The journey from Vang Vieng was like most bus rides we'd taken so far. Bumpy, long and winding.
We were another 6 hours crammed in a minibus to get to our next
destination. Again a short distance of only 120kms took us hours because
of the accents and descents through the mountains.
The drivers here are wild that's for sure. I'm not sure how they have
the guts to zip around corners at the speed they do- but they do it.
Everytime I get into a bus, I assume its the last bus ill ever ride. No
guard rails on the sides of any of the roads. Even when there is a 300
meter drop into a valley right below. I could picture the bus loosing
control and barreling over the edge. I knew this would be a difficult
thought to make reality. But alas we survived the ridiculous roads and
dangerous drivers and made it to Luang Prabang.
The one thing that is so much nicer than Laos is how even the 'big' cities are not as polluted and built up.
So far Laos has been beautiful. Not only are the people nicer and more
helpful- but they also seem to be much cleaner which is nice.
We jumped off our bus and onto a tuk tuk which drove us into town. We
quickly found a guest house to stay at and settled in. By this point in
time it was nearly dinner. We decided to explore the city a little bit,
and then find a spot to eat.
After dinner we were right in time to see the famous Luang Prabang night market.
Now this was cool.
Just as the sun sets everyday, the main street is shut down, and people come and setup their tents for the night market.
Here they sell anything and everything. Some of the most beautiful hand
made jewelry, clothing, bags, musical instrument. They are selling teas
and coffees. Everything.
Steve and I walked the streets for hours until people starting packing
up their merchandise and taking down their tents. Though we didn't buy
much of anything is was very cool to look at all the both and try to
barter with the locals.
The next morning we decided to simply explore the city and see what it
had to offer. Luang prabang has something like 120 temples and watts
around and we would definitely go explore some.
One in particular was the most impressive and famous- and once we were there we could see why.
It was some 200 steps to the top of the temple. But from there you could
see the entire city including the river and watch a beautiful sunset.
After our climb we sat up top the temple for a couple hours. We met some
fellow canadians and chatted to other travelers for a while and then
made our decent.
We found a super yummy place to have dinner and ended up ordering our best meal to date! (Vegetable curry with coconut!!!).
We walked through the night market on our way home and practiced our bartering skills some more (successfully!).
Tomorrow we would have a more adventurous day exploring waterfalls and the likes!
Thursday, June 20, 2013
kayaking the Nam Song River!
As I'd mentioned before, steve and I both agreed to not participate in the rift-raft tubing adventure (or should I say laze).
Rather we booked ourselves a guide and decided to paddle 20kms of the nam song instead.
I was SO happy that we decided to do this.
Our instructors name was A (this can't possibly be his real name), and he was pretty cute. At first he was a little shy getting to know us, but by the end of the day we were joking around and teasing one another. It was an awesome day.
We started the day bright and early (8 o'clock). We boarded a tuk tuk which drove us through the country side of vang vieng. This is by far the most beautiful scenery we've had. Giant mountains covered in a thick green forest line the riverside. They are tall enough for the white fluffy clouds to linger at their peaks. I must have taken two million photos this day- but not one of them captured the epicness of what was actually in front of us.
At any rate- we drove to the launch point and before we knew it we were officially paddling the nam song.
The funny thing here is that you're allowed to do some risky-ish things without any guidance or safety lessons. Steve and I were tacking rapids and bashing into rocks left right and centre. A would just smile at us and after bumping to a few himself we would carry on.
It probably sounds like we are total amateurs here...but ill have you know there are a million rocks everywhere. I would defy someone to paddle the river and not hit a few here and there!
Anyways, after our first 5 km, we stopped at the side of the river and A guided us through a farm and field to a cave.
It seems like we explore a lot of caves here doesn't it?...
At any rate, this cave was filled with water, so to explore it you hoped onto an inner tube and pulled yourself through it with a rope and head lamp.
It was pretty neat. A kept teasing me that there were spiders, snakes and lizards ready to chomp you at any moment- and he thought it was pretty funny to get a rise out of us.
After we pulled ourselves through the cave A barbecued us up a delicious lunch.
We ate and talked for a while and then headed out again.
Our next stop was elephant cave. I thought of Tash for this, because by some stroke of luck, the rocks had made what appeared to be an elephant guarding the cave. It was so cool to see! This cave was really small, pretty much just a big opening with the elephant and a million Buddhas. A told us the story behind the cave though, and it was interesting to learn why the cave had both an owl and a hare at the entrance. Come to think of it I had seen this before. Apparently they are placed at the entrance of cave to catch any evil animals that could potential enter and mar it (rats and bats and snakes...).
We walked back through the farm- which I thought was pretty neat but both A and steve laughed at me because of- and we were back in our kayaks. Now it was another 15 kms to home.
It was really nice to paddle along the river and luckily we had a somewhat overcast day- so the sun wasn't as hot as normal.
Here and there we stopped to either explore the river shore or jump in for a swim.
At one point we stopped right below this bamboo bridge that hung some 20-25 feet in the air.
Steve- being used to heights decided to give it a go. This was one sketchy bridge. About 3/4 of the way over they stopped laying bamboo to walk along and just had two tiny cables to walk (or should I say tight rope walk) on to get to the other side.
I wasn't as brave as steve and got way to nervous of falling about a quarter of the way through. Yikers!
I know now I don't like heights.
Steve did admit that it was the scariest thing he'd ever walked on. It was swaying the hole time and pieces of bamboo were breaking off here and there leaving giant holes in the middle of the bridge. It definitely wasn't passing any canadian safety standards.
We were almost home- and in the final 3kms of our paddle we passed the many tubing tourists floating down the river (at a snails pace (the river was very low). As we passed them A was laughing and shaking his head. In that moment I was so happy I was in a kayak and not a tube!
It was an awesome day, and we ended up learing about Lao culture and meeting a new friend.
We got some dinner after our kayak, walked around the town a little and that was that.
We woke up the next morning, packed our bags, and planned on departing that evening.
We decided to have a lazy day and get our very first massages! We were both very excited for this, as we had only heard good things. It was interesting indeed. The traditional Lao massage involves a lot of slapping and punching... I definitely was not expecting this. They also used about an entire bottle of oil on both steve and I. We were so slippery by the time we were done. I think the two ladies knew it was our first time getting massages because we both let out a few chuckles and so did they! It was relaxing at the end of the day though- so that was nice.
After massages we hiked to another lagoon only a few kilometers from our hotel. This was another cool dip and a chance for us to wash all the oil of us!
We hung around the lagoon for a couple hours (which was attached to yet another cave to explore), and then headed back into town to grab some food before leaving.
Of course during our dinner the biggest storm I'd ever witnessed happened- it lasted for over an hour. All the lights went off and it sounded as though the thunder was right on top of us. The restaurant had no walls and a straw roof, so the rain was pouring in. The owner had set up a couple candles for light and we all huddled in the middle of the room until the storm passed.
Coincidentally where we ate was also where we purchased our bus ticket to Luang Prabang. They kindly informed us that the roads would be to dangerous to drive on, and we should rather leave the next day.
So I guess we were another night in Vang Vieng. This place just can't get rid of us.
Rather we booked ourselves a guide and decided to paddle 20kms of the nam song instead.
I was SO happy that we decided to do this.
Our instructors name was A (this can't possibly be his real name), and he was pretty cute. At first he was a little shy getting to know us, but by the end of the day we were joking around and teasing one another. It was an awesome day.
We started the day bright and early (8 o'clock). We boarded a tuk tuk which drove us through the country side of vang vieng. This is by far the most beautiful scenery we've had. Giant mountains covered in a thick green forest line the riverside. They are tall enough for the white fluffy clouds to linger at their peaks. I must have taken two million photos this day- but not one of them captured the epicness of what was actually in front of us.
At any rate- we drove to the launch point and before we knew it we were officially paddling the nam song.
The funny thing here is that you're allowed to do some risky-ish things without any guidance or safety lessons. Steve and I were tacking rapids and bashing into rocks left right and centre. A would just smile at us and after bumping to a few himself we would carry on.
It probably sounds like we are total amateurs here...but ill have you know there are a million rocks everywhere. I would defy someone to paddle the river and not hit a few here and there!
Anyways, after our first 5 km, we stopped at the side of the river and A guided us through a farm and field to a cave.
It seems like we explore a lot of caves here doesn't it?...
At any rate, this cave was filled with water, so to explore it you hoped onto an inner tube and pulled yourself through it with a rope and head lamp.
It was pretty neat. A kept teasing me that there were spiders, snakes and lizards ready to chomp you at any moment- and he thought it was pretty funny to get a rise out of us.
After we pulled ourselves through the cave A barbecued us up a delicious lunch.
We ate and talked for a while and then headed out again.
Our next stop was elephant cave. I thought of Tash for this, because by some stroke of luck, the rocks had made what appeared to be an elephant guarding the cave. It was so cool to see! This cave was really small, pretty much just a big opening with the elephant and a million Buddhas. A told us the story behind the cave though, and it was interesting to learn why the cave had both an owl and a hare at the entrance. Come to think of it I had seen this before. Apparently they are placed at the entrance of cave to catch any evil animals that could potential enter and mar it (rats and bats and snakes...).
We walked back through the farm- which I thought was pretty neat but both A and steve laughed at me because of- and we were back in our kayaks. Now it was another 15 kms to home.
It was really nice to paddle along the river and luckily we had a somewhat overcast day- so the sun wasn't as hot as normal.
Here and there we stopped to either explore the river shore or jump in for a swim.
At one point we stopped right below this bamboo bridge that hung some 20-25 feet in the air.
Steve- being used to heights decided to give it a go. This was one sketchy bridge. About 3/4 of the way over they stopped laying bamboo to walk along and just had two tiny cables to walk (or should I say tight rope walk) on to get to the other side.
I wasn't as brave as steve and got way to nervous of falling about a quarter of the way through. Yikers!
I know now I don't like heights.
Steve did admit that it was the scariest thing he'd ever walked on. It was swaying the hole time and pieces of bamboo were breaking off here and there leaving giant holes in the middle of the bridge. It definitely wasn't passing any canadian safety standards.
We were almost home- and in the final 3kms of our paddle we passed the many tubing tourists floating down the river (at a snails pace (the river was very low). As we passed them A was laughing and shaking his head. In that moment I was so happy I was in a kayak and not a tube!
It was an awesome day, and we ended up learing about Lao culture and meeting a new friend.
We got some dinner after our kayak, walked around the town a little and that was that.
We woke up the next morning, packed our bags, and planned on departing that evening.
We decided to have a lazy day and get our very first massages! We were both very excited for this, as we had only heard good things. It was interesting indeed. The traditional Lao massage involves a lot of slapping and punching... I definitely was not expecting this. They also used about an entire bottle of oil on both steve and I. We were so slippery by the time we were done. I think the two ladies knew it was our first time getting massages because we both let out a few chuckles and so did they! It was relaxing at the end of the day though- so that was nice.
After massages we hiked to another lagoon only a few kilometers from our hotel. This was another cool dip and a chance for us to wash all the oil of us!
We hung around the lagoon for a couple hours (which was attached to yet another cave to explore), and then headed back into town to grab some food before leaving.
Of course during our dinner the biggest storm I'd ever witnessed happened- it lasted for over an hour. All the lights went off and it sounded as though the thunder was right on top of us. The restaurant had no walls and a straw roof, so the rain was pouring in. The owner had set up a couple candles for light and we all huddled in the middle of the room until the storm passed.
Coincidentally where we ate was also where we purchased our bus ticket to Luang Prabang. They kindly informed us that the roads would be to dangerous to drive on, and we should rather leave the next day.
So I guess we were another night in Vang Vieng. This place just can't get rid of us.
Hello beautiful Vang Vieng
From Vientiane to Vang Vieng is only a mere 168 kms. This journey however takes anywhere between 7-11 hours.
This is because you are driving through the most mountainous region, on the worst possible roads.
Steve and I had just gotten used to the idea of putting our luggage under buses- though we were told to be cautious of people hiding where the luggage is stowed to steal peoples belongings.
Well the system in Laos is completely different. Here they piles anything and everything on top of the minibuses, and tie everything down with a little rope. Perfect I thought. Sooner or later I'm sure to see all my belongings fly off the roof of our bus and sore into the mountain valley below us.
This didn't happen... Though I wouldn't have been shocked it if did.
I had a good knack of curling into a small ball and squeezing myself to the confines of my small seat in order to take a nap. I did this on almost every bus ride we'd taken. Steve says its the funniest thing to see and it looks like some sort of circus act- but yet a couple hours of sleep is a couple hours of sleep! Ill take it.
Even logging those hours of zzz's, the ride was still long. I will admit that the scenery is pretty nice, and while driving you get to see all type of laos rural life. My favourite is seeing all the little kids running around or bathing in the rivers behind their houses.
These kids look the most happy splashing around and playing with their siblings. There is a crazy bond that almost all families share here. They are so committed to one another. Yes this is seen (seemingly) by just passing by towns in your bus, but also in the heart of cities, where we would stay for a couple of days. Every business is a family business, every older child is taking care of their siblings and every mother is caring for her children- they just seem to have the utmost concern for eachother, no questions asked. It is refreshing to see.
Anyways- after the long journey we had finally made it to Vang Veing. This place is known as the party capital of Laos, where the hoodlums get drunk and float down the Nam Sung river in inner-tubes, stopping at the many bars set up along the rivers edge.
This has actually brought quite a bit of death to the region- with tourists drowning in a fit of intoxication, or simply those who suffer from stupidity and think jumping into a shallow river littered with sharp rocks is a good idea.
Needless to say, the locals, who traditionally would fish and bathe in this river are so deterred from those tourist's actions that they now believe that the river is cursed, and omit from fishing and bathing in it.
As many of the bars have now been shut now due to so many incidences, more locals use the river, but as I talked to a couple in the town, they still find it laughable and a 'stupid' thing to do...innertube down the river drunk, when there are so many more ways to appreciate the extremely beautiful vang vieng scenery.
Steve and I were both embarrassed to hear of how upset the locals were of the tourists, and by no means wished to participate in the foolishness.
After a good sleep in, I was feeling a little better from the poor food decision the night before. Steve and I had heard of the 'blue lagoon' which was only 7kms from the hotel we found (off the beaten path -bonus!).
We decided we would bike the 7km, and then cool off in the icy blue waters!
The bike ride nearly killed me. I must have sweat 10 gallons of water in the 40 minute ride. Riding in the hilliest terrain on a one-gear, bright pink, raised handle-bar bike was, funny- when watching steve, but very hard in reality.
The roads are also so washed out by the torrential down pores that happen every night, and there are huge potholes and slippery parts to the road. Ill add here that there are tuk tuks, and motorbikes whipping by you- and heards of cattle blocking the way every once and a while. We made it there though. I thought I had died when we finally arrived.
It was well worth it though. The water was beautiful, and we quickly realized why they called it the 'blue lagoon'. I'm not sure what exactly makes the water so blue- but literally it is a deep clear blue colour. Very cool, and very pretty.
Steve and I both got in, and the water was more then chilly. Refreshing for sure- but almost too much so! Not exactly sure how the water stays so icy cold- but I like it!
There was swings set up in the lagoon to sit on, and even a tree you could jump from. It started to rain, so once everyone had left steve and I could play around- the whole lagoon to ourselves. It was pretty fun.
On this excursion there was also a cave to explore.
We hiked a little ways up this mountain through the forest, and stumbled across the caves (tham phu kham) opening. At first we thought it was only a little cave, maybe 100 meters long. But then we realized that if you crawled around and over some big boulders, you could explore further into the depths of the cave. This became a little eerie, because by this point there was no longer any natural light in the cave and rather just the little beam from our head lamps.
I found this really cool, as did steve, but I was certainly much more scared. As we kept going further and further into the cave, I would suggest turning back, but steve insisted to push on. With giant holes 20 feet deep and slippery rocks everywhere- we did just that. Until we got to the very end of the cave. It was very neat to see all the stalagmites and stalactites and again almost a creepy feeling to hear the bats fluttering around and the water dripping all around us.
By far we found this the best caving experience we'd had so far. Though paradise and heavenly cave we massive in comparison, this cave had no artificial lighting so it was more of an 'explore' rather then a guided walk through.
We left the cave and jumped back on our bikes to head home in the pouring rain. This was much nicer to ride in, as it has cooled down, what felt like, 20 degrees.
The chain on steves bike came off a million times on the ride home- but that was the only hassle.
At one point three little girls were laughing at him and helped him put it back on. It was pretty cute to say the least.
We showered off (we were covered in mud after the ride home) and then headed out for dinner. Steve and I had gotten in the habit of falling asleep before eating dinner and we were breaking the pattern tonight. Our stomachs still weren't at 100 percent so we ordered something familiar. PIZZA!
The pizza here is nothing like home. But hey- there was bread and there was cheese. We gobbled it down and went to bed.
This is because you are driving through the most mountainous region, on the worst possible roads.
Steve and I had just gotten used to the idea of putting our luggage under buses- though we were told to be cautious of people hiding where the luggage is stowed to steal peoples belongings.
Well the system in Laos is completely different. Here they piles anything and everything on top of the minibuses, and tie everything down with a little rope. Perfect I thought. Sooner or later I'm sure to see all my belongings fly off the roof of our bus and sore into the mountain valley below us.
This didn't happen... Though I wouldn't have been shocked it if did.
I had a good knack of curling into a small ball and squeezing myself to the confines of my small seat in order to take a nap. I did this on almost every bus ride we'd taken. Steve says its the funniest thing to see and it looks like some sort of circus act- but yet a couple hours of sleep is a couple hours of sleep! Ill take it.
Even logging those hours of zzz's, the ride was still long. I will admit that the scenery is pretty nice, and while driving you get to see all type of laos rural life. My favourite is seeing all the little kids running around or bathing in the rivers behind their houses.
These kids look the most happy splashing around and playing with their siblings. There is a crazy bond that almost all families share here. They are so committed to one another. Yes this is seen (seemingly) by just passing by towns in your bus, but also in the heart of cities, where we would stay for a couple of days. Every business is a family business, every older child is taking care of their siblings and every mother is caring for her children- they just seem to have the utmost concern for eachother, no questions asked. It is refreshing to see.
Anyways- after the long journey we had finally made it to Vang Veing. This place is known as the party capital of Laos, where the hoodlums get drunk and float down the Nam Sung river in inner-tubes, stopping at the many bars set up along the rivers edge.
This has actually brought quite a bit of death to the region- with tourists drowning in a fit of intoxication, or simply those who suffer from stupidity and think jumping into a shallow river littered with sharp rocks is a good idea.
Needless to say, the locals, who traditionally would fish and bathe in this river are so deterred from those tourist's actions that they now believe that the river is cursed, and omit from fishing and bathing in it.
As many of the bars have now been shut now due to so many incidences, more locals use the river, but as I talked to a couple in the town, they still find it laughable and a 'stupid' thing to do...innertube down the river drunk, when there are so many more ways to appreciate the extremely beautiful vang vieng scenery.
Steve and I were both embarrassed to hear of how upset the locals were of the tourists, and by no means wished to participate in the foolishness.
After a good sleep in, I was feeling a little better from the poor food decision the night before. Steve and I had heard of the 'blue lagoon' which was only 7kms from the hotel we found (off the beaten path -bonus!).
We decided we would bike the 7km, and then cool off in the icy blue waters!
The bike ride nearly killed me. I must have sweat 10 gallons of water in the 40 minute ride. Riding in the hilliest terrain on a one-gear, bright pink, raised handle-bar bike was, funny- when watching steve, but very hard in reality.
The roads are also so washed out by the torrential down pores that happen every night, and there are huge potholes and slippery parts to the road. Ill add here that there are tuk tuks, and motorbikes whipping by you- and heards of cattle blocking the way every once and a while. We made it there though. I thought I had died when we finally arrived.
It was well worth it though. The water was beautiful, and we quickly realized why they called it the 'blue lagoon'. I'm not sure what exactly makes the water so blue- but literally it is a deep clear blue colour. Very cool, and very pretty.
Steve and I both got in, and the water was more then chilly. Refreshing for sure- but almost too much so! Not exactly sure how the water stays so icy cold- but I like it!
There was swings set up in the lagoon to sit on, and even a tree you could jump from. It started to rain, so once everyone had left steve and I could play around- the whole lagoon to ourselves. It was pretty fun.
On this excursion there was also a cave to explore.
We hiked a little ways up this mountain through the forest, and stumbled across the caves (tham phu kham) opening. At first we thought it was only a little cave, maybe 100 meters long. But then we realized that if you crawled around and over some big boulders, you could explore further into the depths of the cave. This became a little eerie, because by this point there was no longer any natural light in the cave and rather just the little beam from our head lamps.
I found this really cool, as did steve, but I was certainly much more scared. As we kept going further and further into the cave, I would suggest turning back, but steve insisted to push on. With giant holes 20 feet deep and slippery rocks everywhere- we did just that. Until we got to the very end of the cave. It was very neat to see all the stalagmites and stalactites and again almost a creepy feeling to hear the bats fluttering around and the water dripping all around us.
By far we found this the best caving experience we'd had so far. Though paradise and heavenly cave we massive in comparison, this cave had no artificial lighting so it was more of an 'explore' rather then a guided walk through.
We left the cave and jumped back on our bikes to head home in the pouring rain. This was much nicer to ride in, as it has cooled down, what felt like, 20 degrees.
The chain on steves bike came off a million times on the ride home- but that was the only hassle.
At one point three little girls were laughing at him and helped him put it back on. It was pretty cute to say the least.
We showered off (we were covered in mud after the ride home) and then headed out for dinner. Steve and I had gotten in the habit of falling asleep before eating dinner and we were breaking the pattern tonight. Our stomachs still weren't at 100 percent so we ordered something familiar. PIZZA!
The pizza here is nothing like home. But hey- there was bread and there was cheese. We gobbled it down and went to bed.
all aboard the death bus please!
We boarded the mini-bus which took us to the big bus station in Hanoi.
'Look steve- its a big version of you!'
This guy and his girlfriend board the mini-bus. He's wearing a red base-ball cap on- backwards... Long-ish hair, sporting the exact same backpack as Steve.
This was pretty strange.
Soon after the spotting we introduced ourselves. Big Steve's name was Justin, and his girlfriend was Sarah. They too were from Canada making the long busride from Hanoi, Vietnam to Vientiene, Laos.
We got on to our bus. Which ended up being a sleeper bus and started chatting up a storm. It was nice to meeting some friendly people and have a conversation that was longer then just a few words!
We would have to get used to having numb bums, because as I mentioned the busride was apparently 24 hours... Minimum.
Oh joy.
The roads here are nuts. We were driving through the mountains which meant ups and downs, around corners at the speed of lightning. Passing anything and everything in front of us.
Steve, Justin and Sarah had fallen asleep a couple hours before me, and after running out of ways to preoccupy myself I did too.
About 8 ours later, its now the middle of the night- or should I say wee hours of the morning. At this point the bus is a rumblin'. We were being jostled from left to right. It felt like we were taking on some serious corners, and the bus driver was beeping his foul head off! I turn to Steve who was sitting up at this point.
'Is everything ok Steve? Why is it so bumpy?'
'Oh ya rach... Everything is fine. Go back to bed'.
I listened to him, but had I turned over to look at Sarah and Justin I would have seen them white- knuckling the bar in front of their seats.
Once we stopped at the border (around 3 in the morning) we all woke up and Steve then explained to me what had happened.
Long story short- our bus driver was crazy and had a death wish for all of us. He simply could not not pass people. So when faced with hair-pinned turns and giant mountains he was literally driving in the ditches and honking at people to pass them.
At one point this one bus wouldn't let him pass- so we were driving right on his tail all the way to the border stop. This is when our bus driver lost it.
We had a flat tire from driving in the ditches and over giant pot holes- but before fixing that- the bus driver got out and starting yelling at the other driver, banging on his windows and cursing and swearing I'm sure.
We didn't really know what was going on. But it was a relief that the bus was at a stop.
As the driver fixed our flat we drifted back asleep and waited another 3-4 hours before we could apply to cross the border.
I was nervous for this part of the journey as we didn't have particularly good luck the last time we tried.
The first part entailed waiting in line for an hour just to get your passport stamed to get out Vietnam. Then you had to wait another hour to get your laos VISA. A lot transpired in these hours.
While steve waited in line to get our stamps, I sat with our bags on the sidewalk just 15 meters away.
Sitting there about 5 guys came up to chat. This is a regular thing here as many people are fascinated with tourist and see it as an opportunity to improve their english. Not a problem I think.
(Especially not worried because there are armed guards all around where we are sitting, so it would be highly unlikely for someone to try and steal from you or hurt you...)
Anyways- the conversation starts out quite normal, with the usual 'where are you from?' 'Do you like vietnam?' 'How long are you here for?'...
I happily answered these questions, and then it started getting weird.
We continued to talk about how I was somewhere in my mid-twenties and wasn't married and had no children.
'Do you want a baby?'
'No...' I answered firmly.
'I will put baby in you ok?'
... Pause...
I took this as my cue to go stand with steve and wait for our stamps together, and kindly declined his offer.
It is strange how quickly conversation goes from appropriate to inappropriate here. I couldn't fathom asking anyone let alone a stranger a question like that.
Such is life though.
Our VISA ended up costing us 43 dollars each. People seemed to be complaining about the steep prices, but steve and I were thanking darwin that it wasn't costing us a whopping 360.
We were on the bus for another 3 hours before a stop for food. This stop sat particularly bad with steve and I, especially as we weren't quite over our hershey squirts dilemma.
We didn't dare order any food from this stop, but Justin and Sarah did, as well as two other travelers (James and Sarah (yes we know the names are all so similar) ) did.
No one here spoke english- and it seemed whenever we asked for something they just laughed at us. We weren't exactly sure of the reason for this.
At any rate- they all ended up with some type of pork meal. This was THE most disgusting thing I've ever seen.
The pork came with hair still on the skin, and teeth in the meat. The flies flying around the plates wasn't appetizing either...
I thought I was going to be sick.
No one really ate their meal. Maybe they dared a few bites of rice.
Before we knew it we were back on the bus and we'd arrived in Vientine, the capital of Laos.
We were met with aggressive tuk tuk drivers and sand storms, which sounds bad but it really wasn't.
This would be mine and steves first tuk tuk ride, and already we loved them!
Not only do they look so retro, all brightly colours and decked out with lights and paintings- but they are also super breezy to ride in.
We walked the streets in search of a hotel, and once we found one we washed the dirty bus off of us with a nice shower (albeit it was a cold one!) And then met up with the two Sarahs, James and Justin for dinner.
Steve didn't want to brave any meat just yet, so we split a falafle and pad thai. It was pretty yummy, and it definitely filled us up after not eating for a couple days.
Sarah ordered a curry and vomited a mere 5 minutes after eating. That was pleasant.
We all went back to our hotel for some rest and relaxation and low and behold 4 out of 6 of us were sick. (Me being one of them...)
It was time to get the hell out of dodge!
'Look steve- its a big version of you!'
This guy and his girlfriend board the mini-bus. He's wearing a red base-ball cap on- backwards... Long-ish hair, sporting the exact same backpack as Steve.
This was pretty strange.
Soon after the spotting we introduced ourselves. Big Steve's name was Justin, and his girlfriend was Sarah. They too were from Canada making the long busride from Hanoi, Vietnam to Vientiene, Laos.
We got on to our bus. Which ended up being a sleeper bus and started chatting up a storm. It was nice to meeting some friendly people and have a conversation that was longer then just a few words!
We would have to get used to having numb bums, because as I mentioned the busride was apparently 24 hours... Minimum.
Oh joy.
The roads here are nuts. We were driving through the mountains which meant ups and downs, around corners at the speed of lightning. Passing anything and everything in front of us.
Steve, Justin and Sarah had fallen asleep a couple hours before me, and after running out of ways to preoccupy myself I did too.
About 8 ours later, its now the middle of the night- or should I say wee hours of the morning. At this point the bus is a rumblin'. We were being jostled from left to right. It felt like we were taking on some serious corners, and the bus driver was beeping his foul head off! I turn to Steve who was sitting up at this point.
'Is everything ok Steve? Why is it so bumpy?'
'Oh ya rach... Everything is fine. Go back to bed'.
I listened to him, but had I turned over to look at Sarah and Justin I would have seen them white- knuckling the bar in front of their seats.
Once we stopped at the border (around 3 in the morning) we all woke up and Steve then explained to me what had happened.
Long story short- our bus driver was crazy and had a death wish for all of us. He simply could not not pass people. So when faced with hair-pinned turns and giant mountains he was literally driving in the ditches and honking at people to pass them.
At one point this one bus wouldn't let him pass- so we were driving right on his tail all the way to the border stop. This is when our bus driver lost it.
We had a flat tire from driving in the ditches and over giant pot holes- but before fixing that- the bus driver got out and starting yelling at the other driver, banging on his windows and cursing and swearing I'm sure.
We didn't really know what was going on. But it was a relief that the bus was at a stop.
As the driver fixed our flat we drifted back asleep and waited another 3-4 hours before we could apply to cross the border.
I was nervous for this part of the journey as we didn't have particularly good luck the last time we tried.
The first part entailed waiting in line for an hour just to get your passport stamed to get out Vietnam. Then you had to wait another hour to get your laos VISA. A lot transpired in these hours.
While steve waited in line to get our stamps, I sat with our bags on the sidewalk just 15 meters away.
Sitting there about 5 guys came up to chat. This is a regular thing here as many people are fascinated with tourist and see it as an opportunity to improve their english. Not a problem I think.
(Especially not worried because there are armed guards all around where we are sitting, so it would be highly unlikely for someone to try and steal from you or hurt you...)
Anyways- the conversation starts out quite normal, with the usual 'where are you from?' 'Do you like vietnam?' 'How long are you here for?'...
I happily answered these questions, and then it started getting weird.
We continued to talk about how I was somewhere in my mid-twenties and wasn't married and had no children.
'Do you want a baby?'
'No...' I answered firmly.
'I will put baby in you ok?'
... Pause...
I took this as my cue to go stand with steve and wait for our stamps together, and kindly declined his offer.
It is strange how quickly conversation goes from appropriate to inappropriate here. I couldn't fathom asking anyone let alone a stranger a question like that.
Such is life though.
Our VISA ended up costing us 43 dollars each. People seemed to be complaining about the steep prices, but steve and I were thanking darwin that it wasn't costing us a whopping 360.
We were on the bus for another 3 hours before a stop for food. This stop sat particularly bad with steve and I, especially as we weren't quite over our hershey squirts dilemma.
We didn't dare order any food from this stop, but Justin and Sarah did, as well as two other travelers (James and Sarah (yes we know the names are all so similar) ) did.
No one here spoke english- and it seemed whenever we asked for something they just laughed at us. We weren't exactly sure of the reason for this.
At any rate- they all ended up with some type of pork meal. This was THE most disgusting thing I've ever seen.
The pork came with hair still on the skin, and teeth in the meat. The flies flying around the plates wasn't appetizing either...
I thought I was going to be sick.
No one really ate their meal. Maybe they dared a few bites of rice.
Before we knew it we were back on the bus and we'd arrived in Vientine, the capital of Laos.
We were met with aggressive tuk tuk drivers and sand storms, which sounds bad but it really wasn't.
This would be mine and steves first tuk tuk ride, and already we loved them!
Not only do they look so retro, all brightly colours and decked out with lights and paintings- but they are also super breezy to ride in.
We walked the streets in search of a hotel, and once we found one we washed the dirty bus off of us with a nice shower (albeit it was a cold one!) And then met up with the two Sarahs, James and Justin for dinner.
Steve didn't want to brave any meat just yet, so we split a falafle and pad thai. It was pretty yummy, and it definitely filled us up after not eating for a couple days.
Sarah ordered a curry and vomited a mere 5 minutes after eating. That was pleasant.
We all went back to our hotel for some rest and relaxation and low and behold 4 out of 6 of us were sick. (Me being one of them...)
It was time to get the hell out of dodge!
the Hershey Squirts... how lovely!
We had two more days left in Hanoi- and it was a good thing that Mrs.
Chi had other plans this morning and couldn't meet us until dinner.
We knew this day would come. We dreaded it...but we knew it had to be faced.
The Hershey Squirts...as Steve so vividly calls it.
It hit me first. We decided to tour around Hanoi city- go to the market, walk into some cool little shops.
Hanoi is known for its silk. Around every corner there are beautiful little shops with handmade silk scarves, bags, wallets, flowers... Anything you can imagine- they've got it... And its all silk!
We were off to a great start to the day. It was swelteringly hot again and we were both sweating like pigs. And then I knew... Just like that, that something wasn't right.
Nonchalantly I turn to Steve and say perhaps it would be a good idea to go back to the hotel. We made it just in time. The chocolate factory was officially open- and then weren't running low on supply.
Holy moly- I realize now why they say that traveling as a couple is a make or break it situation.
We were meeting Mrs. Chi for dinner- and I had pulled myself together for that. At this point Steve had not yet been hit by the squirts, so we were doing pretty good.
We went out for some street food for dinner. It was pretty neat watching this guy toss rice in the air from his giant wok, and throw this and that in it to make it taste extra yummy. One of the many awesome things about Mrs. Chi, was that she actually knew Hanoi city- which meant she also knew the good places to eat and visit.
As I hadn't eaten in some time- I gobbled down my food lickadee-split. Steve on the other hand wasn't doing so hot. And that's when I knew. The poor guy. Just like that he turned to me and said 'I think maybe we should go back to the hotel now'...
And we did. Steve immediately ran upstairs and sprawled out on the bed. After a short visit with Mrs. Chi in the lobby, I went up to check on him and make sure everything was ok.
I've never seen Steve like this. So helpless.. Everything about him screamed uncomfortableness.
Right before he fell asleep, he told me. 'Everything hurts- my legs, my arms, my stomach...I think I want to puke'...
He didn't puke- but I don't think I need to explain what happened next.
The next morning was our last official day in Hanoi. We would be leaving that night for Laos.
Mrs. Chi again planned a great day for us, going to see the big Hanoi cites. We visited the Ho Chi Mnihn museum, the prison, the first Hanoi university... All kinds of cool things.
Mid way through the Prison tour I looked over at Steve, and when his weepy little eyes met mine I knew it was time to go home.
We booked it back to the hotel, and asked for a late checkout so that Steve could go sleep. He slept for 8 hours or something ridiculous like that.
I packed up the room- shipped a parcel out and went for a little walk, and woke Steve up just before our bus was supposed to arrive.
'Do you feel any better Steve?' I asked nervously. I knew we were faced with a 24 hour long bus ride...
'I feel much better actually' (I was relieved)
'I think I would have died if I didn't have that nap'
The expression on Steve's face when he said that to me was priceless as he was so sincere about it.
We waited with Mrs. Chi and her brother at the bus station while sipping some delicious iced coffees- awaiting our bus to come.
Of course the bus was some 2 hours late. We were used to this though.
Just as we were leaving the most insane downpour overcame Hanoi. The three of us agreed that even the sky was sad we had to leave.
Alas it was time. And more adventure would meet us in Laos.
We knew this day would come. We dreaded it...but we knew it had to be faced.
The Hershey Squirts...as Steve so vividly calls it.
It hit me first. We decided to tour around Hanoi city- go to the market, walk into some cool little shops.
Hanoi is known for its silk. Around every corner there are beautiful little shops with handmade silk scarves, bags, wallets, flowers... Anything you can imagine- they've got it... And its all silk!
We were off to a great start to the day. It was swelteringly hot again and we were both sweating like pigs. And then I knew... Just like that, that something wasn't right.
Nonchalantly I turn to Steve and say perhaps it would be a good idea to go back to the hotel. We made it just in time. The chocolate factory was officially open- and then weren't running low on supply.
Holy moly- I realize now why they say that traveling as a couple is a make or break it situation.
We were meeting Mrs. Chi for dinner- and I had pulled myself together for that. At this point Steve had not yet been hit by the squirts, so we were doing pretty good.
We went out for some street food for dinner. It was pretty neat watching this guy toss rice in the air from his giant wok, and throw this and that in it to make it taste extra yummy. One of the many awesome things about Mrs. Chi, was that she actually knew Hanoi city- which meant she also knew the good places to eat and visit.
As I hadn't eaten in some time- I gobbled down my food lickadee-split. Steve on the other hand wasn't doing so hot. And that's when I knew. The poor guy. Just like that he turned to me and said 'I think maybe we should go back to the hotel now'...
And we did. Steve immediately ran upstairs and sprawled out on the bed. After a short visit with Mrs. Chi in the lobby, I went up to check on him and make sure everything was ok.
I've never seen Steve like this. So helpless.. Everything about him screamed uncomfortableness.
Right before he fell asleep, he told me. 'Everything hurts- my legs, my arms, my stomach...I think I want to puke'...
He didn't puke- but I don't think I need to explain what happened next.
The next morning was our last official day in Hanoi. We would be leaving that night for Laos.
Mrs. Chi again planned a great day for us, going to see the big Hanoi cites. We visited the Ho Chi Mnihn museum, the prison, the first Hanoi university... All kinds of cool things.
Mid way through the Prison tour I looked over at Steve, and when his weepy little eyes met mine I knew it was time to go home.
We booked it back to the hotel, and asked for a late checkout so that Steve could go sleep. He slept for 8 hours or something ridiculous like that.
I packed up the room- shipped a parcel out and went for a little walk, and woke Steve up just before our bus was supposed to arrive.
'Do you feel any better Steve?' I asked nervously. I knew we were faced with a 24 hour long bus ride...
'I feel much better actually' (I was relieved)
'I think I would have died if I didn't have that nap'
The expression on Steve's face when he said that to me was priceless as he was so sincere about it.
We waited with Mrs. Chi and her brother at the bus station while sipping some delicious iced coffees- awaiting our bus to come.
Of course the bus was some 2 hours late. We were used to this though.
Just as we were leaving the most insane downpour overcame Hanoi. The three of us agreed that even the sky was sad we had to leave.
Alas it was time. And more adventure would meet us in Laos.
Hanoi we're here!
We've made it to hanoi after a LONG nightbus, bus ride.
The buses here are bonkers. More so should I say the bus stations. Here you think you'll be dropped off or picked up from a legitimate place. Think again. The bus stations seem to be anywhere- at anytime. You'll get dropped off on the side of the road somewhere, and told to wait for your next bus. Low and behold it comes. Maybe a few hours late, but hey.
Anyways- we role into Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, early early in the morning. Though they call them 'sleeper buses' they hardly make for a goodnight's sleep.
You never know what awaits you when you step off your bus. For me today it was a nice slap. I had put my bag down on the side of the road- and I guess the bus driver didn't like that much. So he just had at the back of my legs. 'Ouch!'
We moved on quickly after that.
At any rate, not knowing exactly where we were (but thinking it must be close to the city centre because that's where we were told we'd get dropped off), we start to walk towards where we'd be able to find a hotel or hostel.
What we thought would be a short walk ended up being roughly 5kms. Doesn't seem like much, but at 5 in the morning its tiring, especially with packs on!
Anyways- we find a hotel for a relatively cheap price and we make our way upstairs. Its about 50 degrees outside and possibly the hottest day we've experience since arriving in the Nam.
After being assssured we had working air conditioning- we were both more then upset to be met with a swelteringly hot room. Like I've said before- we feel so ridiculous complaining about no AC... But I'm telling you- the weather messes with your head!
Being the Leaf fans we are (I say 'we' loosely (no offense!)), we listened to the leafs game in our boiling room. On the radio! We felt the most ghetto ever. Nonetheless it was a hard game to listen to, and after witnessing the embarrassing leaf loss we decided to go grab coffees.
I need to emphasize here how amazing the coffee is in Vietnam. It is SO strong- but so delicious and refreshing.
Steve and I had been in contact with Mihn, a family friend, who had family in Vietnam, and she got us in contact with a lady, who I have never met before, Mrs. Chi.
She had been emailing me for over a week, and we had arranged to meet that afternoon for an exciting evening just outside of the city.
Steve and I didn't know what to expect- but we had pictured a lady in her mid-40s coming to tour us around.
Little did we know, she thought that WE would be in our 40s!
Well we were both wrong.
Mrs. Chi ended up being in her mid 20s, and we had the best time together. She was completely awesome- and had planned us a couple really awesome days in Vietnam's capital.
Steve and I felt like royalty. We had a driver and everything. Super surreal.
First we went to a pottery village just outside of the city. When they say 'pottery village' that's what they mean. This was the most pottery I'd ever seen. It was roads and roads of hand made dishes and figurines-bracelets and statues.
We walked down and through the aisles and shops for hours and actually got our own private pottery lessons. It was really cool. We spun some bowls and cups. There was no electricity, so getting the trick of how to spin the tables right was a little difficult- but seeing our teacher do it was amazing. She would spin vases, cups, bowls, plates- anything, any size so effortlessly. Very cool.
Seeing as it was a bazillion degrees, it was nice to have a cool ride back into the city.
Mrs. Chi had booked us a reservation at what she called in her email as 'her favourite restaurant'...
Well it turns out that it was the FANCIEST of fancy-pants places you could imagine. And here Steve and I come traipsing in (again) like a heard of turtles.
We had the grubbiest of clothing on... Haven't showered in days.
We felt like ABSOLUTE shmucks!
Again we seem to be met with women in evening gowns and men in suits- when we ourselves are in scruffy shorts and a Tee.
Humpf. It is what it is.
We did get a DELICIOUS meal and great company.
To top off an already 'misfit-feeling dinner' we left the swanky joint by taking some photos here and there. The waiters were all chuckling at us. It was pretty cute.
Seeing as we had a really long day- we were excited to get to bed- even though we fell asleep in a pool of our own sweat! Yuckers.
We woke up the next morning- met Mrs. Chi outside our hotel, and made the 3 hour journey to Halong Bay.
This place is beautiful! Giant limestone islands jut out from the sea and make for the most picturesque surroundings.
We boarded an old ship, where they fed us a extra yummy lunch. Mrs. Chi and Steve got fresh sea-food. I wish I could have indulged- but the vegetarian stuff was pretty darn good too. After we were right full, we set sail!
We toured all around the islands and stopped at a little fishing village.
The village was all comprised of houses built on stilts as to not touch the water. It was pretty neat to see. Here we got to kayak around the islands and go explore a couple caves too!
Then we were taken by boat again, to Heavenly cave, apparently one of the seven wonders of the world. It was stunning to walk through. Steve and I had now been in a couple difference caves. By far Paradise cave was the most impressive- but we both agreed that caves in general had an eerie feeling about them. Its always a little dark and dingy- and all you can hear is the 'drip drip drip' of the water falling from the rock ceilings. Very cool to say the least.
It was an awesome day. And just as we thought it was over- Mrs. Chi had arranged for us to go out for beers with her and her boyfriend, Phi. We ended up going to a famous bar in Hanoi- and had a lot of fun talking and enjoying eachothers company.
After a day of feeling like a King and Queen we went to bed. I was forseeing a sleepin in our future!
The buses here are bonkers. More so should I say the bus stations. Here you think you'll be dropped off or picked up from a legitimate place. Think again. The bus stations seem to be anywhere- at anytime. You'll get dropped off on the side of the road somewhere, and told to wait for your next bus. Low and behold it comes. Maybe a few hours late, but hey.
Anyways- we role into Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, early early in the morning. Though they call them 'sleeper buses' they hardly make for a goodnight's sleep.
You never know what awaits you when you step off your bus. For me today it was a nice slap. I had put my bag down on the side of the road- and I guess the bus driver didn't like that much. So he just had at the back of my legs. 'Ouch!'
We moved on quickly after that.
At any rate, not knowing exactly where we were (but thinking it must be close to the city centre because that's where we were told we'd get dropped off), we start to walk towards where we'd be able to find a hotel or hostel.
What we thought would be a short walk ended up being roughly 5kms. Doesn't seem like much, but at 5 in the morning its tiring, especially with packs on!
Anyways- we find a hotel for a relatively cheap price and we make our way upstairs. Its about 50 degrees outside and possibly the hottest day we've experience since arriving in the Nam.
After being assssured we had working air conditioning- we were both more then upset to be met with a swelteringly hot room. Like I've said before- we feel so ridiculous complaining about no AC... But I'm telling you- the weather messes with your head!
Being the Leaf fans we are (I say 'we' loosely (no offense!)), we listened to the leafs game in our boiling room. On the radio! We felt the most ghetto ever. Nonetheless it was a hard game to listen to, and after witnessing the embarrassing leaf loss we decided to go grab coffees.
I need to emphasize here how amazing the coffee is in Vietnam. It is SO strong- but so delicious and refreshing.
Steve and I had been in contact with Mihn, a family friend, who had family in Vietnam, and she got us in contact with a lady, who I have never met before, Mrs. Chi.
She had been emailing me for over a week, and we had arranged to meet that afternoon for an exciting evening just outside of the city.
Steve and I didn't know what to expect- but we had pictured a lady in her mid-40s coming to tour us around.
Little did we know, she thought that WE would be in our 40s!
Well we were both wrong.
Mrs. Chi ended up being in her mid 20s, and we had the best time together. She was completely awesome- and had planned us a couple really awesome days in Vietnam's capital.
Steve and I felt like royalty. We had a driver and everything. Super surreal.
First we went to a pottery village just outside of the city. When they say 'pottery village' that's what they mean. This was the most pottery I'd ever seen. It was roads and roads of hand made dishes and figurines-bracelets and statues.
We walked down and through the aisles and shops for hours and actually got our own private pottery lessons. It was really cool. We spun some bowls and cups. There was no electricity, so getting the trick of how to spin the tables right was a little difficult- but seeing our teacher do it was amazing. She would spin vases, cups, bowls, plates- anything, any size so effortlessly. Very cool.
Seeing as it was a bazillion degrees, it was nice to have a cool ride back into the city.
Mrs. Chi had booked us a reservation at what she called in her email as 'her favourite restaurant'...
Well it turns out that it was the FANCIEST of fancy-pants places you could imagine. And here Steve and I come traipsing in (again) like a heard of turtles.
We had the grubbiest of clothing on... Haven't showered in days.
We felt like ABSOLUTE shmucks!
Again we seem to be met with women in evening gowns and men in suits- when we ourselves are in scruffy shorts and a Tee.
Humpf. It is what it is.
We did get a DELICIOUS meal and great company.
To top off an already 'misfit-feeling dinner' we left the swanky joint by taking some photos here and there. The waiters were all chuckling at us. It was pretty cute.
Seeing as we had a really long day- we were excited to get to bed- even though we fell asleep in a pool of our own sweat! Yuckers.
We woke up the next morning- met Mrs. Chi outside our hotel, and made the 3 hour journey to Halong Bay.
This place is beautiful! Giant limestone islands jut out from the sea and make for the most picturesque surroundings.
We boarded an old ship, where they fed us a extra yummy lunch. Mrs. Chi and Steve got fresh sea-food. I wish I could have indulged- but the vegetarian stuff was pretty darn good too. After we were right full, we set sail!
We toured all around the islands and stopped at a little fishing village.
The village was all comprised of houses built on stilts as to not touch the water. It was pretty neat to see. Here we got to kayak around the islands and go explore a couple caves too!
Then we were taken by boat again, to Heavenly cave, apparently one of the seven wonders of the world. It was stunning to walk through. Steve and I had now been in a couple difference caves. By far Paradise cave was the most impressive- but we both agreed that caves in general had an eerie feeling about them. Its always a little dark and dingy- and all you can hear is the 'drip drip drip' of the water falling from the rock ceilings. Very cool to say the least.
It was an awesome day. And just as we thought it was over- Mrs. Chi had arranged for us to go out for beers with her and her boyfriend, Phi. We ended up going to a famous bar in Hanoi- and had a lot of fun talking and enjoying eachothers company.
After a day of feeling like a King and Queen we went to bed. I was forseeing a sleepin in our future!
Caves Caves Caves!
Hello fans! Steve here trying this blogging thing out! Rach has been working hard so I thought I'd give it a whirl!
We had booked a tour to paradise cave which I had been pretty excited for,it is the biggest dry cave in southeast asia at 31 km+ some spots 150m high and 100m wide, there was two options you could do, a short hike through with all the tourists about 1km or a 7 km full day trek inside the pitch black cave, stopping and having lunch around the 5km mark. Obviously we wanted to do the 7km option.
off to the tour Agency we go,we book a package deal and get a bus there(with a guy holding a sign up for us when we arrive to take us to the hotel), hotel for the night, cave tour, then a sleeping bus to hanoi, now I wanted to make sure we got the extended tour so after showing her the online brochure of the 7km tour, asking about 30 times and being reassured about 40 times, it got to the point where she asked me to stop asking I figured it was good.
So that afternoon we get on the bus head to hue for the night, we arrive a few hours later and no one is waiting for us, so we wait about ten minutes and decide no ones coming, we start walking towards the hotel and about 5 minutes later this really frantic guy comes zooming by on his motorbike yelling and pulling papers out of his pocket and he comes to us and turns out he just couldn't find the bus station, which sounds silly but they seem to just drop you off wherever they want here, usually a few km from the bus station.
Anyways we get to the hotel, check in, get dinner, go to bed, pretty uneventful night (except for the rat that ran across the floor of the restaurant we ate at)
The next morning we get picked up at around 6 am and were told the cave is 4 hours away, but we would also stop at a famous christian church and have lunch and wouldn't arrive to the cave till around 12. Turns out I wasn't clear enough to the booking lady, and our trek turned into a golf cart ride from the van to and from the cave and a little peak into a massive cave.
The cave itself was pretty spectacular, you had to walk up 518 steps to the entrance and the entrance was no bigger then a doorway, when we got close though it felt like stepping into ac because of the cool air coming out of the cave which was really neat. My fist impression of entering was a jaw dropping wow, once through the little doorway the cave just opened up! It was absolutely huge, probably could have put westside (my highschool) and the water tower in there and still had room to fly a kyte and park the car. It was big, and every corner we turned it seemed to be just as big, after about 10 minutes it turned into more of a tunnel instead of the taj mahal which was pretty sweet aswell, we followed the walkway for about a kilometer where they had lights lighting the place up and some parts were colourful lights which we both thought ruined it but what are you gonna do, it just made us wanna do the 7km trek more the time we reached the end, oh well though it wasn't all bad, we met a girl from germany who we hung out with for the day and she was on the bus to hanoi with us too, so it was nice to share some stories and kill time with her.
All and all day was a bit of a bummer but the cave was still pretty awesome, to hanoi we go!
Back to Rach!!!
We had booked a tour to paradise cave which I had been pretty excited for,it is the biggest dry cave in southeast asia at 31 km+ some spots 150m high and 100m wide, there was two options you could do, a short hike through with all the tourists about 1km or a 7 km full day trek inside the pitch black cave, stopping and having lunch around the 5km mark. Obviously we wanted to do the 7km option.
off to the tour Agency we go,we book a package deal and get a bus there(with a guy holding a sign up for us when we arrive to take us to the hotel), hotel for the night, cave tour, then a sleeping bus to hanoi, now I wanted to make sure we got the extended tour so after showing her the online brochure of the 7km tour, asking about 30 times and being reassured about 40 times, it got to the point where she asked me to stop asking I figured it was good.
So that afternoon we get on the bus head to hue for the night, we arrive a few hours later and no one is waiting for us, so we wait about ten minutes and decide no ones coming, we start walking towards the hotel and about 5 minutes later this really frantic guy comes zooming by on his motorbike yelling and pulling papers out of his pocket and he comes to us and turns out he just couldn't find the bus station, which sounds silly but they seem to just drop you off wherever they want here, usually a few km from the bus station.
Anyways we get to the hotel, check in, get dinner, go to bed, pretty uneventful night (except for the rat that ran across the floor of the restaurant we ate at)
The next morning we get picked up at around 6 am and were told the cave is 4 hours away, but we would also stop at a famous christian church and have lunch and wouldn't arrive to the cave till around 12. Turns out I wasn't clear enough to the booking lady, and our trek turned into a golf cart ride from the van to and from the cave and a little peak into a massive cave.
The cave itself was pretty spectacular, you had to walk up 518 steps to the entrance and the entrance was no bigger then a doorway, when we got close though it felt like stepping into ac because of the cool air coming out of the cave which was really neat. My fist impression of entering was a jaw dropping wow, once through the little doorway the cave just opened up! It was absolutely huge, probably could have put westside (my highschool) and the water tower in there and still had room to fly a kyte and park the car. It was big, and every corner we turned it seemed to be just as big, after about 10 minutes it turned into more of a tunnel instead of the taj mahal which was pretty sweet aswell, we followed the walkway for about a kilometer where they had lights lighting the place up and some parts were colourful lights which we both thought ruined it but what are you gonna do, it just made us wanna do the 7km trek more the time we reached the end, oh well though it wasn't all bad, we met a girl from germany who we hung out with for the day and she was on the bus to hanoi with us too, so it was nice to share some stories and kill time with her.
All and all day was a bit of a bummer but the cave was still pretty awesome, to hanoi we go!
Back to Rach!!!
Hoi An- Land of Lanterns and Tailored Clothing
Hoi An- not to be confused with Hanoi (the capital city of Vietnam) was
the cleanest and cutest town we'd ventured to since we arrive some 10
days ago.
The sleeper bus to get there was eventful. In fact at around the 10 hour mark we hit something and the bus window just below me got completely smashed. Literally. Glass flying everywhere. Without even asking if anyone was ok- the bus driver hopped out of the bus, taped the massive window up, and we were on our way.
This did cause some delays, and our 12 hour bus ride turned into a 16-18 hour one. When your bum is that numb though there isn't much difference between 12 and 18.
Needless to say, we made it to Hoi An in one piece, and from the get go the city was treating us well. We checked into our, budget, hotel which ended up being our nicest one yet! It was super clean, and big, and we even had our own little balcony.
I was particularly excited for Hoi An, because this is the city were tailor shops monopoly the streets, and you can get really nice hand made clothing for really reasonable prices.
After a quick bite to eat, Steve and I explored the city and found a cute little shop where after we either designed or picked some clothing out, we got measured up.
The girl who did our measuring was super cute. She spoke relatively good english and she was joking around with us the whole time. Steve and I were kind of being goofs as well, and I think that make her like us a little more.
We ended up getting way more stuff then we needed... And after only one night, we went back to get fitted and everything looked awesome. Steve got a suit made, and he's never looked so 'sharp'. We were so happy with all our stuff. It was an awesome experience.
We couldn't get over the girl and her sister though. When I say they were cute- I really mean it!
They even took us on their motorbikes to a hidden away vegetarian restaurant which ended up being really awesome. Yummy!
All in all Hoi An was a really nice town. There were noticeably more tourists here- but it was easy to see why.
We also came at a pretty neat time because there was a festival of lights going on.
Right through the middle of the town is a river. And there's a really cool bridge that allows you to cross from one side to the other.
When night time came the bridge lit up with lights and beautiful lanterns were lit by every home and shop around.
Plus water lanterns were lit and released to float down the river. It was a picturesque to say the least, and photos couldn't do it justice.
Steve and I walked the streets and watched the lights for hours. We even got to visit the night market which was fun.
The one thing we found funny, but sad at the same time, was this one incident during our dinner. A girl my age came up to our table and asked if we wanted to buy any jewelry or snacks from her. Usually we just say 'no thanks' and the walk to the next table... But for some reason this girl would not leave us alone!
Her bag was like Marry Poppin's bag...She kept pulling never ended amounts of things out it, hoping we would be interested by something.
She was at our table for nearly 20 minutes begging us to buy these 8 dollar charms, when I finally gave her a blunt ' no I don't want to buy anything'.
She turned to me and said:
'Hey lady' open your heart... Open your wallet. You can buy. You will buy'.
Here Steve and I had thought that after 'open your heart' she would say some insightful thing... Nope!
When she finally realized I was being serious, she turned to Steve and said 'don't you buy your lady nice things? Be a man.'
Steve laughed and with a no she finally left.
I must say that she was an entertaining sales women though.
We had stayed up far past our bedtime and we were super tired. We fell asleep immediately.
The next morning we were taking a bus to Hue which was only about 4-5 hours away.
This would be a cake walk in comparison to the day long rides we had grown accustom to.
The sleeper bus to get there was eventful. In fact at around the 10 hour mark we hit something and the bus window just below me got completely smashed. Literally. Glass flying everywhere. Without even asking if anyone was ok- the bus driver hopped out of the bus, taped the massive window up, and we were on our way.
This did cause some delays, and our 12 hour bus ride turned into a 16-18 hour one. When your bum is that numb though there isn't much difference between 12 and 18.
Needless to say, we made it to Hoi An in one piece, and from the get go the city was treating us well. We checked into our, budget, hotel which ended up being our nicest one yet! It was super clean, and big, and we even had our own little balcony.
I was particularly excited for Hoi An, because this is the city were tailor shops monopoly the streets, and you can get really nice hand made clothing for really reasonable prices.
After a quick bite to eat, Steve and I explored the city and found a cute little shop where after we either designed or picked some clothing out, we got measured up.
The girl who did our measuring was super cute. She spoke relatively good english and she was joking around with us the whole time. Steve and I were kind of being goofs as well, and I think that make her like us a little more.
We ended up getting way more stuff then we needed... And after only one night, we went back to get fitted and everything looked awesome. Steve got a suit made, and he's never looked so 'sharp'. We were so happy with all our stuff. It was an awesome experience.
We couldn't get over the girl and her sister though. When I say they were cute- I really mean it!
They even took us on their motorbikes to a hidden away vegetarian restaurant which ended up being really awesome. Yummy!
All in all Hoi An was a really nice town. There were noticeably more tourists here- but it was easy to see why.
We also came at a pretty neat time because there was a festival of lights going on.
Right through the middle of the town is a river. And there's a really cool bridge that allows you to cross from one side to the other.
When night time came the bridge lit up with lights and beautiful lanterns were lit by every home and shop around.
Plus water lanterns were lit and released to float down the river. It was a picturesque to say the least, and photos couldn't do it justice.
Steve and I walked the streets and watched the lights for hours. We even got to visit the night market which was fun.
The one thing we found funny, but sad at the same time, was this one incident during our dinner. A girl my age came up to our table and asked if we wanted to buy any jewelry or snacks from her. Usually we just say 'no thanks' and the walk to the next table... But for some reason this girl would not leave us alone!
Her bag was like Marry Poppin's bag...She kept pulling never ended amounts of things out it, hoping we would be interested by something.
She was at our table for nearly 20 minutes begging us to buy these 8 dollar charms, when I finally gave her a blunt ' no I don't want to buy anything'.
She turned to me and said:
'Hey lady' open your heart... Open your wallet. You can buy. You will buy'.
Here Steve and I had thought that after 'open your heart' she would say some insightful thing... Nope!
When she finally realized I was being serious, she turned to Steve and said 'don't you buy your lady nice things? Be a man.'
Steve laughed and with a no she finally left.
I must say that she was an entertaining sales women though.
We had stayed up far past our bedtime and we were super tired. We fell asleep immediately.
The next morning we were taking a bus to Hue which was only about 4-5 hours away.
This would be a cake walk in comparison to the day long rides we had grown accustom to.
Nha Trang- Hitting the Beaches!
We've arrived in Nha Trang. This is a little beachtown on the coast of the South China Sea.
We've been traveling more and more North as the trip progresses. We were hoping that this would result in cooler weather (you know... Like traveling from Ontatio to the Yukon?) No such thing has happened. I swear its getting hotter! And I didn't even think this was possible.
Steve and I are boggled by most of these towns. We pictured them so much smaller and less developed then they really are. Especially here in Nha Trang, things seem very Westernized. Its kind of unfortunate really.
One thing we have noticed though is that people seemingly get nicer and nicer as we venture further North, and the cities are getting cleaner and cleaner.
We've also learned some valuable things about driving here- and we are figuring out the 'honking' system.
First of all, the bigger you are (vehicle wise) the likelier the chance is that you have the right of way.
For example- if you're a bus, you honk your horn (options: subtle 'beep beep' or 'hoooooooooooonk' (I prefer the first option)) to pass someone. Once you honk your horn, the car, bike, bicycle, or pedestrian moves over and let's you pass.
This works for cars too, but not so much for motorbikes. Generally they 'beep' at eachother or a people.
BUT there are the people who 'beep' at you- just because you're a foreigner. Which is lovely. This is why we've been so confused. Because we get honked at twentyfive zillion times a day. (Really if you had a big ego- and you wanted to feed it... You should come to Vietnam! People drive by and give you the 'beep beep' ALL the time! Sometimes you get a nod, smoking guns (with the hands!), a wink, or a 'niiiice' along with the beep beep too!.)
Moving on though. We jumped off the bus at around 7 o'clock and made our way to our hotel. One thing that is so annoying here is that when you get off your bus- the streets flood with taxi drivers, hotel room sellers, motorbikes... All asking you if you want a ride, or need a hotel, or where you're staying, what you're doing. Its so overwhelming!
Us (being from Canada) don't give the (options) silent treatment- completely ignoring them, or the firm 'no' accompanied with a bold hand gesture. So we end up having to politely explain we have a room- and ask for walking directions from the bus stop to the hotel.
Now- two things usually happen. First- they tell you the completely wrong directions (perfect)... Or secondly, they give you the right general direction- but tell you the hotel is some obscene distance away! (We've now learned these facts and figure it out on our own... But its been interesting- let's leave it at that).
So we get to our hotel, and its early enough for us to go get some food.
We consulted our travel book for a good vegetarian restaurant, and we trudged some great distance to find it- only to realize it no longer existed.
Now- in normal heat, this small set back would be no big deal. In this weather... I don't know how to control my emotions. I was SO mad- I 'didn't even want to eat anymore'. Of course we stopped at a different little restaurant and had dinner.
It was a long day and we hit the hay early.
I say this like we usually stay up late. This is so NOT the case. Traveling has turned Steve and I into old grannies and pop-pops. We usually fall asleep between 8:30 and 9:00, and wake up between 5:30-7:00. Its so UNLIKE me!
Its morning now- and unlike the other little beachtowns we've been in- Nha Trang seems to wake up early. Steve turns to me and says 'we should just have a lazy beach day today- the sea is so nice here'.
I agreed.
We had heard of the famous mud baths in Nha Trang, and decided to treat ourselves to a 'spa' day. Our bus driver gets to our hotel bright and early, to drive us to this cute little spa up in the mountains. It was pretty awesome. People didn't speak much english here, but we gathered we should get changed and make our way to the mud baths. I didn't really know what to expect... But its exactly how it sounds. Literally you sit in a pool of mud (its warm) and just hang out in there for about 40 minutes. They give you buckets to poor mud all over you (included your hair and face). It was pretty awesome, and the mud felt nice on your skin. I felt like a wallowing pig!
After the mud we showered off, and made our way to a warm salt bath. That was pretty nice too. You'd think that in the heat it would be too much. But it wasn't. Steve and I felt like royalty doing absolutely nothing all morning. We finished off the 'spa' day with a swim in a cool pool- rinsing all the salt and residual mud off us. I felt so refreshed, and was ready for my day!
Now Steve, after being pampered all morning was still ready for his beach/lazy day.
BUT of course knowing me- I read that there was a giant Buddha only 5 kms from our hotel- perched at the top on a Buddhist temple. We HAD to go! Plus, at the bottom of the temple was a vegetarian restaurant run by monks, which I thought would be really neat.
So off we go. Again poor Steve....I don't know when he'll learn. 5km turned into 10 and then 15... I looked over at him- exasperated by the heat. Literally dripping with sweat. He looks back at me and says ' I literally don't think I've ever been this hot. In my life'.
I must say- I had to agree. It was a scorching 47 degrees, plus the beating down sun. It felt like 100!
No wonder everyone is laying on the floor of their shops, fanning themselves. I don't know how anyone gets anything done here. If it were Canada we would all be hidden away in this weather.
We finally made it to the Buddha- and boy was it worth it. It was a HUGE temple- so well kept. The Buddha was enormous and you got to climb some 200-300 steps to get to the top. From up there you could see most all of Nha Trang city, which was also pretty neat.
I hadn't been too impressed by Vietnamese cuisine so far, and I was pretty disappointed in that. But we thought we'd give the Buddhist restaurant a try. OH MY GOSH! Auntie Tozie had urged me to get a bowl of Pho (a traditional noodle soup here)- but I hadn't been able to yet because none of it was ever vegetarian. This place had it. Steve and I both ordered a bowl...(50 cents each) and gobbled it down. The monks sure know how to do it. To date it was the best food we've eaten!
We also guzzled down an entire jug of iced Vietnamese tea.
Now with a light bounce in our step we made our way home. This in itself was an adventure!
First we stumbled across a grocery store. Now I know that this doesn't sound SO exciting... But first: we hadn't seen one yet, and second: we'd only had prepared food since we'd been here... And we were craving something raw and yummy...
The grocery stores are similar to the ones in Canada- except they are jam-packed with crazy foods. Lots of raw seafood, a whole aisle dedicated to instant noodles, and of course the entire back of the store held rice cookers... And only rice cookers.
At any rate it was interesting to walk around the store and see how expensive (or should I say inexpensive) things are here. The most expensive thing we bought was shaving cream- and that amounted to half our bill.
We did manage to by some fresh bread, some gouda, and veggies to make sammies on the beach with for dinner! Yum!
Even better- on our way back home from the grocery, we found the cutest little coffee shop. We popped in and got iced coffees with milk. They were SO good! Plus the girl who served us was adorable. She was literally as sweet as the condensed milk they use to make their coffees (VERY sweet). On our walk back home- we both decided we would come back the next day for breakfast. Especially so because there was a little bakery just across the street that we could get some food from.
Once we finally got home (and this had now turned into a days venture)... We were almost ready to hit the beach for some delicious dinner, when we realized that half our photos from our trip were no longer on the camera's memory card.
I almost started to cry. We zipped downstairs, and checked on the computer. Low and behold, the files were corrupted and we didn't have any of our photos. I was so upset. It took as a couple hours to try and retrieve them until we finally gave up.
Tash assured us that would could probably take the card to someone in Canada to retrieve them for us. I am banking on that and crossing my fingers it works!
It was such a bummer though because it was a damper on a really good day.
It was way past our bed time, and we decided to gobble down a quick sandwich before bed and call it a day. We would hit the beach tomorrow.
We decided to start this day off, putting the memory card incident behind us (this was hard for me). Seeing as we were leaving in the afternoon, Steve finally got his beach day (of course after walking back to our (now) favourite coffee shop for breakie!
After packing up the room and checking out of the hotel we decided to head down to the sandy shores to cool off. Again it was a million degrees outside.
Like I had said about Mui Ne- the beaches are so nice... But garbage floats in the water, and washes up along the shores. Its such a shame. Steve and I tried to find a more secluded place to go for a dip, though those are few and far between, and still extremely polluted.
Never the less we made it into the salty sea and were having a great time playing in the waves.
Then, all of a sudden we see something floating in the water. What do you know- two giant bloated rats. Isn't that nice.
After this discovery I found it very hard to go back into the water. To date it was the grungiest thing I'd seen.
We thought this was our cue to leave the beach and find a shower- where we could wash the dead rat off us.
I would like to make it vividly clear how huge this thing was. At first I mistook it for a puppy... A big puppy. The tail on this thing was as thick as my thumb. Uck!
We did end up finding a shower, and after that we got some food before jumping onto our next bus. Off to Hoi An we would go. This was going to be a 12 hour ride. Thought we had a sleeper bus- the rides are always extremely bumpy, and you never really good nights sleep.
We've been traveling more and more North as the trip progresses. We were hoping that this would result in cooler weather (you know... Like traveling from Ontatio to the Yukon?) No such thing has happened. I swear its getting hotter! And I didn't even think this was possible.
Steve and I are boggled by most of these towns. We pictured them so much smaller and less developed then they really are. Especially here in Nha Trang, things seem very Westernized. Its kind of unfortunate really.
One thing we have noticed though is that people seemingly get nicer and nicer as we venture further North, and the cities are getting cleaner and cleaner.
We've also learned some valuable things about driving here- and we are figuring out the 'honking' system.
First of all, the bigger you are (vehicle wise) the likelier the chance is that you have the right of way.
For example- if you're a bus, you honk your horn (options: subtle 'beep beep' or 'hoooooooooooonk' (I prefer the first option)) to pass someone. Once you honk your horn, the car, bike, bicycle, or pedestrian moves over and let's you pass.
This works for cars too, but not so much for motorbikes. Generally they 'beep' at eachother or a people.
BUT there are the people who 'beep' at you- just because you're a foreigner. Which is lovely. This is why we've been so confused. Because we get honked at twentyfive zillion times a day. (Really if you had a big ego- and you wanted to feed it... You should come to Vietnam! People drive by and give you the 'beep beep' ALL the time! Sometimes you get a nod, smoking guns (with the hands!), a wink, or a 'niiiice' along with the beep beep too!.)
Moving on though. We jumped off the bus at around 7 o'clock and made our way to our hotel. One thing that is so annoying here is that when you get off your bus- the streets flood with taxi drivers, hotel room sellers, motorbikes... All asking you if you want a ride, or need a hotel, or where you're staying, what you're doing. Its so overwhelming!
Us (being from Canada) don't give the (options) silent treatment- completely ignoring them, or the firm 'no' accompanied with a bold hand gesture. So we end up having to politely explain we have a room- and ask for walking directions from the bus stop to the hotel.
Now- two things usually happen. First- they tell you the completely wrong directions (perfect)... Or secondly, they give you the right general direction- but tell you the hotel is some obscene distance away! (We've now learned these facts and figure it out on our own... But its been interesting- let's leave it at that).
So we get to our hotel, and its early enough for us to go get some food.
We consulted our travel book for a good vegetarian restaurant, and we trudged some great distance to find it- only to realize it no longer existed.
Now- in normal heat, this small set back would be no big deal. In this weather... I don't know how to control my emotions. I was SO mad- I 'didn't even want to eat anymore'. Of course we stopped at a different little restaurant and had dinner.
It was a long day and we hit the hay early.
I say this like we usually stay up late. This is so NOT the case. Traveling has turned Steve and I into old grannies and pop-pops. We usually fall asleep between 8:30 and 9:00, and wake up between 5:30-7:00. Its so UNLIKE me!
Its morning now- and unlike the other little beachtowns we've been in- Nha Trang seems to wake up early. Steve turns to me and says 'we should just have a lazy beach day today- the sea is so nice here'.
I agreed.
We had heard of the famous mud baths in Nha Trang, and decided to treat ourselves to a 'spa' day. Our bus driver gets to our hotel bright and early, to drive us to this cute little spa up in the mountains. It was pretty awesome. People didn't speak much english here, but we gathered we should get changed and make our way to the mud baths. I didn't really know what to expect... But its exactly how it sounds. Literally you sit in a pool of mud (its warm) and just hang out in there for about 40 minutes. They give you buckets to poor mud all over you (included your hair and face). It was pretty awesome, and the mud felt nice on your skin. I felt like a wallowing pig!
After the mud we showered off, and made our way to a warm salt bath. That was pretty nice too. You'd think that in the heat it would be too much. But it wasn't. Steve and I felt like royalty doing absolutely nothing all morning. We finished off the 'spa' day with a swim in a cool pool- rinsing all the salt and residual mud off us. I felt so refreshed, and was ready for my day!
Now Steve, after being pampered all morning was still ready for his beach/lazy day.
BUT of course knowing me- I read that there was a giant Buddha only 5 kms from our hotel- perched at the top on a Buddhist temple. We HAD to go! Plus, at the bottom of the temple was a vegetarian restaurant run by monks, which I thought would be really neat.
So off we go. Again poor Steve....I don't know when he'll learn. 5km turned into 10 and then 15... I looked over at him- exasperated by the heat. Literally dripping with sweat. He looks back at me and says ' I literally don't think I've ever been this hot. In my life'.
I must say- I had to agree. It was a scorching 47 degrees, plus the beating down sun. It felt like 100!
No wonder everyone is laying on the floor of their shops, fanning themselves. I don't know how anyone gets anything done here. If it were Canada we would all be hidden away in this weather.
We finally made it to the Buddha- and boy was it worth it. It was a HUGE temple- so well kept. The Buddha was enormous and you got to climb some 200-300 steps to get to the top. From up there you could see most all of Nha Trang city, which was also pretty neat.
I hadn't been too impressed by Vietnamese cuisine so far, and I was pretty disappointed in that. But we thought we'd give the Buddhist restaurant a try. OH MY GOSH! Auntie Tozie had urged me to get a bowl of Pho (a traditional noodle soup here)- but I hadn't been able to yet because none of it was ever vegetarian. This place had it. Steve and I both ordered a bowl...(50 cents each) and gobbled it down. The monks sure know how to do it. To date it was the best food we've eaten!
We also guzzled down an entire jug of iced Vietnamese tea.
Now with a light bounce in our step we made our way home. This in itself was an adventure!
First we stumbled across a grocery store. Now I know that this doesn't sound SO exciting... But first: we hadn't seen one yet, and second: we'd only had prepared food since we'd been here... And we were craving something raw and yummy...
The grocery stores are similar to the ones in Canada- except they are jam-packed with crazy foods. Lots of raw seafood, a whole aisle dedicated to instant noodles, and of course the entire back of the store held rice cookers... And only rice cookers.
At any rate it was interesting to walk around the store and see how expensive (or should I say inexpensive) things are here. The most expensive thing we bought was shaving cream- and that amounted to half our bill.
We did manage to by some fresh bread, some gouda, and veggies to make sammies on the beach with for dinner! Yum!
Even better- on our way back home from the grocery, we found the cutest little coffee shop. We popped in and got iced coffees with milk. They were SO good! Plus the girl who served us was adorable. She was literally as sweet as the condensed milk they use to make their coffees (VERY sweet). On our walk back home- we both decided we would come back the next day for breakfast. Especially so because there was a little bakery just across the street that we could get some food from.
Once we finally got home (and this had now turned into a days venture)... We were almost ready to hit the beach for some delicious dinner, when we realized that half our photos from our trip were no longer on the camera's memory card.
I almost started to cry. We zipped downstairs, and checked on the computer. Low and behold, the files were corrupted and we didn't have any of our photos. I was so upset. It took as a couple hours to try and retrieve them until we finally gave up.
Tash assured us that would could probably take the card to someone in Canada to retrieve them for us. I am banking on that and crossing my fingers it works!
It was such a bummer though because it was a damper on a really good day.
It was way past our bed time, and we decided to gobble down a quick sandwich before bed and call it a day. We would hit the beach tomorrow.
We decided to start this day off, putting the memory card incident behind us (this was hard for me). Seeing as we were leaving in the afternoon, Steve finally got his beach day (of course after walking back to our (now) favourite coffee shop for breakie!
After packing up the room and checking out of the hotel we decided to head down to the sandy shores to cool off. Again it was a million degrees outside.
Like I had said about Mui Ne- the beaches are so nice... But garbage floats in the water, and washes up along the shores. Its such a shame. Steve and I tried to find a more secluded place to go for a dip, though those are few and far between, and still extremely polluted.
Never the less we made it into the salty sea and were having a great time playing in the waves.
Then, all of a sudden we see something floating in the water. What do you know- two giant bloated rats. Isn't that nice.
After this discovery I found it very hard to go back into the water. To date it was the grungiest thing I'd seen.
We thought this was our cue to leave the beach and find a shower- where we could wash the dead rat off us.
I would like to make it vividly clear how huge this thing was. At first I mistook it for a puppy... A big puppy. The tail on this thing was as thick as my thumb. Uck!
We did end up finding a shower, and after that we got some food before jumping onto our next bus. Off to Hoi An we would go. This was going to be a 12 hour ride. Thought we had a sleeper bus- the rides are always extremely bumpy, and you never really good nights sleep.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Beautiful Sand Dunes
Our second day in Mui Ne begun at 4:00am. This isn't really a problem though seeing as we go to bed between 7-9 every night.
At 4:30 a Jeep would meet us outside our hotel and drive us to the infamous red and white sand dunes of Mui Ne.
We meet our driver (Air- pronounced Ay) as he roles up in the oldest army jeep you've ever seen (hey- alteast we aren't riding our bikes).
We jump in and I look around for my seat belt. Of course there isn't one. I don't know why I was surprised seeing as the jeep didn't have a speedometer or odometer either.
There are already people out walking the street- I thought they were on their way to work... Later I was informed that the restaurants and bars done shut here until dawn... So infact these over-achievers were in fact drunks. Beauty.
At any rate we start our drive to the dunes. It was actually quite nice because as soon as the sun goes down, the temperature drops 20 degrees.
Air knew his way around the roads... He knew exactly where every bump on the road was and slowed right down. Clearly he's got the lay of the land.
The idea behind leaving so early in the morning is to see the sunrise over the dunes, which are roughly 40 minutes driving from the hotel.
I'm so glad we did this. It was beautiful.
I was thinking of home- and Dad's birthday in particular. It was like Sandbanks, times a million. The sand stretched on as far as the eye could see, and the sea was the backdrop behind it.
Steve and I definitely got our workout in. We climbed up so many dunes, I could barely breath.
We even tried sand boarding, which was pretty fun- though you get a face full of sand.
We even saw someone getting married on top of one of the dunes.
It was as hot as blazes- I don't know how that girl was wearing a full wedding gown- but she did it.
There are both white and red sand dunes. Pretty self explanatory... The red sand is so vibrant though. Its literally bright orangy-red. Like PIE dirt, but more intense.
Air hadn't given us a time limit as to how long we could stay out exploring the dunes. We finally made it back to the jeep though, and we were on to the next destination on the tour. At this point he started giving us time limits- but he told us with a little smile... So it was cute.
Next we went to Fairy Stream. This stream flowed over a bed of red sand, which gave the water its orangy colour. We walked up the stream, in the middle of the jungle, for about 40 minutes and stumbled across beautiful cliffs of red sand. Words cannot do it justice- so I will have to show you photos. Needless to say it was beautiful!
After Fairy Stream and a quick stop at the fishing village viewing platform Air dropped us back off at our hotel.
We were both covered in sand- head to toe... So we went for a quick swim and then packed up all our stuff in preparation for our departure for Nah Trang.
The receptionist at Nam Hai was super cute and helpful too- and we booked us our bus and assured it would come pick us up at 12:30.
At 1:30 two motor bikes came to pick Steve and I up- to take us to the bus station.
We were so confused, but hoped on.
I didn't quite understand how this was going to work. Seeing as both Steve and I had a massive pack, and a day pack.
Then again, I should have know, based on the loads most people carry on their motorbikes, that this wouldn't have been a problem.
We wrangled the packs on, and off we were.
It was actually pretty exciting to ride the motorbikes. I would do it again for sure!
At 2 o'clock we got on the bus. Its unlike any bus I've ever been on. First of all, you have to take your shows off before you get on.
Secondly, instead of seats, there are extendable chairs that turn into beds. Its actually pretty cool and they are really comfy!
Luckily for us there was no karaoke on this bus. Rather a Vietnamese comedy playing. The comedy is still pretty annoying but I'd take it over the singing any day.
Our bus driver just pulled over on the side of the road, and got out of the bus. I'm paranoid that people are going to steal out stuff, so I look out the window to see what's going on.
What are the odds that he stands right underneath my window, whips his willy out and takes a pee?
On that note I'm going to call it a day!
At 4:30 a Jeep would meet us outside our hotel and drive us to the infamous red and white sand dunes of Mui Ne.
We meet our driver (Air- pronounced Ay) as he roles up in the oldest army jeep you've ever seen (hey- alteast we aren't riding our bikes).
We jump in and I look around for my seat belt. Of course there isn't one. I don't know why I was surprised seeing as the jeep didn't have a speedometer or odometer either.
There are already people out walking the street- I thought they were on their way to work... Later I was informed that the restaurants and bars done shut here until dawn... So infact these over-achievers were in fact drunks. Beauty.
At any rate we start our drive to the dunes. It was actually quite nice because as soon as the sun goes down, the temperature drops 20 degrees.
Air knew his way around the roads... He knew exactly where every bump on the road was and slowed right down. Clearly he's got the lay of the land.
The idea behind leaving so early in the morning is to see the sunrise over the dunes, which are roughly 40 minutes driving from the hotel.
I'm so glad we did this. It was beautiful.
I was thinking of home- and Dad's birthday in particular. It was like Sandbanks, times a million. The sand stretched on as far as the eye could see, and the sea was the backdrop behind it.
Steve and I definitely got our workout in. We climbed up so many dunes, I could barely breath.
We even tried sand boarding, which was pretty fun- though you get a face full of sand.
We even saw someone getting married on top of one of the dunes.
It was as hot as blazes- I don't know how that girl was wearing a full wedding gown- but she did it.
There are both white and red sand dunes. Pretty self explanatory... The red sand is so vibrant though. Its literally bright orangy-red. Like PIE dirt, but more intense.
Air hadn't given us a time limit as to how long we could stay out exploring the dunes. We finally made it back to the jeep though, and we were on to the next destination on the tour. At this point he started giving us time limits- but he told us with a little smile... So it was cute.
Next we went to Fairy Stream. This stream flowed over a bed of red sand, which gave the water its orangy colour. We walked up the stream, in the middle of the jungle, for about 40 minutes and stumbled across beautiful cliffs of red sand. Words cannot do it justice- so I will have to show you photos. Needless to say it was beautiful!
After Fairy Stream and a quick stop at the fishing village viewing platform Air dropped us back off at our hotel.
We were both covered in sand- head to toe... So we went for a quick swim and then packed up all our stuff in preparation for our departure for Nah Trang.
The receptionist at Nam Hai was super cute and helpful too- and we booked us our bus and assured it would come pick us up at 12:30.
At 1:30 two motor bikes came to pick Steve and I up- to take us to the bus station.
We were so confused, but hoped on.
I didn't quite understand how this was going to work. Seeing as both Steve and I had a massive pack, and a day pack.
Then again, I should have know, based on the loads most people carry on their motorbikes, that this wouldn't have been a problem.
We wrangled the packs on, and off we were.
It was actually pretty exciting to ride the motorbikes. I would do it again for sure!
At 2 o'clock we got on the bus. Its unlike any bus I've ever been on. First of all, you have to take your shows off before you get on.
Secondly, instead of seats, there are extendable chairs that turn into beds. Its actually pretty cool and they are really comfy!
Luckily for us there was no karaoke on this bus. Rather a Vietnamese comedy playing. The comedy is still pretty annoying but I'd take it over the singing any day.
Our bus driver just pulled over on the side of the road, and got out of the bus. I'm paranoid that people are going to steal out stuff, so I look out the window to see what's going on.
What are the odds that he stands right underneath my window, whips his willy out and takes a pee?
On that note I'm going to call it a day!
Mui Ne
Have I mentioned its hot?!
I've heard that in Kingston and Pemmy it's getting a little toasty. Tash mentioned it was even over 25 degree out?
Double that, and add the most humidity you can imagine and that's what it's like here.
Every photo that Steve and I have taken has a beautiful sweaty glare to it. They are really something.
In all honesty though. This is the hottest I've ever been in my life. I can understand why people don't do much physical activity here. You'd die.
Steve and I drink piles of water, which is great, but it makes you sweat like a pig.
I could probably collect my sweat in a rain barrel, put it through my water filter, and have a continuous amount of water all day. Who needs taps.
Everyday the clothes I wear are drenched.
Every bit of me sweats- my eye lids, lashes and brows, my ears, nose, arms, legs, toes, fingers... Even my bum! I didn't know your bum could sweat. It's like sitting in a puddle every time you rest somewhere.
Couples come to Mui Ne as a romantic getaway. I don't get it.
I've never looked or felt more unattractive in my life.
Who ever told us that we need bug spray here was wrong. I smell so horrid that a mosquito wouldn't come near me with a ten-foot pole. Plus the glare off my sweaty body would probably blind any insect within eye range. So we're good.
But like I was saying. Heat + humidity + sun + sunscreen + frizzy hair= one unattractive human being.
Moving on though.
I feel so bad for Steve. Mom and Dad I know you can relate.
Mui Ne is right on the coast. The beaches are beautiful and swimming in the South China Sea is awesome. The water is like a bath though- almost too warm to be refreshing.
Steve and I woke up at 5:30 on our first day in Mui Ne, and couldn't get back to sleep so we decided to walk the beach.
The scenery really is beautiful- apart from the garbage that litters the sand beaches. Some parts weren't as bad as others.
After a couple hours walking we decided to go back to the hotel, eat some breakfast and come back down to the beach for a swim.
We had the best time surfing the waves and splashing around. Some of these waves were huge, and I was paranoid of being carried out to sea or caught in an undertow. Literally every wave that came I reminded Steve. Ahah we talked about that, and 'trust me he knows'.
I think Steve anticipated a day lazing around on the beach, and maybe not walking for 12 straight hours. Poor guy.
We get back to our hotel, and I notice a petal-bike renting option. I also knew there was a fishing village a little over 20kms away from our hotel.
SO- Steve and I rent two bikes.
Now... The photo of the bike under the rental sign, was a mountain bike- with gears and everything- (keep in mind its very hilly here).
The bikes they came out with were right from the dump.
Literally.
They were covered in rust, and our tires weren't even straight. It looked as though they had tried to hammer Steve's straight as to not make it so warped.
Also- they are fixed gear. Super.
We start biking along, and after an hour or so we hit a spot in the road that overlooks the fishing village. This is the 20km mark they had told us about at the hotel.
I was DETERMINED though to go down to the actual ports to see the fishermen at work.
This is where we added another couple hours onto our trip.
Steve literally couldn't feel his bum. When I finally let him off his rusty old bike, he walked with a sheepish limp.
We never did make it down to the actually port. We got close but were told to turn around. It was kind of a drag.
On our way back to our hotel we stopped at a little coffee shop and have delicious iced coffees. Across the street we got some fresh mangoes, leeches, and mangostins. We gobbled down the fruit- it was so fresh... The best fruit I've ever had.
By the time we made it back, it was dinner time and we were whipped right now. Apart from the crazy biking- the sun drains you of your energy.
We had a yummy meal and went to bed early as per usual.
I've heard that in Kingston and Pemmy it's getting a little toasty. Tash mentioned it was even over 25 degree out?
Double that, and add the most humidity you can imagine and that's what it's like here.
Every photo that Steve and I have taken has a beautiful sweaty glare to it. They are really something.
In all honesty though. This is the hottest I've ever been in my life. I can understand why people don't do much physical activity here. You'd die.
Steve and I drink piles of water, which is great, but it makes you sweat like a pig.
I could probably collect my sweat in a rain barrel, put it through my water filter, and have a continuous amount of water all day. Who needs taps.
Everyday the clothes I wear are drenched.
Every bit of me sweats- my eye lids, lashes and brows, my ears, nose, arms, legs, toes, fingers... Even my bum! I didn't know your bum could sweat. It's like sitting in a puddle every time you rest somewhere.
Couples come to Mui Ne as a romantic getaway. I don't get it.
I've never looked or felt more unattractive in my life.
Who ever told us that we need bug spray here was wrong. I smell so horrid that a mosquito wouldn't come near me with a ten-foot pole. Plus the glare off my sweaty body would probably blind any insect within eye range. So we're good.
But like I was saying. Heat + humidity + sun + sunscreen + frizzy hair= one unattractive human being.
Moving on though.
I feel so bad for Steve. Mom and Dad I know you can relate.
Mui Ne is right on the coast. The beaches are beautiful and swimming in the South China Sea is awesome. The water is like a bath though- almost too warm to be refreshing.
Steve and I woke up at 5:30 on our first day in Mui Ne, and couldn't get back to sleep so we decided to walk the beach.
The scenery really is beautiful- apart from the garbage that litters the sand beaches. Some parts weren't as bad as others.
After a couple hours walking we decided to go back to the hotel, eat some breakfast and come back down to the beach for a swim.
We had the best time surfing the waves and splashing around. Some of these waves were huge, and I was paranoid of being carried out to sea or caught in an undertow. Literally every wave that came I reminded Steve. Ahah we talked about that, and 'trust me he knows'.
I think Steve anticipated a day lazing around on the beach, and maybe not walking for 12 straight hours. Poor guy.
We get back to our hotel, and I notice a petal-bike renting option. I also knew there was a fishing village a little over 20kms away from our hotel.
SO- Steve and I rent two bikes.
Now... The photo of the bike under the rental sign, was a mountain bike- with gears and everything- (keep in mind its very hilly here).
The bikes they came out with were right from the dump.
Literally.
They were covered in rust, and our tires weren't even straight. It looked as though they had tried to hammer Steve's straight as to not make it so warped.
Also- they are fixed gear. Super.
We start biking along, and after an hour or so we hit a spot in the road that overlooks the fishing village. This is the 20km mark they had told us about at the hotel.
I was DETERMINED though to go down to the actual ports to see the fishermen at work.
This is where we added another couple hours onto our trip.
Steve literally couldn't feel his bum. When I finally let him off his rusty old bike, he walked with a sheepish limp.
We never did make it down to the actually port. We got close but were told to turn around. It was kind of a drag.
On our way back to our hotel we stopped at a little coffee shop and have delicious iced coffees. Across the street we got some fresh mangoes, leeches, and mangostins. We gobbled down the fruit- it was so fresh... The best fruit I've ever had.
By the time we made it back, it was dinner time and we were whipped right now. Apart from the crazy biking- the sun drains you of your energy.
We had a yummy meal and went to bed early as per usual.
Chu Chi Tunnels
On our last day in Ho Chi Mihn city, Steve and I decided to go see the famous Chu Chi tunnels.
These tunnels were built in the 40s, but not used until the early 70s as a Vietnamese tool in the war against the US.
There were hundreds of kilometers of tunnels built in preparation and during the war, but only two areas are preserved today (70 km in HCMC area).
The tunnels them self were so cool to see. We actually got to go down inside them and crawl through to 'see what it would have been like during the war'. Minus the mud, bombs being dropped, no food, and overall terrifying circumstance.
The tunnels are classified as either level 1,2, or 3. With each class, the dimensions of the tunnels got smaller and smaller.
We were only allowed in Class 1 tunnels because anything smaller caused to many people to have panic attacks.
They were alright for me, but I'm quite small. Even Steve had a hard time fitting through some spots. The tunnels we went in were 88 cm wide by 122 cm tall. A tight squeeze indeed.
We had a guided tour through the tunnels and surrounding area. We actually got to walk through the jungle to reach the tunnels and to see other shelters, and boobie traps that the Vietnamese used in the war.
We even were served the meal Vietnamese soldiers, called gorillas, ate during the war. Boiled tapioca...super yummy.
Not really- it tasted like eating a crayon- a little softer though. Like a waxy potato.
Our tour guide was really funny- he spoke pretty decent English and was really good at explaining everything to us. He insisted we call him John Wayne though. Every time he said 'John Wayne' he stuck his tongue out and laughed. It was pretty cute.
The tunnels are located about two hours outside HCMC, and as such we had to take a bus to get there and back. Not a problem at all- although our bus shut off ever 100 meters at which point we had to stop and start it up again. It made for an interesting ride at any rate.
As soon as we made it back to the City, we jumped onto another bus and were on our way to Mui Ne.
This village is more rural, and less hustle and bustle-y. It's about 4 hours from HCMC.
Manh had booked us a seat with the best bus company- and we were on our way.
The bus was actually really nice. With a few exceptions of course.
First of all- though the drivers are crazy, you don't get anywhere fast. I swear we stopped at every possible gas station and restaurant on our way to Mui Ne. It took us seven hours to get there.
It wouldn't have been THAT BAD- but...
Vietnamese people LOVE karaoke. From the minute we got on the bus, to the moment we arrived in Mui Ne, there was music blaring, disco lights flashing, and all the locals singing along to every song.
For the first 10 minutes it was kind of neat. Seven hours of it was comparable to a bus ride with ten annoying 'jefferys'. You just wanted it to stop.
(You should note that all Vietnamese music is very twangie... Its like a terrible version of classic country, but with classical violin and high pitched whiny singing.. Gasp! I don't need to hear that again.)
We made it to our hotel in one piece and without anything stolen though, so I can't really complain.
Our room at Nam Hai hotel was beautiful- and it was a wonderful end to the day. Apart from our lights not working and the internet only working when our door was open, it was awesome. The view of the South China Sea made up for it.
These tunnels were built in the 40s, but not used until the early 70s as a Vietnamese tool in the war against the US.
There were hundreds of kilometers of tunnels built in preparation and during the war, but only two areas are preserved today (70 km in HCMC area).
The tunnels them self were so cool to see. We actually got to go down inside them and crawl through to 'see what it would have been like during the war'. Minus the mud, bombs being dropped, no food, and overall terrifying circumstance.
The tunnels are classified as either level 1,2, or 3. With each class, the dimensions of the tunnels got smaller and smaller.
We were only allowed in Class 1 tunnels because anything smaller caused to many people to have panic attacks.
They were alright for me, but I'm quite small. Even Steve had a hard time fitting through some spots. The tunnels we went in were 88 cm wide by 122 cm tall. A tight squeeze indeed.
We had a guided tour through the tunnels and surrounding area. We actually got to walk through the jungle to reach the tunnels and to see other shelters, and boobie traps that the Vietnamese used in the war.
We even were served the meal Vietnamese soldiers, called gorillas, ate during the war. Boiled tapioca...super yummy.
Not really- it tasted like eating a crayon- a little softer though. Like a waxy potato.
Our tour guide was really funny- he spoke pretty decent English and was really good at explaining everything to us. He insisted we call him John Wayne though. Every time he said 'John Wayne' he stuck his tongue out and laughed. It was pretty cute.
The tunnels are located about two hours outside HCMC, and as such we had to take a bus to get there and back. Not a problem at all- although our bus shut off ever 100 meters at which point we had to stop and start it up again. It made for an interesting ride at any rate.
As soon as we made it back to the City, we jumped onto another bus and were on our way to Mui Ne.
This village is more rural, and less hustle and bustle-y. It's about 4 hours from HCMC.
Manh had booked us a seat with the best bus company- and we were on our way.
The bus was actually really nice. With a few exceptions of course.
First of all- though the drivers are crazy, you don't get anywhere fast. I swear we stopped at every possible gas station and restaurant on our way to Mui Ne. It took us seven hours to get there.
It wouldn't have been THAT BAD- but...
Vietnamese people LOVE karaoke. From the minute we got on the bus, to the moment we arrived in Mui Ne, there was music blaring, disco lights flashing, and all the locals singing along to every song.
For the first 10 minutes it was kind of neat. Seven hours of it was comparable to a bus ride with ten annoying 'jefferys'. You just wanted it to stop.
(You should note that all Vietnamese music is very twangie... Its like a terrible version of classic country, but with classical violin and high pitched whiny singing.. Gasp! I don't need to hear that again.)
We made it to our hotel in one piece and without anything stolen though, so I can't really complain.
Our room at Nam Hai hotel was beautiful- and it was a wonderful end to the day. Apart from our lights not working and the internet only working when our door was open, it was awesome. The view of the South China Sea made up for it.
Second day in Ho Chi Mihn City
On my second full day here in Vietnam, I've figured out what it smells
like. FINALLY- and it is something that most everyone can relate to.
You know when you go swimming- say at a public pool, and you bring a plastic bag to put your wet clothes in? Naturally you forget to air that bag of wetness out when you get home, and it sits somewhere in your room- until a week later when you stumble across it.
When you open the bag, you get that warm wet clothes-that have been festering in their own moisture- smell. Bingo!- that's what Vietnam smells like. Its not overly terrible, but aggressive enough to make you feel super grungy after a day walking around. To make matters worse, there seems to be garbage everywhere- which smells awful.
Ho Chi Mihn city actually reminds me a bit of 31 hales (my old Guelph house shared with Alex and Steve) the day I 'moved in'.
I distinctively remember asking Alex if the house was clean- because Christina was subletting from me that summer, and I couldn't have it looking like a mess. He gave me a resounding 'yes!- I cleaned it myself'.
I remember walking into the house and feeling completely hopeless. With mom in the car- I couldn't bare her see the place I was going to live. It was filthy!
The most humorous part about things was that Alex had attempted to clean up. In fact- he swept. His problem was however, that he didn't have a dust pan... So there were piles of dustbunnies and floor sweepings in all the corners of the house.
Well- Vietnam has this problem too. People attempt to clean the streets and make things look nice, but rather then finishing the job (much like Alex)- they leave their (in this case) piles of garbage in random places along the sidewalks, streets, and outside their houses.
It is almost as though people here do not have pride in the beauty that surrounds them. Visual appearance of anything (buildings, clothing, homes) doesn't seem to be a factor in their day-to-day lives.
They to have beautiful parks though!
The filth factor (FF) is something I just can't get used to. I feel as though everything I touch is dirty. There is a definitely a 'getting used to things' phase- and I'm not quite there yet.
One thing in particular struck me as odd. I find it so gross- and I know that Mom would agree with me here. In fact every time I see this, I think of her and wonder what her facial expression would be.
Steve doesn't find it that weird... So maybe its just me.
It seems the locals eat and drink everything out of plastics bags- sealed with elastic bands.
Picture the stereotypical goldfish bag, but rather then clean water and a cute orange fish- imagine boiled water, with mushrooms, bok choy, and some type of meat jammed in there all day, until it makes a yellowish type of water colour. Filled right to the brim and tied off with an elastic. After the bag has been baking in the sun all day, then imagine taking it, sucking out the water, and then opening the bag to eat what's inside. Bleck!
I just can't get over how gross it looks. People carry around hundreds of these bags, and sell them on the streets. They hang off the little vendor carts. Its something I will not be purchasing while I'm here.
I've really given Vietnam a bag rep as of now- and that really isn't fair. Overlooking the incessant beeping, rooster coockledoodledooing, dog barking, and filth- there are still some really nice things about this place.
As I mentioned before, the parks are breathtaking. Because it is so hot and humid here, as because it rains so often all the vegetation has a chance to grow to unbelievable heights. The trees here are massive, and each of their leaves are the size of my head. Plus they have flowers galore here. Every colour.
Ho Chi Mihn city does have a lot to offer, and Steve and I have been touring around a lot (by foot- we dare not attempt to ride a scooter in the city!).
Today we went to see the War Museum, Notre Dame Cathedral, the post office, and the reunification palace.
The war museum was very hard to take in. We knew going in that there was going to be some very heavy material to both see and read about. It was worse then we had imagined though. In particular all the information about agent orange was the most bothersome. In the museum they even had real fermented fetuses and babies on display. I couldn't really handle most of it. I was thanking Darwin that Tash wasn't with me. She would have been a heap on the floor.
From there we went to the Notre Dame cathedral. You couldn't actually go inside. But it was beautiful to see. It seemed so out of place though. As if a church from Europe had just been plunked down in the middle of Ho Chi Mihn city. Strange.
Right across the street (and don't forget each street is a near death experience and takes up 15 minutes to cross), was the post office. This is the most huge post office I've ever seen- and it is gorgeous. It looks like a palace from the outside. Inside there are a million booths with people busily working.
The reunification palace was big too- but it was much more modern when compared to the three other venues I had mentioned. Here we weren't allowed to touch anything, and we weren't even really allowed to talk much. It was interesting to see where, historically, many political decisions regarding Vietnam were made.
It was a sweltering 46 degrees on our walk back to our hotel- and our feet were about to fall off. Considering the night before we fell asleep at five and forgot about dinner all together, we vowed we'd make it out tonight.
We ended up going to a little vegetarian place just ten minutes up the street.
To be honest- the food wasn't really that good. We haven't been all that impressed by the Vietnamese cuisine- but hopefully that will change soon.
You know when you go swimming- say at a public pool, and you bring a plastic bag to put your wet clothes in? Naturally you forget to air that bag of wetness out when you get home, and it sits somewhere in your room- until a week later when you stumble across it.
When you open the bag, you get that warm wet clothes-that have been festering in their own moisture- smell. Bingo!- that's what Vietnam smells like. Its not overly terrible, but aggressive enough to make you feel super grungy after a day walking around. To make matters worse, there seems to be garbage everywhere- which smells awful.
Ho Chi Mihn city actually reminds me a bit of 31 hales (my old Guelph house shared with Alex and Steve) the day I 'moved in'.
I distinctively remember asking Alex if the house was clean- because Christina was subletting from me that summer, and I couldn't have it looking like a mess. He gave me a resounding 'yes!- I cleaned it myself'.
I remember walking into the house and feeling completely hopeless. With mom in the car- I couldn't bare her see the place I was going to live. It was filthy!
The most humorous part about things was that Alex had attempted to clean up. In fact- he swept. His problem was however, that he didn't have a dust pan... So there were piles of dustbunnies and floor sweepings in all the corners of the house.
Well- Vietnam has this problem too. People attempt to clean the streets and make things look nice, but rather then finishing the job (much like Alex)- they leave their (in this case) piles of garbage in random places along the sidewalks, streets, and outside their houses.
It is almost as though people here do not have pride in the beauty that surrounds them. Visual appearance of anything (buildings, clothing, homes) doesn't seem to be a factor in their day-to-day lives.
They to have beautiful parks though!
The filth factor (FF) is something I just can't get used to. I feel as though everything I touch is dirty. There is a definitely a 'getting used to things' phase- and I'm not quite there yet.
One thing in particular struck me as odd. I find it so gross- and I know that Mom would agree with me here. In fact every time I see this, I think of her and wonder what her facial expression would be.
Steve doesn't find it that weird... So maybe its just me.
It seems the locals eat and drink everything out of plastics bags- sealed with elastic bands.
Picture the stereotypical goldfish bag, but rather then clean water and a cute orange fish- imagine boiled water, with mushrooms, bok choy, and some type of meat jammed in there all day, until it makes a yellowish type of water colour. Filled right to the brim and tied off with an elastic. After the bag has been baking in the sun all day, then imagine taking it, sucking out the water, and then opening the bag to eat what's inside. Bleck!
I just can't get over how gross it looks. People carry around hundreds of these bags, and sell them on the streets. They hang off the little vendor carts. Its something I will not be purchasing while I'm here.
I've really given Vietnam a bag rep as of now- and that really isn't fair. Overlooking the incessant beeping, rooster coockledoodledooing, dog barking, and filth- there are still some really nice things about this place.
As I mentioned before, the parks are breathtaking. Because it is so hot and humid here, as because it rains so often all the vegetation has a chance to grow to unbelievable heights. The trees here are massive, and each of their leaves are the size of my head. Plus they have flowers galore here. Every colour.
Ho Chi Mihn city does have a lot to offer, and Steve and I have been touring around a lot (by foot- we dare not attempt to ride a scooter in the city!).
Today we went to see the War Museum, Notre Dame Cathedral, the post office, and the reunification palace.
The war museum was very hard to take in. We knew going in that there was going to be some very heavy material to both see and read about. It was worse then we had imagined though. In particular all the information about agent orange was the most bothersome. In the museum they even had real fermented fetuses and babies on display. I couldn't really handle most of it. I was thanking Darwin that Tash wasn't with me. She would have been a heap on the floor.
From there we went to the Notre Dame cathedral. You couldn't actually go inside. But it was beautiful to see. It seemed so out of place though. As if a church from Europe had just been plunked down in the middle of Ho Chi Mihn city. Strange.
Right across the street (and don't forget each street is a near death experience and takes up 15 minutes to cross), was the post office. This is the most huge post office I've ever seen- and it is gorgeous. It looks like a palace from the outside. Inside there are a million booths with people busily working.
The reunification palace was big too- but it was much more modern when compared to the three other venues I had mentioned. Here we weren't allowed to touch anything, and we weren't even really allowed to talk much. It was interesting to see where, historically, many political decisions regarding Vietnam were made.
It was a sweltering 46 degrees on our walk back to our hotel- and our feet were about to fall off. Considering the night before we fell asleep at five and forgot about dinner all together, we vowed we'd make it out tonight.
We ended up going to a little vegetarian place just ten minutes up the street.
To be honest- the food wasn't really that good. We haven't been all that impressed by the Vietnamese cuisine- but hopefully that will change soon.
Blue River II Hotel
After being totally disillusioned from our VISA incident at the border-
we were wondering if all of Vietnam was going to be a big scam.
Seeing as our first hotel was nothing to write home about and gave us used shampoo and soap- we figured it could only get better from here.
Wrong.
Everyday you need to shower because you're covered in a thin (questionable) layer of filth.
At this point Steve and I have made it to our next hotel, in the heart of Ho Chi Mihn city. The Blue River II Hotel.
We got the room for 9 dollars a night, so we weren't expecting anything spectacular. The room fit a bed in it (that's about all) but attached was our own bathroom.
'Strap on your slippers Steve, get out our duvet sheet to sleep in, and don't let any part of your body directly touch the floor.'
There are ants everywhere crawling in all the nooks and crannies of this place. Steve picked one up on the bed and I nearly started to cry. After our first day here we have bed bugs?! I was going to pack up and get the hell outta dodge! After a panicked google search we realized they were only ants. By this point ants seems awesome.
Moving on though.
'I'm going to jump in the shower real quick! They even gave us new shampoo and soap this time!'
Five minutes later I call out to Steve... The drain in our shower is clogged, and the water is slowly but surely filling up our bathroom. Wonderful I think.
Poor Steve- I don't know what exactly he was thinking- but it couldn't have been good. We decided to leave it, and go get some breakfast.
The site said our breakfast was included- so that was nice.
The choices were an egg with bread, or noodle soup. I chose noodle soup. Steve chose eggs and bread. Both of our meals came with coffee.
' Could you pass me the sugar Steve?'
Pause...
'Ummm... There's something black in there...'
One million creepy crawly ants. Who needs sugar anyways?
So far blue river hadn't been treating us to well. But then we found it's saving grace.
Manh. The receptionist. He was the absolute cutest man I've ever met. After getting talking to him, suddenly the hotel seemed to have everything you'd need. In fact I'd stay there again.
Manh is the man- he showed us where to go and how to get there. Gave us advice as to how things work in the city- and even booked all our buses and tours for us.
When we checked out on our last day, he even watched our stuff for free- while we went to the Chu Chi tunnels. Such a sweetheart.
Seeing as our first hotel was nothing to write home about and gave us used shampoo and soap- we figured it could only get better from here.
Wrong.
Everyday you need to shower because you're covered in a thin (questionable) layer of filth.
At this point Steve and I have made it to our next hotel, in the heart of Ho Chi Mihn city. The Blue River II Hotel.
We got the room for 9 dollars a night, so we weren't expecting anything spectacular. The room fit a bed in it (that's about all) but attached was our own bathroom.
'Strap on your slippers Steve, get out our duvet sheet to sleep in, and don't let any part of your body directly touch the floor.'
There are ants everywhere crawling in all the nooks and crannies of this place. Steve picked one up on the bed and I nearly started to cry. After our first day here we have bed bugs?! I was going to pack up and get the hell outta dodge! After a panicked google search we realized they were only ants. By this point ants seems awesome.
Moving on though.
'I'm going to jump in the shower real quick! They even gave us new shampoo and soap this time!'
Five minutes later I call out to Steve... The drain in our shower is clogged, and the water is slowly but surely filling up our bathroom. Wonderful I think.
Poor Steve- I don't know what exactly he was thinking- but it couldn't have been good. We decided to leave it, and go get some breakfast.
The site said our breakfast was included- so that was nice.
The choices were an egg with bread, or noodle soup. I chose noodle soup. Steve chose eggs and bread. Both of our meals came with coffee.
' Could you pass me the sugar Steve?'
Pause...
'Ummm... There's something black in there...'
One million creepy crawly ants. Who needs sugar anyways?
So far blue river hadn't been treating us to well. But then we found it's saving grace.
Manh. The receptionist. He was the absolute cutest man I've ever met. After getting talking to him, suddenly the hotel seemed to have everything you'd need. In fact I'd stay there again.
Manh is the man- he showed us where to go and how to get there. Gave us advice as to how things work in the city- and even booked all our buses and tours for us.
When we checked out on our last day, he even watched our stuff for free- while we went to the Chu Chi tunnels. Such a sweetheart.
Watch our for the SCOOTERS! (Our first day in Ho Chi Mihn City!)
We tired to start our first 'real day' in Vietnam with a clear mindset...trying to put aside the misfortunes ofthe night before.
We woke up (again at around 5) thanks to incessant beeping and rooster cockledoodledooing. The streets were already busy so we decided to venture outside to see what we were missing. One step out the door we almost got struck by a motorcycle (actually more like scooters... But they go really fast).
Ahh- we've discovered what all the beeping was for...beep once means 'I'm coming', beep twice means 'ok I'm even closer', beep three times mean 'GET OUT OF THE WAY!'
From there you can imagine what 4, 5 and 6 beeps mean. Needless to say, we got beeped at about a zillion times. Try having a conversation with someone when after every word you say someone is beeping at you... Gasp. Anyways.
So we attempt to choose somewhere to get something to eat. Nothing brings about your appetite more then watching someone skin a cow in the morning. Yum. We passed that place as fast as you could say 'beep!'.
We finally found this cute little place- it had a little river running through it, and a beautiful canopy of green over top (this helped with the heat (it is over 40 degrees here, and humid as hell to boot!).
I forgot to mention that we were the only white people around- so in the midst of 'beeping' people are seriously rubber necking and taking a good look at us...this added to my already growing fear of getting smoked by a vehicle or scooter.
Anyways- this restaurant was the same way. We chose it because there seemed to be a lot of people there. They were all locals (we thought this must mean there was good food!). We took one step onto the patio and all eyes were on us! It was as though there was a siting: Rachael and Steve, a rare species of human- taller then most other humans here- and white! Oooo aaaaa.
They quickly sat us right in front of the little river, and gave us a menu.
Now- I have no idea how to read Vietnamese- or what half the stuff says. I've figured out what dog is- because its very similar to chien, in french. So Steve and I are trying to decipher what's on this menu, and the funny this is that the waiter is waiting there with us to tell him what we want. We felt like knobs because he waited for a good ten minutes before we ordered a lemonade and strawberry drink. There was NOTHING vegetarian on the menu!
Anyways he whipped up out drinks real fast, and we drank them happily- being watched like animals at the zoo! Very surreal feeling.
We then continued down the street, and found the main road. THIS BLEW MY MIND! There are were literally 2 million people on the road. Yes of course you would assume that on a fairly busy road you could find cars and scooters whipping by- and of course a right and left side of the road...
OH NO! People are driving whatever way they want, where ever they want, beeping their fool heads off. And of course this includes cars, tut tuts, bicycles (!), scooters, buses, and pedestrians. Oh ya... Pedestrians are given the middle of the highways a go at it. I was paralyzed with fear... How was I ever going to get anywhere here?
We tried to stick to the 'sidewalks' and after a couple hours of walking around looking for some vegetarian food (pronounced toy ahn jay in vietnamese) decided to call it quits and get back to our hotel. At this point Steve and I were doused in our own sweat- mix of course with some nice dirt from the air.
Our hotel had one vegetarian option. Eggs and noodles. As I didn't get any food on the plane- I was starved so I took it happily. HOLY they like their food spicy! After the first bite, my mouth was on fire, my eyes were watering and I was coughing as I wasn't expecting the spice!
After that it was pretty good though.
At any rate I wasn't hungry anymore.
After breakfast we decided to head into the real city 'Ho Chi Mihn'. For this we needed a taxi. I've realized that the best way not to get ripped off is to ask the people at the hotel to help you. This is difficult sometimes because they don't speak much English apart from "thank you", "hello" and "goodbye".
I've adopted a good set of hand gestures to help me portray my questions- these usually get a good laugh out of Steve because I must look like an absolute fool. But hey! They got the picture. So we ended up getting the local fair to get downtown. 7 dollars! Tung- our taxi driver spoke ABSOLUTELY no English. I tried to ask him how to say thank you in Vietnamese, and he thought I was asking him to get out of the car! Whoops! No.
So he drops us off at our hotel... Steve and I look a little skeptical because we can't see it for the life of us. But Tung insists this is where it is, and all we have to do is walk through (that EXTREMELY sketchy looking) tunnel. We ask him to come avec us. And he does. Low and behold there was our hotel (that we got for 9 bucks!).
The tunnel was littered with over 200 scooters, and a restaurant (actually built in a hole in the wall).
We go up the stairs and the reception guy is waiting for us. He is SO nice! He gave us a little map of where to go, and nice vegetarian place to eat... And he spoke a little English! Thinks were looking up for us...
We get upstairs, unload our stuff, and decide to head out. Of course as soon as we step out of the building- a torrential down poor begins, and we are forced back inside. Luckily it only lasted for about a half an hour. So we hit the streets in attempt to find the art museum. Hoopla! We found it! Wonderful. Oh my gosh- 50 cents to enter? We laughed at how inexpensive things like this were.
The art was interesting- but the building it was in was even more so! This place was massive- and everything in it was marble. From the top floor we got a full view of Ho Chi Mihn city. That was pretty neat. Steve and I were talking about it- it looks like a city- but unlike any city we've ever seen. There is still high rises and lots of buildings, but everything is just a little run down.
We continue on to the market- the famous Ben Thanh market. But first to get there.
Let me put things into perspective... We are in the heart of the city. The busiest place in Ho Chi Mihn city. And we need to cross from one side of the street- to the middle of a round about- and then from there to the other side of the street. This means roughly 12 lanes of traffic. Now- there are crosswalks- but no one stops for people to cross. Rather you find the white lines, and simply step out onto the street- hoping that people stop for you. The locals are doing it- what can't we?!
Every time Steve would say 'ok let's go now' I would stand there shaking my head with a resounding 'no'... I didn't fly half way around the world to get squashed by a scooter!
The locals on our side of the road were watching us and laughing- finally they told us with a hand signal to 'go go go'.
Another man who spoke some English told us 'don't worry the vehicles will dodge you'... Perfect.
We step out on the busiest street I've ever seen, and people are dodging us right left and center. Holy smokes! That was adventure enough for me...
We make it to the market. Fhew. As soon as we step in we are bombarded with people asking us to 'buy this, try that, you want?, you like?!'... We didn't buy anything, but we sure left with an experience.
It is so funny. Half the people in this market (selling anything from watches, jewelry, clothing, fruits, veggies, nuts, and flowers) were trying so hard to get you to buy something- and the other half were literally asleep up against their merchandise... I was confused.
We left the market in attempts to find somewhere to eat. Wondering the streets and stumbling across beautiful parks with the biggest trees I've ever seen. We got so absorbed in things going on around us- that we had made it back to our hotel without even knowing it. After six hours of walking our feet were aching- and we decided to go upstairs to our room before dinner. I washed my feet and laid on the bed for 'just a second'.
I woke up 12 hours later.
Now we are off to start our next day! I will keep you posted with our adventures.
We woke up (again at around 5) thanks to incessant beeping and rooster cockledoodledooing. The streets were already busy so we decided to venture outside to see what we were missing. One step out the door we almost got struck by a motorcycle (actually more like scooters... But they go really fast).
Ahh- we've discovered what all the beeping was for...beep once means 'I'm coming', beep twice means 'ok I'm even closer', beep three times mean 'GET OUT OF THE WAY!'
From there you can imagine what 4, 5 and 6 beeps mean. Needless to say, we got beeped at about a zillion times. Try having a conversation with someone when after every word you say someone is beeping at you... Gasp. Anyways.
So we attempt to choose somewhere to get something to eat. Nothing brings about your appetite more then watching someone skin a cow in the morning. Yum. We passed that place as fast as you could say 'beep!'.
We finally found this cute little place- it had a little river running through it, and a beautiful canopy of green over top (this helped with the heat (it is over 40 degrees here, and humid as hell to boot!).
I forgot to mention that we were the only white people around- so in the midst of 'beeping' people are seriously rubber necking and taking a good look at us...this added to my already growing fear of getting smoked by a vehicle or scooter.
Anyways- this restaurant was the same way. We chose it because there seemed to be a lot of people there. They were all locals (we thought this must mean there was good food!). We took one step onto the patio and all eyes were on us! It was as though there was a siting: Rachael and Steve, a rare species of human- taller then most other humans here- and white! Oooo aaaaa.
They quickly sat us right in front of the little river, and gave us a menu.
Now- I have no idea how to read Vietnamese- or what half the stuff says. I've figured out what dog is- because its very similar to chien, in french. So Steve and I are trying to decipher what's on this menu, and the funny this is that the waiter is waiting there with us to tell him what we want. We felt like knobs because he waited for a good ten minutes before we ordered a lemonade and strawberry drink. There was NOTHING vegetarian on the menu!
Anyways he whipped up out drinks real fast, and we drank them happily- being watched like animals at the zoo! Very surreal feeling.
We then continued down the street, and found the main road. THIS BLEW MY MIND! There are were literally 2 million people on the road. Yes of course you would assume that on a fairly busy road you could find cars and scooters whipping by- and of course a right and left side of the road...
OH NO! People are driving whatever way they want, where ever they want, beeping their fool heads off. And of course this includes cars, tut tuts, bicycles (!), scooters, buses, and pedestrians. Oh ya... Pedestrians are given the middle of the highways a go at it. I was paralyzed with fear... How was I ever going to get anywhere here?
We tried to stick to the 'sidewalks' and after a couple hours of walking around looking for some vegetarian food (pronounced toy ahn jay in vietnamese) decided to call it quits and get back to our hotel. At this point Steve and I were doused in our own sweat- mix of course with some nice dirt from the air.
Our hotel had one vegetarian option. Eggs and noodles. As I didn't get any food on the plane- I was starved so I took it happily. HOLY they like their food spicy! After the first bite, my mouth was on fire, my eyes were watering and I was coughing as I wasn't expecting the spice!
After that it was pretty good though.
At any rate I wasn't hungry anymore.
After breakfast we decided to head into the real city 'Ho Chi Mihn'. For this we needed a taxi. I've realized that the best way not to get ripped off is to ask the people at the hotel to help you. This is difficult sometimes because they don't speak much English apart from "thank you", "hello" and "goodbye".
I've adopted a good set of hand gestures to help me portray my questions- these usually get a good laugh out of Steve because I must look like an absolute fool. But hey! They got the picture. So we ended up getting the local fair to get downtown. 7 dollars! Tung- our taxi driver spoke ABSOLUTELY no English. I tried to ask him how to say thank you in Vietnamese, and he thought I was asking him to get out of the car! Whoops! No.
So he drops us off at our hotel... Steve and I look a little skeptical because we can't see it for the life of us. But Tung insists this is where it is, and all we have to do is walk through (that EXTREMELY sketchy looking) tunnel. We ask him to come avec us. And he does. Low and behold there was our hotel (that we got for 9 bucks!).
The tunnel was littered with over 200 scooters, and a restaurant (actually built in a hole in the wall).
We go up the stairs and the reception guy is waiting for us. He is SO nice! He gave us a little map of where to go, and nice vegetarian place to eat... And he spoke a little English! Thinks were looking up for us...
We get upstairs, unload our stuff, and decide to head out. Of course as soon as we step out of the building- a torrential down poor begins, and we are forced back inside. Luckily it only lasted for about a half an hour. So we hit the streets in attempt to find the art museum. Hoopla! We found it! Wonderful. Oh my gosh- 50 cents to enter? We laughed at how inexpensive things like this were.
The art was interesting- but the building it was in was even more so! This place was massive- and everything in it was marble. From the top floor we got a full view of Ho Chi Mihn city. That was pretty neat. Steve and I were talking about it- it looks like a city- but unlike any city we've ever seen. There is still high rises and lots of buildings, but everything is just a little run down.
We continue on to the market- the famous Ben Thanh market. But first to get there.
Let me put things into perspective... We are in the heart of the city. The busiest place in Ho Chi Mihn city. And we need to cross from one side of the street- to the middle of a round about- and then from there to the other side of the street. This means roughly 12 lanes of traffic. Now- there are crosswalks- but no one stops for people to cross. Rather you find the white lines, and simply step out onto the street- hoping that people stop for you. The locals are doing it- what can't we?!
Every time Steve would say 'ok let's go now' I would stand there shaking my head with a resounding 'no'... I didn't fly half way around the world to get squashed by a scooter!
The locals on our side of the road were watching us and laughing- finally they told us with a hand signal to 'go go go'.
Another man who spoke some English told us 'don't worry the vehicles will dodge you'... Perfect.
We step out on the busiest street I've ever seen, and people are dodging us right left and center. Holy smokes! That was adventure enough for me...
We make it to the market. Fhew. As soon as we step in we are bombarded with people asking us to 'buy this, try that, you want?, you like?!'... We didn't buy anything, but we sure left with an experience.
It is so funny. Half the people in this market (selling anything from watches, jewelry, clothing, fruits, veggies, nuts, and flowers) were trying so hard to get you to buy something- and the other half were literally asleep up against their merchandise... I was confused.
We left the market in attempts to find somewhere to eat. Wondering the streets and stumbling across beautiful parks with the biggest trees I've ever seen. We got so absorbed in things going on around us- that we had made it back to our hotel without even knowing it. After six hours of walking our feet were aching- and we decided to go upstairs to our room before dinner. I washed my feet and laid on the bed for 'just a second'.
I woke up 12 hours later.
Now we are off to start our next day! I will keep you posted with our adventures.
We made it to Vietnam...
Now it's May 2nd...Mom, Dad and I wake up at 5:30 am, and are on our way out the door. The day has come, and with no voicemails looming over my head I figure "ok... this is really happening."
At this point I start getting the nervous butterflies...
The three of us take the sunbway to the bus station where Dad would have to say his 'goodbye'. Now the hard part was happening... the 'byes' to the parentals.
Ugh how I hate this part.
There we were in the middle of the Toronto bus station with tears pouring down our faces. I tried my best to pull myself together... but I was hard to get on the bus and wave goodbye. At least Mom would accompany me to the Airport.
We made it there with time to spare, and while waiting for Steve and his Dad to arrive Mom and I had a quick breakie. Yum Yum.. my last taste of Canadian food for a while.
Once Steve arrived, all that was left to do was get our tickets and make it through customs. Our first flight was only a little over two hours. We would land in Chicago before heading to HongKong.
Saying goodbye to Mom was pretty awful too...and as I waved goodbye from the customs line I was trying to keep it together.
(I knew this wouldn't last).
I made it through security without a problem (surprisingly!) and just like that our trip had officially started. Steve and I were on the plane.
Unfortunately for the people beside me, Steve and I weren't sitting together. As soon as the plane started to move I began to BALL.
I cried for a straight two hours. How great.
Steve kept looking at my from his seat and encouragingly giving my a 'thumbs up'...whimpering I gave him a 'thumbs halfway', and continued to cry.
The man beside me, who was some 80 years old, chose to ignore me and pretend nothing was wrong. I don't blame him.
The women on my other side was scared for my life I think.I don't know what was running through her head, but I am sure it was some crazy story of how I was forced onto the plane.
During the last half-hour of the flight we talked and she assured me that I would have the time of my life on this trip. It definitely helped to calm me down.
We landed without a problem and waiting for our next flight.
15 hours to HongKong... I was NOT looking forward to this one.
Seeing as my flight was cancelled the day before, for this flight they had forgotten to mark me down as a vegetarian, and as such there was no food for my on this flight. I wasn't to phased by this, seeing as I find airplane food quite gross (for lack of a better word).
You don't really know how long 15 hours is though, until you have to sit still for that long. For anyone who knows how much energy I have- you'd also know that its not an easy task for me.
Steve and I slept for maybe an hour... but that's all. When we finally arrived to HongKong we were both exhausted and faced with a five hour layover, we decided to nap (hugging out belongings of course) for an hour or two.
The HongKong airport is NUTS. This place is like a country of its own with some 500 gates.
It took as an hour just to find out where we left from. But we figured it out.
After an anxious wait, we were finally boarding the flight for the last leg of the trip. A two hour flight from HongKong to Ho Chi Mihn City, Vietnam.
I was seated beside Mrs. Wrinkles. She was amount ten zillion years old, and spoke not a word of English.
When Steve and I tried to get to our seats, she wouldn't even let is through so we literally had to climb over her.
Mrs. Wrinkles proceeded by piling all her bags on me, gesturing that she needed leg room to stretch her knees.
"Fine I thought...she's old... be respectful".
I was so tired, so I laid down on Steve's lap and tried to take a nap. My money bag (hidden underneath my clothes) was just barely peaking out from under my jacket.
I couldn't believe what came next.
Mrs. Wrinkles had found the little part that peaked out, and while Steve and I had our eyes shut, she tried to pull the bag off me. At first I thought it was Steve trying to do something, so I swatted (what I thought his hand to be) off me...But then I realized I was sleeping on his hand...I popped upright into my chair and looked at the old lady. I gestured to her "what?!"... she pointed to my money bag, smiled, and put her hand out...
Was this was all of Vietnam was going to be like? I certainly hoped not.
At this point I couldn't sleep anymore, and rather I was wide awake clutching my belongings.
When we finally landed I was excited to get rid of Mrs. Wrinkles.
Steve and I had booked our Vietnam VISA online, and all the books and webpages we had read assured us that getting our VISA upon arrival at the Airport was no problem. Well isn't that nice for all those lucky people.
It's now one o'clock in the morning, and Steve and I had been traveling for nearly 30 hours. We were exhausted to say the least.
I hand the VISA man the paper we needed to print off and bring, confirming our acceptance for a Vietnamese VISA.
He runs it through his computer and tells us in broken English: "sorry, you are not in the system....you will have to fly back to Canada now."
I nearly burst into tears, and I am sure that my face expressed my utter shock and disappointment.
"there is NOTHING we can do!? I am sure that I booked a VISA".
Here I thought these guys were being nice, and seeing how tired and upset I was, let me use his computer to check my email for the letter again.
Of course they let me use a Vietnamese computer, and as such I had no idea what anything said, or what I was typing. They watched me, and saw how confused I was...
They then clicked around a little bit and said "see...it's not there..."
Now we were desperate. And just as we thought there was no hope of getting into Vietnam, (I was ready to go back to Canada and never leave)...they turned to us and said:
"for 160$ each, we can let you into Vietnam with a 15 day VISA".
Of course this whole situation was a huge scam, but what were we to do?
We didn't have 320 dollars on us, so they pointed us to an ATM just around the corner.
320 US dollars is equivalent to over 7 million Vietnamese dollars...
We weren't yet used to the conversion rate, and this number seemed so outrageous to us...what other choice did we have though?
We made it through customs (they don't ask you ANY questions), and were completely disillusioned by Vietnam. Our fist impression wasn't good (to say the least).
I was in the most foulest of moods, and so was Steve.
We made it to our hotel (after getting ripped off by the taxi driver too...16 dollars to drive 2.5 kms), and I was SO MAD! (I'll add here that is is one zillion degrees outside)
Once we got up to our room the only nice part about it was that there was AC...other then then, they gave us used sheets, used soap, and used shampoo. How lovely.
I quickly checked my email and low and behold our acceptance VISA letter was right there.
It was a bad start to the trip, that much I can say...We hoped that the next day would be better...
At this point I start getting the nervous butterflies...
The three of us take the sunbway to the bus station where Dad would have to say his 'goodbye'. Now the hard part was happening... the 'byes' to the parentals.
Ugh how I hate this part.
There we were in the middle of the Toronto bus station with tears pouring down our faces. I tried my best to pull myself together... but I was hard to get on the bus and wave goodbye. At least Mom would accompany me to the Airport.
We made it there with time to spare, and while waiting for Steve and his Dad to arrive Mom and I had a quick breakie. Yum Yum.. my last taste of Canadian food for a while.
Once Steve arrived, all that was left to do was get our tickets and make it through customs. Our first flight was only a little over two hours. We would land in Chicago before heading to HongKong.
Saying goodbye to Mom was pretty awful too...and as I waved goodbye from the customs line I was trying to keep it together.
(I knew this wouldn't last).
I made it through security without a problem (surprisingly!) and just like that our trip had officially started. Steve and I were on the plane.
Unfortunately for the people beside me, Steve and I weren't sitting together. As soon as the plane started to move I began to BALL.
I cried for a straight two hours. How great.
Steve kept looking at my from his seat and encouragingly giving my a 'thumbs up'...whimpering I gave him a 'thumbs halfway', and continued to cry.
The man beside me, who was some 80 years old, chose to ignore me and pretend nothing was wrong. I don't blame him.
The women on my other side was scared for my life I think.I don't know what was running through her head, but I am sure it was some crazy story of how I was forced onto the plane.
During the last half-hour of the flight we talked and she assured me that I would have the time of my life on this trip. It definitely helped to calm me down.
We landed without a problem and waiting for our next flight.
15 hours to HongKong... I was NOT looking forward to this one.
Seeing as my flight was cancelled the day before, for this flight they had forgotten to mark me down as a vegetarian, and as such there was no food for my on this flight. I wasn't to phased by this, seeing as I find airplane food quite gross (for lack of a better word).
You don't really know how long 15 hours is though, until you have to sit still for that long. For anyone who knows how much energy I have- you'd also know that its not an easy task for me.
Steve and I slept for maybe an hour... but that's all. When we finally arrived to HongKong we were both exhausted and faced with a five hour layover, we decided to nap (hugging out belongings of course) for an hour or two.
The HongKong airport is NUTS. This place is like a country of its own with some 500 gates.
It took as an hour just to find out where we left from. But we figured it out.
After an anxious wait, we were finally boarding the flight for the last leg of the trip. A two hour flight from HongKong to Ho Chi Mihn City, Vietnam.
I was seated beside Mrs. Wrinkles. She was amount ten zillion years old, and spoke not a word of English.
When Steve and I tried to get to our seats, she wouldn't even let is through so we literally had to climb over her.
Mrs. Wrinkles proceeded by piling all her bags on me, gesturing that she needed leg room to stretch her knees.
"Fine I thought...she's old... be respectful".
I was so tired, so I laid down on Steve's lap and tried to take a nap. My money bag (hidden underneath my clothes) was just barely peaking out from under my jacket.
I couldn't believe what came next.
Mrs. Wrinkles had found the little part that peaked out, and while Steve and I had our eyes shut, she tried to pull the bag off me. At first I thought it was Steve trying to do something, so I swatted (what I thought his hand to be) off me...But then I realized I was sleeping on his hand...I popped upright into my chair and looked at the old lady. I gestured to her "what?!"... she pointed to my money bag, smiled, and put her hand out...
Was this was all of Vietnam was going to be like? I certainly hoped not.
At this point I couldn't sleep anymore, and rather I was wide awake clutching my belongings.
When we finally landed I was excited to get rid of Mrs. Wrinkles.
Steve and I had booked our Vietnam VISA online, and all the books and webpages we had read assured us that getting our VISA upon arrival at the Airport was no problem. Well isn't that nice for all those lucky people.
It's now one o'clock in the morning, and Steve and I had been traveling for nearly 30 hours. We were exhausted to say the least.
I hand the VISA man the paper we needed to print off and bring, confirming our acceptance for a Vietnamese VISA.
He runs it through his computer and tells us in broken English: "sorry, you are not in the system....you will have to fly back to Canada now."
I nearly burst into tears, and I am sure that my face expressed my utter shock and disappointment.
"there is NOTHING we can do!? I am sure that I booked a VISA".
Here I thought these guys were being nice, and seeing how tired and upset I was, let me use his computer to check my email for the letter again.
Of course they let me use a Vietnamese computer, and as such I had no idea what anything said, or what I was typing. They watched me, and saw how confused I was...
They then clicked around a little bit and said "see...it's not there..."
Now we were desperate. And just as we thought there was no hope of getting into Vietnam, (I was ready to go back to Canada and never leave)...they turned to us and said:
"for 160$ each, we can let you into Vietnam with a 15 day VISA".
Of course this whole situation was a huge scam, but what were we to do?
We didn't have 320 dollars on us, so they pointed us to an ATM just around the corner.
320 US dollars is equivalent to over 7 million Vietnamese dollars...
We weren't yet used to the conversion rate, and this number seemed so outrageous to us...what other choice did we have though?
We made it through customs (they don't ask you ANY questions), and were completely disillusioned by Vietnam. Our fist impression wasn't good (to say the least).
I was in the most foulest of moods, and so was Steve.
We made it to our hotel (after getting ripped off by the taxi driver too...16 dollars to drive 2.5 kms), and I was SO MAD! (I'll add here that is is one zillion degrees outside)
Once we got up to our room the only nice part about it was that there was AC...other then then, they gave us used sheets, used soap, and used shampoo. How lovely.
I quickly checked my email and low and behold our acceptance VISA letter was right there.
It was a bad start to the trip, that much I can say...We hoped that the next day would be better...
Right when we think we're leaving...
Seeing as we had now moved our appointment to the following day- we assumed that we could now have a smooth departure.
Dukie and Barbara had kindly agreed to let us stay at their house on the night of the 29th (the night before Steve and I were supposed to leave).
Mom and I had packed MidC into Rex- and we were on the road by 9:00 am. Our plan was to drop MidC off at Christina's house, and then meet Steve and Dad in Guelph for our vaccine appointment.
This portion of the trip went smoothly. MidC meowed the whole way to Christina's (I like to think this is because she knew I was leaving)...and Mom and I were BOILING in Steve's car which had no AC...therefore the windows were wide-open the entire way.
And cue my first set of tears...
Of course dropping MidC off at Christina's was emotional...and so too was saying goodbye to literally the best roommate ever...(Christina... I miss you!).
I knew this had to happen though.
We made to Guelph on time, and got everything in order. After the vaccine, Mom, Dad, Ceilidh and I enjoyed a delicious dinner in the Guelph Arboretum and after saying goodbye to Ceilidh we made our way to Duke and Barbara's. It was SO nice to see them.. and it was an extra special treat to see Alex and Conal too before I left.
After some soup, salad, wine and cheese we went to bed...ready for an early morning and departure the next day.
As many if you know Steve and I had planned to depart for Vietnam May 1st...we had our flights all booked, and we were ready to go by 7:30 that morning...I had woken of up with the strangest feeling though...not the nerves that I was used to when faced with airplane rides...
Though I was sure the 'travel curse' was upon me, everyone had assured me that things would go as planned.
This is when I got 'the call'.
I had taken a shower and saw a voice mail awaiting me in my room...innocently enough I checked it, and what did you know...my flight was canceled. How wonderful (and of course it was the ONLY one that morning...).
Now you see... I am used to this kind of news...so I wasn't ALL that phased and certainly wasn't 'shocked' by any means.
When I came into the kitchen to give everyone else the news they laughed at my 'funny joke'...once they realized I wasn't kidding... it wasn't so funny, and more aggravating that somehow my flights always seem to be canceled.
The worst part was telling Steve...poor Steve who was the most pumped to leave that morning. I pictured him through the phone... his mega smile turning in to a face of utter shock when realizing himself that I wasn't joking.
Alas we would depart the next morning. Things weren't THAT BAD.
In fact I think it was fate that my flight was canceled.
In the madness of the truck not starting the day before, I hadn't been able to say goobye to Tash. Something that sat terribly with me. This way Mom, Dad, and I would be able to make our way to Toronto and have a nice dinner with her.
Dad had to go to the Dental convention the next morning and as such he had a room booked at the Four Season. SO FANCY PANTS!
People literally must laugh at us where ever we go. We roll up to the hotel at get out of the car, amidst women is pretty dresses and high-healed shoes and men is expensive suits. I am lugging around a giant pack, Mom is in her usual jeans and T, and Dad is sporting hiking boots with holes in them and a dry-sack as luggage.
The door-man asked "are you with the Four Seasons?"... and with a 'yes' from us, we trugged in and made it to our room.
It was fancy to say the least. The beds were SO SOFT! At least I knew I would get a goodnights sleep before the big departure.
We met up with Tash for dinner at the most delicious Thai restaurant, and my friend Amanda (who is also traveling to South East Asia) met us aswell.
We had the absolutely best dinner, and Tash introduced us to Allan (the owner of the restaurant), who was building a village in Thailand and began to organize our visit there. This all seemed so crazy. Within an hour we had a driver coming to pick us up and take us to the most beautiful parts of Thailand...it seemed so surreal...I hope it all pans out.
After saying some more 'goodbyes' it was bedtime. The parentals and Tash had figured out a route that Mom and I could take to the Airport the next morning, which meant we didn't have to take the car and pay obscene amounts for parking. I was nervous but excited to leave.
Dukie and Barbara had kindly agreed to let us stay at their house on the night of the 29th (the night before Steve and I were supposed to leave).
Mom and I had packed MidC into Rex- and we were on the road by 9:00 am. Our plan was to drop MidC off at Christina's house, and then meet Steve and Dad in Guelph for our vaccine appointment.
This portion of the trip went smoothly. MidC meowed the whole way to Christina's (I like to think this is because she knew I was leaving)...and Mom and I were BOILING in Steve's car which had no AC...therefore the windows were wide-open the entire way.
And cue my first set of tears...
Of course dropping MidC off at Christina's was emotional...and so too was saying goodbye to literally the best roommate ever...(Christina... I miss you!).
I knew this had to happen though.
We made to Guelph on time, and got everything in order. After the vaccine, Mom, Dad, Ceilidh and I enjoyed a delicious dinner in the Guelph Arboretum and after saying goodbye to Ceilidh we made our way to Duke and Barbara's. It was SO nice to see them.. and it was an extra special treat to see Alex and Conal too before I left.
After some soup, salad, wine and cheese we went to bed...ready for an early morning and departure the next day.
As many if you know Steve and I had planned to depart for Vietnam May 1st...we had our flights all booked, and we were ready to go by 7:30 that morning...I had woken of up with the strangest feeling though...not the nerves that I was used to when faced with airplane rides...
Though I was sure the 'travel curse' was upon me, everyone had assured me that things would go as planned.
This is when I got 'the call'.
I had taken a shower and saw a voice mail awaiting me in my room...innocently enough I checked it, and what did you know...my flight was canceled. How wonderful (and of course it was the ONLY one that morning...).
Now you see... I am used to this kind of news...so I wasn't ALL that phased and certainly wasn't 'shocked' by any means.
When I came into the kitchen to give everyone else the news they laughed at my 'funny joke'...once they realized I wasn't kidding... it wasn't so funny, and more aggravating that somehow my flights always seem to be canceled.
The worst part was telling Steve...poor Steve who was the most pumped to leave that morning. I pictured him through the phone... his mega smile turning in to a face of utter shock when realizing himself that I wasn't joking.
Alas we would depart the next morning. Things weren't THAT BAD.
In fact I think it was fate that my flight was canceled.
In the madness of the truck not starting the day before, I hadn't been able to say goobye to Tash. Something that sat terribly with me. This way Mom, Dad, and I would be able to make our way to Toronto and have a nice dinner with her.
Dad had to go to the Dental convention the next morning and as such he had a room booked at the Four Season. SO FANCY PANTS!
People literally must laugh at us where ever we go. We roll up to the hotel at get out of the car, amidst women is pretty dresses and high-healed shoes and men is expensive suits. I am lugging around a giant pack, Mom is in her usual jeans and T, and Dad is sporting hiking boots with holes in them and a dry-sack as luggage.
The door-man asked "are you with the Four Seasons?"... and with a 'yes' from us, we trugged in and made it to our room.
It was fancy to say the least. The beds were SO SOFT! At least I knew I would get a goodnights sleep before the big departure.
We met up with Tash for dinner at the most delicious Thai restaurant, and my friend Amanda (who is also traveling to South East Asia) met us aswell.
We had the absolutely best dinner, and Tash introduced us to Allan (the owner of the restaurant), who was building a village in Thailand and began to organize our visit there. This all seemed so crazy. Within an hour we had a driver coming to pick us up and take us to the most beautiful parts of Thailand...it seemed so surreal...I hope it all pans out.
After saying some more 'goodbyes' it was bedtime. The parentals and Tash had figured out a route that Mom and I could take to the Airport the next morning, which meant we didn't have to take the car and pay obscene amounts for parking. I was nervous but excited to leave.
Xin Chao!
We've finally made itto Veitnam... so I am allowed to say "Xin Chao" now!
For any of those still wondering, that's how you say 'hello' here.
Of course, knowing me and my travel luck, it was not easy getting here... and to tell you the full story I will have to start a couple of days before Steve and I were scheduled to leave (May 1st).
You see, I am graduating this summer, and as such I needed to get all my Guelph belongings back to Kingston before the big trip. I had packed up 335 Gordon with Christina and Steve well before our departure, but I had no way of getting all my crap to Kingston. Kindly, Steve offered (...kinda...) to drive it down for me on the 27th of April. Perfect!
I had already packed Rex (Steve's car) to the brim with stuff and made my way to Kingston a week before. Mom, Dad, Maddi and I had driven down to Baba and Grandpa's to meet up with Kiki, Dora, and Uncle Andy to celebrate Baba's birthday, and I was in a mad rush to make it back to Kingston to meet Steve when he got to Kingston with a truck and trailer full of all my belongings.
Of course packing took longer then expected and there was traffic to boot, so Steve was so late getting in. It was pitch black when he finally arrived (10:30) and we had no time to unpack so we left it for the next morning.
I didn't know I had so much stuff. HOLY!
Unpacking was fine, and seeing as there was already a truck and trailer in Kingston, Tash had asked me if perhaps we could pack up her friends house (Enis) and drop him and his stuff off in Torontoon our way back to Guelph. He is moving in with Tash for the summer (exciting!). Of course Steve and I said yes.
BUT...we had an appointment in Guelph on the 29th at 3:00 that we absolutely couldn't miss...we were getting our last vaccine for the trip.
On the afternoon of the 28th, the fam and I met up with the most fabulous group of people for an awesome game of road hockey, after which Steve and I zipped over to Enis's house to start loading the trailer. That went smoothly enough, and after an awesome 'last day' in Kingston we called it quits and went to bed early. After all we had to be up super early to hit the road...Our plan was to pick Enis up downtown and finish packing his stuff all by 9 o'clock so we could make it back to Guelph for our appointment.
Of course when we woke up in the morning it was raining...and I wish I could say that this was the most of our troubles....unfortunately that wasn't so.
Steve and I go outside to prep the truck and of course it won't start. I was already so disappointed and was convinced that 'the curse' (as I like to call it) had commenced. Steve and Mom told me 'not to think like that'...all I could think was "just you wait"...
Of course it was mom to the rescue, or should I say Goal Patrol.
Brupp brupp brupp bruppppp....there comes the Millennium Bus rolling down the driveway. We get Steve's truck started with a Millennium Goal boost (by this time we are 2 hours late to get Enis) and are on our way...
There was NO WAY that we were making it back to Guelph in time for our appointment, so I had agreed to stay in Kingston another night, and meet Steve in Guelph the following day (secretly I was happy that this happened!).
So I follow Steve into town to help with the packing.
As soon as we get to Enis's house, Steve shuts the truck of, and of course it won't start AGAIN! So we decided to do all the packing, and get someone to jump us when we were done.
I'll never get the picture of Enis delicately packing his Prada shirts into the back of Steve's dirty work truck. To this day I am sure Enis thinks I am nuts.
Anyways, after we were done packing, we flagged down Enis's landlord and asked him for a jump. Of course that didn't work. So now we had to brainstorm how to 'fix the truck'...let me assure you- none of us are mechanics.
We did notice however that there was a bit of water in the fuse box...and we were convinced that this was our problem. This time it was Enis to the rescue.
Out he comes from his now (almost) empty apartment with Q-tips and a hair dryer... this is how we would attempt to 'fix' the truck. I can only imagine how we looked to the passer-byer... ABSOLUTELY NUTS.
There we were... three grown people huddled around this massive truck with a hair dryer...literally drying the fuse box as it poured rain around us.
By some stroke of luck, once we were 'done'... the truck started with aid from a boost, and Steve and Enis were on their way.
It took Steve seven hours to get home...and he said by the time he made it to Orangeville every light in the truck was flashing at him. It is miracle it didn't explode while barreling down the highway.
It took his Dad less then an hour to fix the real problem... which had absolutely nothing to do with the fuse box... go figure.
Here we thought was the only set-back in our travel plans...
For any of those still wondering, that's how you say 'hello' here.
Of course, knowing me and my travel luck, it was not easy getting here... and to tell you the full story I will have to start a couple of days before Steve and I were scheduled to leave (May 1st).
You see, I am graduating this summer, and as such I needed to get all my Guelph belongings back to Kingston before the big trip. I had packed up 335 Gordon with Christina and Steve well before our departure, but I had no way of getting all my crap to Kingston. Kindly, Steve offered (...kinda...) to drive it down for me on the 27th of April. Perfect!
I had already packed Rex (Steve's car) to the brim with stuff and made my way to Kingston a week before. Mom, Dad, Maddi and I had driven down to Baba and Grandpa's to meet up with Kiki, Dora, and Uncle Andy to celebrate Baba's birthday, and I was in a mad rush to make it back to Kingston to meet Steve when he got to Kingston with a truck and trailer full of all my belongings.
Of course packing took longer then expected and there was traffic to boot, so Steve was so late getting in. It was pitch black when he finally arrived (10:30) and we had no time to unpack so we left it for the next morning.
I didn't know I had so much stuff. HOLY!
Unpacking was fine, and seeing as there was already a truck and trailer in Kingston, Tash had asked me if perhaps we could pack up her friends house (Enis) and drop him and his stuff off in Torontoon our way back to Guelph. He is moving in with Tash for the summer (exciting!). Of course Steve and I said yes.
BUT...we had an appointment in Guelph on the 29th at 3:00 that we absolutely couldn't miss...we were getting our last vaccine for the trip.
On the afternoon of the 28th, the fam and I met up with the most fabulous group of people for an awesome game of road hockey, after which Steve and I zipped over to Enis's house to start loading the trailer. That went smoothly enough, and after an awesome 'last day' in Kingston we called it quits and went to bed early. After all we had to be up super early to hit the road...Our plan was to pick Enis up downtown and finish packing his stuff all by 9 o'clock so we could make it back to Guelph for our appointment.
Of course when we woke up in the morning it was raining...and I wish I could say that this was the most of our troubles....unfortunately that wasn't so.
Steve and I go outside to prep the truck and of course it won't start. I was already so disappointed and was convinced that 'the curse' (as I like to call it) had commenced. Steve and Mom told me 'not to think like that'...all I could think was "just you wait"...
Of course it was mom to the rescue, or should I say Goal Patrol.
Brupp brupp brupp bruppppp....there comes the Millennium Bus rolling down the driveway. We get Steve's truck started with a Millennium Goal boost (by this time we are 2 hours late to get Enis) and are on our way...
There was NO WAY that we were making it back to Guelph in time for our appointment, so I had agreed to stay in Kingston another night, and meet Steve in Guelph the following day (secretly I was happy that this happened!).
So I follow Steve into town to help with the packing.
As soon as we get to Enis's house, Steve shuts the truck of, and of course it won't start AGAIN! So we decided to do all the packing, and get someone to jump us when we were done.
I'll never get the picture of Enis delicately packing his Prada shirts into the back of Steve's dirty work truck. To this day I am sure Enis thinks I am nuts.
Anyways, after we were done packing, we flagged down Enis's landlord and asked him for a jump. Of course that didn't work. So now we had to brainstorm how to 'fix the truck'...let me assure you- none of us are mechanics.
We did notice however that there was a bit of water in the fuse box...and we were convinced that this was our problem. This time it was Enis to the rescue.
Out he comes from his now (almost) empty apartment with Q-tips and a hair dryer... this is how we would attempt to 'fix' the truck. I can only imagine how we looked to the passer-byer... ABSOLUTELY NUTS.
There we were... three grown people huddled around this massive truck with a hair dryer...literally drying the fuse box as it poured rain around us.
By some stroke of luck, once we were 'done'... the truck started with aid from a boost, and Steve and Enis were on their way.
It took Steve seven hours to get home...and he said by the time he made it to Orangeville every light in the truck was flashing at him. It is miracle it didn't explode while barreling down the highway.
It took his Dad less then an hour to fix the real problem... which had absolutely nothing to do with the fuse box... go figure.
Here we thought was the only set-back in our travel plans...
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)