Motorbike Sir?

I have been here in Hanoi for just under a week now, trying to get a feel for the city. Hanoi is definatly cleaner and more modern than I expected. I was staying in a nice room with a great view for a few nights. I was evicted when the hotel operators somehow broke the power.

The old quarter is very charming and easy to get lost in. Each street is named after a certain good that is supposed to be sold there. For instance, there is a street with shops specializing in making gravestones. Another street has a fair number of shops making things out of tin. It took me a while to get comfortable walking around without a map.

Before arriving I had heard about the crazy motorbike traffic. There are few stop signs at intersections, and most drivers don’t stop, only slow dow. Everyone just kind of goes with the flow and avoids each other. Not without honking their horn at every available opportunity. On some of the larger streets, you will see thousands of motorbikes with a few cars and bicycles mixed in, all jostling for position on the road. I tried to capture the madness in this picture.

I have been to a fair number of the tourist attractions here. Last sunday I visited the Ho Chi Mihn Mausoleum, where Uncle Ho (as he is known to the Vietnamese) is on display to the public, much like Lenin. Uncle Ho is lying in a glass coffin (he supposedly wished to be cremated), looking a little pale but with a slight smile on his face.

I also visited the Temple of Literature, which is an old temple complex dedicated to Confucius. It contained some great traditional arcitecture. I took a ton of pictures – here is a particularly good one.

Yesterday I took a day trip to the Perfume Pagoda, which is a few hours out of town. To get to the Pagoda complex, you need to catch a boat rowed by a young Vietnamese women and head upstream about 1 hour. The Pefume Pagoda is one of the holiest sites in Vietnam, but not nearly as interesting as the surrounding countryside. The scenery is gorgeous. I can’t wait to come back to these mountains.

Last night I went to a birthday party with one of the workers at my guesthouse. After a motorbike ride through night traffic, we arrived at a small room with about 15 university students eating and drinking Vietnamese rice vodka. I quickly became the focus of the guests, who kept pouring me drinks and teaching me how to properly toast in Vietnamese.

Tonight I am off to Hue, which is supposed to have much to see and do. I love it here in Hanoi, and cannot wait to come back.

Neil

PS. I just wanted to say thanks to those of you who have taken the time to read my blog and send me emails or post a comment. Sometimes the road can get a bit lonely. There is no better cure for a bout of homesickness than walking into an internet cafe and finding out who has taken the time to see how I am doing. Thank you.

Laos can be a bit sketchy when it comes to tourist services. Agencies will often make promises, such as “the bus will get to Hanoi at 4:00” and “yes, the bus has air conditioning.” I had heard some horror stories about the bus from Vientiane to Hanoi that stem from the two “promises” mentioned above prior to taking the bus. But for only $18, it was hard to beat.
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Everyone told me that there wasn’t much going on in Vientiane. I knew that there had to be something happening. A few nights ago I located a pub that was showing a Manchester – Arsenal game, so I popped in for a few drinks. I got talking to a local Lao guy named Kern, who quickly introduced me to his friends. They were all fairly well-off Laotions – Kern worked for the Ministry of Justice, his friend Ton was a medical student. I had a great time with them, so I met them again the next night for drinks.
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So I’m here chillin in Vientiane with not a whole lot on the agenda. Yesterday I read a whole book. Today I just checked out the national museum.

I found the museum very interesting, but I spent a lot of the time on the archeological and ancient peoples exhibits and not enough on the more modern historical period, so since I have nothing to do tomorrow, I’m going to go back. The written descriptions all illustrate the glorious victory of the Communist uprising. For instance, in the Vietnam period, there is an exhibit of guns, and under them are phrases like:

A carbine used to shoot down an Imperialist American F4 by (insert Lao name here), a farmer from (insert province/town). (I am not sure if a rifle can take down a fighter jet. If anyone can provide an answer, please do.)

———

So I have been reflecting a lot on the past 6 or 7 weeks that I have been traveling, and thought I would give you all an idea of what my life is like here on the road and river. Here is a few thoughts:

Time
For one, it is hard to keep track of what day it is. The other day, I decided to ask a girl at a bar in Vang Vien, “What day is it?”
She replied, “Friday.”
“Friday! I would have guessed Wednesday at best!” I shouted.

I couldn’t believe it, Friday! Must have lost track of time somewhere in Luang Prabang. Anyways, in the words of Towelie, “I have no idea what’s going on right now.”

———–

It is really nice being away from the media-saturated United States. It’s nice not having information saturating all of your waking moments. It is especially nice not hearing much of the garbage media that tends to emerge during elections. I already know which way I am going to vote, and it isn’t something I want to be around for. And If I want to hear something, I can always find a Bangkok Post or a TV that has BBC world on it.

——

Gear

Here is a rough list of some things that I have found sweet (like ninjas) on this trip:

I bought these new pants (with zip off legs) that I have worn every day except when I was swimming. They are by Ex-Officio and have bug repellent built into them (supposed to last 25 washings), are pretty airy, dry fast, and can take some serious abuse before starting to smell. They have a quasi-hidden zippered pocket that I keep my passport and money essentials, and keep spending cash in the other pocket. I might go to a seamstress or tailor and have another one of the pockets added, just so crap doesn’t fall out.

A Packtowel, which is pretty small, dries ultra-quick, and is antibacterial or something.

A compressible Dry bag. Mine are not completely waterproof, but it came in handy when I floated down the river, kept things pretty dry, and I used a few ziplock backs just to be sure. I have 2 of them, one for dirty clothes and one for clean, but I wish I had one that was mesh for the dirty/wet things, and one for the clean stuff I want to keep dry. I think this situation can be remedied by a trip to the market. But in general, stuff sacks are essential to keeping shit organized. I know exactly where something. I also got one of those shoe bags, you can put your muddy shoes in there without them getting everything else dirty.

I bought this great raincoat before I left, but I have only used it once. That one time I did use it, I forgot it in this Scottish girl’s bag, couldn’t find her for two days, and once I did find it, I left it with this Irish guy. So it has actually turned out to be a big hassle. I don’t think you really need one if you are just a traveler, but I think it will come in handy when I start teaching. If it does rain and you are outside, you just get wet. It is kind of nice, I enjoy getting wet now.

Also by Ex-Officio are these great pairs of underwear. They keep your nether-regions cool, and are also anti microbial or something. They don’t smell too much either, but are pretty pricy at $25 a pair. I only have two pairs. I think it would be nice to have a third.

The Ipod is pretty sweet, and my luxury item but it was a shame I couldn’t share the music with others. So I bought these small, bootleg Chinese speakers that run off a 9V battery. They sound alright, and were only $5.

Footwear: I have some nice hiking shoes that hold up pretty well in the jungle, but I usually never wear them in towns. I have a pair of Reef flip flops that are fine for everything (even exploring a cave). Didn’t the Vietcong regulars wear flip flops? I can see the benefits of a sport sandal, but I hate putting them on and off.

For a pack I am using a Gegory Reality. Not sure of the size but isn’t too big. Has a nice large zipper access on the back so you don’t have to dig in through the top. I also have a Mountainsmith shoulder bag that you can attach to your waist. It is actually pretty comfortable and it is easy to access your goods. I could just as easily be fine with a backpack.

If you are trying to save money for a trip of this magnitude, anything you want can be found in Bangkok for significantly cheaper prices. I bought a big memory card for less than I would have paid back home. Don’t expect too much out of things though. For instance, the cheap lighters are crap and fail at the slightest hint of abuse.

That’s all I got for now. If anyone has any questions about some of these things, give me a shout.

Neil

Laos is great.

I just spent 3 days in this small town called Vang Vien about halfway between Luang Prabang and the capital, Vientiane. Vang Vien itself has little to offer; the main drag is made up of pizza joints and Indian restaurants that show movies and Friends episodes all day at obscenely high volume levels. At night there is a bar/pool joint that gets fairly lively.

The main attraction in Vang Vien is renting an inner tube from a shop and then floating down the Nam Song River. Every 100 meters or so, an enterprising Lao has staked out a patch of riverbank where he or she waits with a bamboo pole and pulls in passing floaters to serve nice cold Beer Lao. For those of you in the Midwest, it is a lot like floating down the Apple River in Wisconsin, except the scenery is amazing and the beer is cheap. About halfway down the river, we pulled into a bar that was rocking some Lao techno but offered the opportunity to explore a cave. After downing a few beers, we walked to the cave that was just up in the jungle. Exploring the cave required swimming up the river that emerged from the cave. The experience was quite exciting to say the least.

Farther downstream was another stop where if you bought a beer for $1, you could jump off a 10-meter ledge into the river. An Irish guy who joined our flotilla about halfway down the river tried to make the jump, but hesitated at the edge, fell off and nearly hit the riverbank on the way down. Our crew was feeling pretty good by the end of the journey, so we all had a quick shower and just headed out onto the town.

After a long night, we all met up again at noon the next day to do the same trip. We felt like professionals, procuring a bottle of Lao whiskey for 70 cents and a few bottles of Pepsi for the journey. This time, we explored a different cave at another bar. The proprietor sold us candles and told us it was a quick 10-minute walk up the jungle to the cave. The 30-minute march up the “trail” was over slippery, jagged limestone rock which most of us did in flip-flops. The cave was pretty big; I brought a flashlight but everyone else had candles as we explored. A Scot who was with us was remarking that in Briton, we would all be wearing hiking boots, helmets, and have ropes and flashlights. In Laos, a guy on the side of the river sold you candles and pointed towards the trail, and didn’t seem to mind that you had no shirt and were wearing sandals.

The next day, I took off with a few English guys to Vientiane. I will be here waiting for my visa for Vietnam until Wednesday, then it’s an overnight bus to Hue.

I don’t have any pictures from Vang Vien because I spent all day tubing and all night partying, but one of the guys on our float the first day brought his camera, so once his sends his pics to me, I can put a few up. Incidentally, he was on Koh Tao the same time I was. I didn’t mention this in my entries from Koh Tao, but one of the first nights I was there, I went down to the Maya Bar, where the party was happening. When I got there, the entire place was in flames, with people using anything they could to try and stop the inferno. Seeing that it was a lost cause, I retired to my bed. Jordan (the guy who was down on Koh Tao) witnessed the fire as well and snapped a photo.

I have also added photos to the past few entries: “Pai in the Sky” and “Mekong Blues.”

Enjoy,

Neil

Greetings from Laos.

I apologize for the lack of entries as of late, but it is hard to work up some motivation here in Laos. Life seems to move very slow here. It also takes a long time to get anywhere in this country.

I’ve been here nearly a week, and I can now see why so many people rave about Laos. The landscape is exotic, the people are really nice, and it is dirt cheap. After crossing the border at Chang Kong, Thailand I took a 2 day boat trip down the Mekong River to Luang Prabang, where I am currently holed up. The Mekong flows fast and thick in these parts, our captain manuvered our vessel with skill past various flotsam and negotiated rapids with ease. The first day on the boat was not very plesant as I was sitting in the very back, next to a sizable diesel engine (I don’t think that mufflers have caught on yet in these parts). Earplugs helped, but after six hours I had had enough. The second day was much better; I secured a better seat and enjoyed the marvelous scenery.

The entire city of Luang Prabang has been designated a World Heritage site by the UN. The city is the spiritual center of Laos, with more Wats than I could count. The architecture of the city was quite nice, but I think I expected a bit more. I was more impressed by the surrounding countryside and mountains. On the first day, I rented a motorbike and headed off to visit one of the area’s two waterfalls. The ride was a bit longer than I expected (1.5 hrs.), and intermittent downpours on gravel roads did not make the journey any easier. The waterfall was impressive, and a swim in the cold river made up for the motorbike ride. A contingent of monks stopped in for a swim as well.

The next day I visited the second, smaller waterfall. While it didn’t have the size of the other one, it was really amazing. Trees were somehow growing out of the waterfall and again a group of young monks came by and played around in the water. The small pools were perfect for swimming – a great time.

The past few days have been real relaxing, not too much going on except eating and socializing. I spent last night playing hackysack with a couple of Isralies (one of them was the same guy from Pai) until about 4 am under the streetlights. Fun times.

I’m heading south to Vang Vieng tomorrow and then on to Vientiane. I did not arrange my visa before getting to the border, so I only have a 15 day visa instead of a 30 day. I either have to extend my visa or else make it over to Vietnam faster than I would probably want to. I’ll sort it out in the next few days.

Cheers,
Neil

The rain was coming down pretty hard when we finnaly convinced the Israeli to come to Bebop. He had some considerable hair, along with a beard that rivaled Osama’s. There were four of us, the Israeli, an American woman, the Thai resturant owner, and myself. The Israeli had a motorbike, but that would have left two of us to walk. The Thai resturant owner came out with some spare jackets and handed me the motorbike keys. She said just to return the bike in the morning…
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Yesterday was my 23rd birthday on the 23rd of July. (Doesn’t that hold some significance?) Celebrating your birthday while travelling is interesting – because none of your close friends are around, you end up hanging out with a slightly more unusual crowd.

During the day my mom treated me to a Thai cooking class. The course began with a visit to the local market for fresh ingrediants. Once we started cooking, I couldn’t believe how easy all of the dishes were. I was even more amazed when I ate the food that I had actually cooked it.

I learned how to make a few dishes: Cashew chicken, Red Curry, Fish cakes, Tom Yum soup, and a spicy Thai salad. All of the items seemed so easy to make – once you have all of the ingrediants prepared. Hopefully I will remember how to make some of them when I get home.

In the evening a few of us attended a Muai Thai boxing match. We saw a total of 10 fights, with the boxers ranging in age from maybe 13 up to he mid 20s. The boxing was quite viscious, a lot of kicking, punching, and elbowing. I had numerous bets going on at the same time (whenever I had the boxer in blue shorts I would shout “you’re my boy blue!”) which made the evening exciting. The highlight bout was between a local Thai and a boxer from Finland. At first I though the Finn was going to leave with no teeth, but he showed quite a bit of skill and ended up winning the fight.

It looks like a great martial art. Maybe i’ll look into learning the sport once I get to Hanoi. It would at least be a good way to get in shape.

Neil

I felt like Charlie Sheen in the beginning of Platoon as we started off into the hills; sweating profusely while carrying my gear on my back. Various animal and insect noises provided a nice soundtrack. Realizing how much noise we were making, I tried to walk without making a sound. I experimented with different walking patterns and attempted to avoid leaves and twigs that I knew would give our position away. I could just imagine a bunch of VCs ambushing our unit as we crossed over some rice patties…
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Here are some pictures from paradise:

A Thai fishing boat on the way out to Koh Tao

A longtail boat at sunset

The two Danes, Rasmuss on the left and Casper on the right

Dive sites on Koh Tao

Another evening in paradise

Firesticks at a beach party

Sairee Beach

Probable the greatest sunset i’ve ever seen

Marie and Casper on the beach

Sunset

Fire in the sky

The rest of my stay on Koh Tao was great. After my Advanced Certification course I did another two dives and saw some great stuff. I spent my evenings enjoying a great sunset and then stayed up until the wee hours of the morning at various beach parties. One night we listened to some Thai guitarists play some great old blues classics.

The fun was putting a serious dent into my finances, so I decided to head north. After a 30 hour journey by boat, bus, and train, i’ve arrived in Chaing Mai. I spent last night ejoying Kao Soi, a northern noodle curry staple, while listening to a great Thai cover band. They were cranking out various present day hits (chili peppers, coldplay, no doubt, ect.) better than any American cover band i’ve seen.

The climate is a bit cooler here, and the surrounding mountains offer numerous opportunities for hiking. I plan on staying around Chaing Mai until my Thai visa runs out. Then i’ll head over to Laos for a slow boat down the Mekong river.

hope you all enjoy the pics,

Neil