The Plan B Adventure

Back in the present-day capital city of Beijing after a wonderful four day visit to Xi’an, the old capital of China. Considered a medium sized city in China, Xi’an is home to over 7 million inhabitants and we walked the streets with every single one of them. The city is reknowned as a jumping off point for trips to Lintong, the home of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses. Xi’an has much more to offer than just the Warriors, from a cultural as well as historical perspective. The people, foods, architecture, and diversity all lend to a completely well-rounded experience that you just seem to miss in the giant metropoli of the other large Chinese cities.

Well, being China and being that it is gigantic, we opted for a flight from Beijing to Xi’an opposed to a long bus or train trip. The flight was only $70 so a very good deal but a lack of the typical Chinese timeliness caused us to miss our flight window and sit on the runway for a good two hours. Uggh….well at least we got there safely. Xi’an, as Chinese cities go, really has it figured out for tourists. A very simple public bus ride, from the airport to the center of town with an ‘actual’ English speaking driver, made our introduction to the city very welcoming. Deciding on using Lonely Planet’s backpacker recommendation of the Lu Dao Hotel was a good (surprisingly) choice as well. From what we discovered during our Xi’an adventures, the city is home to many universities and technical colleges which lends a hand to the part-time worker demand of the tourism industry. Needless to say, we were pleasantly surprised by the “night and day” differences in English-speaking assistance and Western-style customer service that Beijing just can’t offer….yet! Our accommodations were very pleasant with the first double bed in quite some time, quick internet access abound, good restaurant food, and the cozy comfortable environs of the local ‘red-light’ district.

Our first day in Xi’an (being already half over courtesy of our flight delay) was spent settling in, getting an idea of the lay of the land, and blogging our Beijing adventures in a 300-screen computer cafe. These cafes are an interesting look into youth culture in China. We had previous experience in Beijing so we knew what to expect. Imagine 200-300 Chinese teens huddled on comfy couchs (imagine your college couch complete with stains and burns), playing the newest dancing game, mythological mind-thriller, or shoot-’em-up slaughterhouse, while pounding on the keyboard with one hand and chain-smoking multiple cigarettes with the other. All the while chatting with their neighbors at the desk and loading up on the caffeinated drinks…….quite an interesting ‘Petri’ dish! It really reminded Jeff of his good ol’ days in the Bingo halls of Seattle with Ching and Griff!! After feeling the effects of the cigarette smoke we burst through the clouds and opted for a long walk in the fresh (well…except for the Chinese smog overhang) air.

We started Day Two by agreeing that today would be for city sights and tomorrow would be the Warrior excursion. Off to the city center to see the Bell Tower, Drum Tower, and Muslim Quarter. To our excitement all of these sights and many of the cultures have existed since Xi’an was the ancient central capital of China known as Chang’an during the Tang and Han dynasties. It also holds claim to being the eastern starting point for the Silk Road…an adventure which we will begin in a few short days. Exciting history and a great education for both of us. We learned about the differences between Tang and Ming architecture, experienced a brand-new taste in the street-side cooking of the Muslim Quarter, and wandered the over-active streets with the other 7 million inhabitants. Great intro to Xi’an and we have to mention if Beijing is the political capital then Xi’an must be considered its historical center.

Oh yea…..this is what we’ve been waiting for, the Terracotta Warriors. Second only to seeing the Great Wall this was, hands-down, our most anticipated sight-seeing adventure in China. Per the advice of a fellow traveller met months before we opted for a good ol’ tour group courtesy of CITS which is the well-advertised, state-sponsored tour agency. After a look back we were very satisfied with this tour for one reason….our guide, Sally (HAHA!!, obviously not her given name). Sally studied English at one of the local universities as well as Chinese history and thoroughly answered any question or inquiry the group had…..believe us there were plenty! Our tour (the first where we got to follow a flag) started at the Big Goose Pagoda. This pagoda still serves as a functional monastery for Buddhists and is just a short bus ride out of the city walls (yes, the actual walls have been restored in Xi’an). Located a couple of miles south of Xi’an, the Big Goose Pagoda, was first built in 653 A.D. The seven story, gray brick building is completely unique to the architecture we had experienced in China and was a great way to start the day. Back on the bus to be carried off to our second sight, the Huaqing Hot Springs. These hot springs were actually a wintertime oasis for early emporers, tucked away in the foothills of the Lishan mountains, the theoretical dividing line between North and South China. It was quite beautiful in its day but the entire site has been recently restored (the best part still under construction) so we rated it 3 out of 10 on the ‘worth-it’ scale. Fortunately, with all the political (Chiang Kai-shek was arrested here) and cultural history, Sally made it a great learning experience. Well….let’s get to what we’ve all been waiting for the Terracotta Warriors and Horses.

This is really quite a sight…..it is hard to imagine that over 2000 years ago this was constructed. Leave it to an extremely ostentatious (he also commissioned the Great Wall) emporer, a burgeoning population, and creative Chinese ingenuity to construct over 6000 life-sized, fully armored warriors to protect one emporer’s grave! Most of the warriors have been destroyed over the ages but the Chinese have diligently worked to put ‘Humpty’ back together again and have reconstructed almost 80% of the underground tombs. Again, with Sally, it was quite an education and we were both extremely happy with the guided tour opposed to our normal do-it-yourself adventure.

Well, our last day in Xi’an we coincidentally (he was in town for a travel fair) hooked up with Abdullah. He is the general manager of Silk Route Adventures, whom Jeff has been connecting with for over six months and organizing our upcoming journey through Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, western China, and Pakistan. Being the consummate professional, he invited us to a traditional Muslim restaurant (Xi’an style) for an all-you-ca-eat extravaganza. This really ranked up there on the list of all time eating experiences for Jeff and Becca finally got to sink her teeth into the juicy, soup-filled dumplings that Xi’an is famous for. We opted for the night train back to Beijing and it was quite a luxurious experience. From all we have experienced on this trip we can safely say the express trains from big city to big city in China are like 5-star hotels. If you get the chance try to experience it just once….and splurge (we didn’t and wished we would have tried it) for the two-berth private car!!

Back in Beijing to pick up our Indian Visa, check out the Summer Palace, and maybe, get our hands on some more Peking Duck!!! Well, two out of three ain’t bad……..can you guess which one didn’t happen??

(look below)

…you think its the Indian Visa don’t you??..so did we initially but it was just the duck. HAHA!!! Becca swore off Indian food if the Visas (which were promised in five business days) weren’t available at 3PM on Monday, less than 15 hours before our flight left. Well, needless to say we will be enjoying Chicken Tikka Masala many times over….the Indians came through and we are off to Tashkent, Uzbekistan. We are both sooooooo ready for someone else to handle all the accommodation and transportation planning and after China it couldn’t come soon enough. Check back for the start of our Silk Road Adventure!!!

Ok folks…we are going to (in the cheesy words of that chef you all know and love) “kick it up a notch”!! You can now receive email updates when we post to our website. With a few simple set-up steps you can save yourself the task of looking and just wait until you get an email notification to view our most recent posting. Many of you may already be partaking in using a RSS feed (email notifier) to receive notifications about our blog postings.  In order to make this available to the masses we have provided a do-it-yourself link below which will hopefully simplify (well, we are sure Fred will still need help!) the process for you. 

Click Here For Article

Take a look and have fun…..we really enjoy sharing with you all.

“Welcome to Beijing”, we hear as we step off the painless, China Southern flight from Hanoi. Little did we know…..those would be the last English words we would hear in our week visiting Beijing, the capital of China. No just kidding….but it’s not too far from the truth. During our two and a half months in Southeast Asia we really didn’t how spoiled we were with local Lao, Thai, Cambodian, and Vietnamese English-speakers. Being that we had already been in southeastern China we figured the L.B. (language barrier) would be a bit thicker than our SE Asian adventures but, man, it is a L.G.W. (language Great Wall) instead…..

Beijing and China, as a country, are still not quite developed if you are a do-it-yourself tourist. What we really mean is if you are on a tour with a English-Chinese speaking guide things will be quite a bit easier…..but pullin’ a “Home Depot” (get it? D-I-Y) like we are, you are really gonna have to work for everything…food, transportation, even accommodation!! We really enjoyed the cultural adventures Beijing has to offer but (and this is the last we will say of it!!) they better ramp up that learning curve before the English-speaking world unloads its masses for the 2008 Olympics.

Our travelling objectives in Beijing were two-fold and we had figured at least a week’s time was going to be necessary. We wanted to see the sights (Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Great Wall), experience the culture (Tiananmen Square kite-flying, Peking Duck, walking the ‘hutongs’), and also pick up the Visa Stamps we had attempted to get in the past for Pakistan and India. Well, when dealing with Consular ‘red-tape’ we thought we would get an early jump on our administrative tasks and jump head-first into obtaining a Pakistan Visa. Mind you, this was the 4th Pakistan Embassy we had visited in five countries and we were pleasantly surprised when the paperwork was simple, next day service was promised, and we even got a personal interview with the Consular Associate (everyone does!). He even offered to call the Khunjerab Pass (where we cross from China to Pakistan) directly and double-check that they were expecting an on-time pass opening this year. The world has something to learn from Pakistani customer service at their Beijing Embassy. While we were feeling lucky we thought we’d give India a shot!!! The people were just as helpful yet the ‘red tape’ runs a bit thicker in the world’s largest democracy….HAHA!! They were very helpful and took our applications and $$$ and said “See you in a week!” No prob…..we wanted to take a side trip to Xi’an for two or three days as well as see the sights around Beijing.

Side note for all the Americans reading this: Get your wallets ready!!! In the true spirit of capitalism we (the U.S) make it as difficult and as expensive as possible for others entering our lovely land of liberty. That being said, many countries have always kept their entry fees for Americans comparable (afraid to upset trade tariffs, etc) to other nationalities but many countries are now catching on and charging what Americans charge the rest of the world…..a good ol’ Ben Franklin ($100USD). We are happy to pay just simply to continue on our ‘life trip’ and are going to chalk it up to reciprocity and take it with a smile…..

Okay….(dusting hands off), now that that’s finished let’s get on to some sightseeing. From our residence, the Li Shi Hotel, getting down to Wafujing (the main shopping street) and Tiananmen is just a short jaunt down one of the city’s famours (or infamous) ‘hutongs’. Hutongs are much like the small, quaint passageways of Western Europe that many of you might be familiar with…..except with a China flavor to them. By flavor we mean everything from great flatbreads and fruits sold from the storefront windows, to gorgeous pagoda-like walls of personal residences, to the random child relieving himself on the street. They provide a realistic, behind-the-scenes view of Beijing courtesy of a strong flow of locals and are not the tourist-frequented sights the government would prefer you visit. In fact, the ‘powers that be’ are so skeptical of how foreigners will feel about the hutongs, many of the historic ones have been refurbished in order to provide a more sanitary look. Sadly, the rest are being razed, prior to the Olympics, in order to build the ever-present towers of condos and apartments that come with 9% GDP growth, state-run construction companies, and the up-and-coming Chinese nouveau riche.

Once past Li Shi Hutong the commercialism and sightseeing (and uncanny number of hair salons…who knows!!) of Beijing come alive. We enjoyed a nice stroll along the moat surrounding the Forbidden City as our first introduction to that gigantic complex, then strolled down to Tiananmen Square for a view of Mao and the hordes of Chinese tourists at sunset. Our first impressions……the scale of everything in China is enormous. From the country itself, to its population, to its public squares and its walled cities. They do it big and they do it proud. The next few days were packed with sights. The Temple of Heaven park complex, the Forbidden City, and Beihai Park. All monsters on the sightseeing tour of Beijing complete with hordes of people, fabulously rich history, strikingly different architecture, and even a Starbucks (works well for a pitstop)!!! One word of caution (well, two): Visiting a city in the throws of preparing for the Olympics is not always the best idea. Many of the major sights are under renovation so make sure to set your expectations properly. Lastly, 8am-5pm sightseeing in Beijing is extremely tiring…and it’s because of the pollution. If you don’t have a headache by 2pm you are lucky so pace yourself and take a few seistas along the way. They say each day spent in Beijing breathing the lovely air is equivalent to 70 cigarettes. Now in addition ,to the other two packs you smoke courtesy of your taxi driver, the guy next to you at the restaurant, and your fellow tourists you could be looking at a 100 cigarette a day habit!!! HAHA and be careful!

I guess this trip was actually three-fold. Can’t forget about the food!! We had received some highly-rated recommendations from Dean and Linda (our Chicago friends who lived in China) and knowing their tastes are very similar to ours we had to give all of them a ‘Go’. First on the list was LiQun Roast Duck, a local institution in Beijing (Hey, Al Gore’s been there). This place is a must visit, not only for the food, but for the ambience and historic hutongs you must get lost in before finding the Shangri-La of Peking Duck! No…really you have to get there ’cause they are tearing it down in one of those Olympic-related condo development issues we referred to earlier. Sad but true! Next, we headed to South Beauty, a food court stop, that promised great food! Umm…now forget your food court impressions of America….this was the swankiest eatery we have ever seen located next to a DQ/Orange Julius. Thinking we were eating in a food court and not really having the trendiest attire in our backpacks we felt a little uncomfortable walking into any place with tableclothes, mood-lighting, and a subterrainean, open-air fish pond!! “Oh, are you sure we are okay in hiking boots and zip-off pants??? Okay…Mangia!!!” The recommendation did not let us down. The food is cooked table side in a bowl of hot oil and the bottle of Mud House Sauvignon Blanc was the best chilled bottle we’ve had since departing.

Following another superb Indian food recommendation from Deano we decided to join some others (conversation gets a bit stale after two months 24/7) for dinner the next night. We met Eric and Kathy Hyde (and family) at Victoria Peak way back at the start of our trip in Hong Kong (remember…WE ARE THE FRIENDLIES!!) and they invited us to dinner and a show while in Beijing. Eric works in Regional Security at the local U.S. Embassy and Kathy is quickly becoming the Yoga Queen of Beijing. Before we headed off to dinner Eric graciously showed us around the Embassy which was quite a treat. Homeland Security Director Chertoff had been there earlier in the day so things were neat and tidy (We are sure they always are, Eric!). We got to meet the First Post Marine, some of the off-duty Marines, and see the prominently placed photos of the American Triumvirate (George W., Dick, and Conde). It was something we would have never thought of experiencing and with Eric the Entertainer as our tour guide it was an all-around great time! Afterwards we met up with Kathy to enjoy a tremendous dinner and Chinese cultural show. Can you believe that’s a guy in this barrel? Neither can we!! Thanks Kathy and Eric…..we can’t wait for our next adventure with you guys.

Okay, onto the Great Wall….but not before meeting some other new friends（The Friendlies, remember?) Rachel and Kurtis from Edmonton, Alberta. After less than two minutes of initial conversation they seemed so ‘wicked’ we invited them to join us at the Great Wall. We had already booked a private car (‘sweet’ Volkswagon Santana) with John Guo, another tremendous recommendation from Dean “Mr Connections” Cowan. John really caters to the whole experience and advises you as to what you want to see. We all wanted a bit of a hike (didn’t know it was that intense!) while having the opportunity to to an authentic part of the Great Wall that isn’t overly touristed. John recommended dropping us off at Jinshanling and letting us trek for about 3-4 hours on the Wall. He would then be waiting for us at Simatai for the drive back to Beijing. We had a tough workout but a fascinating time. The Wall between Jinshanling and Simatai is partly restored and partly original from the time the Ming restored it over 700 years ago. As you can see by the pictures the views of the mountains and the Wall were breathtaking and the climbs (no stairs sometimes) were pretty vicious. At the end we partook in a short 2 minute “Zip Line” across the small lake and Jeff started his initial steps of conquering his fear of heights…..we will see how the Himalayas treat him. Yikes!!!

In order to properly celebrate such an intense day hike we thought we would introduce Kurt and Rachel to the much celebrated Peking Duck of LiQun Restaurant for Round Two. Note to visitors of LiQun: Get a reservation and get it earlier in the evening. During the day’s comedic interludes, Kurt had professed that this was the “Decade of Eating” so we went all out….Spicy Shredded Potato with Peppers, Sweet and Sour Shrimp with Broccoli, Killer Pork with Pineapple, and (of course!!!) the Duck complete with pancakes, sauce, and spring onion for fixins. Oh, what a feast to finish off the day with great company. We can’t wait to get together once we return to the States and get a glimpse of the Okanagon Country…Canadian-style!!

We are off to Xi’an to check out the Terracotta Warriors, beginning spot for the Silk Road, and experience the great foods of Central China. New pictures are on the Flickr.com site so please take a peek!

Unless you are looking for an amazingly long, arduous bus adventure in getting to Hanoi from Central Vietnam…then flying is the way to go. Although the $10 open tour bus ticket seemed financially appealing the $50 flight that took one hour from Danang to Hanoi was much better for our state of mind than 18 hours on a bus through winding, one-lane roads.

We arrived in Hanoi and moved swiftly to the “free” Pacific Airlines shuttle bus that whisked us away to the city center. In our opinion you just haven’t lived until you’ve gone into some of the most populous capitals of the world with no inkling of where you are, where you are going, or what to do once you get off the bus. Exhilarating, frightening, yet with solution-oriented Becca around, what could possibly go wrong….Now, we had been warned by other travellers and guidebooks about the Vietnamese taxi driver that listens to nothing you say and takes you where he wants. You see each taxi driver gets a special commission from specific hotels and tour agencies. So it is in their financial interest to dissuade you from your hotel reservation and drop you off in front of theirs for the hard sell on the street corner. In order to avoid all of that we (Becca) have been diligently making reservations and obtaining specific addresses for the hotels we frequent. Unfortunately in this case it wasn’t going to matter. As we stepped off the bus we were literally pushed into a taxi with Kylie Minogue blaring on the portable DVD player…..WAIT A DAMN MINUTE!! We are smarter than that….We questioned “Do you know our hotel, Camellia 2 Hotel?”, “How many Kms to Hotel?”, “How much $ per KM?”…..all of these questions are imperative (as we found out later) if you are getting into an unknown cab in Hanoi. Well, after taking us the long way to the Old Quarter as well as side-swiping a motorbike….we arrived at the wrong Camellia Hotel….it happened to be convienently located next to a hotel that our driver gets paid extra to drop unsuspecting tourist off in front of. Hey…we aren’t that stupid!! “Take us to our correct hotel and you aren’t getting a dime more than the $3 we originally negotiated.” Obviously, he wasn’t too happy with that as we found the only English he did know started with an “F” and ended with a “K”!! Oh, well we got there relatively unmolested…….but wait!! The next scam is for the taxi driver to tell the hotel receptionist he wasn’t paid (after you adjourn to your room) and for them to pay him and then just put it on your bill. Jeff thought this might be happening and played detective behind a pole in the lobby and stopped the scam from happening.

Seriously….this scenario happened to everyone we spoke with in Hanoi. It is HA-ANNOYING and if the authorities were smart they would nip this in the bud as it really drives tourists away from Hanoi toward the other more, appealing regions of Vietnam. Don’t get us wrong, Hanoi has great character and appeal but we were left with a bad taste in our mouths, only 10 minutes after arrival.

We decided to arrange a trip to Halong Bay for the weekend while our passports awaited Visa approval at the Pakistan Embassy. We opted for the 3 day/2 night adventure since we didn’t have to be back in Hanoi ’til Monday. This trip included one night’s accommodation on an original Vietnamese Junk Boat, another night’s accommodation on Cat Ba Island in the middle of Halong Bay, all meals, a 7km trek around Cat Ba island, and an hour of kayaking through the limestone peaks of Halong Bay. All this for $38 per person and we were very happy with our decision. The trip to Halong Bay from Hanoi is about 3-4 hours depending on the voracity of your bus driver. It was quite easy although for the uninitiated (a few on our bus) it was as white-knuckled as our trips through China and Laos. As you arrive in Halong Bay for your individual tour, you realize this is as big a tourist trap as Disneyland. Seas of Korean and Japanese tourists flank the docks while hundreds of ‘authentic’ Vietnamese Junk Boats float in the harbor. Oh well….we knew this wasn’t going to be isolated and remote, so let’s have a good time.

Our guide, Mr “Strong”, ushered us along with 12 others onto our boat and we pushed off into the overcast waters of the Gulf of Tonkin. Although the weather was quite dismal (Seattle-like) the landscape was breathtaking. Everywhere you look are giant limestone peaks protruding from the calm waters of Halong Bay. The boat trip is about 3 hours to our resting destination for the night yet the time is split up by a stop off at the biggest cave in Halong Bay….right inside one of the limestone mountains. This cave is amazing and well-procured for the tourist trade. It is amazing to think that years ago the Vietnamese drew the Chinese invaders in their ships into these caves and then when the tide let out the Chinese were stuck aground by an underwater spear network the Vietnamese had conveniently planted. Fascinating history…..As we set off from the cave we happen upon another famous claim of Halong Bay….a pearl farm. It was very interesting to see the houseboat communities that have developed around the pearl and seafood trade. These locals live on the water in small floating homes and commute from here to wherever via rowboat, powerboat, or canoe.

As we pulled into our resting spot for the night we both got to know a few of our fellow travellers. Meeting other travellers as well as locals has to be one of the most fascinating and educational parts of travelling. Teun…a well-travelled teacher from Holland; Alberto… a Genoa-born, Carvinal Cruise ship officer; Tanja, a brave 20-yr old woman from Germany travelling solo in SE Asia; Zulia and Christian…a rock-climbing couple from Spain; Chris…..an English chap beginning an unknown adventure thru SE Asia; and, finally, Andrea and Matt…..an English couple, fresh off two months in India with much to share about our upcoming visit. We had a great time getting to know them all and their individual stories of travel, life, and politics.

The night was fairly uneventful as we slept on the boat. The next morning we were up at 7AM in the rainy mist for our hike. Expectations weren’t exactly set properly on this one. We thought it would be a trail hike to the top of Cat Ba mountain where we would see an expansive view of all the limestone peaks. Well….we knew we wouldn’t see anything because of the weather but we didn’t realize the intensity level of the hike. Needless to say Jeff found a new hobby activity and Becca found something she’d rather avoid for the rest of her life. The weather made the conditions muddy and unbearably slippery. There was not a trail to be found and Jeff played trailblazer over the sharp, limestone rocks as the guide fell behind to help Alberto, the self-proclaimed mountain man, whom had a bit more trouble on this hike than his previous jaunts through the beatiful hills of Genoa. Well, after a couple slips and scrapes we headed back to clean off at the hotel and get ready for our kayak adventure. What a great time…..kayaking through the solemn waters of varying depth was a wonderful adventure. Some areas allow your voice to be echoed in the encompassing mountains and others allow you to see the sealife of the Gulf floor. A bit of advice….make your trip in September or October to this part of Vietnam and venture in a kayak for the whole day with a picnic lunch and guide map. It would be amazing……….Next stop Monkey Island….it’s self-explanatory with 60 monkeys as the only inhabitants of this sleepy island. They are quite fiesty so keep your distance!!!

Okay…..verbose Jeff has returned so we will leave you with our uneventful trip back to Hanoi and pick it up there when we return.

We met Vy and her gang of hard-selling travel agents in Nha Trang after a four hour jaunt by bus left us on their doorstep. We thought we were catching a night train to Danang which is 30km from our final destination Hoi An BUT the night train was sold out. It seems we’ve avoided all the masses of Western tourists all to run into all the Vietnamese tourists. Oh well, there are worse things (like working at Harris) than having to spend a day in a sunny beachside community on the Vietnamese coast. We chose to spend a night and next day in the scuba capital of Nha Trang, Vietnam. As most of you know neither of us are avid scuba divers so we opted for more relaxation during our mini-adventure…….the local mud baths and mineral spa!!! The Thap Ba Hot Spring Spa was a great choice. For a little less than $10 a person we showered in warm mineral water, bathed in eucalyptus-scented mineral mud, laid in the sun for the full effect of the mud power washed with steaming mineral water, and re-hydrated under a warm mineral waterfall.  This type of treatment was exactly what we needed before our overnight train ride to Hoi An (via Danang) and the rigors of our upcoming shopping frenzy. Arriving in Danang after a less than enjoyable, yet satisfactory train ride we jumped off the train and split a 30km cab ride to Hoi An with some Kiwis. Danang, as many of you may know, is infamous for being the first public place American military forces made camp during the war as well as being in the immediate vicinty of the ever-popular China Beach. We decided to skip through the town and head to Hoi An for a different experience entirely.

Hoi An, Vietnam is located on the South China Sea and was an early port for Portuguese, Spanish and French traders and Christian missionaries. As you walk through the cobblestone, boutique-lined streets (if you can avoid the obvious commercialism) you get a warm feeling of what must have attracted the early merchants, as well as, Alexandre de Rhodes (father of the Vietnamese language) to this part of the country. We found the hotel we had reserved but its quaintness was far surpassed by its proximity (across the street) to the morning market. Now we are all for staying in family-run bed and breakfast type establishments but a 5AM wakeup call to the smells of the local fish run and chicken slaughtering is not our idea of a comforting alarm clock. Instead, we high-tailed in down one of the major streets to the Vinh Hung 2 Hotel, home of Michael Caine while he filmed “The Quiet American”. Quaint place with a very helpful staff and a great breakfast buffet. The hotel was conveniently located only a short walk from A Dong Silk, the tailor recommended to us from our favorite Canadian referrers, Tanya and Jeff.

Opposed to jumping head-first into a full blown tailor experience we decided to get a lay of the land and took a short jaunt around Hoi An and its neighboring islands. We had great fun peeking into the boutiques (can’t go in or you ask for the full-court Sales press), looking at the local art work, and enjoying a quiet bamboo boat stroll on the local river courtesy of a local fisherwoman. It was nice and relaxing and a good way to get ready for the game show that is “Let’s Make a Deal – Hoi An Edition”.

Okay….enough talking let’s get to some good ol’ shopping. As you all know this is something Becca enjoys and Jeff loves so we were ready to take it all in!!! We had been recommended to A Dong Silk by our fellow Canadian travellers and had also been recommended HOA, a small, family-run tailor shop by Allyson (of previous mention in many blog entries). You often hear stories of $20 custom suits and $3 dress shirts as you travel towards Hoi An. This is a bit of traveller’s mystique (adjusting the price down in their heads to ease the impact of how much they actually spent) and a bit of lesser customer service. After hearing of other’s experiences (don’t go to the Cloth Market shops) we are sure glad to have paid a bit more for the high quality and customer service of A Dong Silk and HOA. We reviewed both of the shops fabric choices and decided A Dong (although a bit more expensive) had many of the fabrics we wanted for suits and jackets and HOA had many of the styles we liked in shirts and silk fabrics for other items, which will remain nameless as they are gifts.  

The experiences at both shops were very different we will focus on A Dong Silk, the most entertaining. Entering the store in itself is a fascinating experience. Each of us was appropriated a specific saleswoman and immediately questioned about what styles and fabrics we desired. As many of you can imagine these are some of the best sales people in Southeast Asia and Jeff relished the opportunity to match wits and negotiating techniques. (Andrew…you would love this!!!) We decided to focus on Becca first as she is most likely to continue down the professional (Sorry, Dad Z!) career path. As you can expect she came prepared with cut-outs from magazines, internet printoffs of designs and a listed inventory of what she needed. Jeff was a little less organized and was really just looking to get one suit and a few shirts. Needless to say…..that didn’t happen!!! Once you explain what you want each saleswoman whips out her sketchpad and draws a damn good sketching of the design you just described. Amazing!! After the sketches are drawn, the fabric search (and the negotiating dance) begins.  The fabrics are endless….silks, cashmeres, German cottons, Italian blends….the list and designs go on and on. Once you are done with fabrics, it’s time for measurements. This entails a fury of small woman taking your sizes and bantering in Vietnamese….very funny actually!

AND YOU ARE DONE…….unless “you want someteen else?” Well, of course!!! For a shirt at $10-$20, blazers for $20 and suits @ $40-$80, we want fifty more but you gotta draw the line somewhere. Well….maybe a few more. OK, now we are done.

Let the negotiating begin. Everything is negotiable in Hoi An and no one (although many do) should ever pay full price let alone anything above a 30% discount. For any of you that don’t like to negotiate, Jeff is happy to join you just for the price of a flight (1st Class, of course) to Hoi An. After three fittings and two trips (while they worked on adjustments) to the beach everything fit perfect and was boxed up to be shipped to the States…arrival in late June!!! We know this is dragging (we are more than happy to relay more info on the rest of Hoi An) on so here is a quick inventory.

Becca – 3 Suits, 1 Dress, 2 Skirts, 5 Dress Shirts, 3 Tank Tops, 2 Pants, 1 Jacket, 5 Belts, 1 Leather Sandals, and a Sleep Mask  

Jeff – 3 Suits, 5 Dress Shirts, 1 Shorts, 2 Blazers, 1 Leather Sandals

All for just around $700. Not bad for a few days work!!! See you in Hanoi.

After a great time in Saigon and a fantastic departure meal where Jeff attempted to make his own noodles, we arrived in the sleepy town of Mui Ne on the coast of Vietnam. The four hour bus ride was a breeze as we are beginning to see that outside of China (where everything is a 10-12 bus ride) as long as you can put up with Karaoke music the rides are simple. Being the saavy travellers we are (yea, right!), we strong-armed the bus driver into drop us off on the road side instead of delivering us like the rest of the bus to the most expensive hotel in Mui Ne. Good move!!! We jumped on a moto with our bags in tow and headed 7km to the northern edge of the beach and our secluded resort hideaway of Hai Gia.

This place came highly recommended a few days before from the Canadians (Jeff and Tanya) we met in Saigon and it did not disappoint. While the accommodations are more rustic than the uber-hotels at the other end of the beach, $6/night gets you two big beds (one for sleeping, one for luggage), a private bathroom, and a fan. It doesn’t get that humid in Mui Ne because of the breeze off the South China Sea so air-con is not a necessity. A quick 20m walk down the path took us to our secluded beach hangout for the next four days. What a private place!!! The only person who sells anything on the beach is a sweet lady selling fruits in the morning and after that you aren’t hassled by anyone. Absolutely perfect!

The beach itself has some great sights ….the ambience of watching local fishermen and their families pull in the days catch, the unbelievable, brightly colored shells that pull any beachwalker into an obsession, and some of the most gorgeous sunsets we’ve seen yet. Perfect place and fantastic recommendation from our fellow travellers. Well, except for Jeff’s new obsession with eating everything squid and spending every waking moment in a hammock, there isn’t much more to tell as we enjoyed a relaxing break on the beach. In the next week we plan on conquering Central Vietnam and its shopping jewel, Hoi An. Stay tuned for another cooking class and TOO MUCH shopping!!!

Our arrival in Saigon (currently called Ho Chi Minh City, but we prefer its original name) was joyously uneventful. As we motored in our bus down Pham Ngu Lao, the main backpacker drag, we spotted a hotel that looked nice and according to the book (Lonely Planet) was in our price range. SOLD!! We jumped off the bus and high-tailed it with our packs up the street.

This is the way you have to do things in Vietnam. Every bus you ride is extremely cheap ($4-5 for a 6-8 hour ride) and the reason for this is everything is subsidized by tour companies who drop you off in front of their hotels and eateries when you arrive in a city. Every one has something to sell you but like most good salespeople they are upfront with their product and promise you satisfaction, which you normally receive. If you are weathered enough as we are becoming you choose when to bow to the pressure and use a travel agent and when to not and do things on your own. All in all they are maybe making a $1-$2 commission off you which in the grand scheme of things means a ton to them and it exactly what we feel good service should cost. Okay….thesis on Vietnam travel companies over…..let’s get on with the sights and sounds.

After checking in at the Duna Hotel we opted to see the city without interference from the Lonely Planet book and just wander around the city at dusk. As we walked right out of our hotel here is a sampling of our first encounter with Saigon traffic.

Jeff: Ok…let’s cross.

Becca: Where?

Jeff: That opening between (pointing) those two motos.

Becca: That (pointing) isn’t a space….Look Out!!!

Jeff: (almost getting his arm taken off by moto driver) Holy Crap!!

Five minute Interlude

Jeff: Ok….let’s cross

Repeat previous conversation.

Well, needless to say we got across the road, as well many others. In fact, we have become quite good at navigating the thousands of motos which have been crazier in Vietnam than anywhere else on our trip. What you become is a head-swivel expert,  which is actually quite fun as long as you can keep your wits about you. Living in Chicago definitely helped a bit but as we found it’s easy to slip by a cab in Chicago….try 300 motorbikes coming at you at the same time. After making it across many a streets we happened upon a great neighborhood called Dong Khoi. For those of you in Chicago consider this Rush Street and for those of you in Seattle think…Bell Town. Cute boutiques, expensive (by Vietnamese standards) eateries, beautiful art galleries, and plenty of Westerners. This is the first area we’ve seen like this since Hong Kong and Becca welcomed it with open arms….Ahhhhh…familiarity is so nice when you are staying in a different hotel every few nights.

The next morning we opted to take the Lonely Planet walking tour. The caveat that the authors forget to mention is the 95 degree weather and the toll it takes on your body and mental condition. Stupidly but fulfillingly we started with a bowl of traditional Pho from Pho 2000, the Bill Clinton hangout when he frequents Saigon. We had a great time seeing the sights and architecture of this French colonial, Communist Seventies fusion which in some areas was breathtaking and others, just down right boring. After a few “heat breakdowns” we chose to head indoors to the War Remnants Museum. This museum has kindly (for our sake) changed its name from the American War Atrocities Museum. The Vietnamese have put together an interesting exhibit by mixing photojournalist experiences with horrifying photo documentations, actual war equipment, and Vietnamese children’s artistic impressions of war and peace. Quite interesting and the guest comment books are a definite read for any one taking the time to ponder why any country (and its politicians) would involve themselves in fighting another country based on a difference of governing ideologies. Well, we will stay away from that conversation until another time.

That night we decided to stay close to home and enjoy a walk around the Pham Ngu Lao area. As we were hobbling through the streets we literally tripped over our friend, Allyson, whom you might remember from Chiang Dao and Luang Prabang (the local BBQ). We sat down had a few beers and agreed to meet up for dinner the next night, the last night of her three month adventure.

The next AM we were up bright and early for an eclectic excursion. First, we visited the Cao Dai Holy City, which is an amazing sight of colors and religious fusion. This religion is primarily practiced in southern Vietnam and combines the belief of Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Taoism. We had a fascinating time viewing the thrice-daily group prayer as well as learning about the origins and beliefs of this interesting group. Next, we were off to the Cu Chi Tunnels for another glimpse of the history of the war.

This is really an amazing site. Built in the late 50’s when the French were interjecting their imperialism on the Vietnamese these tunnels span 65km and reach all the way back to Saigon. Primarily used by the Viet Cong in the war against America this three-level network includes underground hospitals, kitchens, sleeping quarters, and trap doors. Quite an elaborate setup and it goes to put the Vietnamese in the top two (Afghans included) of guerrila-style warfarers. The tunnels were pretty tight but Jeff and two fellow travellers made it through over 100 meters and Becca championed the 30-m short course. Overall, five hours in the car and three hours at the sights….the “Worth-It” rating was a six out of ten.

That night we met Allyson and some Canadians whom recommend a fantastic beach resort in the sleepy town of Mui Ne, just four short hours north of Saigon. Well, we were headed that way already so why not!!! Bec’s sunburn is cleared up and why not compare the beaches of Vietnam with our previous Cambodian experience.

We have been a bit deliquent in our reports to the outside world due to multiple beach visits and more than unreliable internet connections. We are happy to recant some of our experiences as we finish a great two week stay in Cambodia and enjoy our first week in the southern half of Vietnam.

So we start with a great time in the capital city of Phnom Penh. Although a bit under-developed from an infrastructure standpoint, this city has a lot to offer. The Cambodian people are tremendously welcoming and enjoy practicing their English much more than the other nationalities we’ve encounterd. We opted for a few days here seeing the national sites (Silver Pagoda and National Palace) as well as educating ourselves on the brutal leadership of the Khmer Rouge and their notorious impact on all things Cambodian. Then to lighten things up we decided to take another cooking class and then head off to the beach before the short bus ride to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) and the wonderful world of Vietnam.

The national sites were entertaining for an afternoon as we got to see the Silver Pagoda, a shrine that has flooring completely made from silver plates and the National Palace, which houses many of the National arts, relics, and treasures. We allocated these sites about our normal museum time of 2-3 hours. Just enough time to round out our educational need and short enough not to burn us out on other museums to come.

The education we received at Tuol Sleng High School was nothing short of frightening. Tuol Sleng’s other name is Prison S-21 and was used as a torture facility during the violent reign of the Khmer Rouge. Many of you might be familiar with this atrocious regime, yet as infants during the time we had no idea of the severe impact Pol Pot and his group of cronies had on an entire generation of Cambodians. Let us rephrase that….three generations and still counting. As with any facility like S-21, Dachau, Auschwitz, and those secret CIA prisons the time spent there is educational but sickening. We won’t go off on a tirade against war atrocities (as we will once we get to Vietnam) but understanding the dramatic impact this regime had was an eye-opening experience for us both.

In order to lighten up the scene we opted to stop by Psar Russei (The Russian Market) and support the local economy as well as sign up for an introduction to Cambodian cooking for the following day. Good choice….not only did we learn to make our own curry pastes, Fish Amok, and a wonderful banana leaf-wrapped dessert, but we met two Cambodians indicative of the past, present, and future of the country.

This class was different from the 10-20 person classes in Thailand as it was us plus two others. This allowed for a slower pace, longer relishing of our creations, and more intimate conversations. Chanton was our teacher in both Cambodian life and Cambodian food. She is a 50 year old Khmer Rouge survivor whom escaped to a Thai border camp for over 10 years. She has five lovely kids (yes, she has pictures) and works as a chef at Frizz as well as a teacher for Frizz-sponsored cooking classes. As she taught us the in and outs of Fish Amok she also was open to our prying questions about her history and present-day Cambodia through the eyes of a survivor. These are the conversations you relish and Chanton had a dramatic impact on both of us. (As a side note – her 18 year-old son is graduating from high school this year and hopes to go to college…if you are in Phnom Penh stop by and support her at Frizz as she works towards helping him with his $400USD/year college tuition) The present and future we met was Vannak. He is a 21 year old college student in Phnom Penh whom joined the cooking class in order to develop the skills to woo his English girlfriend. (Just kidding Vannak, we know she loves you for more than your cooking!!)  We were all (including Chanton) extremely impressed with Vannak. At 21, he is going to school, working, and donating his time at local NGOs supporting Cambodia’s youth. These two exemplify the spirit and fortitude of Cambodians nationwide and helped to inspire the two of us.

After a fabulous Mexican fiesta (margaritas included) at The Cantina we went to bed early, not knowing what to expect as we headed the next morning for Vietnam. At this point we must mentally prepare ourselves for the unknown at least before the head hits the pillow. What a welcome surprise when we left on time (Thanks SaPaCo), passed through customs and immigration with ease (is this really Vietnam?) and sailed down the bumpy road to the Jewel of The Orient, Saigon!!

We are back from the beach and the lovely beachside community of Sihanoukville. What a private oasis for any one looking for a change from the beaches of Thailand but still residing on the Gulf of Thailand. Sorry to report that we don’t have any pictures to show as Jeff made a conscious effort to detox from camera work. But let us tell you it was great….except for the sunburn. Becca used her SPF 30 the first day and still got burnt to a crisp. Needless to say we had to stay an extra day by the pool under the umbrella in order to make up for the 2nd day that Becca had to spend indoors. She is fine now except she feels like she wants to rip her skin off. Otherwise, Sihanoukville and specifically Serendipity Beach is a great find for a beach getaway if you plan on visiting Cambodia. Four hours from Phnom Penh on an easy, aircon bus and $30 for a real 3-4 star hotel (Golden Sand) including breakfast buffet and private pool. The walk to the beach is about 50 meters and really easy. The city and its beaches are popular with locals but still haven’t regained their luster of the 70’s when it was “the” place to be on the beach in Cambodia. Building and construction are starting to pick up but still a few years away. This makes Sihanoukville and enjoyable place to avoid the mass tour buses and unsavory characters of some of the well-known Thai beach hotspots.
Finally, two recommendations…..We would highly recommend Sokha beach as well. If you aren’t on a “fixed income” or budget the $100 Sohka Beach Resort with private, security-guarded beach is the way to go. If you can’t swing that just tell the moto driver to take you to the north end of the beach and find the bungalow just north of the resort where the beach is public. Very Nice……Last recommendation is Holy Cow Restaurant. We had a great meal with salad, bread, Pesto Chicken Pasta, Gourmet Baked Potato, and (count ’em) four cocktails and chocolate dessert…..all for $14 dollars. Give ’em a shot and don’t skimp on ordering, the quality is fantastic.

Ok….not much else to report except that we are reading up a storm. We have both finished and loved The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time as well as others. Curious is unbelievably written and a fascinatingly easy book to read. Pick it up!
Talk to you all when we get to Vietnam. Headed for Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) tomorrow morning and really looking forward to our two – three weeks there. Thanks again for all the comments and emails.

As promised we dragged our weary bones up at 5:30am to make our way toward the awe-inspiring Angkor Wat, the centerpiece of Angkorian civilization. Well, all the build up and it didn’t disappoint. Being there first thing in the morning is fantastic. Of course, you aren’t alone but the quiet and calm is quite noticeable as you walk toward the monsterous, gorgeous monument that the most successful Angkorian king built to honor Buddha.

The colors and architectural shadows make you think that it must have been built so everyone could see it at sunrise. Surrounded by 300 of our closest Japanese friends we made our way up the long dragon-lined walkway to the entrance of this famous temple. We would like to share our impressions of its grandeur, pain-staking detail, and overall superior craftsmanship (sorry Fred, these guys are really good), but we want each of you to experience it without our impressions crafting too much of an expectation. So we will leave it at that and help with a few logistical comments. First, go in the morning….it’s the only time you are going to get up THE STAIRS to the top (yes, you have to go!!…..well, maybe not our mothers) without an extreme wait. The monks are still praying and cleaning and the sun hitting the stone makes for some striking photos. Second, enjoy the first floor bas-reliefs, by a guide book for explanations of the scenes, but be selective or you will be there all day and never appreciate the bas-reliefs of the many other temples. Lastly, if you want a photo in front of the entire building plan on coming back after noon.

By 8:00am (before we ususally even wake up) we were at The Bayon but this time we didn’t beat the tour buses. This is a good one to do mid afternoon if you can deal with the heat. We still had a blast seeing the center of Angkor Thom, the ancient Royal city, and waiting ten minutes for this picture…..It is quite amazing to see the level of respect and admiration this civilization had (and has) for Buddha yet only years before and just a few years after their beliefs (or their King’s beliefs) would revert to Hinduism. We followed the well chosen path that Becca had set out due to her research on her own and Jeff got to see just enough of the old city (Terrace of Elephants, Terrace of Leper King, Baphuon, etc) to keep him interested as they hit the rest of the big temples later in the day.

Sticking with our efficient yet extremely ambitious plan Mr Chantha (our driver) took us through many of the outerlying highlights we hadn’t seen the day before. Becca was waiting to unleash her surprise of Ta Prohm on Jeff and they were both looking forward as they made their way into the back jungle of the untouched Ta Prohm. It is a completely different temple from the others and a must-see on any trip to Angkor. As previously explained when Bec toured it the temple has largely been purposely ignored from restoration and allowed to exist within the towering silk and fig trees, which are now overtaking it. Conveniently, we beat the tour bus rush through the opening gates and made our way almost halfway through this gorgeous relic. Oopss….they caught up…let’s go this way. We wound our way through the labyrinth of Ta Prohm and enjoyed getting lost amidst the praying Buddhists and surprisingly overreaching trees. As we sped up to get away from the next wave of Prada-wearing tourists and finish our tour of Ta Prohm it happened…..SNAP! The under-hydrated and over-heated Jeff stopped dead in his tracks. This is more how it happened:

Jeff: “No, really Becca I think my Achilles just snapped….I really can’t walk”

Becca: “What…your Achilles!! Try and walk it off.”

Jeff: “Oh no….we can’t continue the trip”

Becca: “Are you sure you can’t walk on it?”

Jeff: “Well, a little but it hurts to walk”

Becca: “Come on…let’s be solution-oriented.”

Jeff: “Okay….we are leaving”

Well, needless to say after making our way back to the tuk-tuk, drinking a few gallons of water, your fearless travellers found the issue to be nothing more than a over-cramped muscle which was cured a few days later with much water and a few good meals (that didn’t consist of Jeff’s previous All-Carb diet). Who calls Jeff, Mr. Drama!!??
Ok….have your laughs!!! We had a great time and are so happy to be sharing these experiences with you and not on the next plane home. We loved Siem Reap, loved the Angkor temples and can’t wait to hear all your stories once you have a chance to visit. We are headed to Phnom Penh for a brief big city interlude, a cooking class, and some more Cambodian history lessons before gallavanting west to Sihanoukville and the (what we’ve heard) lovely Cambodian beaches……Stay Tuned!!!!

By the way….we just uploaded a boat load of pictures so please access our Flickr site and view because linking them to specific words in this text gets to be a little much after 2 hours at the Internet Cafe, but we love you all….so we continue to do it!