Saigon - Buffalo Tours

To help us find our way around Saigon we booked a half day city tour. Our first stop was the Notre Dame Cathedral and Old Post Office:

Notre Dame Cathedral

The Cathedral was Built between 1877 and 1883, it is a fine example of French colonial architecture. Remarkably, every stone used in its creation was shipped from France to Vietnam. The two forty metre towers, topped with iron spires, still dominate the city’s skyline. The Old Post Office is another example of French colonial architecture and is also Vietnam's largest post office.

But the thing that intrigued us girls the most was all the brides having their photos taken outside the Post Office. It is customary for Vietnamese to have their wedding photos taken in white wedding gowns, but when the wedding day arrives they wear a traditional red!

We visited the Reunification Palace but did not go in..... To the Vietnamese this is one of the most important buildings in the city. On April 30th 1975 the ‘American War’ (as they call it!) officially ended when tank number 843 of the North Vietnamese Army crashed through the gates of what was, at the time the residence of the President of the Republic of Vietnam.

Instead we were offered a trip to a lacquer & eggshell painting studio. We were so pleased we took this option. They had some of the most beautiful works from not only paintings, but jewellery, plates, bowls, trays & even furniture.

Little Miss Charlie again stole the limelight, we lost sight of her at one point & when I looked around the corner to see, there she was entertaining the entire shop staff of 10 to 15 people... Oh how the Vietnamese love children! 

The War Remnants Museum formerly known as the Museum of American War Crimes is a poignant display of the futility of war. 

The courtyard outside contains the spoils of war, namely rusting jets, tanks and cannons captured from the American military machine. Inside there are many photos that are particularly moving, & horrific. I felt sick through some it & extreme sadness through the rest. I am still blown away by the beauty & kindness of the people here when they have lived through such atrocity.

I still remember as a child, my Mum & Dad watched the six o'clock news every night, &  night after night the Vietnam War (as we called it) was brought alive in our lounge room - not exactly dinner time entertainment! Our tour guide was concerned as to how I would be affected by this visit. Even writing this now the thought makes my eyes water. How can you visit this place & not be effected?

Last stop of the tour Binh Tay Market selling everything from hats to dried squid, & of course shoes & handbags! It is a busy bustling market & don't think for one minute that you are going to get around with a minute of peace.

(Imagine Vietnamese voice over the din) " Look tee shirt your size, what colour you want"? "Yes, look here, I have nice dress", " come in, come in, take a look" & this is what happens every time you even look sideways at a stall. However, if this is not your thing & you don't like to barter then you can go to the stalls on the outer edge of the market that are government run. You get to look in peace & the prices are all set, & are very reasonable. 

Vietnam The Learning

Ok so crossing the road in Saigon (Ho Chi Min City, whatever you prefer to call it) is an issue. There are Tourist Police that are there to help you, which we were lucky enough to find on the first day as we were overwhelmed when we came to a road that was ,insanely busy. There are not many crossings & if you happen to find a Zebra Crossing, don't be fooled into believing this is a safe place to cross because believe me IT IS NOT..!!

The trick to crossing the road is this...... Just step out off the curb & keep walking, believe it or not the traffic will just go around you, it's that simple! (absolutely terrifying the first time). If you have any doubts & cannot find the Tourist Police, (they are dressed in green but he way) just find a 'local' & cross with them! We are pro's at it now & believe that crossing the road in Saigon is uniquely & totally safe once you have learnt how!

Mad traffic...!!!

Food is cheap if you choose not to eat in the hotels & eat where the locals do. I could feed my family of four (or three & a half..!) for $11 Australian dollars, drinks included! You can buy a can of beer at the corner store for less than one Aussie dollar - how good is that?!!

Just about all Vietnamese know english, they learn it at school, but they can read & write it better than they can speak it, and will hand you a pen & paper if the language barrier gets difficult!

Two things you should know about our language differences. Firstly 'Yum' in Vietnamese means I want to 'take you to bed' RIGHT NOW (if you get my drift) When we visited a sweet factory I had the packing ladies giggling as we tasted the sweets & I showed my appreciation "Hmmm Yummm" we were all amused by my faux pas...!!!

Secondly please don't cross your fingers in public. It may mean good luck to us, but in Vietnam it means 'Lady Bits down below'...!!!

Yet another photo for our little Celebrity 

The Vietnamese don't like their skin to be dark, they cover themselves from head to toe as fair or white skin is attractive to them. Unlike us who will risk our health &  wrinkles for the sake of a tan, oh how I wish we thought fair skin was attractive!

Celebrity Charlie even made it into a wedding photo!

 As mentioned we took Little Miss Charlie only two & a half with us. Now this is a 'need to know'  if you are traveling with your white european young-in's...... Vietnamese LOVE children, particularly fair skinned children.  Charlie got almost celebrity status the moment she stepped off the plane.! It was very hard to shop with her around. We got stopped constantly, they just wanted to touch her, smell her, kiss her & photograph her, which all seems a bit weird now I'm writing about it, but it was perfectly acceptable at the time & Charlie was totally safe.  In fact if you are thinking of traveling to Vietnam with small children I would suggest that you use a harness to keep them close to you (we never use one at home),  otherwise our experience was one of total safety. Charlie even received the odd gift from admirers! 

In Vietnam we found the people sooooo friendly. they truly are beyond beautiful......

Vietnam The Getting there.....

Pond & Garden inside Singapore

Playground is always a good option

Wanting for my Mums passing to be marked with something special, the girls & I decided to book ourselves a holiday in Vietnam......

I decided to be prepared as I was taking my first-time traveler daughters & my 2year old granddaughter, I didn't want to leave too much to chance so I organised as much as I possibly could before leaving, including travel visas which are required for Vietnam,  all accommodation, some tours & all transfers. I opted to fly at night so that Granddaughter Charlie Rose would hopefully sleep through the journey. 

After 7 hours in the air we changed planes for our connecting flight at the Singapore airport. For  those of you who have never been there Singapore airport is huge! You have to get an air train to get you from one terminal to another, however it is easy to navigate around. 

I had to laugh because when we landed & told Charlie we were in Singapore, she starting singing in the terminal...... "Singing Paw, Singing Paw...!!!" 

Stop over in 'Singing Paw' really not a problem!

It's just under a two hour flight from Singapore to Ho Chi Min. (or Saigon as he locals seem to prefer to call it)  

Getting through Saigon airport is easy, you don't even have to fill out an arrival card!  As expected Buffalo Tours were waiting for us to take us to our hotel. We have used Buffalo Tours once before & cannot fault them. 

We were lucky with the weather as they had a typhoon just finish the day before our arrival. 

Time to get settled & let the exploring begin...... Translated - lets go find shoes & handbags......!!!

Melbourne - what the hell is everyone going on about?

Graffiti, Graffiti Everywhere.....

Since arriving in Australia 4 years ago, everyone has kept saying to us, we must go to Melbourne, we will love it for the art, design & culture. So flights & hotel booked, off we go to see what all the hype is about.

Ok so we all know that I don't like the cold - strike one against Melbourne - Melbourne can yet really cold. However, I did take advantage of the opportunity to wear my designer coat that I purchased while in New Zealand.

Marty was well prepared for me to shop, bringing an extra large suitcase for me to shop up a storm.......

Well, it didn't happen???

 Melbourne has many quirky shops & boutiques, and I thoroughly enjoyed wandering in & out of them, Brunswick Street was my favorite with its boutique bars, cafes & shops. The disappointment is that Melbourne is soooooo excessively overpriced, so much so we thought it a joke!!!

First day out shopping & all I came home with was a disco dishbrush.....!!!???

Quant little houses like this all over Melbourne begging to
be renovated, would love to get my hands on one of these!

Marty & I found the city a little too spread out & not so easy to navigate your way around. Melbourne has a Tram system to  help you travel the city, but it is not very user friendly. But thankfully the cabbies are! Every Taxi we traveled in had the most competent drivers we have come across so far, they were honest, friendly, helpful, informative, & cheap. It was just like having your own personal tour guide!

Food in Melbourne is really good & thanks to some friends who gave us great advice on where to go we found some lovely places for a drink, a bite to eat & a bit of Music.  But I  have to say the best night out was at the Elephant & Wheelbarrow  where we danced & sang all night...... Can't beat a good Irish Pub for an entertaining night out!

Inside the Vault at St Kilda

So after 3 days I am still wondering what all the hype is about...... Then at the St Kilda Markets I learnt a secret while having feathers put in my hair.......Apparently Melbourne is not what it used to be, & many of the designers have headed north to warm sunny Brisbane, ahhhh that makes sense, no wonder I love Brisbane so much?! 

Not wanting to fail as a shopper, Marty & I headed back to Brunswick Street on the last day to redeem my image as one hell of a shopper, & succeeded. Leaving with one very awesome coat, one very cool vest & a necklace with massive chunky beads.......reputation still in tact, we are now ready to head back to home to Brisbane...... (still didn't get to fill the suitcase though, but have certainly made up for it since getting back...!!!)

Not Sorry To Be Leaving Nelson Bay.......

Marty fishing down at Duties

Marty & I had a lovely spot near the water at Duchies Beach, but I was 'not' sad to be packing up the station wagon & heading north again, back to Brisbane, back to our 2 girls & our darling Granddaughter.
Who the hell moves in with their kids.....? Answer -  We do...!!!

Nelson Bay has a lot to offer for a holiday, but not to live. It's a  'cliquey' seaside town where for the most part the people think they are a little bit better than everyone else, purely because they live in the beautiful bay?! The Country Club, which is nothing like a country club is pretty damn good for a FUN night out if you like a live band. Marty thought the fishing was pretty good & I even started to fish myself, amazing what you resort to when there's nothing better to do!!!??

Newcastle is the nearest main centre & unfortunately again I was not very impressed. I would rather walk the main street at 4 o'clock in the morning in Brisbane than walk Hunter Street at 4 o'clock in the afternoon  in Newcastle. I don't think I have ever seen so many mentally touched people in one city in all my life?! The city centre is dead with many closed shops & it's dirty.

Like anywhere Newcastle has its pockets of Awesomeness & I did meet some great people in the short time I was there.  They have some lovely beaches & fabulous places to eat. Plus The Junction is well worth a look for quaint cafes, bars & shops. They do have two good size shopping malls also worth a visit.
Newcastle has location on its side, with Port Stephens, the Hunter Valley & Sydney all within reasonable driving distance.......

Farewell NSW. Looks like this Kiwi girl has taken on the title 'Queenslander'-  & LOVING IT...!!!

I have to go back to New Zealand.......

I was not sure if I was going to publish this blog......but I decided there was too much good stuff to tell you about......

We all have those moments in our life that you are never prepared for,  and April was one of those months for me.......The phone call none of us want,  I didn't recognize the incoming number on my cellphone.......

"Is this Lianne"?

"Yes" 

 "Lianne have the Police not got hold of you"? 

"No". 

"Oh"......split seconds of silence followed, my brain raced & surprisingly I intuitively  knew what was coming next. "Lianne your Mum has passed away"..........

After a few days of shock & confusion, my flight booked, I was heading back to the mighty Waikato in NZ. I swore I would would never go back home in the winter because I really don't like the cold. 

Well I have to say what a beautiful time of year to visit, the trees were still losing their leaves & were brilliant shades of orange, yellow & red. The morning air was crisp, but the days were beautiful & sunny. First morning I woke up to a frost, I had not seen a frost in 4 years! And when I complained about the mist & fog, my friend reminded me that this is the weather that has inspired poets, & now I see it as beautiful too!

Raglan Surf

I was thrilled to be seeing my home country in the eyes of a tourist. NZ has such beauty that I took very much for granted before. How pleased my dear Mum would have been with this change in attitude from me!

Oh & I have to tell you about the people,  I see & feel what everybody goes on about, Kiwis are soooooo damn friendly! I am still blown away by how nice my country people are?!!!

"Sweet as bro" was the catch phrase!

I returned home to OZ after 6 weeks with many childhood treasures from my homeland What an honour to be the one to plan the farewell & celebration of my Mothers life, who never left the soil of the land she loved & was so proud of....... 

Sleep peacefully Mum & thanks for showing me how beautiful New Zealand is in the winter.......

To my Family & friends, no words can express the gratitude I have for all your love & ongoing support, I am one lucky lady, & I thank you from the very bottom of my heart.

Sydney Easter Fun

I have to say my Marty really knows how to show a girl a good time.....

Bar/cafe at the Park Street Hotel

Easter Friday morning Marty rolls over & says "do you want to go to the Easter Show in Sydney?" 

Me: "really???" 

Marty: "Or do you want stay here in Nelson Bay?" (which we are bored with now!!!) So I packed while Marty jumped on the Internet to organize accommodation - we must be mad...!!!  

After a two and a half hour drive we arrive in Central Sydney. They have some lovely boutique hotels,  Marty booked us into one on Park Street of the same name, we just loved it there, awesome atmosphere & the staff have to be some of the best in the business, if it is a bit of light hearted fun you are looking for?

Can you believe they used Chargers as Police Cars?

The Sydney Easter Show is certainly bigger than any I have been to before, we were there for hours. I enjoyed the Fashion Exhibition Hall & of course the animals, then Marty & I found a live band called 'Remote Control Freak' so we grabbed some food & settled in to be entertained.

Playing in Sydney is always fun, I particularly like it down at 'The Rocks'. The shopping is good & they have a little market by the The Orient Hotel. Now The Orient Hotel must be good as we went there two nights in a row??!!! 

Aussie ram with his manhood hitting the floor...!!!

We also diced with death visiting Kings Cross, what a 'Pit Hole' & yip somebody got shot the night we were there...?!!!! 

The day we were to leave was a fantastic sunny day for a drive, so Marty & I decided to take the long way home meandering up the Central Coast. Five & a half hours later we dragged our bodies up the steps of our temporary sea side home, exhausted from our long weekend playing in Sydney ...... 

Ahhhh, life is good ;-)