Finding the Unicorn

On the train ride to SaPa I shared a cabin with 2 other Aussies and a Philipino. One of the Aussies I had already met at my hotel in HaNoi – Allan from near Perth. He was in the Navy during the war, was on a ship stationed to the area for quite a while but had never set foot on Vietnam until now. Since then he has worked on fishing boats and knew who I was talking about when I mentioned the Crystal Lady.

The train ride ended at Lao Cai where at 8am things were already heating up. From there I had a very scenic bus ride and by the time we got up to SaPa it was almost jumper weather. New arrivals get the customary welcome from the local montagnard women – i.e. swamped, “what you name?”, “where you from?”, “how old you?”, “you children, how many?”, “you buy me?” while showing their wares. I had to chuckle at this one, can you imagine what a blind person would think when they are asked “you buy me?”. I was met by the person who had arranged my lodging and she guided me away from the crowd gathered around me. After a shower and breakfast I did the usual wander to get my bearings. This can be very difficult when the maps you have don’t seem to match each other or the actual streets around you.

I found my way to a sort of park above the town. There is an entrance fee and it is full of different types of gardens linked by paths and stairways. I found my way to two excellent viewpoints. One you have to crawl through a small opening between the rocks to get to but the panorama was beautiful. It is one of those times when you wish you had access to one of those cameras that wan take 360 degree photos. The weather didn’t get any better throughout my stay so I am very pleased with myself that I got those photos.

On my way down I decided to stop at a spot because signs indicated that they sold icecreams and yoghurt there. There was a big crowd so in I went. After a minute I realised that the kiosk was not in business and I had walked right into the middle of a group of Vietnamese tourists from Saigon who had just finished their lunch and were eating fruit. They didn’t let me leave, the same happened to another tourist who walked into the crowd. We were seated, given green peaches (they eat a lot of fruit when it is green here) and sticky rice with a sesame and salt seasoning. There were questions asked through the one person who spoke a bit of English and I ate as everyone watched in – dare I say it – awe. After they were satisfied that I had eaten there were photos and many handshakes before they went on their way.

I found out that the other tourist was an Argentine who has been living in Spain the last 17 yrs so we sat a while longer and chatted about experiences – that morning at his hotel he caught a glimpse of someone butchering a dog carcass so he wasn’t feeling very hungry.

After dinner was sitting on the balcony outside my room when person in the room next to me came out and we had a chat there. This was a Japanese butterfly enthusiast. He explained to me that this was his third trip to Sapa since April in search of new butterflies. He said he has discovered 10 previously unrecognised butterflies in China and now it was time to find some in Vietnam.

I met with my neighbour for breakfast and then went off to find my guide for the walk I had booked in for the day before. In this group I found myself with one of my cabin mates from the train – Chris from somewhere west of Coffs. The walk/climb was spectacular. I could hardly believe the places these people have managed to cultivate. There were cornfields that should be called “corncliffs”. Apart from much of the trail being very steep (all downhill) it was also quite slippery from the morning rain. Ah yes – it was lovely to wake up to gentle rain on the roof.

I don’t really have time to write my the rest at the moment but thought I would let you all know that I have arrived back in Bangkok safe and sound after trips to SaPa and Hue. Had a great time.

I now have a day to wind down before I

I booked with a tour for 3days/2nights to sail around the pillar islands of Ha long Bay. They were spectacular. The highlights of the tour for me were Kayaking and riding mountain a bike into the heart of one of the larger islands.

The Kayaking is fairly straight-forward; paddling along side cliffs and through caves where the water has eaten away at narrow bits of cliffs.

On the bikes we only had a couple of tough little hills. We followed the bottoms of cliffs and through a cave where your eyes don’t have enough time to adjust to the darkness before you come back out the other side – riding on faith that there are no stones or pot-holes in the path. Once inside we rode a while until we came upon an entire village that lives there in the middle of cliffs. They have a large flat area for growing rice in the centre and around the edges of the rice paddies are other crops. We had to ride back out the way we came in – single entrance village.

Luckily I got my cabin / room to myself. I paid for twin share but the other singles on the tour had all paid for rooms to themselves – bonus for me!! In our group we were 5 Aussies, 3 Kiwis, a Finnish couple and an Irish couple. We all got along quite well and purely by accident all the Aussies ended up having dinner together after we got back to Ha Noi.

I know I am just glossing over all this – don’t have much time. At least you are half-way updated. Next installment – Sa Pa.

I decided to try out the Airport bus to go back to Bangkok’s airport – it has a really long name that I am bound to misspell, plus the pronunciation only slightly resembles the written version. Easy as pie!! The bus came past about 60 seconds after I found the bus-stop which was very lucky. I’m told it goes past every half hour. It took about an hour and quarter and I caught it at about 3pm – busy time but not the worst of the traffic. After checking in I had some cheap dinner – yes it is possible to get a cheap meal at the airport!! Downstairs near the Airport Bus pickup / dropoff area is a food hall. Buy THB100 per person in coupons and you will change a fair bit of it back to cash. Oh yes, I figured out how to use the Thai food hall coupon system thing. You just have to make sure you don’t forget to get your unused amount refunded the same day. Anywhere else in the airport and you’ll pay through the nose for food and drinks.

The flight was barely half full, I would guess at a bit over a third and I think most of the passengers were from either Hong Kong, China or Taiwan – looked like a tour group, boisterous lot they were.

This time not only did I pre-book my hotel in Ha Noi, but I also got them to arrange to pick me up from the airport as I decided I was just not interested in having to bargain with Taxi drivers again and I knew that the airport is a fair way out of town. I spotted my driver almost instantly and was whisked away in no time in a brand new unmarked sedan. At USD11, it was well worth it I think. I arrived fairly late at night but the receptionist accompanied me to a stall to get a baguette. We ate in the dining room / kitchen of the hotel and then slept in nice bed – bliss.

My first full day here – yesterday – I wandered around. Found some antibiotic cream for some sores that don’t want to heal, found the Kangaroo Cafe and basically just drank in the atmosphere of the Old Quarter of Ha Noi. I changed to a different hotel – this one has no lift, but also has no street noise to blast me awake at 6am. Today I did basically the same thing again. We are having a few good thunder storms this afternoon. Tomorrow I will be up early as I have signed up for a 3 day tour of Ha Long Bay and Cat Ba Island. Will write again when I get a chance.

At last I am up-to-date with regards to writing. Next time I will concentrate on updating photos.

The flight from Hyd to Bangkok was uneventful, the most notable thing about it was the lack of sleep. This time on arrival I took the Airport bus into town. Very convenient!! No haggling with taxi drivers (some were trying to get me to pay 600THB), a set fee of 150THB to my destination and I was dropped off about 400m from my hotel – the Suk.

I walked in the front door and immediately saw Natalie, up bright and early and having her breakfast. I had stopped at a mini-store on the way there to get some yoghurt so ate with her for a bit, before going to the room to shower and then collapse for an hour. At 9am Kanuka (Natalie’s friend) picked us up. She had brought her brother’s car to drive us around in. We went to the JJ Market (a Saturday only affair) and met up with Arari. We must have spent about 3 hours wandering through there, then went on to a shopping centre that has a type of Electronics Market.

After the shopping side of things we went to the River and boarded a Dinner Cruise boat. As we pulled away from the jetty the sun was going down and the edges of the river started to light up. We were treated to a seafood and curry feast followed by dancers. I took heaps of photos of it all. Unfortunately I had those photos put onto a DVD instead of a CD – do you realise how hard it is to find an Internet Cafe that has a DVD reader??? I’m afraid you will have to wait to see these and photos from the train trip to Hyderabad. I’ll let you know the moment I find one and manage to get a few specimens uploaded.

Suffice to say that I was one exhausted puppy after today.

The next day we didn’t have to get up early – YAY. Kanuka picked us up at 11am to take us to the Emerald Buddha and surrounding magnificence. She dropped us off near the entrance while she found a place to park the car. Looking like a pair of lost tourists, Natalie and caught the attention of well dressed bloke claiming to work for the University (nearby). He informed us that the temple was closed and would we like to see the “Sitting Buddha” located not far away and free – I thought this was odd seeing the number of other people going in and out. We ummed and ahhhed and then decided we should wait for Kanuka to decide what to do. We told the man that we would wait for our Thai friend to decide what to do. Wonder of wonders he then said we should go in to where we were planning to go. This confused me a bit until I saw some signs inside the grounds warning of scams similar to what this guy seemed to be doing. Later that night I read through a Lonely Planet in the Hotel. Under the warnings bit was described exactly – blow by blow – what this guy was trying to do to us. I am getting more and more cynical by the day!!

Afterwards we went to Kanuka’s house and met some of her family – they were lovely. We also got to have a look at a new house / mansion that her sister is building with the help of others in the family. They are all in the construction materials business. It is going to be absolutely gorgeous. There is a separate building for cooking and laundry!! They then took us to dinner, again by the river, then Kanuka drove us back to our hotel. She must have been exhausted after all that driving and touring with us.

Thank you, thank you Kanuka!

The next day Natalie and I were up early for a tour to “The Bridge Over the River Kwai”. We were taken to a museum next to a cemetery for Westerners that died building the railway. I have photos from a large section where there a many graves of Australians. From there to the actual bridge (not the one in the movie) that was relocated from Java by the Japanese (or rather their labourers). Then we boarded a train that traversed about 1 hour over the railway line as it snakes into the foothills. After lunch we had a short boat ride on the river and then the long way (i.e. not on expressways) back to Bangkok.

The next morning I saw Natalie off to the Airport, changed rooms and then wandered around to think about what to do next. I was still on “go” mode from the last three days and it took me another couple of days to slow down. One day I managed to go no further than the corner of Sukhumvit Rd – I was proud of myself. Besides I needed to give my legs a day in air-conditioning to try to get this swelling and rash to go away. In the end I decided on a two week stint in Vietnam, got myself a visa from the embassy not far from my hotel and found a cheap flight – yes I have been writing this entry from Ha Noi!!

I’m a little behind with this one as I have already been in Bangkok 5 days now, but you are going to get everything in order so stick with me.

During my last days in Bombay I caught up with Mike again. Being the considerate soul he is, he was worried about me going to Hyderabad. There were some bombings that occurred at the Mecca Masjid while I was getting ready to go there. I decided that it would be extra safe to go there as all security and Police would be extra vigilant and on Wednesday night boarded the train at Victoria Station. I got the lower bunk in a 3-tier and did my best to sleep.

In the morning our little section (for 6 people) consistently had more than 6 people in it. On my bench there were just the 3 of us (myself, a woman and her daughter), but the other side was crammed with between 4 and 7 people the entire way to Hyderabad. I think it is because they wanted to look at me. The people that were actually booked on the seats opposite us were squished to the ends of the bench if not ousted all-together and relegated to returning to the top bed. One very fat man inserted himself on the seat at about 9am and the people who could rightly claim to sit there politely let him take up their room – amazing.

It was nice to be back in Hyderabad. Even though it has similar traffic chaos to everywhere else, the inhabitants are very laid back. The only place I was hassled was from rickshaw drivers and hotel hawkers at the railway station. I found a room to stay at the Hotel Saptagiri – now my favourite hotel in Hyd. Not as noisy and dusty as the Park Hotel and has a lift (I swear I’m not lazy, it’s just really hot work going up stairs).

After checking in and cleaning up I went straight out to get Mum’s Salwar Kameez – success. Also got my sunglasses fixed – the rotten things . I keep forgetting where they are hanging and they fall to the ground, every time they meet the ground the same lens bounces out. If they hadn’t cost a small packet I’d have given them away already. The kind people at the opticians fixed it for free and it seemed that for the entire time until I boarded my plane the next evening, there was kindness coming from everyone. It is hard not to judge but this compares starkly with Bombay where everyone has an angle.

Will add photos later.

After being sucked into Goa decided that I would spend my last few days in India back here instead of trying to race around Kerala and Bangalore. I’ll save them for another time. In the mean time, here I have done a little shopping (and I mean Little) and lots more walking around. The first time here I was fairly overwhelmed by the people and that was all I saw – lots and lots of people in my face all the time. This time I’ve been able to see past that.

Now I see tree-lined avenues hugged by beautiful old buildings. Some of the buildings have these quaint little verandahs pegged onto the upper floors. I now realise that I have been staying amongst beautiful buildings such as the State Library, the Mint, the Reserve Bank, Society of Natural History, various Banks, impressive squares with fountains in the centre and just the building across the street or on the corner. At street level you don’t get to see much that is interesting but when you get a chance to stand back and look up – there it is.

I’m glad I found this other Bombay.

For those who thought they wouldn’t bother checking previous posts again, I added some pictures to the previous post. It pays to occasionally check back as I sometimes add more pictures later on (usualluy because I can’t be bothered uploading pictures every time I am on-line).

Before even arriving in India I had no intention of going to Goa – I knew it is a tourist spot and has all the attractions that I can easily find at home. I arrived thinking – just 2 days. It is now 1 week since I arrived and finally I have set my day for leaving – tomorrow. It’s just so easy to stay. I suppose if it were in full swing of high season I would find it easier to leave, but at the moment everything is winding up for the monsoon that is due any day now. There are a few tourists here and there, stragglers, the long-term stayers that have been here for a few months and intend to stay a few months more. The feeling is very relaxed and even vendors don’t hassle too much. I had a nice peaceful wander around the headland where the path is lined with folded stalls and just imagined what it would be like to walk there during the peak season – yeesh!

I’ve met some nice people here, mainly other solo travellers. But I know I have to get moving again otherwise I will hide here the rest of my time in India.

Aurangabad – India’s answer to Mt Isa – climate-wise. It was hot and dry. I arrived about 9am and took a rickshaw straight to a hotel and booked in. Even before I got to the hotel I had rickshaw and Taxi drivers hassling about going to Ellora or Ajanta and giving prices. After booking in I went to my room and hotel staff were calling to ask if I wanted to book to see the caves.

After settling in I wanted to go to the post office to send some books to La Plata. So I ventured outside. On my way out the hotel staff asked again if I wanted to make some arrangements to see the caves. I started walking towards the Post Office and a few rickshaw drivers started bidding against each other over taking me to the caves. In the end I got one to take me to the Post office and Ellora for less than $9.00. That was about 4 hours of his day. The caves were interesting – similar to Elephanta, just lots more of them. They didn’t catch my attention as much as the family of huge monkeys that were roaming about above us.

I decided to spend another day in Aurangabad to look around but I didn’t get too far – I desperately need a decent hat. It was just too hot to do anything during the day. The next day I was out of there. Bus to Poona, then another sleeper bus to Goa. During the trip to Poona we passed through a few showers and very few people in the bus closed their window – it was so nice and cool. Kids were squealing with joy at getting wet. The Monsoon is not far off.

Just gotta love those antibiotics! Within 12 hours I was back to my normal self. Sorry I’ve taken so long to put in the next installment – I’ll put in extra time over the next few days. I have just been doing and seeing lots.

As soon as the antibiotics started to kick in I went out in search of food – none of this vegetarian c**p though – I was after meat! It can be quite difficult to be a meat eater here in India. After searching one side of Colaba causeway I was about to give up and go into a “Tourists” restaurant when I was saved by rasta guy. He led me across the road into hectic restaurant full of locals and helped me decide on a mutton dish – the menus in restaurants here are enormous!! We chattered away while I ate and he offered to show me around the next afternoon.

Now I’m a bit out of whack as far as remembering what happened on what day so I won’t bother writing according to date.

The next day I found a nice little restaurant that serves Shira, a sweet thick semolina style dish. It is the closest thing to porridge I have found here so far. Then I went over to Elephanta Island for the morning. Saw lots of monkeys and had a look at the caves there – but not before running the gauntlet of stalls that crowd the stairway up to the caves. The thing that tires me the most here is having to fend off the stall vendors and taxi drivers. They are at you constantly wherever you go. There is no such thing as sitting on a bench to quietly watch everything around me. I can understand why some people would prefer to spend their Mumbai visit locked away in their room.

Anyway, that afternoon I met up with Mike (the rasta guy) ad e went to the textiles market. As soon as we got out of the taxi the vendors descended on us and gave Mike a hell of a fright. Just seeing that I was with him they were at him just as much as they were at me and he got a taste of what it is like to be targeted – not a happy chappy!! He got quite angry with several vendors and for a minute there I thought he might throw a punch. But in the end sanity prevailed and we disappeared into a textile house to have a chat with the owner.

Afterwards he showed me Marine Drive, The Hanging Gardens (which don’t actually hang, they are high on a hill, so don’t know where the name came from), Dhoby Ghaut (picure below) and then back to my hotel. He recommended a better hotel for me too and got me local prices on it – I moved there the next day. He also gave me tips on the best way to get to Aurangabad. I ended up taking the bus as the trains were full. They have Sleeper buses here – definitely the best way to travel at night, seats would have been awful.

Anyway, other things I saw in Mumbai are the Museum and the Maidans. After a long search I finally found the book for Marcos – It is in the post now!! In the end it is still the hardback one, but at least I paid only half of what I would have paid if I had bought it at the swanky Oxford bookshop – I think half of their price pays for the air-conditioning.

… and I’m not talking about about the travel bug! Yes, I have paid the price for drinking water from a glass rather than from a bottle.

The train ride was long and sleep deprived one. Those twinges turned into all out cramps and cold sweats. After several trips to the train loo I finally acknowledged to myself that I have the bug. I bought an omelette from a platform vendor in the morning, had one small bite and threw away the rest. Dry biscuits are about as much as I could handle. It’s not fun arriving in a strange city when under the weather.

Apart from the bug, main things that struck me were: smoke haze, low leggy looking bushes, a few hills here and there, coffee and chai vendors and beggars at each stop.

My taxi driver took me to a an out-of-the-way guesthouse in Colaba and there I stayed until 9am the next morning. I have been for a few walks each day since, getting my bearings and working out how to recognise different places and shops. Finally today I have managed to catch up on the blog and upload some pictures from Bangkok and Hyderabad.

I found a copy of the book I want to get for Marcos but it is a hardcover – I’m pretty sure you need the paperback one right?, with a plastic cover?!?

Haven’t taken any pictures since Hyderabad so you will have to wait until the next post for Mumbai pictures. There aren’t any from the train ride – next time!!