Con Dao islands (3)

Having made plans the night before on Monday Amanda got up early to go to the market and the shops to buy supplies for our picnic and breakfast, as.o to buy fruit juice from one of the street sellers. Andrew went for take away coffees and we made a diy breakfast in the hotel courtyard. This was "flashpacker" accommodation and we had use of the kitchen. After a breakfast of scrambled eggs , baguette etc we set off to hike to Dam Tre lagoon. This entailed an electric taxi to the trailhead then the walk began at 10.0am. We walked 2km across the Sandy bay passing the other end of the runway to a spot in the corner where the trail was marked. This took us almost 50mins and we then stopped for half an hour for drinks and snacks. Then the tough-for-me section of the walk began. We climbed up 500ft on a paved path through the jungle, the start was steep with lots of steps and it was very hot and humid. 

The start of the jungle hike

I was sweating to put it mildly and Amanda realised that I was probably getting dehydrated, I had been saving my water, but she assured me that she thought there would be drinks at the rangers station at the other end. This section, through the jungle was 3km, the longest 3km I have ever walked! Once up the steepest part it went up and down along the headland, we think, we couldn't see through the trees! .....and eventually started to go down hill. It took about an hour and a quarter to reach our destination and, yes, the ranger station had drinks! I bought a coco cola to replenish my electrolytes etc and we made out way down the stony beach.  They call Dam Tre a lagoon, but in fact it is a long inlet and only becomes a lagoon at low tide as we saw from the plane as we left the island. The tide had turned when we got there and was coming in quite strongly. I had to use my walking poles to get to the waters edge, it was very slippery but I had a quick swim. Amanda and Orlo snorkelled several times drifting with the tide, Andrew also had a go, the first time snorkelling for him. They saw lots of coral, some parrot fish and giant clams. I has not taken my snorkel mask, I could have borrowed from them but the waves were a bit strong for me. We had another great crackers and cream cheese and fruit picnic along with left over pizza which had been boxed for us the night before. Then I laid out my towel Costa del sol style on the concrete path and had a snooze!

This place was really isolated apart from the ranger station and we only saw one other person all day.

Snorkellers in the water 

We set off back after two and half hours and fortunately I found  the walk back much easier and did it to the beach in an hour. The tide was coming in, and we had noted that the high tide mark was well above the the area where the runway wall is built. We had a quick dip, in the sea then began to walk the 2km back along the beach, M and I went ahead and had to wade a bit with the sea coming up to our calves. Orlo absolutely loves the sea and had been reluctant to stop swimming and come along so they were a bit behind us, by the time they came to that area the water was up to their knees and Orlo swam part of it, Andrew got drenched by waves colliding with the sea wall! Exciting times!

Andrew had been a bit anxious about our access and if we had  we  later and had to wait until the tide turned it would have been dark!

We walked on almost to the end of the beach where there is a very smart  resort, the Poulo Condor Boutique Resort and Spa.  They have a beach bar and made five slightly bedraggled hikers very welcome. We sent Michael in first to set the tone for the rest of the party in his check shirt, calf length shorts and Panama hat! We were able to change in the rest room, in fact Orlo had a shower, and then had a very civilised drink as the sun went down. The hotel called a taxi for us and ferried us through the lush grounds in their golf cart. The resort consists of villas and suites, it was almost 7.0pm when we got back to the hotel so we had a quick change and headed to the Bar 200 bistro where Amanda and I indulged in a well earned gin fizz. We ate simple food like toasted sandwiches, pizza and burger then walked back for another early night. 

The staff at the resort were amazed we had walked back  through the tide and the lady at our hotel decided we were all very strong to do the trek!!! It was the heat and humidity that made it tough.

We left the island this morning and have gone from the ridiculous to the sublime; we are staying at the Hotel Majestic in Saigon and have been upgraded to adjoining suites!!

Apparently the local streets will be closed to traffic at 7.0pm and there will be fireworks on the river in front of the hotel at midnight. 

Andrew got this great shot of Orlo when we were at Dam Tre

Flying out over yesterday's trekking beach

First views of Saigon and the Mekong Delta

That's all for now, time to get ready to see Saigon on New Years Eve

Happy New Year Everyone, hope 2020 is a good one!

Con Dao Islands (2)

On the first evening we ate at the Villa Maison , a restaurant with rooms in a beautiful old French Colonial house. They were fully booked but set up a table for us in the bar reception area. This was an early experience of how welcoming and accommodating the people are here. The following morning we located the Cafe Infinity, where again the staff were lovely, we had breakfast there three out of the four mornings and two evening  meals. They serve a mix of Vietnamese and Western food, so everyone was able to satisfy their palates (including Michael!).  On the first evening I blew the budget and had the seafood platter, huge prawns, a lot of squid and a large piece of fish with various salad items and potato wedges. The others helped me out a bit, as it was a very large portion for 1.

After enquiring about the organised tours which are available we decided to do our own thing for a fraction of the price. We were able to make our own picnics and hire the electric car taxis which easily accommodated the five of us. So, the next day, which was Sunday, we made our way to Dam Trau beach which turned out to be a large sandy bay. We walked to the furthest corner (of course!) and set up our 'camp'. Amanda, Orlo and I were soon snorkelling amongst the coral. Much of the coral appears to be dead but there were some golden honeycomb areas and we saw a few fish, small bright cobalt blue ones, larger striped ones and Orlo saw an orange flat fish in the coral. There were lots of flowers on the sea bed too. All of these sights were a new experience for me, fantastic! We swam and ate, and swam again, until the tide started coming up the beach, then we packed up and walked back to the beach cafe area for a drink and sat in their deck chairs while Orlo, Andrew and Amanda went to explore the other end of the each. All in all, a very relaxing day.

Of course there had to be some dam building too!

As we walked back along the beach there were hundreds of tiny crabs running to their burrows, they almost appeared to be flying.

This beach was at the end of the runway where the planes come in, three or four came into land while we were there, they are small planes and are fun to watch.

Later we made plans for the next day, which turned out to be quite an adventure......

To be continued!

Con Dao Islands (1)

Tuesday December 31st

Wow! Almost 2020 and here I am back on the small plane to take us to Saigon for three nights.

Our three days here have been interesting and adventurous. There is just one small town with virtually no traffic and a lovely promenade devoid of  all the usual seaside trappings including people! The island we are staying on was Con Son, but the whole area is know as Con Dao. We were staying at a small hotel in town called the The Lighthouse, in amongst all the local business, shops, market etc. No sterile protected resort for us! The staff were delightful, and the rooms were spotlessly clean.

One of the main streets towards the sea

The town beach

We arrived later on in the afternoon so we just had a walk around and orientated ourselves, trying out some of the local street food in the process

Little shrimp pancakes served with a papaya salad and green vegetables and herbs and vinegar. They were delicious .

The following day after a late start Michale and I went for a walk along the seafront round to the main resort hotels where we stopped for a cooling drink. A beautiful beach location

We saw these fish drying on  street corner

We then went to meet the others and took an electric car taxi to the National Park entrance, paid our daily fees of about £2 and set off to walk one of the trails to a beach. We hadn't expected to come across road construction en route, we discovered that a new road is being built across the back of the island through this protected area. I suppose we can't blame them for trying to open up the island a bit more, and it will settle in eventually but now it is a blot on the landscape

The walk on a paved path through the jungle took us to a stony bay, with a rangers station and lots of macaques(monkeys). We walked a little further to get away from the monkeys who are adept at raiding bags and food. Amanda and I had put together a picnic of crackers and cream cheese plus the Christmas baking we had brought from Hanoi, and lots of cucumber, tomatoes etc. Amanda and Orlo and Michael all had a swim but the access was a little too stony for me. As the tide came in Orlo sat in a pool a "hot tub", with the water coming in and out around him! 

The state of the tide when we arrived, it came in quite quickly.







The hot tub!

It was a steep walk out 700m of steps! 

Amanda and I walked back the same route whilst the others tried to find another signposted route, however they were thwarted and caught us up as we approached the town. We saw a swift aviary where they harvest the birds nests for soup! We could hear the birds, there were entries to the nest boxes all over the building. It was called a cordyceps militaris. The poor birds, perpetually nest building.

Amanda I I saw a few of these strange flowers, PlantSnap could not identify it, but I wonder if it is from the horsetail family.

Historically this was a prison island, used by most governments for decades, this site was particularly sad and gruesome. There are many prison camp ruins on the edge of the town plus a large old prison almost in the centre. The conditions don't bear thinking about! There is still a large military presence as military training and exercises take place here.

To be continued....

Christmas Days (2)

Yesterday was Boxing Day and Michael and I went to the city for a walk with the Friends of Vietnam Heritage organisation. They are a voluntary organisation a bit like our Civic Society. This walk was in the Truc Ba Lake area, which we have not explored before. We visited an important Taoist temple which was very busy with worshippers. The walk leader, Stella, then realised that it was the 15th day of the month in the lunar calendar and a very important day as it is the last month of the year. Both the temple and the pagoda we visited later were highly decorated and stacked with offerings of fruit, flower, food and money (a monk was walking around discreetly and picking this up!). We tried not to be too intrusive.

The temple had a huge bronze statue of a venerated man who helped the king when Hanoi became the capital.

Incense was burning everywhere 

We learned that Truc Ba Lake was once part West Lake but it is now separated by a road. In past times the two villages either side decided they wanted easier access and to be able to fish so they built a dyke which was later widened to allow carts. During the American War it was destroyed and after the war students and young people worked their one afternoon a week off to rebuild it.  The street is now named 'Youth Street' in recognition of the work

 

Apparently after the war Ho Chi Minh decreed that everyone should use this free time to help rebuild the city.

We saw more of usual sights too. These women are selling pineapples 

This area was known for silk weaving and bronze casting. The bronze works had to move closer to the river for safety reasons and apparently this industry is very busy again as many new temples are being built.

Our final stop was at a pagoda (Chua)and communal house. I learned that a pagoda is a Chua and is Buddhist. Once again this was highly decorated with lots of additional banners. The bronze Buddha was huge!

Note the huge ceramic vases, like the ones we saw in the workshops in Bat Trang last week

We got home just in time for the Boxing Day party, another family, the yoga teacher and her son and two young men who are Loose Scholars from the USA joined us. A very interesting mix of people and  a good time was had by all! The three young boys had a great time playing video games on their newly acquired consoles.

Michelle(who is a Kiwi) and I serving the puddings. 

Pavlova, chocolate log, mince tart, and Christmas cakes were on offer. The two Scholars were sent home with lots of leftovers from the first course and the puddings as we were travelling the next day.

We then had a mammoth clear up and packed!

I have been writing this on the flight to Ho Chi Minh City where we will transfer to another flight to Con Son an island in the Con Dao Archipelago. We will spend 4 nights there then return to HCMC/Saigon for three nights, two of which are at the Majestic Hotel, which is our Christmas gift from Andrew and Amanda! Almost there!.....

Busy Christmas days (1)

Friday 27th December

It's hard to believe that it's now Friday!

I escaped to yoga again on Christmas Eve morning, then the rest of the day we were prepping for the next day. 

Not done this for a very very long time!

Later afternoon light on the lake on our way back from a last minute errand

The air quality was very poor that day so we didn't go into the city in the evening as planned but walked the short distance to the Turtle Lake Brewery where burgers happened to be on 2for1. I had a bun less burger with fries.

 On the way home I got this nice shot of Andrew walking along the lane to the apartment with our Christmas tree visible on the top floor

Christmas Day dawned  and Santa had visited! Orlo believes in the spirit of Santa!! We had the customary family day. We Skyped with Amanda's family at 7.30am for the traditional Fine family Christmas readings; technology is amazing nowadays, we were located in Hanoi, Connecticut and Seattle! Later we video messaged with Duncan and Rachel who had Rachel's family with them for the festive season.

 An American-Vietnamese couple joined us for lunch. Apparently Andrew and Amanda invited them last year and they enjoyed it so much they came again! We roasted an almost 14lb turkey and served it with all the trimmings including parsnips from the UK. We also had some interesting additional flavours, Amanda had added kumquats when she made the cranberry sauce and we had found a delicious nutty apricot stuffing on the internet. There wasn't a sprout in sight, the green veg was spinach cooked with garlic. I had brought two mini Christmas puddings which were accompanied by brandy butter; and made a chocolate roulade which we filled with strawberries and cream and creme fraiche.

The washing up team! (Breakfast washing up)

Amanda, Michael, Orlo and I went for a short walk in the evening and had a look at the local temple. The stalls outside were stacked full of fruit, biscuits etc and we found out the reason the next day.

This is a "heritage tree"; a huge banyan tree with massive aerial roots

To be continued as there will be too many photos for one blog......

Pre-Christmas Weekend activities

Monday 23rd December

Here is some information about our activities over the weekend, by request!

I escaped to the local spa for a manicure on Saturday morning so now I have nice Christmas nails for the festive season. Amanda and I were able to get together with regard to some food and gift planning. 

Later on in the afternoon we went to Amanda's works Christmas Party. It was a family event, great fun for the children and very good for staff relations. Unfortunately we got caught up in bumper to bumper traffic on the way there and had a horrendous taxi driver, he managed to slightly knock two people on motorbikes and the wing  mirror was also caught by a van driver who appeared to be having a video phone call!! It was the worst drive I have experienced here. We were glad to get out after about a 40 min stop-start-undertake-overtake journey! 

The location was a purpose built event complex by the river. A variety of sizes of rooms set in gardens around a man made lake, with pagodas etc, all lit up for Christmas. Our room was a glass walled pavilion with lots of sliding doors, it was indoors/outdoors, which would have been fine had it not been chilly and damp. I was dressed in smart silk trousers and top and kept my quilted jacket on throughout! I had thought the venue would be air conditioned, but not quite like that! Others obviously knew about the venue and were wearing sweaters etc!!

Orlo is still not sure how they knew he wanted this annual 😉

However the party progressed noisily with karaoke, Santa giving presents to the children, followed by a Secret Santa for the adults in which the gifts were placed in a circle on the floor and the recipients formed a circle and moved around to music. As it was all conducted in Vietnamese, I didn't quite understand it, but once they all stopped they took the present in front of them.  The whole evening culminated in a water puppet show in a theatre on the man made lake. The puppeteers must have been frozen standing up to their thighs in water to work the puppets. They always come from behind the screens at the end of the end of the show.

We were very relieved that Amanda had booked one of the regular works' drivers for the journey home.

On Sunday we had a lazy morning then went out for lunch at one of their regular haunts, Maison TeT, I met the owner, Pete, on my first visit here, his restaurant is now in its third location since then, it is near the Sheraton Hotel and fronts onto the lake not quite opposite to where we live. It is about a 30 min walk. Later in the afternoon we decorated the Christmas cake which I made in October and brought with us. It was not without incident, they have powder food colouring and  Granny managed to spill a bit of the green. Suffice it to say that the floor turned green, Orlo walked in it and it was spread around the apartment!!! Moral:  use liquid food colouring, it is much easier to manage!!

Orlo, Amanda and I all contributed and here is the result!

Here are a few things we saw on our walks

Kumquat trees being prepared for Tet which is at the end of January next year.

Lilies flowering on the lotus pond

One of the original lakeside houses.


Poinsettia tree and razor wire!!

This morning I have been to a yoga class and I am now in the midst of doing prep for Christmas Day, stuffing, brandy butter, mincemeat slice.

That's all for now.