Shane's getting a Tux.... could a Cruise be Next?

Yep, you read that right. How can you pass up a custom made Tuxedo for $100... guess we'll have to see what it looks like when we get back to Bangkok.
After a few days trying to shop in Bangkok and getting frustrated at the prices and lack of choices I think the sun finally got to us. Shane gave in to the little tailor who quietly said hi to him each time we entered or exited our hotel. As a joke we went in to see what $100 could buy him. After all the tours we had taken we are seriously thinking a cruise could be next... after all they are the Mother of all Tours. It took a lot of negotiation and a couple of getting up and heading for the doors.... eventually they accepted our price for the tux. Wonder what it will look like? He might look good in magenta?
We spent three sweltering days in Bangkok before heading south to Ko Chang. Here we are... lazing around a pool and watching the sunset with a tall cool drink in hand. Time for a kick back before heading back to Bangkok and a connection to Singapore. Life is good here. We spend our days reading, swimming, sleeping, walking (a little), talking to the neighbours and enjoying the family run establishment we are in. BaiLan Beach on Ko Chang... not much of a beach but the resort is just fine and the price is right. Got to go now.......... I feel the need for a swim coming on. Will be here till the 3rd when we head back to Bangkok. Check it out... The New White House Resort.
Splish.............splash................ahhhhhh!!

He Didn't "Read My Lips!!"... but we had fun anyway

Our last two days in Vietnam turned out to be two of the best and we had no plans. With no tour planned we decided to walk to the Museum of Entomology. The Lonley Planet clearly states that when you get to the edge of the map you keep going right. Well, we did that, and by the time we asked for directions we were thoroughly lost. The directions we recieved clearly pointed us in two distinct directions. Uh oh!! It was now past 1:30 and we had tickets for the Water Puppet Show at 4PM. Now what? Just when you need it our guardian angels pitched in and found us a taxi driver with some English skills. He chuckled a little, turned the taxi around and drove us 6Km in the opposite direction to the Museum of Entomology. The walk wasn't a total loss. I actually love getting lost. The first part of the walk took us past Uncle Ho's tomb.... don't know if he was in or not. Apparently he goes often to Russia for a new wax job. It wasn't something we wanted to see. The tourists in front of the tomb were pretty interesting though. That whole area was teeming with tour groups. It's sort of like being in a zoo. You can sit there and watch the flock follow the little flag person to the next spot. Some of them had that vacant information overload look on their faces. One I can relate to.
After Ho's part of town we headed to the unknown where we passed lots of surprised people and an amazing area that sold mostly bonsai plants and air plants. Beautiful! Would never have seen this if we hadn't become lost. And of course, at the end of our adventure, we did experience the Museum. This is possibly the best maintained museum I have ever seen. The information on indigenous tribes of Vietnam is clearly stated. The artifacts are well displayed. There are life size homes on display which include different types of kitchens as well as clothing, beddings etc. It is a museum where you could spend half the day but of course we only had a short time.
Decided to take a taxi back where we managed to grab a bag of cashews before the puppet show. It had been a long time since breakfast.... snacks just don't cut it.
The water puppet show was pretty cute. It is different than anything I had seen before. The fire breathing dragons were my favourite though those little swimming kids came in a close second. The puppets are attached to rods under water and all the action is done behind a screen. Don't know how they get them to jump over top of one another without getting all mixed up. The experience was worth it.... and the music was pretty good too.
Now on to the tour........
One more tour........... we have tried to get to the area around Ninh Binh for a while now. It is not easy to get a bus and when you're there it isn't easy to get to the areas we wanted to visit. That added to the rains and you get the idea. We thought of hiring a car but it would cost us over $60 when all is said and done. So, the tour. This actually turned out to be one of the highlights of our time in Vietnam. No kidding. Yes we did follow a little man who had information overload, but after we were done with the ancient capital of Hoa Lu (968AD - 1009AD) we got on bicycles and toured the area around Tam Coc. This has been called the Halong Bay of the inland area. It well deserves the title. Beautiful limestone mountains climbing straight out of the rice fields. We could have spent the whole day here. Even watched them making a movie near an old pagoda. There were only 7 people who opted to take bikes (the rest went with the masses on river boats). With fewer people we were able to stop when we wanted for pictures. It was truly magical. At one point we climbed to Jade Grotto Pagoda (Bich Dong) where you could see across the fields to mountains in the distance. The visibility was much better than what we had in Halong Bay. All in all it was a great way to finish our time in Vietnam. The next day it absolutely poured.... all the way to the airport we could see only a few cars in front of us.
Here, in Bangkok, we have warm (read hot) temperatures. We are possibly planning a beach trip in the next couple of days. Maybe to Ko Chang. We're working on that. Don't fly out till the 5th. Chaing Mai is having problems with forest fires so it is best to avoid that right now.
Will update in a couple of days.

Halong Bay & Sapa Trekking.... "Read My Lips... No More Tours!!"

Don't get me wrong, we had a wonderful experience on both those tours but enough is enough. It is really hard to be an independant traveller in Vietnam. It would cost as much (sometimes more) to book the same tours privately. The system works to keep tourists pretty much on the same route. The good thing about this is that you keep running in to people you have met. We have made some good friendships here in Vietnam. Most of us are itching to get away from being babysat. There is just something about following a little person with a bright coloured flag..... "Hurry Up.... Hurry Up and Wait!!" Arghhhhh!

OK, that's off my chest, I can tell you about our two trips. Halong Bay was beautiful. Though the skys were misty we had pretty good visibility. Booked a three day tour which includes one night on a boat and another in Cat Ba City. We were picked up and crammed in to a mini bus (14 happy people and one bubbly tour guide). It was raining as we left Hanoi so spirits were pretty 'damp'. However, about one hour on the road the factories thinned out and the landscape became pretty interesting with the odd limestone mountain. After our 'Happy Stop' (read: bathroom) it was only a short journey to the gong show otherwise know as Halong Bay Pier. Hundreds of boats all bobbing around and waiting for our business. It turns out that little is arranged before you get there. Our (bubbly) guide left us in a lump while she bought tickets and proceeded to find an available boat. She did pretty well. After stumbling across a few other boats we made it to ours and had another bumper boat experience as everyone tried to take off at the same time. The crossing was beautiful. The scenery mixed with a great group of tourists meant a lot. As the mountains came out of the mist there was silence. It is an awesome experience. The tour included a visit to a huge cave as well as kayaking into a lagoon. We took lots of pictures as we had the only waterproof camera.... will e-mail them off. One of the group managed to tip over much to his wife's amusement (she wasn't the one in the boat with him). Shane and I even went swimming afterwards, on purpose. The others thought that only Canadians would do something like that. It was actually pretty warm (when you got out). Those of you who have been on this trip will know what it is like in that magical place. With the mist the sounds were muffled and we slept like babies.... Shane & I in one of the two nice rooms on the upper deck. The next day we were dropped off on Cat Ba Island where our kayak guide met us for a 'full day' kayaking. Shane & I were the only two on this part of the tour..... just us, our guide, our big boat and a cook. Pretty nice. Kayaking here is magical. The area we went to that day was much less crowded. With a guide we were able to meet some of the local fishermen and just go where we wanted to go. It was a great morning. Lunch was a spectacle with giant prawns, grilled fish, vegs etc etc. We felt quite spoiled.... then after lunch we were taken to Monkey Island to see the (6) monkeys and climb (a frightening) path to take a look at "the amazing and beautiful scenery". Four hours later we left the island! Had to wait for the rest of our group to join us and then they needed their two hours to climb and see the (6) monkeys and the "amazing and beautiful scenery". If we had known about the time we would have taken out the kayaks again. Language is a problem.... that and the fact that our guide didn't know much about kayaking. He swamped when we landed on the island.... and didn't know why?
Anyway.... we had a good tour of the area and our unused muscles were ready to take a break.
Back in Hanoi we had booked the next tour to begin that night with the overnight train to Sapa.
Wait... get on the bus.... wait.... get on the train.... wait..... sleep (?)... get up.... wait.... get on he bus... get out & store your bags.... eat breakfast.... meet in lobby at 8AM.... wait.... trek at 10AM. It's an experience.
Still a misty day but it turned out to be the best few days of the week. We trekked through a few villages (trek 20 min.... rest..... trek 20 min... you get the picture). Certainly less difficult than Myanmar. Rice terraces and little villages, water buffalo and locals in native dress. It would have been even more wonderful if those cute little local ladies (and children) didn't follow us the whole time trying to sell us anything they had. I did get a couple of things thinking that would stop them but it turned out to be a sign on my back that said "Look, she's buying!" Eventually our sense of humor won out and we all had fun. Got some great pictures.
The next day was part of the same. Scenery was equally magnificent.... saw how the locals lived in a very unique way. However, our homestay turned out to be a small guesthouse with visions of growing up to be a bar. After dinner they turned on the DVD player and the other guide started calling people in to come and dance. He must have been getting a cut of the beer sales. The party was right outside our (curtained) bedroom. The guesthouse was right next to a sign that clearly shows the rules of the village. Number 3 in the 'don't' section says don't make noise after 10PM. Arghhhhh!! Anyway, after a few complaints, it did stop. Got a few dirty looks from the other guide and some thanks from the homeowner across the street.
The second night was spent back in Sapa which is a great little hill town. Ran in to three of the girls from our Halong trip and enjoyed a good visit. Next day we went to Bac Ha to enjoy their Sunday market. Very colourful outfits. We enjoyed that a lot. Scenery was very different again and the villages were more prosperous. Imagine a thatch home with a stable attached and a satelite dish on top & motorbike outside. You get the picture.
Anyway.... we are back in Hanoi after another overnight train trip. Will stay here till the 22 when we fly to Bangkok.
Update before we leave.

Quick note from Sapa

Where in the world are we?? I keep asking myself that question. It is a misty evening in Sapa. A city in the north of Vietnam surrounded by amazing mountains with terraced hillsides.
The bus did indeed get us north but forgot to drop us off at Ninh Binh. Just as well as there was quite a bit of rain. Hanoi was our destination and the old city is where we spent the night. Followed a flopping pig carcus to our hotel.... decided to eat vegetarian dinner. The old city is amazing. Lots of fun. Each street has three or four names according to what they sell. So, when we decided to go out for Cha ca we went to, where else, Cha ca street. Don't try it... it is greasy deep fried fish which, aparently, you are supposed to try when you are here. Did find an amazing restaurant for Bun Cha which we absolutely love.
Booked a tour to Halong Bay where the air was misty but visibility pretty good. Had an amazing group of people and so much fun that I have to tell it on another blog.... I only have a few more minutes to finish this one so, stay tuned.... we are in Sapa now and travel back to Hanoi tomorrow on the night train. Will update fully from there. Too much fun to get it all down here. Oh and Happy Birthday Todd... I'm wearing green for the Irish and we lifted a pint in toast to you for your..... How old are you anyway?

On The Trail Again.... Hopping out of Hanoi

Spent two days in Hue where we chose to take a dreaded 'tour' of the countryside sites to see. When we took a look at where we had gone on a map at the end of the day we realized that we could have easily have accomplished the same on bikes. However, we would not have met new friends from London or had some of the much needed giggles that punctuated our experience. This is a country of people movers.... and sometimes they are successful. Round and round the steet the bus goes... past the same hotels where, at each pass, they pick up someone new. When the bus was full we took off for the Citadel (4 blocks from our hotel). This was a mini version of the Forbidden Palace in Beijing and is actually called the forbiden palace area. There is even a Reviewing Square that was only lacking in size and a pictue of Mao.... we could have been back in Tiennaman Square. Well preserved considering there was extensive bombing during the war. There is nothing left of the palace but the gardens and out buildings are still interesting. Back on the bus (following the little man with a long pointer) we headed off to see the first of three tombs (Tu Duc, Khai Dinh & Minh Mang Tombs). Each unique... one was gay and had quite a few offspring as well as 'friends' in France, one was not gay and had 140 wives, countless concubines and no offspring [they say it is because of illess] and the other seems to have had it all together on top of having quite a beautiful garden tomb. The rest of the tour included a time for the herd to tromp to the top of a hill.... snap a few pictures.... marvel at the Perfume (far enough from the smell) river... realize that we were actually standing on concrete bunkers... and tromp back down to the bus. Then, down the road with cameras in hand, we were given time (15min) to watch the process of incense stick making and conical hat factory [ the factory was one very cute old lady with a needle]. Back on the bus to a Pagoda (insert oohs and ahhs) then on to the boat for a twenty minute float to town and a walk back to our hotel. I forgot to mention lunch. We went all the way back to town for lunch which meant we had to go down the same narrow alley where a bamboo stick was used to hold up the mass of electrical wires or the bus would wipe out electicity for the area. When we looked at the map and measured it all out, the trip was less than 10km. With all the backtracking the bus put on at least 25km.
It was an experience. Imagine Shane and I with a little name tag following a man with a pointer and a bright red flag!!! Ain't life interesting?
The next day we tied to wear out our shoes by wandering all over town. Through the market where we watched pigs and chickens saying their final farewells while fish and eels swam around in plastic bins trying to find the escape hatch. The sights, smells, colours and noise of a market are not easy to describe. If you have experienced it you will understand that all over the world a market is a wonderful way to really experience local life at it's best. Tried our best to find Shane a Hot Toc (barber) with no luck in our price range. The weather was cloudy & not too warm which gave us the energy to explore and the desire to share a cold beer with another English couple at the end of the day.
Then we climbed on the night bus for a trip to Ninh Binh. No room at all on this bus so we were stuck in the back seat with three young people well in to the bottle of gin (staight) they brought with them. The good thing is that eventually they passed out.... two on the floor and the last across the three seats beside us. At least her feet were clean. Life in the cheap seats! Makes you miss the chicken busses!
At 5:30AM we realized that the bus forgot to drop us off so we sat tight finding ourselves in Hanoi and a bit of confused at 6:30. Oh well... there's no such thing as accidents. The area around Ninh Binh will be wonderful to exlore by bicycle. It is described as similar to Halong Bay but with rice fields instead of ocean. It is just as well they forgot to drop us off as it was pouring with rain when we went through. BBC has promised it will clear up this week. So....... the plan now is to go to Halong Bay tomorrow for a boat and kayak tour. It is misty but not raining, I am told.... will let you know the truth on the next blog.

Hoi An: Where the Rains Came

Hoi An is described in the guide book as a living museum and a great place to kick back. We planned to spend a week here to explore, visit an orphanage, have some clothes made and to enjoy the history of the town and surrounding area. For the most part that has come true. However, yesterday the rains came.
I woke up in the night to the sound of the heavens opening up. Rain always makes me think of growing up in Vancouver. I used to sit at our big picture window and watch the drops slide down the glass. Slowly at first then merging together to create a torrent. That is how my day started.
The street was one large puddle when I logged on to the internet to see if I had heard from the contact we had here at an orphanage. The e-mail I received told me instead that my mother has not been able to take fluids and is peacefully slipping away. That is when the tears started and the rain really had meaning.
The most difficult thing for me is to be on the other side of the world. There is never enough time to say goodbye. Though I know that I have had a wonderful time with my mother.... my friend... life will not be the same without her. There are so many more stories I want to share and to hear. So much more to learn.
Here in Vietnam I feel I am living a surreal existance today. If I hopped on a plane it would be too late, I know that. Mom would want me to continue this journey. I know that because we talked about it before I left. Today Shane and I went out to the countryside on bicycles.... the fields of corn, the fishing boats, the many flowers and trees were just what I needed to see. To be grounded in this beautiful place while my heart is far away.
We have seen much of Hoi An. We both got clothes made that actually fit. Saw My Son which was a fascinating place and even more wonderful because we could compare it to Bagan and Angkor Wat. Wandered the Old City to marvel at the Chinese and Japanese culture here. Ate great food and met new friends.
We continue this journey .... I am relying on Shane to keep me from falling apart. This journey of the heart is not unexpected but it is most difficult to accept.
I heard from my daughter that my mother passed away peaacefully. My journey continues.

Dalat's Cool & Crazy while Nha Trang has Gong Show Snorkling

Dalat, what a place. After the hot, humid weather in the Mekong Delta it was refreshing to climb up the mountains to this former French Hill Station. Just seeing mountains was a thrill for this old Canadian. There were areas where I believe the indigenous forest still exists. We left the rubber trees behind for lush gardens and fruit orchards. The green was punctuated by a colourful display from the mums, gladiolas, roses, daisies etc. The beautiful flower gardens included fields of orchids. All sizes and colours. In the city of Dalat the market area is an amazing display of colour as well as taste. Fresh and dried strawberries, they even have a local wine. Before I get too carried away you have to know that the wine just didn't cut it. We tried it, then we vowed again to return to the local beer.
Dalat reminded me a lot of Darjeeling, India. Built on a steep hill means every street has a view. There are tea plantations and coffee plantations surrounding the town as well. The similarity ends there though. Dalat is the honeymoon capital of Vietnam. The municipal government is trying to make all new buildings conform to the French style of old. There were times when we really had to shake our heads and ask where we were. A man made lake (7km around) has duck peddle boats on it, cowboys offering to take you for a ride (!) on their horses, horse drawn carriages, flower gardens (natch) with little bridges and romantic places to sit and gaze. More Vietnamese kitsch. Just when we thought we had figured out the town we took a tour to the Hang Nga Gallery & Guesthouse.... known by the locals as "The Crazy House". The neighbours tried to stop the building of this unusual structure but the architect is the daughter of Ho Chi Minhs successor so it stayed. To quote the guidebook: "something out of Alice in Wonderland... there are caaves, giant spider webs made of wire, concrete tree trunks, giraffe, frogs, toadstools etc." Each room has a theme (eg: termite room, ant room, eagle room...) It is a hit with honeymoon couples. Guess it's Vietnamese kitsch for theme rooms. We met the woman, 67 yrs old, who designed (and is still designing it as it won't be completed till 2010) the structure. She is very soft spoken.... a kind of old hippie. I loved the place. Especially the glittering staligmites & staligtites (sp?). Guess old hippies die hard. It was a kind of trip for sure.
The next day we hopped on easy rider for a trip to the countryside. Easy Rider are a group of locals who toss you on their motor bikes and give you a ride. It was a lot of fun but I wouldn't do the whole country on the back of a bike. Saw waterfalls, coffee plantations, the funniest giggling Buddha I've ever seen, blacksmith making farm implements from old bomb casings, basket weavers and a silk factory. The best part was just going through the towns and meeting people. This area is quite prosperous since the coffee crop in Brazil failed. This is apparently why there is so much new construction. The area was populated by people from Hanoi which caused a lot of anger locally until everyone started making money. The government has allowed free enterprise with guidelines, whatever that means. They are able to make money and prosper. I do miss the old wooden houses, though. The ones that remain look a lot like the wild west. Two story with wooden balconies. Kept wondering if Mae West would walk out of the saloon. Anyway, Dalat was a cool and crazy kick back but all things must end.
The next stop was a couple days in Nha Trang. This is a big beach city and that's all it is really. The surf is wild which makes swimming difficult. We spent the first day on the beach then decided to go on the well publicised snorkling tour the next day. The whole, long, day!! Now this is where the gong show starts. Shane and I were the only people on the boat that weren't Vietnamese. That's just fine because we love to mix with the locals.... what we didn't know is that we would be part of their entertainment. The Vietnamese love kareoke. We were captive on this boat for about an hour before our first stop and, guess what, we had to sing. Not only sing but play games at the same time. If you lost you had to sing solo. Guess who the stars were? Imagine Shane standing at the front of the boat with his arms outstretched while the guide sang the theme song from 'The Titanic'. Now imagine him having to fill in the blanks as he looked in to my eyes and the guide sang the song " I just called to say..............." Everyone on the boat burst in to giggles at that... then, when I planted a wet one on Shane's lips there was applause and more copious giggles. I had to sing a few songs but the best was a roaring rendition of Janis Joplin's Bobby Magee. They didn't know the words but we got a lot of back pats and thumbs up.
Then, at the first stop, we were supposed to snorkle at this Underwater Protected Area (that we paid 5000D to use). The area was surrounded by about 100 fish farms. Not only that there were twenty boats coming and going. The glass bottom boats go right over the narrow preservation area where you are trying to snorkle and yell at you to move. The current was pretty strong which made quick moves difficult. Who are these guys?? Then the dive boats arrived. Glad we didn't pay $50 to go diving ... they went about 2meters below us and then hit bottom. Back on the boat we were told that most of the other tourists were sea sick and would we mind if we went to a land beach now. Well, OK, guess it didn't really matter as the boat fumes were getting to me anyway. The locals have a curious way of helping you with sea sickness. They pound your head with the side of their hands and pull hard on your hair. Glad I wasn't sick. At the next island we were told to disembark but we couldn't go on the land unless we paid 10,000D. You can't stay and you can't get off. Well, that's less than $1 but it would have been good to know. We didn't bring a lot of Dong with us. Then to lie on the beach you had to pay more. We opted to go for a walk then sit in one of the bars and slowly sip a beer. Turned out to be quite entertaining. Beside us a company picnic was taking place. True to their love of kareoke there was a lot of singing going on. Pretty good too. They were so happy to see us that they left us with another nice cold beer and many handshakes. The last stop was an aquarium that must have been designed by the lady that did the crazy house. It was shaped like a pirate ship (again molded concrete) covered in shells and seaweed. Pretty interesting design. The fish were well kept in large tanks. The view of the coral here was 100% better than the area we had snorkled earlier.
Can't leave without a mention of our favourite pho lady. Pho is a noodle soup dish that we look for every morning. Here, in NhaTrang we found a little old lady that makes a delicious pho. Went there both mornings for breakfast and took her picture. She hugged me so hard I thought I would break. Some people are hard to leave behind.
Tonight we take the night bus to Hoi An. Hope to find a place with a pool.... get some clothes made.... visit an orphanage.... and enjoy the history of this area.