Traveling here and there, without a spare….

We arrived in Cape Town and were immediately excited by all the adventurous prospects that Africa had to offer. Kiliminjaro is only a few weeks away, safaris are available seemingly everywhere, and the raw beauty of this continent jumps out at you immediately. One problem, we’re sick and a little low on energy. No problem, Cape Town is relaxing and everything you need is a short walk away. There is a great waterfront that we made use of many times (we even went to KFC… I haven’t been to KFC in well over 10 years, hehe). Also, the movies were cheap (less that 5USD) which was nice.

Once we were feeling better we went to check out Table Mountain. This mountain was once at the ocean floor and was scraped completely flat by a glacier. Many years ago, it was raised up and is now a phenomenal presence just outside Cape Town creating a very picturesque backdrop for the city. You take a cable car to the top which is fun. The car rotates as it goes up so you get panoramic views as you move along.

dan

Apparently India did not want to let us leave without a little something special to take with us.  After a bit of back and forth, India decided that she would give Paula a powerful respiratory/bacterial infection and 103 degree temperatures for days and for Dan, food poisoning, the symptoms of which, warrant no description.  No trip to India is complete without these two ailments, so now we can be assured that we have really experienced India fully. 

On the plus side, this gave us an opportunity to experience India’s private heath care system, which proved to be quite good, especially if you are paying the “foreign tax.”  I called the Bombay Hospital the morning before our 11pm departure to South Africa and was given an appointment with a doctor for 30 minutes from then.  A short bit later I am in with a doctor who looks like a close approximation to the cute doctor I had seen in the Indian soap commercials so five points for India.  The doctor gives me a “prescription” (maybe better described as a list because I am not sure a prescription is required) for a slew of medications to treat this vicious illness that has incapacitated me for days.  He also gets me on the fast track for blood tests, just to make sure I don’t have malaria (double yikes).  On top of this, as if I wasn’t already eternally appreciative, he allows me to sleep in his office for several hours since our hotel had insisted on a 10am checkout.  

After this great treatment and a power nap, Dan and I are off to enjoy our final day in India.  We decide that the best place for us in our frail conditions is Chowpatty Beach.  We jump in a taxi, which immediately gets pulled over by a cop.   The taxi driver starts yelling at the cop; the cop walks away and the taxi driver jumps out and says “wait here.”  I look over at Dan and say, “lets bail.”  So, we are off by foot only to be approached by our taxi driver with yells of “where did you go?”  Apparently tickets are resolved much more quickly in India…a 50 Rupee bribe to the cop and done.  So, we jump back in our taxi and head to the beach.  To no surprise, upon arriving, the driver asks for an additional 50 Rupees to cover his ticket.  As tradition has dictated (for us at least), every taxi ride in India must end with an argument, and this time would be no different. After explaining to him that there is no way in hell that we are paying for his errors, Dan hands him the original agreed upon payment, which taxi guy won’t accept.  Finally Dan drops it on the seat, and we are off….trailed by our new stalker taxi driver.  

Chowpatty beach is very nice, except for the water, which is toxic.  It is a shame that people can’t swim there but people still lounge around enjoying the beach.  There are no bikinis to speak of though, everyone was quite fully covered.  

True to Dan and Paula-style, we decide to start walking back towards our hotel neighborhood, which is approximately 10 km away, thinking we will walk only part of the way and taxi the rest.  Our stalker taxi driver passes by…but ah ha ha, now that he has passed us he has lost us for good because it is a one-way road.  An hour of nice conversation later, we are almost there, so why bother with taxis we figure, and walk the rest of the way.  This would prove to be a big mistake as we would later see on an airport bus in Abu Dhabi…                  

 Paula

Our top choice for transportation within India was the train, as it is cheap, convenient and comfortable. Figuring out the India train system however takes quite a bit of study. Seat options range from 1st class, 2AC, 3AC, 3 General, Sleeper, Chair Class, Executive Chair Class. Luckily in Delhi there is an office at the train station which is assigned the task of assisting foreigners with train reservations. It is not so easy to find the office though, as signage is sparse and scammers are clammering to tell you that it is closed, burned down, or never existed, and that the real tourist office is right up the road. Having read all the scam sections of our trusty guidebook, we were prepared for this and marched right past these men who seemed appalled that we did not believe them. We bought a ticket to Agra in Delhi but failed to buy our other tickets, thinking that it would be just as easy to book at the train stations along the way. This, unfortunately, was not the case.

In Agra we bought general tickets to our next stop, Jaipur. When the train arrived the large crowd of people clammered for the door. The train for some reason shut and locked the train doors, not allowing people to board. People started running to the other cars, trying to find a way on. Dan and I jumped onto the nearest cart and sat down, half on, half off the seat, as it was full of people. A train employee then came and told us that we were in the wrong place and that we were supposed to be one section down. At this point all the seats were completely full and the smell from the bathroom and people was unbearable. We were told that we could ask for an upgrade from the conductor…if we could locate him. With a train employee leading the way, we found the conductor who found us a new seat in sleeper class. The train employee took us to our seats and told us the upgrade would be 50 rupees. We paid the low sum and took a deep breath of relief at avoiding a 7 hour ride in general class of the train. About an hour later, the conductor came by and asked for more money for the seats. Oops, we accidentally paid a very nice tip to the train employee… oh well. The real price for the seats were too expensive, so down-graded (a bit) from sleeper to a seat class (seats instead of beds, but you already knew that) and parked there for the rest of the trip.

We couldn’t find a ticket for our big overnight train trip to Bombay from Udaipur.  After approximately 5 hours of creative train schedule surfing, we found a way to Bombay by stopping in Ahmedebad.  We were to have approximately 35 minutes to change trains which we were a little concerned about from the get go. This would be one of the small concerns though…. As we get on the train, we can hear the screams of a child. When we arrive to our seats, we find the source of noise is sitting with his family (father, mother, and brother) in our shared area. “Great, 5 hours with a bratty kid… argh, oh well… how bad could it be?” Well, maybe a list format will work for this:

1. Screaming at top of lungs basically nonstop
2. Kicking Paula in the shin, parents laugh
3. continued screaming, now climbing to the upper bunks (remember we’re in sleeper class)
4. Climbs down, kicks paula again…. paula and I realize that this is no accident and paula gives him a serious wag of the finger and tells him not to kick her. (the parents don’t laugh but still do nothing)
5. After jumping and falling into his brother, he takes offense somehow and begins punching his brother. Dan, Paula, and the mother separate the kids.
6. High fives with the kid and his dad about how tough he is…. they even faux arm-wrestle and he beats his dad…. mom and dad cheer… woohooo!!
7. More screams and climbing about.
8. Snack time… they eat some candy and other food. The kid takes the wrappers and tosses them out the window. Mother doesn’t flinch at this. A few moments later, the mom hand the kid more garbage which he immediately tosses out the window.
9. Snack time for Paula and Dan. We take out our delicious chocolate cake and begin to munch. As Dan is eating the kid is standing a little too close. In a flash the kids grubby little hand shoots toward Dan’s cake. That little bugger didn’t know that cake stealing is too far when it comes to Dan and Paula. With more speed than this child has ever witnessed, Dan blocks the kid’s hand, pushes the child across the car into the bed on the other side of the area, and immediately shoots him the look of “that’s too far, i will take … NO MORE” to the mother. She then grabs her kid and scolds him pleading “why did you try to take the cake? why? why?”….

Once we arrived to the next train station, Dan got out and found the conductor to move us to different seats. We were able to spend the rest of the night a few rows away and nearly out of ear-shot from that horrible child.

Arriving at Ahmedebad with 5 minutes to make the next train seemed like no big deal after all of that. After a bit of a sprint, we got on that final train to Bombay, we relaxed in the A/C but remained in awe of how terribly anti-social that child was… sheesh.

In India, you can be immersed in a noisy city, annoyed by some tout (a person selling things and maybe following you further than you like down the street), constantly side-stepping ‘poo’, and feeling a little off with the country… then suddenly, you are having a fantastic lunch of Malais Kofta, rice and dal on a rooftop, over looking the richness of India’s history, amazing sights and architecture, watching monkeys take death-defying leaps from building to building,  all with the relaxing vibe of Indian music softly calling from somewhere close but seemingly far away. And you’re at complete peace.

After Dehli, we went by train to Agra (to see the Taj Mahal). We were told, upon purchasing the tix, that certain seats were “not appropriate for tourists”. When we boarded the train to our clean and reasonably spacious car, Dan decided to take a walk to see if there was a restaurant car. Upon return, he found no restaurant but did, however, find the reason for the earlier “not appropriate” advice. Being very cramped with people and smells, these train cars are not for the meek traveler.

Finally, we arrived to Agra ready for Taj. We took a tuk-tuk to where the guesthouses were, a few blocks from the Taj. Quickly, we realized why most tourists do Agra and the Taj as a day trip. There’s nothing to see or do really except for the Taj. So, we decided to drop our bags in a locker in a guesthouse, walk over and check it out. To further enjoy the Taj we had lunch at a nice rooftop restaurant with a great view of the Taj. With nothing left on the agenda, we decided to hop a train to the next stop, Jaipur.

Jaipur, know as the pink city. We stayed here for a few days and checked out the forts and the city. We enjoyed rooftop restaurants and walking through markets. After Jaipur, we went to the tourist hub that is Pushkar. Encircling a beautiful lake, this city is a spiritual hub for Hindu’s and a pretty relaxing place for the weary traveler as well. After a few days, we continued on to Udaipur. Another city on a lake, famous, though, for being filmed in James Bond movie, Octopussy. In India, you can all too easily take for granted the architecture of all these palaces, forts, temples, etc. The history of it all is mind-boggling. After a few days, we hop a train down to Bombay. After a few days walking around Bombay, we have to say goodbye to yet another country, and head to a whole new adventure in Africa.

dan

We arrived to India with many expectations… some of them proved to be true and some of them not so much. India is a very interesting country; there are all kinds of animals roaming the streets (even in the major cities), including cows, goats, dogs, monkeys, etc. This translates into ‘poo’ traps in all directions. Luckily we have managed to keep our shoes safe thus far. We were expecting majorly crazy traffic, as well… Maybe it’s our experience in SE Asia (specifically Vietnam where, to cross a street, you just non-chalantly walk into thick oncoming traffic), but it seemed ‘reasonable’. I can definitely say that SE Asia is good preparation to go from a western way of life to Indian.

We actually found our kind of scene in Dehli and went to a salsa club which turned out to be a blast. Since Paula didn’t have proper attire, Paula bought a skirt from a street vendor before going into the club. The people were friendly and we were even invited to another salsa night on that Tuesday (which we would not be able to attend as we were leaving dehli).

Besides the big party… we also checked out some forts and the Gandhi Smriti. This is where Gandhi spent his last days before he was tradjectly murdered. He was on his way to do his daily prayers, merely walking through his garden, when he was shot and killed. They have raised footsteps along the pathway and a monument where he fell. To say the least, it is very surreal to walk in the footsteps of such an icon.

Dan and Paula

After the fun of Vang Vieng, we caught a bus down to Vientienne. This sleepy capitol is definately a nice place to exhale. We spent a day here and strolled along the Mekong river where hundreds of impromptu restaurants / food stalls dot the river bank. As always in Laos, fresh tasty pastries, cookies, and cakes are always available.

We took a bus to the Laos/Thailand border, walked through an eerily quick immigration/customs line, and pow… we were ready to catch a sleeper train (overnight) to Bangkok. We joked that we had so much fun in Laos, it was probably best that leaving the country was such an unnoticeably quick process… otherwise we may not have left.

On the train, we met up and had a few drinks with a Venezuelan and an English guy, both of whom were studying business in Hong Kong. We had some laughs and tried to stay up as late as possible. Sleeping went fine for me (thank you beer lao) but paula unfortunely never settled in. We arrived in Bangkok around 6am, and grabbed a bus down to Pattaya beach.

In Pattaya, we found a kitesurfing school and a resort with a nice pool for cheaper than Mui Ne… Sweet, right? Well, we had fun and I got some kitesurfing in. The wind in Thailand is not ideal for kitesurfing but I was able to get some good time in and even made a few launches on the board which felt great! Added bonus… the instructor showed us a website (www.windguru.cz) for checking wind and it turns out that the Chesapeake Bay has good wind for us! So maybe we can bring our new sport home! Maybe we’ll get some of these moves once we get goin’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnoCC5-5Sbs

After a few days of beaching it, we returned to our old stomping grounds in Bangkok. Kao San Road! This is such a lively area and is never to be missed. We grabbed some cheap Phad Thai from a street food stall of course and watched the night go by as we shared some late night ice cream. The next day, we lounged around a pool and found a great breakfast place that we are looking forward to checking out before we leave for India. Also, it being valentines day, paula and I traded cards (homemade).  Thankfully, she didn’t make too much fun of the cheesy/lame faux flower that I got for her (the only flower type object on the block)… I’m such a lucky guy!!

According to the Lonely Planet, if you have a problem with reruns of “Friends” being shown daily throughout town, Vang Vieng may not be for you. So I have no problem with “Friends” but also did not take the authors statement literally and assumed there would be a lot of pop US shows on. This is not the case, from guest house to guest house, the show “Friends” is being played on repeat. You walk through town, and hear about Monica and Chandler’s first kiss over their roaring speakers. It is very odd, but quite funny.

Vang Vieng is more than just Friends, however, it is a big place for tubing and outdoor activities. Tubing in Vang Vieng is not of the same relaxing variety that I have done in the US. We entered the river on our tubes in the late afternoon and a few minutes later floated to the first bar. The bartender handed us the end of a bamboo pole and pull us towards his bar. Up above, a guy went swinging by on a zip line that sends him into the water. That’s when I thought, this is going to be a blast. A few zipline swings and drinks later we are off on the river again. The second bar we reach is packed with young people. That along with the 100 plus tubes parked on the side of the river, let us know that this is the place to be. Above we see a trapeze swing that sends people flying into the river. Bob Marley hits blast from the loud speakers and people drink, play volleyball, punch a punching bag (an interesting addition) and hang out by the bon fire. This could be the set of MTV’s Spring Break 2008! We had to tear ourselves away from this bar to ensure that we make it back to town before the sun goes down.

The second half of tubing, not as much fun, as the sun is setting, I am shivering but refusing to get out of the river to take a tuk tuk to town, more on principal than anything. We had it better than most, perhaps because we were not completely pissed, to incorporate an Aussie term, we had the sense to leave the bar and continue on our way before it was dark. A lot of the drunker tubers tubed back to town in pitch dark.

Despite our hectic arrival to Luang Prabang, it was impossible to stress out for too long. Luang Prabang the type of town that must make the cover of “Traveler’s Magazine” time and time again. The buildings are of French architecture and there is beautiful soft lighting in the evening which make for a very romantic ambiance. Plus on top of that, there is hardly any traffic or loud noise. The aggressive street touts common in Vietnam seem nonexistent here. Another thing that we were delighted to find was pastries of all varieties (chocolate cake, brownies, banana bread, chocolate croissants). If you know Dan and I, this made it into a little piece of heaven for us.

For dinner we decided to head to a restaurant that was highly recommended in our guide book. As we started walking we stopped to see a beautiful night market which sold handicrafts, jewelry, purses, souvenirs and clothing. We saw a stand where fried noodles and fried rice were selling for only 30 cents a plate and decided to partake. They were quite delicious and filling. We then moved on only to find another market that sold only food. There were vegetarian buffets,fish and meats cooking on the grill, and other delicacies for sale, such as grilled pig heads. They had long picnic tables set up which were completely full with people dining on this delicious food. We grabbed a bit more food and realized that the way to dine well in Luang Prabang is not inside at a restaurant but on the street at these delicious food stalls.

According to our guidebook, Luang Prabang is the perfect city for sightseeing by bicycle. We decided that we would spend our second day in Luang Prabang doing just that. We spent the morning looking for bicycles to rent…the dialogue went something like this:

us: Do you have bicycles for rent?
them: no
us: Do you know where we can rent a bicycle?
them: no

So, after talking to about ten people, finally, one kind Laotian guest-house clerk decides to say a little more and explains that it is against the law to rent bicycles to foreigners in Luang Prabang. Forgetting that you are not supposed to criticize the Laos government, I express my disbelief and then share my thoughts on the gross stupidity of that law. Later, while walking around we run into two other groups of foreigners who are on the wild goose chase of finding a bicycle to rent in Luang Prabang.

We left Hanoi on an early flight to Luang Prabang, Laos. We had our passport photos ready to give for the visa and thought we were ready to go. Oops. Here’s a lesson in having the right amount of travel money when entering a new country… I guess we got a little relaxed. oh well.

When we landed in Luang Prabang, we felt great. The temperature was about 70 degrees F and the sun was out. The air was light and the people would smile as they say Sabai-dee (Hello). We got in line, passport photos and documents in order, like good little travelers (pro’s, right?).

Them: “ok, that will be 35USD for each.. 70USD total, please.”
Us: “Um, we don’t have dollars, can we use credit card?”
Them: “no”
Us: “Can we use Vietnamese dong?”
Them: “no. Kip or USD. Can exchange.”
Us: “uh, What if we don’t have enough dong to exchange?”
Them: “You can exchange.”
Us: “Don’t understand… how does exchange give us more money?”
Them: “ATM in city.”
US: “We can leave the airport?”
Them: “Go that way.”

So we left our passports (held hostage) at the airport and had to find the one ATM in all of Luang Prabang. As we are trying to get to the city center, we hear people saying that there is actually no ATM in all of Luang Prabang. A major tourist destination with no ATM?… inconceivable to our western minds, but since Milford Sound (New Zealand) had the ATM and gas station issues, we fear the worse case. In the end, there is one ATM and a very long line behind it. So I watch the bags in the Tuk-Tuk as Paula gets the money. A 700,000 Kip max (70USD) means she had to withdraw 3 times. Back to the airport we go. After spending more time than is worthwhile talking our way the wrong way back through security, we pay for our visas, collect our passports and re-enter Laos as proper visitors.

Dan

After the pure relaxation of southern Vietnam, we decided to not take the 12 hour bus ride and instead caught a flight north to Hue. It was a bit drizzly and cool there. This was odd to us as we hadn’t seen any type of precipitation for quite some time. Still, we enjoyed ourselves, rented bikes and made the best of it.

After Hue, we again forewent the 16 hour bus ride and caught a flight (good thing the domestic flights are reasonably priced!) to Hanoi. We land… over the load speaker comes “it’s 5 degrees outside”… quick conversion makes that aound 42 degrees F outside… and it’s raining. hmmm. Unexpected to say the least. So, dressed inappropriately, we head out to get a transport the city. We find a mini-bus that will take us for 2USD per person so we hop in. The way mini-buses work is that they wait to fill up before they head out. So we wait.. and wait. Finally, almost an hour later, we’re off. We get to the city center and it’s drizzling like in Hue, only it’s the kind of cold that goes right to your bones. After the calm beach atmosphere of the coast, the hustle and bustle has us a little caught off guard but finally we find an accomodation and settle in. Of course, this city doesn’t seem to have heat (at least at our price range), so it was very good that we had sleeping bags 😉

We took a walk around the late in the Old Quarter and found some decent food. The next day we checked out the water puppet show that is famous in vietnam. It’s looks something like this:

The next day we left Hanoi for a boat tour around Halong bay. Halong bay is quite beautiful. It reminded us of the ferry from the North Island to the South Island of New Zealand. With the wind, being on the boat was quite cold. It was OK though as we had some good company with a few Ausie’s and Germans we made friends with. Also, the guide on the boat gave us a good lesson on how to speak some vietnamese which was nice.

When we arrived back in Hanoi, the rain had let up and it was nice out. The temperature had risen and we started to feel the life of the city. It was a very nice city once we settled into it.

Now we’re off to Laos which should be warmer. Can’t wait!

Dan