Final day up North

Our last morning in Paradise saw us cramming the inevitable chaos that was our lives for a week into a series of suitcases, backpacks and handbags which then miraculously became luggage. Which we then lugged down to the vehicle and temporary storage at reception, checked out and headed for the hills. Literally. Having most of the day to kill it was time to see a different aspect of TNQ.

Heading in the direction of Broome (didn't quite make it that far) the Savannah Hwy winds its way up to Kuranda which is so chic in its touristy ambience we skedaddled out of there and headed off through the rapidly more arid landscape (complete with ant hills) to Mareeba - stopping for ice cream and spiders along the way. After admiring their drive through bakery we made a quick stop at their market. Unfortunately it was pack up time and being short of available minutes ourselves we headed on down to Atherton to grab a bite of lunch. You could write songs about this place. It was Saturday afternoon, the boys were just driving around wasting time and the flame trees were in full bloom setting fire to the town. Couldn't be more clique'd Aussie if you tried. And so leaving the tables full of old friends swapping yarns we headed east again and wound our way off the tablelands, through green fields, thick rainforests and down one of the funnest winding roads ever made. Well fun for the rally driver - not so much for the passengers being thrown around by the copious twists and bends in the road. Eventually it straightened out, tyres stopped squealing and we casually cruised back up the coast to Cairns. Temp in suburbs 38c. It just seems to get hotter and hotter. Back to collect our bags and then off to the airport for the inevitable waiting, queueing, sitting, waiting, queueing, waiting, sitting, queueing etc. that is travel by air these days.

We bade trinity beach farewell from 3000 ft as rain finally washed over it and then chased the setting sun down south westwards during the uneventful flight. The airport created one of the biggest shocks of the year. Our luggage was on the carousel before we got there! In disbelief we cruised back through the balmy Melbourne evening (27c) to quiet Surrey Hills where the constant roar of the ocean is replaced by the distant roar of traffic.

Life as locals

With the threat of the weather taking a turn for the worse (it didn't) we had another quiet down day which translates to no major organised tour expenses. Another early stroll down the beach front

for a coffee and chat underneath the lush tropical vegetation watching the world of Trinity Beach going through it's morning ritual: fit people doing their thing, council workers pretending to be effective and the local dericts behaving as if to script. All fascinating stuff. Two of us then repeated the exploration of the headland with the explicit intent of collecting wild fresh mangoes (success). We also tried for bananas and coconuts but to no avail. There are locals living in humpy's hidden in obscure places who are most likely cleaning up all the edible food well before we came through. The headland offers some fabulous views which we spotted a sea eagle also enjoying. He was brilliantly perched on his tree stump with commanding views of the entire domain.

Leaving the scatteted debris of party animals behind us we watched some indigenous folk wading through the water spear fishing - exactly where the signs advising of crocs and stingers reside. so what goes on? Do these supposedly dangerous critters only attack tourists? ....Maybe it's only tourists that have access to lawyers if (on the remote chance) something goes wrong.... Following the sound advice from yesterday's captain we jumped into the blue rocket and headed off up to the swimming hole favoured by the locals and not on the tourist lists. And it was great. In comparison, Mossman sucks - this place rocks.

With fresh, crystal clear water cascading over a series of falls through an incredibly narrow, cliff hugging rain forest canyon we trecked up the easy pathway to the pool beneath the main falls to spend a lazy hour or so cooling off in the overall tropical ambience. This is the stuff they make ads out of. It was also at the complete contradiction to the signs telling us to do otherwise. Apart from the freshwater crays being mistaken for underwater scorpians all was calm and peaceful... An easy drive back to the gated compound was followed by a quick game of down ball on the apartment veranda (suspect this had not been done before - a first for us - yay!) and then dripping we headed next door for another very pleasant dinner on the bistro balcony watching the setting sun light up the (try hard) storm clouds over the ocean.

Raging Rapids

Another calm day across the coral sea as FNQ bakes in the heat of the delayed monsoon. We awoke early (for us) - due to the plentiful rest the proceeding day - and slowly got ready for our big downstream adventure.

An early morning late' on the beachfront preceded a trip into Cairns proper for a photo recovery mission and a stroll and minor shop in the Central. Whilst busy, the place just seems so much more calm and relaxed than in chaotic Melbourne. It's easy to see why people choose to live here, apart from of course: the oppressive heat, the personal dangers in the water, the catastrophic cyclones and being at the forefront of the devastation caused by global warming....at least the traffic flows in peak hour. The midday sun beat down as the sea breeze disappeared whilst we struggled down the 200 meters to our bus pickup. It was sitting idling at the public bus stop running with it's welcoming air-conditioning as we slithered up the burning concrete and into it's cool interior. After paying the exorbitant fares and filling out the mandatory non disclamature forms we headed up the Barwon river for a series of white water high jinx. Raging Thunder is a well run operation with a lot of rubber boats, a plethora of paddles and helmets, a lot of fit/young guides (similar to the snorkeling cruises - maybe only the standout beautiful people get jobs in tourism up here?...) and about 80 paying participants having the time of their lives.

Our jaunt down the river was shared by 3 Bostonian girls who tried valiantly to stay dry and yet failed miserably. We Aussies on the other hand jumped in and got drenched at every opportunity. Louisa actually took the role one step beyond what was required at one stage and got flung off. Unable to utilise the life rope thrown to her she ended up having to walk the 20 meters or so to the next calm patch before re-joining the crew. Thanks to the guidance of our captain Ryan (maybe he pushed her?) We were probably the most skillful team on the river that day. At least the go-pro was on the correct setting this time. And so armed with memories in our minds and in our backpacks we headed back to HQ for debrief and cocktails. Dinner on the strip was pretty funny due to the drunk waiter who confessed and then tried to cover up. Given adequate direction it all worked out well. Trinity beach is a very relaxing place to be this time of year.

A Relaxing day

Today was downtime. No big trips. No high jinx. No exciting adventures. No interesting stories. You have been warned.... Finally managed to view the sunrise - albeit by capturing it on time lapse video and watching it on the TV in the middle of day, but what the heck.... This way we got sleep-in as well :) Our accommodation looms over the end of the beach road which has a public BBQ and shelter. A very popular spot which due to the prevailing winds we hear everything the inhabitants say, smell every morsel of food that they cook and breath every tobacco they choose to smoke. So last night we drifted off to sleep with the sounds of their youth revelries and woke up to the "joy" of their awakening. Combined with the dulcet tones of local council workers tidying up the steep bank below the pool with whipper snippers and blowers it was an interesting concophany of alarm clocks.

The monsoon is still holding off. Lucky us, poor locals, who really do need the rain. In another perfectly calm day we went for a stroll over the headland which turned into an adventurous trek. 2 meters inland the breeze disappears and the sweat starts to flow. Following a series of rough storm water dug out tracks we found some great vistas, picked some fresh mangos, discovered a remote tropical beach and eventually got lost in a mangrove swamp. Not bad for all of 10mins away from the compound. After a refreshing iced coffee back in civilisation the rest of the day was spent lounging around the pool and/or the apartment to the continuing sounds of portable 2-stroke engines. They've done a great job of stripping away all the vegetation just in time for the rains to wash away the exposed soil. Dinner in and then late swim in the pool ended the day.

Picture Perfect on the reef

Up early (although still not early enough to catch the sunrise) we joined the pre-peak hour traffic and headed to the organized chaos of the Cairns jetties. Here we joined the swarm of tourists heading out for their slice of the great barrier reef. The Reef Experience is exactly that. Well there maybe more to the 2400 km than the few square meters than we saw but we were pretty happy with what we did. 70 odd passengers from all over, 20 or so staff with the attitude and skills to give 'em their monies worth and we were off... We scored one of the classic calm days which most simply wish for.

Our vessel effortlessly sliced through the silky smooth seas whilst the sun made the fish and the coral below glow with a brilliance that made one require sunglasses underneath the diving masks (well ok then - maybe not that much - but it was pretty good). Our first stop at Saxton reef involved snorkeling.

A significant school of tourist fish slowly drifted out from the rear of the ship, intermingling with the natural inhabitants: multicoloured, multi-species and a variety of corals (hard and soft) and the first of many underwater videos.

Lots of free dives to capture the action up close were performed during the day, only the realise at the end of all the events that the camera was on the wrong setting. Well at least we have old fashioned memories to fall back on.... Next came the highlight. Included in the trip was a free scuba dive for beginners. And so we did. 15 minutes later we had encountered ear aches, anxiety, seriously large parrot fish and an amazing views of the reef down deep. Great fun.

After a fajitas lugnch we roared over to Norman reef (not one mention of the old joke) for more snorkeling. The weather was so perfect we moored on the "wild" side to perform more snorkelling, wasted videoing and sunburning of our backs. The free drinks on the way back to harbour went down extremely well, as did the boat cutting through the millpond still water. The day was nicely rounded off with a poignant serving of fish and chips.

A day on the Daintree

Missing yet another spectacular sunrise we arose to a calm day with the view bathed in brilliant sunshine and a warm breeze still wafting through the apartment. Ahh Queensland - beautiful one day, perfect the next (maybe I should go into advertising?). We bundled our day trip gear into the blue rocket and headed north again. Giving PD a miss we had a quick coffee stop at Mossman and then tore off up through the green sugar cane fields to explore the Daintree. Breaking the cardinal rule, we paid the ferryman before we even boarded the vessel. Safely to the other side however, the winding roads were duly captured on the go pro as we balanced clear vistas with crazy tourists and a distinct lack of visible cassowary's.

A high canopy of fan palms filters light onto the boardwalk at Cape Tribulation as it meanders its way through the rain forrest exposing all sorts of wildlife. We saw wild pigs, goannas, bush fowl, lizzards and English tourists. Ending up on the pristine beach was a welcome relief from the oppressive humidity. It would have to rate as one of the best beaches in the world. Apart from the crocs and the stingers and the sandflies and the sharks of course. We had lunch (lastnights leftovers) at our very own beach (Thortons) followed by dessert at the local ice creamery (go figure....this place is meant to be isolated...end of the world...see this and you've seen it all...and next door we have an exclusive ice cream factory that does wattle sead flavours!). Back across the ferry (front row this time) we shot back through the cane fields and headed up the Mossman Gorge. Spending a good hour or so lolling around in the river was good clean fun. With impressive mountain peaks looming in and out of view as the ever present local clouds trying to form rain bearing capability (apparently they will succeed in two days time) we saw a plethora of tourists come and go. Some dipped in. Others didn't. A good money spinner for the traditional owners. Who do a very job running the whole show.

And so with wet cozzies we sped off down the Captain Cook race track (fun road to drive when its clear and you know it) and back to base for pre's and then pizza's by the beach at one of the many trendy restaurants which are inevitable in a place such as Trinity.

A markets morning

We are lucky enough that the rising sun does not shine directly into our faces as it spectacularly illuminates the easten sky over the ocean whilst it claws its way out of the darkness. This means we slept through the entire scenario - to the sounds of the unceasing waves washing onto the beach below our bedroom. Last nights storms had the locals happy about the gardens being watered and the fact that the ensuing floods had dissapeared from the area as they set up their Sunday markets. To these we headed...up the Cptn. Cook Hwy through spectacular coastal hugging roads to Port Douglas - where the rich rub shoulders with ...the rich and the local hippies flog them ingenious stuff whilst they are doing so.

This place is a destination. Swimming it's own chic ambience the main strip feels like a Disney theme park, complete with it's own wild western saloon and expensive boutique stores. Development has gone to the extent of famous views being dominated by expensive play pens. Lunch with the Terns will only be meaningful to those of us who experienced it. The weather today was perfect. So good that we stopped off at Ellis beach on the way back south for a refreshing dip in the cloudy tepid water. Some local engineer has developed an ingenious method of keeping the crocs and stingers at bay with an elaborate array of nets, ropes, pullies and a huge winch mechanism. Now all they need to do is come up with an ingenious way to keep the water clean (apart from waiting for the monsoon - which is of course, a cop out).

Dinner back at the compound was a BBQ using yesterdays booty. We tucked in as the full moon slowly and spectacularly appeared over the ocean. With the extensive patio doors thrown wide open to watch it and the warm breeze wafting in off the sea this really is pleasant way to spend an evening.

off to the balmy tropics

Up at 3:00 am for a 6:00am departure. The 3hr flight to TNQ was easy and uneventful. After collecting our blue rocket from buchet'we headed into the Saturday morning street party of inner Cairns. With only the occasional tourist spotted Louisa has come to the conclusion that she likes this place because everyone must sleep in Saturday mornings. After brunch at a foreshore cafe we made the short (but very cramped)

journey to Trinity beach and we are now ensconced in our palatial 4th floor apartment. Thinking about shopping for the week.......which after a few uncoordinated short naps we did. The supermarket at Palm Cove was the same as any in "Mexico" the only difference is the humidity experienced upon exit. After distributing the boot load of booty into the large variety of options in the kitchen we headed to the pool to cool our heated bods and play around with the go-pro. Dinner was on the balcony of the bistro which is part of the extensive tavern conveniently located next door. We skedaddled home under the threat of looming thunderstorms to then thoroughly enjoy the show as they drifted out to sea.

An easy trip home

And all too soon it comes to an end... Up early (for us on this trip), pack the bags (it is amazing how much mess 2 people can make in one room in two days!) and check out of the hotel. A light brunch in the same cafe' (with same orange juice in quite possibly the same jar) and then back in the car and off through the quiet roads of Hobart's peak hour to the airport.

This place works really well - no hassles and then we are on the plane winging our way home. The seat behind us was empty so we both had window seats and fabulous views over Phillip Island , our suburb and the city. Very disappointed to see Melbourne Airport has re-introduced paying for luggage trolleys - 4$!! - what a great way to treat our international visitors (not). The weather here looks as good as it was in Tassie - no doubt we were very lucky with the weather all round and it certainly did make the trip all that extra special.

Moaning about Mona

A peek between the blinds at the sunrise was the only interupption to our last sleep in - even the constant rumble of the traffic and a significant fire in town was not enough to disturb us. Either Tassie is a noisy place or we chose our accomodation poorly on this trip. Brunch was in a trendy cafe' where the fresh orange juice is served in a glass jar. We then joined the chaotic (not!) traffic and went to begin the cultural highlight of our trip at the Mona museum. We were warmly greeted by "Closed Today" signs out the front. Unperturbed we went in anyway. The vineyards were turning a golden autumn brown, the sun came out highlighting the blue sky and a warm northerly breeze gently tickled our skin. Unfortunately none of this ambience opened the doors of the place.We did get to see a skeleton of a Cement truck.

And so grumbling about the fact we did not do our homework adequately we headed back into town and visited the replica of Mawsons Antarctic hut instead. This was quite interesting - they did it tough and they did it well. A refreshing cider admiring the scientific vessels moored at the dock and we headed back to the room for a relax and wind down. Dinner at the Drunken Admiral was a thoroughly enjoyable experience surrounded by a plethora of shipping related artefacts. We almost donned bloomers, boots, belts, became buccaneers and bellowed out sea shanties in our enthusiasm inspired by the décor. Arrrrrhhhh alas ye hearties .... all we did was afterwards wander through the docks again for a dessert of rocky road gelati.

Heaps of Huon

We bode the Port Huon cabins farewell and headed up the road to the Huon cafe for breakfast by the tranquil waters of Huon Harbour. Afterwards we drove north along the banks of the Huon river, spotting Huon Pines along the way. Refueling at Huonville we turned left at the old Huon boatbuilding depot (apparently they use Huon wood milled from Huon pines which are curiously prolific in the Huon valley). Our journey down the south bank of the Huon river revealed a quieter side to the Huon district away from the Huon highway. Driving through Snug and an emergency stop in Cygnet(not a swan in sight) we turned left and climbed our way out of the valley still unenlightened as to what a Huon actually is. Lunch at the Hartzview winney was fabulous.

It was a picture perfect sunny day. We were the only guests and the calm autumn afternoon was emphasized by the occasional voices drifting up from the pickers of the pino noir berries casually collecting the late season cool climate crop of which the vineyard is renowned. We continued through more fabulous country vistas on our way back to a glowingly warm Hobart afternoon. Our room oversees Constitution dock in such a way it's tempting to yell out morring directions to Arorus Australis from our window.

A riveting expedition of retail therapy in the city centre was counterbalanced by a fun evening in the Salamanca district. Struggling with limited comms access behind the thick stone walls of the historic buildings we managed to converse with those in the wider world to a limited extent. Gourmet pizza followed by gelatti as we wound our way through the chill night air of the docks back to the room.

Flying high over the treetops (sort of)

Another beautiful sunrise over the calm waters of the Huon river was again totally ignored as we slept in. Eventually driven out of bed by the incessant roar of the road we headed up to Geeveston for brunch and a wander through the wall of lollies. This is a fascinating display of sweets from around the world where the value contained in the plethora of glass jars would be less if the contents were coins. And so with lighter still wallets we headed along the winding forest roads to the Tahune air walk. Not even a tree blocking the road stopped us in our determination to get there. After a gagle of hardy blokes broke of the low hanging branches all the sedans squeezed underneath and with a cheery wave to to the stranded campervans continued on. The walk through the forest, over the swaying bridges and up along the elevated platforms was enlightening. The highlight though was the hang gliding experience across the river. Makes one think that it would be worth doing it one day without being suspended from a cable.

Tonight we eat in. Gourmet pies followed by a video. As the sun settles over the mist covered hills and chill winds waft down from the high plains beyond.

As far south as you can get

A well earned sleep in and then a stroll up the road for a late breakfast at a quaint cafe saw us wander past pitureesque waterways dotted with idle yachts. We then jumped back in our wheels and headed for a discovery tour of the deep south. With ghostly twangs of banjos haunting our subconscious we drove to Dover pub for lunch. Finding it burnt down we continued to Southport to discover an idealic location with more water based vistas than you could poke a stick at. After perusing the quaint (yet somewhat silly) historic tourist railways and Luke warm thermal springs we headed north via the coastal route with visions of food blurring our thoughts. Eventually ensconsed in our abode we were blown away by the consumption of possibly the best scallop pie ever to be eaten. Now looking forward to dinner as the light slowly fades over the calm waters of Huon bay.

Off to the Isle of Apples

Off to sunny Hobart. No traffic problems. Straight through check in only to find a 30min delay taking off. Stressed? Not really. Who cares....we're on holidays.:)

Arrived to a beautiful sunny day. After dealing with a smelly hire car we had lunch at constitution dock and headed up to the freezing winds on top of Mt Wellington to admire the panoramic views. Coffee at fern tree and then headed down the quiet winding roads to port huon. Based here for 3 nights and ready to explore. Ate a Geeveston Fanny after buying a bag full.

Singapore transit

After what was hopefully going to be the last buffet breakfast we’ll see for a while, we made the most of our 12:00pm checkout by massages for one and pedicures/manicures for the other. A final shopping collection and a rushed pack up and it was off to airport. We were told an hour, it took 20 minutes and as such we were there even before the check in counter was opened. As it turned out we couldn’t find a shipping container to get all the stuff home, so we decided to put it on the plane as luggage instead. Web site quoted price for over allocation was $2 per kilo. Check-in counter price quoted was $35 US per kilo. As we were collectively more than $10 kg over we were looking at pretty much wiping out the entire cost benefit of getting all this stuff cheaply in the first place. Luckily were not the first people to have experienced this and the advice given and the service offered was spot on.

So we took our bags off the belt, trundled over to the guy that has a large plastic wrap machine and we opened up the cases, removed 9 kilos of strategically weighed and sized items. Mr Cling(wrap) then spun them up, made a handy carry handle and off we went. We still had a ridiculous amount of cabin baggage that had to be consolidated but we figured it out, mostly in a relaxed calm mood. We had plenty of time and we’d just saved a bucket load of money (or conversely - we had just avoided spending yet more). The hop to Singapore seemed quite fast and we spent our 3 hour transit time in the (very expensive after Vietnam) bar on the roof of the airport. It would be an idealic setting if it wasn’t for all those loud planes taking off and landing all the time. The last leg home was OK. Not happy about having our Pineapple Jam taken off us at the gate lounge in Singapore (it was more than 100mg apparently – the more plausible theory is this how this particular lady does her weekly grocery shopping. Cheaper than Aldi. No sleep as such (why do people insist on taking babies on planes?). We did however have a smooth path through Tullamarine (relative to previous experiences that is). Minimal traffic delays and managed to be knocking on the front door by 7:30am. Early enough to say hello to the stay-at-homes before they headed of for another day compulsory learning.

So now all we have to do figure out where to put all this stuff that we haggled, sweated, toiled, tweaked, packed, moved, carried, repacked and paid for. And deal with the thousand odd photos as well.

Sunrise over the Delta

As the sun broke over the crystal clear waters, birds chirruped a song of morning delight and butterflies flitted gracefully around the ceiling of the cabin whilst a symphony of angels hummed softly in the background. We peeked out of our window to experience dawn over the Mekong Delta and reality set in. Yes, the sun was rising - the bonus here was it pretty much stayed unobscured by clouds the whole day (first time for the trip). No - the water was still the same humanfied putrid brown, the humming noise was the engines of the ship and the butterflies were a colourful picturesque way of creating a visual landscape. It was all still pretty cool though.

We had breakfast on the deck as we headed towards our next destination (shrug of shoulders was what anyone could tell us). Driving headlong through fishermen's nets, the never ending flotillas of waterborne plants and human debris we eventually ended up at an obscure bank surrounded by a swarm of sampans driven by local ladies all dressed in blue and wearing those conical hats. Two by two we boarded the sampans, donned similar hats and headed off into a small canal which can only be described (well maybe words fail me here) as an amazing experience. We had already seen local village life on foot - now we were seeing it from the veins (think life blood) of the region.

We were so lucky. our sampan driver was an obviuos novice who not only lacked the technique of this obscure rendition of gondola propulsion but also lacked the energy required to get us through the 30 minutes (normally) time taken to navigate this particular meandering, tree covered, occasionally congested back road. At some stages the old metaphor of being up a similarly coloured creek without a paddle came to mind. All good fun. we were passed a few times by others in the group but eventually we all made it to our waiting longboat where we headed off to view the floating markets which were well and truly closed for the day.

We then had a hair raising bike ride through a typically chaotic Vietnamese town to have brunch at an old rich persons house which had been handily converted into a tourist brunch location. They had pools of fish which we happily consumed a couple of before a walk through the stifling heat (sun was still out) to a last commute on the long boat for a short trip to our end of tour drop off point.

We were lucky (yet again) in that we had our own car for the trip back to Saigon. This driver also pulsated along the highways, however this time it was less than the two hours before we were deposited back into the same hotel were were in a week ago (great location - thats why we came back). Already seriously over our baggage allowance we went shopping. Shopping shopping and more blinking shopping. Markets and arguments (still not allowed to walk way if you ask a price and decide not to buy) thus ensued. Exhausted (again) we went for a massage at our favorite haunt. not as good as last time and yet we really can't complain. Dinner in same Japanese fusion restaurant that we went to a week ago. It was OK but we really should have ordered vietnamese items (when in Rome... yadda yada). Ice blocks in urinals.... where does that come from? Is it because they can't afford the specifically designed cubes we have or is it simply a challenge? Last night of relaxing before we head home to grace Melbourne with our immediate presence. Enough of this blog stuff - it's time to see the real us. From now on if you want to know what we're up to....ask :) Just let us get there first though. We still have a morning in Ho Chi Min and then an 18 hour ordeal to get there. It's been a great trip - looking forward to getting home all the same. One more post due for this trip and photo's still to be added.

Cruising the Mekong Delta

We were up before the (Vietnamese) sparrows today. It was all quiet in the compound and even quieter on the roads. This may not happen in Saigon but the folk here do actually get some collective sleep. The highway was like a post apocalyptic landscape with only two other vehicles spotted on the entire trip back to Da Nang.

The airport was sparsely filled and we had to wait for the coffee shop to open before we could get our first fix. The saga of ATM's and available cash continued with no machines in the terminal. Penniless, we eventually landed in Ho Chi Min amongst drizzling rain and the never ending traffic chaos which defines this city. Needless to say the resulting four hour drive was quite tiresome as we had not eaten, had minimal sleep and less caffeine than normally prescribed. The bustling city traffic eventually gave way to green rice paddies, ramshackle buildings stretching along the side of the modern(ish) highways. We were lucky with our driver. He was once of these people who has some sort of neurotic twitch in his leg which means that he could hold his foot steady on the accelerator for more than five seconds. On average three. This is a very useful skill when navigating the milling throngs of congested Asian city traffic. It's quite simply annoying when going on a long country drive. And so we spent four hours pulsating down the highways over the Mekong Delta. Waterways define the landscape. Big rivers, small canals and everything in between. We travelled through many small towns, large towns, people, activity, industrialization, mostly poverty everywhere we looked. The whole country seems active and trying hard to move forward and good on 'em.

We arrived at the boat with an hour to spare (woo hoo! says us who got up at 3 am) and are cruising the Delta waterways in large vessel that caters for 24 guests but only has 12 on board. 14 service staff make the ratio reasonably comfortable. We are very happy with our room. Even having a gecko on our bed sort adds to the ambiance. A never ending photo-shoot is now taking place, Most have murky water as the defining feature, some highlighted by vessels of different shapes and sizes plying the water with whatever their trade or purpose may be. The variations in usage/need is amazing. All of us guests were ushered off the boat by tender at one stage of the afternoon and went for a walking tour of a local village. This was very interesting. Whilst we didn't see a traditional "village" as such we did get to see a variety of houses, farming techniques and one (very local) rice making factory. Also lots of chickens, ducks, dogs, children waving and saying hello and identification of the local flora.

After a sampling of the same we all treked back through the greenery to our tender to be transferred back to the cruise ship. Given we are only the people on approx 100000 sq km's of waterways wearing life jackets we must've looked like the soft, protected species that our insurance companies would have us being. Dinner with a nice young English/Irish couple and then more cruising until we have moored for the night - goodness knows where in the middle of the peaceful and serene waterways. We have no idea where we are.

A slow day

With nothing to to do today but relax and pack we slept in, had breakfast kimono style (pity about the bulge between the disks) and we drifted off to the beach for some serious relaxing.

Today the beach came into its own with crystal clear water (obviously the ocean stream was flowing away from the river mouth today), no waves and the swarms of dragonflies hovering in the lee of gentle breeze next to the beach umbrellas. Luckily they don't bite. Two finished customised items dropped off at the hotel by our (now) personalised tailors from within the town determined the timetable for the day (we had to meet them at reception for a quick fitting and confirmation of overall happiness). Massages across the road and collection of washing was one of the highlights, the other was the gift from the hotel of a birthday cake. This resulted in some serious discussion on who the recipient was, the one a month posthumous and one three days pending. Interestingly the past event was chosen as the lucky celebrator as the looming one is not to be recognised (due to a generalistic denial of the sands of time).

Packing has been interesting, we searched and searched for shipping containers, but to no avail. It looks as if it's up to us lug the tonnes of stuff back by ourselves. Dinner at the hotel was a gourmet feast of BBQ's seafood in the hotel. Tomorrow we get up at 3:30am! to get to the airport, to catch a plane, 4 hour car drive and then cruise on Mekon delta overnight. Will fully expect no WiFii for couple of days and as such no post ensuing.

Cooking up a storm in Vietnam

Up early and into town for a cooking class was the first order of the day. We arrived at the Morning Glory restaurant and the mass was broken up into smaller groups and given traditional conical shaped hats to wear before we headed off on a walking tour of the local markets. The purpose of the hats is open to conjecture.

Possibly for a bit of local authenticity, more likely to as some sort of practical joke the locals like to play on the hoards who invade their cramped market space, bumping into stalls, taking invasive photos and generally getting in the way of commerce. We started off looking at some seeds and then quickly breezed through the meat section. At this point we lost one of the party due to an upset stomach. Luckily he did not follow us into the fish sections. He might have been OK in the fruit and veg but by then he was long gone. The remaining seven of us were very taken by all the sights, smells and constant stream of information pouring out of our knowledgable guide.

We then traipsed along the river looking like a clan of oversized, garishly dressed, camera wielding, backpack toting, sweaty locals on our way to the classroom. This was a very interesting experience. Somewhat difficult to stay awake after being so exhausted from the tour - however we persisted. The room was laid out exactly the same as Master Chef with about 50 eager students all willing and keen to wield the razor sharp knifes and create huge billows of flames from their individual burners and frying pans. It was a minor miracle no one got seriously hurt. All good fun though. A huge range of local herbs and spices was presented to us each one explained as to why they are used and what impact they have on the dish in question. Also a fair amount of information as to the general health benefits of some of them (not quite sure why you'd want to rub turmeric on your skin as I would thought it would turn it yellow after a while...).

We learnt and participated in creating 4 dishes and devoured them whilst doing so. Pretty hard to get it wrong being under the watchful eyes of the many helpers and all the difficult parts pre-mixed. Luckily were given the recipes as well. So if anyone would like to try them - by all means ask and we'll provide copies for you :). After the resulting significant lunch (pretty much the first we'd had on the trip) - we lurched back into the heat of the town to start re-tracing our steps to collect goods previously ordered. The longer we spend here, the more we think we know where we are going, however it seems that shops that were there one day are gone the next. This is either confusion created by a combination of heat, similar buildings, shop fronts, streets and people or some sort of weird parallel universe conjuncture where things are almost the same but change ever so slightly. I'm going with the second one. It seems impossible to to walk along any particular strip without drifting sideways into some shop or another to haggle over stuff we don't need. This ultimately resulted in 6 visits to various ATM's throughout the day. Whilst dotted all over they don't actually dispense enough cash to be of any significant value - they do however charge fees every time and thus we also keep the financial organisations happy as well (who'd ever work for bank? one may ask). Laden with goods we struggled from one end of town to the other (sometimes in circles) spreading joy and goodwill wherever we went. Back to comfort of the air-conditioned room for two hours recovery. No time for a swim, but enough for the esteem building event of walking across the road to purchase water and deposit laundry. There would be about 10 small business there feeding of the cheapskates who look for less expensive services than those provided in the hotel and when they spot someone actually walking down the driveway a flurry of activity occurs all along the strip. Lots of waves, smiles and pleas ensue.

And then back into town for more fitting, tweaking and a lovely dinner on a terrace overlooking the river and the swarming night time throng congregating around the ornately lit bridge. Needless to say, we are now somewhat wiser in regards to the source of the flavours in the local cuisine. Our stroll (aka . shopping) after dinner saw us swimming in our own clothes as the humidity and heat rose to new levels. Armed with yet another load of purchases we eventually caught the shuttle bus back the sanctuary where we prepared for our stocktake and pack up the next day.

Hoi An fans

Yet another buffet breakfast started a hectic day. With hotel guests of all persuasions buffeting against each other for the pick of the scrambled eggs and ever sparse freshly squeezed fruit juice, it's plainly obvious where the name of of this gourmet social concoction originated. We hopped on the first shuttle bus into town because the pressure of clothes fitting and the need for more haggling was weighing heavily upon us. Being in town so early was a revelation.

As it turns out, there are advantages in being the first customer of the day in these shops. If you're the the first purchaser then you make their day "lucky" and as such are the recipient of a huge discount. This pitch lasts until around midday when the whole place settles into a sort of paralysis where only the new arrivals in town could be bothered cruising the colorful streets... because they know no better. By this time we had managed to make a myriad of store owners "lucky" and had our pending wardrobes tweaked, prodded, adjusted, refitted, re-ordered, re-aligned, extra items added and delivery times re-scheduled. Ah..good old Hoi An, the town where the ceiling fans almost outnumber the tourists (and there are a LOT of tourists).... It would probably more economical for the government to put a really big wind farm at one end, switch it on reverse and have a gentle breeze waft over the place continuously.... Given the amount of trouble they've gone in building extensive bare-boned suburbs in the area nothing they do in the future would surprise. We headed back to the compound armed with a baguette from Cargo and quite happy in the knowledge that we had made so many store owners lucky. Another few lazy hours on the beach ensued. Today the ocean was very calm, which resulted in no wave dumpings (and subsequent injuries). This was made up, however, by managing to get lost in the cavernous halls of the compound on the way back to the room.The stress and confusion of so many floors and room doors that are all exactly the same (apart from the obvious number labeling them) was soon overcome by a jaunt across the road for a relaxing massage and manicure. We managed to make another owner lucky by being the very first customer in their spa as they had just opened this day. Relaxed and nicely calm we slipped-slided in our thongs back across the road, roughly navigated up the driveway, carefully maneuvered up the stairs, skidded down the endless hallways into our room to wash the oil off so we could walk properly for the rest of the evening.

Back into town for dinner, at this time of the day the place hums with activity. Ceiling fans are just one contributor to the maelstrom. The restaurant (Miss Ly) was highly recommended, the food was superb and the sound of breaking glasses followed by the ubiquitous shout of "Taxi" made one feel well and truly at home (aka - Aus.). Tomorrow we get up early to learn the fine art of Vietnamese cooking. The aim here is to learn "signature" dishes which will be henceforth inflicted on any guest that dares to come to our place for dinner in the ensuing decades. Photo's and accompany stories will be an integral component of the entree's .