I'm on the night train, my third in six days. This soft sleeper is like lying on a pile of bricks rapped in some foam, so I'm glad I didn't tough it out and go for a hard sleeper. Once again I'm in with 3 Vietnamese people but this time they are friendly and chatty - and hopefully not prone to playing music on their mobile phones all night.
The last journey (back from Sapa) was not condusive to a god sleep. I think with those pesky kids and their music - and that was with an Ipod in and an eye mask on. I got off at the other end and was collared by a moto driver who eventually agreed to half his original suggested price and take me back for 20 000 dong (65p). I have since worked out that this was more than I needed to pay, but in my sleep deprived state at 4 am I just didnt care. The driver did all this having seen the card for my hostel (still the same one who "lost" my reservsation the first night, but I have to say its the only place so far I would give a 100% recomendation to - Drift Backpackers Hanoi everyone!) but then he proceded to ask directions from his friends at the gate and head off in the wrong direction. This left me hanging off the back of a motorbike trying to mime directions to the non english speaking driver with one hand and holding on with the other.
We eventually made it to the hostel and as I was promised I went to crash in the TV room. However for some reason at 4.55am at a hostel in Vietnam, there was an Aussie girl sitting on the internet. so with the light and noise she created, and the adrenaline still pumping from the bike ride, I didn't really sleep. She left - LEAVING THE LIGHT ON! - at 5.30 and I dropped off about 20 minutes later.
6.55am - " I cant find Inglorious Basterds! Where is it? I wanted to see that! Oh there it is! OH god this is really going to upset that guy isn't it?"
Well at first yes it did at first, but I had kind of expected it and I too quite fancied seeing that film, so I rolled over, pulled myself together and watched some of QT's new work. I also got chatting to the girl who woke me up. Turns out she was really nice - which is lucky as otherwise I may have had to kill her (Those who have seen a truly sleep deprived Eric will know that I'm only half kidding here :-P)We agreed once we checked in and got sorted out to go and do some sightseeing.
Now at this point I was given a key with a green fob. The rooms in the drift are colour coded. I was told I was on floor 4, but the green room is level 5. I walked into the unlocked green room, took the bed that matched my number, had a shower and went back down..... Turns out I was in the aqua room on floor 4. Oh well.
So somewhere in Hanoi there is a b52 in a pond that crashed during the war. It is IMPOSSIBLE to find. Locals don't know, taxis take you to the B52 museum (there's no pond there!) and not one of us (we found two equally baffled people on route) could find it. So after a second (and still baffling) trip to the Ho Chi Mihn Museum and to the army museum (more plane wrecks, but still no lake) I did something a little adventurous. As Hayley was fading fast and I wasn't far behind we agreed to share a moto home. For the most part this was fine.
There were however two moments of complete panic. The first was when another bike made a spirited attempt to ram us and I had to get my right leg out the road sharpish. The second was when our driver (realising he had made a wrong turn) whirled around and plowed the wrong way down the middle lane of a 3 lane road towards an oncoming bus....
(REAL) Taxi for Johnstone.....
Friday, 27 November 2009
Sapa
Right I've fallen a bit behind in blogging (I'm now two weeks further on than the blog is)
----
So the scenery in Sapa is breath-taking. As I wrote this I was perched on a wall up a mountain overlooking a drop of several hundred feet. The impressively taken timed pictue is available on facebook
On the way up I met a rather insane (but still very friendly) Vietnamese girl. Incidentilly she is the seventh person t have asked early in conversation if I'm married. The girl was lovely other than her insistance we stop every two minutes to take photos.
Sapa is as I've said very pretty but there isn't a lot to do here. If you want to go for a trek with the local tribespeople then this is the place to be, but after a couple of days soaking in the scenery and breathing the mountain air there isn't much to tie you to the place.
While I'm on the subject of tribesfolk, I have to admit there are certain aspects of Sapa that left me uneasy. One of the main draws of the town is that all the local people come in tribal dress to sell their wares. My feeling here is that the line between human carnival and human zoo is a thin and blurry one. There's no way if the town wasn't full of westerners that there would be dozens of black h'mong women selling identical blankets I've had the arguement put to me that these people are doing better out of it than we are, but still I can't help but feel that there is something is lost from a people's culture when there are six H'mong girls sitting in a line in an internet cafe all on YouTube and MySpace.
Again the arguement was put to me (I spent some time having philosophical arguements in Sapa) that you cant prevent people from improving their lives with electricity and computers but I do wonder if they'd be happier if we'd never come along.
Incidentilly I spoke to one Vietnamese man (originally from Hanoi but now working in Sapa) who said that he had been in Sapa for 11 years, and when he had come to town there were two, maybe three hotels. There are now several hundred. He didn't seem pleased with developments.
While I was there I did meet one seemingly cute young girl who aged about six tried to sell me the usual bags and bracelets. When I said I didn't want any she said it would be unfair if she then saw me buying from someone else. My lawyers mind then kicked into gear and I promised that I wouldn't buy any of what she had from anyone else. She made me pinkie promise which I was happy to do. When I had done this she said "Good. Now if you do I get your finger." and walked off smiling...
----
So the scenery in Sapa is breath-taking. As I wrote this I was perched on a wall up a mountain overlooking a drop of several hundred feet. The impressively taken timed pictue is available on facebook
On the way up I met a rather insane (but still very friendly) Vietnamese girl. Incidentilly she is the seventh person t have asked early in conversation if I'm married. The girl was lovely other than her insistance we stop every two minutes to take photos.
Sapa is as I've said very pretty but there isn't a lot to do here. If you want to go for a trek with the local tribespeople then this is the place to be, but after a couple of days soaking in the scenery and breathing the mountain air there isn't much to tie you to the place.
While I'm on the subject of tribesfolk, I have to admit there are certain aspects of Sapa that left me uneasy. One of the main draws of the town is that all the local people come in tribal dress to sell their wares. My feeling here is that the line between human carnival and human zoo is a thin and blurry one. There's no way if the town wasn't full of westerners that there would be dozens of black h'mong women selling identical blankets I've had the arguement put to me that these people are doing better out of it than we are, but still I can't help but feel that there is something is lost from a people's culture when there are six H'mong girls sitting in a line in an internet cafe all on YouTube and MySpace.
Again the arguement was put to me (I spent some time having philosophical arguements in Sapa) that you cant prevent people from improving their lives with electricity and computers but I do wonder if they'd be happier if we'd never come along.
Incidentilly I spoke to one Vietnamese man (originally from Hanoi but now working in Sapa) who said that he had been in Sapa for 11 years, and when he had come to town there were two, maybe three hotels. There are now several hundred. He didn't seem pleased with developments.
While I was there I did meet one seemingly cute young girl who aged about six tried to sell me the usual bags and bracelets. When I said I didn't want any she said it would be unfair if she then saw me buying from someone else. My lawyers mind then kicked into gear and I promised that I wouldn't buy any of what she had from anyone else. She made me pinkie promise which I was happy to do. When I had done this she said "Good. Now if you do I get your finger." and walked off smiling...
Wednesday, 18 November 2009
Hi Ho, Hi Ho.....
NB - http://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/news/article.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10610113
I may not be on facebook for a while, but your comments are still appreciated.
-----------
So tired and hungry I arrived back at the hostel to find out that my room had become Finnish party central. They were ending a 3 month study abroad programme and ready to party. As my knowledge of Finnish music extends to HIM, Lordi and The Rasmus very quickly I was lost in the sing-a-long.
Luckily, my other roommate was from Shawlands (note - for my international readers thats in Glasgow) and I escaped for a few drinks with him and his mates. Was woken up at 5 an by a Finn who felt a need to personally say hello to everyone in the dorm. Never has the reply "aye hello" carried so much implied threat.
Next day we took a mass trip to the Hoa Lo Prison (aka the Hanoi Hilton) to see how things were for prisoners during the Vietnamese wars with America and France. Although it was fun to take turns in the "hell of hells" hole the reality for prisoners can't have been very fun. And although the exhibits seemed to show all the happy times I'm sure the US POWs had it a bit rougher than it looks. Although its good to see the flip side of Holywood gloss.
The next day my compatriots headed for Ha Long Bay and after a lie in and lunch I went to the Ho Chi Mihn Maussoleum complex. Now Uncle Ho is currently in Russia having work done to preserve his body, but his house and museum were still there. He's a very interesting man and certainly said some very profound things but the cult of Ho - where he is treated as Jesus meets Princess Di meets Winston Churchill is incredible. In Vietnam, Ho can do no wrong.
My first intro to Vietnamese sleeper trains (with which there are at least two more planned journeys) came that night. They are not quite as comfy as their thai counterparts, but you travel four to a lockable compartment and travel sideways. My three elderly Vietnamese bunkmates weren't that talkative...
ALSO unlike Thai trains, they run early. This means I arrived in Lao Cai ( on the border with China) at 4.45 am. I found myself a minibus tout and slept in his bus for an hour before the tourists train (see me I'm a local) arrived at 6 am. The Minibus was overcrowded but the scenery was great. I was also very amused by the 4 year old Aussie girl screaming " GOOD MORNING VIETNAM" every so often. The sleeping French pensioners were not.
I may not be on facebook for a while, but your comments are still appreciated.
-----------
So tired and hungry I arrived back at the hostel to find out that my room had become Finnish party central. They were ending a 3 month study abroad programme and ready to party. As my knowledge of Finnish music extends to HIM, Lordi and The Rasmus very quickly I was lost in the sing-a-long.
Luckily, my other roommate was from Shawlands (note - for my international readers thats in Glasgow) and I escaped for a few drinks with him and his mates. Was woken up at 5 an by a Finn who felt a need to personally say hello to everyone in the dorm. Never has the reply "aye hello" carried so much implied threat.
Next day we took a mass trip to the Hoa Lo Prison (aka the Hanoi Hilton) to see how things were for prisoners during the Vietnamese wars with America and France. Although it was fun to take turns in the "hell of hells" hole the reality for prisoners can't have been very fun. And although the exhibits seemed to show all the happy times I'm sure the US POWs had it a bit rougher than it looks. Although its good to see the flip side of Holywood gloss.
The next day my compatriots headed for Ha Long Bay and after a lie in and lunch I went to the Ho Chi Mihn Maussoleum complex. Now Uncle Ho is currently in Russia having work done to preserve his body, but his house and museum were still there. He's a very interesting man and certainly said some very profound things but the cult of Ho - where he is treated as Jesus meets Princess Di meets Winston Churchill is incredible. In Vietnam, Ho can do no wrong.
My first intro to Vietnamese sleeper trains (with which there are at least two more planned journeys) came that night. They are not quite as comfy as their thai counterparts, but you travel four to a lockable compartment and travel sideways. My three elderly Vietnamese bunkmates weren't that talkative...
ALSO unlike Thai trains, they run early. This means I arrived in Lao Cai ( on the border with China) at 4.45 am. I found myself a minibus tout and slept in his bus for an hour before the tourists train (see me I'm a local) arrived at 6 am. The Minibus was overcrowded but the scenery was great. I was also very amused by the 4 year old Aussie girl screaming " GOOD MORNING VIETNAM" every so often. The sleeping French pensioners were not.
Thursday, 12 November 2009
Ha Long way from Tipperary...
Well I guess I should start this one with my reflections on Ha Long Bay. After a journey that took ages to get started -with our tour guide's compulsory visit to the police station- we arrived in Ha Long City (still on the mainland) where I was separated from the Aussie girl I had got talking to (as far asI could see the only other solo traveller who had come on this leg) and was sent to "boat 3".
Now on an English-speaking tour I expected a motley crew of Brits, Kiwis, Aussies, Americans and Canadians (maybe with the odd Dutch or Scandinavian thrown in) but not a bit of it. My tour group consisted of 5 Chilians, 3 Koreans, 2 Malaysians, 2 French, 2 Japanese and a German. Along with the Vietnamese crew, this made me the only native English speaker on the tour. And so began my two day career as an interpretor between Asian Second Language English and European Second Language English as the differences seemed to be huge. Personally I thought the standards of English were great, but the French couldn't understand the Vietnamese, and the Japanese couldn't understand the Chileans but other than that the conversations were fun if a little stilted. According to my lovely Korean (not very good at English) roommate and his reliable I-Phone translation, I am "bravery" for coming travelling on my own. Which is nice.
Ha Long Bay may well push Victoria Falls and the road between Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng into 2nd and 3rd place into the list of places I've seen. Its hard to do the place justice in words or pictures if I'm honest. The hundreds of tiny islands make "the bay of the descending dragon"so gorgeous that I advise everyone to go. Now. Stop reading this and leave. Book the tickets and get there.
Still here? Fine then I'll keep typing. The next morning we got up and went for a walk on Cat Ba Island. At the top of the large hill there was a viewing gallery made of rust and plywood but as it was labeled "solid as a rock" up I duely went. The view was amazing. The holes in the floor and the Vietnamese Killer Hornets were not, so down I duely came.
We were then transferred to our hotel for the evening and as Youngjay had left I was put into a suite with a charming gay German couple. Now if I'm being totally honest then they probaly weren't a couple but the camp horseplay and comments gave them that air. We met up with the Aussie from the day before and then all went to the beach. Me and the Germans decided to swim out to the island in the bay that looked close. Actually it turned out to pretty far away. I was knackered (and bleeding) by the time I made it back to the shore.
That night we went out for drinks and met up with a group that some of you would have avoided like the plague --> Five French dentists. After this we went and watched some people doing rock climbing which was pretty cool. Until a chunk of the cliffside fell off. That killed the atmos a little...
The next day - after a strange meal which may well have contained dog - we headed back towards Hanoi. We moved well for two and a half hours until we hit tailbacks that went for miles. The driver seemingly used to this sort of thing switched off the engine and got out of the cab. Well when in Vietnam.... So I went for a walk along one of the busiest motorways in Vietnam. It was a strange experience, but it made for a couple of interesting sites - such as a bus full of monks, almost all on their mobile phones - presumably explaining why they were late.
We eventually got going again and passed the site of the two accidents which had delayed us - one of which looked like a pretty nasty case of motorbike meets truck - where there were men cleaning up the blood with squeegy mops and headed back to Hanoi
tbc...
Now on an English-speaking tour I expected a motley crew of Brits, Kiwis, Aussies, Americans and Canadians (maybe with the odd Dutch or Scandinavian thrown in) but not a bit of it. My tour group consisted of 5 Chilians, 3 Koreans, 2 Malaysians, 2 French, 2 Japanese and a German. Along with the Vietnamese crew, this made me the only native English speaker on the tour. And so began my two day career as an interpretor between Asian Second Language English and European Second Language English as the differences seemed to be huge. Personally I thought the standards of English were great, but the French couldn't understand the Vietnamese, and the Japanese couldn't understand the Chileans but other than that the conversations were fun if a little stilted. According to my lovely Korean (not very good at English) roommate and his reliable I-Phone translation, I am "bravery" for coming travelling on my own. Which is nice.
Ha Long Bay may well push Victoria Falls and the road between Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng into 2nd and 3rd place into the list of places I've seen. Its hard to do the place justice in words or pictures if I'm honest. The hundreds of tiny islands make "the bay of the descending dragon"so gorgeous that I advise everyone to go. Now. Stop reading this and leave. Book the tickets and get there.
Still here? Fine then I'll keep typing. The next morning we got up and went for a walk on Cat Ba Island. At the top of the large hill there was a viewing gallery made of rust and plywood but as it was labeled "solid as a rock" up I duely went. The view was amazing. The holes in the floor and the Vietnamese Killer Hornets were not, so down I duely came.
We were then transferred to our hotel for the evening and as Youngjay had left I was put into a suite with a charming gay German couple. Now if I'm being totally honest then they probaly weren't a couple but the camp horseplay and comments gave them that air. We met up with the Aussie from the day before and then all went to the beach. Me and the Germans decided to swim out to the island in the bay that looked close. Actually it turned out to pretty far away. I was knackered (and bleeding) by the time I made it back to the shore.
That night we went out for drinks and met up with a group that some of you would have avoided like the plague --> Five French dentists. After this we went and watched some people doing rock climbing which was pretty cool. Until a chunk of the cliffside fell off. That killed the atmos a little...
The next day - after a strange meal which may well have contained dog - we headed back towards Hanoi. We moved well for two and a half hours until we hit tailbacks that went for miles. The driver seemingly used to this sort of thing switched off the engine and got out of the cab. Well when in Vietnam.... So I went for a walk along one of the busiest motorways in Vietnam. It was a strange experience, but it made for a couple of interesting sites - such as a bus full of monks, almost all on their mobile phones - presumably explaining why they were late.
We eventually got going again and passed the site of the two accidents which had delayed us - one of which looked like a pretty nasty case of motorbike meets truck - where there were men cleaning up the blood with squeegy mops and headed back to Hanoi
tbc...
Wednesday, 11 November 2009
I'll say one thing for those French colonialsits. They had good taste...
- This entry was written sitting on a junk boat off the coast of Vietnam. Jealous yet? -
Well what do I make of Hanoi after my 3 nights there? I can honestly say its the best city - and potentially the best place - I've been to so far. The Old Quarter is THE image of South East Asian cities I came here with. There are stalls in alleyways, doormouths, all along the pavements, food of all sorts available everywhere, the buzz of 10 billion motorbikes (that's just a rough estimate I'm sure you'll understand) and a much stronger sense of national identity (Large Capital v Large Capital) than Bangkok.
The bustle in the city is immense but its easy to drift in and out as you please as the focus of the busyness isn't on you, the way it is in other tourist heavy areas. The motorbikes are pretty crazy, but as long as you keep a steady pace when you cross the roads 99.99% of the time they will avoid you. The other 00.01% you'll have to pull off a leap that would make James Bond proud. Hopefully that's me had my one for this trip.
The food is excellent and CHEAP and for those of you heading out my way I can recommend the water snake - somewhere between salmon and tuna in texture but its own flavour.
The people are really friendly - although repeatedly being asked if I'm married very early in the conversation (by both men and women) is a little odd.
For the first time in my trip, I didn't go and do the sights almost straight after arriving in the town. I just sat back and soaked in the town. I did go to the musee des beaux artes which was well worth the 65p entry fee. The rest of the sights will be done, but not til i come back from Ha Long bay or Sapa.
The weather here is great. The roughly five degree temperature drop from Bangkok was amazing, and the humidity is so much lower. Makes it so much easier to turn down the people who try and pick you up in taxis/cyclos/bikes. Although I do occasionally like to ride the motorbikes for fun.
Well what do I make of Hanoi after my 3 nights there? I can honestly say its the best city - and potentially the best place - I've been to so far. The Old Quarter is THE image of South East Asian cities I came here with. There are stalls in alleyways, doormouths, all along the pavements, food of all sorts available everywhere, the buzz of 10 billion motorbikes (that's just a rough estimate I'm sure you'll understand) and a much stronger sense of national identity (Large Capital v Large Capital) than Bangkok.
The bustle in the city is immense but its easy to drift in and out as you please as the focus of the busyness isn't on you, the way it is in other tourist heavy areas. The motorbikes are pretty crazy, but as long as you keep a steady pace when you cross the roads 99.99% of the time they will avoid you. The other 00.01% you'll have to pull off a leap that would make James Bond proud. Hopefully that's me had my one for this trip.
The food is excellent and CHEAP and for those of you heading out my way I can recommend the water snake - somewhere between salmon and tuna in texture but its own flavour.
The people are really friendly - although repeatedly being asked if I'm married very early in the conversation (by both men and women) is a little odd.
For the first time in my trip, I didn't go and do the sights almost straight after arriving in the town. I just sat back and soaked in the town. I did go to the musee des beaux artes which was well worth the 65p entry fee. The rest of the sights will be done, but not til i come back from Ha Long bay or Sapa.
The weather here is great. The roughly five degree temperature drop from Bangkok was amazing, and the humidity is so much lower. Makes it so much easier to turn down the people who try and pick you up in taxis/cyclos/bikes. Although I do occasionally like to ride the motorbikes for fun.
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
How to be really Hanoi-ing....
Now that was an eventful trip....
About 15 minutes before take off, as we got ready to get on the plane, a lovely reassuring announcement came over then tanoy that our plane was having technical problems and there would be a delay of about an hour.
The delay (short by the standards of my trip so far as I'm sure my long term fans will know) didn't phase me in the slightest, although it did make me wonder about my pick up that I had arranged with the hostel at the other end.
About an hour after out intended arrival time, I filled in my medical questionnaire on the plane declaring my a1 fitness (ahem) and then wandered through to arrivals. The silly Belgian girl who admitted to headaches and a cough was taken away never to be seen again
As I feared there was no driver with a sign saying Eric Johnstone and as I'm such a genius I hadn't taken down the details ò the hostel I was to be staying at. So after a brief flirtation with admitting that I was indeed - as I was asked several times - Miss Julie Sanders I went and found an internet cafe to get the hostels phone number.
Now at this point, my ears hadn't popped from the plane journey, so the conversation but I managed to establish both that there was a giraffe somewhere on the motorway and also that there had been a problem with my booking, but that a driver would be here in 10 minutes to come and get me.
After an interesting drive (as in Laos - but not Thailand - they drive on the wrong side ò the road here) we arrived at the hostel only for me to be told, by the very sincerely sorry South African behind the counter, that the booking mix up meant that there was no space for me at the hostel, so I was referred - with apologies and a taxi to a nearby hotel that I was told would cost about $10-$12 a night. So we get to the door and in comes the driver.
Now as things haven't been running smoothly I decided that I should check the price with the receptionist lest I receive an unpleasant surprise in the morning. I was told that it was $55 for the night. Now in my sleep deprived, slightly dehydrated and somewhat hungry state ( Airport Burger King - the only place that wasn't ridiculously priced - hadn't sat well) I decided that this was funny. And declined the offer at that price. After calming myself, I explained I had been told it was $12. After a brief conversation in Vietnamese with my driver, the receptionist - sensing my immense bargaining skills (or perhaps realising that at 00.15 on Sunday night my offer was the best coming) agreed to my price.
In its defense the room was very nice....
When I got up in the morning I realised that I had no idea where I was in relation to last nights hostel (Where I did have another two nights booked - incidentally I have since checked and it was THEIR mistake not mine - I have emails to prove it. There was also someone else that this happened to - methinks we got bumped for a BIG group). Anyway I was standing with the address in my hand when the receptionist from the previous night arrived in full national dress, removed her motorbike helmet and offered me a lift. what else could I do but accept? So out I moto'd into the Hanoi morning
About 15 minutes before take off, as we got ready to get on the plane, a lovely reassuring announcement came over then tanoy that our plane was having technical problems and there would be a delay of about an hour.
The delay (short by the standards of my trip so far as I'm sure my long term fans will know) didn't phase me in the slightest, although it did make me wonder about my pick up that I had arranged with the hostel at the other end.
About an hour after out intended arrival time, I filled in my medical questionnaire on the plane declaring my a1 fitness (ahem) and then wandered through to arrivals. The silly Belgian girl who admitted to headaches and a cough was taken away never to be seen again
As I feared there was no driver with a sign saying Eric Johnstone and as I'm such a genius I hadn't taken down the details ò the hostel I was to be staying at. So after a brief flirtation with admitting that I was indeed - as I was asked several times - Miss Julie Sanders I went and found an internet cafe to get the hostels phone number.
Now at this point, my ears hadn't popped from the plane journey, so the conversation but I managed to establish both that there was a giraffe somewhere on the motorway and also that there had been a problem with my booking, but that a driver would be here in 10 minutes to come and get me.
After an interesting drive (as in Laos - but not Thailand - they drive on the wrong side ò the road here) we arrived at the hostel only for me to be told, by the very sincerely sorry South African behind the counter, that the booking mix up meant that there was no space for me at the hostel, so I was referred - with apologies and a taxi to a nearby hotel that I was told would cost about $10-$12 a night. So we get to the door and in comes the driver.
Now as things haven't been running smoothly I decided that I should check the price with the receptionist lest I receive an unpleasant surprise in the morning. I was told that it was $55 for the night. Now in my sleep deprived, slightly dehydrated and somewhat hungry state ( Airport Burger King - the only place that wasn't ridiculously priced - hadn't sat well) I decided that this was funny. And declined the offer at that price. After calming myself, I explained I had been told it was $12. After a brief conversation in Vietnamese with my driver, the receptionist - sensing my immense bargaining skills (or perhaps realising that at 00.15 on Sunday night my offer was the best coming) agreed to my price.
In its defense the room was very nice....
When I got up in the morning I realised that I had no idea where I was in relation to last nights hostel (Where I did have another two nights booked - incidentally I have since checked and it was THEIR mistake not mine - I have emails to prove it. There was also someone else that this happened to - methinks we got bumped for a BIG group). Anyway I was standing with the address in my hand when the receptionist from the previous night arrived in full national dress, removed her motorbike helmet and offered me a lift. what else could I do but accept? So out I moto'd into the Hanoi morning
Bye Bye Bangkok and Thai
For the next while my blogs are going to be based on diary entries and therefor the tenses may well vary hugely. Also I am trying to use a keyboard set up for French and Vietnamese so the letters are changing on me an awful lot. so if any weird characters appear please excuse!
- So I'm sitting in the lobby of the hotel, waiting to meet up with Em for lunch. I've got about 6 hours left in what, historically speaking, has to be considered the luckiest country in South East Asia. there have been no civil wars of which to speak, there has been no American bombing raids to flush out the Communists, no brutal oppressive regimes that murdered their own people, no Imperial power running the country into the ground for its own ends, and there - probably because of all this - has been relative economic stability.
As a tourist, Thailand's privileged place acts as a mixed blessing. The good thing is that there is a strong infrastructure in place. The roads and railways are both there and work well. The journey estimates are not too bad, and especially on the trains, the level of comfort is high. The medical services which - touch wood, I have so far been lucky enough to avoid using are of a high quality and are able to deal with most problems.
The downside comes "with the westernisation" that money has brought to Bangkok (and a lot of the tourist hot-spots) these places have become overrun with Burger King, McDonald's, KFCs and 7 Elevens. There could potentially be more Thai restaurants in a square mile of NYC than in one in Bangkok.
That not to say that I'll leave with a negative impression. Having been in Asia for long enough to get used to the way of life, I have loved being back in Bangkok - and once they know I've been around I get no hassle from the touts and scam artists.
5pm - Airport
My plane just drove past the window with the slogan "now everyone can fly" written on the side. I just hope that's not the recruitment policy....
- So I'm sitting in the lobby of the hotel, waiting to meet up with Em for lunch. I've got about 6 hours left in what, historically speaking, has to be considered the luckiest country in South East Asia. there have been no civil wars of which to speak, there has been no American bombing raids to flush out the Communists, no brutal oppressive regimes that murdered their own people, no Imperial power running the country into the ground for its own ends, and there - probably because of all this - has been relative economic stability.
As a tourist, Thailand's privileged place acts as a mixed blessing. The good thing is that there is a strong infrastructure in place. The roads and railways are both there and work well. The journey estimates are not too bad, and especially on the trains, the level of comfort is high. The medical services which - touch wood, I have so far been lucky enough to avoid using are of a high quality and are able to deal with most problems.
The downside comes "with the westernisation" that money has brought to Bangkok (and a lot of the tourist hot-spots) these places have become overrun with Burger King, McDonald's, KFCs and 7 Elevens. There could potentially be more Thai restaurants in a square mile of NYC than in one in Bangkok.
That not to say that I'll leave with a negative impression. Having been in Asia for long enough to get used to the way of life, I have loved being back in Bangkok - and once they know I've been around I get no hassle from the touts and scam artists.
5pm - Airport
My plane just drove past the window with the slogan "now everyone can fly" written on the side. I just hope that's not the recruitment policy....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)