some fellow travellers who were going straight to Hue so we banded together and found ourselves on a returning DMZ tour bus. The You Go Now! of the title refers to the touts that surrounded us at the bus stop as we tried and failed to get a decent price to Hue. Its was late in the afternoon and so they had us over a barrel. It was either $5 or a night in Dong Ha. "We have bus. $5. You go now! You go now!" Apparently the road up to the border is pretty much the tour so I could tell touts been there, done that. I ended up in a hotel room complete with a PC and internet access and contemplated my next move. Hoi An was out as I would be returning for Tet. I thought about Ninh Binh but finally settled on the beach. I'd long known about Jungle Beach resort 60kms north of Nha Trang and it felt like the perfect place to unwind and get ready for the craziness of Tet. I faffed around in Hue before my next adventure - the overnight train to Nha Trang. This particular train only had hard sleepers so I opted for a soft seat AC. I admit I was apprehensive about catching an overnighter solo but surely I could stay awake for 12 hours? Ha! The train had not aged well, faded wood panneling and squat toilets (I know these rate the occasional mention but you try it on a moving train!) but in keeping with the cacophony of Asian travel TV screens blaring local news and True Lies - not dubbed but with a woman reading the lines in Vietnamese. The train travelled along the coast I would later backtrack to get to Jungle Beach. An hour and a half after arriving in Nha Trang I got to paradise. Jungle Beach is in the middle of nowhere and truly the perfect place to get away from it all.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
You go now! To Vietnam.
After a chicken/rice sack/people on little chairs down the isle bus ride from Savannahket we hit the border. The configuration of the bus did not change (and I have the scar on my knee to prove it) but the landscape changed dramatically. The road to Dong Ha (my destination) goes through the DMZ and the landscape looks like many an American Vietnam war film. We passed through Khe Sanh ('cmon all you Chisel fans - I left my heart to the something something Khe Sanh...)and onwards to Dong Ha. Luckily I'd met 
some fellow travellers who were going straight to Hue so we banded together and found ourselves on a returning DMZ tour bus. The You Go Now! of the title refers to the touts that surrounded us at the bus stop as we tried and failed to get a decent price to Hue. Its was late in the afternoon and so they had us over a barrel. It was either $5 or a night in Dong Ha. "We have bus. $5. You go now! You go now!" Apparently the road up to the border is pretty much the tour so I could tell touts been there, done that. I ended up in a hotel room complete with a PC and internet access and contemplated my next move. Hoi An was out as I would be returning for Tet. I thought about Ninh Binh but finally settled on the beach. I'd long known about Jungle Beach resort 60kms north of Nha Trang and it felt like the perfect place to unwind and get ready for the craziness of Tet. I faffed around in Hue before my next adventure - the overnight train to Nha Trang. This particular train only had hard sleepers so I opted for a soft seat AC. I admit I was apprehensive about catching an overnighter solo but surely I could stay awake for 12 hours? Ha! The train had not aged well, faded wood panneling and squat toilets (I know these rate the occasional mention but you try it on a moving train!) but in keeping with the cacophony of Asian travel TV screens blaring local news and True Lies - not dubbed but with a woman reading the lines in Vietnamese. The train travelled along the coast I would later backtrack to get to Jungle Beach. An hour and a half after arriving in Nha Trang I got to paradise. Jungle Beach is in the middle of nowhere and truly the perfect place to get away from it all.
some fellow travellers who were going straight to Hue so we banded together and found ourselves on a returning DMZ tour bus. The You Go Now! of the title refers to the touts that surrounded us at the bus stop as we tried and failed to get a decent price to Hue. Its was late in the afternoon and so they had us over a barrel. It was either $5 or a night in Dong Ha. "We have bus. $5. You go now! You go now!" Apparently the road up to the border is pretty much the tour so I could tell touts been there, done that. I ended up in a hotel room complete with a PC and internet access and contemplated my next move. Hoi An was out as I would be returning for Tet. I thought about Ninh Binh but finally settled on the beach. I'd long known about Jungle Beach resort 60kms north of Nha Trang and it felt like the perfect place to unwind and get ready for the craziness of Tet. I faffed around in Hue before my next adventure - the overnight train to Nha Trang. This particular train only had hard sleepers so I opted for a soft seat AC. I admit I was apprehensive about catching an overnighter solo but surely I could stay awake for 12 hours? Ha! The train had not aged well, faded wood panneling and squat toilets (I know these rate the occasional mention but you try it on a moving train!) but in keeping with the cacophony of Asian travel TV screens blaring local news and True Lies - not dubbed but with a woman reading the lines in Vietnamese. The train travelled along the coast I would later backtrack to get to Jungle Beach. An hour and a half after arriving in Nha Trang I got to paradise. Jungle Beach is in the middle of nowhere and truly the perfect place to get away from it all.
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