Day 21 - Ubud to Sanur

Last morning in Ubud. Breakfast overlooking the rice paddies. The staff here have really looked after us. Ketut arrived early, and we were away by 9:30. First stop was the terraced rice fields at Tegalalang. The traffic was dreadful, the roads around Ubud are narrow,
and there are regularly either bikes or cars parked, blocking one side of the road. Add to that all the work they are doing on curbside drains, and it makes getting anywhere a matter of qwaiting your turn. The rice terraces were worth the wait, absolutely beautiful.

It was then a long drive down to the main beaches of Bali - Kuta, Legian. Were not really interested in getting out and walking around each site, just wanted to know what they looked like. Driver then dropped us to Puri Santrian, our last hotel before home. It was around 1 pm.

A minor hitch to start with, they gave us a twin room, and tried to tell us they didn't have a double. But when Errol insisted, they suddenly found one that was just being cleaned. Put our bags in, then went for a walk around the grounds.

They have 3 swimming pools, and also a decent piece of beach. Had lunch on the foreshore, a lovely outlook. Went into the lounge where wifi is at it's best, and spoke to. Alex and Michael on Skype. Then walked along the foreshore to the Bali Hyatt - the grounds at Puri seem nicer. Walked back, and decided to take Kindles down to the beach to relax. Called in at the spa and had our free 'jet lag massage' - 10 minutes. It was far more relaxing than the one at Waka Di Ume. Managed to get a beachside double couch, and sat watching the beach while reading. Had a drink from the bar around 5 or just after, then around 6 - 6:30, went for a walk to find dinner.

Ate at Caesars restaurant on the main road - lovely venue, ordinary food. Checked another couple of menus on the way back, looking for somewhere different for tomorrow night. Ordered some ice for my ankle, and back to the room. Errol is pleased - the AFL finals are on Telly! The grounds here are lovely, but the room is very ordinary, and needs some work.

Puri Santrian

Just chillin'

Day 19 - Ubud

Feeling a bit sorry for myself this morning, time to get that positive thinking going. Left eye is blackening up nicely! My ankle is the main concern, but I really believe it is just a nasty sprain. The staff here are so attentive and very concerned for me. Had a visit from a lady from the office this morning, she wanted to call the doctor. I really don't think I need one, but feel it would put their minds at rest. Asked about crutches, will see what the doctor says.

Iced ankle for a while, then hobbled up to breakfast. The grounds here are beautiful. Breakfast was great, and the doctor arrived just as we finished. He confirmed my thoughts that it is just a nasty sprain. Having done the other ankle just before we left home, I know what to do!! So it was back to the unit and ice and elevate again. Had a quiet morning sitting on the front deck, overlooking the paddy fields, reading and generally relaxing.

Went down for an hour of massage at 1, it was lovely, but not the relaxing massage I had expected. Then caught the shuttle into Ubud. Walked around - lots of market type shops. Looked at several silver shops, but unsure about bargaining. Visited one bead store where the lady said she could 'do me a deal', so I guess it is okay to offer less than the ticketed price. Will try it tomorrow.

The footpaths are not helpful for an injured ankle, and I needed to stop regularly to rest both ankles. Found a place for afternoon tea where the dairy free coconut sorbet was so good that I actually ordered a second scoop. Next time we stopped we had an early tea, around 5:30. Then caught the 6:15 shuttle back to the hotel. Grabbed some ice for my ankle, and some honey (as recommended by one of the staff) for my lip. Quiet night in tonight.

Day 20 - Ubud

Lazy morning, slept in then went up for breakfast - don't remember the last time we were eating breakfast at 9:30!!! Talked to Recek at the front desk about the local traditional dancing shows, and he will organise a driver to take us to the fire dancing tonight. Decided to catch the 11:00 shuttle down to town, and just took it easy till then. Ankle still swollen, face looking a bit better, especially after a touch of makeup. Maybe the honey helped!?

Found the craft market - it was just on the other side of the road that we had walked yesterday. Another rabbit warren area, stacked with stalls selling silver, timber, sarongs, caneware, art etc etc. Had a good look at the silver earrings, purchased a lovely silver and mother of pearl dragonfly brooch for my new coat, bargained down to 100 000 rupiah, about $12. A good price if it really is silver!

Checked out a few restaurants, looking for somewhere for tea tonight. Had a cold drink at Cafe Lotus, which was built around a beautiful pond full of lotus plants in flower. But when Errol checked them on the Internet, their reputation for food is only so so.

Back to the hotel to rest up, actually had a nanny nap! Caught the 5:00pm shuttle back down to Ubud. Errol was looking for a particular restaurant, and one of the other guests gave us directions - not very good ones! After walking a while, we ended back in the same street as last might, and dined at Batan Waru. One dish was lovely, the other a little too hot. The lime and mint drink was good. Walking back via another street to our pick up point, we passed Ibu Rani (?) not sure of spelling now. We had walked a lot further than we needed to thanks to bad directions!

At pick up point, the arranged driver was already there, and he drove us around to Padang Kertha Temple, where the Kecak and Fire Dance performance was on tonight. It was on a par with the water puppets in Hanoi - okay, but after the first 10 minutes or so, very repetitive. Driver was waiting again, and delivered us back or hotel - charged 100 000 rupia (about $12.50), which was a lot for the amount of driving he did.

That's about it for our stay in Ubud. It has been relaxing, and the staff of Waka Di Ume have been lovely. I think they all known of my fall, and regularly ask how I am getting on.

Day 16 - Hoi An to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC)

Breakfast at the hotel in Hoi An. Collected by Tonkin driver at 8:45, to Da Nang airport. Call to board was roughly on time, but then we sat on the Tarmac for an extra 30 minutes while they dealt with some problem! Vietnam Airlines!!

Guide collected us in HCMC around 1:30 - we hadn't had any lunch, and he said it was too early to check into the hotel, so we started our tour of the city.

First stop was in the Chinese district, and, of course, we had to see a temple! But this one, the Temple of Heavenly Lady, was a bit different from any others we have seen, anywhere. Then we walked around the Chinatown markets. Boy, do they sell some strange looking foods there!

Back into the car, and off to see if the Reunification Palace was open. Apparently an army general had died, and his body/coffin had been lying in the palace, so it had been closed. But the funeral had been in the morning, so the palace was open again.

The Palace was originally built in the time of French domination, but was bombed in an attempt to kill the prime minister, so had to be rebuilt. It is a fairly modern looking building for a palace. Inside are rooms for meetings with foreign and local dignitaries, quarters for the prime minister and his family, various different meeting rooms and dining rooms. Also in the basement, which is bombproof, there are rooms from where the prime minister ran operations during the Vietnam war. An interesting place to visit.

By this time, we had accepted that we weren't going to get lunch! Boy, would we be hungry by tea time!

Next stop was the War Remnants Museum. Hai didn't come in with us here. The museum was full of information about the Vietnam war. There is no doubt that there were some atrocities during the time, and the Americans were responsible for many. But, everything you see here has that bias to it, you don't see anything from the other side. Personally, I just hate wars, we didn't stay long.

A few blocks further along, there is a scaled down version of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, and across the road from that, the old Post Office building which is still used today. both are beautiful buildings.

Last stop for the day was the Ben Thanh Markets. Hai showed us through, then left us to our own devices for 3/4 hour. We picked up a few polos for Matt. Errol is becoming the super negotiator, with a great sense of humour built in!

Checked in at the hotel. Hai recommended a restaurant a couple of blocks away, then left us. The room is less than half the size of the last one, but comfortable enough. Looked at Errol's list of restaurants in the area, then went for a walk to find dinner. Just happens that number one on his list, Nha Hang Ngon, is the same one as Hai recommended. Lovely dinner, then home for shower and relax.

Temple of Heavenly Lady

Chinese food market

Reunification Palace

Old Post Office

Day 15 - Hoi Anh

Very early start to the day - we were booked on a sunrise photographic tour, due to be collected at 4:45am! The alarm went off on the iPhone to wake us ip, but although Errol has it set to local time, apparently the alarm wasn't - it was only 1:15!!! Back to sleep, eventually, and reset alarm woke us at 4:15. Picked up right on time, collected a few other people, then down to the river.

Etienne is French, but has been living in Vietnam for 10 years, and has been doing photography for a living for about 4. We caught a ferry over to a fishing village where he knows the locals - very authentic, his groups are the only tourists that go there. There were 6 people in the group, including 5 Aussies, and we were the only ones with 'point and push' cameras, all the others had fancy SLR jobs! The morning was interesting, but probably a little too long for us and our basic cameras. He knows his stuff, and was able to give us a few pointers on how to adjust settings to get the most out of what we have.

Ferry took us back again, then we had bikes to ride back into Hoi Anh. Now it has been a while since either of us has been on a bike, so it was an interesting venture. Errol crashed on kick off, much to the amusement of locals, then I found it really hard to get going again once we were stopped in traffic. We did make it, but had missed breakfast by the time we were back at the hotel (about 10:15)

Back to our room for a much needed shower - it was hot already. The tailor was due at 11 for my first fitting. Long story short - she didn't arrive till after 12:30, but there was good progress with the clothes. Although she didn't have all items to try, there were only minor problems to fix - she promised to be back at 3 this afternoon.

Off into town to find some lunch - ate at Citronella - another Internet recommendation. The food was lovely. From there, wandered through the old town, checked a few more tailors to see if they had anything different for trousers, but no luck. Back to hotel for a cold drink just before 3.

Lan was only about 10 minutes late this time - not too bad. Four items are now perfect, others still need adjustments. She will be back at 7 tonight.

Meanwhile, Vi An had arrived to take us to the Goian Cooking School. We stopped at the local market first, and saw the produce available, then walked around to their home/kitchen. Vi An took a little getting used to, she wanted to break into song about almost everything!! But she was good at what she was doing, and we soon settled into an enjoyable evening, and the food was beautiful - things that I am sure we could reproduce at home.

We had to pay for the taxi back to the hotel. The streets were full of kids doing lion dances as it is mid autumn festival day. There were drums and children everywhere. Lan arrived back pretty much on time, again a couple more things are just right, only 3 items need minor adjustments. Due to festival, we have agreed that she can deliver at 7:30 tomorrow morning.

We decided that it was hardly bedtime at 7:15, but we didn't want to venture out amongst the chaos either, so settled for a cocktail at the garden bar. There were a few other people there, including an Aussie couple we had spoken to yesterday. Enjoyed a chat over a few drinks, then decided to have a swim before retiring to our room.

We had no sooner arrived back in our wet togs, but the phone rang - reception to tell us that the tailor was back. We dressed and went over. This time all was correct. Errol went to the ATM to sort out money, through the back streets of Hoi An, on the back of the tailors motorbike, in the rain, holding an umbrella at 9:30 on a Sunday night. The first machine said 'transaction okay', but gave no money. The second would only give half what he requested. Tailors shop was closed, so couldn't do credit card. Back to the hotel to scrape together enough Aussie dollars and Viet dong to pay the bill. All this took over an hour!!

Another eventful day, now it is definitely bedtime!

Day 14 - Hue to Hoi An

Collected at 8:30 this morning. Guide this time is Vinh. His English is pretty good, and he does a good job of describing the history and features as we drive along.

Our first stop is at a resort Langco where we check out the beach, then have a cold drink. Beach is very long, and pretty good, but no-one is out enjoying it. We then drive on through 3 mountain passes. The third and highest is Hai Van Pass. At the top there is the ruin of a monument built by an ancient emperor, plus a couple of American war bunkers. The view over Danang to the south is superb - it is on a large bay, you can see why it has been important for centuries. There is intermittent cloud to the north, but the glimpses through show a similar view back to Hue.

We drove on through Danang city, then to Marble Mountain. There are in fact several mountains, each containing a different type /colour of marble. We stopped at a showroom/shop with many marble items for sale from small figurines to large garden statues. Not really interested in buying.

We then climbed the 200 plus steps up the mountain. They were very uneven steps, and damp - we took them carefully. At the top was a temple, shrine to monks, and surprisingly a garden too. Up and down a few more steps, and we were taken into a cave that the Viet Cong used as a hospital during the war - it must have been a long climb for injured soldiers.

Hoi An was only about 20 minutes more down the road. Vinh took us to a local restaurant where we had lunch, and it was great. We then dropped our bags at the hotel, grabbed the details for the tailor, and Vinh dropped us there before he headed for home.

Pin Pin was the tailor we had decided on after a final look at TA and our notes last night. Lan was lovely, and I have ordered several items. Happy with the prices, all up,it took less than 2 hours. She will bring things to the hotel tomorrow at 11 for fittings (fingers crossed).

We strolled back to the hotel through the markets. Bought a Polo knock off for Matt - only one for now, wanted to check the quality first. Back at the hotel to freshen up, and then joined other guests for the free market food - local specialities that aren't always available even in the restaurants. Some lovely food, we had a drink to go with them, and didn't need any dinner after that. Had a swim, which was just wonderful. The grounds of this hotel are lovely - lots of gardens.

Organized some washing, but despite two phone calls, no-one came to collect it. Quiet night tonight as we have an early start tomorrow.

Lang Co Beach

Temple on top of Marble Mountain

Cave/hospital - Marble Mountain

Grounds of hotel - market food out

Day 13 photos

Incense bundles ready for sale

Errol and Quoc (I am sure he wore his helmet back to front most of the day!)

So many lotus plants - at the monastery

Inside The Citadel

Anne the intrepid bikie!