Historic train station and Linh Phuoc Pagoda, Da Lat

It's Spring in Da Lat in March with the highest temperature average of 27C. It felt much hotter than that when we awoke to our sun filled apartment so we were in no hurry to leave the aircon and spent time catching up on emails and creating a list of places we wanted to see. Today, we decided, we would go to the historic train station and take the tourist train to the Linh Phouc Pagoda.

Spring in Da Lat

On arrival at the train station we were stopped by the gatekeeper to pay an entrance fee which was a surprise. The station stood somewhat majestically behind a wide garden and lawn. It hasn't rained here since before December and the lawn was a sad, thinly covered burnt grass.

Ga Da Lat

Ga Da Lat and the railway line linking it with Saigon was built by the French rulers between 1932 and 1938 and is the first significant structure built in the area by the French. As such, it has been identified as an historical monument. The trip between Saigon, Ho Chi Minh, took about half a day which made Da Lat a popular place in the cool for French colonialists to holiday.

Train timetable to Linh Phouc Pagoda, Dalat

With no time to purchase tickets, we were told to quickly board the train as it was going to depart in one minute. On we clambered to find that almost all the seats were occupied by a couple of tour parties. Korean, we found out when we conversed with them via the Translate app. Mostly women having fun together. 

Tourist train, Dalat

The line to the pagoda is only 7km and runs very close to houses along the way. I could have put my arm out the window and plucked a flower from the many hanging baskets that adorned the porches and fences. It sped up a bit when it came to a horticultural area. Here massive shade houses containing all kinds of vegetables - cabbages, corn, tomatoes, beans as well as sunflowers, chrysanthemums, and many other flowers covered the hillsides.

Horticulture houses, Dalat

The Vietnamese sign, Nam Mo The Am Bo Tat, at the top of this building translates to Dreaming of a Warm World it Sits On. It's an impressive building and I wonder if it is a retreat or meditation centre

See the sign at the top of this building

waiting for the train to pass

Dalat city has wide boulevards courtesy of the French, however when we got out into the suburbs lanes even narrower than this one were common.

It was a 400m walk for us to the Linh Phuoc Pagoda while the tour groups got a bus ride. The parking area was full of buses coming and going.  People crammed the doorway. Shoes were piled up. It was hot. That was a bit too much for balance challenged me so I contented myself with looking around the exterior of the building.

Linh Phuoc Pagoda, Da Lat

This pagoda is famous for its decorative mosaics including the resident dragon being made out of bottle tops and the heavy bell decorated by broken rice bowls. It's a relatively new pagoda being built from 1949 - 1952.

On our return to the station we enjoyed a much needed coffee, learning that Vietnam is the second largest coffee producing country in the world. 

Weightloss coffee beans, Da Lat

Several types of coffee beans were on sale. I thought I needed to purchase the Weight loss Lovers beans but left the Smoker's beans to someone else.

Dalat - City of Eternal Spring

Da Lat is the reason we are in Vietnam. It has taken us sixteen years since we saw a documentary highlighting the beauty of the mist shrouded hills, wide, rushing waterfalls, serene lakes and vegetable and flower farming. Those years have changed both Da Lat and ourselves with Da Lat's population growing from around 86,000 in 2008 to 197,000 in 2023 with corresponding systemic development and urbanisation while we have lost some physical ability and are unable to get to some of the waterfalls or to do the walks in the pine forests. Nevertheless, there is much that we can see, do and enjoy so let's get out there!

Da Lat is only 200km north west of Ho Chi Minh, Saigon. You can get there by bus however we took the more comfortable thirty five minute flight. Of course it wasn't that quick when you factor in the more than three hours from hotel to boarding the plane. 

The airport seemed to be quite new and modern and once our fellow passengers got their bags and left, very empty. Our bags were last off the plane - that's what happens when you are first to check in. There was a taxi desk right beside the baggage belt so I booked a "small car" to our hotel more than thirty kilometres away for VND145,000  AUD8.70. The small car turned out to be not so small and the metre ticked over to VND420,000, AUD25.00. Still a ridiculously small charge for such a distance. [The driver did not ask us to increase our pre payment and cheerily took our bags up the steps to hotel and smiled his goodbyes.]

Leaving the airport, we were immediately cruising along a four lane expressway. The thirty kilometre road had a wide median strip that bloomed with different kinds of flowers and small shrubs the entire stretch. Roses, hydrangeas, chrysanthemums, bougainvillea to name a few. Even better than Singapore, I thought. Da Lat is known as the City of Eternal Spring because of its temperate climate. It's also the City of Flowers, well named, I think.

On check in to our apartment we were told that, as we were staying six nights, we had been upgraded to a two bedroom one. That was great with more space to unpack and create a home for almost a week. It was not so great when we came down to go to a supermarket and were told, in an offhand way, that because we were upgraded, the owner of the property had, to avoid paying a commission I believe, cancelled our booking with the booking platform. I was soon contacted by the booking platform to check that I had made the cancellation so I did not appreciate being put in an awkward position.

Da Lat supermarket fresh fish

Off we went to the biggest supermarket I've been in for a long time! It's located underground in a complex with restaurants, cinemas, indoor playgrounds and other shops at Lam Vien Square. Later we realised that in the evenings this is the place families, couples and friends come to hang out, fly kites and skate around.

Lam Vien Square, Da Lat

Laden with snacks, French pastries and fruit, we took a Grab back to the apartment where we relaxed and planned our first day of exploring this flowered city in the hills.

We're in Vietnam! Hello Ho Chi Min!

 After a longish flight, standing in line at Immigration desks is not that enjoyable, especially when you choose the slowest moving line, so exiting the Arrivals Hall to see our transport there to greet us was a relief. 

We were soon on our way to our hotel and having our first experience of Ho Chi Minh traffic. Motorbikes. Seemingly tens of thousands of them dominating the roads. Get a call while you are riding? No problem. Answer it. Text message? Read it and tap in an answer at the lights. What an income revenue that would be for the Australian police!

Ho Chi Minh scooters

We were scarcely in the door at the Amanaki Saigon Boutique Hotel when we were welcomed with cool drinks and an assurance that our room was ready for us. Breakfast, we were told, would be available until 10am. Great! It was now almost 7am so we would have time to shower and have a rest. That we did and, after breakfast at 9.30am, we decided to rest again until the afternoon. As the only reason we were in Ho Chi Minh was to accommodate our flights into and out of Vietnam, sightseeing was a low priority. Although March is not the hottest time of the year in this city, with the saturating humidity the high 30s C are just a bit too much for us, despite living in a similar climate.

Refreshed by a four hour sleep we decided to find one of the markets to buy some shorts. Just navigating from the car around the crowded parked motorbikes on the path up to the hotel, I could see that my light coloured, trusty leather lace ups were going to get some rough treatment, so cheap knockabout shoes were needed too.

Standing in the heat outside our hotel I booked my first Grab. These are the Ubers of some Asian countries and you can even get motorbike Grabs in Vietnam where the motorbike is King of the Road. Within two minutes we were on our way to Saigon Square, one of the famous markets.

Saigon Square market

Saigon Square was typical of such markets we've been in elsewhere in Asia and we rightly guessed that most of the garments and shoes would be upstairs. Finding the right shorts - below the knee and with cargo pockets, was not easy. Pause to look and the sales pressure came on so I soon went into scan mode while Sam had to withdraw from a sales woman's clutches. Just as we were about to give up the search he found what he was looking for and the haggling began. Halve what the asking price is and start from there. Don't go over 60% of the asking price has been our usual rule. Unfortunately we had been all over the market and these were the only suitable shorts we'd seen so Sam surrendered at 70%. Then it was time to look for my shoes. That was a far easier purchase.

Hot and getting tired now, we decided to go over the road to the more upmarket and airconditioned Saigon Centre. That meant first dodging the guys who wanted to clean our shoes and the women trying to put some type of food into our mouths, getting through the parked motorbikes on the footpath and then crossing the road.

Crossing the road. Yes. Follow someone else or be like a local is the best way to tackle this event, so the travel blogs say. No one else looked like crossing so we were on our own. 

Pick your moment to step out, walk steadily without any faltering and the traffic will weave around you, I had read. So, grabbing Sam's arm to keep him with me - he was somewhat bemused by the stream of bikes and cars - I did just that. Off we went across the wide intersection and reached the other side. Success! Elation flowed over me! Now to find some airconditioned cold drinks .

Down to the basement level of Saigon Place we went in search of cool drinks and a snack. We were soon sitting comfortably enjoying French pastries, fresh coconut water and pineapple juice and watching the world eating, drinking and socialising. 

Basement Saigon place restaurants and food

Outside we go in search of a Grab. It's hot. Wearingly hot. I'm thankful for a blogger's tip to have a small cloth to mop up your eyes. A face washer does the trick and I'm pleased I packed several. They are going to be needed. 

We Grab back to our hotel and wait until the sun departs and the atmosphere is cooler before going in search of dinner. Night seems to bring everyone out on the street to eat. 

We give the bars and pizza shop a miss, looking for Vietnamese food.  Kindergarten sized tables and low plastic stools have suddenly appeared and are soon occupied by diners. I can't manage to get down that low so we hesitate and are promptly ushered by the sidewalk cook into the building at the back. It's airconditioned!  And has normal, clean tables and chairs. Great! 

We get the menu and order Tho Da Lon and Tho Da Nhe. When it is delivered to our table from the street kitchen it is a boiling bowl of soup, a plate of thinly sliced beat and some herbs and spices. We quickly add the meat to the soups, sprinkle the spices and stir. 

Tho Da Lon

We're already enjoying Vietnam. Sleep comes quickly after a long and satisfying day.

Vietnam holiday - getting organised

We had been wanting to visit Vietnam since 2008 but the slow and tedious visa process put us off and we visited other countries in the region that had visa on arrival or easier facilities. I would occasionally flick to the Vietnam Forum when on Trip Advisor and, in August 2023, I was happy to note that the visa process had been simplified and I could now obtain a visa online. 

https://www.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/web/guest/trang-chu-ttdt

The above link is the official Government website that leads to a visa for Australians at the cost of USD25. 

At about the same time, Vietjet, the country's low cost airline, introduced direct Brisbane to Ho Chi Minh flights. All the ducks were lining up and just about quacking! No excuses! We would be going to Vietnam real soon!

Some serious research followed. I knew where in Vietnam we wanted to go so researched the weather and climate history for each location and decided that March was the month that was most likely to be comfortable for us. That information sent me to www.vietjetair.com

The booking process was easy with four class options. Business class gave simply everything, including private transport from the terminal to the plane, 18kg carry on and 80kg check in bags [insane - who wants that allowance?] for just under AUD2000. [no airbridges for Vietjet in Vietnam - bus to and from the terminals to the plane] Skyboss was AUD200 cheaper with less baggage allowances but still huge. Then there were the Deluxe and Eco classes. Eco was 7kg carry on allowance and nothing else for AUD208. I selected the Deluxe level with 10kg carry on, a big 40kg check in, seat selection for AUD364 per person - one way.

Our itinerary was Ho Chi Minh to accommodate both the flight destination and proximity to Dalat, a thirty-five minute flight away. We were not interested in staying in a huge city and have previously been on the Mekong in Laos and Cambodia and could do without the heat and mosquitos of the Mekong Delta. 

From Dalat we would fly to Danang - Hoi An, take the train to Hue then fly to Hanoi. I really wanted to depart Vietnam from Hanoi however that would have involved multiple stops in different countries so I elected to go back to Ho Chi Minh for a couple of days for our departure. I always allow at least two nights at our departure point to allow for unforeseen events. This has proven wise on more than one occasion.

Taking note of all the advice and warnings about applying for visas on Trip Advisor, I lodged our via applications a month before our departure date. You need to state the date you want your visa to start and also the end date. As you MUST depart Vietnam before or on your stated departure date.  I have had the experience of having to delay my flight home due to illness so I extended our stay for an extra week only for the visa, and wondering if I should have been even more generous. 

Happily our visas came through within the stated 3 - 5 working days.

Realistically, as octogenarians, we need way more time to get around to see the sights and enjoy travel experiences than we did even ten years ago. Our itinerary reflected that reality and, apart from Ho Chi Minh at the start and end of our trip, I allowed a week, including a travel day, at each of our destinations, Dalat, Danang - Hoi An, Hue and Hanoi.

How was the flight? Great! The day before departure I checked the seating on Manage My Booking and noted that there appeared to be a lot of unbooked seats so I moved our seats back to where there were several rows of empty seats. The result was that we ended up with a row to ourselves and could stretch out and sleep. [Vietjet also offers a "spare seats beside you" for a small fee at check in. Worth the money if the plane looks full.]

Vietjet landing in Ho Chi Minh

Still here!

 While it's five years since I posted on this blog, I have continued to read posts by the people I follow. For some reason I am unable to post comments. Maybe if I wake up my own blog the problem will be solved.

Five years. Good times. Sad times. Happy times. Anxious times. Frustrating times. Fun times. Loving times. Thankful times. Family times. Couple times. In other words, living normal times.

"Getting old is not for the faint hearted," is an overused saying. But true, I concede. " I AM NOT OLD. I AM 21 WITH YEARS OF EXPERIENCE," is the sign I picked up on my final trip to New Zealand last year. 

That was my fifth trip during 2023. The one when I held my younger brother as he quietly left his life after very many years of terrible health that challenged his will to live. Eventually he decided it was time to leave, so he did just that, after waiting for me to fulfil my promise to come to be with him as he gently let go of his life. 

On my penultimate trip to support him through a crisis he had held me and, through tears, had said that I had taken care of him when he was a baby and now, here I was taking care of him at the end of his life. As the eldest of a large family, I was the mother from the fourth child down. Something that, as an adult, was far from my own thoughts but not from his or another sibling's memory. I was just six years older than him.

As the eldest child of a large, unhappy family, I bore a lot of responsibility for taking care of my siblings and was held responsible for any of their behaviours. In the dark times my mantra was " The sun always comes up tomorrow." Now, seven decades later, I realise how powerful holding on to that mantra was. And continues to be so.

So, now after the sun has risen six more times, my husband of fifty seven years and I will embark on the most complex holiday of our lifetime. One month in Vietnam. Complex because we are now both physically challenged and it seems half of our 14 kg packed baggage consists of medicines and emergency snacks. And my walking stick.

I ask myself if I am crazy to take a month long holiday in a country that, according to the travel experts on Trip Advisor, appears to be more challenging to travel around than any other country we've been to in the region. A country where many local tours have an upper age limit of 75 or 80. 

I'm not fainthearted, so when the sun comes up in a few days we'll be heading to the airport in an uber, armed with those tricky to get visas, a flexible itinerary which includes an intention to visit four places, each for a week, taking each day as it comes, said medicines and emergency diabetic snacks, travel insurance, and loads of information of private tour/transport providers who will hopefully disregard the upper age limits of advertised tours.

Getting excited for our first major overseas trip since we snuck back into the country the day before the covid borders shut Australia for a very long time.

Hello, Vietnam!

From Perth to Kalgoorlie, Western Australia

I've had a long break from this blog due to serious family issues and work on another one 

http://www.awesomesrilankanholiday.com/

however I am back now and currently loving a visit to the southern part of Western Australia. So much so that I am motivated to show why I think it is a glorious holiday destination.

Great Eastern Highway, Perth to Kalgoorlie - Boulder

We flew from Brisbane, a flight of 5 hours, and picked up a rental SUV at the airport. A SUV is not really needed, however being used to strong cars, that was my choice. Rental cars cannnot be taken off road and that has precluded some sightseeing but HEY ! there's so much to see we haven't had the time anyway.

Time. That's an issue for us on this trip because we are not carrying our bed and kitchen around with us and cannot therefore be flexible with our route, spending a satisfying time at each place or choosing to stop or go on depending on what we like at that point in time. This predetermined route and booked accommodation is very restrictive despite my months of pre travel research to try to work out good bases but, again, HEY ! That's now the only way we can get to see this amazing part of the country. So, here we go!

Thanks to the two hour time difference between Brisbane and Western Australia and despite our late night arrival, we were up early and on the road by 7am for the 600km drive to Kalgoorlie. I had chosen a motel on the Great Eastern Highway simply because it was both near to the airport and also on the route we needed to follow so leaving the city was easy. We were soon driving through the Perth Hills district and then out on the open road.

Following the water pipeline from Perth to Kalgoorlie

Once out of the Greater Perth area we noticed that we were following a large pipe line along the long, straight road.  Water! This pipeline is Kalgoorlie's lifeline as there's no water in Kalgoorlie where the average rainfall is 260mm annually. For most of the distance the railway track kept the pipeline company.

Our first stop came soon at Northam where we stocked up on essential food and water and looked  for a cafe to have a coffee. Oh dear! The cafe wasn't open and a notice on the door informed us that it was a public holiday. So, that's why there wasn't much traffic on the road!

Coffee-less, we carried on looking for a rest area to have a do-it-yourself one. Although packing a flask and mugs into our light travel bag had been tricky, without these we would have had to go without a drink or even snack in this sparsely populated and therefore cafe and shop starved region.

Rest areas. Well, there really aren't any along the road. The rest areas, designated as "Parking" are red dirt patches at the side of the highway and nothing else. So far, after a week in this part of the state we have seen just one with a table. inconveniently, sign posts advising of "Parking" or small settlements or points of interest come a few metres before the turn or place so U turns were often necessary.

Earthquake Memorial at Meckering, Western Australia

One such U turn we made was at Meckering where I spotted a sign saying "Earthquake Memorial".  I was immediately interested. What earthquake? When? What happened? Why haven't I heard of this previously? Then came the thought, " I thought I got away from earthquakes when I left New Zealand."  How wrong was that thought! The Information board gave all the details and it turned out that when it happened in 1968, I was living far away in a remote part of Sri Lanka where I didn't get ANY news. This earthquake's epicentre was directly below the town, lasted for 40 seconds and was felt in Perth 130km to the west and Esperance and Albany on the South Coast.

I also learned that, although it did the most damage, it was not the biggest earthquake in Australia. That title goes to an earthquake in 1941 [ a couple of years before my birth so no wonder I didn't know that] near Meeberrie, 690km North East of Perth. Furthermore Perth is apparently in an earthquake risk place with a major fault line, the Darling Faultline extending north - south for 980km. My complacence around earthquakes in Australia has evaporated.

This part of the State is an important wheat and cereal growing area so we passed harvested paddocks and large grain silos at places along the train line.

Merredin, Western Australia

By the time we reached Merredin we were gasping for that elusive coffee and ready to eat! We found a lovely park and rest area just off the highway by the railway station but all the parking spots were taken and there were very many people occupying the picnic tables and sitting on the grass. It was, after all, the first rest stop after Perth 260km away. We decided to  take the remaining table opposite the station carpark beside the road. How many police cars does this wheatbelt town need! As we ate, one after another stopped so that officers could run into the bakery - the only shop open - to get some lunch!

Salt pans, Great Northern Highway, Northern Australia

We were now half way along our journey. As we sped along, the landscape changed and I was surprised to see some white areas behind the vegetation that lined the road. Salt? Yes. I was to learn that salt water under the ground is a big feature of this part of Western Australia.

Gimlet trees, eucalyptus

These really beautiful eucalyptus trees are found only in this part of Australia. We picked a couple of leaves to enjoy their distinctive aroma and found that they were also quite oily. At times they made a colourful picture lining segments of the highway.

Gimlet Eucalyptus trees along the Great Eastern Highway

Southern Cross was our last break. From there the roadside vegetation thinned out markedly and there were no marked points of interest to explore.  

I was happy to arrive in Kalgoorlie around 3.00pm. Even happier to find that our accommodation was the street behind Kalgoorlie's CBD and that the pub was open for dinner on this Public Holiday!

Kalgoorlie Hotel

Kerala Backwaters - Nedumudi, Alappuzha

The backwaters of Kerala are high on the list of "must sees" for almost every visitor to Kerala so that's where we headed to by car from Kovalam. These backwaters are dominated by the massive 2033km2 Lake Vembanad.  Fed by ten large rivers as well as many smaller ones and interlaced by a network of canals, Vembanad is the largest waterway in India. Stretching from near Alappuzha to Kochi [ Cochin] it is 96km long. 

Separated from the Arabian Sea by a narrow barrier island with another barrier to ensure that the sea water is kept out engineered near Kuttanad, its water irrigates the below sea level rice paddy fields. In the wet season the paddy fields' verdant quilt covers the land.

More than a million people live in the villages along the palm fringed canals, surviving by farming rice and fishing. The tourism economy here is huge with an overnight houseboat cruise being one of the "must do" activities on most visitors' lists. This was not our plan though. Instead we chose to stay in a canal side guest house and to take a shakira ride for a few hours and spend time walking around the canal side villages. 

Nedumudi Central -where I thought we would be located

This was not to be! As we entered the backwaters area it was soon became clear that the place we were looking for was not well known! Not even people living in the area knew of it. Phone calls to the guest house resulted in confusing our driver even more. Google Earth indicated that it was located in the middle of a waterway. I had gone to the ipad to look for alternative accommodation when we came to the end of the narrow dirt road. Waterway ahead! A large four wheel drive vehicle skidded to a halt beside us and two large Indian guys jumped out, strode to the edge of the water and scanned upstream. 

"The boat's coming!" they told the two women who were trailing behind. 

"Are you going to Holly Hock Resort?" I asked, hoping that Google Earth had misled us. " We were supposed to be at a waterside village, not seemingly in the middle of a watery nowhere. "Do you know where it is?

The answer to both questions was "Yes!" so that's how we found ourselves on a boat with two other couples heading upstream to our Backwater destination. No village. No other dwellings. Just a guesthouse on the quiet side of the Kollam - Kottapuram Waterway. Very picturesque. Very quiet. All rooms occupied.

On the way to our guest house

All rooms occupied and the biggest and best located room reserved for the foreign guests. Until we found that the aircon was not working, we appreciated the generous gesture to foreign tourists. After several staff went through the motions of trying to fix it, then trying to persuade us that it was actually working, albeit just a "little bit," the admission came that the problem was a long term one. It was then revealed that the other rooms were occupied by honeymoon couples and that they really needed air conditioning more than we did, hence the room allocation! OK! We'll manage with the fan. A very grinding one!

Houseboat, Kerala Backwaters

The remainder of the day passed very pleasantly, seated on the verandah watching a steady stream of houseboats chugging upstream. Some of them parked for the night a little further upstream, confirming my decision that staying on one was not for us. Travelling just seventeen kilometres before stopping for the night means that most of the time is spent sitting bank side. At first light they start the return trip so as to be ready to leave at noon for their next hire. Although tourism brings major dollars to the Backwaters it also brings problems. Healthy water ways are essential for crop production and fishing and local people are concerned at the high number of them polluting the waterways. In the mornings I observed some staff on the returning houseboats heaving the rubbish off the back. No wonder the banks have plastic drink bottles bobbing around in significant numbers. 

Houseboats moored for the night

After a very nice dinner, served on our verandah, we decided to have an early night and, despite the lack of aircon, we were soon sound asleep. At 1am I awoke feeling thirsty and put my feet on the tiled floor. In less than a second I was right back on my bed. The light of a hastily found torch revealed that the floor was now a carpet of frogs! Jumping shiny frogs! Fortunately my drink bottle was handy so in bed I stayed until morning light sent the frogs back outside to hide. Sam however, did not sleep well after that. He was worried that snakes would be looking for a frog snack. Fortunately one of the honeymoon couples checked out and we were able to move to an aircon and a frog safe room for our remaining two nights.

Evening on the Kerala backwaters

 Mornings on the water are quietly busy with men in dugout canoes crossing their water road presumably going to work.

Fisherman

This fisherman came both early morning and early evening to check his many crab pots. He got only a few tiddlers. Not even enough for a mouthful.

Kollam- Kottapuram Waterway, Kerala

School bus

The school bus was the fastest vehicle!

Patching up the banks.

Behind the fringe of palm and banana trees is intensive rice farming.

Essential items that are always packed for our holidays overseas are a bottle of brandy and the gear to make tea and coffee and a block of cheese. On arrival we get fruit and crackers and some other nibbles to have on hand.  Without those necessities we would have have been very thirsty and hungry at this guesthouse. Once all the honeymooners had checked out, everything on the menu was "finished", promises to take the boat and bring provisions broken without comment. The staff disappeared, reappearing only briefly to serve lunch and dinner before again disappearing again until breakfast! We were literally on our own!

Nedumudi, Kerala

Although this experience was not what we planned we were quite happy to laze quietly, watching the activity on the waterway, the cormorants and sea eagles fishing, the company of a couple of blue kingfishers, ducks and several other types of birds. Cricket was on the TV, I had books and Sudoku to do and a siesta in between.

Nedumudi, Kerala Backwaters

On departure we realised that we had indeed been very lost in getting to Nedumudi. We had been on the wrong side of the waterway and several kilometres out as well. Google maps had been correct though! Our destination was in the middle of a waterway! Give or take a few metres!