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...
Thursday, 12 November 2009
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....
Thursday, 29 October 2009
Bangkok Revisited.
So I got off the train from Nong Khai at about 7.30 in the morning. I had presumed when I booked it that like all Thai trains I've been on this would be three hours late and deliver me to town at the semi-reasonable time of 10am. But nooooo! They've put someone efficient in charge. Trains are starting to run on time now! What is the world coming to I ask you?
So in my sleep deprived state, I decided to go for a walk. So I wandered over to the left luggage counter and thats where I encountered a strange phenomenon for the second time in Thailand. At 8 am and 6pm every day, in public buildings (such as the train station and Chaing Mai market where I first encountered it) they play the national anthem. And in Thailand the anthem doesn't get the half hearted "O flower of Scotland, nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah" that it does over here. Everyone stops still and stands to attention. No matter what they are doing. So even though the guy was halfway through taking my bag he stopped, stood still and waited until the end before giving me my ticket. Its a little unnerving the first time you see 3000 people stop stalk still let me tell you! I felt an obligation to join in, but as I was rusty on the words, I just went for the respectful silence option. I think that was taken as an acceptable alternative both times.
So with my bag duely stored, I went for my wander. I ended up in a maze of back alleys in the middle of the town. A couple of strange turns and I was in the middle of a ghetto in bangkok. Needless to say I was miles from the internet cafe I thought would help me pass the time. So I wandered for about 20 minutes and headed back to the station. Only to spot one across the road from the main enterance... d'oh
So in my sleep deprived state, I decided to go for a walk. So I wandered over to the left luggage counter and thats where I encountered a strange phenomenon for the second time in Thailand. At 8 am and 6pm every day, in public buildings (such as the train station and Chaing Mai market where I first encountered it) they play the national anthem. And in Thailand the anthem doesn't get the half hearted "O flower of Scotland, nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah" that it does over here. Everyone stops still and stands to attention. No matter what they are doing. So even though the guy was halfway through taking my bag he stopped, stood still and waited until the end before giving me my ticket. Its a little unnerving the first time you see 3000 people stop stalk still let me tell you! I felt an obligation to join in, but as I was rusty on the words, I just went for the respectful silence option. I think that was taken as an acceptable alternative both times.
So with my bag duely stored, I went for my wander. I ended up in a maze of back alleys in the middle of the town. A couple of strange turns and I was in the middle of a ghetto in bangkok. Needless to say I was miles from the internet cafe I thought would help me pass the time. So I wandered for about 20 minutes and headed back to the station. Only to spot one across the road from the main enterance... d'oh
Bangkok the second time around is a very different place to stay in. Once you're used to the hussle and bussle of asia as well as the temperature it can be quite fun to take in the sights and sounds. I also started to play with the chancers who try and take new arrivals for a ride. When they come out with a really high price for a tuk tuk for example 400 baht for a ride which cost 100 on the way there, I counter with my own offer of 5 baht and see them splutter for a bit before I walk off. When I cant be bothered, I go for the response of "six weeks" when they ask how long I've been here and they for some reason rapidly loose interest...
Its also allowed me to become reaquainted with a strange phenomenon. There is a local and often played song by a local girl group which really sounded out of place the first time I heard it. Its a cover of Zombie by the Cranberries. By the Thai equivelant of girls aloud. Oh dear....
Escape from LA (OS)
So I'm back in Thailand and once again on a sleeper train. I have to say I love these things, they basically act like mobile hotels (and are nicer than a couple of the hotels I've stayed in so far).
I rocked up at the travel agent who I booked my ticket through in Vientiane to find his door locked, even though it was ten minutes before my agreed pick up time. I had visions of him running off with my 1050 baht (20ish quid) - incidentally that's almost twice the average weekly wage in Laos - with all the phone calls the previous day having been a bluff.
Fortunately he eventually showed up - as did my lift. We took a pick up truck to the border, where I paid my 3000 kip (20-25p) stamping out bribe... sorry I mean fee and left behind the first communist country that I've visited. And I'll be honest, second to Zambia, probably the happiest. The people here have a wonderfully laid back attitude that if we could all copy would make the world a happier place.
Anyway at the border I got on the first of my two trains for the 15 minute jump to Thailand. and other than nearly mangling a car on what can only be called a level crossing because the rail and road were at roughly the same height the journey passed without event. Two stamps and a second Thai visa later I sat myself down for the hour's wait between two the trains. I put down my bags - which incidentally I've worked out now weight more than a third of my body weight - and relaxed. my bags however caught the interest of a local dog who came sniffing over. Then came the fastest move I've made in weeks, as that scruffy little bastard cocked his leg I managed to snatch my bag up to head height while simultaneously aiming a kick at him. After considering his options he slunk off and I - in case he'd gone for reinforcements - made for the train.
On the train I met Lazslo, a Hungarian American retiree lawyer who was apparently part of the firm who defended James Earl Ray ( the man who shot Martin Luther King Jr.). Apparently during this time he received death threats. He was now living in Thailand with his Thai wife. We had a laugh for a couple of hours, until the train official insisted we go to bed at 9.30. During this time he shared with me several interesting theories - including the idea that the JFK assassination was the work of the French Secret Service, and that he (Laszlo) was meant to be a passenger on Pan-Am flight 103 (the one blown up over Lockerbie) until he turned up at the airport to find his reservation mysteriously cancelled.
Just before bed time he asked to buy my lower bunk ticket for 500B and his upper bunk, on account of his prostate problems. To stave off further details - and because I liked the idea of two nights accommodation for nothing - I agreed. Felt like I got a good deal.
In the morning when I woke up Laszlo was gone. Had he disappeared in the night to the Bangkok suburbs or was he just a figment of my overtired imagination?
I rocked up at the travel agent who I booked my ticket through in Vientiane to find his door locked, even though it was ten minutes before my agreed pick up time. I had visions of him running off with my 1050 baht (20ish quid) - incidentally that's almost twice the average weekly wage in Laos - with all the phone calls the previous day having been a bluff.
Fortunately he eventually showed up - as did my lift. We took a pick up truck to the border, where I paid my 3000 kip (20-25p) stamping out bribe... sorry I mean fee and left behind the first communist country that I've visited. And I'll be honest, second to Zambia, probably the happiest. The people here have a wonderfully laid back attitude that if we could all copy would make the world a happier place.
Anyway at the border I got on the first of my two trains for the 15 minute jump to Thailand. and other than nearly mangling a car on what can only be called a level crossing because the rail and road were at roughly the same height the journey passed without event. Two stamps and a second Thai visa later I sat myself down for the hour's wait between two the trains. I put down my bags - which incidentally I've worked out now weight more than a third of my body weight - and relaxed. my bags however caught the interest of a local dog who came sniffing over. Then came the fastest move I've made in weeks, as that scruffy little bastard cocked his leg I managed to snatch my bag up to head height while simultaneously aiming a kick at him. After considering his options he slunk off and I - in case he'd gone for reinforcements - made for the train.
On the train I met Lazslo, a Hungarian American retiree lawyer who was apparently part of the firm who defended James Earl Ray ( the man who shot Martin Luther King Jr.). Apparently during this time he received death threats. He was now living in Thailand with his Thai wife. We had a laugh for a couple of hours, until the train official insisted we go to bed at 9.30. During this time he shared with me several interesting theories - including the idea that the JFK assassination was the work of the French Secret Service, and that he (Laszlo) was meant to be a passenger on Pan-Am flight 103 (the one blown up over Lockerbie) until he turned up at the airport to find his reservation mysteriously cancelled.
Just before bed time he asked to buy my lower bunk ticket for 500B and his upper bunk, on account of his prostate problems. To stave off further details - and because I liked the idea of two nights accommodation for nothing - I agreed. Felt like I got a good deal.
In the morning when I woke up Laszlo was gone. Had he disappeared in the night to the Bangkok suburbs or was he just a figment of my overtired imagination?
Monday, 26 October 2009
Vientiane 2
So due to a combination of having waited an hour and half for photos to upload only to be told at the last photo - "Upload error please try again" and suffering from hunger pangs you wouldn't believe I decided that the best course of action was to leave the Internet shop and go get a sandwich rather than breaking down in angry tears.
The points I missed for Vientiane are the fact that I missed the greatest shot I could have taken with the camera, by virtue of not speaking enough Laos (or the monk enough English) to establish if it was OK for me to take a picture of the monk using his camera phone to take a picture of Buddha at the old temple in the middle of town.
The second thing that I neglected to mention was the Lao Revolutionary museum which gave an interesting (if a little jingoistic) view on the war with America. They spent a lot of time talking about the puppets and stooges of the US war masters. From what I've heard there's more of this to come in Vietnam, but it does make a difference from the usual US bias in media and film.
The points I missed for Vientiane are the fact that I missed the greatest shot I could have taken with the camera, by virtue of not speaking enough Laos (or the monk enough English) to establish if it was OK for me to take a picture of the monk using his camera phone to take a picture of Buddha at the old temple in the middle of town.
The second thing that I neglected to mention was the Lao Revolutionary museum which gave an interesting (if a little jingoistic) view on the war with America. They spent a lot of time talking about the puppets and stooges of the US war masters. From what I've heard there's more of this to come in Vietnam, but it does make a difference from the usual US bias in media and film.
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