Vung Tau

Saturday morning in HCMC can be blissful, with no more getting up early for swimming like we did in Australia, it's a day for sleeping in. No so if you want to go to the beach.

We decided to visit Vung Tau, the closest beach to HCMC. The Lonely Planet guide does say it is not one of Vietnam's best beaches (it's closer then the beaches in Mui Ne) so we were warned. We decided to get Joe our driver to drive us there even though it was going to take longer, about twice and a bit more then the direct passenger ferry. So here it is 5.30 in the morning and we are driving out of Phu My Hung. We had to catch the car ferry across the river, which though old fashion was fun. It's just amazing how many bikes they can fit on this little car ferry. It would have been impossible to get out of the car, because you couldn't open the doors for the bikes that were jammed so close to the car.

Though the distance wasn't that great the roads made it impossible to drive very fast - Joe did a wonderful job of avoiding the bigger of the pot holes but seriously it is a very bumpy road at times.

First stop was the main beach in Vung Tau. The water was beautiful in temperature but not so clean - so after a paddle we decided to keep exploring before we went for a swim elsewhere.

Anyone with children knows what kids want to do and what adults want to do is generally not the same thing. So here we are in Vung Tau to visit the beach, and Matthew and I find ourselves not at the beach but rather on a cable car going up a Mountain but with promises of lovely views we gave in.

Like lots of things in Vietnam you can always count on the unpredictable. At the top of the mountain, after a short golf buggy ride further up the hill, (I did wonder why they just didn't build a longer cable car!) we found an array of different of amusements. It is a cross between a religious experience

a fun park

and a zoo. Sorry no photo I was not going to go anywhere near those monkeys or that python. There was also one of those pirate ship rides, those ones that go completely upside. Bella feeling very brave decided she was going to try it, "I've always wanted to go on them but I've been too scared - so I am going to do it this time". Off she goes to buy a ticket, in 40 degree heat at 1030 in the morning none of the rest of us were very keen to join her. The poor thing was very nervous but you had to admire her bravery - to make matters worse there was no-one else on the ride. She gets on but is told to change seats because that particular seat is broken. I was beginning to feel a little nervous for her - Vietnam and rides that go upside down just didn't seem a good combination to me. As the ride started you could see in her face a mixture of pride that she had finally overcome her fear of this ride and fear not just of the ride but the fact that seat bar was not locked down properly. Anyway the ride started slowly then continued slowly, by this time we had realised that this ride was not going to go upside down, you could tell by the arms of the ride. In the end her screams of excitement died down to giggles of how ludicrious the ride was. And as for the rest of her family we laughed and laughed at all her facial expressions, Mikaela said that if nothing else happens in Vietnam except Bella and her pirate ride she would be satisfied. (You have to love sibling love).

After lunch in a swish waterfront hotel, a place we definately could go back to we all agreed, we headed off to another beach for a swim.

Being accustomed to deck changing none of us where too perturbed about the lack of facilities in which to change - but alas we have forgotten Asian beaches. From the moment our toes touched the sand we were surrounded by hawkers. Of course you have to rent chairs to sit on, you have to buy food, drinks and icecream and you have to put up with the stares of everyone on the beach. I never did get changed albeit I could have swam in my clothes there was not a person swimming in anything that slightly resembled a pair of swimmers. Matthew and Josh did go for a swim though a short one, they really didn't feel like sharing the water with sea lice!

All of a sudden the clouds came over and the rain came down, that's the tropics for you, so we took that as a sign to head home.

So that was our day at the beach not quite the beaches of Cronulla or Moolalabar, but still we all had a wonderful day out together - time with family is really all that matters.

Saturday in Ho Chi Minh City

Don't you just love Saturdays? Time to sleep in after a busy week, a relaxing coffee with family, maybe a walk around the shops, time to socialise. This is what I was looking forward to one Saturday morning. Matthew was in Australia but that was OK we had things to do and places to go, as the saying goes. The list of things to do kept growing on Friday night from dropping kids at social functions, buying caluculators, grocery shopping, getting camera's fixed and Bella still wanted to buy Ugly Betty. Friday night should have given me an inkling to what Saturday would bring but I didn't listen to the warning signs. Josh was going to meet friends and go ten pin bowling in the morning, he had to be there at 9am (there goes the leisurely sleep in) anyway at about 9pm plans were changed and he wasn't going till 11am (great the sleep in is back), all I had to do was text our driver and let him know. Mikaela then informs me that she has missplaced her phone since Tuesday! nothing much we can do about it at 10pm, but it's something else to do on Saturday.

Off we set in the morning with a very excited Josh. On the way I rang Mikaela's phone thinking maybe it was in the car and we would hear it, instead it was answered in Vietnamese of course. We gave the phone to Joe (our driver) for translation - apparently someone had her phone - she had dropped it at school and it was now in District 10. Great we knew we could pick it up sometime today in all our running around.

So first stop, off to District 1. It was very strange dropping my 11 year old at Diamond Plaza Shopping centre on his own - so I walked him up just to make sure. Diamond Plaza is a new shopping centre in HCMC - it's very fancy and very expensive even for Australian standards certainly not a place I would be shopping. Unfortunately while we were there Joe rang to say he had a flat tyre and would be a little late. So we decided to sit for that leisurely coffee, unfortunately it rained as we were drinking our coffee but that's Saigon for you.

When Joe picked us up we continued on our errands for the day - planning on meeting Josh at a neighbouring shopping centre where he was having lunch. We stopped to get my camera fixed, yes they could fix it but come back at 4pm, yet another place we have to get to on this already busy Saturday. Time to collect Josh so I decided to grab lunch at the same place. You can imagine my surprise as I am standing in the food court on the phone to Josh saying where are you, he is saying near KFC, I am saying so am I but I can't see you. As it turns out they had gone to a neighbouring Shopping centre of the same name but District 5, 20 minutes away. Back to the car and a mad dash to find Josh, half way there my phone runs out of credit. So using Bella's phone we stay in contact with Josh who is now on his own, his friends having gone on to the movies, (who said vietnamese kids don't go out).

Finally we get over to District 5 collect Josh then over to District 10 to collect Mikaela's phone. As Bella's phone has also now run out of credit, adding credits to phones is yet another job to be done on this busy Saturday. Off to get the calculator from yet another District, District 3 this time. We get to the calculator shop only to find that the shop doesn't take Credit cards on Saturdays!!! So off to ATM's to try and find money, I will note however that my Australian credit card has not been working here, and my Vietnamese card has not arrived - the machine broke down and it couldn't be made, so I am reduced to using Bella's card (I think she is charging me rent to borrow her card). Anyway after 4 ATM's I gave up, the calculator can wait for another day. Back to District 1 to collect my camera and of course Bella finally found Ugly Betty at the right price right next door to the Camera shop and then finally home to District 7.

Not everything was done - no calculator, no phone credit, no grocery shopping. But we did manage to go to Districts 1, 3, 5, 7 and 10 all in one day - which I can tell you is an impressive Saturday in Ho Chi Minh City.