After travelling from hotel to hotel/hostel to hostel for three months we
decided it was time to take a holiday from all the hard work and chill out in a beach resort for a week. For this we chose Mui Ne and managed to find a beachside resort with a pool for £9 a night between us. Being far more interested in quaint towns and people watching this was quite a unique experience. The entire town (being one road about 6km long) is there for the sole purpose of tourism.
The best way I can see to describe the comparison is that China is the equivalent
of America to Vietnams Western Europe. The scale of things in Vietnam seems tiny with small old streets, stylish architecture and small towns with a population of 100,000 being considered places of note. In China it is a tough challenge to find anywhere with a population of less than a million.
After two months in China Vietnam is a refreshing change, the streets are full of independently owned little stores and in my 10 days here so far I have only come across one American chain, that being a single KFC in the capital of Hanoi. Read More »
The nation of China is so different from the western world, and perhaps even anywhere in Asia, I am yet to see. There are so many things I read about that I thought couldn’t possibly be true but have now see for myself, and after a few days almost got used to. I can’t be sure if it is the locals or the tourists from smaller parts of the country but either way it definitely is occurring..
The most predominant of these is spitting. The older generation of loves to spit, when walking down the street you will regularly hear a ‘hocking’ noise crescendo behind you, resulting in a large spit on the floor. This I was semi prepared for, but it being done inside buildings and even in restaurants is the most shocking thing I’ve witnessed, though apparently they also throw down bones on the floor in restaurants I’ve yet to see it but spit and napkins regularly line the floor. Dare I say the five second rule should not be used here? Read More »
