Starbucks frappucino (there are no Starbucks in Vietnam, India, or Cambodia, so it had been a while since I'd had one).

Knowing I had only a little money left in my wallet, I walked for 40 minutes back to my hotel, past the Reunification Palace and to Bu Vien, the backpacker street, where I surfed the web for an hour. WIth another hour to kill, I had lunch at a fancy looking restaurant - fancy looking perhaps, but cheap indeed! A tasty toasted veggie baguette was my last meal in Vietnam, before I returned to the hotel for my bags and flagged down a taxi to the airport. (I had no trouble packing everything, I still had heaps of room left in my daybag!)

My flight to KL was uneventful, and a quick 2 hours. I cleared customs in Malaysia for about the sixth time this year (1 - work trip to KL; 2 - first entry to Borneo; 3 - entry from Singapore; 4 - flight to India; 5 - flight to Vietnam). I'm starting to wonder if they think I'm a drug mule, as my stays last generally less than 24 hours, and in some cases less than 2 hours!

I'd booked a night at the Tune Hotel (cheap AirAsia hotel), which was about a 15 minute walk from the arrivals hall. One thing that offsets the cost of the hotel room is floor sponsors - i.e., McDonalds might sponsor your floor, so whilst trying to fall asleep you stare at a picture of a Big Mac. This hotel was way better than that in KL city, even having free internet (albeit limited to an hour), and a few restaurants and a 7-11 within its courtyard. The vibe was fun - obviously, everyone was just in transit here.

I walked back to the airport to grab some dinner (kaya toast at OldTown Coffee - pathetic service and pathetic food!); use the free wireless; exchange my money (whilst at the airport in Vietnam, I'd exchanged my remaining dong for US dollars, as I'd been told that Vietnamese dong aren't excepted anywhere outside Vietnam); and buy some Aussie Cadbury chocolate. Returning to the hotel, I only read a chapter of my book before falling asleep ... I knew tomorrow would be a big day, and an early start at that!

Wednesday 3rd November

Tuesday 2nd November

Monday 1st November

I was quite excited when I woke up, as I was off to Ho Chi Minh City, my final destination before heading to Vancouver. Mostly I was excited about finally getting to a big city with some international fashion shops, in the hope I could buy some winter clothes!

I was at the breakfast buffet as soon as it opened, and as it was still too early to depart for the airport I went for a wander around the resort grounds, where the rainwater had finally started to subcede. (I'm so glad I bought my jellies - they have to be the most versatile shoes ever, especially in the rain!) The Moree ladies had failed in their attempt to find the "Miss Australia suite" (each suite had the name of the Miss Universe contestant who had stayed in it during the competition), and I was determined to find it. Heading down to the pool (beautiful and absolutely monstrous, apparently it's one of the largest in Asia), it ended up being easy to find - facing the beach and nestled near Miss USA and Miss Venezuela (the winner of the 2008 Miss Universe pageant). I was just hoping that no one was staying in it, as I walked up to the suite and started snapping photos - "I promise, I'm not a stalker!"

The shuttle bus arrived to take me to the airport, and though the rain was a lot lighter than the previous days, the roads still showed signs of flooding. One place in particularly was quite hairy, as the rocks that had been nestled into the mountainside had fallen, lying across the road - one boulder would have been several tonne at least, so it's lucky that no cars had been driving past at the time it fell.

The plane was delayed in taking off as the pilot (an Aussie - they all seem to be Aussie pilots around here!) advised that the small airport did not have the safety equipment (fog lights?) necessary for planes to take off in rainy weather. Luckily, it was only a short delay - I was just glad to be getting out of Nha Trang at all!

Arriving into Ho Chi Minh City, I took a metered taxi to my hotel, Green Suites in District 1 (the core of the city). It was located right next to 'Bu Vien', which is the Vietnam equivalent of Thailand's Khao San Road. I had heard mixed reports about the city: some said that the further south you went, the better it was; whereas others said that Ho Chi Minh was dirty, polluted, and had too much traffic (after all, it was a city of 10 million people with more than 5 million registered motorbikes).

I headed out to the shops as soon as I dropped my bag, the first stop being Vincom Towers. This was the biggest and glitziest mall in the whole of Vietnam, with stores including Nine West, Emporio Armani and Jimmy Choo. Unfortunately, Nine West in HCMC, like Hanoi, only has shoes up to a size 8, and none of the other clothes stores had winter clothes (or any that I liked, anyway), so I left empty handed. (I also experienced a mis-understanding here about what Vegetarianism means - it does not mean that seafood is ok!)

I dropped into Ben Thanh market on the way back, which was the largest tourist market in HCMC. The Moree ladies had told me to buy perfume here and bags at An Dong, and I didn't want to make any purchases until I'd checked out An Dong so I headed back to my hotel empty-handed for a rest. I had planned to head out to An Dong that night, but the receptionist advised me that the market didn't stay open late, so I simply had dinner and an early night watching How I Met Your Mother (all repeats, but it's such a funny show!)

Sunday 31st October

When I woke on Sunday morning, I wasn't sure if it was the air-conditioning or rain that I could hear. Looking outside through the window, it was rain - albeit lighter than yesterday. That wasn't to last long though, as the heavens really opened again. We waded through ankle deep water on the way to breakfast, where Kym again managed to get me in free.

Since it was still so wet, I decided it was safest to stay at the resort. I found a cheap rate online and asked if the hotel would match. They advised me to book online, which is stupid - they're effectively earning less because they have to pay out commission to the website! Although it was more expensive than my normal hotels, I figured I'd had (almost) no expenses the previous day and the rate was all inclusive of meals, Internet, airport transfer etc. Another lot of Aussies were negotiating at the reception so I jumped online and booked their rooms for them too - they were so happy at the 50% saving I scored them, and told me to find them at lunch/dinner if I wanted some company.

I've never seen somewhere so wet, and that was just in the resort. Here I was, staying in a beautiful resort with tennis courts, huge pool etc, and I couldn't make use of the facilities because they were underwater! People we had spoken to the previous day had been in Nha Trang city but had returned because they were worried about being stranded (rightly so, as the road soon flooded). They told us how they had seen rats and maggots floating down the street, and showed us pictures of the roads, motorbikes near submerged. I also heard a tourist bus, similar to the one I had travelled in the previous day, had been submerged, with the tourists inside feared dead. Scary!

The ladies from Moree decided that rather than continually calling the airport and airline, their best bet was to head to the airport, as they would be more likely to get on a flight to Ho Chi Minh City by 'being in their face'. We'd confirmed that the airport was open, but no one at the hotel could confirm when they could fly out - they were waitlisted for a 3:55pm flight. At 11am, Kim, Debbie, Donna and Julie all departed to the airport, leaving me on my own - it had been so nice, 'stalking' them over Vietnam! The Aussies I've met in India and Vietnam have really made my travelling experience great.

I needed to fill in the rest of the day, in a resort I couldn't get out of yet couldn't really make use of. I ended up at the spa, getting my hair straightened again (what am I going to do when it costs more than $1 to have my hair done?), before vegging out in my room, intermittently falling asleep.

In the evening, with dinner provided by the resort again, I headed to the buffet, where I had dinner with the Aussie group that I had scored the cheap hotel rooms for. They were all in their late 40s/early 50s (2 couples), who had been at a tyre convention in Cambodia and were now holidaying in Southern Vietnam. They were lovely as well, and I had a nice chat to them during dinner.

I spent a while on the internet once I finished dinner (you may have noticed this blog is quite out-of-date, thanks to the intermitten internet access I can get here. Facebook is almost never available, and I can't upload photos because I lost my camera cable somewhere ....) before heading to bed, for another early start the next morning.

Friday 29th October

After last night's beautiful dinner with the Aussies, I decided to skip the breakfast at my hotel for breakfast there instead, ordering both French toast and porridge. (I wasn't being greedy, I just couldn't decide which one I wanted so I ordered both and ate half serves!)

Packing my bag this morning was fun. I did fit everything in reasonably easily, although some of the new clothes are in my daypack, rather than my big backpack (I could change this if I took the clothes out of their plastic seals, but I'd like to keen them in pristine condition until there is a reason to change them ... i.e. buying more clothes in Ho Chi Minh City. By the time I get to Canada, I will definitely need to buy a new bag!)

Checking out of the hotel at 10:30, I had 7 hours to kill before the sleeper bus to Nha Trang. I spent the first hour and a half on the internet, updating my blog and checking the usual suspect websites (i.e. PerezHilton).  I had an early lunch - the most beautiful egg and lettuce sandwich ever, made on thick crusty toasted bread - and then went and hired a bike. Everyone in Hoi An rides either a motorbike or a bicycle, and the main quadrant of town is even blocked off from motor vehicles. I wanted to join in the action, and ride to the nearby beach, about 5km away. The bike I hired was bright green and had a basket - I actually swapped the bike I was initially given for one with a basket!!

I didn't have a dog to put in the basket, only my bag and water, but off I rode into the sunset ... (ok, not really, just down the pothole and mud strewn roads of Hoi An). Once you got out of the city - which didn't take long - the scenery was gorgeous, with rice paddy fields being tilled by men and their water buffalos. Luckily the traffic around here isn't bad, and I managed to ride on the right hand side of the road without any issues - I need to get used to that for Canada!

The beach wasn't too far away, although as I approached it I heard a shrill whistle, waving me off the bike and into a 'parking lot'. (I'm not sure if I got played here - I was made pay 5000 dong to park my bike and then walk to the beach). The beach was very choppy - the weather has been bad here all week - and the sand was blowing hundreds of metres back onto the road.

Back on my bike, I rode into the town, onto the back streets and across the river. It's such a fun way to get around the town, and it makes you feel like such a local (and a little kid - when was the last time you rode on a bike with a basket?)

I deposited my bike back at the bike rental shop and decided to kill an hour of the remaining three hours left to the bus by getting a massage. Bad move - I don't know why I persist on getting massages, I think it's just because a) they're cheap and b) they're considered a luxury at home. I had a 60 minute herbal massage - very similar to a stone massage except with herbal compresses - and the young Vietnamese girl had a fun time scalding and pummelling my body into submission.

'Dinner' was next (even though it was only 4:30pm) - I didn't trust the roadside diners the bus would likely pull up at on the way to Nha Trang, so I wanted to make sure I had a hearty meal (and a few snacks in my daypack). The restaurant was really funky, and had a poster with the saying, "Google knows what you did last summer" in the style of the movie poster for 'I Know What You Did Last Summer', but with Google in the Google logo. Photography was prohibited else I would have taken a photo - I'd love a copy of it for my apartment! (Wherever that ends up being next).

I then returned to the guesthouse to wait for the bus pick-up. I was told the bus would leave at 6pm, but at 6pm I was 'picked-up' by a representative of the bus company, who accompanied me across the road to the bus office. I waited there for about 45 minutes before the sleeper bus finally arrived, and I piled on with the other backpackers and tourists.

How do I explain the sleeper bus to you ... imagine a bus, with three aisles of bunk beds. The back of the bus also consists of two levels of beds, except that instead of having individual bunks, it consists of five beds joined together. Each bed is tailored to the size of a standard Vietnamese person, despite these buses being predominantly used by Westerners. The beds are 80cm in width, and about 2m in length. This isn't a lie-flat 2m though - there is about 1m of horizontal space for your legs, and the remaining 2m is on an angle for your back to rest on. You soon realise 1m isn't enough room for your legs, so your feet end up hanging over onto the front of the bunk in front of you.

There is no room for your bag - you must nurse this either on top of your body, or sleep with your legs on top of it. Your shoes must be removed and placed in a plastic bag, rested in the same way. A small pillow is provided, along with a blanket, for some warmth and comfort, but sleeping for 12 hours on a bed which isn't wide enough to turn negates that comfort. (As you can imagine, I became very good friends with the German guy sleeping next to me - 80cm is a miniscule width!)

The 12 hour bus ride had only just departed when it made its first pit-stop at a local diner. I had decided I wasn't going to drink or eat anything on the bus because I didn't want to have to go to the bathroom (public bathrooms over here are disgusting!), and instead played my iPod, trying to block out the constant sound of the bus' horn. Vietnamese roads are also quite bumpy, and the suspension on the bus wasn't to Western standards, so the bus ride was bumpy to say the least. But, it was something I had wanted to experience (and now that I have, I see no reason in having to repeat the experience any time soon!)

Thursday 28th October

Now that my clothes are finished, I have two days in which to fill in before leaving for Nha Trang. Today I decided to head to Danang, the town in which I'd flown into. Finishing breakfast (the hotel had a good set-up - you could order any breakfast item and any drink off the menu, and it was included in the room tariff), I used the hotel car to go into Danang city.

I'd researched Danang the previous night using the hotel's wi-fi on my iPhone, and it didn't seem to be an interesting place (Abi had also previously told me this). All I could find of interest (well, to me at least), was the Big C shopping centre, and a few main streets which sounded promising.

That wasn't to be. I had fun in Big C, exploring their toiletries section - Vaseline for 50c? Clean and Clear moisturisor for 50c? (I stocked up, knowing this will save me money in the long run!) I then proceeded to walk the main streets of Danang, along to the dirty river and eventually ending up at a hairdresser salon. Through a great game of charades, the hairdressers worked out that I wanted my hair straightened. What a fun experience - I had a hairdresser either side of me, straightening each side of my hair; whilst the rest of the salon stood around and watched. (I was a little off the beaten path - maybe they hadn't seen too many Westerners, particularly with blonde hair as they touched it in amazement!) The grand total was 20,000 dong - $1!

During my research the previous night I'd also found a movie theatre that showed films in English (not just with sub-titles), so I watched 'Wall Street 2' for less than $3. What a great movie! I walked out totally in love with Shia LaBoeuf - no wonder his work is applauded!

I tried to find a cafe I'd both been told about by a local Vietnamese guy and read about in the Lonely Planet, which was a bakery/cafe run by deaf students. Unfortunately, I was unable to find it, so I took a taxi back to my hotel.

After a brief respite, I headed into Hoi An town, determined to take some photos of the heritage-listed town. I've barely taken any photos in Vietnam - it feels more like an experience than a group of attractions, and it's been the people that have made this trip bareable as I haven't really enjoyed the country - it's definitely been the best country to find people to talk with!

Continuing this trend, as I walked into Hoi An town I bumped into Kym, Julie, Donna and Debbie, the four ladies who I'd initially met in Sapa and then again on the flight to Hoi An. They invited me to join them for dinner, but first had a few pit-stops to make. The first was to a jewellery store, where they seemed to have purchased half of the store - and I could see why. The jewellery was not only beautiful and cheap, but it could also be either customised or custom-made to your specifications. They were supposed to be picking up some customised items, but couldn't resist purchasing a few more items.

They had spent most of their time on the 'east' side of the town, whereas I had spent my time in the 'west', so they weaved through a number of streets and called into shops I hadn't come across, before we arrived at the restaurant for dinner. The restaurant was owned by the same person who owned the jewellery store, and the ladies were welcomed warmly by the staff - they were the kind of people who would talk to anyone, and would become friends with everyone in an instance!

The food was beautiful, the setting was great and the company fantastic - we had a great evening. They were booked on a flight to Nha Trang the next morning, where they'd booked two nights at the Diamond Bay Resort, which hosted the 2008 Miss Universe pageant. However, as onward flights to Ho Chi Minh City were booked out on Sunday, they now had to leave Nha Trang on Saturday, which meant they couldn't use their second night at the resort, which was fully paid for and non-refundable. Was I interested in taking up the room?, they asked.

I accepted the offer, and arranged to meet them at the resort on Saturday morning once I'd arrived on the sleeper bus (I was worried about arriving too early, given the sleeper bus was scheduled to arrive at 6:00am, but Kym assured me she'd be awake). With that sorted, and dinner finished, we went our separate ways - them to pick-up their last items of clothing, and myself to snap a few more photos.

Tuesday 26th October
Wednesday 27th October

This post will take on a different fashion from my normal blogs, because these two days consisted of one thing: clothes fittings! Rather than account my hour by hour fittings, I thought I would write about my experience at each tailor, and the clothes I ended up with.

Yaly Couture
Advertising for Yaly Couture confronts you as soon as you enter the airport in Danang, and follows you down the road to Hoi An. Along with Ao Dong Silk, Yaly Couture is the premium tailor in Hoi An. This was my first stop, and armed with a list of clothes I wanted made, I was greeted by Fairy, my own personal assistant.

After showing her my pictures, talking through ideas and examining the look books (each tailor has a heap of magazines and lookbooks from which you can draw inspiration), I settled on four items to be made: a navy silk dress, similar to one I have in Australia; a tulip work dress; a black silk jacket with 80s style sleeves; and a replica of the flannellete dress I own, in a red and blue flannel.

At the first fitting that afternoon, I was a little alarmed. Each item was quite oversized (although, Fairy reassured me this was only because it was a first fitting - the clothes would be cut to size after the tailor had viewed the product on me, and as she said it was better for it to be too big than too small! I don't think there was any reason for me to be alarmed, it wasn't that they were poorly made, more just that I wasn't familiar with the clothes making process). The tulip dress was the one thing that was concerning me - I'd asked for it to be made with cap sleeves, which looked repulsive (I take the blame for this), and the silk dress made me look like a 10 tonne Tessa. 

One of the notable differences with Yaly is that at each fitting, the tailor of your item personally comes into your dressing room to examine the fit, and talk through any problems or concerns you have. (At all of the other tailors, the shop assistant examines the fit, and then sends it back to the sewing room). Having discussed my concerns with the tailors, they scurried back to work, and I returned the next morning for another fitting.

This time, my fears were allayed - the tailors had made every change required, and had now sorted out the hem lengths so I looked like the 27 year old that I am, rather than a frumpy Grandma. The flannellete dress was near perfect (I wanted one minor change to nip in the waist) whilst the silk dress was perfect; the jacket required a slight modification in the back for more space, and the tulip dress looked way better now that the sleeves were gone and the hem was shorter.

One more fitting in the afternoon and I was happy with all of the clothes. However, Fairy wouldn't let me leave with the clothes - she said she would perform a quality assessment of the clothes, and once she was satisfied with them she would have them couriered over to my hotel (and three hours later, they arrived at my hotel, freshly pressed and individually wrapped).

Judgment: Expensive, but you get what you pay for. Quality control, large range of fabric and look books, and professional staff ensure you leave a happy customer. Quality of tailoring is supreme.

Mr Xe
Mr Xe had good feedback on TripAdvisor. Run by an eccentric, short Vietnamese man, it was my second stop after Yaly Couture. Reviews I had read said it was best to have business clothes made here, not casual clothes, so I decided to have one business shirt made (my thought being, if the shirt turned out well I could always go back for more). At $15, I thought it was a bargain, especially as the fabric felt beautiful (rich woven cotton, as opposed to thin cotton).

After my measurements were taken, I was told to come back later that afternoon for a first fitting. The shirt was a disaster - way too small in the back for me - so it was sent back to the workshop. It required three more fittings on the next day to get it to fit me properly - they actually made a brand new shirt in the end, with more material. The eccentric Mr Xe ensured he sat in on all of the fittings as well, and the shirt was only allowed home with me once he gave the final sign-off. I'm not sure if I will end up wearing it - they can't seem to do women's shirts right, but at $15 it's worth having in the cupboard, even if it's just worn a few times or under dresses.

Judgment: Give women's business shirts a miss, but possibly worth persisting for other types of work clothes.

Thu Thuy
This tailor has good reviews on TripAdvisor, and had several locations in town. I stopped in at the first, a small front only store, and decided to have a business shirt made at a cost of $27. Similar to Mr Xe though, the fit was terrible. After 4 fittings, I gave up on it, asking if I could cancel the order. This meant I lost my deposit, but it was better than paying the full amount for a shirt I knew I would never wear.

Across the road was their main shopfront. You walked through the street facing store and at the rear was a large fabric and fitting room. The only items really left on my list, now that I'd decided to skip the Burberry jacket, were some pants for Whistler. Now I NEVER wear pants, because a) they don't suit my body and b) I don't feel feminine in them. My assistant wore a slightly surly expression on her face but she was absolutely brilliant - you know when people are really brilliant so they get bored when they're not being stretched? This was her. She advised me that no one in Hoi An had the right machine to make jeans, and advised getting them off the shelf once I got to Canada, but helped me pick out a great pair of black pants, which will be my workwear in Canada. They were made of a slightly shiny material, with some excess room around the crotch - a style that's very in at the moment (very tailored, not like a pair of harem pants!)

At the first fitting, I was very excited - finally a nice pair of pants I'd actually wear! I asked for slightly more room in the legs and for the waist to be brought in, and at the second fitting it was perfect.

Judgment: Putting the business shirt fiasco aside, they were very professional (even giving me free bottles of water as I waited) and stylish, and knew exactly how to fit and flatter. Slightly expensive but worth it.


Thanh Thien
On my list of 'wanted' clothes, I had jotted down a boyfriend blazer. However, none of the look books had good examples and I didn't really want to explain what a boyfriend blazer was. Walking down LeLoi street, I noticed a boyfriend blazer hanging in the window of this tailors, made in an expensive grey sheeny material, similar to that in which expensive suits are made out of. I asked to try it on and instantly fell in love, asking the price - it was only $30!
I was quickly measured up and told to come back later that afternoon. When I returned and tried on the custom product, it was absolutely perfect - not one alteration required. Since the jacket was made so perfectly, I decided to get a skirt made in the same material for only $25 - the skirt and jacket could act as a suit, or I could wear the boyfriend blazer with jeans or pants for a night out. The skirt required several alterations to fit perfectly - mostly because I designed it 'from my head' as a tulip skirt, but when I saw the product I realised it was a little too 'tulipy' and need to be streamlined.

Judgment: Not initially on the list, but this tailor turned out to be brilliant. Whenever they have something to copy, they can replicate it perfectly, as was the case with the jacket.

Shoe Shop
I hadn't intended on having shoes made, as the reviews I had read online gave only bad feedback. The myriad of shoemakers in town seemed to make the same types of shoes, all made from a cheap type of leather but customised to a design of your choice (predominantly sandals, thongs, or men's work shoes). This wasn't the type of place where you could bring your Nine West suede pumps and have them replicated.

Late on Tuesday night, I was walking through the city when a young girl called me into her shoe store. I obliged, intending to just have a quick look, but she had me down on a chair with a catalog in my hand before I could object. "So pretty," she kept remarking, as she stroked my blonde hair (everyone loves blonde hair and blue eyes it seems - none of them can believe my eye colour is real). She told me how the store was a family business, and that she worked everyday from 8:30am to 10pm, and how slow her day had been. By the end of this, I couldn't bare to walk out of the shop, and ended up ordering a pair of lace-up sandals made in a bright blue python-skin material.

Returning on Wednesday to pick them up, they were a disaster. I couldn't fit my feet into the shoes, and the material on the side was all crinkled - not a good look at all. "No problem, we fix, you return at 8pm," my friend told me.

Returning at 8pm, the shoes were still a disaster - in fact, they were possibly even worse than they had been that morning. I couldn't bare sending them back again - I decided to accept the fact that they were a disaster and I wouldn't wear them, and accepted them with a fake smile on my face. As soon as I returned to my hotel, the shoes were put by the bin (and I told the hotel manager he could give them to the staff).

Judgment: Friendly staff but terrible shoes - give shoe-making a miss in Hoi An.


Overall:
Sandals                 $20   Epic fail           Shoe Store
Business shirt      $15   Acceptable      Mr Xe
Silk dress             $65   Great               Yaly
Tulip dress           $60   Good                Yaly
Silk jacket            $60   Good                Yaly
Flannellete dress $60   Perfect              Yaly
Boyfriend blazer  $30   Perfect              Thanh Thien
Tulip skirt             $25  Good                 Thanh Thien
Shirt                      $27   Epic fail            Thu Thuy
Black pants          $55   Perfect              Thu Thuy

Overall, this was an interesting experience. I had initially intended on getting more clothes made, but for me I prefer to buy off the rack, because at least then you know what you're paying for. It's best to go armed with either an article of clothing you want replicated OR pictures of the item you want made - the tailors work best when they're copying something. You get what you pay for, but at these prices you can't really go wrong - and one or two items that are not up-to-scratch isn't bad in the long run.

Monday 25th October

Two months to Christmas! (Not that there is any sign of Christmas here). Although I awoke just before 8am - not a bad effort I thought, given the lack of sleep on the train the night before - I was the last one up in my dorm, which now consisted of about 7 people. The heat and humidity was horrendous in both the dorms and the bathroom - drying off seemed a useless task!

As my flight to Danang wasn't until 3:25pm, I had a few hours to kill. I ignored the breakfast provided by the hostel (fresh bread and condiments), and found a quaint little cafe down the road to eat in instead. Back at the hostel, I packed my bag and checked out, storing my bags to pick-up later.

Following the Lonely Planet's advice, I set off to try and find a bookshop, in the hope that they may have a Canadian Lonely Planet. After about 2 hours, I realise my efforts were in vain and ended up at the Sofitel Metropole, surrounded by all of its luxury stores (Louis Vuitton? Prada?) Numerous wedding shoots were going on outside, and the road was blocked off to cars for this purpose.

Deciding to have a quick lunch before heading out to the airport, on my way to a cafe I ran into Ashley and Matt, who I had met in Ko Phi Phi. I'd actually just being messaging Ashley that morning on Facebook, finding out they were in Hanoi and had jobs teaching English. They were supposed to have started that day but the woman had cancelled, so were out exploring the Old Quarter. It looked like they were already starting to doubt their decision to get jobs in Hanoi though, as the noise blared around us.

Farewelling them, I had lunch nearby to the hostel, before returning to pick-up my bags. I walked outside to find a Mai Linh cafe, but none were in sight. Not deterred, I started to walk down the streets to find one, when I found a travel agency offered airport taxis for only $9 (normally, the price is about $12-$14). I was expecting a catch, but a nice new taxi turned up and deposited me swiftly at the Hanoi airport, about 30km outside of the city.

Time flew and we were soon boarding the Jetstar flight, which was piloted by two Aussies and also had an Aussie flight attendant on board. The flight was only short - about an hour - and as we made our way off the plane, I ran into the Aussie ladies who had shared my mini-bus to the train station in Sapa. "We thought you hadn't made it!", they exclaimed, having not seen me at the airport. We chatted about our plans for clothes in Hoi An, and I gave them some advice on recommended tailors (as provided by Trip Advisor). In return, they told me of a great market in Ho Chi Minh City where I could find good handbags, and another which had real perfume at dirt cheap prices.

My bag was one of the first off the carousel, and the hotel driver was waiting for me outside. As there were no flights to Hoi An, I'd flown into Danang, a town of 1.1 million people located 35km from Hoi An. The ride took about half an hour, on a street parallel to the beach. Everywhere you looked, beach resorts were being constructed - Sheraton; Hyatt Regency; even a Greg Norman designed golf course.

It was dark by the time I'd checked in, but I was eager to go for a walk and have some dinner. The town has a population of only 10,000, and is very quaint. Finally, a town I like in Vietnam! (Partly due to the clamp down on touts, and that cars are forbidden from the centre of town). I ended up getting massively lost as I walked, but finally found my way down to the 'Eating Street', eating pumpkin soup at the Lonely Planet recommended 'Cargo Bar'. The restaraunt also had an adjoining bakery, full of delicious cakes, breads, and ice-creams, and I made a mental note of its location.

Back at the hotel, I finalised my plan of attack for the tailors tomorrow. I wrote down the names and addresses of the tailors I would head to; what clothes I would get made at each; and ensured I had pictures (or at least, the details in my head) and the clothes I wanted made. I couldn't wait!

Sunday 24th October

When the train pulled into Hanoi (after our 5am wake-up call!), Abi came to 'collect' me in my cabin and we walked out of the train station to find a taxi. All of the taxi drivers were circling like vultures, and as we coiuldn't find a Mai Linh taxi, we bargained with another taxi driver to take us first to Abi's hotel, and then to mine. Passing through the empty streets of Hanoi, Abi's hotel was all shut up, so we had him drop us at my hostel, which was open and contained another backpacker, fresh off the earlier train from Sapa (he'd arrived at 4:10am!)

We played on the internet whilst we waited for the reception to officially open at 6am. As I collected my keys, Abi wandered back to her hotel, feeling confident it would be open by now (and feeling safer given it was light out and movement on the streets). The receptionist told me there were two other people in my room, and I was worried about waking them up, given how early it was. Not to worry though, as they were already awake and showered! One of them was an Aussie and the other was Japanese and sooo sweet! She couldn't speak much English and was delighted when I conversed with her in Japanese, trying to tell me about the room (the air conditioning was only turned on at night by the staff, and was freezing, so she set up her towels and clothes on the railing above to try to block out the cold).

Given it was so early, and knowing I needed a wake-up call, I pulled on my runners and headed for the lake. It was here that I finally found something good about Vietnam! The lake was absolutely packed: men had brought out weights and were doing bench-presses; badminton courts had been assembled and competitions were being held; exercise classes were being performed by literally hundreds of old women; and hundreds, if not thousands, of people were pounding the pavement. I joined them, running several laps before returning to the hostel for a shower.

I'd decided I needed to do something 'touristy' today, so I headed out to the Museum of Ethnology, about 6km out of the city. I must admit I had an alterior motive for coming here - the Chocolat and Baguette cafe I'd loved in Sapa had an outpost here. Unfortunately though, they didn't have a bakery like the one in Sapa - nor a breakfast menu - so my stomach rumbled as I walked through the museum. The museum was a fairly standard (read: boring) museum, although the gardens were interesting, as they'd assembled replica tribal houses.

I had the taxi driver drop me at the French boulangerie and ordered scrambled eggs for breakfast. Whilst I was waiting, they brought out 6 slices of freshly baked baguette which was absolutely to die for!! I showed immense restraint in not eating it all, leaving 4 pieces untouched. I then spent several hours walking through the city, calling in at the Nine West, Clinique and Mac stores and mentally writing a shopping list for when I hit Canada.

Starting to fall asleep, I headed back to the hostel to work out an itinerary for the next week, keeping an eye on the Formula 1 whilst I was at it. The hostel had a special - for every crash, they would give out a free beer. The road was extremely wet and slippery, so there was a crash seemingly every two minutes - needless to say, the atmosphere quickly livened up! The place was opened by two Aussie guys, and had moved to the current location only two weeks ago, so was fresh and modern. It was free internet and wi-fi, a bar and travel agency downstairs, and a fifth floor with couches, more computers, and pool tables. The dorms themselves were good too - a lockable drawer located under the beds, and power supply and light for each bunk.

By 4pm I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer, so I had a quick cat-nap before I had to meet Abi at 6:30pm. Starving when I awoke, I was at her hotel shortly after 6pm, and we taxied it out to 'KOTO' (Know One, Teach One), which was a restaurant which trained disadvantaged kids (notice a pattern to my eating lately?) It had great reviews in both the Lonely Planet and TripAdvisor, and we weren't disappointed. We shared a Middle Eastern salad (chick peas, beetroot, pumpkin, mint leaves, Spanish onion, feta cheese) and then had pistachio and ricotta pasta for a main - seriously, this was the best pasta I have tasted in my life!

Unable to find a Mai Linh taxi outside (we dared to ask a few other companies for a quote, and their prices were so laughable that we would slam their doors and walk off, refusing on principle to barter them down), we walked down to road and happened to find the KOTO bakery - which had the duo chocolate tarts that both Abi and I had fallen in love with in Sapa! "Everything happens for a reason", I said to Abi, as we happily bought one each.

We had the taxi drop us on the lake as Abi headed into Mac and then the Nine West store, before farewelling each other. Abi was onto Ho Chi Minh City to meet up with her partner the next day, whilst I was off to Hoi An.

Saturday 23rd October

Although I was able to get to sleep easily last night, I was woken nice and early by the loud voices and disgusting habits of my neighbours. I wandered down to my 'local breakfast place', Chocolat and Baguette, for my normal eggs and toast, and was just reading a magazine when Abi walked in. (I'd recommended the cafe to her yesterday, and told her she would find me here in the morning). She had the last part of her trek beginning at 9:30am, but was eager for a nice breakfast as the food at her hotel did not look appetising in the slightest!

Abi left for her trek and had most of the day to fill in before we caught the train back to Hanoi. After packing my bags and checking out of the hotel, I started walking in the north of the town, away from the tourist traps. I then stumbled upon a hairdressers, and asked if they could straighten my hair (it's an easy pick-me-up - leaves you feeling much better than a massage). For only $2.50, the pink haired male hairdresser tended to my hair, and I emerged feeling like a supermodel! (Ok, not quite. But when you've been backpacking for almost 3 months, it's nice to feel pretty!)

I really struggled for things to fill in my time here. Sapa was renowned for its Saturday market, but it was exactly the same as the market that occurred everyday on the square, with the only difference being that more tribespeople came from the surrounding villages to sell to the tourists! The mountain has really been ruined by tourism and the salespeople local - it is such a beautiful location and would be the perfect place for a retreat, but when you're constantly being pestered every step by numerous people trying to sell you things, you just want to get out of the town.

I had some tapas at the same restaurant I ate at on Thursday - some beautiful mushrooms done in an olive sauce on bruschetta - and a Spanish hot chocolate, made with egg and cinnamon (I really need to stop drinking hot/cold chocolate ... my excuse is that it's helping me give up diet coke, but it's really just that I like it!) I filled in some more time by having a foot massage, and instantly regretted it. Abby had told me of her horrible experience at a massage parlour the previous day, and as we concluded later, I'd stumbled into the same one.

Returning to my guesthouse, Abi came running out of the Sapa Rooms restaurant, where she was enjoying a wine after finishing the trek, so I spent half an hour in there with her and a few Aussie women she'd met. Exchanging stories, it seems no one here is very impressed with Sapa.

I'd been told to return to my guesthouse at 4:30pm to await my transfer to the Lo Cai train station, and I checked with the receptionist that I should just sit in the lobby to wait. "Yes", she replied, "Wait 5 minutes". The five minutes stretched into twenty-five, and I was chatting with a Vietnamese guy when a man came in, took one look at me, and then said to the receptionist (in Vietnamese, which my new friend translated for me), "The bus has already left!" Luckily it wasn't too far away and the receptionist called it back for me, although I wasn't too impressed!

The bus wasn't full, just consisting of four Aussie women from Moree (whom I would see again on Monday, as they had booked the same flight to Danang as me). They told me that on their trek, their guide had told them how in Vietnam, once a child reaches two years old it's considered that they can fend for themselves. It's not a surprise to see young children wandering the streets by themselves, or six year olds carrying their baby brothers on their back. Whilst having a drink with Abi and a few Aussie women, we saw a young child with a plastic bag on his head. In Australia, the child would never have a plastic bag to begin with, due to the suffocation hazard, but the mother was completely unconcerned (meanwhile, I was looking on in horror and ready to jump up and help him!)

We reached the train station at about 5:30pm, despite my train not being to 8:45pm - due to the early onset of nightfall and the mist the hangs around the mountains, the buses leave Sapa very early. Abi and I had tickets on the same train but were being transported to the station separately, and we arranged to wait for each other at the front of the station. Well, I waited ... and waited ... and waited .. for almost 2 hours, before her bus finally arrive at 7:15pm! We then needed to exchange our coupons for actual berth locations on the train, and of course there were no tickets left in the same carriage - we were quite despondent at the thought that we might be sharing our cabins with some Vietnamese men and their horrible habits!

Desperate for a drink, we headed to a nearby restaurant where we found the Aussie women I'd shared the bus with, and bunkered with them whilst waiting to board the train. They all admitted how they were in awe of us, travelling by ourselves - they could never do it, they said.

Onwards to the train, we kept seeing people we knew (like the Western couple we'd spoken with on the train ride up, to tell them what had happened with that Vietnamese guy), and hoped we would be sharing our cabin with some nice Westerners. My cabin turned out to be ok, sharing with three Thai dentists all about my age, but Abi wasn't so lucky, making two new Vietnamese 'friends'. ;-) She came in to check on me and take a few photos for my blog, and then retired to her room whilst I fell asleep (well, at least tried to - I had a terrible night's sleep, not made much better with a 5am wake up call as we arrived back in Hanoi).

Thursday 21st October

We were woken on the train by the train attendants knocking on the door, shortly before 6am. The train pulled into Lao Cai station, about 45 minutes from Sapa, close to 6:30am, and the passengers alighted onto the platform. The front of the train station was full of Vietnamese drivers holding boards displaying passenger names. Abi spotted her driver straight away, but I couldn't find mine. Her driver offered to take me into town if I was stuck, but I kept searching - I'd already paid for the pick-up! Luckily, I eventually found the driver and boarded his mini-van, after exchanging details with Abi and arranging to have dinner on Friday when she returned from her trekking expedition.


Driving through the hills, we eventually arrived in Sapa town, and myself and another backpacker were greeted at Green Tree Guesthouse, underneath the town's market. Fortunately we were able to check-in straight away, and I was relieved to have a shower and wash away not only the dirt from the train but the sunscreen and salt from the cruise.

Sapa is located up in the mountains and near to the Chinese border. It was a nice change to pull on tights and my soft-shell jacket, and I enjoyed a pleasant stroll through the town before ordering breakfast at 'Chocolat and Baguette', a cafe recommended by the Lonely Planet. It was part of my 'responsible tourism' program, as it trained disadvantaged Vietnamese kids. The food was absolutely delicious though, and the tart that I purchased and later ate was probably the best I've ever eaten.


I stopped in at an internet cafe for a while, trying to determine my movements after Sapa. I had booked a night at the backpackers for the Sunday night, and then I wanted to get down to Hoi An, where I would get clothes and shoes made. Overnight trains and buses were available (about 14 hours), but I managed to find a Jetstar flight on Monday afternoon for only half a million dong (that's $25) - almost as cheap as the bus/train. The flight arrived at Danang, as Hoi An didn't have an airport, so I looked for hotels in Danang town. None appealed to me, so I researched how far Hoi An was from Danang airport. It was only half an hour, or a $15 taxi ride, so I decided I would go straight to Hoi An from the Danang airport, booking into a nice guesthouse in the middle of town. I returned to my room at this time, and after reading a few pages of Shantaram I fell firmly asleep for five hours.

As this is a mountaineous and cold town, everyone eats dinner early (and wakes early). As Abi had found the restaurant we ate in Hanoi, it was my turn to find a nice restaurant for us to eat in Sapa the following night, so I headed down the main street to find a restaurant to sample. There were lots of pizza and pasta places but I felt like something different, and ended up stopping in at a Spanish Tapas restaurant. I watched the sunset as I drank and organic milkshake and ate sizzling potatoes with onion and capsicum and a fresh baguette - perfect!


Back in the hotel room, I committed to finishing the final 200 pages of Shantaram - I seemed to have been reading it for ages! What a brilliant book - every page of the 1000 pages gave life lessons and provoked philosophical and historical arguments, and is surely an eye-opener to leading a real life (although, perhaps not to the extent that the author did!) Luckily on finishing I was exhausted again, because the sounds outside my room were making it extremely difficult to sleep - dogs barking, children crying, doors banging, loud music playing, and, worst of all, the men in the room next door (the walls were extremely flimsy) were hocking and spitting every 2 minutes - the most filthy noise in the world!

Friday 22nd October

As I said in yesterday's blog, the mountain air here makes it 'early to bed, early to rise', and I was out of bed before 8am. Although breakfast was included at my hotel, I wanted to go back up to Chocolat and Baguettes, where I'd had such a great meal yesterday. I ordered the same meal of eggs and toast and this time ordered a hot chocolate to go with it - is there anything more perfect than eating a hot chocolate on a cool day?

Coming down the hill (Sapa is based on a mountain, so everywhere you go you are either climbing or descending steps), I saw a sign for "Internet" and walked in. It was quite a maze - inside someone's house, to their back room, and then up a rickety staircase to a large room (but short roof!) full of computers. It seemed this was where the locals came when they wanted a game or You Tube fixed, and it was quite an odd sight to see the young girls, dressed in the traditional outfits, watching You Tube clips on the modern computers!

I hadn't booked any treks or tours in Sapa because I was determined to get my blog up-to-date and photos online. Having had next to no internet access in India, and then being on a boat and then overnight train in Vietnam, I was (as you may have noticed, if you're a loyal reader!) slipped violently behind in my blogs - photos hadn't been posted for 3 weeks! I spent two hours at this internet cafe, replying to e-mails and Facebook comments, and getting the blogs up-to-date, before needing a short break to rest my hunched over shoulders and weary eyes.

An hour back in my hotel room and I was ready to face the long task of uploading more photos. I'd make the task easier by previously sorting through the photos on the camera and writing which ones I wanted to post up alongside which day they occurred, but it still took me over 2.5 hours to post them up! I hope you are all enjoying them!

I had already decided I was going to skip lunch that day, instead waiting for dinner with Abi that evening. I e-mailled her the name and location of the restaurant I'd chosen - Sapa Rooms, which had great reviews on TripAdvisor (and similar to Chocolat and Baguette, was a training school for disadvantaged kids), and spent some more time researching tailors in Hoi An, for when I would reach there on Monday night. I'm still trying to work out what exactly I want to get made - jeans; black pants; a few casual dresses; will I risk getting a suit made?

Shortly before 6:30pm (it was already dark), I wandered down to the Sapa Rooms restaurant to meet Abi for dinner. The decor was very interesting - very dark and tribal - and there was both a Western and Vietnamese menu, with lots of vegetarian options. I chose the vegetable burger, with crusted roasted pumpkin and salad - ok but the burger was full of sugar! The service was terrible as well, as had it been in every other restaurant I've visited - they stuffed up our bill royally, overcharging for wine and missing out two items (we paid the correct amount though).


I'm really not in to Vietnam at all, and although it's nice to be in the cool mountains of Sapa, the locals just pester you every second. Even when you're having dinner in a restaurant, they stand at the windows, pointing at you and their goods. There are gangs of them waiting at your hotel door for you to step out, and they step in line with you as you try to take a relaxing walk around the town. The count down to Canada is well and truly on!

Wednesday 20th October


The sun crept through my window shortly after 6am, waking me from my deep slumber. I showered and join the rest of the gang at breakfast at 7:30am, enjoying the eggs and toast.


The girls had booked on for a 2 night cruise, whilst the rest of us were only staying for 1, so they were dropped at a nearby pier for a short trek and transferral to another boat, whilst the rest of us enjoyed the sun on the boat's roof. After some bad weather in Vietnam for the past few days, due to a typhoon, the day was perfect - brilliant blue skies and a scorching sun. I sprayed sunscreen on about 4 times whilst I laid out, knowing how bad my skin can burn - luckily, it didn't turn out too bad. I pestered the boys with questions about Canada - my most burning question being, "What shoes do you wear in the snow?"  (They said as the streets are shovelled and the paths salted every day, 'normal' shoes are fine to wear.)


We were all keen to return to Hanoi though, grateful we'd only booked the one night cruise, and docked at 11am. We were ushered into a large restaurant packed with other tour groups, and had a smorgasboard of food before we departed on our mini-van, back to Hanoi.


Arriving back in Hanoi at 4pm, I arranged to meet up with Abi at 7pm for dinner at a restaurant she'd recommended. I returned to my hotel and asked them to book accommodation and transfers for me in Sapa, as the train station was about 45 minutes from Sapa, as I'd heard the scene could be quite chaotic (especially at 6am in the morning when you've been on a train overnight). I then left my bags there whilst I went for a walk through the city - first stop being an ATM, as after paying for the Sapa accommodation I had only 20c left on me!

I purchased some snacks for the train and a few really cool 'paper cut out' cards (the Eiffel Tower would pop-up when you open the card). Walking through the markets, I felt fingers on my bag and quickly turned to discover a Vietnamese girl trying to undo the zip on my backpack. I didn't normally take my backpack out with me whilst walking, and my valuables were tucked away either on my body or at the bottom of the bag so there was no danger (she'd only opened it about 5cm when I'd turned), but I was struck by her audacity on the busy road. I wasn't sure what to do - grab her? Yell? I ended up just staring at her and walking off.

I met up with Abi at 'Five' restaurant at 7pm, and was stoked to have pasta and bread for dinner (the food on the boat had been ok but not hearty - vegetables and eggs, rather than complex carbohydrates). We even treated ourselves to dessert - chocolate mousse for Abi and chocolate cake for me.

She was on the 9pm train to Sapa, whereras I was on the 9:50pm train (although we'd worked out we were on the same train on Saturday night), so she took a cab to the train station at 8pm. I returned to my hotel but, with nothing to do, decided I might as well head to the train station as well. I ran into her almost as soon as I arrived - it turned out her train had been cancelled, and she was now on the same train as me. As her cabin had already been assigned, we went to the train attendants and asked if I could be placed in the same cabin as her, which we were able to do.

As the train was already on the platform, we set out to board it. By the platform, a man asked for our tickets and then asked us to follow him, so we did. He lead us on board a train and we were both astounded - the cabins were packed with whole families of Vietnamese, with the men all chain smoking. Abi and I looked at each other - we had to put up with this for 10 hours? (I thought Indian trains were supposed to be bad!) The man spoke with the people in our cabin, and soon shuffled us off the train - he'd taken us to the wrong train! (To say we were relieved was an understatement ...)

Eventually, we were taken to the right train, and we were stoked to find it clean, smoke free, and full of other Westerners. As we sunk onto the beds, the man stood in the doorway. "$10", he demanded. Abi and I looked at each other - we'd thought this man was a railway official, but he was a random who was trying to score money! Being a Vietnam ex-pat, Abi was shocked at his demand, as she explained the average Vietnamese wage is only $2.50 a day. We were refused, and turned back to each other, making conversation. The man refused to leave, and started to reduce his demand - "$5" - "$2". "He can stand there as long as he wants", said Abi, "We're not giving him any money".

After standing there for five minutes, surely knowing we weren't giving him any money, the man then leaned in to the cabin and kicked me! Abi stood up straight away and started yelling at the man. He held his hands up to his face, as if he thought she was about to fight him, and then ran off the train. "Are you ok?", asked Abi. I was fine - more shocked at the man's audacity! Abi went to the cabin nearby where a burly Western man was located, telling him of the situation and asking him to keep a look out. She was sure he wouldn't come back, but it was better to be on the safe side.

I was a little shaken up - not that I'd really felt in any danger, as I was on a train full of people, but just at the audacity of the man. Combined with the girl I'd caught trying to open my bag, Vietnam wasn't getting a good reputation. Abi called her boyfriend shortly after to tell him of what had happened. He confirmed the best thing to have done was yell, as Vietnamese people can't handle that, and told her he wouldn't have fought. As she told the story out loud, I started to laugh - what else can you do? I was relieved when the other two bunks in our cabin were filled by a Western couple, and we locked the doors after them, drifting off to sleep as soon as the train started to move.

Tuesday 19th October

I'd been advised by my travel agent that I would be picked up between 8am and 8:20am for the trip to Halong Bay, so I checked out by 7:30am to ensure I had time for breakfast before departing. However, as I checked out of the room, the tour driver arrived to pick me up!

I was the first one on the bus, and we wound through the streets of the Old Quarter to pick up 20 other guests, before departing for our 3.5 trip north to Halong Bay. (A weird sight along the way: there are shops selling gravestones, with pictures and details of the dead inscribed on then. There was one with Britney Spears on it, with a death date of 2001!) We stopped briefly for 'breakfast', except the emporium which was stopped at really only had crackers and biscuits, not actual breakfast to eat (I ended up scoffing a packet of cheese biscuits I'd taken with me).


On arriving at Halong Bay, the group was split up from those who were doing the day-trip only, and I met my fellow passengers for the first time. Our small group consisted of Adam, Scott, Nick and Jordan, 4 brothers from Canada (extremely cute and extraordinarily well mannered); Abigal, an English girl working in Nha Trang; and a mixed group of young girls from Australia, England, and Sweden. We checked out our rooms (quite good quality, given the price!) and then headed into the 'restaurant' for lunch. It mostly consisted of seafood - including prawns and whole fish - with a few extra dishes for me as the token vegetarian.

On completion of our meal, we all headed to the roof of the boat, lounging about on the sundecks and getting to know one another. We had fun comparing the other boats cruising on the harbour with ours - there seems to be a direct relationship between the age of the passengers and the quality of the boat.


After a brief sail, we docked at a cave for some sightseeing, along with numerous other boats. The caves were cool but everything here is reminding me of other parts of Asia - Halong Bay is like Ko Phi Phi; the caves were like Niah Caves in Malaysia etc. Back on board, our boat driver (who I caught steering with his feet - no wonder we crashed into other boats several times!) ferried us to a floating kayaking station, where I spent half an hour paddling around the 'islands' with Abi. It was quite hard work, and we were happy to return to the boat for some relaxation on the sun decks.


The boat then cruised into some open water, and the boys (and some of the girls) started jumping off the top of the boat into the ocean water (the South China Sea). Women dressed in the traditional Vietnamese hat paddled their boats in the water, trying to sell us beer and chips (they were even there well into the night!)  Dinner was at 6:30pm and must better than lunch, and then we all migrated back to the roof for a night of fun. The drinks were cracked open and we begun to play some drinking games (using my headlamp as the only source of light), before some of us ventured downstairs to join the crew in karaoke. I even managed to catch a squid at the back of the boat whilst randomly swinging a fishing rod in the water - I didn't realise at the time it was an actual rod!!


I made my way to bed at about midnight, and was asleep before I even touched the pillow - not even turning the fan or air conditioning on in my single room.

Monday 18th October

I wasn't in the mood for sightseeing again today, I more just wanted to shop and walk around the city.
The Lonely Planet advised that a number of good eateries were located around the Cathedral on the opposite side of the lake, so I wandered in this direction to find breakfast. I ended up at a French boulangerie, downing a beautiful croissant and hazelnut mocha frappucino. (Oh, I can't remember if I mentioned this before, but I have decided to give up diet coke. I always thought I was being 'good' for drinking it rather than reaching for a snack, but I've realised how unhealthy it is. I'm substituting chocolate milk for it if water just won't suffice, let's see how I go!)

I found the store (there aren't really any 'malls' in Vietnam - you find Western shops scattered amongst the streets) and was delighted to find several extremely cool pairs of shoes - one pair of flats that would be perfect for work in Canada, and a pair of heels that were just plain fun! Unfortunately, I was told that the biggest shoe size they had in Vietnam was a size 8 - and I'm an 8.5!! I was disappointed, but I snapped a few photos of the shoes and thought I could try to get them made when I reach Hoi An next week.