The Dumass and Wiggy Journals
- The legendary chicken of Lang Con Ca...
Here are more updates from our friend Steve. Page 2 and still typing!! It will only be a few days before I catch up with Steve in person and therefore our journals will join for a month or so. I hope you enjoy the stories... (stu)
~ Phnom Penh ~
~ Into the Heart of Darkness ~
~ Good Morning Vietnam! - Dumass ~
~ Faced with terror (Saigon) - Wiggy ~
~ Chu Chi - Wiggy ~
~ Mekong Delta - Wiggy ~
~ Mekong Delta - Dumass ~
~ Dalatful - Dumass ~
~ Dalat to Na Trang - Wiggy ~
~ The Vietnam Derby Continues! - Dumass ~
~ Hue, Hue, Barney McGrew - Dumass ~
~ Finale - Wiggy ~
Page Index Previous Page Next Page
My next destination after Battembang was to be Phnom Penh the capital city of Cambodia and another cursed road journey by taxi to get there. For this trip there was a whole lot of shakin goin on for 80% of the time and at points the road was flooded so that the car would slide from one side of the road to the other. At other parts, the road were so bad that the driver drove the car half on the road and half in the dirt so that we would be sitting at a 35% angle. The Cambodians seem to drive cars like small children push their toy ones!?!
Phnom Penh when we eventually arrived I found to be a strange little city that I have heard lot's of mixed views about, some people say it's ok and many people feel intimidated here. Walking into a new place is getting to be quite easy now, I no longer have "the fear" that I experienced on first walking out of the airport in Bombay and I generally feel quite secure. All in all traveling to strange places is a good way to face your daemons and your fears...
The old Daemons of self-doubt and procrastination still raise their bitter heads occasionally, but I can usually manage to chase them off with a lung full of smoke. This will make them scamper away into the deeper recesses of my mind, coughing, spluttering and cursing me as they go.
Self-doubt occasionally delights in picking on me, humming the Carmina Burana into my ears or whispering of my inevitable failure. In some cases I break into the Ride of the Valkryes to ward him off... Da da da da....
Procrastination I know very well from my time back in England, he is known as the thief of time and we used to hang out a lot catching the breeze. I must admit that at times I do enjoy his company but he does seem to lead me astray like the naughty child at school who offered you your first cigarette. But you should know your own way and not be led astray by others, so I try to keep him at arms length.
So Phnom Penh, I thought it was ok and I decided on the walkabout hotel as it seemed pretty central to most places and had the added bonus of a 24hr bar. It was only later when speaking to a crazy Vietnam War Vet that I realised that all the friendly Cambodian girls in the bar were actually at "work"!
The next day my friends Nicola and Shane arrived and we set off to a military shooting range. Once at the range we sat down at a table where we were offered drinks and given a laminated plastic card that looked like a menu. In fact it was a menu, a menu of guns detailing the type and model of the gun, the no. of rounds you get and the price (in US dollars). For starters I decided I would have the obvious choice, the AK-47 and then as a main course I would take the colt .45. "An excellent choice Sir and would you like a hand grenade with that?", yes that's right for $10 you could throw a live hand grenade. The weapon that I had previously heard about and had wanted to fire was the B-40 rocket launcher but the price had dramatically increased beyond my range at $200. So I settled on the AK which is the choice of terrorists worldwide and a gun that has brought misery to the world due to its simplicity and rapid fire.
I was surprised at the lack of a kick and single shot it fires just like a rifle and is pretty accurate. On automatic it is devastating and the bullets disappear in seconds leaving only a shower of shells, this is one hell of a weapon... Not nearly so much fun as the AK but with the movie cop factor of being a handgun there was the colt 45. I have no idea how anyone can fire accurately with this thing, as soon as you fire the kick throws your hands up and making you miss your target by a long way! Still the photos should look cool and I managed to keep a casing.
Most visitors to Phnom Penh do not leave before taking a look at the S21 Prison and the Killing fields of Choeung Ek, which is a more morbid testament to the Khmer Rouges genocide. The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum which was originally a school and later converted into the Khmer Rouges Security Prison 21 is yet more of an insight into the grisly past of Cambodia. There are four blocks that made up the school now surrounded by a barbed wire wall, the first block was made into interrogation and torture rooms which still contain the beds that the prisoners were chained to. As you walk into them you feel slightly chilled as you imagine the terrible things that people must have suffered in them and if you do not feel this there is a picture on the wall to remind you. The second now houses the pictures that the Khmer Rouge took of all the prisoners that went through the prison in its 4 years; only 4 or 5 people survived the prison. On the right side of the school are the third and fourth blocks which were converted into wooden/brick cells to hold the prisoners, the cells have just enough room for the prisoners to lay down and not much else. The fourth block now contains sets of paintings that depict the torture devices used and behind glass the clothes and skulls of the prisons victims.
After S21 if you still haven't had enough of "the horror, the horror!" then you can always take a trip to the killing fields so named because the Khmer Rouge moved the prisoners here after they had been processed and promptly slaughtered them. Many people were beaten to death and then thrown into one of the 129 mass graves that were found here, it's quite shocking to walk around this place seeing pieces of bone and rags scattered in the excavated pits. A selection of the mass graves have been labeled with the contents that was found in them like women and children or headless skeletons, its all pretty harsh stuff. Some of the trees have been marked with crosses, I guess by the locals and we were told that many people were executed against them. In the center of this area a Stupa has been erected to house the many skulls that were found in the mass graves of the killing fields.
~ Into the Heart of Darkness ~
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With Nicola and Shane’s arrival in Phnom Penh came the suggestion of a 7-8
day trip on motorbikes up to the Northeast part of Cambodia. The night’s
before we were to set off we had been discussing the merits and problems
that this might entail. As an experience it would indeed be fun, something
different from what I have done before, negotiating tough roads and taking
us off the traveler trails into areas not yet exhausted by tourism. The
downsides would be any problems that we might face with the bikes resulting
in facing a large bill, armed bandits said to be operating on some of the
roads and traveling through higher risk malaria areas with limited or no
medical facilities. The bike guy reassured us a little on the bikes (we got
some 3rd party insurance) and informed us there have been considerably less
bandit attacks, “Just be off the roads by night fall!”. The malaria was not
so much of an issue as long as you have some tablets with you and take some
when you see any of the signs; this gives you adequate time to get
treatment.
I’ll just tell you a little about Shane and Nicola before I continue. Shane
I find to be totally reliable in any situation and has a truth in his
thoughts and actions that I admire greatly. Nicola is confident more than I
think she gives herself credit for, responsible and has a big heart. She
generally ends up sorting out many of the daily problems like bartering for
rooms that I greatly appreciate but probably take for granted. As a couple
they complement each other perfectly and I find them a pleasure to be in the
company of.
After sorting ourselves out with a couple of 250cc trail bikes, dumping our
bags at the hotel and a quiet prayer we threw ourselves amongst the traffic
of Phnom Penh. This is like a leap of faith, once you are riding in the
throng it's no worries but to get yourself there takes a little courage. The
way driving works in Cambodia is drive on the right hand side, nobody
indicates (so observation is key), big things are to be surrendered to, the
horn is king oh and nobody wears crash helmets.
The destination for the first day was to be Kompong Chang about 120km away,
a nice short drive to allow us to get used to driving on the Cambodian
roads. I was surprised at the quality of the road out of Phnom Penh as it
was a good sealed road all the way and a delight to ride enabling us to make
some good time. At 11:30 we stopped in Skuon for a lunch of spiders, it's a
little place where they breed spiders, fry em up and eat em! The spiders are
quite big maybe 7-8cm long and 5cm wide with a long body and hairy legs. At
first I gingerly tried a leg, to my surprise it was good, kind of like
chewing the edge of a rib were it's a little burnt and crunchy so picked off
the rest and ate them. Next I cracked open the head/body which was also
good, a bit more meaty and finally I tried the pincer bits which I didn't
find particularly tasty mainly hair I thought. The arse I left as it didn't
look all that appetizing, but all in all spider is a tasty meal and full of
protein. To accompany the meal we asked for a vegetarian meal with rice but
were given a dish with meat on rather "small" ribs, only the lord knows
whose pet we ate.
We arrived in Kompong Chang without incident and rolled around town to see
what it had to offer. It's a nice way to enter a place on your own transport
as you can cruise around being stared at as a stranger and find your
accomodation at your leasure. It's a sleepy city Kompong Chang and we used
the remains of the day driving through the villages surrounding the place.
My clutch cable snapped while driving down a dirt track, but I was able to
take it to one of the villagers who through gestures understood the problem
and replaced it (1/2 a dollar inc. labour) and we were able to continue.
There are two roads to Kratie but we decided to take the one less traveled
that promised rough roads and river crossings. It was to be a longer journey
today of about 240km and we set of in good spirits along a dirt and gravel
road still under construction. Unfortunately this only lasted for about 20
minutes before we came upon road works giving us 2 choices. The first to
wait in the baking sun for the road to clear or to ride down a bank through
a villagers house and onto a village dirt road. We chose the later and
started flying along to the accompaniment of "Hello's" from the village
children. I think we must have said hello to every kid between Kompong Chang
and Kraite.
We stopped at a small village along the way and became the entertainment for
the day as we were surrounded by locals that we couldn't communicate past
gestures, amazing how much fun you can have with people when you can't speak
to them. In fact between Kompong Chang and Kratie we found very few people
who could speak English. In some ways it's a good thing that Cambodia
doesn't have a complex road system as the map we had only showed the major
highways (I say highways but most were no better than a dirt track).
When we arrived at Stung Treng the point from which we had planned to cross
the Mekong river we were a little surprised to find little more than a muddy
trail leading down the bank to the river. The ferry was in fact a small
wooden boat with a plank to be used for riding onto the boat; a little hairy
when you think a loss of balance might leave my $1500 dollar bike swimming
with the fishes. Once on the other side of the river it was another ascent
of a similar steep and muddy bank and then to continue on our way through
small villages. It's hard to make good time on these dirt tracks as in
places it becomes quite muddy and if you hit a deep patch of mud at speed
then you will be down.
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We had to reduce our speed to about 30-40Kmh after a while as we not only
had to contend with the erratic terrain but also you had to allow for cows,
dogs, chickens and small children running out in front of you. All in all I
only nearly hit 3 chickens, 1 dog, 2 cows and nearly wiped out the bike
twice in the mud and once on sandy dirt. Chlong the town we had planned for
a lunch stop was a nice little place but we weren't able to communicate and
so we went without lunch in case we were served up dog and obliged to eat it
again. After Chlong the drive to Kratie was enjoyable with villages for
scenery and 2 further boat crossings but by the time we arrived in Kratie we
were exhausted and covered in dirt.
Unfortunately I became stuck in Kratie for 2 days due to heat exhaustion I
think the two long days of driving in the sun had taken their toll. Once
feeling better but not having eaten for three days we again started out on
the road, this time to Sen Monerom.
This was a long day of dirt roads and in the whole journey (250km) we only
passed about 4 villages. Many of the wooden bridges on the way were in a bad
state of repair and had detours around them, sometimes you missed these
detours and found yourself crossing a broken bridge on a single plank with
great gaps on either side. The roads we encountered today were mainly on the
logging routes and were generally not too bad to drive on. We past many
areas where Cambodia’s heart of darkness was starting to look pretty sorry
for itself due to heavy deforestation.
One of the scariest parts of driving in Cambodia on a bike is after a car or
truck has past, throwing up huge clouds of dust. When this happened you had
to drive along with your eyes shut for a few minutes praying not to go over
a bump and for a clear path until you were able to open them again.
The road for the last few hours was like a moto-cross track and we were the
lone vehicles riding it, which gave us the opportunity for some fun. At
points it was still under construction and then we would have to weave
between the diggers. We came across three in a row that were turning 180
degrees and picking up mud and then turning another 180 degrees to drop the
mud and complete a 360. We had to time it so that we could go past when they
were on the other side, it reminded me of a computer game (the drivers were
aware of us and kept an eye out but didn't stop).
As we drove into Sen Monorom the scenery was like the rolling hills of
England. Once in Sen Monorom we chose the Pech Kiri Guesthouse which is one
of the most friendly places that I have ever stayed, the owner she would
bring you iced tea and bananas free of charge. She doesn't speak much
English but is brilliant with her miming. The filter coffee served up in the
morning was like no coffee that I have ever tasted, it was apparently
Vietnamese and once drunk it's like a caffeine explosion in your head that
left me dizzy for the day. Shane and myself were convinced that she adds a
little opium to pep it up a little, whatever it was, it was a coffee with a
kick. After the coffee we were a little hesitant of anything she offered us
for fear she might drug us again. The remainder of the day we spent sitting
at the bottom of a waterfall with some locals and waiting to come down from
the coffee high of the morning.
The next day we set of on our return journey to Phnom Penh, a different
route this time that was shorter and with some possible dodge roads. After
25Km Shane’s bike started pissing petrol and we turned back and on the way
back my bike got a puncture. Due to all this we set out about 3 hours later
than intended at speed to try and make up some time, smashing over the bumps
at a breakneck 80kmh. When we arrived in Snuol to start the road to Memot we
honestly could not believe the state of it, the potholes were 4-5 foot deep
making progress slow when disaster struck. We had started to gain pace again
after to getting used to the BMX track style terrain when we came upon a
concrete pipe across the road. Shane braked I went to the side of him to
then see the obstruction and to cut it short I was left under the bike
inspecting the gravel. I was fine with just a few minor grazes on my hand
and arm but the bike was not happy with a broken clutch lever and twisted
forks.
Unfortunately we were still 60km from a town and so there was nothing for it
but to continue driving with no clutch and wonky steering over the most
hellish road imaginable. Due to the hour we were forced to stop 90km short
of Kompong Chang in a little dusty town called Memot. Fortunately I was able
to replace the clutch lever and once more I had an almost fully functioning
bike again.
A day late we were able to start the last leg of the journey and with my
bike ready to roll we set off. As it had rained the night before the dust
was less of a problem for the first hour but it seems that a new challenge
always arises and today’s was mud. The roads were pretty slippy and we had
to take care not to turn sharply or it would be ground hugging time for me
again. Still the scenery was nice driving past the rice paddies with the
farmers in the fields and the children guiding their buffaloes along the
road.
Upon reaching the Japanese built bridge (the Japanese seem to give Cambodia
a lot of support, war guilt I guess!) to Kompong Chang my spirits grew wings
and took flight, hovering above me and occasionally waving because this
meant we were coming to good road zone. My only troubles now would be other
drivers, cows and pedestrians but at least one unpredictable factor had been
eliminated. After a while the road to Phnom Penh was staring to get to me
with a few close misses from over taking cars on the wrong side of the road.
It called for drastic action and so I changed my driving style to Indian.
This involves heavy use of the horn at all times to indicate you are
a)On the wrong side of the road
b)1cm behind the vehicle in front
c)overtaking
d)just overtaking
e)about to hit something
f)going around a blind corner on the wrong side of the road
g)overtaking and don't think you will make it and so can you please slow
down
I used mine mainly for people who nearly hit me, people looking about to do
something stupid and people doing something stupid. After a further few
incidents with people walking out in front of me anything on the side of the
road also received a damn good beeping. Back in Phnom Penh I got the bike
back with no extra charges and it was just a matter of crossing the Vietnam
border for the start of some new adventures…
~ Good Morning Vietnam! - Dumass ~
And so leaving the roads of Cambodia behind me I crossed the Eastern border
into Vietnam. Heading first to Ho Chi Min City previously known as Saigon
and making my way to the budget area in search of a hotel. Ho Chi Min is a
pretty cool place and I'm staying in a road that is similar to kao San
(Bangkok) but with the heartbeat slowed down and I liked the place almost
immediately. You have bars and traveler cafes lining the streets where you
can relax and watch the days passing. I thought the hotels had real
character having just one room on each floor, they seems more like
apartments and the balcony overlooking the street is superb for
acclimatising yourself to the world in the morning or to fade away with a
drink in the evening.
On the first night I found myself being hustled by the cutest little girl
you ever did see in a game of paper, scissors and stone. The money here is
cool, basically it's 23,000 dong to the pound, and therefore on my first
visit to the bank I was a Vietnamese millionaire with 2,000,000 dong. Hiring
out a bike in Saigon is quite an experience, I ended up spending about 3.5
hours not finding a bank and getting frustrated by the one-way signs, the no
left/right turns signs and the sheer volume of traffic.
The 16th of May I was to meet a friend, Stuart from back home to travel from
the South of Vietnam into the North. For those of you that don't know him
Stuart has been one of the most constant friends that I've known and has an
amazing capacity for tolerance (This I have tested enough times!). He is one
of the most welcoming people to strangers and friends alike and I know will
make an excellent traveling companion. My only thought being whether a month
of hard travel through Vietnam will bring constant adventures or test our
friendship to the limit, a little of both I hope.
Anyway as a little introduction to the streets of Saigon I decided to hire a
moped out to go and pick him up from the airport (just what people want
after a long flight I thought!). After a bit of messing about, I gets there
and park up waiting at the departures exit for Stuart to come out. I was
kind of expecting to have a big greeting as it had been a while since we had
met, but no it pretty much handled like this, "Hi Steve, Urgh, what's
happened to your face?!?". Basically I think I picked up some kind of skin
condition in Cambodia where the side of my face is a complete mess of
disgusting skin, it's probably either flesh eating fungus as Stuart pointed
out or leprosy.
For a bit of a chilled out day we took a walk around the city of Saigon
stopping at the Ben Thanh Market and then moving on to central Saigon. I had
intended on sending a package of photographs home to England but when we got
to the post office all the staff were asleep on the floor, I even asked a
few people around who were awake, but they just pointed towards a prone
figure and walked off (most surreal).
During the French colonial conflict the Vietnamese constructed a huge tunnel
complex in the area of Cu Chi 90km out of Saigon to enable them to resist
the French without resorting to fighting them in the open. Later the tunnels
were expanded and used again by the Viet Cong (NLF) in resisting and
ambushing the American and South Vietnamese forces. The tunnels supposedly
cover a total length of 250km and took some 20 years to complete. We decided
that we would take a moped between us to the tunnels rather than be limited
by the tours you find on offer in all the traveler cafes. This was an
excellent decision as once out of the city it allowed us the freedom to stop
and enjoy the scenery when we wished. It was fun driving down through the
country roads, navigating by the signs and passing the paddy fields with the
villagers at work.
At the tunnels you get a video detailing the struggle of the Vietnamese
against the Americans. Although it seems that the Vietnamese no longer seem
to hold a grudge with the Americans over their past, the video (which looks
fairly old) is quite harsh in it’s commentary. It basically covers the
methods of the peasants who used the tunnels and set booby traps in the
jungle. Then goes on to talk of American killer heroes and of peasants who
after being caught in the war joined the fighting in order to kill
Americans.
I found it amazing that the Vietnamese were able to fight a war in such
confined conditions, all the tunnels you have to crouch as you walk and in
places even kneel. To avoid the tunnels being detected by patrols air holes
were disguised as termite hills, entrances set into the ground as trapdoors,
covered with leaves and booby trapped and smoke from cooking would be
filtered through the earth to come out of holes a distance away. The trap
doors were tiny in size so that a Vietnamese could squeeze through but it
would be near impossible for an American to lower himself down. An exit lies
next to the river so that the Vietnamese could come out under the water and
find a safe place to surface. We only covered a small distance when going
from tunnel to tunnel but this was enough to leave me sweating and my legs
aching, the heat in the tunnels surprised me. At the end of the tour the
guide sat us down in one of the tunnels dining areas where we were given tea
and rice cakes, this is the food that the Viet Cong would have eaten.
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The other attraction of interest at Cu Chi tunnels was the shooting range
where once again machine guns, a colt .45 and shotguns where available if
you had the dollars. It was a little pricier than in Cambodia and didn’t go
to such lengths as to offer rocket propelled grenade launchers or hand
grenades but nevertheless some serious kit was there. Now don’t get me wrong
I’m not getting a gun obsession and the only reason that I entertained the
idea of shooting more guns was for Stuarts benefit. So we decided on the
Colt .45 again and a pump action shotgun and I ran over to the range jumping
up and down shouting “Me first, me first!”. The pump action shotgun was
quite cool to shoot, I must admit mainly for the discarding of the cartridge
after shooting by sliding the thingy back!
~ Faced with terror (Saigon) - Wiggy ~
Hello - If you are readers of my web site you'll know that I've left Sydney and flown into Vietnam. Updates have been drying up as of late on the web site as we settled in Sydney to a routine and I apologise, but there are only so many drunken nights you want to hear about I am sure. Asia has a way of inspiring me however - and now you’re in for a treat. So get comfy and ignore your boss, this may take a while....
Saigon :
I left Sydney in the evening sharing a cab with some girls on their way home from a long holiday. After buying my last McDonalds for a while (and then having to ask them to take the fries back because I did not have enough cash), checking in and managing to get on the plane without any delays or fuss - I started to get excited. It took just over an hour to fly to Melbourne where I had to wait at the gate for another hour before we set off for Bangkok. Fortunately there was a Thai fella sat next to me who was also travelling alone and so I had a friend to abuse the free drinks with all night. We aimlessly chatted to each other for hours while drinking Chan beer (god I love that stuff) I think the rest of the plane was trying to sleep, but hay. It was not until the hangover kicked in that I realised I had not slept for the entire flight and communication started to become a problem. It's funny how you don't realise how much easier it is to chat to someone who understands little English when you are drunk, and how hard it becomes when you sober up.
After a 5 or so hours in Bangkok I boarded a plane that took just over an hour to get to Ho Chi Minh City. Steve was eagerly awaiting my arrival out side and had turned up early to wait for me. I staggered off of the plane exhausted from the flights and lack of any sleep quite late as the plane was delayed - poor old Steve had waited there in the blazing sun for hours. When I eventually greeted Steve we were in both such a state that all I could come up with was a how you doing mate followed by a what the hell is going on with your face!!?
Somewhere along the line in Cambodia Steve had picked up quite a nasty dose of Asian Leprosy - or so it appeared. He looked like he had been fallen off a bike and onto a cheese grater face first - then rubbed some sewage into the wound and left to rot in the sun for a week or so. Maybe this is a slight exaggeration - but I'm just glad I was not happy enough to hug him when we met or I might have joined fungal boy with the hood and bell. The diseased gypsy insisted that it's merely a rash and that the puss and broken skin would die down soon enough - thank god he appears to have been right.
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The first treat I had in store was to jump on a bike to be transported back to our hotel. My first impression of Saigon was one of sheer madness. There are 2.5 million bikes on the road in the city but even though that sounds like a lot - I can believe it. The rule of the horn governs the road - people beep to tell you they are undertaking you, overtaking you, want you to go faster, want you to ignore waiting at the red light, want you to move aside so they can squeeze between you and the floods of bikes coming the other way or just want you to move off of the pavement they happen to be speeding along on... Apparently you drive on the right in this country - although from looking at it, this is only a suggestion along with the traffic lights. What the Vietnamese people can fit on a bike also boggles the mind - anything from a few chickens to a family of four. I have seen aluminum polls come round corners half a minute before the bike carrying them gets round - these people have an incredible knack for balance without a doubt.
My trip may have been a little nerve jangling - but the face rotting Steve has been here a week now and has ridden bikes for years. I did not feel in any serious danger as even though the roads were packed - no one got out of second gear. All the way home (which took a while) I had an ear to ear grin - the sheer life and feel of the place gave me a rush and there was no way I was now going straight to bed as previously planned. We spent the rest of the day catching up and having a few drinks - eventually I crashed out around 9, have tried some snake wine (which actually has a dead king cobra in the bottle) and having some good food from Zen cafe.
After dumping my stuff we took a city tour by foot. Funky Faulkner had some photos he wanted to post home and I wanted to get a feel for the place. We walked through the market and started to remember the South East Asia way of making a sale - persistence. I found it a lot tamer than Thailand however and strangely enjoyed saying no thank you before flashing a smile over and over and over.
After the bike ride the previous day I was now faced with another problem linked to the road mayhem - crossing one. You can stand at the side of the road for as long as you want and no one will stop - it does not even occur to them that you want to cross, red light or no! After studying the locals method - I gave it a try... Total success as you way know, emails don't write themselves now do they...? Step one - hold breath. Step two - grit teeth. Step three - cross road. Bikes flow round you like water flowing round stone - of course, it takes a little getting used to but it seems to work quite well.
Later that day we made it to the post office after a few detours. I sat outside watching the world go bye as leper man went in to get things sorted. A few minutes pass before I see fungal boy beckoning me in. The post office was not to unlike our own in Britain accept for one quite unexpected thing. Everyone was lying under desks, on counters and over PCs keyboards happily snoring away. Picture a scene from the old Batman series on TV when Adam West and Robin burst into a post office only to find that the joker had gassed everyone and made off with the worlds rarest stamp. We left quietly and confused - it was time for a beer.
It's possible to walk round Saigon and see a hell of a lot, which is contrary to what the tour offices will tell you. On sale you will find cheap books (photo copied), cheap CDs (copied), cheap Rolexes (real) - all these items and more will be bought to you as you eat in restaurants and cafes over and over - but the sellers are friendly and enjoy a laugh even if you don't buy their stuff. If you go off the beaten track you will find more local stalls selling fish, veg, rice, noodles and meat at shockingly cheap prices. If you get tired of walking - simply stand still for a minimum of 1.5 seconds. Someone will whistle or clap at you, give you a cheesy grin and roll their wrists as if revving a bike. Of course this can get annoying when you have just happened to stop and look at something, or any other one of a thousand reasons for stopping - but when your feet hurt and you are not 100% on which way is which you can get back to base for less than 50US cents. Standard rules apply - agree the price and destination first, we had a problem where a biker scammed another biker into thinking he was not paid by freak face. I had trouble convincing the man that his mate was paid, but once a slightly annoyed man that looks like his face is made of salami comes out and sets you straight - you just don't argue.
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The next day we decided to see Chu Chi and it's network of tunnels used by the Vietnamese during the American war. I will not prattle on about the politicks as everyone has their own opinion and I only know so much. What you will not find in the history books and tour guide is an experience that truly shows you how small villages truly worked during the war. That was what this tour was about - the village of Chu Chi.
Booga man Steve had bravely decided to hire the bike again to go make the 90km north west of Saigon - I myself was happy to let him do the work as I did not yet trust myself on these roads. Once out of the city the roads however are quite clear and conditions are good - one road took us all the way there without any problems. Once in the small town of Chu Chi, we headed out into the villages and was faced with beautiful countryside and winding rivers. On the way we stopped to take some pictures, parking up the bike and taking a short walk. The views made me feel so alive as things have changed very little in these parts. A man quite surprised to see any westerners on foot, or at all, came up to us and make sure we were ok. He was supervising some children who were neck deep in the river - fishing I think. Just before getting to the tunnels we stopped for a drink - I had a dusty bottle of coke served by a young guy that found pie face and myself quite funny - still not sure why. Perhaps Steve reminded him of something he ran over on his bike that morning...
Once we got to the tunnel network we took the tour that cost 65000 dong, or about 3 pounds. After a video showing us old footage of the village before and during wartime a guide took us through a few extremely hot and very very small tunnels that opened out to meeting rooms and make shift hospitals. I could not imagine having to stay in such a place - although well designed, clean and quite ingenious - the rooms were tiny. The Vietnamese have seen much war and have little option but to fight - even so, the way of life in the village must have been very sheltered from the outside world (as it still is to a certain degree) and the sudden bombings would have instantly created blood enemies for the Americans.
After the tunnels ended we walked through a small zoo. The zoos here are bad at best - animals are not treated at all well and I'll leave it at that. There was also a display showing how booby traps were used in the war, simple but very effective traps of brutal design aimed at maiming or killing. The Americans used napalm and B52s, the Vietnamese used bamboo and twisted metal spikes...
Pizza cheeks took a well deserved drink after our tour and as we sat down one of the many large groups of Vietnamese kids turned up. One kid joined us and said hello - we chatted for a minute of two before about a hundred came round to join him. Picture sitting down for a drink at home and then having 100 school kids surround you - I don't know about you, but it would put me on edge. Children here are quite simply delightful and an absolute pleasure to be around. We were asked about England and where we had been travelling - many were interested in our opinions of other Asian countries compared to theirs. I found it hard to give a good answer to be honest - but they seemed happy enough and soon had to catch their bus back. Meeting them totally made my day having just been through some pretty tough tunnels.
Now it was time to have some serious fun - bog freak and I moved onto the shooting range and tried out some live ammo with a colt 45 and the all mighty pump action shotgun. Quite a sad boys and their toys moment I'm sure all you girls are thinking - but it was soooooooo cool. BANG BANG BANG - you can't possible understand the power of a gun until you fire one. TV has images of Sly and Arnie running around firing a shotgun with one hand. The kick the gun gives you in the shoulder is a reminder that these guns are designed to kill. The instant you pull that trigger the earth bank 100 or so meters away is oblitorated - and you're ears are ringings. I'll leave the AK47 to another date...
After acting like 5 year olds we got back on the bike and tried heading back - there was a little mix up were the phantom of the opera had lost the ticket we needed to get out. Three or four security guards were there umming and arring about what to do - one was insisting Harvey two face look over and over again by emptying his pockets. It occurred to us that he may be fishing for a bribe of some kind, but as it turns out - he was going 100% by the book. After taking down our hotel address and checking our documents that came with the bike - he let us go, and so we headed back for some dinner, a few beers and a much earned rest.
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In the few days I’ve spent in Asia this is the first where I have been able to get up when I want and spend a day at my own pace. Steve and I had done so much in only a few days we needed to just have a day of rest before moving on up North. After our trip to Chu Chi, the very next day we headed south to Mekong Delta and the river made famous by so many Vietnam War movies. We went by pre-arranged bus this time and I made use of the trip to catch up on some shut eye. Three hours later we transferred to a boat and headed down river and into the jungle. Steve and I got chatting to some of the others on the tour – it was quite a mixed group with a few single travellers and then some older couples here to video tape everything in site.
The Mekong looks every bit how I expected it to be – as we moved out of town and into the jungle the vegetation became thicker and the noise of motor bikes died away. We transferred onto some rowing boats after getting a spot to eat that took us round the small creeks in the jungle – moving round this way gave me a feel for what life was like on the Delta. Peaceful is one way to describe it, the tropical heat prevents any bursts of energy lasting more than a few seconds before you break into a sweat and so the only thing to do was relax, sing row row row your boat and take in the scenery.
Next we headed towards some villages and changed to a larger, more comfortable boat. We chugged around riverside dwellings and through small villages for the next three hours, every so often we would some to a huge opening in the delta that looked more like a lake than a river. The Mekong is around 4500km long and runs from China, through Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and then out into the South China Sea through Vietnam – which makes for one big river.
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The one thing that stuck in my mind the most was the children. I can see now why the papers and travel publications in Australia are telling people that now is the time to go to Vietnam. Westerners are still quite a novelty it would seem as every kid that saw the boat coming or was told by the unseen lookouts that a tour boat is getting close, would come out and wave to us. Not just a few kids every so often – for three hours we were constantly waving back at kids of all ages. Even babies would see us over their parents shoulder and give us a wave with a grin. Children would scream “Ello”, and jump into the river out of what appeared to be sheer excitement. It was just unbelievable – after 2 hours I had to lie down on the boat roof as the constant waving was just getting too much. The men and women of Mekong Delta are all also genuinely happy to see us – they always smile and give us the nod. I think they are happy seeing the kids enjoy themselves as much as they are happy to see us – families appear very close here.
When on land the children all run round us playing, shouting hello – some enjoy a quick game of high fives and want nothing more than to have as much fun as possible. I was invited to sit, drink tea and eat sticky rice cakes with some guys having a spot of lunch. Everyone is just happy to see you – it’s just a fantastic feeling. I hope that Vietnam can holds onto its way of life for which it has fort for so strongly in the past. It’s a sad and ironic thing that after all they have been through – tourists may change them in the end. I say tourists and not tourism very deliberately, the lure of money can change peoples minds and therefore I a skeptical that people will be able to experience what I have in years to come.
Money in Vietnam has been my biggest problem. There are 23000 dong to the pound and there are no coins used what so ever. My first trip to the bank made me a millionaire and the wad of notes I received (highest denomination is 50000) gave me a Del Trotter feel. The US dollar can also be used here – and many things are priced in dollars and then paid for in dong – which confuses me further. I’ve just about got used to the system and found that Vietnam is cheaper than any country I’ve visited yet. At the market a fully grown pig will be priced at one US dollar – so you can imagine what a daily income much be for anyone living in the villages, growing the fruit and breeding the livestock. Now imagine the affect giving a child a 20000 dong note has, or even a 5000 – especially if the children are not even asking for it. Steve noticed this on our trip – people on holiday rarely think about what they are doing with their money as they are there to have fun. There was only kindness intended but in my view tourists should be educated on the facts before flying to developing countries and should also think before they give out money.
That evening Steve and I tried some specialty food - snake and eel. Both were quite nice and I'd have again, but the snake was the easier eat not having any bones. We checked into our air con hotel - and made sure we turned the room into a fridge before the next day. After what seemed the best sleep I've had since getting here we got back onto the boat and went to the local floating market. Here people were trading goods of all kinds, but mostly ignored us as we were not potential customers. We later went on to see how rice was produced from its raw form and how rice paper was made - we even got to see how people purified the river water so it could be used for washing and drinking after being boiled. The Mekongs water is very dirty - people have been relying on it and using it for transport, drinking water, a place to wash and have fun, trading and a means to dispose of sewage. I did see a dead piglet floating past us at one point and started to worry about the water that was splashing up onto me - but with so many people swimming around in it puts your mind at rest some what.
On the way back to Saigon we stopped for lunch and had some fun with the 2 meter pet python they had there. This snake was quite friendly and I had a go at holding him after much mental debate - quite an awesome creature. When the meals began to arrive the poor old thing was just left on the floor to slither around the cafe until someone remembered to put him away...
The market of death :
It's a good job I got used to a bit of snake handling as a few hours later I was walking through a market when a lady just dumps this live snake into my hands and walks off. After a few seconds of looking around for some sort of reason to it all - I calmed down, had my picture taken by some of our group and set him back down in the basket with the 100 or so others. Superficially I managed to completely keep my cool even though I was quite confused what to do with the thing - for all I know it could have been quite a dangerous snake.
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This market had a vast array of live stock for sale. Frogs were being gutted with blunt scissors and huge pots with turtles, snakes, eels, catfish, shrimp and numerous other fish were everywhere. Fish often bounced right out of bowls and onto your feet - ever tried to catch a catfish as it hops around your legs, not easy I can assure you. I did not have any problems with this one end of the market - but it was a struggle to look at the other end that had lots of birds for sale. There were plates of cute small birds left out in the sun being sold like candy, their wings and legs all broken to prevent escape. Geese lined up panting away in pain and fear as people haggled over prices. It was a little gruesome for me - so I went to get an ice cream and tried to put it out of my mind as we headed back into the city.
Thats it for now - if you read all of that in one go and can prove it I'll arrange for some sort of certificate to be sent out to you. We're on the move again tomorrow and will not be in any cities for a while - I'm not sure what the e-mail situation is like so I'll be sure to send you an even larger update in a week or so.
Be well - luvin' from stuart
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Extra pic - note how steve cunningly hides the rampaging fungus growing on the right side of his face
The Mekong Delta is the most southern part of Vietnam and having the Mekong
and Bassac rivers flowing through it leaves numerous smaller canals
separating the land. The Mekong Delta is home to riverside communities, rice
production, snake catching and floating markets. As we have limited time
with which to tour Vietnam we decided to join a 2 day tour so that we could
start heading North without wasting too much time in the Delta. After
leaving the coach at My Hiep we took a boat trip through the Rung Tram
forest to an old Viet Cong base called Xeo Quyt where we changed to 3 man
boats to cruise the shallow reaches of the river. These boats were paddled
by Vietnamese women sitting at the front with their conical hats, one in
each boat. This stretch of river headed further into the jungle so that the
tall reeds obscured your view inland. The jungle is a strange place, at
times you will be in it in silence and then suddenly it will start breathing
with the sounds of insects and birds, almost as if someone had just plugged
it in.
The heat beating down on us was incredible once we left the cool breeze
created by the motor boat and I needed to keep watch of the mosquitoes
awaiting a chance to feed on me. Apart from this small inconvenience it was
a relaxing ride with the jungle ambience, the gentle splashing of the paddle
and the trees lining the bank with hanging ivy just reaching the water.
After this we returned to the motorboat for a slow ride along the Tien and
Hau rivers to Can Tho where we would spend the night.
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The Tien river was a narrower connecting river so that we past the houses of
villagers on the banks where we would see women washing, children bathing,
men fixing boats and fishing. From the houses along the banks you would see
the red of communism fluttering on the Vietnamese flag. At almost every part
of the river we were greeted by the "Hello's" and/or "Bye's" of the children
who would wave frantically, some of the smaller children would be shaking
their whole bodies with the force of their waving. The Vietnamese despite
their problems of the past are very, very friendly. Once away from My Hiep
we were able to climb onto the roof of the boat where we could soak up the
sun and immerse ourselves in the scenery.
We arrived in Can Tho at around 5 pm and set foot on land, I was a little
sorry to be leaving the friendly people and lush forests behind. The hotel
laid on by the tour company was fantastic with air-con and a hot shower; I'm
in heaven I thought! At dinner we had a shot of snake wine that is actually
more like snake whiskey (I had a bottle back in Saigon and it's basically a
bottle of whiskey with a dead cobra in it!) and the local specialty a kind
of snake stir fry. Snake meat is really nice to eat tasting something like
cheesecake! Stuart had a Mekong eel, the meat tasted excellent but
unfortunately the sharp bones made it complicated eating.
The next day our first stop was a floating market where the boat people
trade in fruit, vegetables, rice, etc from their boats. The villagers would
weigh up their goods on scales inside the boat and then barter the price
with the larger vessels. We were then herded around a rice husking mill, a
noodle place and a small village. I know that I should have found all this
interesting but I could not keep my mind from wandering and my fingers from
reaching for my cigarettes, I guess I prefer being the Shepard and it all
felt a little like a school outing.
The return journey in the coach had two things worthy of noting here, the
first was a strange drink I had made from white fungus and birds nests (yes,
birds nests!), it had a very strange taste that I could not put my finger on
(Maybe kind of cheesecaky!?!) and bits floating in it, worth a try but
suffice to say it will not be my daily tipple!
The second was the Vinh Long Market on the way back to Ho Chi Min City. The
live creatures available here to buy for eating was a true surprise. Among
the stalls you found fish, cuttle fish, squid, eels, pigs, ducks and
chickens as well as more unusual things such as lizards, snakes, turtles,
small birds and frogs. It was quite a shock to walk past an elderly smiling
Vietnamese women casually cutting frogs in half and tossing them onto a pile
of still wriggling legs.
Back in Hoi Chi Min City we decided on one more day so that we could visit
the War Remnants Museum (Previously known as American War Crimes Museum)
before heading off to Dalat. The Museum was interesting and eye opening
giving displays telling of the Hiroshima bombing, the Vietnamese war, the
weapons used by the American Military and the bombing of Vietnam. It was all
pretty harsh stuff although maybe a little biased but you could not help but
come away wondering why the Americans were ever in Vietnam. This I think was
the opinion of both the Vietnamese and after a time the American people
themselves.
There were serious issues in the world at the time with a very real concern
that the whole world might turn red with the communist colours and Vietnam
seemed an important pawn in the fight against the communists. This now of
course sounds silly but at the time of the cold war people were regularly
emptying the contents of their bowls in fear of the reds. Admittedly without
this we would have missed out on some fantastic moves but even I agree this
hardly justifies war.
Anyway I am ranting and sliding into slippery territory once again and I
must quickly get back to solid ground before I get a damn good e mailing to
tell me to use my views as an enema. On a last note I find it a shame that
during all this conflict there was but one President with any sense who
unfortunately was shot leaving the country to be run by the biggest lying
****(please fill in the appropriate word for your vocabulary) head that the
last half century ever saw!
So anyway enough we must carry on or I'll never be finished in this damn
sweaty little internet shop. So Dalat, yes Dalat was our next stop on the
Vietnam tourist bus trail and is a wonderfully relaxed town in the mountains
despite rhyming with the word shat! The town surrounds a lake which makes
for quite pleasant walking and the slightly higher altitude makes it cooler.
The hotel that we stayed in was really nice as it was a local family who
couldn't speak any English so that when you wanted something they would run
out the door (A bit confusing the first time!) to return with a neighbor who
spoke English and could translate.
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The first day we took a moped out to get a feel for the area and drove down
the mountain to find a village in the surrounding area. The reason for
visiting the village was to see the giant concrete chicken (pictures to
follow) that towers over the houses of the village. We had a little trouble
finding it at first with the language barrier but we soon got directions
with an elaborate array of chicken impressions on the side of the road. The
village holds little in the way of tourist attractions (excepting the giant
chicken of course!!) but is interesting in that you get to see a bunch of
villagers doing villager stuff. Some guys were building a house and another
lot a well that we went to watch for a while in return for a few cigarettes.
One of the villagers was not impressed by my Marlboro light and so brought
out a water pipe or bong for us to smoke tobacco from, strong stuff. After
this a little jaunt to a waterfall and then back up the mountain road to
Dalat before the weather turned.
The second day we again took a moped out to visit the many pagoda’s of Dalat
city, we didn’t find any.
After a few days in Dalat it was indeed time to escape the rain and cold
weather, a simple trade for sun and beaches, which we were sure, we would
find on the Vietnamese beach resorts of Nha Trang!
... and on, and on, and on Steve and I staggered. Yes - Steve is Steve again; I got a lot of replies from my last update all with one common theme. Give the poor guy a break - and I now have to bow to popular demand. His face is almost back to it old self - most of you who know him will not think this a good thing, but believe me it is.
Anyway - we moved on from Saigon to a town called Dalat. The bus drive was unremarkable other than the coaches horn giving up half way through and having to be disconnected due to massive overuse. On arrival we got locked into a hotel courtyard - a huge metal fence surrounded us where people where hanging through shouting things like. "GET OUT OF JAIL", "YOU WANT HOTEL" and "YOU WANT BIKE" - accompanied with the obligatory cheesy grin.
We decided in the end to break out of jail by telling the hotel staff that we would come back. In fact we told this to them so many times over the next few days that we were told we would not be allowed on our bus if we did not come back at least once...
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In Dalat we got another bike - the roads now are far less busy and the traffic follows with some sort of order. Our first stop - chicken village, somewhere Steve and I have been keen to see after first reading about it (picture at top of this page). We used the Lonely Scaremonger to navigate out of the town and on route we had to use cunning chicken impersonations to be directed down the right dirt track. When we arrived some English speaking ladies that ran a cloth weaving stool right next to the massive concrete chicken greeted us. We got some tea and took a look around the village - daily life was in full flow with people tending to their crop, building houses and drilling for water.
Steve gave out some cigarettes to a group of the workers pumping water from a well - one spat it out and insisted we try his smoking pipe (which was a bong). After checking it was just tobacco we gave it a shot, as you will soon see from the picture - it was much to the delight of the villagers.
We asked the English speaking woman about the village and it's rather unusual concrete mascot. The village consists of two ethnic minority hill tribes and does not class themselves and Vietnamese, nor do they speak it as a first language. The Vietnamese displaced them from the nearby mountain - but in recognition for being a village of two tribes they wanted to give them a village symbol. Naturally the village choose a 20 meter tall flightless, concrete clucking bird as their village symbol - but not without reason.
An old story from the village stars a young couple, the girl being from a poor family while the man is from a reasonably well off one. The village customs rule that in marriage the mans family pays for the ceremony, but the woman is basically the boss and the man must take her name. She will provide for her husband and any extra family that will hopefully follow. Quite the reverse from old European tradition - and because of this the mans family would not let the marriage go ahead fearing the womans poor credit history will damage their family.
The girls love however was strong and true - she persisted in search for a way to marry her man. Persistence that would even rival that of a Rickshaw driver or shoe shine boy eventually paid off and she was set a task to prove her worth. She was to find a chicken with 9 talons on it's feat before she could wed her beloved. Now anyone that knows their chickens can tell you that chicken has 10 talons, no more, no less. However, rumors where soon heard that such a wild chicken was to be found in the surrounding hills - and so off she went in search... Never to be seen alive again.
... and so, with a tear in each of our eyes Steve and I said our goodbyes and carried on south to our next destination. The lonely scaremonger told us that an untouched waterfall was visible from the road a few km south of chicken village. We caught site of it and headed in its direction - off road. Eventually we were so off road a villager indicated for us not leave our bike her yard and continue on foot. We had a lock and this lady did not look the joyriding type (being about 90) and so we gladly took her advice. After a 15 minute trek through quite thick undergrowth we came to a clearing and another man pointed us in the right direction - we hopped out on the stones in the river and caught a glimpse. Steve stopped for a fag while I ventured on and managed to get a few pictures of the falls. Not the biggest I've seen, but jumping from rock to rock and climbing boulders took me back to my outings to the diver Dart as a kid - wicked fun. It had by then started to rain so we had to dash back - all the way there and back people were laughing and waving at us. I'm not sure why, but I guess we just looked funny. As soon as we got back on the bike - a dog decided to chase us all the way out of the village, good job Bhav was not is all I can say...
Dalat itself is a domestic tourist haven - it has a much cooler climate and sports a big market, golf course and many lakes and parks. While walking around the town Steve and I bumped into Liam who we had met on our Mekong Delta trip a few days previous. He and a couple of fun and giggly Canadian girls (so so bad with names) headed out with us for a few drinks. At the bar I met a shoe shine boy - who stood beside me saying "shoe shine", for about 20 minutes. I had even picked him up and pointed him in the other direction - this boy would just not give up. From that moment forward was only to wear sandals in Dalat.
After Dalat we headed to Na Trang. A beach resort slowly but surly turning into Hua Hin (see Asia Journals). We have spent 4 nights here - and done not very much other than be extremely silly and get drunk. During our stay we bumped into some old friends and this must go down as the biggest coincidence I've experienced on my travels so far. Steven Pratt and Louise Keen, both whom I went to school with, and shared the same village for years. Four Holmer Greeners (a village of no more than a couple of thousand maybe) bumping into each other in a small bar - in Vietnam.... We got drunk and took them to our local for dinner. Our local was a small stool sat on the pavement outside of our hotel, a lady sat there from 6pm to 5am every night dishing out great baguettes and cheap beers to passing tourists. Vietnam and indeed Asia is full of these types of business - and we luv 'em.
After waking up with a hangover like no other I headed down for some breakfast. Steve and I have got to know the restaurant staff very well after bargaining for a free breakfast to be included in our hotel price. One 17 year old girl had taken quite a shine to Steve, even giving him some ointment for his hideous face condition. Some sort of anti flesh eating bacteria cream I guess - and it seems to have done the job. I was the victim here however - the staff loved calling me ladyboy because I have long hair that is somewhat of a rarity out here. One day I even left the restaurant to meet Steven and Louise with a stunning double bob hairstyle and a manicure.
We did manage to get a bit of sight seeing done in Na Trang - we visited a Pagoda (Buddhist Temple) that lived next to a giant Buddha statue, on a hill with great views of the city. We took a Cyclo (pedal power tuk tuk/rickshaw) there as it was too far to walk. On the way back a guy on a bike pulled up next to us (while on the cyclo) and asked if we wanted a bike - laughing at this the man just stared back, he was serious. I think it was this point that led to the decision of getting our own back on these guys. Since then we have just been as silly as possible whenever hassled by a biker, shoe shiner, or whatever. Handy hints to avoid hassle follow :
1. Act like a chicken (especially good with shoe shiners). If this fails, just hold a conversation in chicken. After a minute or two of clucking they leave you alone.
2. Carry a banana wherever you go. Bananas are essential tools for the average Na Trang tourist but will also help in other Vietnam cities. An all rounder capable of distracting bikers, confusing shoe shiners and making anyone think you are totally mad.
2a. Use banana as if it were a cigar. For example when asked if you would like a copy of todays newspaper - simply place the banana in your mouth and light the far end. Taking large drags and then coughing helps if questioned further.
2b. Shoot people with bananas - very good with children.
2c. When asked if you need a bike ride simply answer, "no thanks, I have this banana". (Don't forget to show him your banana).
2 - footnote, use you imagination and a banana can save you 1000's of dong.
3. When asked if you would like to make a purchase, try and sell them anything that comes to hand. Pots of salt, cigarettes, even your snotty tissue will cause enough concern for the deal to be dropped.
4. When asked to make a purchase - say no politely and point them at other tourists (or friends) stating that you are very sure that they would like some. This can go on for some time if your friend also knows this trick...
4 - footnote, children often hunt in packs so have some fun by insisting that they should sell the goods to their friends.
5. Offer outrageous prices, 100 dong for example. WARNING - only to be used on people who disserve it. For example, a newspaper guy that shows you todays paper and then gives you yesterdays (after scratching off the printed price - cheeky git).
Seriously, nearly everyone in Vietnam wants to sell you something - but if they can not sell it to you they just want to have fun. People just join in, or laugh at you - which we've found they generally do anyway. There are lots of children wanting to sell you stuff - but they are children and therefore love to muck about. This is what I will always remember about Na Trang - being dam silly.
There are bars around that do not let the hawkers in - the Rainbow bar is a particularly good one and it can be nice to have a place to escape from it all. Here you can buy one expensive beer and then just get drunk on the free Rum and Redbull shots they hand out. The other night Steve and I did just that - a couple of girls joined us for an hour or so before having to help each other home. They were soooo drunk that one was trying to sell me her NZ money, which she called Harry Potters...? Then she told us that we were both gorgeous and went to the toilet to be sick. After that we went down to the sea and had a paddle, the water was so good I handed Steve my money belt and dived in for a swim. The water here is so warm it's hard to believe it was the sea - when I got out there were three girls sat around Steve on the beach offering him a 'massage'. Steve was sat on my money belt and unable to move as they had their hands all over him. He seemed to have everything in hand - I could tell from the look of panic and fear on his face (disguised by a huge smile), so I escaped by diving back in. On the way back we managed to convince a cyclo driver to allow us to give him a lift to our hotel - try telling that to a London cabbie.
We moved onto Hoi An today – a beautiful little city full of winding streets and historic buildings. The night bus we took to get here was a bit hair raising, we flew through small streets, round blind bends while overtaking lorries and on a number of occasions I actually left my seat as we hit bumps at speed. There was about 50kms of road that was not too dissimilar to Glebe Close (my road at home) which is pot hole city – how anyone is to sleep on these night busses I don’t know.
Steve and I are heading off to the Marble mountains tomorrow morning, and then onto China beach. This is the beach you’ll see in most Vietnam War films and is where the US army got their R&R during the American war. The Marble Mountains house many religious sites and caves – most temples are an off shoot of Hinduism and I’ll be sure to let you know how I get on. I also got myself measured up today for a suit – Hoi An is famous for it’s fabric and tailor made clothing. Traders have been coming here for hundreds of years from Europe and else where in Asia to buy clothes and fabric. I’ll be paying the equivalent of 30 pounds for a top quality suit, with shirt and tie – all made to fit.
Take care - miss you all like Steve misses his good looks.
luv stu
~ The Vietnam Derby Continues! - Dumass ~
The traveler trail from the South (Ho Chi Min City) to the North (Hanoi) is
really established now with tourist buses running every day. With an open
ticket which it seems every traveler inevitably ends up buying, you can get
on and off as you like at the main stops along the trial (Ho Chi Min City,
Nha Trang, Hoi An, Mue ni, Hue and Hanoi). This is a really cheap option at
$29 dollars for the around 1500km of travel, it’s very easy, but at times it
does seem a little like you are being herded by a Vietnamese shepherd! The
trains I think would have been a great option if you have a bigger budget
but seeing as I am trying to stay in Southeast Asia till the end of October
it seemed better to use the buses.
We arrived in Nha Trang as always on bus journeys a little worse for wear
and desperate for a little bit of peace and quite. So therefore we took the
first offer of accommodation, this happened to be an excellent room with a
fridge and MTV, what more could you want!
I'm quickly starting to love Vietnam and Nha Trang just fueled this, it's
such a nice place and you can have so much fun interacting with the local
people all the time. We have started to really annoy the hawkers who come
around offering you books, lighters, cigarettes, newspapers, paintings...etc
by just clucking like chickens to each other or trying to sell them the
banana left over from our dinner. Most of the time they join in the joke
with you, forget about selling and just banter away with you. Within a few
days we found ourselves a local which was the restaurant just outside our
hotel where we met two lovely Vietnamese girls who worked there, Thao and
Italia who made our visits such fun. A major surprise happened when we were
in the local English bar (Shorty’s), I looked over to see Stephen Pratt and
Louise Keen that not only come from the same little village but also were in
the same year through the Holmer Green schools!
Nha Trang is one of Vietnam's main beaches but when compared to Thailand
it's still very quiet. There are a lot of activities to do in Nha Trang with
Diving, boat trips and sightseeing but we contented ourselves to some
relaxing around the beach, bars and cafe's of Nha Trang. The weather was
against us once again and it rained for the first few days, but being
British we weren't going to pass up a bit of time sunbathing on the beach
just because of a little rain.
The Vietnamese like most of the SouthEast Asians are predominately Buddhist
and so it seemed right that we go to visit some pagodas. Long Son Pagoda
seemed like an interesting place to visit as behind it on a hill you could
walk up to a giant seated Buddha with a cheesecake in his hand as well as
get some good views of Nha Trang. On the return cyclo drive we were treated
to one of the strangest experiences in Vietnam so far, we were being ridden
along when a guy on a motorbike asked if we wanted to be taken anywhere on
his motorbike. Clearly we answered no with bemused smiles on our faces, he
then offered us drugs and went on his way! The competition must be
unbelievable over here, don't you think!
We had found quite a cool little bar on the beach called the rainbow bar
where you had people brining around free shots all night... Yes, it was
pretty good fun and you'd be on your way before you knew it. So after a
relaxing drink, we then went on the beach in search of the phosphorous (the
algae that glows at night when you touch it), it wasn't there so Stuart went
for a swim while I had a cigarette. Before I knew it I was surrounded by
three girls offering me massage, then Stuart the coward, after returning to
see what was up ran back to the sea leaving me with them. To be honest they
seemed like nice enough people and after I had assured them that "no thank
you, I really don't want any sex", we had a pleasant enough chat before we
were able to politely escape and get ourselves some baguettes. To get to the
baguette lady outside our hotel we took a cyclo despite it only being a few
minutes walk and easily convinced him to let me ride it while he put his
feet up. We had started to get quite attached to the baguette lady over our
time here, a really cute old lady who most of the time we would find, we
would then wake her up and talk rubbish to her until she feel into sleep
laughing.
Next on the trail was Hoi An a little town with a French feel to it, the old
town that is on the river is an interesting little place which thankfully
escaped the American bombing. The location of our hotel was good as it was
close to the market and I liked to walk around it in the morning while
Stuart was asleep. Here you would find the Vietnamese ladies with their
spices in baskets, the live chickens and ducks sitting surprisingly quietly
while waiting to be sold for the pot, almost as if they were resigned to the
fate that was awaiting them. Walking along the river we would be approached
by the beautiful Vietnamese girls who only just stopped short of physically
dragging us into their restaurants. One of these we made our home for the
duration of our stay due to the excellent food and the two girls Len and
Yuang being superb fun to chat with over dinner.
One of Hoi An’s main industries is it’s tailoring which most westerners take
advantage of during there stay here, a suit can cost you as little as $20
fully tailored. Being as it is unlikely that I will need a suit for quite
some time I decided to get myself a tailored pair of casual trousers and a
Hawaiian shirt. Unfortunately their designs for men are a little limited to
that of suits and so I ended up with a pair of formal trousers and a short
sleeved formal Hawaiian shirt. They’ll be alright once they get worn and a
little dirty!
Taking a moped out once again we drove 25km to the marble mountains near the
next city of Danag, which is really just a big hill with caves in the rock.
You walk up the mountain stopping at pagodas and in caves along the way,
many of which contain little statues with burning sticks of incense. One of
the caves we came upon you walked down steps to the squeaking of the bats
and once inside there was a mist from all the incense burning in the still
air and along with the quiet of the place gave you a peaceful feeling.
Various religious statues surrounded the walls of the cave and in the center
a large statue of the Buddha was place high into the rock. The town
surrounding the marble mountains is one of marble sculpture and walking to
and from the mountain you will see statues for sale and lumps of marble in
the process of being made in to statues with large mallets. After this we
stopped at a beach where the Americans used to take there R&R called China
beach, it was completely free of westerners and I enjoyed relaxing over a
cigarette while watching the Vietnamese fishermen paddling to their boats by
these strange round basket boats.
The last day in Hoi An we decided to take a boat out for a couple of hours
to enjoy sunset and perhaps a little swimming. At first we went past all the
fishing nets along the fishing villages which are basically a bamboo frame
with a net that is then pulled up out of the water using a pulley from a
little shelter on stilts in the water. After this we then stopped near Hoi
An beach for a little swim in the fading light before returning with the
views of the river sunset and the silhouettes of the fishing boats.
~ Hue, Hue, Barney McGrew - Dumass ~
Today I thought that it was July and not June, a slight panic went through
me when I realized I might have overstayed my visa. I had to go and find an
Internet café and check the date on hotmail in order to be sure. It is
strange how time no longer seems to have any meaning when you are traveling,
it’s nice that days, dates and time no longer matters but becomes terrifying
when you lose track of months!?! Anyway I’m a bit behind on what I’ve been
up to so I’ll start with Hue!
We arrived in Hue early around 12am, which allowed us to get sorted and look
around, on first impressions Hue looks like a very uninspiring little place.
The following day we crossed the river on a little bike we had hired to the
citadel, an area of the city surrounded by a wall with gates and arches on
all sides. Between the two main gates of the citadel is a quite impressive
flag tower flying the yellow star.
I left Stuart to wander around the forbidden palace (now just ruins after
American bombing) and took a drive round the city. It’s a really pleasant
place to drive around as away from the palace area it dosen't really see
tourists, you find yourself on small roads curving round the inside of the
city wall. This wall is about 3 meters wide with earth between the bricks,
which the ever-resourceful Vietnamese use for farming (kind of like novelty
allotments). Driving past the smaller gateways in the wall there would be
Vietnamese children relaxing at the top next to disused armament posts.
After a while I became quite absorbed in the city, following canals
peacefully being fished by local Vietnamese people and taking small side
roads past children playing a strange version of marbles using sandals… Yes,
I became lost. Poor Stuart had to wait a while but I found him in the end!
The hotels and cafés around Hue are mostly very cheap and have a nice little
traveler atmosphere. You can get a very good room with bath, TV and fan for
$5 and pay maybe $0.80 for a good feed.
Our final day in Hue we took a moped in search of some of the royal tombs in
the surrounding areas. It must have taken us most of the day to find the
main tomb that we had wanted to see, the map in the lonely scare-monger was
a disgrace and led us in ever decreasing circles until we became stuck at a
crossroads spinning on the spot!?! During this search we had quite a lot of
fun driving through the little towns and villages and we found and followed
the river road, singing songs as we went which was fun. I find I prefer to
find things myself even when you don’t find them, as getting there when
traveling is always half the fun and it gives you the chance to look into
the lives of locals. This you don’t usually get on a coach tour and if you
do it’s not so much looking at peoples lives as walking in, pissing on their
carpet and then kicking the dog on your way out!
With a little help from the friendly locals we found our way to the tomb of
Tu Doc, it was a nice enough place and worth a visit if your in Hue. There
is a large lake to chill by and three tombs that are worth a few shots on
the old camera.
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I got my suit done - it fits like a dream. Nothing quite like trousers that are actually made for your own butt and nobody elses. Steve got himself a typically larey shirt made out of the most hideous flower patterned material you could dream up - although he hasn't worn it yet after being laughed at when he was checking it fitted...
We took a bike out to view the marble mountains from Hoi Ann - it did not take too long to find and we enjoyed a game of football with some kids while stopping for a Coka break. World cup fever has taken a firm grip of Vietnam - every game is watched and heavily betted upon. All the games are televised over the national terrestrial TV network, which I believe, is free viewing. Most conversations with the Vietnamese now turn to football, especially after mentioning you are from England - probably the most popular side in the tournament. During one such conversation I found out that this man had bet 100 US dollars on the Sweden game, England to win. Loosing a ton here would put me off for life taking into account it only costs around 5 dollars a day to stay in Vietnam as a tourist, but he is putting it down again on the Argentina game (lucky for him). He also told me a story about his friend who bet his 1500 dollar moped on the match!
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Courtyards and shops now surround the Marble Mountains, carving and selling marble works of wonder. Groups of men sit out in the sun all day chipping away at huge lumps of the stuff cut out from underneath the mountains - most of the final products are of astonishing good quality, even if most of the work is repeated.
Steve and I took the long walk / climb round the mountains and very pleasantly surprised to find the breathtaking scenery was littered with caves and ancient sites of worship. Buddha statues stood tall and proud, protected from the outside world (and American bombs) by the shell of the mountain. Blessed at least 20 or so times by each carving we placed burning incense at the base of, we should have luck and long life rivaling that of any monk. Some tough climbing was rewarded with views of the town and near by beach from where the US army spent much of the R&R during the war.
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The beach itself (China Beach) was long and yet to be overrun with tourists - it appeared only the local area really used the beach to relax on or to fish. On the beach we investigated an intriguing bowl shaped boat - I can not even begin to understand how you would navigate in these things; they’re round for crying out loud. All you would do is spin surly...? But sure enough, the horizon showed a few of these boats coping quite happily with the current and waves.
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The next day was a day for putting our feet up and taking a boat trip down the river to see the sunset - and a 10 out of 10er it was to. Huge nets about 20 meter square were dotted around standing on large bamboo legs. As the tide drops fish get trapped and the net owners desperately fight off flocks of birds to get at their catch. Steve and I took a dip and larked around for a bit before heading back to get dry and hassled by the street sellers. If only they would sell towels - what good is a digital watch with an integrated lighter when you're dripping wet I ask you? About as useful as a shoe shine when you are warring sandals I think - yet they still ask and ask again until you look suitable annoyed and in total despair with the situation.
After posting a load of unwanted junk home from our packs (which took 45 minutes of form filling) Steve and I had another quiet day of watching the group F games. Finding a suitable crowded bar that was upstairs and out of bounds for the street sellers (might not keep my cool if being distracted from an England game) we got drunk and readied ourselves for the next days trip up to Hue.
Hue is a large old X capital city in Vietnam located near the famous DMZ created during the war (I know I sound like uncle Albert) and about half way up the coast. Ho Chi Minh himself grew up here and the local people are proud of it. Although Steve and I only spent 2 nights there - I really enjoyed it. The Scare Monger did not really give a good impression (typical) and we were in fact staying there just to recover from a growing list of travel wounds. It appears that Steve and I have developed a Frank Spencer like ability to bump, graze, get bitten, walk into, catch disfiguring fungal infections . . . - hmmm, let me rephrase that. Steve is a calamity on two legs. Since travelling he has -
Developed stomach cramps (I know, a common travelling thing)
The list goes on - it was because of this, we selected a day or recovery not being able to face a 16 hour coach journey with any confidence in our own digestive systems.
We took a bike out and toured round for a while - I walked round the Forbidden Purple City. Sounds silly I know - it was in fact part of a citadel that only the emperor could enter with a select few servants. It wasn't small either because it took me a good half hour to walk round. Steve having a great big hole in his foot and therefore capable of little walking carried on with his bike ride agreeing to meet me outside later.
After waiting for 15 minutes outside I started to walk back - Steve had got lost. Fortunately when he did return the 20 or so bike and cyclo drivers that I had been chatting to could point him in the right direction and we caught up with each other again.
I may have mentioned this before - but it's worth re-iterating. If you stop moving in a Vietnamese city for more than a second you will be asked if you want a bike or cyclo to take you on a tour. If you happen to look lost or confused in any way at the same time as stopping - you'll get about 10. Because of this I had talked to about 100 of them before I gave up and started walking. They all knew I was waiting for someone who was unlikely to turn up and so they lay in wait, watching me out of the corner of their eye. There was genuine concern as well I would like to add – 99% of the bike and cyclos drivers here are really good people that make sure that all tourists are taken care of, which was shown when Steven showed up and they told him I had left for the bridge.
We also took a ride from Hue out into the southern suburbs – if you can call them that…? This area was home to many tombs of past rulers of the Empire (no, Darth Vader had nothing to do with it) – Steve and I were interested in one especially called Tu Duc. It took some finding as we discovered the scare mongers (lonely planets) map was total nonsense. During our travels though we took in some great sites and visited some other tombs that we had not originally set out to find. One of these tombs we did end up passing about three times, much to the amusement of the shop owners opposite.
A strange but enjoyable habit we’ve picked up while riding on the bike is singing loudly. A more polite way of letting others know you are coming perhaps, or maybe a mild form of insanity – either way it makes getting lost a lot more fun. During one such occasion, of which there were many, we pulled up next to the river we had been searching for during the second verse of Hotel California. A lady stood outside her restaurant said hello smiling at us (we can no way match any South East Asian at singing, Karoke is second only to Buddhism out here) – Steve said Hello back, and in high spirits asked where the River was. The river was in fact right next to us, and about 400 meters in width. Usually this sort of joke works – but we ended up looking quite stupid. There was a Western couple stood behind her that just stared at us in disbelief thinking we were serious I assume. In embarrassment we retreated and I started up a bout of Bohemian Rhapsody to clear the air.
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Tu Duc tomb is actually a large collection of tombs surrounded by well kept gardens and Chinese style architecture. Large stone coffins were individually enclosed and each had its own garden and courtyard where rituals would take place before and after the owners death. Unfortunately there was a lot of tourists being led round like sheep which did not seem interested in anything but taking pictures to prove they had been there. Many of the tombs had what I assume is Vietnamese for “I woz ere”, scratched on their sides.
That night we met up with Anna – one of the extremely drunken girls from Na Trang. After suitably embarrassing her by recalling how she tried to sell me New Zealand Harry Potters – we figured out we were travelling up to Hanoi on the same bus. This country only has a few public transport routes available to tourists and therefore people often will bump into each other time and time again while travelling Vietnam. Some grumble about this but I enjoy catching up with people as you can here about things you might have missed which makes it less frustrating when travelling with a time limit as I am during my stay here.
Hanoi :
Hanoi is the capital and you can feel it as soon as you get of the bus. The roads are slightly more orderly, police are a far more frequent site and the place is rammed full of people. The streets are small and random making it very easy to get disorientated and ultimately lost (again). During our first walking tour of the city we came across a small crowd of people next to the lake in the center of town – a music video was being recorded!!
If any of you reading this have seen an Asian film or music video – I know you’ll be smiling right now. They mostly all follow the same formula of love, over acting and most of all – cheese.
A young girl (around 18 and incredibly beautiful) walks slowly alongside the lake – her eyes full of sadness and loss. She looks only at her feet - ignoring the surroundings until a boy (again around 18 and warring more make up than Dame Edna) grasps her hand. She smiles looking lovingly into his eyes…. And they embrace.
Fighting back the tears I watched, grinning from ear to ear but trying not to let on that I desperately wanted to laugh. Unfortunately this is where the show ended for Steve and I – all of a sudden the crowd noticed the two westerners sat by the tree watching, and then we were the center of all attention. Shoe Sine, shoe shine, shoe shine…. A bit overwhelmed with the fact that a music video was still being filmed and we were surrounded with people, some trying to sell us stuff (no one seems at all interested in the film any longer), some just wanting to chat, and of course the shoe shine boys – we made a hasty exit. It just didn’t seem right… In all the commotion a policeman had confiscated the shoe shine boys work kit and one kid who was yelling and waving money at me received a great big thwack over the head from what I assume was the video producer…?
Taking into account that I had less than a week left – we reluctantly decided to book on a tour to Halong Bay rather than getting there ourselves. We have found that tours are not really suited to travelers, more to holiday makers – thus making them painful to bare at times. We picked out a two day boat trip that allowed us to sleep overnight on the boat after touring the bay which is now part of a protected national park. The bay has hundreds if not thousands of limestone rocks that poke up out of the water, some about the size of a house – some big enough to be classed as an island. One such island is called Cappa and we planned to stay there for a few days extra soaking up the sun on the beach before heading back into the city to catch my flight back to Sydney. This was my last real chance to get to a hot beach for quite a while so I looked forward to topping up the tan.
The night before was the England Argentina game – Steve and I managed to find a bar with a huge projector screen that showed the game. I’m sure you know what happened and most would have gone through the same emotions as myself (terror for the last 15 minutes as we sat back) – but I had the added annoyance a torrential downpour that came down so thick the ceiling was breached and rain was flowing down the stairs like a waterfall. We did not miss any of the game – but I knew our beach idea had just turned into a bad one. The rain out here does not give up after just one night and we were on the boat the next morning, as it happened though – it was not such a bad thing….
We were picked up from our hotel – I had not slept much and the old morning mood was in full flow. Breakfast was shit at best and even Steve was not grinning when we got picked up and shepherded onto a bus crammed full of tourists. The girl he sat with was blowing chucks all the way and she had not even got onto the boat yet! We had been told that the group would be no more than 10 people and the coach seated over 60, more if you include the kids siting parents laps.
When it came to getting on the boat we lingered around thinking about making a run for it – but reminding ourselves of the top dollar price we paid we got on. After a while we had established that even though the boat was full – only 15 or so people would actually be sleeping on the boat and the other were checking into a hotel. The islands we toured past were indeed impressive but it was cloudy and dark so any picture I would have taken with my cheapO camera would have not come out. After dropping the hotel group off the fun started, of course in involved vodka and tiger beer.
We dropped anchor in an area of total calm water surrounded by the forest covered limestone islands. Some fun was had jumping from the top of the boat into the bath warm sea and then a great feast of Vietnamese food was served up. After getting to know everyone, which included an Indian/Japanese man called Whan, his French/Singaporean girlfriend, a French family (grandmother to grandchildren), an Ozzy called Linton, an Irish couple in Vietnam meeting their soon to be adopted baby girl and a German called Chris – Chris and I decided to swim out to one of the island to investigate. Steve was too scared of the sharks….
We swam for about an hour to the island talking about the world cup of course, once we got close I swam ahead keeping Chris in view to see if we could get up onto the rocks. Just before I got to the island I noticed my hands and arms were sparkling as if covered in party glitter – anyone read the beach?? Phosphorouscene (only read it today after the swim)!! The sea was full of tiny sparkling… errr, things. Phosphorous created from algae I think – something I must find out. It was amazing, Chris and I were lit up by the moonlight – we just larked about with it for about 10 minutes wondering how it was possible.
We unfortunately had to just paddle on the shore because the rocks on the beach were as sharp as razors – it was then Chris noticed the eyes. Blinking at us, disappearing and then reappearing somewhere else in the trees. The eyes were as bright as the phosphorous – but quite creepy. Chris said it looked like monkeys with flashlights – and it did. We decided the island was far too weird to be spending too much time on and soon headed back….
It took a little longer to get back as we were tired, when we eventually did we realised the boat we had swam to was in fact not ours. I’ve asked people for directions a lot while out here – but never from the sea and the idea seemed just far to silly. It was a good job we didn’t as it turned out the boat was directly behind the one we had arrived at – thank god. Chris was still covered in the glitter when he got out and everyone on the boat was drunk, even the captain was smashed. Steve was grinning like a madman when I told him about the phosphorous (something he’s wanted to find ever since he started his travels) – he and the others jumped to take a look. There was a collection of it near the boat – perhaps a 20 second swim. Steve swam there, said wow and swam back. There was a few seconds of squealing when he could not find the ladder up onto the boat – then up on the deck he sat panting like a dog stuck in a black mini on a hot summers day. I’m not sure if it was just him being unfit, drunk and unfit or the mental problem he has with sharks causing his body to react so badly.
The group (now including Chris and I) all chatted to around midnight drinking vodka that smelt and tasted like old biscuits on the boats open top deck. When the rain started everyone but Steve, Linton and myself remained to watch the storm. It was the craziest weather I have seen yet – at one point we heard the wind blowing through the trees on the nearest island. At a second glance we noticed that it was in fact really heavy rain battering against the shore. The rain moved slowly towards us and appeared to surround the boat – looking over the edge we could see rain hitting the water hard just two meters in front of us. It stayed there for about 30 – 40 seconds and we stared feeling like we had entered the Truman show. It was one of the strangest things I had ever seen – it now appeared to be raining everywhere except on us.
It did not last of course, we backed away before the rain had taken over the boat and drenched us faster than you can say umbrella. The lightning was just flashes at this point and the thundered told us the storm was a good distance away – but as if from nowhere the wind suddenly started to blow and CRACK. Forks started hitting the surrounding islands – Linton pointed up to the sky gesturing as if we were again part of the Truman show. Steve and I instinctively looked up to where he was pointing only to be blinded by another huge fork slamming down to earth being followed instantly by an extra loud crack of thunder. The thunder numbed my hearing just as firing the colt45 did and the lightning did actually blind us for a second or two making us all duck down and close our eyes.
We all agreed that this was in fact totally awesome and stayed under the boats bridge overhang until the storm passed. When it did we continued to watch the rain move from place to place – but now in the distance. A mist started to fill the bay and I wondered if the Scare Mongers stories of haunted islands and pirates were perhaps true – and thanked the few lucky stars I could see that I was no longer at the island I had swam to as it was being pelted with rain.
I’m now back in Hanoi – getting ready for one last outing to a place called Snake Village before flying back to Oz. I can’t wait to meet up with Bhav, Jools and Marie again – but at the same time I’m gutted not to be able to continue into Laos with Dumass. Of course his journals will carry on in this section but mine now have to move back to where they were. Pictures are slowly being added to the Dumass and Wiggy sections now – but they take a while to get right so bare with me….
Take care all of you – remember me next time you get up and say, ‘bloody weather’…
Luv stu.
PS. Did you read the previous story about Death Market?? – Same Same here, but with dogs….
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