Back in Bangkok we spent the next two days shopping. We brought souvenirs for everyone, we brought presents for ourselves and Christmas presents. As we didn't have long to go now we packed our bags to the bursting and then sat in the street with a pad thai and thought about our long journey back. And it was long.
We flew from Bangkok to KL on our last AirAsia flight. We then spent the night in KL airport before flying back to Chennai in the morning. We spent the day in India, you guessed it, shopping. Hitting fast fashion and fashion folks (the local factory outlet clothes stores) we stocked up on clothes, souvenirs from Spencers plaza and cheap toiletries and jewelry from CityCentre. We retired early to bed with a Dominoes Pizza to get the early morning flight to Delhi the next day.
True to the Indian tradition our driver was late. 5am in the morning with no one to call and no taxi's about we frantically waited for the driver to come. An hour passed, then an hour and a half, then 2 when he finally turned up. We rushed to the airport and got there just in time to check in and fly off to Delhi to fly back to Heathrow.
But it was at Heathrow were the worst happened. We had to rush to catch a bus as it was when Rory, apparently looking like he had a bomb stuck to his back, was picked in a random terrorism selection. The man was very polite as they asked him about his trip, where he was going and exactly what he was wearing, but it wasn't welcome after 3 days of travelling, little sleep and a rush to catch a bus. We missed the bus, and brought a ticket for the next one in 3 hours time. But luckily the bus was so late (2 hours) that we managed to get on it anyway. The journey from Heathrow to Taunton was terrible. British traffic. I was so tired I can't remember it in much detail but we were on the bus for hours, about 6 I think, I remember it being as long as the plain journey. Only we couldn't sleep on the bus in case the motorway cleared and we missed our stop. What a welcome home. Rory's parent picked us up in the Taunton and took us back to their house where we slept and slept and slept. It was a trip of a lifetime but it was also so nice to be back in a bed we knew.
Thanks for reading!
p.s. we thought it was all over until I got really sick back in Loughborough with a bug I undoubtedly picked up from the day stop-over in India. It just had that Indian feel to it. But a weeks course of paracetamol and I was fine, looking forward to our next world adventure, whenever and wherever that may be
Thursday, 10 January 2008
Kanchanaburi
Only about two hours away from Bangkok by bus (or a bit longer and a lot more beautiful by train) is Kanchanaburi, I major WWII point. It played host to the death railway, and you will all probably know of it thanks to the film 'The Bridge over the River Kwai'. We decided to go inland instead of out to all the beautiful islands because we had seen so many beautiful islands in Malaysia and Vietnam so decided to do some historic tourism instead. Once there we found a nice little 'hotel on stilts over the River Kwai' which was as quaint as you can imagine. We decided to save a bit of money by going for the non-ac cold water option that worked out as a few quid a night. This meant we could splash out a bit more on excursions!
Rory and I headed off to the JEATH museum one morning. Run by a monk it served the purpose of reminding everyone how terrible war is through many photographs and newspaper articles. It left you feeling a bit depressed, especially as on the way there and back we passed the POW cemetery with the hundreds of unmarked graves. There were also the thousands of marked ones that told of men as young as 18. It was kept beautifully though, much better than the Chinese cemetery next door.
We went on an excursion one day that took us to a bit of track that the POW built that's still in use today. It stretched alongside part of a hill and if you walked along the tracks a bit (with a steep drop to your right) you come across a cave. Now occupied by a massive Buddha and smokey from the years of prayer, this cave used to be where the POW hid when their allied friends bombed all their work. You can go all the way in to the dark dank batty back quarters and just imagine the terror and suffering.
We caught a train from there and took it along part of the death railway. The scenery was beautiful. It dropped us off near the infamous bridge, no longer in use since they built a second one, and we walked up and down it looking at the tracks with the dates stamped in them and the sections that looked different to the rest as they blown up and rebuilt. You could imagine the area being beautiful and tranquil (except of course when it was being built), but now it is surrounded in floating restaurants and tourist stores.
We went for a walk up a hill that followed a 7 tiered waterfall. Each tier was as beautiful as the next, and they obviously take really good care of the area. We walked all the way to the top before we allowed ourselves a swim. Once in we discovered that those pretty little fish that we saw in all the pools on the way up were actually horrid little hidden nibblers. They swam up to you as soon as you put a foot in the water and in the style of a Chinese fish foot massage, nibbled your skin. Even if your not scared of fish (which Pippa was making it all rather funny) you get a big shock when a big blighter comes up to take a little nibble. The water was filled with limestone which meant you couldn't see what was happening, making it all the more startling.
The last excursion we did was an elephant treck. I had promised Rory we'd go on one since we couldn't do it in India. The ride consisted of about 20 minutes through the edge of the jungles on little park benches strapped across the elephants back and ended with a swim! Yes, at the end of the trail we dismounted, the park benches were removed, and sat bare back on the elephants in the fast moving river Kwai as they took us out and lowered into the cold water. We were given a little bottle of soap and a brush and they waited expectantly for us to scrub the back of their heads. It was all rather cute. Luckily the one that Rory and I got didn't squirt us with his trunk like some of the others did. I made Rory be the first one to go out there and he looked so unsure of what was going to happen it made us all laugh!
Back at the hotel we had befriended a little black kitten which we called shadow, because he followed us around everywhere and sat on us whenever we sat down. Our little hut had a balcony which we read on in the evenings in the company of shadow and a couple of mosquito coils. It was a very peaceful place and we were sad to leave. On the last night we (Rory, me, Pippa and her friend Bex) went out for an Indian meal and a sheesha with Thai beer, said goodbye and then Rory and I departed homeward bound the next morning whilst Pippa and Bex went south to the tourist islands.
Rory and I headed off to the JEATH museum one morning. Run by a monk it served the purpose of reminding everyone how terrible war is through many photographs and newspaper articles. It left you feeling a bit depressed, especially as on the way there and back we passed the POW cemetery with the hundreds of unmarked graves. There were also the thousands of marked ones that told of men as young as 18. It was kept beautifully though, much better than the Chinese cemetery next door.
We went on an excursion one day that took us to a bit of track that the POW built that's still in use today. It stretched alongside part of a hill and if you walked along the tracks a bit (with a steep drop to your right) you come across a cave. Now occupied by a massive Buddha and smokey from the years of prayer, this cave used to be where the POW hid when their allied friends bombed all their work. You can go all the way in to the dark dank batty back quarters and just imagine the terror and suffering.
We caught a train from there and took it along part of the death railway. The scenery was beautiful. It dropped us off near the infamous bridge, no longer in use since they built a second one, and we walked up and down it looking at the tracks with the dates stamped in them and the sections that looked different to the rest as they blown up and rebuilt. You could imagine the area being beautiful and tranquil (except of course when it was being built), but now it is surrounded in floating restaurants and tourist stores.
We went for a walk up a hill that followed a 7 tiered waterfall. Each tier was as beautiful as the next, and they obviously take really good care of the area. We walked all the way to the top before we allowed ourselves a swim. Once in we discovered that those pretty little fish that we saw in all the pools on the way up were actually horrid little hidden nibblers. They swam up to you as soon as you put a foot in the water and in the style of a Chinese fish foot massage, nibbled your skin. Even if your not scared of fish (which Pippa was making it all rather funny) you get a big shock when a big blighter comes up to take a little nibble. The water was filled with limestone which meant you couldn't see what was happening, making it all the more startling.
The last excursion we did was an elephant treck. I had promised Rory we'd go on one since we couldn't do it in India. The ride consisted of about 20 minutes through the edge of the jungles on little park benches strapped across the elephants back and ended with a swim! Yes, at the end of the trail we dismounted, the park benches were removed, and sat bare back on the elephants in the fast moving river Kwai as they took us out and lowered into the cold water. We were given a little bottle of soap and a brush and they waited expectantly for us to scrub the back of their heads. It was all rather cute. Luckily the one that Rory and I got didn't squirt us with his trunk like some of the others did. I made Rory be the first one to go out there and he looked so unsure of what was going to happen it made us all laugh!
Back at the hotel we had befriended a little black kitten which we called shadow, because he followed us around everywhere and sat on us whenever we sat down. Our little hut had a balcony which we read on in the evenings in the company of shadow and a couple of mosquito coils. It was a very peaceful place and we were sad to leave. On the last night we (Rory, me, Pippa and her friend Bex) went out for an Indian meal and a sheesha with Thai beer, said goodbye and then Rory and I departed homeward bound the next morning whilst Pippa and Bex went south to the tourist islands.
Monday, 24 December 2007
Thailand
Okay, we we're bad, I know that. We were supposed to write this in KL airport on the way back from Thailand to India (on route back home), but it was an all-night transfer so we were to tired. Then we were too busy, too forgetful and too busy again, but the trip needs rounding off.
We flew from Hanoi to Thailand (again, overnight in KL), and were very impressed with Bangkoks new airport (for e.g. at the immigration desk there was a nifty little face finding camera that snaps photos of you as you approach the desk). We then took a bus to Khao-San Road. This is the tourist centre of Bangkok complete with blackpool lights, shops selling everything, lying rip-off tuk tuk drivers and pop-up night bars were you drink cocktails out of a bucket. Out hotel was located just off Khao San road, so we did a bit of exploring the first night before hitting the sack.
The next day we took a river taxi out of old bangkok to the new, and found ourselves in shoppers paradise. You could walk around 5 massive shopping malls without your feet ever having to touch the pavement. There were lots of car showrooms (for Rory) and cinemas (for me). As usual we ended up in the cinema, but this one had a twist- at the beggining of the film the national anthem played accompanied with a short film showing the king in his glory days and you have to stand with your hands at your side and watch respectfully- they love their king out there.
We headed back to old bangkok in the evening to meet up with Rory's friend from Devon Pippa, and her friend Bex. They were just starting there 3 month tour as we were finishing ours. We all went out for a welcome dinner of Thai curry and a couple of Thai beers. Then some mohjitos in a blues bar. Then a couple of those infamous buckets. Then a few more beers and buckets. Then some rum and coke (a bottle of rum there costs £1.50). Then we sampled Khoa San Clubs, then had more rum and coke. I blame Pippa and Bex.
The next day we explored the Grand Palace and the emerald Buddah (with a bit of a hangover). The palace was beautiful, there was so much gold and detail in every statue, roof, nook and cranny. The gardens were beautiful and we even stubled across some rooms were every inch of the walls and roof were hand painted in a detail that must have taken ages to paint. We went on to explore some temples and found the worlds longest reclining Buddah.
The next day (I think, it has been a long time) we took a bus to Kanchanaburi
We flew from Hanoi to Thailand (again, overnight in KL), and were very impressed with Bangkoks new airport (for e.g. at the immigration desk there was a nifty little face finding camera that snaps photos of you as you approach the desk). We then took a bus to Khao-San Road. This is the tourist centre of Bangkok complete with blackpool lights, shops selling everything, lying rip-off tuk tuk drivers and pop-up night bars were you drink cocktails out of a bucket. Out hotel was located just off Khao San road, so we did a bit of exploring the first night before hitting the sack.
The next day we took a river taxi out of old bangkok to the new, and found ourselves in shoppers paradise. You could walk around 5 massive shopping malls without your feet ever having to touch the pavement. There were lots of car showrooms (for Rory) and cinemas (for me). As usual we ended up in the cinema, but this one had a twist- at the beggining of the film the national anthem played accompanied with a short film showing the king in his glory days and you have to stand with your hands at your side and watch respectfully- they love their king out there.
We headed back to old bangkok in the evening to meet up with Rory's friend from Devon Pippa, and her friend Bex. They were just starting there 3 month tour as we were finishing ours. We all went out for a welcome dinner of Thai curry and a couple of Thai beers. Then some mohjitos in a blues bar. Then a couple of those infamous buckets. Then a few more beers and buckets. Then some rum and coke (a bottle of rum there costs £1.50). Then we sampled Khoa San Clubs, then had more rum and coke. I blame Pippa and Bex.
The next day we explored the Grand Palace and the emerald Buddah (with a bit of a hangover). The palace was beautiful, there was so much gold and detail in every statue, roof, nook and cranny. The gardens were beautiful and we even stubled across some rooms were every inch of the walls and roof were hand painted in a detail that must have taken ages to paint. We went on to explore some temples and found the worlds longest reclining Buddah.
The next day (I think, it has been a long time) we took a bus to Kanchanaburi
Monday, 24 September 2007
Cat Ba
Wow, it's a long time since either of us posted anything, sorry about that. Since the last post we've been to Cat Ba and come back, and then been to Bangkok and meandering off in Thailand, and now we're back in Bangkok.
The journey to Cat Ba (an island off the coast) should have been fine - you get on the bus and pay a combined fare for the bus to the port and then the ferry to Cat Ba. It didn't work like that, of course, we were kicked out of the taxi at the bus station (a slight exaggeration) and then as soon as we mentioned "Hai Phong" (the port) we were pointed towards a bus - it did say Hai Phong on it, I think, but it hardly mattered, people were actually poking us onto the bus. We found that it cost less than we expected it would.
(Cat Ba is the island; Hanoi isjust off to the left. You can drag the map around.)
The journey to Hai Phong was fine. Once we got off the bus however we discovored that the port to catch the ferry was a long way away from the bus station, and so we had to catch a long and therefore rather expensive taxi (well it didn't cost more than four pounds for the entire taxi journey but for Vietnam that's expensive!) through a load of industrial estates to a makeshift port to catch the ferry we shoulds have gotton a bus directly to. Ah well, you learn from these things.
Cat Ba was beautiful- the scenery was amazing. Jungle on the inside, a few rice paddies, lovely blue ocean with karst limestone scenery just like in all those pictures advitising the area. We got off the bus and found an empty hotel (they're all pretty empty), we we're there only guests for most of the time. Then we explored the area which was pretty much just a street of hotels and restaurants overlooking the bay filled withj lots of little boats which we throught was strance- they filled a massive area of ocean. There were also a few beaches a small walk away, accessable by rickerty wooden walkways built over the ocean around the cliffs seperating them. They were rather built up beaches with a restaurant, shops and huts you can pay to use, but it was low season and the beaaches were pretty much empty, so there was lots of unused sand to go around!
The second day we took it pretty easy- we slept in, had a leisurly lunch and a beer by the beach In fact I'm not really sure what we did that day we took it so easy. The next day we had signed ourselves into a boat trip. We were on it with a group of five spanish guys who were extremly friendly. The boat tpook us out through all those boats in the bay and we discovoured why there were so many- it was a floating village! Up close you could see all the little houses floating in the water, cmplete with little boats for getting around and pet dogs. There were more little water settlements along the way as well, all just as interesting as the scenery around us!
The boat tour first took us to a cave we explored- we got off the boat and went deep into this cave with only one tourch in the hands of the guide which was an experience. The cave was massive complete with bats and dripping stalagtites, and miraculously noone got injured! We then sailed away to a beatiful laggon where we got on some kayaks and exploired the aread, going through a long natural archway into a secluded pool area, and then into another cave. Same as last time (one tourch, 7 followers, oh and the guide didn't speak a word of English) only this time in kayaks in a pitch black cave, an experience we wont forget. The day continued with a pleasant Vietnamese style lunch on board, some snorkelling and diving off the boat, and a long leisurly trip back (where almost everyone fell asleep due to the combination of food, sun and the gentle rocking of the boat).
The next two days unfortunatly weren't as eventful. I started feeling ill on the boat ride back and speant the next two days only getting up from bed when Rory was hungry (I couldn't let him eat alone). I managed to finally starve the bug out of me enought for us to spend the final day by the beach. We swam again the final day and the water was wonderful- it was soo warm and clear and the sand fine- you could wander a long way out before going out of your depth. The next day we took a mini bus back to Hanoi (booked it all the way through this time) and headed back to the jazz club for our last dinner in Vietnam.
The journey to Cat Ba (an island off the coast) should have been fine - you get on the bus and pay a combined fare for the bus to the port and then the ferry to Cat Ba. It didn't work like that, of course, we were kicked out of the taxi at the bus station (a slight exaggeration) and then as soon as we mentioned "Hai Phong" (the port) we were pointed towards a bus - it did say Hai Phong on it, I think, but it hardly mattered, people were actually poking us onto the bus. We found that it cost less than we expected it would.
(Cat Ba is the island; Hanoi isjust off to the left. You can drag the map around.)
The journey to Hai Phong was fine. Once we got off the bus however we discovored that the port to catch the ferry was a long way away from the bus station, and so we had to catch a long and therefore rather expensive taxi (well it didn't cost more than four pounds for the entire taxi journey but for Vietnam that's expensive!) through a load of industrial estates to a makeshift port to catch the ferry we shoulds have gotton a bus directly to. Ah well, you learn from these things.
Cat Ba was beautiful- the scenery was amazing. Jungle on the inside, a few rice paddies, lovely blue ocean with karst limestone scenery just like in all those pictures advitising the area. We got off the bus and found an empty hotel (they're all pretty empty), we we're there only guests for most of the time. Then we explored the area which was pretty much just a street of hotels and restaurants overlooking the bay filled withj lots of little boats which we throught was strance- they filled a massive area of ocean. There were also a few beaches a small walk away, accessable by rickerty wooden walkways built over the ocean around the cliffs seperating them. They were rather built up beaches with a restaurant, shops and huts you can pay to use, but it was low season and the beaaches were pretty much empty, so there was lots of unused sand to go around!
The second day we took it pretty easy- we slept in, had a leisurly lunch and a beer by the beach In fact I'm not really sure what we did that day we took it so easy. The next day we had signed ourselves into a boat trip. We were on it with a group of five spanish guys who were extremly friendly. The boat tpook us out through all those boats in the bay and we discovoured why there were so many- it was a floating village! Up close you could see all the little houses floating in the water, cmplete with little boats for getting around and pet dogs. There were more little water settlements along the way as well, all just as interesting as the scenery around us!
The boat tour first took us to a cave we explored- we got off the boat and went deep into this cave with only one tourch in the hands of the guide which was an experience. The cave was massive complete with bats and dripping stalagtites, and miraculously noone got injured! We then sailed away to a beatiful laggon where we got on some kayaks and exploired the aread, going through a long natural archway into a secluded pool area, and then into another cave. Same as last time (one tourch, 7 followers, oh and the guide didn't speak a word of English) only this time in kayaks in a pitch black cave, an experience we wont forget. The day continued with a pleasant Vietnamese style lunch on board, some snorkelling and diving off the boat, and a long leisurly trip back (where almost everyone fell asleep due to the combination of food, sun and the gentle rocking of the boat).
The next two days unfortunatly weren't as eventful. I started feeling ill on the boat ride back and speant the next two days only getting up from bed when Rory was hungry (I couldn't let him eat alone). I managed to finally starve the bug out of me enought for us to spend the final day by the beach. We swam again the final day and the water was wonderful- it was soo warm and clear and the sand fine- you could wander a long way out before going out of your depth. The next day we took a mini bus back to Hanoi (booked it all the way through this time) and headed back to the jazz club for our last dinner in Vietnam.
Monday, 17 September 2007
Fwd: Hanoi 2
Right...where was I? The internet's going a bit funny here, but I
think I was talking about the prison.
After the prison we wandered further to the Văn Miếu (Temple of
Literature). It was basically a university for very accomplished
scholars. The archetecture's very chinese and old, and in between the
gardens and trees there's a complex of buildings and quaint tablets
mounted on stone tortoises (Hanoi has a bit of a fixation with
tortoises) with a lake in the middle. We slowly wandered through,
taking it in, and then inside the last building was a stage - after a
few minutes a band of musicians started playing. It was amazing; they
were so talented, and of course they were playing on instruments we'd
never seen before. We stayed for a while and a tour group arrived, and
when they started "audience participation" we slipped away. On the way
back Alex bought a small souvenier water puppet as we looked round the
gift shop. The chess sets were beautiful but there's no way I could
even fit it in my bag!
We walked back via the Lenin Monument. It wasn't spectacular, just on
the way...but I'm not quite sure why it's there, even. Incidentally,
the hammer and sickle symbol is as about as prolific in Hanoi as the
Vietnamese flag, which you can generally see one or two of wherever
you happen to be standing in the city.
Back to the hostel for a bit of a rest (the room's up four flights of
stairs so even if we didn't need one before, we definitely did by the
time we got there) and in the evening we ate at a resturant
specialising in vegetarian food, that we found in the Lonely Planet.
After, we headed next door for a beer (cheapest in Hanoi, according to
the Lonely Planet) and then somehow ended up in two more places for
beer as well. Alex is beginning to get a taste for Eastern lager.
The next day we headed to the train station to book tickets for the
next stage of our journey. The train station itself seemed to be
reasonably efficiently run, but the standards of the rooms and seats,
etc was the same as you might expect in India (or maybe a bit worse!)
The person behind the counter managed to explain to us that you could
only buy tickets from two hours before departure, so we went back
empty handed. It was a good job too - one of the guys that runs the
hostel suggested that the bus was a lot easier, as it includes ferry
crossing and transfers, etc.
We took a taxi back and then headed out, vaguely with the idea of
finding a mall that might have a cinema in. We eventually found one;
compared to what we're used to it was a bit disappointing, but I
suppose we've been spoilt by KL and Singapore! There was definitely no
mall. We went in search of cinemas (the Lonely Planet has a few in it)
and, as it started raining, we discovered that the first no longer
existed, and the second only showed two films a day (both fairly
rubbish and neither for several hours). So we headed back, stopping to
eat a cafe on the way.
In the evening, I forget where we ate, but we did go to a Jazz Club. It
was really expensive (one cocktail cost as much as a meal elsewhere)
so we made our drinks last and watched the live band, sitting in
squashy sofas bathed in the glow from neon signs on the walls. It was
really good!
The next morning we began our journey - to Cat Ba island, a small
island off the coast that we thought would be relaxing (we still
haven't had enough of sea and sand!). The journey
was...interesting...but I won't go into that now.
We're still at Cat Ba at the moment; I'm sitting on my own in the
internet cafe because Alex hasn't been feeling that great for the last
couple of days. We've both had the odd bout of illness while we've
been travelling, it's just the different foods and waters (and maybe
some questionable cooking) and they only seem to last two or three
days.
We're here until the 17th, then we're heading back to Hanoi for a
night, and then flying to Bangkok the next day.
think I was talking about the prison.
After the prison we wandered further to the Văn Miếu (Temple of
Literature). It was basically a university for very accomplished
scholars. The archetecture's very chinese and old, and in between the
gardens and trees there's a complex of buildings and quaint tablets
mounted on stone tortoises (Hanoi has a bit of a fixation with
tortoises) with a lake in the middle. We slowly wandered through,
taking it in, and then inside the last building was a stage - after a
few minutes a band of musicians started playing. It was amazing; they
were so talented, and of course they were playing on instruments we'd
never seen before. We stayed for a while and a tour group arrived, and
when they started "audience participation" we slipped away. On the way
back Alex bought a small souvenier water puppet as we looked round the
gift shop. The chess sets were beautiful but there's no way I could
even fit it in my bag!
We walked back via the Lenin Monument. It wasn't spectacular, just on
the way...but I'm not quite sure why it's there, even. Incidentally,
the hammer and sickle symbol is as about as prolific in Hanoi as the
Vietnamese flag, which you can generally see one or two of wherever
you happen to be standing in the city.
Back to the hostel for a bit of a rest (the room's up four flights of
stairs so even if we didn't need one before, we definitely did by the
time we got there) and in the evening we ate at a resturant
specialising in vegetarian food, that we found in the Lonely Planet.
After, we headed next door for a beer (cheapest in Hanoi, according to
the Lonely Planet) and then somehow ended up in two more places for
beer as well. Alex is beginning to get a taste for Eastern lager.
The next day we headed to the train station to book tickets for the
next stage of our journey. The train station itself seemed to be
reasonably efficiently run, but the standards of the rooms and seats,
etc was the same as you might expect in India (or maybe a bit worse!)
The person behind the counter managed to explain to us that you could
only buy tickets from two hours before departure, so we went back
empty handed. It was a good job too - one of the guys that runs the
hostel suggested that the bus was a lot easier, as it includes ferry
crossing and transfers, etc.
We took a taxi back and then headed out, vaguely with the idea of
finding a mall that might have a cinema in. We eventually found one;
compared to what we're used to it was a bit disappointing, but I
suppose we've been spoilt by KL and Singapore! There was definitely no
mall. We went in search of cinemas (the Lonely Planet has a few in it)
and, as it started raining, we discovered that the first no longer
existed, and the second only showed two films a day (both fairly
rubbish and neither for several hours). So we headed back, stopping to
eat a cafe on the way.
In the evening, I forget where we ate, but we did go to a Jazz Club. It
was really expensive (one cocktail cost as much as a meal elsewhere)
so we made our drinks last and watched the live band, sitting in
squashy sofas bathed in the glow from neon signs on the walls. It was
really good!
The next morning we began our journey - to Cat Ba island, a small
island off the coast that we thought would be relaxing (we still
haven't had enough of sea and sand!). The journey
was...interesting...but I won't go into that now.
We're still at Cat Ba at the moment; I'm sitting on my own in the
internet cafe because Alex hasn't been feeling that great for the last
couple of days. We've both had the odd bout of illness while we've
been travelling, it's just the different foods and waters (and maybe
some questionable cooking) and they only seem to last two or three
days.
We're here until the 17th, then we're heading back to Hanoi for a
night, and then flying to Bangkok the next day.
Wednesday, 12 September 2007
Hanoi, Vietnam
We arrived in Hanoi at about 8 in the morning, having spent the night in the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal of the airport. The taxi in was fine, and we got our first glimse of the Vietnamese countryside. The oddest thing is the buildings - in slightly built-up areas, you get really long, thin, tall houses, often painted in bright colours. The nearest I can get to a comparison is Amsterdam, but of course in Amsterdam all the houses are side by side and often here, the houses on either side are one-story dwellings, so this one tall thin building looks decidedly odd.
We had booked a room for several nights in a widely-known backpacker's hostel. It had the usual bright colours and sofas etc and I can see why it gets such good reviews, but to our bleary, sleep deprived eyes it was crowded and busy and we couldn't move into our room until about twenty past twelve, having arrived around ten (we suspect a mess-up on their part that they didn't admit to us; they blamed another couple not checking out in time and then put us in a luxury room with tv, dvd player, kettle etc for one night. We didn't complain).
As usual, much of the first day was spent sleeping or resting. We emerged as it was getting dark and walked to the nearby Hoàn Kiếm Lake, in the centre of the Old Quarter. I think Hanoi is probably even worse than Bali when it comes to scooters. It's absolutely incredible how many there are and they fly around all over the place, with little or no obediance to things like centre lines or traffic lights. Crossing is a totally different skill: if you waited for a gap in the traffic you'd be there forever. The secret is to edge out a little at a time - as long as you are moving slowly and predictably the scooters will "flow" around you. It does mean that you sometimes realise you're in the middle of a huge road with mopeds flying past on both sides, but you get used to it. And avoid cars and anything bigger; they won't "flow" around you.
We ate in a little resturant we found. I was pleased to discover that they don't give you a knife and fork - you have to use chopsticks! Alex was less impressed at the idea; I just like showing off, I think.
We found ourselves outside the water puppet theatre, and we (mostly Alex, actually) decided to buy tickets for the next show. I've never heard of Vietnamese Water Puppetry before, but it's really amazing. The music and voice actors were live, and the slapstick, lively performances were really entertaining, and often a little bizarre. We both really enjoyed it, and I took loads of pictures.
We headed back for a (relatively) early night. The next day we didn't do anything until we had to check out of that room and then strangely had to wait until 12 to get into the other one (I thought it was empty..?).
We headed out and made for the Hoa Loa Prison (it's now a museum), with interesting and sometimes gruesome exhibits (like a real-life, used guillotine). Generally it was well done, although their description of the treatment of US pilots differs substantially to what you might find elsewhere!
We went on to the Temple of Literature, but I'll have to talk about that next time - I've run out of time again!
We had booked a room for several nights in a widely-known backpacker's hostel. It had the usual bright colours and sofas etc and I can see why it gets such good reviews, but to our bleary, sleep deprived eyes it was crowded and busy and we couldn't move into our room until about twenty past twelve, having arrived around ten (we suspect a mess-up on their part that they didn't admit to us; they blamed another couple not checking out in time and then put us in a luxury room with tv, dvd player, kettle etc for one night. We didn't complain).
As usual, much of the first day was spent sleeping or resting. We emerged as it was getting dark and walked to the nearby Hoàn Kiếm Lake, in the centre of the Old Quarter. I think Hanoi is probably even worse than Bali when it comes to scooters. It's absolutely incredible how many there are and they fly around all over the place, with little or no obediance to things like centre lines or traffic lights. Crossing is a totally different skill: if you waited for a gap in the traffic you'd be there forever. The secret is to edge out a little at a time - as long as you are moving slowly and predictably the scooters will "flow" around you. It does mean that you sometimes realise you're in the middle of a huge road with mopeds flying past on both sides, but you get used to it. And avoid cars and anything bigger; they won't "flow" around you.
We ate in a little resturant we found. I was pleased to discover that they don't give you a knife and fork - you have to use chopsticks! Alex was less impressed at the idea; I just like showing off, I think.
We found ourselves outside the water puppet theatre, and we (mostly Alex, actually) decided to buy tickets for the next show. I've never heard of Vietnamese Water Puppetry before, but it's really amazing. The music and voice actors were live, and the slapstick, lively performances were really entertaining, and often a little bizarre. We both really enjoyed it, and I took loads of pictures.
We headed back for a (relatively) early night. The next day we didn't do anything until we had to check out of that room and then strangely had to wait until 12 to get into the other one (I thought it was empty..?).
We headed out and made for the Hoa Loa Prison (it's now a museum), with interesting and sometimes gruesome exhibits (like a real-life, used guillotine). Generally it was well done, although their description of the treatment of US pilots differs substantially to what you might find elsewhere!
We went on to the Temple of Literature, but I'll have to talk about that next time - I've run out of time again!
Bali
AirAsia are pretty good, except when it comes to Indonesia it seems. The flight from Jakarta to Bali was delayed, but worse than that it wasn't advertised. The check-in desk wasn't announced, the number of the gate was different on the ticket to what the board said, and the flight wasn't shown on either gate! But we got there in the end.
We arrived late at night and, with our backpacks on, we searched the area for a place to say (cheap, preferably with a pool). We were directed by a whitey to a place round the corner that has decent rooms for 50,000 a night (about 2 pounds 60). I thought it was fine, but Rory being a snob made us move the next morning to their sister hotel, 5 pounds a night but much cleaner (which I was thankful for, I did keep expecting to see a cockroach every time I looked at the floor!)
We rested from the night of flying by the pool, and for the first day that's pretty much all we did. As the sun set we walked to the beach to watch it, and we were surprised by the sheer amount of surfers there were! Australians everywhere, and the local activities that follow them- people selling things on the beach, surfboard renters, surfing schools, motorbike rentals and the lazy people laying on beach instead of surfing (like us)! The whole area we were staying in was pretty touristy really, both a blessing and a curse. There were plenty of nice cheap little restaurants dotted around the busy roads (shops, tourists, motorbikes and surfboards), and after we had dinner we wandered back to the hotel, stopping at a 'tourist information center' to book ourselves a snorkeling trip for the next morning.
Up early (8am!!) the next morning for breakfast, and then picked up in a jeep to take us and a couple of girls from France across to the other side of the island where there are less surfers and more fish. There we split up, and Rory and I were given a private boat to take us out to the coral. That part I really enjoyed, it was a quaint little fisherman's boat, long and thin with two wooden outriggers roped on (and a little motor strapped to the back). Rory had never been snorkeling before and there was plenty to see, but it didn't quite match up to the Red Sea or the Maldives etc. However they did give us little bags of bread in to feed the fish with, and once we were in the water and got them out the fish swarmed to snatch bits of the bread right out of our hands! We even saw an evil looking eel at the edge of the coral!
That afternoon we spent by the pool again, and ate in a different restaurant that showed the new Harry Potter film projected onto a big screen. This is the life.
The next morning we decided to be brave, and wandered down to the beach to inquire about surfboarding lessons. We bargained a guy down to two two-hour private lessons including board and a surfing top for about 5 pounds each and headed to the ocean. I had never been surfing before (and Rory had but a long time ago), but I found it pretty easy-once you were up there! You have to get up pretty fast though, and after dragging the board out and energetically jumping up, balancing, falling/jumping off and battling the waves to get out again we got tired pretty quickly. However by the end of the morning we could each say we rode a few waves all the way in, without looking scared/stupid/like a novice. The afternoon was spent recovering by the pool of course.
On the morning of the forth day we were still tired from yesterdays strenuous activities, so swam or read by the pool. However in the afternoon it started to get a bit crowded by bored Australian surfers (we heard 'there's no surf dude' more than once) so we walked up and down the shopping streets looking at what was on offer. As the sun set over the sea we wandered up the beach north to the next little town and found a restaurant there that was showing Balinese dancing. It was too expensive for us though so we were cheeky and just ordered a cheap local beer each and watched the show for a while, before wandering back in the direction of the hotel, stopping off to eat at a place more in our budget (but surprisingly a really nice place, with the best food we had so far!).
On our final day we checked out of the hotel early and hired ourselves a little jeep for the day. With it we headed north- past the beautiful hills of stepped rice-paddies to the arty village of Ubud. Here there's a monkey sanctuary, where tourists come from around, buy a load of bananas and then act surprised when the monkeys jump at them to get the bananas. The place was actually really beautiful- with butterfly's, Balinese temples and tall dangly jungle trees. There was even a bright fat lizard that fell form the tall tops of a tree inches next to Rory with a loud 'splat' before running off (I named him the kamikaze flying lizard).
We then drove further north, getting steadily higher till we came out at a hill town overlooking a deep valley and the a volcano on the other side. Neither of us had seen a volcano before so we drove down to the valley and around the crater lake in the middle, looking at the weird large volcanic rocks lying around as it they were thrown there(which of course they were, as the volcano last erupted in 1991 we found out). We ate lunch at a very pleasant restaurant in the hill top town overlooking the breathtaking scene, before getting back in the car and heading back to the airport.
We arrived late at night and, with our backpacks on, we searched the area for a place to say (cheap, preferably with a pool). We were directed by a whitey to a place round the corner that has decent rooms for 50,000 a night (about 2 pounds 60). I thought it was fine, but Rory being a snob made us move the next morning to their sister hotel, 5 pounds a night but much cleaner (which I was thankful for, I did keep expecting to see a cockroach every time I looked at the floor!)
We rested from the night of flying by the pool, and for the first day that's pretty much all we did. As the sun set we walked to the beach to watch it, and we were surprised by the sheer amount of surfers there were! Australians everywhere, and the local activities that follow them- people selling things on the beach, surfboard renters, surfing schools, motorbike rentals and the lazy people laying on beach instead of surfing (like us)! The whole area we were staying in was pretty touristy really, both a blessing and a curse. There were plenty of nice cheap little restaurants dotted around the busy roads (shops, tourists, motorbikes and surfboards), and after we had dinner we wandered back to the hotel, stopping at a 'tourist information center' to book ourselves a snorkeling trip for the next morning.
Up early (8am!!) the next morning for breakfast, and then picked up in a jeep to take us and a couple of girls from France across to the other side of the island where there are less surfers and more fish. There we split up, and Rory and I were given a private boat to take us out to the coral. That part I really enjoyed, it was a quaint little fisherman's boat, long and thin with two wooden outriggers roped on (and a little motor strapped to the back). Rory had never been snorkeling before and there was plenty to see, but it didn't quite match up to the Red Sea or the Maldives etc. However they did give us little bags of bread in to feed the fish with, and once we were in the water and got them out the fish swarmed to snatch bits of the bread right out of our hands! We even saw an evil looking eel at the edge of the coral!
That afternoon we spent by the pool again, and ate in a different restaurant that showed the new Harry Potter film projected onto a big screen. This is the life.
The next morning we decided to be brave, and wandered down to the beach to inquire about surfboarding lessons. We bargained a guy down to two two-hour private lessons including board and a surfing top for about 5 pounds each and headed to the ocean. I had never been surfing before (and Rory had but a long time ago), but I found it pretty easy-once you were up there! You have to get up pretty fast though, and after dragging the board out and energetically jumping up, balancing, falling/jumping off and battling the waves to get out again we got tired pretty quickly. However by the end of the morning we could each say we rode a few waves all the way in, without looking scared/stupid/like a novice. The afternoon was spent recovering by the pool of course.
On the morning of the forth day we were still tired from yesterdays strenuous activities, so swam or read by the pool. However in the afternoon it started to get a bit crowded by bored Australian surfers (we heard 'there's no surf dude' more than once) so we walked up and down the shopping streets looking at what was on offer. As the sun set over the sea we wandered up the beach north to the next little town and found a restaurant there that was showing Balinese dancing. It was too expensive for us though so we were cheeky and just ordered a cheap local beer each and watched the show for a while, before wandering back in the direction of the hotel, stopping off to eat at a place more in our budget (but surprisingly a really nice place, with the best food we had so far!).
On our final day we checked out of the hotel early and hired ourselves a little jeep for the day. With it we headed north- past the beautiful hills of stepped rice-paddies to the arty village of Ubud. Here there's a monkey sanctuary, where tourists come from around, buy a load of bananas and then act surprised when the monkeys jump at them to get the bananas. The place was actually really beautiful- with butterfly's, Balinese temples and tall dangly jungle trees. There was even a bright fat lizard that fell form the tall tops of a tree inches next to Rory with a loud 'splat' before running off (I named him the kamikaze flying lizard).
We then drove further north, getting steadily higher till we came out at a hill town overlooking a deep valley and the a volcano on the other side. Neither of us had seen a volcano before so we drove down to the valley and around the crater lake in the middle, looking at the weird large volcanic rocks lying around as it they were thrown there(which of course they were, as the volcano last erupted in 1991 we found out). We ate lunch at a very pleasant restaurant in the hill top town overlooking the breathtaking scene, before getting back in the car and heading back to the airport.
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