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Vietnam!!!!!
  • Shalee Gherbaz
Feb – Mar 2024

Vietnam!!!!!

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
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  • Shalee GherbazVietnam!!!!!Traveler

    Burger House for lunch

    February 28, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    We ducked literally across the road from our hotel to have a very late lunch at Burger House, which is a tiny mom and pop restaurant that has American Burgers as well as Vietnamese food. Michael was very keen for a burger and I went for a dish called Cao Lau.

    My noodles were the best noodles of the trip so far. The flavour was STACKED. Only 7 ingredients- sliced pork, pork crackle, bean shoots, herbs, lettuce, the most unique rice noodles, and a ridiculously rich broth. It was unreal. They give you chilli and soy to add but it was so good on its own I didn't touch it. And only 40k ($2.40 AUD) that is just.... Yum.

    Michael really enjoyed his burger as well which came in at 110k ($6.80 AUD), lovely soft bread and beautiful textures (again, the bread here SLAPS). A thoroughly delish meal to satiate us both 😍😍

    Also, the owner came and took some photos for us and I got a selfie. So cute!    Read more

  • Shalee GherbazVietnam!!!!!Traveler

    Tuong Tailor - getting the works!

    February 28, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Something Michael and I were both really wanting to do was get custom clothing made here in Vietnam. Well... We are getting custom clothing! I'm getting 4 dresses (to cover 3 wedding events and one just for me), 2 linen pants for work, 2 leather bum bags (one in khaki Green, one plum/burgundy), and Michael is getting a full cosplay outfit (suit, shirt and long coat), a 3 piece formal suit with shirt, a leather jacket, Woolen double breasted winter coat, and a leather satchel.

    Don't even ask me the pricing 🙈🙉🙊it's about 1/3 of what you would pay if you had it done in Australia, let's put it that way! Will need to buy a new suitcase and add another check in luggage to all our flights. But YOLO! This is why we hustle so hard at home to save money so that we can splash on the things really important to us and experience these special moments.    Read more

  • Shalee GherbazVietnam!!!!!Traveler

    Wandering through Hoi An at night

    February 28, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ 🌙 24 °C

    We spent almost 2 and a half hours at the tailors getting all our fabrics picked, measured, and choosing our styles and getting things costed, so we perused the streets of Hoi An. A few observations below.

    - It really is beautiful here. The aesthetic of the lanterns and the river and the lights are just stunning. Everywhere you look is pretty. My phone cannot capture how pretty it actually is from an architectural and visual colour aesthetic POV

    - This is a VERY touristy place. Tourists everywhere. And the Vietnamese get to work. Haggled multiple times walking to the tailors and walking home of people pushing you to go to their shop/their restaurant/ buy their toys/food. Ew ew ew. Didn't experience any of this in HCM but let's just say I'll be keeping a close eye on my belongings.

    - Avoid using 500k bills as much as possible here to avoid the money scam (the 500k bills and the 20k bills are both blue and look very similar, so a lot of scammers will claim you only gave them a 20k bill instead of a 500k and fight you over it) Solution- carry only 100k and 50k bills.

    - The pricing seems to wildly vary here when it comes to food. Some things are super cheap, and others are very inflated to the Western Market. I'll be looking to see where the whities eat vs the locals and scurrying off to the local joints wherever possible. I'm a tourist snob. Judge me all you like 🤣🤣🤣

    - If you came here to have a romantic boat ride by yourself and get a cute Instagram pic... Forget it! HUNDREDS of boats on the river packed in. Still really pretty, and Michael and I will definitely do it, but gotta keep the expectations down on earth because the reality is every man and his dog is getting on a boat.

    - I think this is a beautiful place by night, but it's definitely not somewhere that feels authentically Vietnamese as it's clearly been designed as a tourist town. It will be fascinating to explore the old town tomorrow during the day and see the cultural side of the city, not just the touristy elements.

    These are my first impressions. Let's see if I fall in love over the next few days. She really is a beauty, but does she have the heart. I'll keep you posted.    Read more

  • Shalee GherbazVietnam!!!!!Traveler

    Dinner in Hoi An Centre

    February 28, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Had dinner at a dumplings place in the middle of Hoi An after wandering around a bit more. There's a whole strip that is clearly all about drinking and partying, and a night market that was immensely busy so we gave it a miss for the night and will return another time when we both have our Loops.

    Dinner was OK. Michael got mixed meat dumplings and I had pork and prawn fried rice, and we shared some duck. The smoothies were delish though. I haven't been let down by a smoothie yet and they are all decently priced. Tourist tax for the food though. Ew. I'll go hang out with the lady across the road tomorrow and have her food again me thinks hahahahaha.

    We also nabbed a banana and Nutella crepe on the way home, which was a lovely finish to the evening, where we will watch some Bridgerton and then hit the hay.    Read more

  • Shalee GherbazVietnam!!!!!Traveler

    Breakfast with the locals

    February 29, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    We have our guided walking tour of old town today, so needed to grab a quick bite for breakfast. Grabbed some takeaway bubble teas at a fraction of the Aussie price ($2 each). I had guava with aloe vera and Michael had a strawberry snow. Yummo! Huge range at the place so definitely will be back.

    Breakfast was at a hole in the wall joint on the classic plastic stools with the spit buckets and everything. Full of locals. Michael had a fish and crab soup that had the most beautiful broth, and I had chicken fried rice that was tasty but needed to add some soy and some of Michaels broth to really elevate it. Can't complain though at roughly $2 per meal!!!!!    Read more

  • Shalee GherbazVietnam!!!!!Traveler
    1

    Old Village Guided Tour

    February 29, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    We've spent the last 3 hours exploring the old town with a tour guide in a group of 6. The guide was Tom, and he does these walking tours to better his English. A few mistranslations here and there hahah but he was relatively understandable.

    The old town is very pretty, with a mix of Chinese, Japanese and French Architecture. We learnt about the old towns architecture, went into a cultural house, saw a few museums on textiles and trades, watched a traditional dance and music performance show, etc.

    The old bridge that many come to see is under restoration so all boarded up and broken down, but good to learn about. I also had a delicious cold herbal tea that is only found here in Hoi An. It's made of lemongrass, cinnamon and a range of other healthy herbs, and honey. So delicious and only 18k per cup.    Read more

  • Shalee GherbazVietnam!!!!!Traveler

    Indian for Lunch!

    February 29, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    We decided to switch it up a bit for lunch and go to an Indian Restaurant. We went to Maazi, which is right around the corner from the tailor (which we have to quickly visit before going to our leather workshop to make an adjustment on one of my items). Beautiful Indian food. The naan was just like being back in India, with the rich scent and actual pieces of garlic and with drool worthy butter. The butter chicken was so satiating and even had a little bite to it, which was a refreshing change from Australian butter chicken. I had the vege pakora as my main meal, and it was full of hidden surprises and sauces. Very tasty and satiating meal to get us through the rest of the day! Drinks as usual were refreshing and tasty.Read more

  • Shalee GherbazVietnam!!!!!Traveler
    1

    Blue Lotus Leather Workshop!

    February 29, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Michael and I have spent the afternoon at Blue Lotus Leather, where we have made wallets from scratch! The Vietnamese leather workers assisted us in selecting an item and the leather we wanted to use, cutting the pattern, glueing, sewing, hammering rivets, and putting it all together! It was a labour of love and we both came out with great results! Michael even had his podcast logo engraved onto his wallet! Something really fun and unique to do, and Michael was a natural given he'd already started playing with leatherwork at home.Read more

  • Shalee GherbazVietnam!!!!!Traveler

    Mamma Mia! Italian in Hoi An

    February 29, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    I was so mentally famished from today's shenanigans that I desperately needed carbs. So, with the help of trusty google maps, I found an Italian Restaurant called Good Morning Vietnam with good reviews 150m from the leather workshop. It was PACKED with people, and we nabbed the last table left.

    Thinking that a medium pizza would be a small 4 piece pizza like we are used to, we ordered a medium margarita, a medium Hawaiian, and an entree carbonara for extra carbs. The mediums weren't so medium LOL! These were normal sized pizzas. And they were DIVINE. Super SUPER thin bases, with enough topping to satiate but not too much to overwhelm. Same with the carbonara. It was LIGHT, delicate and DELISH. Yummiest Italian that I have had in a long time, and one of the best margs I have ever eaten (the basil was so flavoursome and aromatic on this pizza it truly shone).

    Michael finally had his first dud drink of the vacation (a banana smoothie with very average flavour). At the end of the meal when they bought out the cheque, they bought out 2 shots of green liquid. Dumb me (thinking this was a palette cleanser) took a sip.... LIMONCELLO 😭😭😭 my sobriety was very unpleased by this discovery (as was my tastebuds because ew) given I have been sober for almost a year now. Alas, I had the tiniest sip unknowingly, so to me, it doesn't count, and I will continue on with my sober lifestyle!!!    Read more

  • Shalee GherbazVietnam!!!!!Traveler
    1

    Quick breakfast before heading to My Son

    March 1, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    Got dropped off at our shuttle bus pick up point and had a quick cheap breakfast of broken rice from a tiny hole in the wall eatery. Scrummo. Clean plate! Then grabbed a drink for the drive up to My Son. Michael had a banana and peanut butter smoothie, and I had a salted coffee!!!

    There are 3, speciality coffees in Vietnam: salted coffee, coconut coffee, and egg coffee. I generally avoid coffee (despite loving the flavour) as it's bad for my adrenal fatigue, but I swore to try all 3 at least once! Salted coffee is DELISH. Refreshing, creamy, and salty with delicate coffee notes that have just a pinch of tangy bitterness. Given that I adore dipping my french fries in soft serve and like my bacon with cream and maple syrup, I am not remotely surprised that I enjoyed this.

    This morning wasn't without drama though, as I realised when signing up for the shuttle that I'd left my backpack at the eatery 🙊😱 BOLTED back, luckily it was where I left it, and bolted to the bus. Gymnastics sure has improved my cardio because it only took a minute to catch my breath in the bus. Thanks vault warmups, you've saved my bacon!!!    Read more

  • Shalee GherbazVietnam!!!!!Traveler

    Mỹ Sơn Sanctuary

    March 1, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Took a 90 minute shuttle out into the wilderness to visit the Mỹ Sơn sanctuary. Basically, this is a heap of Indian Hindu temple ruins back from the 4th century that were built and occupied by the Champa Kingdom from the 4th Century until the 15th Century when the Vietnamese overthrew this group. They then got lost in the jungle for hundreds of years and were rediscovered by a Frenchman. Then, during the Vietnam war, the Americans bombed the shit out of them. Today are the remaining ruins.

    The ruins are fascinating, and we enjoyed wandering through the jungle. We took the clockwise pathway, which is the opposite direction to all the tours, so we had heaps of ruins and moments to ourselves to explore in peace and quiet. Because we went this direction, we also started from the smaller ruins and moved around the circle as the ruins got grander and grander. Smart way to do it.

    Michael needed to re energise as the heat and direct sun takes the life out of him (poor boy really is a vampire) so we went through pretty quickly taking his heat battery in mind, and spent a decent chunk of time relaxing at a cafe by one of the ruins with a peach smoothie for Michael and a virgin Mojito for me! Very soothing and Michael is back to his energised self.

    Basically, Michael is drained by the heat and sun, and I am drained the second I get hungry. Too long in the sun and not enough food and we start to malfunction and get stroppy. So as long as we accommodate this by having shaded downtime breaks and snacks on hand, we are good to explore! Funny the things you learn when travelling!

    I've done my photos in collages as I have a 10 photo limit on my blog!    Read more

  • Shalee GherbazVietnam!!!!!Traveler

    Bahn Mi for Lunch!

    March 1, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    Tasty tasty Bahn Mi for lunch. We've had no issues so far customising these to Michaels carnivore pallette.

    The bread was a little crispy on these, but the fillings were amazing. We have our motorbike day tomorrow so the plan is to grab some Bahn mi tonight to have early for breakfast tomorrow (our hotel room has a fridge).

    Drinks slapped, as usual. Banana Mango Smoothie for Michael, Blueberry juice for myself!    Read more

  • Shalee GherbazVietnam!!!!!Traveler

    The Espresso Station

    March 1, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    We needed to kill an hour whilst waiting to attend the first fitting for our tailored clothes, so our tailor recommended a coffee shop around the corner to visit. It was in a quaint alleyway and we just relaxed with a drink and killed some time. My drink was a sweet pea tea with lemon (it changed colours!!) and Michael had a strawberry lemon lemonade. Michael's was DIVINE, with such an authentically rich strawberry flavour and aroma. Mine was nice and refreshing (more of a health drink hahaha).

    Also, I'm now a bidet Stan. You can't put toilet paper down the toilets here. So, to avoid making everyone miserable if you need to go poopy, you use the bidet, then wipe. I'm converted. Need one in my house.    Read more

  • Shalee GherbazVietnam!!!!!Traveler

    First Fitting at the Tailors!!!

    March 1, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    We've had our first fitting at the tailors. Very impressed so far with where things are at. We need a few adjustments on sizing and length but nothing overly major wrong with anything at all. Will be back tomorrow night for final fittings and hopefully to be able to take it all away!!!!

    Not sharing too much because we want to save some for surprise!!!!    Read more

  • Shalee GherbazVietnam!!!!!Traveler

    Noodle House for dinner

    March 1, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    We went to a Noodle House for dinner to have some traditional Vietnamese soups! Michael had a beef pho and I had hư tiến năm vang (glass noodles with pork, prawns and quail eggs). We also got a chef's tasting plate to try tradition Hoi An spring rolls, white rose dumplings and wontons. Smoothie wise Michael had the house special and I had a tropical.

    Smoothies were sensational. Michael's made my eyes roll into the back of my head 🤣🤣🤣 the tasting plate was also divine, with each special succulent, tasty and unique to what we have ever had before.

    Michael's pho was really bland from a soup perspective (beef and noodles yum) but my soup was SENSATIONAL. God tier. So good. I ended up adding half my soup into Michaels pho to give it a bit of flavour because I felt bad that my food was so superior to his hahahaha!

    Reasonably priced for a restaurant as well ($27 for all). Would definately recommend hư tiến năm vang for anyone visiting Vietnam.    Read more

  • Shalee GherbazVietnam!!!!!Traveler

    Marble Mountains

    March 2, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    First up on our motorbike trip is a stop to the Marble Mountains. This place was incredible. They have 2 options for people, you can either climb up the steps to the various points on the mountain, or you can take a glass elevator to the top and see the pagoda. We took the steps because we like to work the glutes and thighs. The steps varied so much in size, some of them were above my knee!

    There's heaps of nooks to explore here, with various marble monuments, trekking paths, and amazing viewpoints. There are caves as well, and we were able to find a secret loop passage up through a tiny section of cave to go the secret way to the top! We squeezed through!!!!

    Views were amazing, and we thoroughly enjoyed the hike. Got a lovely tiger eye bracelet from a stall at the bottom of the mountains for 100k ($6.50 AUD).    Read more

  • Shalee GherbazVietnam!!!!!Traveler

    Da Nang Beach

    March 2, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ 🌧 23 °C

    Quick pit stop at Da Nang beach. They have exercise stations like at home!!!! It's mildly windy today along the shores but nothing too major. Did some stretching to keep the legs flexible 😍😍😍

  • Shalee GherbazVietnam!!!!!Traveler

    Hai Van Pass... Up up up the mountain!

    March 2, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Absolutely stunning ride along the Hai Van Pass. Stopped at various points to get some snaps, and because the bike is so stable and slow, I've been able to get some video.

    Michael is wearing his magnetic camera on his chest, so he has gotten INCREDIBLE footage. Can't wait to compilate it all. What's beautiful about the ride is that there's so much to see, from amazing vibrant varied greenery, to the ocean and mountains and the city scape. It's really gorgeous!!!

    Video starts on the outskirts of Da Nang, we even got to see a train go past!!!!!    Read more

  • Shalee GherbazVietnam!!!!!Traveler

    Down down the hai van pass!

    March 2, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Down the pass is very windy, and the part they really loved on top gun! So much fun taking the corners (nice and slow of course). When we hit the bottom we hit a seaside village, and went past an oyster farm (which is what all the tires are for!).

    It's so scenic on this route!!!!    Read more

  • Shalee GherbazVietnam!!!!!Traveler

    A secluded waterhole all to ourselves!

    March 2, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ 🌧 22 °C

    Our driver took us through the most gorgeous rural village to get to a secluded waterhole. It was absolutely GORGEOUS! Once in the water it was so relaxing, and the water was so clear too. There were even little fish we could see dancing around us, and they would come up and give my legs a little kiss. We had this place mostly to ourselves. Another couple came for about 5-10 minutes to sit and have a cuppa, and then as we were lazing about drying off another couple came and we encouraged them to swim!

    We also got to ride past the water buffalo!!! They were so close to the bike path it was very cute 😍😍😍    Read more

  • Shalee GherbazVietnam!!!!!Traveler

    Seafood by the sea!

    March 2, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ 🌧 22 °C

    We have ridden to Lan Co beach and are having seafood right along the ocean at Huy Hoang Restaurant. The seafood they serve is literally still alive chilling out in mini aquariums. 3 guesses what we had based on our pics.....

    Squid, shrimps... And LOBSTER. Wanted to splash out since we have never had lobster together. Also grabbed a fries to go with, and some basic drinks (OJ for Michael, ginger tea for me).

    Yummmmo! Everything was delish. I even ate the whole mini octopus. Normally each time I have it it is really chewy and I don't like it, but this squid and octopus was so soft and easy to eat. Shrimps were messy but so delish in garlic sauce, and the lobster was tasty as, covered in garlic and herb butter. Seafood heaven!

    The grand total for all of this was $60. I think that's pretty decent 😍😍😍    Read more

  • Shalee GherbazVietnam!!!!!Traveler

    Heading home via the clouds and Da Nang

    March 2, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ 🌧 21 °C

    Homeward bound, we made a quick pitstop up at the top of the Hai Van Pass where we could literally see the clouds moving above us. Super cool and an amazing view! Then we passed through Da Nang City, which got a bit crazy on the bikes because it was so busy, and had a quick pit stop at the dragon bridge before heading back to the hotel.

    What a fantastic day. We enjoyed it so much, we have organised with our easy rider to re-hire him on Monday to do another tour on the bikes up to Ba Na Hills and Monkey Mountain!    Read more

  • Shalee GherbazVietnam!!!!!Traveler

    2nd fitting at the tailors

    March 2, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    We have had our second fitting at the tailors. All of my clothing items are complete!!! I am very happy with the end result of my items. I have had 2 identical dresses made in different colours based off House of CB's signature dress, and they've come out perfect replicas but perfectly shaped and adjusted to my body proportions. It's the first of its kind that the tailor has made, and they liked it so much they asked me to model it for their social media and their website!

    Michael also has had something extraordinary made that every staff member and tailor wanted to see and take photos of for their socials. It's a complete one of a kind and a surprise that he will reveal to everyone in person. His other items have turned out fantastically as well, his winter coat especially is very suave. All the ladies think he is so handsome because he is so tall, broad and muscular, and they keep cracking jokes about him to me and it's been quite hysterical to witness.

    We pick everything up finalised tomorrow, so have bought a leather duffel bag to add to our checked luggage. It's a gorgeous design we got cheaper because it was off the rack without customisation, and will become our travel companion when venturing to see family in Australia.    Read more

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