MID LIFE AT THE OASIS

Well, I’ve only got a few minutes to post here in Queenstown, New Zealand and there is so much to talk about. Our last week in Vietnam was fascinating. We then flew from Ho Chi Minh City to Hong Kong and had four very surprising days exploring one off the densest cities in the world. We managed to ride 6 transit systems there including MTR (Subway), Airport Train, double decker buses, double decker trams (wild), the historic peak tram, and ferries to Lamma island, an extremely peaceful car-free island just 30 minutes from the intensity of Hong Kong and Kowloon.

A VERY WISE OLD MAN ON LAMMA ISLAND, HONG KONG

It’s pretty amazing that so many people can live so close together successfully and the city is a wonder of engineering and planning; some of it brilliant and some of it really bad. As you all know my love for transit systems, I could post about HK for days.

We’ve been in New Zealand for almost two weeks now and spent 6 days in the Christchurch area getting our bikes in order and exploring the Banks peninsula a bit to get warmed up; however, the highlight of our stay was another pair of incredible Servas hosts. Alan and Robyn live near Hagley Park in a beautiful part of the very green city, and they were kind enough to host us for 5 days, while giving us a broad picture of life, politics, weather, food, and culture on the South Island. What a difference it makes when you get the local perspective on a place. We then met our good friends, Mike and Nancy at the Christchurch Airport on our bikes last Sunday and we all cycled away back to Robyn and Alan’s where we all spent an enjoyable night before setting off to Oamaru the next Day. We’ve had a great week of cycling so far with very little rain and favorable winds (incredible) for most of the trip.

Cheryl crossing the cattle (sheep?) guard on the Banks Peninsula

There is lots to tell in between these big bits, but I’ll have to get back to y’all when we’ve got some more time off the bikes! (Yes, my butt is sore!)

The kiwis are all incredibly friendly, and will really go out of their way to help you with anything you may need, so no worries and wish us luck as we head up the often windy, wet, and wild west coast of the South Island. Good on Yer!

-R

BACH MA NATIONAL PARK

I have put some details on visiting the park in this blog that may bore regular visitors to my blog, but that will hopefully help future visitors, as I could not find much on the web outside the official park web site. National Parks in Vietnam are kind of a new concept to the quickly developing country and consequently getting to them for a visit is still a challenge. However, we decided that we couldn’t miss seeing some of the wild side of Vietnam, and Bach Ma isnear the central coast and is fairly accessible and possible to visit without a guided tour group. (which make me break out in cold sweats being out of control of my travel destiny….!)

HUCK FINN REACHES THE SUMMIT OF BACH MA

So we arranged a car drop off from Hue, and decided to spend two days and a night in a guesthouse near the summit of Bach Ma NP The park is quite large and extends dramatically up from the bays and ocean below, making for a quick change in scenery as you climb up the mountain (in a National Park van). As you climb you can also feel the climate change a number of times, with the summit area jungle being more temperate than the coastal lowlands. Although we were warned it could be cold at the top, it really never was chilly at all, even at dawn in the guesthouse, which does provide 2 blankets/bed. The hiking was still pretty hot, but certainly better than the flatlands, as you could actually hike in the middle of the day without collapsing. Of course, the Vietnamese working in the park wore jackets which still astounds me, as they clearly have a completely different adaptation for temperature. We humans are similar, but still very different in many ways. When visiting the various French and American war sites and museums here, I am now struck by the fact that the locals had a huge advantage in stamina and exhaustion over some Polish-American 18 year-old from Milwaukee, but I diverge again from the focus of this post. (step back, settle down, and focus)

The reward for getting off the tourist path was that we virtually had the trails and summit to ourselves midweek, with just a few day trippers and 2 young and intrepid Kiwi women. I think they hiked the 12 miles down the mountain to the main road at 5 am with their full packs as we heard them get up and go!!. They were younger though… It was a nice peaceful break from the Vietnamese cities and I tried to breathe in as much fresh air and scent as possible. There are two big draws to Bach Ma National Park: birds and waterfalls, although the former are mostly well hidden, so you end up hearing a cacophony of jungle birds, but rarely see anything, unless you are a very patient birder with a good set of binocs. There are something like 250 bird species in BMNP which makes it one of the most diverse ecosystems in Asia.

WHEN TO VISIT? The waterfalls and cascade pools are impressive and beautiful and we apparently hit the park at one of the best times of the year. September to November is the HEAVY, HEAVY rain season, with leaches being a big problem into January. February and March are cooler and the waterfalls are still going strong after the long rains. By April the waterfalls diminish. We visited midweek and only two rooms were occupied at the older park lodge. We understand that they get loads of Vietnamese visitors on the weekends and later in the year (when its not so cold?!) and there is a huge set of speakers and Karaoke machine in the main lodges restaurant area which are aimed right at the stone and concrete buiding across the street that we slept in. I would avoid weekends if you want a peaceful visit.

THE TRAILS. The website gives a pretty good summary of the trails. One of the more amazing waterfalls that I have seen in my life is Rhododendron Falls, which drops of a rocky precipice into a vast and lush green valley over 1000 feet below. It is totally worth hiking to this beauty and proceeding down the 689 steps to the view area at the bottom of the falls, especially when the river flows are strong. It is the highlight of the park. (By the way, we saw virtually no Roddes anywhere, but is was supposed to be the season?)

WHERE IS EVERYONE – AT THE BASE OF RHODODENDRON FALLS
As Cheryl was feeling a bit under the weather, I hiked down alone to the falls at a steady and determined pace in about 20 minutes and back in about 25, but the stairs are steep, irregular, and slope downward a bit, making the trip down a little challenging. The trail is overgrown near the top of the trail, but then opens up once you get past the first 100 stairs so don’t be discouraged.

Look for a walking stick in the woods above the falls and leave it when you get back to the top, as it will save your knees. You can crawl down onto the rocks below the main falls and get great perspectives up into the cascading whiteness. I saw no one and on this hike and had the falls to myself, which always makes a natural experience more spiritual. This would be mobbed with tour buses if access was easy.

Connector Trail: Although there is a spur down to the falls, there are two ways to access the spur trail: from either the main trail head a kilometer or so down the road from the NP guesthouse (look for building at view spot and trail is on left) or from a the connecting trail from the Five Lakes Trail. The connecting trail from Five Lakes to the Rhododendron is one of the parks nicest as it crosses some streams and stays relatively level through the forest for about 2 kilometers.

Amazing Cascades Along the Five Lakes Trail

The Five Lakes trail: You can access this trail 3-ways. The most direct route is from behind the main NP guesthouse: go down the hill, concrete road/path and stairs towards the abandoned/under construction(?) building down on the next terrace and stay left until you hit the top of a long set of stone/concrete stairs. These stairs and trail lead to a T junction which if you turn right takes you to the Five Lakes, while left takes you back up to the summit road, about 1 1/2 km above the NP Guesthouse (or on the right side of the road about 100 yards BEFORE the water treatment building) but this stretch of trail is pretty dull and was overgrown when we took it down to Five Lakes. The NP brochure “map” does not show the access to Five Lakes downhill from behind the Guesthouse lodge. And when you turn right from the T junction, you will soon come to this confusing sign….

Trail Split on the Five Lakes Trail

What it means is this: Left takes you to the first cascade and pools (Lake No. 1) and from there you can follow a series of ladders, cables, and contortions to work your way down the creek to Lake Five. We only followed this route to Lake No. 2 as the trail seemed to disappear or get ridiculous at this point. All these cascades and lakes are beautiful. If you turn right at the junction, you climb briefly up and over a little ridge and then down to the large Lake No. Five, which is very beautiful. This way is also the easy way to get to the connector trail as it breaks off right prior to Lake No. 5.

Summit Trail and Nature Exploration Trail. You can make a nice loop by taking the Nature Exploration trail up and then meandering down from the summit on the paved road. (with no traffic). To start the loop, head up the road from the NP Guesthouse and then take the stone stairs to the left at the signed Orchid house. The trail heads immediately up steep stairs through the woods from the left side of the Orchid House. After climbing many steep stairs, the trail levels out for a few kilometers and climbs more slowly as it follows an old overgrown fire road (now single-track) from the Era of the French Hill Station here in the 1930’s. The odd Octagonal summit building looks like an abandoned relic as the windows had been broken and taken out, and there are some old view telescope stands (also missing). A Map model is still there in the center which shows the park and is the same one as in the Visitors Center. It’s a bit post-apocalyptic feeling, but the views from the summit are wonderful, even on the somewhat hazy day we had. A clear day would be magnificent.

CAMPING? There is one quasi-developed campsite down a few dozen stairs about a kilometer beyond the NP guesthouse, but it didn’t look like it got much use and the sight has 10 big concrete pads and an outhouse in a rather unpleasant and buggy clearing next to a very small creek. I wouldn’t recommend it at all and would choose the guesthouses first at $9/night. Granted, I am used to Western US and Canada camping as a baseline.

GUESTHOUSES: The info in the 2005 Lonely Planet and even on the Park’s website is confusing, but basically it seems that there is the old NP guesthouse (around KM marker 16 in two buildings, go for the auxiliary building and one of the view rooms) and about 3-4 “private” guesthouses scattered about a kilometer apart up the road to the summit. The Morin-Bach Ma is cited in a few websites but was closed when we hiked to the summit as were all the other guesthouses. I’m not sure if they are closed midweek or were closed for the “cold” season, but we had booked the main guesthouse by calling the rangers at the main visitors center down at the entrance (around elev 100m and marker KM3) The Bach MA-Morin has really nice views out to the ocean, and a nice little outdoor seating area (4-5 tables), but the upstairs rooms looked much better oriented than the downstairs.

THE MORIN- BACH MA NEAR THE SUMMIT (Closed on our visit)

It is not as convenient to the waterfall/cascade trails, but would be nice as you could get to the summit in about 10 minutes for sunrise. It lists for $20-$30 a night so the rooms are surely better than the very ragged NP rooms we stayed in, which hadn’t seen any love in about 10 years or longer. Our two twin beds were quite saggy and the room not the cleanest, but it was passable for sure. No fridge, but electricity and hot water on demand. The walls are paper thin though as we could here every word from our Kiwi neighbors.

EATING: Food is limited and I strongly recommend bringing a good supply of snacks, lunch, and breakfast munchies. That’s not always easy as most small cities and towns here don’t really have supermarkets, so dried fruit chips (excellent Vietnamese snack), crackers, wheels of processed cheese, peanuts (we found peanut butter too), jam, and fruit are options without refrigeration. We arranged for dinner at the lodge (ask in advance when you book room) and it was some passable Vietnamese fare and o.k. as long as your not a vegetarian or too fussy about gristly meat on the bones. We ate it all, but it was certainly not the best meal in Vietnam (and we have had some wonderful food here). Again, you’re here for nature, not the food! However, when we headed back down to the visitors center, we found the “canteen” restaurant across from the exhibit building served much better local food, so you could eat there on the way up and/or down.

WATER/DRINKS: The website touts a new potable water system, and sure enough there is a new treatment plant about a kilometer above the NP guesthouse on the summit road; however, there were only two working drinking fountain style taps when we visited and both are right near the treatment plant. There are two other similar water stations down the road, but they were missing taps. Nevertheless, the water is tasty and you can refill bottles here to your hearts content, otherwise they so sell 1/2 liter bottles of water, sodas, beer, wine, and even
hard alcohols in the restaurant, but it’s all warm (including the beer).

GETTING THERE: Although the park website mentions buses and trains to Cau Hai, we did not try this option as figuring out a local bus from Hue (which has 3 bus depots) and being able to get off at the right spot seemed a bit daunting with all our gear, but if you are alone or on a small budget, this is certainly doable if you don’t mind riding on the back of a motorcycle taxi up the somewhat bumpy road 3-4 km (mostly paved) to the Visitors Center. The trains that run on the main line are on long runs with about 7 trains a day from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City (1700km!) and only 4 stop at Cau Hai, so they can often be very late, as we heard of a 3-hour delay from Hue, which again makes planning an overnight stay difficult without private transport, but again this is doable if your patient and flexible. In this case, I’d probably recommend spending two nights at the summit/waterfall area.

Once at the visitors center, the park service can drive you up to the summit area guesthouses for 400,000 dong r/t (about $25) at any time you would like, but call ahead to reserve this when you schedule a room, as I don’t think the private guesthouses have any transport. Although misleading, the website and a few other web sources implies that the park service van is the only way to get up and down the mountain, but it appeared that anyone could drive up by paying a fee, as we saw a few Gringo day trippers that had hired a taxi to take them up for the day to hike and explore (I’d spend the night to get the full experience of the beautiful sunsets and sunrises) Therefore, you could theoretically hire a car to take you all the way up and perhaps the drive could spend the night and then take you onward.

Cau Hai is a rather poor and dusty village that barely stands out from the surrounding areas along the main road Highway 1A. It’s surely totally safe (as is most of Vietnam) to stand there for an hour or so trying to flag a bus back to Hue or south to DeNang (or Hoi An), but it wouldn’t be too pleasant I imagine. We paid a somewhat ridiculous US$90 to be dropped at the park HQ’s in the early morning from Hue and then picked up the next afternoon and taken onto Hoi An. We decided to get a private car at the last minute so we booked through our hotel and didn’t shop around, although the car and driver were fine and on time, and boy was it convenient. They don’t allow scooters, bikes, or motorcycles up the 8-foot wide mountain road, so travelling by one of these modes would only get you to the visitors center below. It was also the beginning of the Tet holiday, which was a reason they cited for the high price. I’ve heard you can get drivers and cars for about $30/day, so this is still an option and will give you much more time to hike and enjoy the park.

JOYS AND PLEASURES: A few of the rangers at the main visitor center speak English quite well and are very enthusiastic about showing you around the visitors center which is set up mostly to educate local school groups. Visit the Five Lakes at different times of the day (early/late) for brilliant light conditions.

ANNOYANCES: The downside of being in the jungle at 1300 meters is that the surroundings are teeming with all sorts of crawling creatures, as we discovered in our room soon enough, much to Cheryl’s dismay. Massive centipedes moving quickly across the floor and live leaches on the bathroom walls were some of the friendly Vietnamese creatures we shared our room with, although this was not a major issue. There we no skeeters to be found and the gentle breeze takes care of the flies, so not a big problem. Some of the trailheads are poorly marked or confusing and there seems to be no good map of the trails. The rangers are eager to help if you ask though.

So that’s my mini guide to the park and I hope it helps a few of you. Vietnam is a wonderful place, but the leisure time for outdoor activities is just developing, so the parks are all a bit rough around the edges, but that is part of what makes a visit to them feel more special. But forget about maps…just forget about it.

-R

Vietnam is amazing. This is the thing about travelling around the world; every place is so unique, and every place is unexpected. There are a lot of pre-conceived notions about Vietnam that hold true: the pace is a bit frenetic, many people are trying to sell you things at every turn, and the air is often heavily polluted in the big cities. But the positives are stunning: I’ve yet to see such an excited place: (Poland is a close second on our trip) You can feel the energy and optimism on the streets and in the bright faces of the millions of young people (Vietnam is YOUNG, with 60+% of the population below 30!).

TYPICAL STREET IN HUE, VIETNAM

86,000,000 people now which makes it the 13th most populous country in the world, but expected to rise to #10 by 2020. (They now have a 2 kids/child mandate after a too-successful population growth campaign after the bleak planned economic years following the American War. There are new scooters, cell phones, hotels, factories, and businesses sprouting up faster than you can say “Sin Jow” (~Hello) And they are fierce capitalists, with everyone seeming to be putting their full energy into a new life. Everyone seems to understand customer service which I’m guessing is a result of the many, many close ties and joint ventures with Western companies and perhaps the many relationships that developed during the French and American war years.

But Vietnam is not all new energy, as it is still a relatively poor country with a basic development level and a huge rural population eeking out a meager survival, along with urban poverty and its associated ills. Life for most is still very primitive, which presents the traveller with an endless overload of beautiful and simple living. (and sometimes desperation) This is a photographers dream, as almost every face in Vietnam is worthy of a photo. We’ve only caught about 3% of our moments on camera and of course, some of the best memories are only that, memories, as one golden rule of travel is, “the time you DON’T carry the camera is when you will see the most amazing sights” You know it’s true.

EASY WALKING IN AN ALLEY IN OLD HANOI

So we started in wonderful Hanoi, which is easily one of the favorite cities that we have visited to date, since it has this unique combo of historic French urban design overlain with a dynamic and changing economy. I can now better picture the way Thai cities used to be before being overdeveloped and overrun by autos. It’s a shame that “development” has to be associated with people giving up walking, cycling, and even the more intimate scooter life for autos. Right now there are virtually no cars (I’d say about 3-5%) in Hanoi, but over 2,000,000 scooters! Hue, the smaller city where we are now has even fewer cars, and about 30% of road traffic is still bikes, but the strong majority scooters. It’s wonderful to experience cycling in midst of a moving and vibrant city. Old men peddling to your right, and young men chatting on scooters to your left, while teenage girls cycling three abreast in front of you with no worries about being crushed by a driver on a cell phone. Why? There are almost no drivers in Hue. You can ride for a mile beofre encountering a car. Its a world virtually without cars…..hmmmm…..ooops dreaming of heaven again. No wonder everyone is smiling here.

FIND THE CARS IN THIS PHOTO – YOU CAN’T!

Hanoi alos has dozens of big lakes, with most surrounded by parks and walking paths, and it actually has nice wide walkable sidewalks….where they’re not obstructed by the ubiquitous scooter culture. But when the sidewalks are impassible, you just do as the locals do and take a lane on the street. Walk straight and don’t ever dash in any direction and the scooters et al will easily avoid you. Crossing intersections is like playing a bit of that old arcade game “Frogger”, with the real risk being the few, big obnoxious autos which honk and bully their way through the lively streets. Its amazing how one or two cars can completely paralyze this traffic flow on a Vietnamese street. Wait until there are millions.

But there is more. Vietnam has great food and a wonderful invention called “Bia Hoi” which translates to fresh beer and is delivered to small bars and cafes all over Hanoi (and other big cities) It’s picked up by the Bia Hoi outlets at 6 a.m. and sold only that day, as it has no preservatives. It’s really a nice a smooth taste which is reminiscent of the wonderful Czech pilsner that I have raved about in the past, which makes sense, since it was brought to Vietnam by the Czechs many years ago. I guess all beer all goes back to Belgians, Czechs, Germany, and the Brits.

We are also enjoying a local “Dalat” Wine which is made in the central hills of Vietnam and has a nice crisp and light flavor (both red and white). Drink and eat Local.

There is so much more for another post, but for now I must get to bed to rest up for our trip to Bach Ma National Park where we will spend tomorrow night about 4000 feet up into the central highlands. So my simple advice to you all is to get to Hanoi (and all of Vietnam) as soon as possible because it is changing by the minute and the magic of this living history museum may be gone in 5 or 10 years…20 for sure.

So it’s been awhile since I last checked in with y’all and you may be wondering, “Did Rich and Cheryl finally drop out of society for good and join a Buddhist mountain colony?” Well, not exactly, but we have made it to fascinating Northern Vietnam and are still amazed at the energy and pace of changes here in Hanoi. But first to keep to my chronological blog roots, I must bring you up to date on our past two weeks first. We left Bangkok after a great week visiting ex-pats (semi-locals)and flew South again for a very relaxing week on the little Thai island of Koh Phi Phi on the central Andaman coast of Thailand. The incredible Karst limestone scenery, snorkeling right from the beaches (no motorized day trip to adjacent islands required), and a car-free environment were the draws as well as the small goal of really resetting our bodies from the polluted air of the Northern Thai cities prior to visiting Vietnam.

THE SAFER SIDE OF THE ISLAND, LONG BEACH, KO PHI PHI

Koh Phi Phi has an interesting dynamic right now as it is still recovering from the horrible tsunami of December 26, 2004 that took over 2000 lives on the island. (about 2/3 tourists, 1/3 locals) The greater tragedy of the tsunami is that with a little warning, most of the people could have survived, as over 95% of the island lies above the height of the waves which crushed the middle isthmus of little resorts and hotels, while inflicting minor damage on the more substantial land masses and beaches adjacent to the isthmus. The main tsunami wave split around the west side of the island into two separate wave forces, one was 3 meters high, the other 5 meters high. The two waves met in the middle of the isthmus in a hydraulic collision that completely devastated everything and everyone in its path. There is apparently a small memorial to those that lost their lives but we couldn’t find it in the mass of reconstruction and tourists once again sunburning and drinking beer smack dab in the middle of the isthmus again.

Now it’s human nature to ignore the often constant danger in our lives and move on, but the insanity of rebuilding on parts of this island are striking. (Says guy living in earthquake country for 16 years?!) Unfortunately, all the easy and flat land to develop is below the 5 meter line and there seems to be some insatiable greed (and desperation perhaps) by those reconstructing. Despite attempts to redevelop smarter, the island has nearly completely rebuilt and the tourists have come back in droves. And the island is amazingly beautiful, so people can’t help wanting to visit. And it is somewhat romantic in the fact that there are no cars or roads on the island to speak of, except some trucks building a huge new reservoir on the East side of the Island (to fuel more development for sure!). Koh Phi Phi especially seems to be a favorite of Scandinavians and other pale Northern Europeans as we saw some amazing sunburns and dark, dark brown tans that will glow on the streets of Helsinki well into April.

Now in defense of the Thais, there is a new national Tsunami warning system in place and a big warning tower at the center of the isthmus, but I’m not sure if the whole system is up and running yet, as there has been some financing struggles in the Thai government. Regardless, I couldn’t as a Civil engineer in good conscience stay below the historic or potential Tsunami water level and we opted for an old bungalow about 25 meters above the shore. I wouldn’t have slept well down by the beach, and besides, the views were more than fantastic.

MORNING COFFEE FROM OUR WEE BUNGALOW

Parts of the island are completely again inundated by tourists and overall, the vibe of the tourist-local interaction was not the best. It feels like a place where the locals have been displaced from the nice coastal areas and now live up in the hotter interior hills and forests in the middle of the island. Even a pack of monkeys I ran into while walking in the hills looked pissed off that about half of their habitat had been clear cut.

DISPLACED MONKEYS AT THE EDGE OF NEW CONSTRUCTION

Thier loss was for the new reservoir and junky “houses” inhabited by the displaced locals and temporary construction workers trying to at least get thier share of the boom in development.
There is also still a sense of the recent tragedy in the eyes of the locals as they all seem a little shell shocked and disenfranchised with the whole Farang scene. Not many Thai smiles here, although some of that may be a result of the fact that the people are clearly from a different sub-ethnicity than the central and Northern Thais(More Malay).

NEW RESERVOIR ON SOUTHEAST PENNINSULA

It’s hard to tell how many locals were really profiting from the influx of tourists, although there are no megaresorts there yet, so the operations tend to be family run, which is good I guess. Luckily, we found a fairly rustic bungalow at the end of the island and it had good access to a hidden little beach (Hat lo Moodi) on the East coast of the island where we could escape the heat, crowds and long boats to take in a beautiful slice of undeveloped “old” Thailand. The snorkeling was also really magnificent on two nearby beaches with large reefs and about a hundred different species of fish visible, including small reef sharks (or some kind of FRIENDLY shark that they said posed no danger). The two samll sharks I saw completely ignored me as a sort of followed them as best as possible.

HAT LO MOODI – WONDERFUL AND EMPTY BEACH – WILL IT LAST?

So you can probably sense that this place really made me question the impact of our travels. The real issue obviously is the type of development and how it is affecting the locals. Thailand has had the luxury in the past 20 years of a seemingly endless supply of beautiful coastline and islands to develop haphazardly and randomly with little regards for resources or sustainability. Maybe it’s actually more sustainable to go to Waikiki than the latest island discovery that is getting it’s beaches developed and forests chopped down to allow even more people to visit. Lots of questions for the future of our travels, but we will certainly do our homework prior to travelling anywhere where questionable environmental impacts are occurring or there is clear social or economic injustice. (i.e unfair land grabs from indigenous fisher-people)

But “being part of the problem” is a huge question and opens the whole question of travel in general, which I am more convinced than ever is a great thing, as long as some attention is paid to how you interact with the people and place you visit. We have tried to reduce the impact of our travels where possible (bikes or walking versus tuk-tuks) and try to eat local foods and products as much as possible. (local made fruit chips versus Lays potato chips, etc) And of course, I always try to stay as local as possible when it comes to beer. But we always think that our flying around the world is certainly adding to the climate change occurring around the world and I can’t help but think that our very visit to the magnificent coral reefs of the Andaman Coast may just be hastening their demise.

This half way point of our RTW travels has also made me reflect on what we have experienced and how this has already altered my understanding of my place in the world. We are starting to comprehend that this is a momentous trip at a perfect time in our lives to both appreciate what we are seeing, while still being young enough to endure some discomfort and physically challenge ourselves on occassion. No matter what happens in the next 5 months, we will treasure our new perspectives and take this with us to our graves. We will return to San Francisco with renewed optimism and appreciateion for the lucky chance of birth that we were born to our families and raised in a healthy place with vitually every opportunnity. Sure, we have both worked very hard to get this opportunity, but so has almost every person we have encountered around the world. They work hard or harder, but just happen to make $2 or $10 a day for their efforts, which makes global travel inconceivable. We are very, very lucky.

So we said goodbye to Thailand last Friday and hello to Vietnam which has already surprised us at every step. But that will have to wait until the next post, which I promise will be more upbeat!

-R

We arrived in Bangkok on Saturday morning at 7 a.m. on a night train from Chiang Mai and have happily begun to readjust to city life. The night train was another lovely Thai experience as we had managed to finally reserve a first class 2-person compartment which was cosy, clean, and a nice way to travel down from the North. And unlike Amtraks brutally awful food, we were brought two quite tasty Thai dinners!

CHERYL SHILLING FOR HEINIKEN IN OUR TRAIN COMPARTMENT

In my transit based opinion, Bangkok has now entered the world of sophisticated world cities with two “SkyTrain” lines and one metro line. Sure, there is a lot of work to do and the pedestrian scene on the streets is a bit neglected, but the Sky Train (1999-2000) is really cool as you feel like your gliding through “Tomorrowland”, with walkways, overpasses, and direct connections into buddings and shopping centers in virtually every direction.

BANGKOK OR TOMORROWLAND?

The whole downtown core seems to be filling in around the Sky Trains with even more building along the 2 lines, adding to the effect. Strangely, the one new metro line (2004) is doing well, but apparently not as crowded as the Sky Train (which is busy all the time and packed at rush hour). We heard an interesting reason for this is that in most of the Thai-Buddhist culture there is the belief that demons live down low and below ground. Therefore, a Metro may not be the best idea here and it explains the popularity of the higher transit. Let’s hope the transit planners have figured that one out?!

CHECKING OUT THE BANGKOK ROYAL SPORTING CLUB FROM THE SKYTRAIN PLATFORM

Bangkok has great energy and food, with an endless supply of things to do….although for us, riding the public transit is always a focus as we just love seeing unique urban forms and the way people react to them. There are also some very interesting old alleys and smaller streets still full of “Old Bangkok” and it can be quite a contrast where the new high rises meet the old low-rise neighborhoods.

Shopping in the MANY malls here is quite humorous as I have been casually looking for some size 14 running shoes. Although there are loads of Westerners in the malls here, there has not seemed to be an adjustment in the stocking of sizes. I am beginning to believe that there is no pair of shoes in SE Asia larger than a Size 12. The even more humiliating part is that every time I ask in a store or department store, I get a lookeof stunned disbelief, usually followed by the gathering of 3 to 4 sales people. They sometimes laugh a bit and sometimes seem to recoil in true horror. I think most Thais cannot believe that a human from the same race could possibly have such a shoe size, and the whole scened makes them uncomfortable. Of course, I am often shocked just how tiny some of the Thais are. No racism here, just complete cultural shock on both sides as to the natural state of the human body. We certainly have many more generations of blending and cross-breeding before everyone starts to look alike and approaches the same range of sizes. I guess I may have to wait to New Zealand to start running again….but by then we’ll have our bikes, so I think I’ll just make do with my ratty old Tevas and Merrell hiking shoes.

We have been staying for 4 days with some friends of my sister-in-laws brother. (How’s that for a reach). Charlie and Lizzie have generously taken us in and its been great to get away from the hotel and guest house scene for awhile. They have been very generous, especially not really knowing us at all, and they have a fabulous place on the 11th floor with great views of the downtown core of the city.

They also have a son who just completed the 1500 mile “Tour of Thailand” bike ride over 25 days which is just amazing as he is only 13! And he raised $6,000 for charity. Pretty cool, and we are trying to encourage him to keep riding, although Bangkok is certainly no Copenhagen for cyclists, so hopefully he can find a place to continue to develop his obviously strong form. We are just heading off to another friend of ours from San Francisco, who now is working for Bristol Myers Squibb here in BKK, and she has also generously invited us to stay with her until Friday. It should be fun as she is hosting her entire office of all Thai workers on Thursday night and we are invited to join in and meet some of the locals! And Best of all, we got haircuts again….of course, at the mall!

LOOK MA, NEW HAIRCUTS!

By the way, you can now click on any photo to go to our Flickr site and we now have ALL of our photos on Flickr, including India, Laos, and Thailand.

-R

Greetings friends! We have now been hanging out in Chiang Mai, Thailand for a week as the “Golden Triangle” spit us out earlier than we expected and our first-class sleeper train to Bangkok is on Friday night. By the way, I must elaborate on my distinction between “travelling” and “hanging out”. People who are “hanging out” do not fret at missing some of the standard tourist sights in lieu of say…..Bowling!

COSMIC BOWLING IN CHIANG MAI – OH YEAH

Sure, many people on Holiday or travelling think they are doing what they want to do, but the obligation to see “important things” on a short trip often pulls people into museums, tours, and to bizarre rock formations that really are not that interesting. We have seen about 50 Wats (Budhist temples) to date in Thailand and Laos and don’t really feel the need to see another of the 120 in Chiang Mai, although we have still managed to see dozens while cycling and couldn’t resist looking at some of the artwork in one of the more famous Wats in the city from the 15th Century. One thing we share is an interest in the history of the people, and this information is often missing from many of the tourist sites other than a few of the good ethnographic or cultural museums around. And we all know by now that finding things on your own is 10 times more rewarding than being told what to look at or interpret.

Some of this relaxed state is definitely a bit of travel burnout, but in our case, it has manifested itself as attempt to return to our “normal” lives back home by making some of our meals (we have a fridge and hot pot in our room), cycling a lot, reading, seeing movies, and even shopping at the insanely extensive night markets here. (We are going to ship some things home from Bangkok!). We have even discovered the wonderful world of SE Asian malls, complete with karaoke rooms, bowling alleys, movie theaters, and really good food courts (15 stations of various home made Thai and other Asian foods!)

LOVE THE MALL FOOD COURT

Believe it or not, we went to 3 Hollywood movies in 5 days at the nearby mall , but now have exhausted the supply of even marginally decent Hollywood fare being shown in English. This is a record for us by the way. I have even been thinking a lot about my return to the workforce again, which was inspired by a few recent career related email correspondences. Strange.

We ended up getting out of the “Golden Triangle” near Burma a bit early due to boredom and a lack of good outdoor activities. We loved the hilly countryside around Chiang Rai (not Mai), but the mountain town of Mae Salong was past its charming prime and the day trekking we found was somewhat unpleasant and unrewarding on foot, although we did pass through some very interesting old villages. Lonely Planet is amazing how they can write 3 pages on a place (Mae Salong) and never really tell you that it is really a dull, spread out cultural mish-mash laid out on a single road in the mountains that is terrible to walk and way too hilly to cycle. I am over Lonely Planet, by the way. (I have said this 10 times so far on our trip…but this time I mean it! Really.)

SO TRUE…..SO VERY TRUE

Chiang Mai is one of the big tourist destinations in Northern Thailand (Hah!, so we are following the masses after all) and the second largest city, although way, way behind Bangkok at a mere 200,000 people or so. My first impression of Chiang Mai was that it is a bit overrun with both tourists and traffic as the booming Thai economy is clearly starting to diminish the quality of life in many places in Thailand. The air in downtown is filled with the fumes of tuk-tuks, scooters, and the now thousands of LARGE cars that ply the streets of the historic city. The wealthier Thais seemed to have graduated from the scooter directly to full-size pick-up trucks and SUVS. No need to have the small sensible sedan in between. There is almost NO public transit except the thousands of pick-up truck mini-buses that clog every nook and cranny of the city belching noxious diesel clouds while plying for passengers on somewhat random movements somewhere between a bus and a taxi.

We have found nice new city tire and light equipped Trek mountain bikes to rent (Cacti bikes) and have had some pleasant riding in the disappearing countryside surrounding the city. The core city itself is one of the worst places I have ever tried to ride a bike with the nuevo-motorized masses of the city filling just about every inch of roadway. Don’t get me wrong…any adventure on bikes is great, included vaulting through rush hour ring road traffic, but “pleasant” it is not. But it beats dealing with the tuk-tuks, and taxi mafia whom have apparently managed to kill most attempts at public transit here.

To escape the flat city, I naively set out last Saturday morning at 7 am to ride up the 3000+-ft mountain just west of the city called Doi Suthep, which also contains a huge temple and a bunch of inappropriate development in a large national park. I believe this was only second to my famous “jogging in the Atacama Desert” attempt of 1995 in the archives of permanent damage I may have done to my body in the name of “exercise”. But as always, I rode on.

What I didn’t realize (or read) is that it seems that going to the temple at Doi Suthep/Doi Pui is the #1 activity for the locals on the weekends (not sure about the weekdays) and that they get an early start. (One web site said don’t ride up the mountain after 8, but didn’t go into details!?) So I started up the mountain road around 7:30 and soon found myself being passed by mini-bus after mini-bus loaded with people heading up the mountain. Now you have to understand that the old Toyota diesel mini-bus/pick-ups lumber on the flats with 10 people, but up a 8-15% grade? Forget about it. Imagine the worst old out-of-tune Mercedes diesel that you’ve ever seen and you have a rough idea what these trucks were each spewing. The completely still air did not move the smog an inch and I could see the thick clouds of diesel particulates glistening in the low morning sunlight like a thick mist above the asphalt.

So I’m thinking “Wow, there’s a lot of people heading up the mountain at 7:30?, but I’m sure this is just a special group and will soon end.” Wrong. They mini-buses got thicker and thicker and about half-way up the mountain I seriously thought about turning around. The traffic was also getting so heavy that I was losing the battle to “take the lane” in the shoulderless left lane that had been my buffer. I really was feeling sick from inhaling so much exhaust and thought I might hurl at one point. So did I stop? No way, that would be giving in to their lousy transportation system and besides I had already gone more than half way and permanetely reduced my lung capacity.

A QUIET BREAK IN THE MINI-BUS TRAFFIC UP DOI SUTHEP

However, the cheering encouragement and smiles from the back of every loaded mini-bus just made me want to press on even more. That’s how the Thais get you, with their endless enthusiam and smiles. Sure, their one road up into a national “park” has no pedestrian or bike accomodation and the smog is so thick you can cry, but they are so nice and happy, you just can’t stay mad or be bitter. As I always remember, I am a visitor to this strange land where no one walks or cycles anymore. (O.K. most of America is like this too, but not the Bay Area and not in my previous urban life)

By the way, I did see 4 teenage Thai boys riding slowly up the mountain on their bikes and we all exchanged hearty “Sawadees!” I hope their lungs are stronger than mine. They were the only ones, besides two Farangs that were descending the mountain at 7:30 (they knew better).

So I did make it to the top and was stunned at the thousands of people there already at 9 am! (Duh, they all passed you) At the top, I took a moment to take in the supposed views of Chiang Mai completely obscured by smog.

THIS REALLY WAS THE VIEW LOOKING DOWN AT THE CITY 3000 FEET

The ride down only took 15 minutes and was very fun as I could actually pass many of the mini-buses (to their amazement) and cars on the windey road. They are actually very cautious and somewhat considerate drivers here and I was feeling good with my sense of accomplishment. My lungs, not so much.

-R

Today, after entering back into Thailand this morning, we were cruising in the backseat of a a nice little local bus from Chiang Khong to Chiang Rai (A pleasant return to the Muppet Bus!) and looking out on the scenery. A gentle, slightly warmish breeze was coming in the window and open back door of the bus as we passed golden farm fields and small mountains draped in evergreens. I closed my eyes for a moment and thought….I am home…. I am back in Northern California….driving in the old Toyota pick-up to Ukiah…or maybe Anderson Valley….ah yes…Anderson valley would be nice. It felt so real and so close, but then I was back. In a little bus in Thailand, just rambling along with no real purpose, other than to see what’s out there, and where I fit in the picture of the world. But I ramble and daydream yet again, so let’s catch up on the past few days.

TRADITIONAL VILLAGES ALONG THE MEKONG RIVER – LAOS

Two days by boat on the Mekong was both relaxing and beautiful, as we watched each day develop from dawn to dusk, and from thick fog to bright winter sunshine. Mind-boggling communities of people still living subsistence lives…harvesting bamboo, weaving, farming, fishing….it’s hard to imagine this world still exists.

THE VILLAGERS WERE LOADING MASSIVE BAGS OF RICE FOR TRANSPORT – OUR “BARGE” WAS DOCKED BETWEEN THE OTHER BARGES

The river is also much rockier than I imagined and is an amazing challenge to navigate as there are jagged rocks everywhere, many just below the surface waiting to slice a boat in two. (Apparently upstream of where we travelled in laos, the Chinese are busy blasting all the rock from the river to help navigation, but unfortunately this is also doing in the Giant Catfish [up to 200kg] native to the river that live and breed in the caves below the water surface.) Luckily, our boat captain clearly knew his way and we only travelled with some semblance of daylight. We spent the night midway in our boat journey in a lodge in Pak Beng.

This 2-day, 1-night “cruise” was the first organized multi-day tourist thing we have done to date as independent travel is my passion and I rarely relinquish control of anything related to travel, and I abhor marching around to sites with large packs of camera-wielding zombies. Nevertheless, we booked this tour/transportation as it seemed like the best option of 4 to get from Luang Prabang to Huay Xai, Laos and back into Thailand.

1) Short-haul flight by Lao Airways…….sketchy safety record and environmentally wasteful short-haul travel.

2) Slow barges: Uncomfortable to miserable seating for two 8 hour days upstream

3) Speedboats…..totally environmentally incorrect, scary, loud, uncomfortable, and very dangerous (like 1 death/week somewhere on the river!)

4) Context-sensitive Barge boat built to comfortably take 40 passengers up the river with some scenic stops, guides, food and drink. (We only had 23, 40 would have been crowded!)

LOTS OF TIME TO PONDER LIFE ON THE MIGHTY RIVER

Despite my general reluctance to ever sit still for 10 hours, the “cruise” was very pleasant and you could really take in the sights along the river; however, the overnight lodge was a bit worn, and the food just o.k., and as we predicted, we were about the youngest on the boat (besides someones child) Once again we found ourselves caught between the backpackers and the retirees and this mini-cruise took us into the latter realm. One of the funniest moments was the fact that our boat had many French tourists that just looked shocked when our guide told them after our 6 p.m. arrival at the lodge that dinner would be a 7 p.m. and breakfast at 6:15 a.m.!!! “Quell domage? We eat dinner in the middle of the day and have breakfast in the middle of the night…what is this?” O.K., we just heard their mumbles of shock, but Cheryl and I imaged the rest of the statement and laughed.

CHERYL BIKING (ON OUR OWN!) IN THE BEAUTIFUL LANDS NEAR CHIANG RAI

All in all, the boat trip was certainly memorable, but rushed upstream (downstream is only 7 hours on the boat), and overpriced as we could have done nearly the same thing on our own organization for 1/3 the price, with likely a less comfortable boat, but a better lodge and food. So as fairly intrepid independent travellers, it was nice to say “Au Revoir” to the crew and get back to travelling the way we like to……on our own.

The communist attitude here in Laos sure makes the country feel different. People are much more reserved and subdued than in Thailand and there just doesn’t seem to be a rush to do anything. It’s also harder to get people to smile, but once you get past the more somber veneer , I have found the people to be warm, kind, and very good natured. And they do like to party as was evidenced here in beautiful Luang Prabang over the New Years weekend. The city was packed to the gills with locals and tourists including a big government sanctioned celebration that included lots of cultural performances, food, BeerLao. and of course “Funy(sic) Paper Hats!” There was a huge table of completely different and hand-made paper party hats that you could buy for $1, so Cheryl and I sidled on up tot eh booth boldly and careful selected our festive wear for the night. Amazingly, we were the only foreign tourists who bought the hats, as the cautious and somewhat righteous Western Europeans here seemed to be above the simple fun. Well, pooh on them I said, and we wore our hats proudly and even managed to get the photo below, in which my new Lao friend seems a bit bewildered and terrified at the same time.

NEW YEAR’S EVE IN LUANG PRABANG

But first let’s catch up on how we got to be wearing funy paper hats on New Years Eve in Northern Laos. Getting to Luang Prabang by bus is not easy as it involved 12 very curvy hours on buses, but luckily with a 4-day break near the middle in Vang Vieng (VV), which is somewhat plain town in a magical location along the stunning Nam Song river. The river winds through dramatic valleys bonded by limestone cliffs and mountains on all sides. Now VV has certainly been discovered and there is a heavy backpackers scene primarily based on cheap beer and access to tubing, biking, caving, kayaking and other outdoor activities. There is also a mini building boom going on as fancier guest houses and even mini “resorts” are starting to accumulate along the riverbanks faster than carbon dioxide above LA. With the fancier digs has come more families from Northern Europe on cheap holidays. We also saw four trucks full of developers, easy to identify with logos on some of the few doored vehicles in the town. (it’s mostly scooters and tuk-tuks) It made us sad, since they seemed to be looking at the far river bank, which is solely inhabited by natives right now, but looks to be under threat due to a new single-lane auto bridge just opening. No question Vang Vieng will look completely different in 10 years, but if brings better lives to the poor in the area, then it’s better….right? Still working on that big question.

So we had a great time swimming in blue lagoons outside of limestone caves, cycling on the worlds heaviest and ill-fitting bicycles, kayaking, and even partaking in the ritual tubing procession on the lower part of the river. The 3km tubing stretch of river is conveniently lined with bamboo pavilions and “bars” playing bloody awful music, but selling an endless supply of BeerLao to the tubing masses. Other than the fraternity party vibe, the prime entertainment is provided by people of various skills and blood alcohol levels jumping off high platforms on huge rope swings and zip lines.

Now I’d like to say that at the mature age of 39 that I was above all these post-collegiate shenanigans, but I’m not. As many of my friends know, I’m a huge sucker for beer in beautiful outdoor venues. And the Nam Song is beautiful. It was lots of fun, although the lack of a decent medical facility in the entire country kept me from doing the highest water jumps and swings. Just one run on a tamer zip line, but a good time for sure. Once again we found ourselves wedged between the backpackers and the retired people and constantly switching worlds. We visited 4 caves that were all amazing. including one with a day kayak-trek tour group that required wedging ourselves through a pretty small opening to get out of the cave. Amazingly, my lanky legs just levered though the crack, although even our guide looked a bit concerned with me at one point. The limestone formations are just spectacular and seem to be endless in this region of Laos. They also have some history with the locals as they have served as very safe and convenient hiding places during the many wars that have plagued the country in the past century. Not to mention the bats.

Again, cycling out of town to the villages has been extremely rewarding, as you see the real Laos, and get a hundred interactions per mile. We even found some girls in native costumes willing to pose next to the giant freaky American, and had a delicious,. but mysterious meal of BBQ meat at yet another roadside eatery. We honestly couldn’t identify many of the meats on our plate, although there were definitely some cholesterol-rich organs on the platter (liver, heart?). We prefer the Anthony Bourdain (by the way, I must mention again that his travel/food show “No Reservations” is the best travel show ever made! Period) coined “squeezle”.

MORE AMAZING COUNTRY FOOD (AND SQUEEZLE)

(Dr. Brinkman please do not read the following….) We are breaking many of the “rules” of safe eating in our travels including eating some fresh vegetables, but so far have been lucky to avoid any major ills, although I did feel a bit ratty the past 24 hours. But the food is so good! This is one of the huge advantages of travelling for a year as you get less freaked about being down and out for few days or even a week. Lots of wood to knock on here, but I would certainly regret not trying things even more.

Tomorrow morning we are getting on a “cruise” boat that will take us up the Mekong River the Huay Xai and the Thai Border in two days with an overnight stop and more cave visits along the way. It should be really nice if I can manage to sit still for two days straight on a boat. No typhoon induced waves on the Mekong either, so the Squeezle should stay put this time!

Happy New Year to you all and may 2007 find you happy and free.

So the Thai people have this concept known as “Sa Nook” or “Sanuke” which basically boils down to the attitude that if you not having fun doing something, then it really isn’t good, since everything should have an element of Sa Nook or playful fun in it. This includes work. Over the past three days, we really got to get out in the countryside and see the more rural side of Thai life. The rural people are even more friendly which just boggles the mind, since the city folk are so cheery to start. I’ve never encountered such an outwardly endearing culture. After sitting on the train for a few hours from Chumphon to Bangkok and reading between the lines a bit in the Lonely Planet, we decided to stop for a few more days in Thailand before crossing into Laos and Vientiane and boy are we glad we did, as the little city/town of Nong Khai is a great place to visit and access the more laid back and traditional side of Thai life. The area around the city contains dozens of little villages that still survive though farming and agriculture, including fishing along the Mekong river, beautiful rice paddies, and flower farms.

We rented some nice mountain bikes and were therefore able to cover a good 60km on our first day (yup, butts are sore!) on a fabulous loop that the nice people at our guest house had laid out on maps. We crossed rickety bridges, travelled along little dirt paths connecting villages, and were fueled by dozens of hellos per kilometer that made you feel like you were crossing through some mysterious fairyland where everyone is happily working away in the fields, cooking, or folding laundry.

Cheryl on the Rickety Bridge

I’m not sure if there is an unhappy person in Thailand. I’m really not sure. The Thai seem to have life pretty well figured out and it was so refreshing to see such a way of life, from both the rural to the small cities. Bangkok will be different, but boy, if I had to pick a place to drop out and live the cheap Expat “off the gird” life it would be here. And from what we saw in town, there were a lot of Brits and Aussies that had done exactly that, including the owner of the wonderful Mut Mee Guest House (www.mutmee.net) This guest house sits on the Mekong and has about 20 rooms of varying rusticness (ours was a really cool little duplex bungalow with outside shower and bath) all around a great garden, restaurant, and community gathering place. So we decided to stay 3 nights and just chill, ride bikes, and soak up as much of the warm vibe as possible.

On the third day we biked to the amazing sculpture garden which will require it’s own post when we get all the photos. I also headed out by myself and ended up meeting “Tam” a Buddhist monk in training that was trying to practice his English and was the most outgoing of group of 6 teenage boys that I chatted with for 15 minutes or so, gave them my email address, and convinced the shy one to take the photo below.

Lots of Sa Nook for us too as they accidently broke a street lamp behind them and I told them they could blame the American. It was pretty funny and another encounter that I will cherish (and I may have a Thai monk email buddy, who knows).

Last night on Christmas eve, the Mut Mee had a big buffet dinner and party with really great local musicians and dancers. We met a really nice German couple and spent most of the evening talking with them and drinking Singha and Leo beer (“The Beer that Roars!”) until Christmas eve became Christmas Day (no, we just stayed up to midnight or so, no all night are you kidding!). And yes, I got pulled up by the 4′-10″ Thai women dancers to join them in an embarrass the gringos moment; lots of SA Nook there and not a Christmas eve that will blend with the rest for sure.

And today we crossed the “Friendship Bridge” to communist Laos and are now sitting in the somewhat dreary and rundown capital city that time and capitalism has left behind. We are only staying the night on the good advice of other travellers coming South and will be heading North to Vang Vieng and more promising parts of Laos tomorrow. We did sample some great local food at lunch today (See Cheryl’s blog for more on this) and are going to try a good sounding French Restaurant this evening as there is still the legacy of the French colonialism here both in the architecture and food, although the basic food of the people shares much more with Thai and Vietnamese cultures. And yes, travel is all about the food, as long as it is prepared with a smile and Sa Nook.

Update…6 Hours later….. I had to write about it now didn’t I? Yup, the swells were huge again and about 10 minutes into the two hour trip I knew that I was in big trouble. My stomach started to cramp and I broke out in a solid sweat while successfully “maintaining” for nearly an hour. I tried the IPod, but that failed to help, so I finally succumbed and joined the legions of bag fillers on the old tilt-a-whirl also know as as the Lomprayah Koh Tao high-speed Catamaran! Funny thing seasickness is; you can weather all sorts of bad rides and then some day your number comes up and blam. The good news is that I felt much better after returning my chicken curry lunch and made it to the dock with minimal extended misery. Cheryl was the stronger sailor today although she was pretty green as well (it didn’t help having me next to her!) and we were both VERY HAPPY to get off the boat onto solid ground. Amazingly, I was eating again at the night market in Chumphon just hours later! Who can resist the food of Thailand even when you can’t always keep it down!

Coconut Custard Street Treats

Hello Mainland!