Definitely my last post from Vietnam!

My flight to HCMC (Saigon) was delayed by 1 hour and 10 minutes, so I decided I had time for one more happy hour at Amazing Taco, got to say goodbye to a few more friends from Da Nang (including Anna, my friend, and bartender).

Four beers later I was in a taxi heading for the airport, with lots of time to check in and chill. I have met so many amazing people while here it blows my mind! A couple of days ago I met a Russian police detective staying at my hotel, Maximus, mid to late '30s, super nice guy on his first vacation to Asia. I could tell it wouldn't be his last trip here.  The amazing people I've met and hung out with is mind-boggling.  This trip was worth it in so many ways, but the people I've met are definitely at the top of the list of why I had such a good experience in Vietnam! 
Traveling, especially alone is daunting, but exposes you to so many incredible experiences, that the risk/reward is so worth the fear/risk. I wouldn't trade the last couple of years for anything.

Mark and Gorm, my Norwegian friends. 

Going out on a limb is an expression of taking a risk without knowing the outcome, and it is when you feel most alive! I highly recommend it!   

It's now 9:30 in the morning in Hong Kong, foggy and dreary under overcast skies. my flight is supposed to depart at noon, but the gate isn't on the board yet, so I'm in the terminal I think it may depart from. There was no internet at the Saigon airport, no idea why. I am super tired, but can't seem to sleep in airports or on airplanes, that may change on the upcoming 13-hour flight. I'll keep ya posted!

Possibly my last post from Vietnam for 2019

Nice lunch place.

Made an executive decision a few days ago, decided I was ready to go back to the States. So I checked on the fare difference and fees and it worked out to be very close to what it would cost to book a hotel room for another month. So I moved my departure date up by a month and will be back in LA on April 1st. I leave HCMC (Saigon) at 5am April 1st. and arrive in LA at 10:30am the same day. I'll have been in South East Asia for 4 1/2 months at that point.

 My Son Raymond told me Spring has sprung in Oregon so I may as well go home and enjoy it, after spending a couple of weeks in the LA area.

I've met a lot of great people here in Da Nang (just a few pictured above) and many are now Facebook friends, it will be great to keep up with their adventures while I'm back in the States. And, as many are residents of Da Nang I should also be able to stay up to date on ongoing conditions and change in the area. 

I am very impressed with the beauty of the area, and even more impressed with the people I've encountered (Vietnamese and expats), and fully expect to return to Vietnam (and Da Nang) again, and to explore the Northern half of the country.

Cheers!

                                                                           

Still Alive (and well) in Da Nang

Mural on the side of a Korean restaurant

Not much to post about, haven't been traveling, just chilling and trying to stay on budget. Got another 10 days left on my hotel stay. Trying to decide If I want to stay another month, it really depends on whether or not I can change my flight date for a reasonable price. The prices for hotels are creeping up as it turns out this is the beginning of the tourist season here in Vietnam, while the high season is ending in Thailand. 

Roast goat.

My typical day here consists of me waking about 9am, watching the news (CNN, or BBC) and checking my email and perusing Facebook. Usually, being showered and ready for breakfast/lunch around 11 to 11:30. After breakfast, I will go back to the room for a half hour or so then either go to the beach or take a walk for an hour or two.  After the beach or walk, I will go back to the room and watch a movie (HBO or Fox Movies) then shower and head out to find dinner. After dinner, depending on the time I'll go to my favorite pub the Filling Station. There I'll have 4 to 5 beers, then head back to the hotel around 10pm. Although I'll admit that depending who shows up while I'm there it has been up to 8 beers ;) (over a 5-6 hour stay). Luckily at $.86 a beer, I still get away cheap!

Relic of a turbulent history.

While I am enjoying the great weather and the beautiful beach, after a couple of weeks it does begin to get a bit routine, but on the other hand, traveling is expensive, and my main reason for being here is to escape the depressing weather at home. Mission accomplished so far without going into debt. Da Nang has been a great place to realize that goal, but the place is changing so fast I think it may not stay that way long. With tourists come crowded beaches, more traffic, and higher prices.

These guys have a bright future as the high rise hotels continue to be built.
I'll keep you posted on my stay here, my return flight date (if I don't change it) is May 1st. 

Stay well everyone. 

Chilling in Da Nang :)

Chilling in Da Nang

During my initial couple of days in Da Nang, I went back to the hotel that I had stayed at before, they were happy to see me but told me they were booked up. I told the receptionist I wanted a room for a month and she said she'd take another look. She went on the computer and I watched her move future booking around on the screen. Took her a little over 10 minutes to arrange to have a room for a month for me. The stay began on the 17th, $8.60 per night ($258. for the month).

I set a hopeful budget for myself of half a million dong per day ($21.50), the first 6 days I stayed within budget, but splurged last night and exceeded it by almost double. A small group wanted to go up to the Dragon Bridge to watch the Head of the dragon spew fire and water that only happens at 9pm on weekend nights. So after dinner and drinks at The Amazing Taco, we caught a taxi up to the bridge (about 3 miles). The area around the head of the dragon was packed with people and food carts.

So we grabbed a beer and got into position to view the show. It was cool, lasted about 10 minutes. After the show, we decided to walk across the bridge to check out the nightlife on the west side of the river before catching a taxi back to the Filling Station Bar. Fun night, I thought I got the fire on video but found out I didn't, but I did get video of the water spray. It will be included on my photo album. 

 I'll describe my typical day in Da Nang in my nex blog post, got to save something to talk about next blog😏.

Goodbye Cambodia, Good morning Vietnam!

BACK IN DA NANG
Arrived back in Da Nang today. My 3rd time flying into Da Nang, every time I feel more at home. The hotel I stayed at previously was booked, so I booked one close. Still a nice place. About 5 floors, 5 rooms per floor. A/C, Cable TV, hot water, elevator, 5-minute walk to the beach. $10. a night! 3 nights here, and will be checking on a monthly rate. I mean damn, I'm at the beach, in a clean town, I can rent a hotel room (serviced, towels, bedding every day if I want) for under $300 a month! Everything I need is within walking distance! I am thinking I'm going to spend at least a month chilling here (and saving money). I had planned on going to Thailand this trip but after Da Nang, I'm not so sure.

 Tight, but clean with hot water and good lighting, plus room has a mini-fridge for my beer ;).

Kampot was OK, way better than Phnom Penh. I had expected Cambodia to be cheaper than Vietnam, but that was not the case. And because my budget is small, I have to stay in budget places, The cheapest I could find in Phnom Penh was $12 a night and they weren't great, one place was particularly bad. Noisey, decrepit, and worst of all had bed bugs! Was only there 2 nights, the morning of the first night I noticed bites (5 or 6) on my left inner thigh, I was puzzled as to what caused it, thought that maybe I was uncovered at some point in the night and mosquitos took advantage of the fact I hadn't sprayed repellant that far up my legs. The morning of the second night I woke about 5am with bites (about 10) on the back of my right thigh and googled "bed bugs", sure enough, the bites were bed bugs. I looked at the mattress for signs of them, but couldn't find anything, but they also live in cracks and crevices, and that room had lots of those. They itch like crazy and form welts. I told the manager and showed him the bites, he assured me they would call in an exterminator. Hopefully, my review will warn others to beware.  

My last night in Cambodia I booked a hotel close to the bus terminal, it was the nicest place I had stayed at in Cambodia but was $23 a night. 

The next morning I took the big bus to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It was $18  for the 7 hours trip including the sign out at the Cambodia border and the check in at immigration at the Vietnam border. The bus was pretty comfortable, A/C and intermittent internet. My seatmate was a nice Italian girl from England. Good conversation and she was just doing a border run so her seat would be empty after the border. She was a teacher there (Phnom Penh) for young kids, she loved the kids, but probably not so much the country.  I flew from HCMC the next morning.

You can only get a 1-month visa into Cambodia unless you have a work permit, I think you can extend it for another month then you have to leave and come back in with another 1-month visa. I had no interest in staying, 20 days were plenty for me. A much more 3rd world country than Vietnam, and much dirtier. Kampot was nicer and more fun than PP, but $10 per night only got you a very basic room without hot water, TV, or A/C. 

I will be updating my Cambodia photo Album and adding captions today or tomorrow and will notify you and provide a link to it. 

In the meantime, I'm walking to the beach 😀

Been in Kampot Cambodia for a week and a day, enjoying it even though booking rooms has been difficult. The Tet (Vietnamese), and Lunar New Year (Chinese) seems to be a reason to take a holiday no matter where you're from in South East Asia. Everything seems booked (in my price range) and even the hostel beds are pretty booked (I'm not sharing a dormitory and bathroom with anyone!).  But I've managed to have a place to stay until the 10th, the end of Lunar New Year.

My first place in Kampot was the Monkey Republic Guesthouse and hostel, guessing 30 beds in shared dorms, and 8-10 budget rooms with no A/C, TV, or hot water, but clean and comfortable. Great restaurant, bar, lovely grounds, great vibe and just far enough out of town to be quiet and chill. Would have booked longer there, but others beat me to it.

Pool room next to bar/ restruraunt, lots of outlets for charging cell phones and laptops.

Main bar/ restaurant, food was good, prices were reasonable! Lots of young backpackers, but I had no trouble talking to anyone if I smiled an said: "How's your adventure going ?"  They are on an adventure, and so am I! 

I managed to book another place for a couple of days closer into town called the "Billabong Guesthouse and hostel, again just 2  nights as they were booked past my dates.  An Aussi themed place.  Not as chill as the Monkey Republic, but they have a pool, decent bar, and a passable restaurant (mostly bar grub).  People not staying here can come to use the pool if they spend over $4. at the bar, otherwise $2.50 per person, still cheap for a decent pool!

Night view from my room.

After my 2 nights there I was having trouble finding another room online, I was sitting at the bar with my laptop and mentioned to the bartender I was not finding anything. A guy that was using the pool had come up to the bar to get a coffee had overheard me and said there might be rooms at the place he was staying "just around the corner", he gave me the name, I looked it up online, they did have a room for a reasonable price,so I booked 3 nights to help get me through the lunar new year holiday.  Then I checked the location, around the corner was 4 1/2 kilometers (2.7 miles), the guy from the pool obviously had a scooter!

Tuk-tuk from town was $4, and vice versa. The place was okay, just so far out of town.

At this point, I've decided to experience the train back to Phnom Penh, stay a couple days there,  then decide my next destination.
The train should be fun, moves at about 30mph will take 5 (+/-) hours. Only runs Sat, Sun, Monday. The Minivan experience coming here helped me decide on the train, The minivan drivers seem to make passing other vehicles their mission in life, even when it's not prudent, or safe.
I'm now back at the Billabong until Sunday and my train trip. I'll tell you more about Kampot in my next blog post.

I felt I should have said more about my experience of Phnom Penh, I was there for 5 nights. I found the city to be congested, dirty, and the closer to the river you got the more dive bars there were, along with the sexpats (both young and old) that keep those bars going. The only good thing (for me) was the price of the beer.

Depending on where you were it could be $.50 to $1.25 for a nice chilled glass of Anchor or Cambodia Beer, both very good! Food was reasonable, I mostly ate Western-style breakfasts, and Indian dinners (what was in my area).  Most of the hotels in my price range (cheaper the better) didn't have elevators and I found my self usually on the upper floors (?) At my age stairs scare the sh*t out of me (help, I've fallen and am dead). 

While in Phnom Penh I did meet some very cool people, and the adventure was quite worth the extra day's spent.  On my second night at the Lone Star Saloon and Guesthouse things got quite interesting at the bar. Turns out as I got to the bar about 8pm the girls behind the bar are drinking shots of Jagermeister. So I ask Tony (owner/manager) down at the end of the bar "Someone's Birthday?  He said "No" and rolled his eyes. Turns out one of the gals doling out the shots is the "Permit holder" of the bar,  The Cambodian who is the owner of the legal permit for the bar, and probably gets a percentage of the profit without actually running the operation. So anyway she's there getting drunk, and exerting her influence. She has a problem with a couple of guys sitting next to me over the bill, she said one guy paid his tab, the other didn't. The first guy said I paid for both of us. I saw him put $40  in the bill thingy. So I told Tony I saw that he paid. (one person couldn't drink $40 worth of  $1.25 drafts by himself and walk). Long story short Tony and permit holder got in a contest over whether they paid, after trying to deal with the PMH who was drunk,  he threw his hand up and said: " I'm outta here".  That didn't end it :) She went outside and raised some hell, pushed someones scooter over,  then came back in and started throwing things, napkin holders then ashtrays, I moved to the way back of the bar to get out of ashtray range. The bar was pretty much empty at that point as no one wanted to get hit by a glass ashtray. She did finally calm down and actually bought me a beer before I hazily found my back upstairs to my room. Was definitely a highlight of my trip to Phnom Penh.  OK so now you know more about my Phnom Penh experience. But of course, I can't tell you everything😆

Flying past Da Nang beach.  I left Da Nang at 10:55 am, arrived at HCMC (Saigon) just after noon, and my flight to Phnom Penh left about 3 pm, I didn't have breakfast so I ate at the airport. Sandwich $2, beer $3. We arrived in Phnom Penh at 4pm, and I took a tuk-tuk to my hotel, about a 30-minute trip (would have been longer in a taxi). Taxi was $15, Tuk-tuk $10.

The traffic was pretty bad, It was almost 5 pm on a Friday and it seemed everyone was on the same road as us. But he got me to my hotel safely and received a 50% tip. 

My hotel was rooms above a bar (Western-themed, Lone Star Saloon, and Guesthouse), there were maybe 4 rooms, all quite large but dated, my room was of course on the highest floor. At $24 a night I expected better, but with the bar, and restaurant downstairs I knew I'd find my way home :) I had only planned to be in Phnom Penh for two nights, but decided to extend it and look around a bit, I found a hotel close to where I was for $13.50 a night and booked 2 more days, then booked 2 more after that. So basically I stayed 5 days, and 6 nights before heading this morning to Kampot.

I took a VIP Van for the 3-hour trip (about 95 miles) VIP meaning A/C and assigned seats, 8 passengers, and wifi, it wasn't a terrible trip, but about 10 or 15 miles before Kampot the road got really bad, potholes from hell, and then gravel, and dust, it was like traveling in dense fog, not to mention the occasional cow in the road. But for $8 what can you expect?

The hotel I booked was about a 10-minute walk from the bus station in Kampot, very laid back, popular with backpackers, cheap tap beer ($.75) and $11. a night. Very basic place, a fan, no A/C, no TV, and no hot water 😞 But clean, quiet,  and very happy staff, decent menu items, and a real sense of humor here. 

So here I am, in Cambodia, my visa is good for 30 days and I'm pretty sure I can go from here to Thailand fairly easily. I don't have to worry about getting a Visa to Thailand because you can come in Visa exempt for 30 days, then extend for another 30 days for about $60. My 30 day Visa to Cambodia was $35., and I did it online, sailed through immigration in 5 minutes! I'm going to start another photo Album for Cambodia, as soon as I do I'll post a link to it.  The Adventure continues! 

P.S. Da Nang is my new favorite place in the world. 

Almost time to head to Cambodia.

A little over 2 months of walking on these flipflops, I'll find a replacement pair in the big town of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Going to have one full day there before heading to the coast. Also will need to book a bus or van for the 4-hour trip. It's been a quiet week here in Da Nang, been raining (not hard, just showers) and in the low 70's mostly for the week.  I tried a couple of new restaurants, a Mexican  place (not bad), a place called American Burger, had a regular burger that was pretty good, and an Italian Resturant (a bit expensive) was a good simple pasta dish.  Tried a new dish at a close by Vietnamese place, pork chop with egg, sticky rice, and a small soup. $2.16, beer $.68 The plate ws empty when I left :)

And naturally spent a bit of time here; queue up the theme for the Cheers show.

Have to admit I'm going to miss Da Nang, met a lot of very cool people, and it has a homey feel to it. But the adventure must continue!  And I'm getting out of Dodge ahead of the TET holiday (Feb 5 -10th) when everyone goes home to be with family to celebrate the Lunar New Year, the most important Vietnamese holiday. The Bar I hang out at, the hotel I'm staying at, and most of the restaurants I frequent will be closed for those 5 days.  Didn't rain today, supposed to be nice tomorrow, so the plan is breakfast at my favorite Ban Mai place, get a haircut (from Kenny),  go to the beach for an hour or so (if the sun is out) check in online for my flights, pack my stuff,  then say my good bye's to the people at the bar tomorrow night, and get my butt to the airport on Friday morning about 9am for my 10:55 flight to Ho Chi Mihn City.  

Went to the bar tonight at 8pm, expected to leave about 10 pm,  as always, it turns into a party. Someone was having a birthday party upstairs, so I invited myself. Left at 12:30 am. Could have been later had I not applied self-control! All in all, it was a great night, and the bill including tip (20% +) was less than $12. 

It has come to my attention that it has been a while since my last blog (8 days), and some (Mom) might be worrying about my welfare. Truth is the weather is good, everything here is pretty cheap, and I'm relaxing and enjoying (picture above) the area, eating well, and am in no hurry. I spend a couple hours most evenings after dinner at an expat (foreigners that live here) bar not far from where I'm staying, usually spend less than $12, and am meeting interesting people from all parts of the world. Most have traveled and lived in countries other than their home country, and most have made here home for the value of life per $.  Here's a few of them.

My hotel ($8 per night) is very comfortable, nice bed, A/C, hot shower, good wifi, 

flat screen TV with lots of English language channels, CNN,BBC, Disney, Nat Geo, Discovery, Fox sports (soccer and tennis, no NFL :( ), Fox movies, and even one HBO channel. I think FX also. So it's easy to chill if the suns not out. I walk around a lot during the day just to see what's around the corner. The area of  Da Nang I'm in is like a small city, the big city is on the west side of the river, and I don't really have any interest in going there. Entrance to my little hotel below.

I've just applied for a visa to Cambodia (was accepted) and have booked my flights, no direct flights from Da Nang to Phnom Penh. Also, have my first four nights booked. I leave Jan 25th in the morning and arrive in Phnom Penh in the afternoon.  So the adventure continues!  I've really enjoyed this part of Da Nang, just wish there was a 7-11, and more ATM's closer, the one closest to me (5-minute walk) dispenses a maximum of 2 million dong ($86) found one that dispenses 3 million ($129.) but it's 20-minute walk, and the fee is the same for both amounts! 

Probably ate western food, either that or passed out drunk!
Feeling very comfortable here in Da Nang, losing track of time a little bit. Check out for my hotel is coming up in a couple of days so this morning (11am) on my way to eat at my favorite Ban Mai (sandwich) cafe, (bacon, egg, and veggies. Black iced coffee for $2.55.)

I  asked Ann (my favorite receptionist) if I could extend my stay for another 7 nights.   She was able to get me 5 nights here, and 2 nights at their other hotel across the street. $57 for the 7 nights. She said if I wanted to stay longer to let her know.

I know the area (from walking in all directions), but am constantly learning more from the Expats living here. And am meeting people from everywhere (expats and tourists). Went to a Mexican restaurant last night that is owned and operated by a Swedish guy, had a huge and awesome burrito. and met a Russian girl, a guy living here from Kentucky. A youngster (22) tourist from Newport Beach Ca. And 3 gents from Northern England. Yeah, I'm not being shy!

The owner behind the bar, Russian girl in the forefront, Kentucky and Newport Beach guys behind her.  If I were to say I'm enjoying myself I would be grossly understating myself :)

It was a beautiful day, so after the cafe, I walked to the ATM, about a 1/2 mile, then walked down the beach on the way back to my hotel and stopped at the Beach bar that I had my first beer in Da Nang at.

On my way back to my hotel,  not even a block away I see this sign.

That's S17.25 per night for a room, $400 per month for an apartment in a brand new building  (they were carrying out the cardboard boxes for their flat screen TV's as I was standing there. I should go and ask to see the apartment just to see what I could get for $400 a month (I've seen places close to here for less than $300 a month).

I know you can't comment on my blog unless you have a blogger account, but definitely comment on my facebook page, I really enjoy hearing from you!  

I wasn't really planning this trip to Asia to do travel blog and see all the tourist stuff, I really don't have a great interest in Temples, tourist beaches, and the typical must see things. I'm here for sun, warm, cheap food, accommodations, & beer. Throw in a beach and I'm in heaven. Da Nang is the closest to that goal in Vietnam so far!