Vietnam!!!!!

February – March 2024
  • Shalee Gherbaz
Michael and I are off to Vietnam for 3, weeks!!!! Ho Chi Minh City - Hoi An - Da Nang - Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City Read more
  • Shalee Gherbaz

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  • Vietnam Vietnam
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  • 120footprints
  • 21days
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  • Farming in rural Hanoi!

    March 9, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    I got to do some farming of kohlrabi at the family's farm. They own over 100 acres in which they grow a wide range of rice and vegetables.

    The steps were pretty simple- prepare the soil, create the holes, plant the seedlings, and water with a bucket!

    They said that I had a natural gift for gardening as I did it very well. I'd hope after 7 years of the stuff that I'd know a thing or two hahaha. I really enjoyed this though as it was fun to get out in a farm for a change.

    Poor Michael did not enjoy it at all, as he had to wear size 45 gumboots when he's a size 48 in shoes! They don't have big sizes in Vietnam. Very sad boy indeed, so he did not garden and I got him back to the house as quickly as possible to get the things off once I knew he was in pain!
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  • A taste of simple rural life.

    March 9, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    After exploring the farming area and doing some farming myself (seperate step and pics to come later) on the bicycles, we got back to the family house to do some cooking. We learnt about how to make traditional spring rolls, and did the filling of the rice paper ourselves. Then we helped fry them and do a basic chicken and mushroom dish. The family explained the different condiments and ways to each the spring rolls, so when lunch rolled around we had so much to eat! My pics only show half the quantities of what we actually had. It was good fun and tasted great!

    After lunch Michael had a relax in a hammock, and I zenned out in their super fancy massage chair. This thing was sublime. I'm going to google it and see how much it costs because it does your feet, full back, neck and head, and squeezes your arms and legs. Soooooo good!

    We then went for another cycle around the town, greeting many citizens and watching them go about day to day life. We stopped by a war vets house who was a gardening specialist. He had over 100 varieties of orchards, and some of the plants were extremely rare and expensive. We sat and had tea with him as he explained some history and info on his various plants and how he makes a living.

    Overall, it was a lovely day of quiet and simple things.
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  • Shoutout to David at Hanoi Eco Tours

    March 9, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Just a quick post to compliment what a great time we had with David from Hanoi Eco Tours over the past 3 days!!!! We had amazing food, our car and driver was safe, relaxing and high quality, and David had a wealth of knowledge to share on a wide range of cultural topics about the people and practices in Vietnam.

    I have collated some photos from the 3 days that David sent me that he captured on his phone to commemorate the trip. His site and all available tours are at https://hanoiecotour.com and I would 100% recommend these tours!!!
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  • Pizza Lovers is... OK

    March 9, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Decided that we need to try margarita pizza in each city to compare. The first place we were due to go to was completely booked out, so we ventured up to another place that was busy.

    It was OK. Nothing to write home about. Unfortunately Michaels Carbonara was basically scrambled eggs. The bacon and the pasta consistency itself was a win.

    So far, the first pizza we had is holding complete domination. It's going to be very hard to beat.
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  • Chez Mimosa Petite (Part 1)

    March 10, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 36 °C

    We have arrived back in Ho Chi Minh City with little delay to our domestic flight. Our hotel has put us in a room next door in their new facilities for one night, then we are being moved to their original facilities tomorrow. I'm getting a discount as a result so no complaints from me.

    The room we are in now is brand new, and the bed is so comfortable haha I'll be hoping the bed in the next room is this good LOL!
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  • Nom noms everywhere!

    March 10, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 36 °C

    We had a super late lunch today given we only got into our hotel at 2pm ish and needed to settle in. Our area is pretty interesting in that there seems to be heaps of good food places around that have reasonable pricing. We won't have any issues getting cheap Bahn mi for breakfast, that's for sure.

    We had lunch at one place, and dessert at another. Lunch was kastudon (Korean chicken and rice bowls) from a place called Primal Grill 150m down the road. Very satiating. Dessert was a salted egg croissant (absolutely yummo, 5 slaps, tastes like Portugese Egg tarts but in croissant form) and some mini pork floss baguettes from a cafe 2 doors down from the hotel called Tonkin Garden Coffee. Drinks from the cafe were also delish.

    We will take it chill for the rest of the day as we have our last big day tour tomorrow and it's an early start!
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  • Dinner at Den Long Home Cooking

    March 10, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    We've ventured out for dinner and drinks tonight. Our first stop is dinner at Den Long Home Cooking. The atmosphere is lovely in here, and lots of customers coming through. Relatively reasonably priced as well for a mid tier restaurant on the main strip of district 1.

    We had Bun Cha (rice noodles with spring rolls, grilled pork, sausage and fish sauce), Cha Cha La Vong (tumeric fish with noodles, shrimp paste, dill and peanuts) and Thit Nac Heon Kho Tieu (caramelised pork in clay pot). All was delicious, fresh and satiating. Our drinks were also lovely, Michael had a passionfruit mojito and I had a sunrise mocktail.
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  • Les Rives Tour: Can Gio Mangrove Reserve

    March 11, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Today we are on a day tour with Les Rives to the Can Gio Mangrove Ecological Reserve. We are commuting the entire thing by speedboat and passing through the Mekong Delta. Should be a good day ahead to see the reserve and hopefully some wild animals living there!Read more

  • Les Rives Tour: Mekong Delta Wet Market

    March 11, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    We briefly stopped our boat tour to explore a wet market on the Mekong Delta. Poor Michael is so over the wet markets hahahaha (once you've seen one you've kind of seen them all). One lady did approach him and grab his biceps in awe so that lifted his spirits for a hit LOL. This one was mainly focused on seafood and fruit/veg with a bit of butcher meat, clothes and other various goods.Read more

  • Mekong Delta vs Can Gio River

    March 11, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    Just a quick note to show some shots of the actual Mekong Delta. It is beautiful but unfortunately absolutely loaded with rubbish in the water and ashore. I managed to get some rare pics where no rubbish is around, and took one to show the kind of reality of the rubbish.

    Our guide explained that there are boats out every day cleaning it up and removing rubbish, but they can't get through it all. Very sad, because it really is gorgeous otherwise.

    The Can Gio river area in contrast has very little rubbish. You can tell where the shift happens as you see a shift in the greenery from the tropical ferns into mangroves. It's a pretty cool transition, and it's nice to see an area not as affected by pollution.
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