Yahoo website is the default at a lot internet cafes so just noticed the horoscopes and being the curious sod I am, I clicked on the yearly one. The first paragraph threw me. How bizarre eh!!
"During the early part of the year -- say, from January through March -- you may be bitten by the travel bug. This isn't customary for you, and you don't often have an irrepressible urge to leave everyone and everything you love. Once you've got the fever, though, chances are good you won't want to settle for anything less than a major tour, featuring every spot you've always wanted to visit. Don't deprive yourself. This is your moment to pack lightly (yes, really -- you can do it if you try) and go shopping for experiences rather than objects. Go get 'em!"
And I haven't done much shopping well cept in Hoi An.... and I didnt pack that lightly but.....
Sunday, June 25, 2006
and even more waterfalls
22Jun
Well got off to Louang Probang. It was reasonably ok bus journey, as most of us had seats to ourselves. I had my ipod on for most of the 7hr journey. It was really nice. Haven’t really listened much to my ipod and was sorry I brought it (extra weight), but I guess it is nice to have every now and then, especially for long journeys. At one stage this Greek music came on my ipod, the tune they mostly play in Greek restaurants or bars etc. Memories of my time in Poros (Greek Island) and Irish dancing to Greek music (as you do…) with Janet and Moira came flooding back. And of course my sojourns in Vass. Ah yes what weeks they were.
Bus journey was uneventful except when the driver decided to overtake a tanker stuck on this winding uphill road. The bus got stuck. Some people had already got off the bus and when the bus swerved past the tanker, a few people started to panic and insisted they get off. The rest of us got off then, as it got stuck anyway. There was loads of space for the bus to maneuver but the ground was really soft on the curve so the wheels go stuck. Eventually all was well and we trundled off.
In LP, Yaniv, bumped into Carlos (Yaniv does a lot of bumping into people) and then we all met and went to dinner. It was a superb evening and such a laugh, as we swapped pick up lines, expletives and phrases in Portuguese, Spanish, English and Hebrew and what ever other language came to mind. We said our goodbyes to Carlos again, as he was heading off to Bangkok the next day.
23Jun I stayed in bed most of the morning and just pottered about, went to see the National museum which was so much more well kept than the one in Vientiane. Bizarre. Louang Prabang is a beautiful city. It was the capital previously and is much wealthier, cleaner and well maintained than Vientiane. Everything is pretty and in a very French colononial style. Went to a very posh restaurant for dinner as I really fancied this duck dish then off to bed as I was still tired.
24Jun. In the afternoon, I met Andrew and Sandy, 2 Scots lads we met on the bus and shared a tuk tuk to the waterfall. On getting to the waterfall, the sky deluged so we ate lunch. As we started to climb up the waterfall the weather cleared. The waterfall was a lovely multi-teered waterfall with some pools for swimming so swam under/behind the water curtain. It was cool and hit the spot nicely. We got a flat on the way back and our tuk tuk driver deftly switched the spare tire. Obviously a frequent occurrence, along this dirt track. Went for a siesta, then headed to the Hmong night market. Bought a few trinkets and then got some food from the stalls. For 5000 Kip you can fill your plate with a selection of food and sit along some benches. There was also some barbequed meat and fish. I got some local sausage and chicken and sat near 2 Dutch girls (Daniela and Maureen). They were amused when I used a Dutch word (Lecher (sorry for spelling Robert)) in response to their question on the tastiness of my sausage (Now if I was a boy….). So we ended up chatting for a couple of hours again swapping stories and language phrases and had a hoot.
I was dying of thirst as hadn’t anything to drink whilst eating, so on the way home I left the Dutch girls carry on, as they had an early flight. I stopped at a bar and watched the game between Germany and Sweden. This is a first for me. Going to a bar, ordering a beer and watching footie. Now I am seriously worried about myself.
As it happened, Andrew and Sandy were there too, so joined me at the bar. Germany won 2 nil, in case anyone is interested or didn’t know. The Scots leave tomorrow too. They are just starting uni in Sep. Bless…
25Jun. I feel kind of sad booking my ticket out of LP today. I really like it here. When I come back to Asia, I will come to Laos again as there is something really special about it.
But I go bus back to Vientiane tomorrow, then bus on to Bangkok, then fly via Bahrain to London. 3 days of traveling, oh the joy. Will have to charge my ipod and get my blowup pillow.
See some of you soon. Love S
Well got off to Louang Probang. It was reasonably ok bus journey, as most of us had seats to ourselves. I had my ipod on for most of the 7hr journey. It was really nice. Haven’t really listened much to my ipod and was sorry I brought it (extra weight), but I guess it is nice to have every now and then, especially for long journeys. At one stage this Greek music came on my ipod, the tune they mostly play in Greek restaurants or bars etc. Memories of my time in Poros (Greek Island) and Irish dancing to Greek music (as you do…) with Janet and Moira came flooding back. And of course my sojourns in Vass. Ah yes what weeks they were.
Bus journey was uneventful except when the driver decided to overtake a tanker stuck on this winding uphill road. The bus got stuck. Some people had already got off the bus and when the bus swerved past the tanker, a few people started to panic and insisted they get off. The rest of us got off then, as it got stuck anyway. There was loads of space for the bus to maneuver but the ground was really soft on the curve so the wheels go stuck. Eventually all was well and we trundled off.
In LP, Yaniv, bumped into Carlos (Yaniv does a lot of bumping into people) and then we all met and went to dinner. It was a superb evening and such a laugh, as we swapped pick up lines, expletives and phrases in Portuguese, Spanish, English and Hebrew and what ever other language came to mind. We said our goodbyes to Carlos again, as he was heading off to Bangkok the next day.
23Jun I stayed in bed most of the morning and just pottered about, went to see the National museum which was so much more well kept than the one in Vientiane. Bizarre. Louang Prabang is a beautiful city. It was the capital previously and is much wealthier, cleaner and well maintained than Vientiane. Everything is pretty and in a very French colononial style. Went to a very posh restaurant for dinner as I really fancied this duck dish then off to bed as I was still tired.
24Jun. In the afternoon, I met Andrew and Sandy, 2 Scots lads we met on the bus and shared a tuk tuk to the waterfall. On getting to the waterfall, the sky deluged so we ate lunch. As we started to climb up the waterfall the weather cleared. The waterfall was a lovely multi-teered waterfall with some pools for swimming so swam under/behind the water curtain. It was cool and hit the spot nicely. We got a flat on the way back and our tuk tuk driver deftly switched the spare tire. Obviously a frequent occurrence, along this dirt track. Went for a siesta, then headed to the Hmong night market. Bought a few trinkets and then got some food from the stalls. For 5000 Kip you can fill your plate with a selection of food and sit along some benches. There was also some barbequed meat and fish. I got some local sausage and chicken and sat near 2 Dutch girls (Daniela and Maureen). They were amused when I used a Dutch word (Lecher (sorry for spelling Robert)) in response to their question on the tastiness of my sausage (Now if I was a boy….). So we ended up chatting for a couple of hours again swapping stories and language phrases and had a hoot.
I was dying of thirst as hadn’t anything to drink whilst eating, so on the way home I left the Dutch girls carry on, as they had an early flight. I stopped at a bar and watched the game between Germany and Sweden. This is a first for me. Going to a bar, ordering a beer and watching footie. Now I am seriously worried about myself.
As it happened, Andrew and Sandy were there too, so joined me at the bar. Germany won 2 nil, in case anyone is interested or didn’t know. The Scots leave tomorrow too. They are just starting uni in Sep. Bless…
25Jun. I feel kind of sad booking my ticket out of LP today. I really like it here. When I come back to Asia, I will come to Laos again as there is something really special about it.
But I go bus back to Vientiane tomorrow, then bus on to Bangkok, then fly via Bahrain to London. 3 days of traveling, oh the joy. Will have to charge my ipod and get my blowup pillow.
See some of you soon. Love S
I got this joke this morning. I liked it, it made me laugh. Thanks Moira!
One morning the husband returns after several hours of fishing and decides
to take a nap. Although not familiar with the lake, the wife decides to
take the boat out. She motors out a short distance, anchors, and reads
her book. Along comes a Game Warden in his boat. He pulls up alongside the woman
and says, "Good morning, Ma'am. What are you doing?"
"Reading a book," she replies, (thinking, "Isn't that obvious?")
"You're in a Restricted Fishing Area," he informs her.
"I'm sorry, officer, but I'm not fishing. I'm reading."
"Yes, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at
any moment. I'll have to take you in and write you up."
"If you do that, I'll have to charge you with sexual assault," says the
woman. "But I haven't even touched you," says the game warden.
"That's true, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could
start at any moment."
"Have a nice day ma'am," and he left.
MORAL: Never argue with a woman who reads. It's likely she can also
think!!!!!!
One morning the husband returns after several hours of fishing and decides
to take a nap. Although not familiar with the lake, the wife decides to
take the boat out. She motors out a short distance, anchors, and reads
her book. Along comes a Game Warden in his boat. He pulls up alongside the woman
and says, "Good morning, Ma'am. What are you doing?"
"Reading a book," she replies, (thinking, "Isn't that obvious?")
"You're in a Restricted Fishing Area," he informs her.
"I'm sorry, officer, but I'm not fishing. I'm reading."
"Yes, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at
any moment. I'll have to take you in and write you up."
"If you do that, I'll have to charge you with sexual assault," says the
woman. "But I haven't even touched you," says the game warden.
"That's true, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could
start at any moment."
"Have a nice day ma'am," and he left.
MORAL: Never argue with a woman who reads. It's likely she can also
think!!!!!!
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Veng Vieng River excursions
Jun 17: Went walking around Vientiane and then down by the river I found the most fab little bar to watch the sun go down (recommended in the LP). It was such a fab little makeshift bar with lots of old wooden seating and tables. It was funny to listen in on conversations around me. This German guy and an American were discussing the merits of Wagner, which oddly enough fitted the venue. There were some locals there as well so it was a very mixed crowd. It was such a lovely place, I felt on such a high there. It was just one of those moments when you feel life is really good. I don't normally drink beer but after trying the Bia Hoi in Viet Nam, I thought I'd see how the local Lao beer was. It was quite nice though didn't finish the whole bottle. I went to dinner in this tex mex place. It was really like the last hope saloon. So I just had to go in as there were 2 locals singing renditions of california dreaming etc. Ended up chatting to an English girl (Lisa) for a while.
Jun 18. I booked a bus for Vang Vieng and when I was picked up there was Yaniv again. I had to laugh. The bus was choca, so I ended up on a plastic seat in the aisle and Yaniv sat near the driver. They had forgotten us, so we were the last on board. Not the most comfortable journey but better than the journey to Hoi An. However, once I started reading my Amy Tan book the 4 hr journey went quickly. That evening, I went to this organic restaurant and who should pop in but Yaniv so we ended up eating together again. We then went onto a bar and wait for it... Actually watched the Austraila/Brazil match. And I had fun. Oh my god what has happened me. I was out til one am then woke at 6 so was knackered the next day.
Jun 19 Whilst having breakfast Yaniv came along so joined me and we watched friends. It is bizarre here. In the Lonely Planet it talks about how many of the restaurants show reruns of Friends and yup they do and yah I'be been watching several episodes. The 2 of us hired mountain bikes and cyled across a few streams and down some dirt tracks to this really deep cave. At the cave we first wondered what the fuss was but it was really quite large and we were the only 2 there, until we were leaving when a few more people turned up. The cave was a bit of a climb but good fun. The best part was it was by a river and there were some swinqs like a trapeze swing albeit with just 1 rope. So you could swing off them into the water. The water was so refreshingly cool, it was fantastic after the heat and the climb. Pottered around there for a while, had some fruit and sweetcorn, bumped into some people and had a chat with them. We then decided to do a loop so we could go to some other villages. However, along the way, we met this Laos guy called Nors from Veng Vieng. He told us that it was a very long way to go to the villages and that we wouldn't make it home by dark. He also just wanted to hang out and follow us so he could practice his English. He was very hard to understand and after a while he started to wear Yaniv's patience, so he cycled off. Me being the more polite one stuck around. Nors had tried to get us to go to his village but we declined. We did catch up with Yaniv a few times as he waited but then he carried on again
Well Nors tried all different tacks, started to tell me that he didn't like Lao girls and that he had an American girlfirend he was waiting on to return. After a while it became apparent that he was trying to pick me up. He is 24. Hey I still got it. Yup the weirdo magnet... I tried in different ways to put him off. I said I had a boyfriend at home, I was too old etc. but no he still wanted to go out with me. Even marry me. Well eventually the heat was getting to me, my sugar levels were crashing and my tolerance hit zero so I said I wasn't going to give him my number or go to his village or anything else and to go find another girl. Finally as I was getting closer to home, he got the hints that I had been throwing like bricks. Caught up with Yaniv again and had a laugh about it and both agreed that Nors was a bit odd to say the least. I was feeling a bit crap so had some food and went to bed early. That will teach me not to eat properly during the day.
Jun 20. Yaniv had met some people (Carlos from Brazil and Noa from Isreal) who wanted to go Kayaking, so we ended up getting a tour. We started off going to the Elephant cave, so called because an elephant had died there and his remains were burned and buried there. It was then a short walk through a village to the next cave, with our guide Bong. This one had a river running through it. We had to get into these huge plastic tubes. Sort of like the inner tube of a tractor and we then followed a rope to get inside the cave. The water was lovely and cool and we had head torches to light the way. It was a laugh. After lunch, We then went kayaking down the river to this makeshift bar. There are quite a few along the river where you can stop off and eat or drink or jump off contraptions built along the river. We stopped at one of these. This bar had a flying fox. This consisted of quite an amazing contraption of ropes etc and a large tree. Basically you climb the tree and hang on to this T bar on a rope. Sort of like a bungy jump just not so high and you are not tied on. You just hold on then as you swing across the water you let go. Simple. Er em yeah. well I got up, was a bit wary of it cos thought it might not be so good for my back but thought back has been great and I can't not do it. So... I couldn't let go the first swing, so swung across a few times before letting go. It does give you a bit of a jolt but it was great so did it again.
Noa, Carlos, Yaniv and I met up for dinner and watched friends for 3hrs until they turned the TV off. It was a laugh.
Jun 21. Was going to get the bus to Loang Prabang but my heart wasn't in it. Just didn't feel like a city just yet. Not that it is that big but... So am here in Veng Vieng for one more day. Said goodbye to Carlos as he was heading to Loang but hope to catch up with him when we there.
Jun 18. I booked a bus for Vang Vieng and when I was picked up there was Yaniv again. I had to laugh. The bus was choca, so I ended up on a plastic seat in the aisle and Yaniv sat near the driver. They had forgotten us, so we were the last on board. Not the most comfortable journey but better than the journey to Hoi An. However, once I started reading my Amy Tan book the 4 hr journey went quickly. That evening, I went to this organic restaurant and who should pop in but Yaniv so we ended up eating together again. We then went onto a bar and wait for it... Actually watched the Austraila/Brazil match. And I had fun. Oh my god what has happened me. I was out til one am then woke at 6 so was knackered the next day.
Jun 19 Whilst having breakfast Yaniv came along so joined me and we watched friends. It is bizarre here. In the Lonely Planet it talks about how many of the restaurants show reruns of Friends and yup they do and yah I'be been watching several episodes. The 2 of us hired mountain bikes and cyled across a few streams and down some dirt tracks to this really deep cave. At the cave we first wondered what the fuss was but it was really quite large and we were the only 2 there, until we were leaving when a few more people turned up. The cave was a bit of a climb but good fun. The best part was it was by a river and there were some swinqs like a trapeze swing albeit with just 1 rope. So you could swing off them into the water. The water was so refreshingly cool, it was fantastic after the heat and the climb. Pottered around there for a while, had some fruit and sweetcorn, bumped into some people and had a chat with them. We then decided to do a loop so we could go to some other villages. However, along the way, we met this Laos guy called Nors from Veng Vieng. He told us that it was a very long way to go to the villages and that we wouldn't make it home by dark. He also just wanted to hang out and follow us so he could practice his English. He was very hard to understand and after a while he started to wear Yaniv's patience, so he cycled off. Me being the more polite one stuck around. Nors had tried to get us to go to his village but we declined. We did catch up with Yaniv a few times as he waited but then he carried on again
Well Nors tried all different tacks, started to tell me that he didn't like Lao girls and that he had an American girlfirend he was waiting on to return. After a while it became apparent that he was trying to pick me up. He is 24. Hey I still got it. Yup the weirdo magnet... I tried in different ways to put him off. I said I had a boyfriend at home, I was too old etc. but no he still wanted to go out with me. Even marry me. Well eventually the heat was getting to me, my sugar levels were crashing and my tolerance hit zero so I said I wasn't going to give him my number or go to his village or anything else and to go find another girl. Finally as I was getting closer to home, he got the hints that I had been throwing like bricks. Caught up with Yaniv again and had a laugh about it and both agreed that Nors was a bit odd to say the least. I was feeling a bit crap so had some food and went to bed early. That will teach me not to eat properly during the day.
Jun 20. Yaniv had met some people (Carlos from Brazil and Noa from Isreal) who wanted to go Kayaking, so we ended up getting a tour. We started off going to the Elephant cave, so called because an elephant had died there and his remains were burned and buried there. It was then a short walk through a village to the next cave, with our guide Bong. This one had a river running through it. We had to get into these huge plastic tubes. Sort of like the inner tube of a tractor and we then followed a rope to get inside the cave. The water was lovely and cool and we had head torches to light the way. It was a laugh. After lunch, We then went kayaking down the river to this makeshift bar. There are quite a few along the river where you can stop off and eat or drink or jump off contraptions built along the river. We stopped at one of these. This bar had a flying fox. This consisted of quite an amazing contraption of ropes etc and a large tree. Basically you climb the tree and hang on to this T bar on a rope. Sort of like a bungy jump just not so high and you are not tied on. You just hold on then as you swing across the water you let go. Simple. Er em yeah. well I got up, was a bit wary of it cos thought it might not be so good for my back but thought back has been great and I can't not do it. So... I couldn't let go the first swing, so swung across a few times before letting go. It does give you a bit of a jolt but it was great so did it again.
Noa, Carlos, Yaniv and I met up for dinner and watched friends for 3hrs until they turned the TV off. It was a laugh.
Jun 21. Was going to get the bus to Loang Prabang but my heart wasn't in it. Just didn't feel like a city just yet. Not that it is that big but... So am here in Veng Vieng for one more day. Said goodbye to Carlos as he was heading to Loang but hope to catch up with him when we there.
Friday, June 16, 2006
Laos bound via dodgy airlines
First of all belated birthdays to Shak, Martin and Mike, who all had their birthdays this month. Happy birthday and sorry for the delay in getting this to you.
Also it would appear I can read my blog again and any comments posted.
Jun 15:
I have now moved countries and am in Laos.
Well I booked my flight on Laos Airlines. Who don’t publish their safety records, according to the lonely planet. And I thought Aeroflot was dodgy….
I was on the same plane and paid $12 less than some others who would have bought their ticket from Vietnam airlines probably thinking it was the safer option and hang the costs... They share the route between the airlines and so would hvae flown Laos airlines anyway. Hee hee.
Anyway the food was ok. Yes we got a little sandwich and cake and soft drink. Very civilized. Although, the seats were quite threadbare and the plane had definitely seen better days and been round the block and airspace a few times too many.
I met Yaniv from Israel; he had the extreme good fortune to be sitting next to a wonderful Irish woman, with a very sunny disposition. Yes it is me I am talking about… sod off to anyone who says otherwise. We had a good chat and a taxi from the airport; it was a young car of 25 yrs. And the driver was only twice that.
I had arranged to meet Alex by the fountain at 1.30. Managed to find this fountain in the capital city of Laos and still have time to order a fresh lemon juice and cake before Alex arrived early. Yes that is how small it is. It was fab to see Alex. It is such a shame he could only take a week of Laos and was on his way home or that I had not got there earlier. But we went to view the symbol of Laos, a beautiful Stupa and had a great chat, as we walked the 4km. We got a tuk tuk back and I said my goodbyes again to Alex as he left for the bus to Bangkok.
Vientiane is really the cutest, smallest capital. It is smaller than Kinsale or even chiswick. It is so hard to believe it is a capital city. The people are lovely. They don't use their horn. So it is very peaceful. There are mostly cars and not even many of those. There certainly aren't hundreds of motorbikes. I like it a lot.
At 7pm I met Yaniv for dinner. We walked around Vientiane and stopped by the river at a street stall. We had a fresh coconut each, I had to have it in a glass iced. I prefer it cold. It was so nice, then found a really nice Laos restaurant serving Laos and western food. He is a really friendly chap and great conversationalist, so we ended up chatting over dinner till 11.30. Really late for me these days.
Jun 16th. Had a really lazy day today. Stayed in bed till 10. Haven’t done that in months. Then had my hair done roots were showing and the hairdresser pointed out how awful my hair was and she was right so had a cut too. She is from Madagascar but her husband is on a 4year project here in Vientiane. She gave the most amazing head massage I have ever had in a hairdressers or ever, and all for $21.
Well off for another day have fun.
Sabadii
Also it would appear I can read my blog again and any comments posted.
Jun 15:
I have now moved countries and am in Laos.
Well I booked my flight on Laos Airlines. Who don’t publish their safety records, according to the lonely planet. And I thought Aeroflot was dodgy….
I was on the same plane and paid $12 less than some others who would have bought their ticket from Vietnam airlines probably thinking it was the safer option and hang the costs... They share the route between the airlines and so would hvae flown Laos airlines anyway. Hee hee.
Anyway the food was ok. Yes we got a little sandwich and cake and soft drink. Very civilized. Although, the seats were quite threadbare and the plane had definitely seen better days and been round the block and airspace a few times too many.
I met Yaniv from Israel; he had the extreme good fortune to be sitting next to a wonderful Irish woman, with a very sunny disposition. Yes it is me I am talking about… sod off to anyone who says otherwise. We had a good chat and a taxi from the airport; it was a young car of 25 yrs. And the driver was only twice that.
I had arranged to meet Alex by the fountain at 1.30. Managed to find this fountain in the capital city of Laos and still have time to order a fresh lemon juice and cake before Alex arrived early. Yes that is how small it is. It was fab to see Alex. It is such a shame he could only take a week of Laos and was on his way home or that I had not got there earlier. But we went to view the symbol of Laos, a beautiful Stupa and had a great chat, as we walked the 4km. We got a tuk tuk back and I said my goodbyes again to Alex as he left for the bus to Bangkok.
Vientiane is really the cutest, smallest capital. It is smaller than Kinsale or even chiswick. It is so hard to believe it is a capital city. The people are lovely. They don't use their horn. So it is very peaceful. There are mostly cars and not even many of those. There certainly aren't hundreds of motorbikes. I like it a lot.
At 7pm I met Yaniv for dinner. We walked around Vientiane and stopped by the river at a street stall. We had a fresh coconut each, I had to have it in a glass iced. I prefer it cold. It was so nice, then found a really nice Laos restaurant serving Laos and western food. He is a really friendly chap and great conversationalist, so we ended up chatting over dinner till 11.30. Really late for me these days.
Jun 16th. Had a really lazy day today. Stayed in bed till 10. Haven’t done that in months. Then had my hair done roots were showing and the hairdresser pointed out how awful my hair was and she was right so had a cut too. She is from Madagascar but her husband is on a 4year project here in Vientiane. She gave the most amazing head massage I have ever had in a hairdressers or ever, and all for $21.
Well off for another day have fun.
Sabadii
Soccer, Bia Hoi and goodbyes
Well at first the game was a bit lackluster but then towards the end of the 2nd half all took off and Australia beat Japan 3-1. Nobody was more surprised then the Aussies I was with in Jaspas (expat bar in a posh expat apartment block). Cool though. They had a bet, that if Oz won they would jump into the swimming pool. So Liz and some of the others came in dripping wet, after doing the deed surreptiously, as they were afraid they would not be let back in. Had a really good chat with Paraic, a guy from Westmeath (Ireland) who was on a UN program recently started by the Irish govt. He was one of 10, scattered thought the world. It was a really good night.
Jun 13. I hooked up with the USA girls (Tiffany and Donna, we met in Nha Trang) back from their Halong Bay trip. We met at the hotel and had to meet one of their friends at this kind of makeshift bar which is basically this old ladies home. The main room faces completely onto the street. She has a few kegs of beer, actually placed on the street by the entrance where she serves local beer “Bia Hoi” to anyone prepared to pay 2000 dong and prepared to sit on plastic stools about 10inches high, at some crossroads in the old quarter. There were 2 of these establishments on opposite sides. However, the other was male/local dominated and according to Ange was not women friendly even though the beer was better and colder there. Two of the guys went over there. However, I discovered that this beer was great, cos it was very light and not too fizzy. Bummer discovered this way too late. The atmosphere was great there just watching everyone passing and loads of travelers sitting around chewing the fat at this Bia Hoi bar in the middle of Hanoi. It improved my feelings about Hanoi. Met a guy from Kilkenny (Ireland) and had a good chat with him. We went to Little Hanoi, a really nice restaurant joined by an Aussie, and 2 Finns.
Next day I spent trying to sort my life out. Well some of it. I decided after much searching and thinking etc. to go to Laos for 2 weeks then fly home so I can go to Poland for the ICR convention.
I met Ange and Liz again at the Bia Hoi place where we partook again of the local brew. I said my goodbyes to Donna and Tiffany as they were leaving for Bangkok tomorrow they didn’t join us for dinner. I joined Liz and Ange’s and their colleagues in the Laybak café which again served great food. Andreas, one of the guys here on the Aussie program with Ange, told me a few things about Vientiane the capital of Laos. He said it was the cutest capital city in the world. He is sooo right.
Jun 13. I hooked up with the USA girls (Tiffany and Donna, we met in Nha Trang) back from their Halong Bay trip. We met at the hotel and had to meet one of their friends at this kind of makeshift bar which is basically this old ladies home. The main room faces completely onto the street. She has a few kegs of beer, actually placed on the street by the entrance where she serves local beer “Bia Hoi” to anyone prepared to pay 2000 dong and prepared to sit on plastic stools about 10inches high, at some crossroads in the old quarter. There were 2 of these establishments on opposite sides. However, the other was male/local dominated and according to Ange was not women friendly even though the beer was better and colder there. Two of the guys went over there. However, I discovered that this beer was great, cos it was very light and not too fizzy. Bummer discovered this way too late. The atmosphere was great there just watching everyone passing and loads of travelers sitting around chewing the fat at this Bia Hoi bar in the middle of Hanoi. It improved my feelings about Hanoi. Met a guy from Kilkenny (Ireland) and had a good chat with him. We went to Little Hanoi, a really nice restaurant joined by an Aussie, and 2 Finns.
Next day I spent trying to sort my life out. Well some of it. I decided after much searching and thinking etc. to go to Laos for 2 weeks then fly home so I can go to Poland for the ICR convention.
I met Ange and Liz again at the Bia Hoi place where we partook again of the local brew. I said my goodbyes to Donna and Tiffany as they were leaving for Bangkok tomorrow they didn’t join us for dinner. I joined Liz and Ange’s and their colleagues in the Laybak café which again served great food. Andreas, one of the guys here on the Aussie program with Ange, told me a few things about Vientiane the capital of Laos. He said it was the cutest capital city in the world. He is sooo right.
Halong Bay and end of an era
Jun 10th. Arrived at Kangaroo café, for minibus to Halong City. Stopped at hotel where lunch was 7 courses. Robbie and I were given a plate of tofu and tomato sauce and a bowl of baked beans to make up for 2 of the options as she is vegetarian and I requested no seafood. There was also Morning glory cooked in garlic.
We then went to the pier where we actually got the boat that one would look at, and think, oh were not going to be on that. But we were. It was really lovely. We sailed around the bay where there are approx. 2000 little island,s only 6 of which are habited, the rest being just giant rocks as such. We went to one island, with a huge cave, which goes to about 800m deep. It had some pretty impressive formations, (stalagmites, Stalagtites etc. Later in the day some swam but most of us didn’t bother, whilst it was hot, it was also quite cloudy and didn’t inspire a swim. Dinner again was about 7 courses.
Robbie and I again got plate of tofu and tomato sauce. There was also Morning glory cooked in garlic. This time we each got a plate of heated/salted peanuts. We thought that was quite novel.
The group consisted of 4 Aussies we didn’t know (2 couples from Melbourne). Another couple from Melbourne, Darren and Kelly who had come with Robbie and I (from Melbourne), 4 Women in their 60’s from Brisbane who were a hoot. A really brilliant bunch, Robbie got on like a hosue on fire with Pauline one of the Brisbane ladies. There was a Dutch guy in his 50’s with his Vietnamese friend (he was in his 20’s). The Dutch guy was a bit odd so it was difficult to talk to him but he was okish. The rest of us entertained ourselves for a while and then about 9, most had retired to bed. Darren and Kelly had succumbed to food poisoning from the food bought the day before. Robbie and I stayed up another while playing travel scrabble.
The next day we went for a swim. We thought we were going to go to another cave or kayaking but no. At 11.30 it was off the boat and back to the hotel for lunch. This time I said no seafood and no tofu. But it was more or less the same meal from the day before. I am all tofu’d and morning gloried out. Robbie got chips though instead of the baked beans. The Bay was very beautiful but I guess we were a bit dissapointed at the lack of activities and that we didnt get to go kayaking or another cave.
Jun 12. However today, I loose the last of my main traveling companions. Robbie leaves today to go to Saigon then she goes on to London some hours later. Kelly and Darren go to Cambodia.
I already miss Robbie as she was such a laugh. The three of us Alex, Robbie and I often had tears down our cheeks. It's also sad to loose D & K as they have also been with us on and off since nha Trang and have contributed to an eventful visit to Viet Nam.
I am hooking up hopefully with Ange and Liz. Ange has been living here for 4 months as a volunteer and Liz has joined her for a few weeks hols. We are supposed to be going to the Aussie footie game. Oh god what has become of me. I am actually going to watch soccer. Aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrghhhh.
We then went to the pier where we actually got the boat that one would look at, and think, oh were not going to be on that. But we were. It was really lovely. We sailed around the bay where there are approx. 2000 little island,s only 6 of which are habited, the rest being just giant rocks as such. We went to one island, with a huge cave, which goes to about 800m deep. It had some pretty impressive formations, (stalagmites, Stalagtites etc. Later in the day some swam but most of us didn’t bother, whilst it was hot, it was also quite cloudy and didn’t inspire a swim. Dinner again was about 7 courses.
Robbie and I again got plate of tofu and tomato sauce. There was also Morning glory cooked in garlic. This time we each got a plate of heated/salted peanuts. We thought that was quite novel.
The group consisted of 4 Aussies we didn’t know (2 couples from Melbourne). Another couple from Melbourne, Darren and Kelly who had come with Robbie and I (from Melbourne), 4 Women in their 60’s from Brisbane who were a hoot. A really brilliant bunch, Robbie got on like a hosue on fire with Pauline one of the Brisbane ladies. There was a Dutch guy in his 50’s with his Vietnamese friend (he was in his 20’s). The Dutch guy was a bit odd so it was difficult to talk to him but he was okish. The rest of us entertained ourselves for a while and then about 9, most had retired to bed. Darren and Kelly had succumbed to food poisoning from the food bought the day before. Robbie and I stayed up another while playing travel scrabble.
The next day we went for a swim. We thought we were going to go to another cave or kayaking but no. At 11.30 it was off the boat and back to the hotel for lunch. This time I said no seafood and no tofu. But it was more or less the same meal from the day before. I am all tofu’d and morning gloried out. Robbie got chips though instead of the baked beans. The Bay was very beautiful but I guess we were a bit dissapointed at the lack of activities and that we didnt get to go kayaking or another cave.
Jun 12. However today, I loose the last of my main traveling companions. Robbie leaves today to go to Saigon then she goes on to London some hours later. Kelly and Darren go to Cambodia.
I already miss Robbie as she was such a laugh. The three of us Alex, Robbie and I often had tears down our cheeks. It's also sad to loose D & K as they have also been with us on and off since nha Trang and have contributed to an eventful visit to Viet Nam.
I am hooking up hopefully with Ange and Liz. Ange has been living here for 4 months as a volunteer and Liz has joined her for a few weeks hols. We are supposed to be going to the Aussie footie game. Oh god what has become of me. I am actually going to watch soccer. Aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrghhhh.
Oh for a porcelain WC
I spent about 2 hours updating this section a few days ago only to loose it all by a silly mistake in a key stroke. Aaaaaarrrrrrrggggh. I just couldn’t face it again for a few days so am now trying again. So I have edited these posts again.
After the Hanoi arrival and our encounter with the taxi driver, I have noticed that there is a different attitude to tourists here than the other places I have been. Some just seem to detest us and are actually quite mean. Whilst you expect the price to be even 3-4 times the Vietnamese price, most often the locals will rip you off but smile and still treat you respectfully. However, here some of them rip you off and laugh practically in your face. Of course this doesn’t bring out the nicest side of the westerners personality and then you get in to a vicious cycle. Most of the expats I spoke to, who have lived here a few months, agreed and were surprised at how friendly people were when they went to other towns for the weekend etc. No one had a theory as to why but it seems to be peculiar to Hanoi. Saying that, I have met some nice local people here too.
Jun 6th. We went walkabout around Hanoi. Oh god but it’s hot. You just drip even whilst sitting. The humidity is soooo high. We went to the Kangaroo Café to book our Sapa and Halong tours. I had a few issues as my visa expires on the 6th but we managed to negotiate that I bring a photo copy of my passport to Sapa and hand the original into a hotel to get my visa extension.
6th took the night train to Sapa. It was a lovely train ride and we were in cabins with only 4 berths. I ended up sharing with 2 Aussie girls Ange and Liz and a NZ girl called Anna. Robbie, Alex, Kelly and Darren were together. I’m glad that I got to do that as then it meant that I got to know Ange, Liz and Anna a little more. When we arrived in Lao Cai, we were taken up to Sapa by mini bus. The views were amazing with Steppes of luscious green rice paddies, all the way up to Sapa. Our hotel rooms were up 134 steps up from reception. That nearly killed me, as I had my large rucksack but the views from the balcony and restaurant were worth it. We had some free time to just sleep, wash and eat before our first trek at1pm.
Yim and Ku were our guides, the 2 girls being in their late teens. Yim spoke excellent English. They were from the local Hmong tribe. We went through some rice fields but mostly along the road to the waterfall which had a hydro electric power station built there in 1934 by the French. It was prettier than it sounds and was refreshing to look at the surging water. The temperature in Sapa is lower than Hanoi and not as humid and was just so nice. We got back to the hotel to be greeted by the collection of about 6 or so young Hmong girls that seem to live outside our hotel. They are a cute, witty collection and try to sell us bracelets. Robbie has already been nabbed.
We sat on the balcony the 8 of us. Robbie and I shared a bottle of some local Sapa wine as the others were drinking beer, as we watched the sun go down over the rice paddies and woods. I thought the Sapa wine was a little better than the Dalat, although Robbie disagreed. But the general consensus, after everyone had imbibed, was that neither were any good. We then went to dinner in a local restaurant and by approx 10pm were all in bed asleep. That seems to be the way it is this whole trip. We get up around 5.30-7am and are usually in bed by 10 or so.
The next day we set off with Yim and Ku and an assortment of young Hmong girls beside us to the Hmong village. A young 11 year old girl called ‘Man’ earmarked me and befriended me for much of the trip to the village and got me to promise to buy from her. At one stage we stopped by a river and were there about 30 min but set off, as it seemed to be the resting point for every other tour group as well I think we realized our tour was really not any different from any of the others despite the fact we paid a bit more and it was run by an Aussie expat. We had lunch in the Hmong village communal area or it could have been someone’s house. The Hmong wear clothes died mostly in Indigo. The traditional dress goes to the knees then they wear sort of legwarmers in black velvet tied around their legs.
Lunch was great but all the female villagers were watching and waiting for us to finish so they could sell us things. It ruined it to a certain extent for me. I just felt a like some privileged dignitary etc. or a voyeur who at a whim could make these people just that little bit more comfortable. It was not something I, nor many of the others were comfortable with.
My new found friend, Man found me and sold me a cushion cover that I didn’t need and would have chosen differently, if the poor child had anything else to choose from but I got unlucky and I had promised and it was nice enough sort of…. I got surrounded by a bunch of kids, so I said who will give me something for the 7000 dong in coins I had left. One little girl held out a small bracelet. In thinking about it, I think it was Man. The others gave her a withering look and she looked so sheepish. She had obviously undersold. I know the starting price for some of the larger bracelets was 50,000. So I think I got a good deal. Bless. Later, Man followed me and gave me a little woven bracelet, which they usually give when you buy something. I said she didn’t have to but she insisted. It was soooo sweet of her. I am now the owner of 2 bracelets and they are still with me.
Some of the other girls on tour, had about 3-4 bracelets, as they had bought a lot. Robbie bought a few things and seemed to be surrounded by children or women on a several occasions and I have the few photos to prove it. She seemed to have a knack for it. However, the standing joke was, she never got a bracelet. We couldn’t figure that one out but we did make fun of it.
We carried on to another village (a Red Dai village). The red Dai get their name from the red headdress they wear. Also they shave the front of their heads. The reason, according to Yim was because the men didn’t want the rice to get hair in it so forced their womenfolk to shave their heads. That’s men for ya
On the way a snake whizzed past practically crossing over my trainers. I left out a scream which startled both the snake and everyone else and the snake went away just that bit faster.
I started talking to Yim and she told me that whilst snakes go into the paddy fields, they leave the farmers alone. Also, if someone gets bitten by a snake, then it’s like the snake has claimed that person for themselves and is the “boss” of them and so no other snake will then bite that person. I don’t know how true that is but I’m not one to test this particular theory.
We got a jeep back to the hotel and then the mini bus collected us to go back to Lau Cai. At the restaurant, a trip to the border with china was on the menu. So we thought cool. Another table overhearing our conversation joined us and so we all hopped on to a mini bus for the 5min trip to the Viet Nam/China border and took a few photo’s as you do. One of the American girls from the other table seemed to think this was such a wild thing to do and was going on about it. The rest of us were thinking she doesn’t get out much… I was thinking hmm she obviously hasn’t been out with me and my friends for a night out or on some of my holidays... Eh girls…;-).
During dinner, I started to feel ill whilst eating my noodle soup. On the train, whilst talking to Darren, Kelly, Ange and Liz, I had to make a quick dash to the loo. Oh yeah. I got down and dirty with the toilet. It hadn’t time to affect my nether regions at that stage.
At 2.30 am, I had another date with le WC. Thank god I found a nice clean one on the train, with water. I was thankful for these small mercies; let me tell you as I violently puked my guts up so much I wet myself. It was that kind of night.
I guess I had survived 5 weeks of eating salads, having ice in my drinks etc all the things you are not supposed to do without issue. The funny thing is I got ill from a local dish. Bummer eh. No pun intended.
At 5.30am, we arrived in Hanoi. Poor Alex was not feeling great either but had not been ill (he had soup too) and then had to rush off to get to the airport for his 8am flight so we had no time to say goodbye. Probably just as well, as goodbyes are difficult anyway.
Robbie and I got a taxi to the hotel, we had booked. He was a nice one. He went the short route, on the meter and took us to the hotel we asked for, all for 23000. His colleague had tried to charge 55000 off meter. Git. At the hotel, I then realized the poison had moved downwards, after that, I went to bed for a few hrs. Around 4pm I figured 20hrs was enough, so I went to seek comfort food and got chips. Not a great move to be honest. I met the others at the Indian vegetarian restaurant; we had been to a few days earlier but just consoled myself with a few mango lassis and nothing else
After the Hanoi arrival and our encounter with the taxi driver, I have noticed that there is a different attitude to tourists here than the other places I have been. Some just seem to detest us and are actually quite mean. Whilst you expect the price to be even 3-4 times the Vietnamese price, most often the locals will rip you off but smile and still treat you respectfully. However, here some of them rip you off and laugh practically in your face. Of course this doesn’t bring out the nicest side of the westerners personality and then you get in to a vicious cycle. Most of the expats I spoke to, who have lived here a few months, agreed and were surprised at how friendly people were when they went to other towns for the weekend etc. No one had a theory as to why but it seems to be peculiar to Hanoi. Saying that, I have met some nice local people here too.
Jun 6th. We went walkabout around Hanoi. Oh god but it’s hot. You just drip even whilst sitting. The humidity is soooo high. We went to the Kangaroo Café to book our Sapa and Halong tours. I had a few issues as my visa expires on the 6th but we managed to negotiate that I bring a photo copy of my passport to Sapa and hand the original into a hotel to get my visa extension.
6th took the night train to Sapa. It was a lovely train ride and we were in cabins with only 4 berths. I ended up sharing with 2 Aussie girls Ange and Liz and a NZ girl called Anna. Robbie, Alex, Kelly and Darren were together. I’m glad that I got to do that as then it meant that I got to know Ange, Liz and Anna a little more. When we arrived in Lao Cai, we were taken up to Sapa by mini bus. The views were amazing with Steppes of luscious green rice paddies, all the way up to Sapa. Our hotel rooms were up 134 steps up from reception. That nearly killed me, as I had my large rucksack but the views from the balcony and restaurant were worth it. We had some free time to just sleep, wash and eat before our first trek at1pm.
Yim and Ku were our guides, the 2 girls being in their late teens. Yim spoke excellent English. They were from the local Hmong tribe. We went through some rice fields but mostly along the road to the waterfall which had a hydro electric power station built there in 1934 by the French. It was prettier than it sounds and was refreshing to look at the surging water. The temperature in Sapa is lower than Hanoi and not as humid and was just so nice. We got back to the hotel to be greeted by the collection of about 6 or so young Hmong girls that seem to live outside our hotel. They are a cute, witty collection and try to sell us bracelets. Robbie has already been nabbed.
We sat on the balcony the 8 of us. Robbie and I shared a bottle of some local Sapa wine as the others were drinking beer, as we watched the sun go down over the rice paddies and woods. I thought the Sapa wine was a little better than the Dalat, although Robbie disagreed. But the general consensus, after everyone had imbibed, was that neither were any good. We then went to dinner in a local restaurant and by approx 10pm were all in bed asleep. That seems to be the way it is this whole trip. We get up around 5.30-7am and are usually in bed by 10 or so.
The next day we set off with Yim and Ku and an assortment of young Hmong girls beside us to the Hmong village. A young 11 year old girl called ‘Man’ earmarked me and befriended me for much of the trip to the village and got me to promise to buy from her. At one stage we stopped by a river and were there about 30 min but set off, as it seemed to be the resting point for every other tour group as well I think we realized our tour was really not any different from any of the others despite the fact we paid a bit more and it was run by an Aussie expat. We had lunch in the Hmong village communal area or it could have been someone’s house. The Hmong wear clothes died mostly in Indigo. The traditional dress goes to the knees then they wear sort of legwarmers in black velvet tied around their legs.
Lunch was great but all the female villagers were watching and waiting for us to finish so they could sell us things. It ruined it to a certain extent for me. I just felt a like some privileged dignitary etc. or a voyeur who at a whim could make these people just that little bit more comfortable. It was not something I, nor many of the others were comfortable with.
My new found friend, Man found me and sold me a cushion cover that I didn’t need and would have chosen differently, if the poor child had anything else to choose from but I got unlucky and I had promised and it was nice enough sort of…. I got surrounded by a bunch of kids, so I said who will give me something for the 7000 dong in coins I had left. One little girl held out a small bracelet. In thinking about it, I think it was Man. The others gave her a withering look and she looked so sheepish. She had obviously undersold. I know the starting price for some of the larger bracelets was 50,000. So I think I got a good deal. Bless. Later, Man followed me and gave me a little woven bracelet, which they usually give when you buy something. I said she didn’t have to but she insisted. It was soooo sweet of her. I am now the owner of 2 bracelets and they are still with me.
Some of the other girls on tour, had about 3-4 bracelets, as they had bought a lot. Robbie bought a few things and seemed to be surrounded by children or women on a several occasions and I have the few photos to prove it. She seemed to have a knack for it. However, the standing joke was, she never got a bracelet. We couldn’t figure that one out but we did make fun of it.
We carried on to another village (a Red Dai village). The red Dai get their name from the red headdress they wear. Also they shave the front of their heads. The reason, according to Yim was because the men didn’t want the rice to get hair in it so forced their womenfolk to shave their heads. That’s men for ya
On the way a snake whizzed past practically crossing over my trainers. I left out a scream which startled both the snake and everyone else and the snake went away just that bit faster.
I started talking to Yim and she told me that whilst snakes go into the paddy fields, they leave the farmers alone. Also, if someone gets bitten by a snake, then it’s like the snake has claimed that person for themselves and is the “boss” of them and so no other snake will then bite that person. I don’t know how true that is but I’m not one to test this particular theory.
We got a jeep back to the hotel and then the mini bus collected us to go back to Lau Cai. At the restaurant, a trip to the border with china was on the menu. So we thought cool. Another table overhearing our conversation joined us and so we all hopped on to a mini bus for the 5min trip to the Viet Nam/China border and took a few photo’s as you do. One of the American girls from the other table seemed to think this was such a wild thing to do and was going on about it. The rest of us were thinking she doesn’t get out much… I was thinking hmm she obviously hasn’t been out with me and my friends for a night out or on some of my holidays... Eh girls…;-).
During dinner, I started to feel ill whilst eating my noodle soup. On the train, whilst talking to Darren, Kelly, Ange and Liz, I had to make a quick dash to the loo. Oh yeah. I got down and dirty with the toilet. It hadn’t time to affect my nether regions at that stage.
At 2.30 am, I had another date with le WC. Thank god I found a nice clean one on the train, with water. I was thankful for these small mercies; let me tell you as I violently puked my guts up so much I wet myself. It was that kind of night.
I guess I had survived 5 weeks of eating salads, having ice in my drinks etc all the things you are not supposed to do without issue. The funny thing is I got ill from a local dish. Bummer eh. No pun intended.
At 5.30am, we arrived in Hanoi. Poor Alex was not feeling great either but had not been ill (he had soup too) and then had to rush off to get to the airport for his 8am flight so we had no time to say goodbye. Probably just as well, as goodbyes are difficult anyway.
Robbie and I got a taxi to the hotel, we had booked. He was a nice one. He went the short route, on the meter and took us to the hotel we asked for, all for 23000. His colleague had tried to charge 55000 off meter. Git. At the hotel, I then realized the poison had moved downwards, after that, I went to bed for a few hrs. Around 4pm I figured 20hrs was enough, so I went to seek comfort food and got chips. Not a great move to be honest. I met the others at the Indian vegetarian restaurant; we had been to a few days earlier but just consoled myself with a few mango lassis and nothing else
Monday, June 12, 2006
Hanoi still
Hi all,
I can't read my comments, or even my own blog, as something has changed over the last few weeks that is preventing me from doing so. I have tried my settings etc. but have no idea why it is not working.
We left Hoi An to move to Hue. A 4-5 hr journey which was quite ok. Cept this really nasty westerner(not sure what nationality he was but some thought he was Spanish or Isreali) wouldn't give up the back seat for the relief driver to sleep on. The driver tried his best to get him to move but he kept saying I paid my ticket and just would not move. Normally most westerners will give up the seat and go to another available seat. Not this sod. So the driver then picked on poor Robbie and started slapping her arm to move seats. So she had to sit with me. We had a laugh tho as we swapped ear phones and listened to cheesy music on each others's MP3 players or listened to the really cheesy awful muzak on the bus.
We got to Hue and then tried to get out the same day. Impossible. We tried buses, trains and planes but to no avail. Everything was booked as the yearly festival was in full swing. The heat in Hue was unmerciful and I just went to bed for most of the later part of the day and evening day after we sorted our lunch and travel for the next day. Robbie and Alex did get to see some of the silly sports competitions in the evening on the day we arrived and saw the concerts laid on for the festival.
We had to get a flight out, so we got time to see some tombs near the city. We hired 3 motobike drivers to take each of us. The ride there was fab. The drivers took us down these really local shortcuts, which passed by the river and local houses. At one stage we all had to get off the bikes, except the drivers, as we had to cross a monkey bridge or just a step up from it. It was made of bamboo and didn't look too strong. The drivers and bikes made it tho. But the look on my drivers face as he came off was priceless. He didn't like it one bit. Needless to say my driver engineered it so we came home a different way. But it was the best part about Hue. We didn't take to it much otherwise.
5th Jun
We ended up on the same flight as Darren and Kelly, so took a taxi with them to our hotels. We met the meanest taxi driver who kept bringing us to hotels we didn't want then ripped us off by over calculating the dong versus dollar exchange. We were tired and hot and had a journey that took twice as long as necessary so made the mistatke of not calculating it ourselves. Oh well.
.
I can't read my comments, or even my own blog, as something has changed over the last few weeks that is preventing me from doing so. I have tried my settings etc. but have no idea why it is not working.
We left Hoi An to move to Hue. A 4-5 hr journey which was quite ok. Cept this really nasty westerner(not sure what nationality he was but some thought he was Spanish or Isreali) wouldn't give up the back seat for the relief driver to sleep on. The driver tried his best to get him to move but he kept saying I paid my ticket and just would not move. Normally most westerners will give up the seat and go to another available seat. Not this sod. So the driver then picked on poor Robbie and started slapping her arm to move seats. So she had to sit with me. We had a laugh tho as we swapped ear phones and listened to cheesy music on each others's MP3 players or listened to the really cheesy awful muzak on the bus.
We got to Hue and then tried to get out the same day. Impossible. We tried buses, trains and planes but to no avail. Everything was booked as the yearly festival was in full swing. The heat in Hue was unmerciful and I just went to bed for most of the later part of the day and evening day after we sorted our lunch and travel for the next day. Robbie and Alex did get to see some of the silly sports competitions in the evening on the day we arrived and saw the concerts laid on for the festival.
We had to get a flight out, so we got time to see some tombs near the city. We hired 3 motobike drivers to take each of us. The ride there was fab. The drivers took us down these really local shortcuts, which passed by the river and local houses. At one stage we all had to get off the bikes, except the drivers, as we had to cross a monkey bridge or just a step up from it. It was made of bamboo and didn't look too strong. The drivers and bikes made it tho. But the look on my drivers face as he came off was priceless. He didn't like it one bit. Needless to say my driver engineered it so we came home a different way. But it was the best part about Hue. We didn't take to it much otherwise.
5th Jun
We ended up on the same flight as Darren and Kelly, so took a taxi with them to our hotels. We met the meanest taxi driver who kept bringing us to hotels we didn't want then ripped us off by over calculating the dong versus dollar exchange. We were tired and hot and had a journey that took twice as long as necessary so made the mistatke of not calculating it ourselves. Oh well.
.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Well Alex and I left Mui Ne and arrived in Nha Trang. We booked on this day boat trip. We had deep reservations on it but we had booked it in Saigon. Alex joked that it would be us and a bus full of locals. Well we got to the bus and lo and behold it was full of locals. However there was one Aussie girl, Robbie. We got talking to her. When we arrived at the boat we met another bus that was to be with us on the boat. It also included Robbies friend Kelly (Oz). We went to the first island and realised the snorkelling equipment was below par so Kelly, Robbie and I borrowed some floating rings and just lazed around and gossiped. Alex had brought his own gear but returned to tell us there wasn't much to see and got a ring too. We had a hoot. At the next island we had lunch on the boat. The guys on the boat then brought out their homemade instruments and pretended to be a boy band. Most were in their 40's. It was such a scream. One of the guys had a Aussie rules football cut in half and placed strategically over his chest and was the "lady boy" for the duration of the performance. We then had the floating bar, where the "lady boy" served us some local wine from a floating contraption. The rings were out again and we just floated around with our vino and took the p. The MC just took the P put of these English 18year olds and then out of 3 Japenese guys and made them knock back some of the vino. Bless they failed dramatically. Alex got a taste for the Dalat wine and managed 5 glasses. The rest of us managed 1. It is that bad.
We arranged to all meet for dinner and drinks and along the way met some American girls (Donna and Tiffany). Also Darren, Kelly's boyfriend came and along. We ended up in the Sailing club and got a little drunk on a locally brewed coctail made with local moonshine. Alex and Robbie bonded and sat in a corner observing the world and watching Jonah(Canadian guy, the US girls met) move on the US girls. The rest left early but myself, Tiffany, Donna and Jonah lasted til the end. No surprise there.
On the way home Jonah got accosted by some Lady boys, who we thought were feeling him up but were actually and very brazenly trying to rob his wallet. They didn't get anything.
Road trip to Hoi An
Robbie joined Alex and I, to Hoi An. We took the overnight bus there (a 12 hour journey). Oh my god. Lets just say the song "Highway to hell" kept going through our minds. The bus was absolutely full. We got the back seat but this Vietnamese girl next to Alex kept knocking against him and sleeping on his shoulder etc. I didnt know such a small girl could take up so much space. He had a nightmare to the left of me and then the seat in front of me was broken so the seat jammed against my knees and I had to put a cushion in between me and the seat. Robbie faired slightly better to the right of me, as she was near the window. But we all failed to get much sleep and were roasting most of the way to Hoi An. However, about 4.30am the dawn came and the view as we went, was amazing with the sun rising over these beautiful paddy fields and the locals with their buffalo.
Hoi An. When Robbie, Alex and I arrived in Hoi An, we were knackered, ratty and hungry so decided we had to have an hotel with a pool. So we all got a room together for $12 a night which was really nice. The pool was such a lovely relief. Especially as the temperature in Hoi An is around 36C. Hoi An is the center for tailoring. Boy did we do the rounds. Each of us got loads of stuff made. We each got a suit and shirts/tops, trousers etc. Even got a few boardies made between us. FAB!!. Alex and I got some shoes made for us too.
In Hoi An, it was such a laugh. Alex, Robbie and I have discovered we have a similar sense of humour. At times the tears just run down our faces laughing. It is a very childish humour at times even a bit catty but it's great fun. It's like being with you Shak and Ganesh and Charmonie.
I was in A Dong's tailor and all of a sudden not only did Kelly and Darren walk in (We had bumped into them earlier) but Jonah came in. So it was Nha Trang revisited. We saw a few people we have seen along the way. In fact we met a few more whilst here.
Not getting much sleep however. What with the latenight clubbing then the busride from hell. Then Robbie, Alex and I got up at dawn one day to see Hoi An as the sun rose. This was beautiful. All the fishing boats were coming in with their catch and the locals were busy doing there morning rituals and were totally disinterested in us. We got some fab photos.
Robbie and I went to My Son. A temple complex near Hoi An another 5am wake up. Am soooo tired. But the complex was nice and we met a Dutch guy (Rob) and Swiss French guy with the most beautiful blue eyes I've seen in a very long time. We had a great chat with them and kept meeting Rob in various tailor shops in Hoi An along with a fab Norwegian couple and their kids.
We discovered 2 tailors that we liked. Em ma's, where the Matriarch Em ma was a total character. Robbie had a burn on her leg which she got when she hit the exhaust of a moto she got off on the left side. Pretty gross as it was weeping and we were getting concerned about it. But Em Ma saw and went off got some bandage etc. She then washed the wound with bottled water, then opened an antibiotic capsule and sprinkled the contents over the wound and bandaged it up. Robbie's leg is now very thankful for Em Ma's ministrations and is healing nicely. Em Ma was amazing. She also had a great team of tailors.
The last night was a major rush around, as we tried to collect our remaining bits from various tailors and shoemakers. I was taken around by one of the girls in the other of our favourite tailor shops (Lai's). This necessitated me hiking up a tightish skirt to get on the back of her moped. Entertaining but fun as I was delivered to my hotel and the restaurant where the others were waiting for me.
We arranged to all meet for dinner and drinks and along the way met some American girls (Donna and Tiffany). Also Darren, Kelly's boyfriend came and along. We ended up in the Sailing club and got a little drunk on a locally brewed coctail made with local moonshine. Alex and Robbie bonded and sat in a corner observing the world and watching Jonah(Canadian guy, the US girls met) move on the US girls. The rest left early but myself, Tiffany, Donna and Jonah lasted til the end. No surprise there.
On the way home Jonah got accosted by some Lady boys, who we thought were feeling him up but were actually and very brazenly trying to rob his wallet. They didn't get anything.
Road trip to Hoi An
Robbie joined Alex and I, to Hoi An. We took the overnight bus there (a 12 hour journey). Oh my god. Lets just say the song "Highway to hell" kept going through our minds. The bus was absolutely full. We got the back seat but this Vietnamese girl next to Alex kept knocking against him and sleeping on his shoulder etc. I didnt know such a small girl could take up so much space. He had a nightmare to the left of me and then the seat in front of me was broken so the seat jammed against my knees and I had to put a cushion in between me and the seat. Robbie faired slightly better to the right of me, as she was near the window. But we all failed to get much sleep and were roasting most of the way to Hoi An. However, about 4.30am the dawn came and the view as we went, was amazing with the sun rising over these beautiful paddy fields and the locals with their buffalo.
Hoi An. When Robbie, Alex and I arrived in Hoi An, we were knackered, ratty and hungry so decided we had to have an hotel with a pool. So we all got a room together for $12 a night which was really nice. The pool was such a lovely relief. Especially as the temperature in Hoi An is around 36C. Hoi An is the center for tailoring. Boy did we do the rounds. Each of us got loads of stuff made. We each got a suit and shirts/tops, trousers etc. Even got a few boardies made between us. FAB!!. Alex and I got some shoes made for us too.
In Hoi An, it was such a laugh. Alex, Robbie and I have discovered we have a similar sense of humour. At times the tears just run down our faces laughing. It is a very childish humour at times even a bit catty but it's great fun. It's like being with you Shak and Ganesh and Charmonie.
I was in A Dong's tailor and all of a sudden not only did Kelly and Darren walk in (We had bumped into them earlier) but Jonah came in. So it was Nha Trang revisited. We saw a few people we have seen along the way. In fact we met a few more whilst here.
Not getting much sleep however. What with the latenight clubbing then the busride from hell. Then Robbie, Alex and I got up at dawn one day to see Hoi An as the sun rose. This was beautiful. All the fishing boats were coming in with their catch and the locals were busy doing there morning rituals and were totally disinterested in us. We got some fab photos.
Robbie and I went to My Son. A temple complex near Hoi An another 5am wake up. Am soooo tired. But the complex was nice and we met a Dutch guy (Rob) and Swiss French guy with the most beautiful blue eyes I've seen in a very long time. We had a great chat with them and kept meeting Rob in various tailor shops in Hoi An along with a fab Norwegian couple and their kids.
We discovered 2 tailors that we liked. Em ma's, where the Matriarch Em ma was a total character. Robbie had a burn on her leg which she got when she hit the exhaust of a moto she got off on the left side. Pretty gross as it was weeping and we were getting concerned about it. But Em Ma saw and went off got some bandage etc. She then washed the wound with bottled water, then opened an antibiotic capsule and sprinkled the contents over the wound and bandaged it up. Robbie's leg is now very thankful for Em Ma's ministrations and is healing nicely. Em Ma was amazing. She also had a great team of tailors.
The last night was a major rush around, as we tried to collect our remaining bits from various tailors and shoemakers. I was taken around by one of the girls in the other of our favourite tailor shops (Lai's). This necessitated me hiking up a tightish skirt to get on the back of her moped. Entertaining but fun as I was delivered to my hotel and the restaurant where the others were waiting for me.
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