I type this entry from the back of a speedboat, overlooking the Mekong River as we blaze across the Cambodian border: Vietnam is just a blur behind me now. The lifeblood of South East flows through these rich veins: a wider river never before have I seen. I feel shudders and my hairs stand on end – maybe because the cool wet air is whipped up all around me – or maybe because I can’t help but think back to the magical cinematography of apocalypse now. Perhaps my demons wait beyond the Cambodian border; hopefully I’ll meet the deranged colonel - as I go on my own mission to seek and destroy my current experiences and replace them with new ones.
The banks of the Mekong don’t hold vicious foes and jungle any more, development has taken hold and now rural dwellings (on stilts) house old ladies and young children, while the mother washes laundry with a brush, along the fertile banks. The life on the river is a quiet one, and a beautiful one to observe, as fisherman and traders live out their purpose on the water. A life so simple may well be the envy of all western travellers: so far removed from the frantic struggle of work and the city.
The Mekong tour.
We opt for a $37 package including 1 day on a floating hotel and boat into Cambodia the next day, we later get blagged into upgrading ($5) our ticket to the fast boat (which may well be for the best as the boats are noisy and uncomfortable). The first day involves a lot of bus rides and coach travel, but we do get a stop off at the floating markets where we see local traders exchanging goods at wholesale on the water. We also witness the manufacture of rice paper and candy using traditional techniques – best of all we buy some tasty sweets and munch them later. The same place has a massive snake in a cage which they use to make belts and creams and various other weird things.
We enjoy a tour in the sunshine to an island in the delta observing many rickety bridges and dodgey structures. We stop here for lunch and the restaurant is a nice 10 minute cycle from the road on a rusty old beat up piece of junk, comically everyone wobbles around and struggles with their poor construction. At the restaurant the food is mediocre but we get chatting to some people off the tour, an interesting Canadian couple originally from Hungary and laid back dude from Spain who doesn’t speak much English but still has a good laugh and contributes to the conversation – we soon gel and enjoy each other’s company for the remainder of the trip.
After lunch we see people getting pictures with a monstrous beast of a python and go over to take some pictures. Crazily the bloke who unleashed the beast wanders off and tells me and Domingo that we have to put it back in the cage. We wrestle and shove the massive snake back into its cage – albeit with some pretty grimaced faces (i.e we shat ourselves) but in the end we managed it. It was one of those classic, one off, random moments that you can’t really orchestrate.
Later that evening we reach our hotel, which is mediocre, but sufficient – and we enjoy a lunch which is mediocre, westernised, but again sufficient. The company makes up for the lack of spice in the food and we all get along well. Tomorrow we have an early start at 6.30 so we don’t get too lary.
The next day we visit some local places in the morning, including a mosque and pagoda. The sights aren’t anything special but the locals invite us for tea and sweets for new years – and an 82 year old sage sits and chats to us for ages, even though we can’t understand a word, his hospitality is appreciated.
Next stop Cambodia
Monday, 31 January 2011
mission indogable
Mission Indogable
Your mission should you choose to accept it: seek out, find and consume prime suspect number one – the common domesticated dog. Fear not the reprisal of RSPCA jobsworths or animal loving Brits because you will be deep in the Mekong delta, where man’s best friend is more feast than beast – bringing a whole new meaning to the phrase “hot dog”.
Since our arrival in South East Asia we have been on the hunt of new experiences and gastronomic challenges. We have had the sparrow, the frog and various inedible pig parts, but the Holy Grail must be Park Ji Sun’s snack of choice the dog – or thit cay as it may be written in Vietnamese.
We read in the guide book that Hanoi has a whole area dedicated to the preparation and consumption of Fido, but pressed for time and put off by an expensive cab ride we neglect to visit it. We figure that we will see plenty of places throughout are stay and it won’t be a problem. Well let’s just say we tried doggedly to pursue this delicacy, often wandering the streets for hours trying to find him, peering in strange shops and making woof sounds to bemused locals, but we must have been barking up the wrong tree, as it was always without success. So thus on the final Saigon night we settle for a more conventional Thai style hot pot while we wistfully dream of dog. The meal was excellent – but it lacked the bite (or bark) that dog could provide. After weeks in Vietnam we feel beaten in our quest – having made a dog’s dinner of our only opportunity in Hanoi. So walking back to the hostel on our final night we look for a bakery when low and behold- like Moses’ burning bush out-shines a sign on the horizon. We are dubious but finally we realise this is it! Bahn mi Cay – or in our language “Dog Sandwiches”.
We are full from our Thai feast but cannot pass this by, so we order one sandwich and giggling, the young lady working the stall hands us a pre-wrapped bag containing a piping hot dog baguette. It only contained a little meat, but it was sweet and tasty like a strong pate. It actually really is tasty, so dog owners back home better watch-out: because I’m up for a dog curry ASAP! It wasn’t quite the dog steak we wanted but at least we snatched victory from the claws of defeated and can now officially agree – that, wherever you may be, eating dog is certainly much better than eating rats in your council house.
Your mission should you choose to accept it: seek out, find and consume prime suspect number one – the common domesticated dog. Fear not the reprisal of RSPCA jobsworths or animal loving Brits because you will be deep in the Mekong delta, where man’s best friend is more feast than beast – bringing a whole new meaning to the phrase “hot dog”.
Since our arrival in South East Asia we have been on the hunt of new experiences and gastronomic challenges. We have had the sparrow, the frog and various inedible pig parts, but the Holy Grail must be Park Ji Sun’s snack of choice the dog – or thit cay as it may be written in Vietnamese.
We read in the guide book that Hanoi has a whole area dedicated to the preparation and consumption of Fido, but pressed for time and put off by an expensive cab ride we neglect to visit it. We figure that we will see plenty of places throughout are stay and it won’t be a problem. Well let’s just say we tried doggedly to pursue this delicacy, often wandering the streets for hours trying to find him, peering in strange shops and making woof sounds to bemused locals, but we must have been barking up the wrong tree, as it was always without success. So thus on the final Saigon night we settle for a more conventional Thai style hot pot while we wistfully dream of dog. The meal was excellent – but it lacked the bite (or bark) that dog could provide. After weeks in Vietnam we feel beaten in our quest – having made a dog’s dinner of our only opportunity in Hanoi. So walking back to the hostel on our final night we look for a bakery when low and behold- like Moses’ burning bush out-shines a sign on the horizon. We are dubious but finally we realise this is it! Bahn mi Cay – or in our language “Dog Sandwiches”.
We are full from our Thai feast but cannot pass this by, so we order one sandwich and giggling, the young lady working the stall hands us a pre-wrapped bag containing a piping hot dog baguette. It only contained a little meat, but it was sweet and tasty like a strong pate. It actually really is tasty, so dog owners back home better watch-out: because I’m up for a dog curry ASAP! It wasn’t quite the dog steak we wanted but at least we snatched victory from the claws of defeated and can now officially agree – that, wherever you may be, eating dog is certainly much better than eating rats in your council house.
Saturday, 29 January 2011
The Reality of War
21st
Today we rise early and head to the infamous chu-chi tunnels on the outskirts of Saigon; it was here that Vietcong revolutionaries resisted America in a bloody conflict. The tunnels stretch for over 100km all the way to the Cambodian border – comprising of an intricate and complex 3 level arrangements with some tunnels opening up to schools, hospitals and kitchens. During the American war the whole community was forced to live their days underground and showed amazing resilience to survive.
The story and background is amazing and luckily we downloaded a documentary about the area a few days prior to get the picture; I say luckily, because although the day was entertaining I wouldn’t say it is informative. The gritty reality of the place has been replaced with a somewhat disneyfied version, the tunnels widened for fat tourists to climb down and a macho shooting range added, where you can fire guns for a dollar a bullet. Admittedly I enjoyed crawling through the tunnel and laughed as the tour guide joked about Americans being snared by brutal bamboo traps that were primitive but ingeniously effective at killing and maiming their foe. I even bought a few bullets and fired off a few rounds; and yes it was pretty good fun.
The truth of the place though is brutal, harsh and shouldn’t be forgotten. The reason the Americans couldn’t win decisively in Vietnam is encapsulated here – these people are tough, they have been at war with the Chinese the French and the Americans and they always gave more and worked harder and came through in the end. You cannot fail to recognise the resilience and determination shown by these people, people who crawled on their bellies “like worms” to absorb the last remaining breaths of oxygen in a dark humid claustrophobic dungeon, while up above the Americans laid waste to their crops and their villages to deprive them of food or aid. They ate tapioca roots and drank squalid water and died of diseases and hunger, all underground, but no matter what they never gave up. These people should be remembered respectfully – but instead the only hint at the sombre mood is a bizarre 60’s propaganda film that explains how these Americans “like crazy devils” came and destroyed the land. The tunnels are 100% worth the visit, but do some researching before you go or you might well miss the whole point.
Bringing the situation to light though is the war remnants museum (formerly the museum of American War Crimes). We stop here after the tunnels and quickly the sombre mood is everywhere. A look around at the visitors and their sullen faces and grave expressions shows you what you’re in for. This is reality, it is no bullshit hard hitting truth, and in war the truth is not a nice thing to understand.
We begin with a pictorial display of children with deformities – born to soldiers and civilians who were sprayed with Agent Orange in the war. Agent Orange is the strongest of several strands of chemicals of which 100’s of thousands of tons were sprayed on Vietnam, effectively in order to stop the country from being able to produce food or anything else for that matter. The countryside was literally obliterated, napalm burnt the trees, Agent Orange killed the wild life, and bombs stripped everything down to muddy holes in the ground. The effect on the ecosystem was severe, and the effect on today’s generation is still being felt. All around Vietnam you see children without arms, old ladies without hands and men without legs in wheel chairs. Some were victims of combat, but others are born with extreme defects due to the lasting damage of hazardous chemicals. To see each picture blown up, with a story of the families and the people effected – you would have to be a robot not to feel the emotion welling up inside.
The next section featured photographs from journalists that were killed in the war: most were American, some European and a few from the South Vietnamese side. The photographs varied in their content but all of it was brutally real and some were downright harrowing. Many showed American soldiers smiling as they tortured and killed civilians, one particular one that sticks in the mind is a GI holding up the head and torso of a man clearly blown apart by a rocket launcher: he has a massive look of triumph and success in his expression as if he was holding up the FA cup or some other prestigious award.
Other images which were even scarier were those of innocent people, often clutching children, in their very last moments of life. A caption reads below the picture, I told them to stop as I took my picture, but as I went away I heard shots fired and bodies slumping to the floor – I didn’t dare to turn and look.
The experience as a whole left us shell shocked and angry, it is easy to forget about the atrocities committed by the powerful countries, including our own, but this really makes the truth hit home. There should be museums in other countries like this, to stop anyone becoming involved again in such horrific conflicts.
Today we rise early and head to the infamous chu-chi tunnels on the outskirts of Saigon; it was here that Vietcong revolutionaries resisted America in a bloody conflict. The tunnels stretch for over 100km all the way to the Cambodian border – comprising of an intricate and complex 3 level arrangements with some tunnels opening up to schools, hospitals and kitchens. During the American war the whole community was forced to live their days underground and showed amazing resilience to survive.
The story and background is amazing and luckily we downloaded a documentary about the area a few days prior to get the picture; I say luckily, because although the day was entertaining I wouldn’t say it is informative. The gritty reality of the place has been replaced with a somewhat disneyfied version, the tunnels widened for fat tourists to climb down and a macho shooting range added, where you can fire guns for a dollar a bullet. Admittedly I enjoyed crawling through the tunnel and laughed as the tour guide joked about Americans being snared by brutal bamboo traps that were primitive but ingeniously effective at killing and maiming their foe. I even bought a few bullets and fired off a few rounds; and yes it was pretty good fun.
The truth of the place though is brutal, harsh and shouldn’t be forgotten. The reason the Americans couldn’t win decisively in Vietnam is encapsulated here – these people are tough, they have been at war with the Chinese the French and the Americans and they always gave more and worked harder and came through in the end. You cannot fail to recognise the resilience and determination shown by these people, people who crawled on their bellies “like worms” to absorb the last remaining breaths of oxygen in a dark humid claustrophobic dungeon, while up above the Americans laid waste to their crops and their villages to deprive them of food or aid. They ate tapioca roots and drank squalid water and died of diseases and hunger, all underground, but no matter what they never gave up. These people should be remembered respectfully – but instead the only hint at the sombre mood is a bizarre 60’s propaganda film that explains how these Americans “like crazy devils” came and destroyed the land. The tunnels are 100% worth the visit, but do some researching before you go or you might well miss the whole point.
Bringing the situation to light though is the war remnants museum (formerly the museum of American War Crimes). We stop here after the tunnels and quickly the sombre mood is everywhere. A look around at the visitors and their sullen faces and grave expressions shows you what you’re in for. This is reality, it is no bullshit hard hitting truth, and in war the truth is not a nice thing to understand.
We begin with a pictorial display of children with deformities – born to soldiers and civilians who were sprayed with Agent Orange in the war. Agent Orange is the strongest of several strands of chemicals of which 100’s of thousands of tons were sprayed on Vietnam, effectively in order to stop the country from being able to produce food or anything else for that matter. The countryside was literally obliterated, napalm burnt the trees, Agent Orange killed the wild life, and bombs stripped everything down to muddy holes in the ground. The effect on the ecosystem was severe, and the effect on today’s generation is still being felt. All around Vietnam you see children without arms, old ladies without hands and men without legs in wheel chairs. Some were victims of combat, but others are born with extreme defects due to the lasting damage of hazardous chemicals. To see each picture blown up, with a story of the families and the people effected – you would have to be a robot not to feel the emotion welling up inside.
The next section featured photographs from journalists that were killed in the war: most were American, some European and a few from the South Vietnamese side. The photographs varied in their content but all of it was brutally real and some were downright harrowing. Many showed American soldiers smiling as they tortured and killed civilians, one particular one that sticks in the mind is a GI holding up the head and torso of a man clearly blown apart by a rocket launcher: he has a massive look of triumph and success in his expression as if he was holding up the FA cup or some other prestigious award.
Other images which were even scarier were those of innocent people, often clutching children, in their very last moments of life. A caption reads below the picture, I told them to stop as I took my picture, but as I went away I heard shots fired and bodies slumping to the floor – I didn’t dare to turn and look.
The experience as a whole left us shell shocked and angry, it is easy to forget about the atrocities committed by the powerful countries, including our own, but this really makes the truth hit home. There should be museums in other countries like this, to stop anyone becoming involved again in such horrific conflicts.
Thursday, 27 January 2011
Saigon 19th 20th
Saigon 19th
Due to a hectic and busy schedule over the last week I have gotten behind with the blog therefore these brief entries will sum up the past few days concisely. I will need to explain in more detail the amazing impact that the war remnants museum (formerly named, appropriately, the American War Crimes museum) had on us. This is Saigon in a nutshell.
The streets of Saigon are overrun with motorbikes, even more chaotically than Hanoi! At times they command use of the pavements and the grass at the side of the street as well as every single lane, it is madness. The city itself appears so much more modern and westernised than northern Vietnam – which for all its problems (coldness, unfriendly people etc) felt so definitely Asia, with a unique character unlike the other places; Saigon is much more like Bangkok or KL and maybe this is why it is much more on the tourist trail.
The weather was excellent throughout our stay, hitting the high 20’s – it is remarkable that there can be such a difference in climate between areas so close together, the cooling influence of the china sea must be the explanation for this discrepancy. The climate could be another reason why it is so much more touristy, as I must admit the colder north was a bit less fun. The backpacker area is riddled with guest houses and happy hour bars to the extent whereby there are literally 100’s within the space of 3 streets! It is much more expensive here, and I struggle to find a guesthouse for under £7 which is my target. On my travels some fat yank says “ you ain’t gona find shit for less than 15$” - I say I have already been offered one for 12, to which he says “snap that shit up then” - however, as always persistence pays off and while searching the back streets a lady shows me to her house, and says we can have a room for 7$! I quickly take a look and see it is expansive and clean and has a hot shower, so obviously I snap it up! We later realise we have taken their room and see them and their children asleep on the floor downstairs in the morning. I feel a little bad, but when the little boy smiles and says hello you can tell the money makes a big difference to them and their lives, and I’m glad to stay with them than some guest house that won’t benefit anyone but a fat cat.
The bar’s here are more expensive but it is refreshing to see other westerners and hear some decent tunes, although we stick to our rule of eating away from the main drag where the food is invariably a watered down version of the real deal for twice the price. The first evening’s entertainment consists of the usual wandering around and checking out the area, completed with an amazing meal at the best street vendor we find in all of Vietnam, hot pot and 4 beers for 4£ - followed by a nice sleep in our rock bottom price room.
20th
Today we do some brief sightseeing in the town, setting off after the first nice hot shower for a while (unbelievably, despite the cheap room) and also after picking up our laundry (It feels so good to be able to get clean at last). We book some tours and have some brekkie, then we head to the reunification palace where Ho Chi Minh busted down the gates to signal victory for North Vietnam in 1975. The palace itself isn’t much to look at – resembling an old 60s school building more than anything, however interestingly, within, the decor and furniture has been left exactly as it was when Saigon fell in order to stand as a testament to the momentous day.
Afterwards we head to the zoo and history museum, stopping on the way for an amazingly cheap beer (7000D – 20p), it makes you realise that you get skanked as a tourist here. The history museum gives a good out line of the regions’ evolution, with art and exhibits all the way from BC to present. The zoo is mediocre, but for this part of the world very clean and not of a bad standard, the giraffes and orang-utan the definite highlight.
Later in the evening we once again enjoy a wander around the bustling streets, enjoying more amazing food (this time I get a legendary deer steak that tastes better than veal) and we also have a fair few beers from a rooftop terrace overlooking the bustling streets.
Due to a hectic and busy schedule over the last week I have gotten behind with the blog therefore these brief entries will sum up the past few days concisely. I will need to explain in more detail the amazing impact that the war remnants museum (formerly named, appropriately, the American War Crimes museum) had on us. This is Saigon in a nutshell.
The streets of Saigon are overrun with motorbikes, even more chaotically than Hanoi! At times they command use of the pavements and the grass at the side of the street as well as every single lane, it is madness. The city itself appears so much more modern and westernised than northern Vietnam – which for all its problems (coldness, unfriendly people etc) felt so definitely Asia, with a unique character unlike the other places; Saigon is much more like Bangkok or KL and maybe this is why it is much more on the tourist trail.
The weather was excellent throughout our stay, hitting the high 20’s – it is remarkable that there can be such a difference in climate between areas so close together, the cooling influence of the china sea must be the explanation for this discrepancy. The climate could be another reason why it is so much more touristy, as I must admit the colder north was a bit less fun. The backpacker area is riddled with guest houses and happy hour bars to the extent whereby there are literally 100’s within the space of 3 streets! It is much more expensive here, and I struggle to find a guesthouse for under £7 which is my target. On my travels some fat yank says “ you ain’t gona find shit for less than 15$” - I say I have already been offered one for 12, to which he says “snap that shit up then” - however, as always persistence pays off and while searching the back streets a lady shows me to her house, and says we can have a room for 7$! I quickly take a look and see it is expansive and clean and has a hot shower, so obviously I snap it up! We later realise we have taken their room and see them and their children asleep on the floor downstairs in the morning. I feel a little bad, but when the little boy smiles and says hello you can tell the money makes a big difference to them and their lives, and I’m glad to stay with them than some guest house that won’t benefit anyone but a fat cat.
The bar’s here are more expensive but it is refreshing to see other westerners and hear some decent tunes, although we stick to our rule of eating away from the main drag where the food is invariably a watered down version of the real deal for twice the price. The first evening’s entertainment consists of the usual wandering around and checking out the area, completed with an amazing meal at the best street vendor we find in all of Vietnam, hot pot and 4 beers for 4£ - followed by a nice sleep in our rock bottom price room.
20th
Today we do some brief sightseeing in the town, setting off after the first nice hot shower for a while (unbelievably, despite the cheap room) and also after picking up our laundry (It feels so good to be able to get clean at last). We book some tours and have some brekkie, then we head to the reunification palace where Ho Chi Minh busted down the gates to signal victory for North Vietnam in 1975. The palace itself isn’t much to look at – resembling an old 60s school building more than anything, however interestingly, within, the decor and furniture has been left exactly as it was when Saigon fell in order to stand as a testament to the momentous day.
Afterwards we head to the zoo and history museum, stopping on the way for an amazingly cheap beer (7000D – 20p), it makes you realise that you get skanked as a tourist here. The history museum gives a good out line of the regions’ evolution, with art and exhibits all the way from BC to present. The zoo is mediocre, but for this part of the world very clean and not of a bad standard, the giraffes and orang-utan the definite highlight.
Later in the evening we once again enjoy a wander around the bustling streets, enjoying more amazing food (this time I get a legendary deer steak that tastes better than veal) and we also have a fair few beers from a rooftop terrace overlooking the bustling streets.
Sunday, 23 January 2011
16th -18th hoi an
16th
Today we head out (hung over) on the bike and find the marble mountains down the coastal road past china beach. The mountains themselves stand isolated in the flat landscape, they aren’t so high so as to really be mountains, but they are impressively decorated with pagodas and statutes. We head up one of the mountains and enjoy views over the sea. Also, we see amazing statutes of Buddha carved into expansive caves within the rock, where worships burn incense and chant their prayers. It is very tranquil and beautiful, well worth a visit.
The 30km trip along the coast to Hoi An is scenic and enjoyable on the bike, although I could do with more power to take advantage of the long straight road. My bike struggles to reach 60km/ph but I guess in the interest of safety that’s for the best.
We arrive in Hoi An early in the afternoon and have a look around the quaint riverside village. It is a beautiful spot, but I can’t help feeling like I’m in Disneyland. It is so “traditional and authentic” that its a bit fake, every single building is hawking some kind of souvenir or bloody tailoring service. Still it is nice but i’m glad we make efforts to get off the beaten track and see some of the real Vietnam, even if it can be a bit more difficult.
We stop for coffees and lunch at a cheap cafe in a prime spot overlooking the river and famous bridge, then we take a stroll around town. The buildings are small and well maintained creating a beautiful appearance, among the houses and shops there are many ancient sites such as pagodas and small temples – the highlight is the Japanese bridge which is ornately covered with dragon carvings and religious motifs. It is a long way from the busy city of Danang.
In the evening hung over we search for a bowling alley without luck and end up spending time buying stuff at the market. Kath gets a new outfit and flip flops for £3 and I get a leather belt and motorbike helmet (with man utd logo) for £2. Dannang market is awesome – with fix prices on everything so you cant get screwed on the negotiation. We finish up with a chill at the hotel and watch the premier league – united draw 0-0 with totenham, a good result, especially given young rafael’s harsh dismissal, however we could hav e had more if we just went for the jugular early on. Annoyingly I have to make do with a stream on sopcast, which although not great – seems to work a lot better out here in asia.
17th
Today we head to stay at Hoi An – leaving our bags behind at the hotel and just taking a rucksack. Today I really enjoy the ride over, as I now know the route and can get up a little speed on the way. The weather also stays pretty fine on the way although we do get a brief downpour once we arrive. The road between the two cities is remarkably straight like a roman road which doesn’t make for the most exciting riding, however the sand dunes and rice paddies alongside it make up for a lack of riding pleasure with great scenery.
We have trouble finding a guesthouse around Hoi An – with everywhere charging 3 or 4 times our budget – however perseverance pays off and we find a wicked hotel on the outskirts (keit) with a swimming pool and deluxe balcony for 10$ (£6.50) per night! The only downside is the club down the road which bangs out no unlimited “ NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO – There’s no limit!” its like being 12 all over again! So much for romantic views on the balcony!
We decide to make a dash for it to My Son – the holy land, which is a long bike ride away and supposedly harbours some of the most amazing ruins and sculptures in Vietnam. I am more excited by the bike route though, sweeping along the river banks we cruise through endless green paddies and irrigation channels while ramshackle makeshift dwellings mark out local houses and inventive stores and shops among the fields. Remarkably, despite very shoddy directions and no map and numerous wrong turns, we end up on the correct highway motoring towards our destination. The highway is even more mental than the usual road, we have to adopt driving in the hard shoulder to stay clear of trucks and coaches while other less conscientious road-users park up in the middle of the lane or cycle their dilapidated bicycles along the high octane carriageways!
It takes almost 2 hours to reach my son and we are worried about travelling back in the dark, but in the end it is worth it, the scenery en route is beautiful as flat fields full of buffalo and rice paddies lined by rivers fade away into the contrasting mountains that rise dramatically out of nowhere. The diversity of the landscape is breathtaking and the valley of forest where the ancient ruins rest is simply stunning. The ruins them self are rustic, covered in moss and lichen and falling apart in places, however given they were constructed over a thousand years ago (using an ancient technique of brick without mortar) they are in remarkably good shape. They have appear like Inca ruins I have seen on documentaries – but with many carved images of ancient Cham gods. A perfect spot for a quick beer before we rush back to Hoi An before the light fades.
The trip back goes quicker as I now know the route and although the light is fading we make it back without incident, stopping en route at a grandiose paddle steamer (now docked and turned into high class restaurant) – it is like being on the titanic and the view over the river is majestic. It is one of the poshest and most picturesque beers ive ever had without the price tag – £1.25 being extortionate in this part of the world!
The evening proves to be equally as picturesque and spectacular as by amazing chance we witness the monthly festival to celebrate the full moon. If you saw top gear’s Vietnam special you will have seen the lanterns on the river, this is Hoi An’s special attraction as they shut down the town from motorbikes and cars, replacing the hum drum of traffic with traditional music and singing. The streets become flooded and Buddhist effigies are lit up along the river as colourful paper lanterns light up the lake like fire flies in the night sky. The overall effect is tranquil and beautiful and we toast to our good fortune as we enjoy a feast overlooking the river.
18th to Saigon
We have a night train in the evening so we head back to the hotel and pick up our bags, dropping off the motorbike with the random guy we hired it from. As I expected the cheeky fucker says I am late returning it, explain that in Vietnam days are 12 hours not 24, I disagree with his temporal analysis (being aware that time is a universal constant), I do, however, settle on giving him an extra 40000 dong!
In the process of returning the bike I send Kath to go and pick up the guys helmet from the hotel, as I have bought myself a customised man utd one from the local market. However, some confusion occurs and it seems Kath has taken the hotel managers helmet by mistake and given it to the bike dude. The woman doesn’t look too pleased when we try to explain the situation, particularly given she doesn’t speak much English and our Vietnamese is non-existent. I decide the best option is to grab our bags from reception and make a sharp exit before they get all kung fu on our arses!
We spend the rest of the day chilling and using the wi-fi in the local food court/ cafe. Kath gets back into painting and makes a good first drawing of a fisherwoman on the river – I am very impressed. A pretty uneventful day in all and not much else to report.
Today we head out (hung over) on the bike and find the marble mountains down the coastal road past china beach. The mountains themselves stand isolated in the flat landscape, they aren’t so high so as to really be mountains, but they are impressively decorated with pagodas and statutes. We head up one of the mountains and enjoy views over the sea. Also, we see amazing statutes of Buddha carved into expansive caves within the rock, where worships burn incense and chant their prayers. It is very tranquil and beautiful, well worth a visit.
The 30km trip along the coast to Hoi An is scenic and enjoyable on the bike, although I could do with more power to take advantage of the long straight road. My bike struggles to reach 60km/ph but I guess in the interest of safety that’s for the best.
We arrive in Hoi An early in the afternoon and have a look around the quaint riverside village. It is a beautiful spot, but I can’t help feeling like I’m in Disneyland. It is so “traditional and authentic” that its a bit fake, every single building is hawking some kind of souvenir or bloody tailoring service. Still it is nice but i’m glad we make efforts to get off the beaten track and see some of the real Vietnam, even if it can be a bit more difficult.
We stop for coffees and lunch at a cheap cafe in a prime spot overlooking the river and famous bridge, then we take a stroll around town. The buildings are small and well maintained creating a beautiful appearance, among the houses and shops there are many ancient sites such as pagodas and small temples – the highlight is the Japanese bridge which is ornately covered with dragon carvings and religious motifs. It is a long way from the busy city of Danang.
In the evening hung over we search for a bowling alley without luck and end up spending time buying stuff at the market. Kath gets a new outfit and flip flops for £3 and I get a leather belt and motorbike helmet (with man utd logo) for £2. Dannang market is awesome – with fix prices on everything so you cant get screwed on the negotiation. We finish up with a chill at the hotel and watch the premier league – united draw 0-0 with totenham, a good result, especially given young rafael’s harsh dismissal, however we could hav e had more if we just went for the jugular early on. Annoyingly I have to make do with a stream on sopcast, which although not great – seems to work a lot better out here in asia.
17th
Today we head to stay at Hoi An – leaving our bags behind at the hotel and just taking a rucksack. Today I really enjoy the ride over, as I now know the route and can get up a little speed on the way. The weather also stays pretty fine on the way although we do get a brief downpour once we arrive. The road between the two cities is remarkably straight like a roman road which doesn’t make for the most exciting riding, however the sand dunes and rice paddies alongside it make up for a lack of riding pleasure with great scenery.
We have trouble finding a guesthouse around Hoi An – with everywhere charging 3 or 4 times our budget – however perseverance pays off and we find a wicked hotel on the outskirts (keit) with a swimming pool and deluxe balcony for 10$ (£6.50) per night! The only downside is the club down the road which bangs out no unlimited “ NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO – There’s no limit!” its like being 12 all over again! So much for romantic views on the balcony!
We decide to make a dash for it to My Son – the holy land, which is a long bike ride away and supposedly harbours some of the most amazing ruins and sculptures in Vietnam. I am more excited by the bike route though, sweeping along the river banks we cruise through endless green paddies and irrigation channels while ramshackle makeshift dwellings mark out local houses and inventive stores and shops among the fields. Remarkably, despite very shoddy directions and no map and numerous wrong turns, we end up on the correct highway motoring towards our destination. The highway is even more mental than the usual road, we have to adopt driving in the hard shoulder to stay clear of trucks and coaches while other less conscientious road-users park up in the middle of the lane or cycle their dilapidated bicycles along the high octane carriageways!
It takes almost 2 hours to reach my son and we are worried about travelling back in the dark, but in the end it is worth it, the scenery en route is beautiful as flat fields full of buffalo and rice paddies lined by rivers fade away into the contrasting mountains that rise dramatically out of nowhere. The diversity of the landscape is breathtaking and the valley of forest where the ancient ruins rest is simply stunning. The ruins them self are rustic, covered in moss and lichen and falling apart in places, however given they were constructed over a thousand years ago (using an ancient technique of brick without mortar) they are in remarkably good shape. They have appear like Inca ruins I have seen on documentaries – but with many carved images of ancient Cham gods. A perfect spot for a quick beer before we rush back to Hoi An before the light fades.
The trip back goes quicker as I now know the route and although the light is fading we make it back without incident, stopping en route at a grandiose paddle steamer (now docked and turned into high class restaurant) – it is like being on the titanic and the view over the river is majestic. It is one of the poshest and most picturesque beers ive ever had without the price tag – £1.25 being extortionate in this part of the world!
The evening proves to be equally as picturesque and spectacular as by amazing chance we witness the monthly festival to celebrate the full moon. If you saw top gear’s Vietnam special you will have seen the lanterns on the river, this is Hoi An’s special attraction as they shut down the town from motorbikes and cars, replacing the hum drum of traffic with traditional music and singing. The streets become flooded and Buddhist effigies are lit up along the river as colourful paper lanterns light up the lake like fire flies in the night sky. The overall effect is tranquil and beautiful and we toast to our good fortune as we enjoy a feast overlooking the river.
18th to Saigon
We have a night train in the evening so we head back to the hotel and pick up our bags, dropping off the motorbike with the random guy we hired it from. As I expected the cheeky fucker says I am late returning it, explain that in Vietnam days are 12 hours not 24, I disagree with his temporal analysis (being aware that time is a universal constant), I do, however, settle on giving him an extra 40000 dong!
In the process of returning the bike I send Kath to go and pick up the guys helmet from the hotel, as I have bought myself a customised man utd one from the local market. However, some confusion occurs and it seems Kath has taken the hotel managers helmet by mistake and given it to the bike dude. The woman doesn’t look too pleased when we try to explain the situation, particularly given she doesn’t speak much English and our Vietnamese is non-existent. I decide the best option is to grab our bags from reception and make a sharp exit before they get all kung fu on our arses!
We spend the rest of the day chilling and using the wi-fi in the local food court/ cafe. Kath gets back into painting and makes a good first drawing of a fisherwoman on the river – I am very impressed. A pretty uneventful day in all and not much else to report.
dannag 14th, 15th
Danang 14th
The train journey from Hue to Danang is probably one of the most scenic routes in the world – certainly the best I have ever seen. The trainline hugs the coast as it cuts through steep valleys, mountain passes and endless rice paddies, providing a one stop tour of everything great about Vietnamese countryside. Even if you don’t want to go to Danang youshould probably get the train there and back just for the view.
Luckily the day was sunny so we could make the best of the views and we enjoy not being wrapped up warm for the first time. By the time we arrive its getting towards afternoon and by the time we sort out a room and get sorted its around 3pm. Therefore we enjoy a quick walk to china beach across the wide river and along the central bridge which incidentally is lit up like blackpool illuminations in the night time.
China beach was a famous R and R hang out when Danang was a big military base for the yanks and you can see why. The beach stretches into infinity along the city all the way to Hoi An around 30km away. The surf is rough and breaks heavily against the shore where newly built restaurants sit eerily empty in the off season. In the distance you can see hills covered in green vegetation and large statue white against the backdrop.
It is strange across the bridge in Danang: on one side there is the built up commercial hub of a typical Vietnamese city but across the river it seems that development is an afterthought. Vast swathes of land lie dormant and every buildings stands alone, 10 or 20 feet from it’s next door neighbour. It seems like some run down American suburb with wide boulevards and detached lots. It seems to us as if Danang has suddeny started trying to market itself to the new tourism industry that is catching on, yet at the moment it isn’t quite working. Golf courses and resorts line the beach but there isn’t a tourist in sight.
This however is a good thing as we enjoy not being surrounded by other tourists and feel we can gain some insight into the real Vietnam without swathes of tourists watering down the experience. In this vain we sample “local food” at a place called the food court in the evening: the meal consists of two strange pieces of paper within which you wrap ham and veg and then dip into some bizarre fishy sauce. We finish up with some beers and a posh cocktail and retire to our nice cheap hotel (which we found despite lonely planet suggesting they didn’t exist – up yours lonely planet).
15th
Today is a bit of a bummer, as it rains all day and our plans get thrown out the window. I hire a bike in the morning from a local dude for £3 a day and head out to find the “marble mountains”. This doesn’t goto plan as the road the lonely planet says to take goes all the way to Hoi An and we miss them completely. On the way back we get caught in a tropical monsoon so we dive into a bar and wait for it to pass, but it doesn’t so we head home getting absolutely soaked to the bone. So much for my intentions of exploring the area on motorbike.
We end up spending the rest of the evening eating and drinking in the refuge of a the food court in the riverside mall, which offers a massive range of local foods and views across the river. The highlight is a spicy baby clam platter which is so tasty and succulent and has about a million clams. Mmmmm clams. We spend a long time getting on the beers during the day and I feel like carrying the party on, so we head back to the hotel and hook up the speakers and stay up til about 4am (sorry to the guys in the room next door). We raid the hotel fridge for cans of larger which we pay for in the morning.
The train journey from Hue to Danang is probably one of the most scenic routes in the world – certainly the best I have ever seen. The trainline hugs the coast as it cuts through steep valleys, mountain passes and endless rice paddies, providing a one stop tour of everything great about Vietnamese countryside. Even if you don’t want to go to Danang youshould probably get the train there and back just for the view.
Luckily the day was sunny so we could make the best of the views and we enjoy not being wrapped up warm for the first time. By the time we arrive its getting towards afternoon and by the time we sort out a room and get sorted its around 3pm. Therefore we enjoy a quick walk to china beach across the wide river and along the central bridge which incidentally is lit up like blackpool illuminations in the night time.
China beach was a famous R and R hang out when Danang was a big military base for the yanks and you can see why. The beach stretches into infinity along the city all the way to Hoi An around 30km away. The surf is rough and breaks heavily against the shore where newly built restaurants sit eerily empty in the off season. In the distance you can see hills covered in green vegetation and large statue white against the backdrop.
It is strange across the bridge in Danang: on one side there is the built up commercial hub of a typical Vietnamese city but across the river it seems that development is an afterthought. Vast swathes of land lie dormant and every buildings stands alone, 10 or 20 feet from it’s next door neighbour. It seems like some run down American suburb with wide boulevards and detached lots. It seems to us as if Danang has suddeny started trying to market itself to the new tourism industry that is catching on, yet at the moment it isn’t quite working. Golf courses and resorts line the beach but there isn’t a tourist in sight.
This however is a good thing as we enjoy not being surrounded by other tourists and feel we can gain some insight into the real Vietnam without swathes of tourists watering down the experience. In this vain we sample “local food” at a place called the food court in the evening: the meal consists of two strange pieces of paper within which you wrap ham and veg and then dip into some bizarre fishy sauce. We finish up with some beers and a posh cocktail and retire to our nice cheap hotel (which we found despite lonely planet suggesting they didn’t exist – up yours lonely planet).
15th
Today is a bit of a bummer, as it rains all day and our plans get thrown out the window. I hire a bike in the morning from a local dude for £3 a day and head out to find the “marble mountains”. This doesn’t goto plan as the road the lonely planet says to take goes all the way to Hoi An and we miss them completely. On the way back we get caught in a tropical monsoon so we dive into a bar and wait for it to pass, but it doesn’t so we head home getting absolutely soaked to the bone. So much for my intentions of exploring the area on motorbike.
We end up spending the rest of the evening eating and drinking in the refuge of a the food court in the riverside mall, which offers a massive range of local foods and views across the river. The highlight is a spicy baby clam platter which is so tasty and succulent and has about a million clams. Mmmmm clams. We spend a long time getting on the beers during the day and I feel like carrying the party on, so we head back to the hotel and hook up the speakers and stay up til about 4am (sorry to the guys in the room next door). We raid the hotel fridge for cans of larger which we pay for in the morning.
Tuesday, 18 January 2011
a quick note on vietnames biking nut jobs
A quick note on Vietnamese bikers!
In Vietnam there are hardly any cars, maybe cos everyone is skint, but more probably because there are too many bikes and too drive you have to be more aggressive than jean claude van-damme on horse steroids. The cars honk their horns frantically demanding the bikes vacate the road, otherwise they’ll be vacating their skulls on the car’s bonnet. Car drivers are nobs, but I can see why! Bikes are mental, and they are everywhere, they carry people (upto 5 at a time), they carry goods (including amongst other things: the entire contents of a house, a tree, a steaming kitchen for the sale of tasty buns etc...) they are the HGV’s and the Land Rovers of Asia. Given this I think everyone giving the developing world some shit for polluting the environment should take a look how much CO2 they’re pumping out, because I’m pretty sure 4 people on a 100cc bike for the school run is a lot more economical (albeit a lot more dangerous) than a 5 litre beast of a 4 x 4.
I hearby propose that everyone in Cheshire should have their jeeps confiscated and replaced by Honda’s amazing 125cc cub and then they can chat shit about organic vegetables and whole wheat rice, free in the knowledge that they aren’t completely misinformed self righteous pricks!
Sorry, enough ranting; the point is that the people here LOVE bikes, there are Millions of them. People also HATE traffic regulations, for example, red lights mean go faster, no entry means cruise down here regardless and the left and right side of the road appear to both be fine for going whichever direction you want. Also – there are NO police, I haven’t seen a single police car or police man in the whole of Vietnam (except playing cards outside the palace in Hanoi!) Therefore, when I have hired my bike and ridden around the cities I must admit, it was scary, really frickin scary – however, as if by magic, it works! In England we have so many regulations, so many rules, so many police, speeding fines, cameras, traffic cones, and yes its safe – but its also BORING. Here everyone’s bike is so slow and old and weak that they can’t crash – everything trundles along at 5 miles an hour and if anything hits anything else they just fall over and get up!
This is the way to do it, if you are reading this Cameron – take heed of my words!
In Vietnam there are hardly any cars, maybe cos everyone is skint, but more probably because there are too many bikes and too drive you have to be more aggressive than jean claude van-damme on horse steroids. The cars honk their horns frantically demanding the bikes vacate the road, otherwise they’ll be vacating their skulls on the car’s bonnet. Car drivers are nobs, but I can see why! Bikes are mental, and they are everywhere, they carry people (upto 5 at a time), they carry goods (including amongst other things: the entire contents of a house, a tree, a steaming kitchen for the sale of tasty buns etc...) they are the HGV’s and the Land Rovers of Asia. Given this I think everyone giving the developing world some shit for polluting the environment should take a look how much CO2 they’re pumping out, because I’m pretty sure 4 people on a 100cc bike for the school run is a lot more economical (albeit a lot more dangerous) than a 5 litre beast of a 4 x 4.
I hearby propose that everyone in Cheshire should have their jeeps confiscated and replaced by Honda’s amazing 125cc cub and then they can chat shit about organic vegetables and whole wheat rice, free in the knowledge that they aren’t completely misinformed self righteous pricks!
Sorry, enough ranting; the point is that the people here LOVE bikes, there are Millions of them. People also HATE traffic regulations, for example, red lights mean go faster, no entry means cruise down here regardless and the left and right side of the road appear to both be fine for going whichever direction you want. Also – there are NO police, I haven’t seen a single police car or police man in the whole of Vietnam (except playing cards outside the palace in Hanoi!) Therefore, when I have hired my bike and ridden around the cities I must admit, it was scary, really frickin scary – however, as if by magic, it works! In England we have so many regulations, so many rules, so many police, speeding fines, cameras, traffic cones, and yes its safe – but its also BORING. Here everyone’s bike is so slow and old and weak that they can’t crash – everything trundles along at 5 miles an hour and if anything hits anything else they just fall over and get up!
This is the way to do it, if you are reading this Cameron – take heed of my words!
A quick note on booze and backpackers
A quick note on booze and “backpackers”!
Yes the booze in Vietnam is cheap, and some people (shout out to lester and rosa) might well think this is amazing. However, booze can ruin your day and at 30p a pint it might seem worth it, but from now on we are calming down on the beers specifically because of the nightmare hang overs. I don’t know if its the impurities in the brewing process or maybe just me getting old and haggered, but I cannot handle it out here! I don’t know how these “backpackers” handle it, maybe they just stay in all the next day and work off their wounds in the bar the next day, or maybe the intense drinking builds up their immunity: either way I can’t handle it. So in the interest of actually getting my moneys worth and seeing as much culture as possible I am definitely from now on not hanging out too much with the other supposed travellers (no offence jonny) – its like 24/7 Glastonbury for these fuckers and quite simply I’m too old for that crap and im spending a lot of money – I want to see something other than the inside of the bar!
Yes the booze in Vietnam is cheap, and some people (shout out to lester and rosa) might well think this is amazing. However, booze can ruin your day and at 30p a pint it might seem worth it, but from now on we are calming down on the beers specifically because of the nightmare hang overs. I don’t know if its the impurities in the brewing process or maybe just me getting old and haggered, but I cannot handle it out here! I don’t know how these “backpackers” handle it, maybe they just stay in all the next day and work off their wounds in the bar the next day, or maybe the intense drinking builds up their immunity: either way I can’t handle it. So in the interest of actually getting my moneys worth and seeing as much culture as possible I am definitely from now on not hanging out too much with the other supposed travellers (no offence jonny) – its like 24/7 Glastonbury for these fuckers and quite simply I’m too old for that crap and im spending a lot of money – I want to see something other than the inside of the bar!
Hue 13th
Hue 13th
Today we get on the tourist trail, albeit a little postponed due to the inevitable hang over. We wrangle with one of the locals to hire his bike, which is beat up and knackered but fortunately lasts the day. We enjoy a ride around the town and visit the citadel, although we don’t go inside as we hear it takes a couple of hours to explore and this is time we don’t have. We do however have time to go out to the famous pagoda on the outskirts of the city and also to the temple of tu’oc on the outskirts.
The pagoda is a stereotypical Vietnamese structure with many towers and oriental motifs, compared to many it is mediocre – the view though is magnificent, due to the location just on the river and overlooking misty mountains and lush valleys, add to this the tranquil gardens within and it is well worth a visit.
The ride to the temple is a good distance and on the way we work up quite an appetite, there aren’t many food places on route so we end up getting some ladies with an art gallery to cook us up some beef noodle soup for 30,000. They start at 50, but some good haggling gets us a decent price, another skulky aussie couple aren’t so successful and subsequently go hungry! In the end the soup is pretty decent and worth the dough.
The tomb/temple complex is very impressive particular due to the beautiful setting within well maintained gardens complete with a series of streams and lakes. The monuments here are not quite as impressive a in India, perhaps due to the moist and windy weather, but still they are nothing to be sniffed at by all means. The crowning glory is the tomb itself which stands at least 30 feet high in the middle of the arena, but throughout the ornate oriental arches and typical dragons and deities create an authentic oriental experience that is well appreciated by us both. There are many such complexes in this region but we chose only the one, although impressive sometimes you get sightseeing overload and simply can’t be arsed traipsing round sites all day long.
Given this, and the beasting hangover, we opt to stay in for the night and stock up with munchies from the supermarket which is inappropriately named the “big C” (which I’m sure was synonymous with cancer) - we watch documentaries on Vietnam and relax, once again not coping well with the after effects of the cheap booze.
Today we get on the tourist trail, albeit a little postponed due to the inevitable hang over. We wrangle with one of the locals to hire his bike, which is beat up and knackered but fortunately lasts the day. We enjoy a ride around the town and visit the citadel, although we don’t go inside as we hear it takes a couple of hours to explore and this is time we don’t have. We do however have time to go out to the famous pagoda on the outskirts of the city and also to the temple of tu’oc on the outskirts.
The pagoda is a stereotypical Vietnamese structure with many towers and oriental motifs, compared to many it is mediocre – the view though is magnificent, due to the location just on the river and overlooking misty mountains and lush valleys, add to this the tranquil gardens within and it is well worth a visit.
The ride to the temple is a good distance and on the way we work up quite an appetite, there aren’t many food places on route so we end up getting some ladies with an art gallery to cook us up some beef noodle soup for 30,000. They start at 50, but some good haggling gets us a decent price, another skulky aussie couple aren’t so successful and subsequently go hungry! In the end the soup is pretty decent and worth the dough.
The tomb/temple complex is very impressive particular due to the beautiful setting within well maintained gardens complete with a series of streams and lakes. The monuments here are not quite as impressive a in India, perhaps due to the moist and windy weather, but still they are nothing to be sniffed at by all means. The crowning glory is the tomb itself which stands at least 30 feet high in the middle of the arena, but throughout the ornate oriental arches and typical dragons and deities create an authentic oriental experience that is well appreciated by us both. There are many such complexes in this region but we chose only the one, although impressive sometimes you get sightseeing overload and simply can’t be arsed traipsing round sites all day long.
Given this, and the beasting hangover, we opt to stay in for the night and stock up with munchies from the supermarket which is inappropriately named the “big C” (which I’m sure was synonymous with cancer) - we watch documentaries on Vietnam and relax, once again not coping well with the after effects of the cheap booze.
Monday, 17 January 2011
Hue 12th jan
Next stop hue on the 12th jan via overnight train. The train journey is fine despite our getting the top bunk on the cheaper “hard” sleeper train. Trains are certainly the way forward and we get a decent nights kip. Hue is very different to Hanoi – most importantly a lot warmer and also lot more chilled out and relaxed than the capital. The weather is like that on a pleasant autumn day, we still need hats and gloves some of the time but can make do without them. The streets are not so chock-a-block with motorbikes and people and you can actually cross the road without the fear of imminent death.
We find an amazing hotel (DMZ) right next to the riverside for the meagre sum of 160,000 (£5) per night. It is probably the best place we stayed in so far with amazingly clean rooms and corridors, a TV and a fridge and even decent hot running water! Hue itself is a beautiful town set alongside the perfume river and littered with amazing remnants of a grand emperor’s legacy: the crown of which is the enormous citadel which takes up one whole side of the river. As you cross the moat into the walled grounds you might expect to find a medieval settlement but funnily, within the walls, you will find the same hustle and bustle of Vietnam with shops and motorbikes and many local people going about their daily business.
The city itself actually spans for a massive distance area wise, but all the buildings are smaller and usually only one or two stories high, hence the reason it seems so much calmer than Hanoi. We luckily arrive just as a tourist information office is launching a new service of cyclos (bicycle rickshaws) and we get invited to a free tour of the city. We are dubious and expect some kind of blag but remarkably we get exactly what it said on the tin – a 2 hour in depth tour of the city free of charge. Funnily, people on motorbikes zoom alongside us with big cameras shooting the procession of tourists which stretches down the street and later we get cameras shoved in our faces and asked if were enjoying ourselves ( I was til you shoved a bloody camera in my face!) – we all nod and agree, later finding out that we were going to be on the local Vietnamese news station!
We find out that in Hue the beer is even cheaper at 10,000 (approx 32p) for a 500m bottle of beer, in a bar, surely this is the cheapest bottled beer on the planet! The local brew is called huda and it’s pretty tasty stuff. In the evening eat at a food court in the big shopping centre in town. Although this isn’t the most authentic thing in the world, they actually stock a massive variety of dishes and unlike on the street you get the correct price. It actually works out cheaper eating here as the locals triple the price for tourists and conveniently at the food court the menus have English translations so you can be adventurous and go for something new.
In the evening we join people at the “backpackers” hostel, which is always full of young single travellers looking to learn about the cultural aspects of the regions bars and nightclubs. We have a good laugh getting smashed on passion fruit cocktails at 10,000 a pop and wind up in some mad little night spot down the road. I wind up playing lots of pool with a blok I met in the bar, which starts off well, however as usual once past the dizzying zenith that comes with about 4 pints, I reach the inevitable nadir which comes with 5 pints and end up losing every game. I decide to throw in the towel when I completely miss the balls. A good night, but another hang over tomorrow! I don’t know how these “backpackers” manage it every night!
We find an amazing hotel (DMZ) right next to the riverside for the meagre sum of 160,000 (£5) per night. It is probably the best place we stayed in so far with amazingly clean rooms and corridors, a TV and a fridge and even decent hot running water! Hue itself is a beautiful town set alongside the perfume river and littered with amazing remnants of a grand emperor’s legacy: the crown of which is the enormous citadel which takes up one whole side of the river. As you cross the moat into the walled grounds you might expect to find a medieval settlement but funnily, within the walls, you will find the same hustle and bustle of Vietnam with shops and motorbikes and many local people going about their daily business.
The city itself actually spans for a massive distance area wise, but all the buildings are smaller and usually only one or two stories high, hence the reason it seems so much calmer than Hanoi. We luckily arrive just as a tourist information office is launching a new service of cyclos (bicycle rickshaws) and we get invited to a free tour of the city. We are dubious and expect some kind of blag but remarkably we get exactly what it said on the tin – a 2 hour in depth tour of the city free of charge. Funnily, people on motorbikes zoom alongside us with big cameras shooting the procession of tourists which stretches down the street and later we get cameras shoved in our faces and asked if were enjoying ourselves ( I was til you shoved a bloody camera in my face!) – we all nod and agree, later finding out that we were going to be on the local Vietnamese news station!
We find out that in Hue the beer is even cheaper at 10,000 (approx 32p) for a 500m bottle of beer, in a bar, surely this is the cheapest bottled beer on the planet! The local brew is called huda and it’s pretty tasty stuff. In the evening eat at a food court in the big shopping centre in town. Although this isn’t the most authentic thing in the world, they actually stock a massive variety of dishes and unlike on the street you get the correct price. It actually works out cheaper eating here as the locals triple the price for tourists and conveniently at the food court the menus have English translations so you can be adventurous and go for something new.
In the evening we join people at the “backpackers” hostel, which is always full of young single travellers looking to learn about the cultural aspects of the regions bars and nightclubs. We have a good laugh getting smashed on passion fruit cocktails at 10,000 a pop and wind up in some mad little night spot down the road. I wind up playing lots of pool with a blok I met in the bar, which starts off well, however as usual once past the dizzying zenith that comes with about 4 pints, I reach the inevitable nadir which comes with 5 pints and end up losing every game. I decide to throw in the towel when I completely miss the balls. A good night, but another hang over tomorrow! I don’t know how these “backpackers” manage it every night!
Friday, 14 January 2011
Where The Dragon Descends
Halon Bay
The bay where the dragon descends (translation) must be one of the most impressive natural terrains on earth. Literally thousands of limestone islands jut from the sea to create an amazing patchwork of green among the grey of the sky and sea. Unfortunately it is even colder here than in Hanoi so we often have to retreat to the confines of our boat, but the sight is still magnificent and unparalleled. We get shown around on a little junk in the traditional style, many of which litter the bay showing other tourists the scene. The decor on the ship is very pleasant with en-suites and quaint wooden furniture – we a apparently have the budget option but it’s pretty luxurious, god knows what the others get! At £25 we get transfers to and from the hotel 4 massive meals and a night on the boat.
The first stop is an island cave that blows you away. Initially the view from the top is worth the stop but as we progress into the cave each successive catacomb is more and more impressive. Stalactites and stalagmites create eerie patterns in the rock face throughout the cavern, which is truly enormous, stretching for maybe a kilometre through the island. From the top we enjoy majestic views across the bay as tourists pose for their photos.
Comically, Vietnamese women row small fishing boats out to our junk, initially I think they are fishing and take a picture, however, we soon learn they are trying to sell crisps and beers at ridiculous prices to the tourists. Our boat also takes advantage of the situation charging 30000 (£1) for a beer, we slyly sink back some gin in our room to save on costs.
The boat group unfortunately comprises of a mostly reserved bunch, some of whom are also pretty grumpy (maybe due to the bad weather). There is only one other English girl called Kirsten, with whom we have a laugh and enjoy a few drinks later in the day, you can rely on us Brits to be piss-heads (sounds like she has been raving her way across Asia).We get speaking with a really nice pair from Korea but they don’t drink, so I bring my tunes out onto deck after lunch to drown out the Vietnamese karaoke channel and hopefully get some atmosphere going: however, everyone retires at about 9 and not many get on the beers. It is a bit of shame we can’t get any kind of party going, but maybe it’s for the best. I wake up with a monster hang over off the cheap local gin.
I sack off the kayaking in the morning preferring to get some extra crash in my warm bed rather than have a splash in the freezing water. We didn’t bring a change of clothes and I don’t fancy wandering about with a wet arse all morning. Also, in the night the engine was generating a lot of smoke and this dried out my throat and stopped me sleeping properly so I’m feeling pretty wiped out. Try and get a room on the bottom deck next time! We enjoy cruising round the bay again, taking in the sights, then we stop off at a fishing village that also has branched out into tourism. There is a floating school and whole community on the water: the people here grow up on the water and live there for their entire lives without ever staying on dry land. We charter a small boat to see the caves that go through the islands, this is well worthwhile and the highlight of the trip as we see the beauty of the islands close-up.
We have to wait around a lot and get swapped from bus to bus on the way back: but hey! We’re in Vietnam so what do you expect, all in all it was well worth the money and I start to feel like I’m enjoying Vietnam despite the cold – I mean come on its not exactly Manchester weather is it!
The bay where the dragon descends (translation) must be one of the most impressive natural terrains on earth. Literally thousands of limestone islands jut from the sea to create an amazing patchwork of green among the grey of the sky and sea. Unfortunately it is even colder here than in Hanoi so we often have to retreat to the confines of our boat, but the sight is still magnificent and unparalleled. We get shown around on a little junk in the traditional style, many of which litter the bay showing other tourists the scene. The decor on the ship is very pleasant with en-suites and quaint wooden furniture – we a apparently have the budget option but it’s pretty luxurious, god knows what the others get! At £25 we get transfers to and from the hotel 4 massive meals and a night on the boat.
The first stop is an island cave that blows you away. Initially the view from the top is worth the stop but as we progress into the cave each successive catacomb is more and more impressive. Stalactites and stalagmites create eerie patterns in the rock face throughout the cavern, which is truly enormous, stretching for maybe a kilometre through the island. From the top we enjoy majestic views across the bay as tourists pose for their photos.
Comically, Vietnamese women row small fishing boats out to our junk, initially I think they are fishing and take a picture, however, we soon learn they are trying to sell crisps and beers at ridiculous prices to the tourists. Our boat also takes advantage of the situation charging 30000 (£1) for a beer, we slyly sink back some gin in our room to save on costs.
The boat group unfortunately comprises of a mostly reserved bunch, some of whom are also pretty grumpy (maybe due to the bad weather). There is only one other English girl called Kirsten, with whom we have a laugh and enjoy a few drinks later in the day, you can rely on us Brits to be piss-heads (sounds like she has been raving her way across Asia).We get speaking with a really nice pair from Korea but they don’t drink, so I bring my tunes out onto deck after lunch to drown out the Vietnamese karaoke channel and hopefully get some atmosphere going: however, everyone retires at about 9 and not many get on the beers. It is a bit of shame we can’t get any kind of party going, but maybe it’s for the best. I wake up with a monster hang over off the cheap local gin.
I sack off the kayaking in the morning preferring to get some extra crash in my warm bed rather than have a splash in the freezing water. We didn’t bring a change of clothes and I don’t fancy wandering about with a wet arse all morning. Also, in the night the engine was generating a lot of smoke and this dried out my throat and stopped me sleeping properly so I’m feeling pretty wiped out. Try and get a room on the bottom deck next time! We enjoy cruising round the bay again, taking in the sights, then we stop off at a fishing village that also has branched out into tourism. There is a floating school and whole community on the water: the people here grow up on the water and live there for their entire lives without ever staying on dry land. We charter a small boat to see the caves that go through the islands, this is well worthwhile and the highlight of the trip as we see the beauty of the islands close-up.
We have to wait around a lot and get swapped from bus to bus on the way back: but hey! We’re in Vietnam so what do you expect, all in all it was well worth the money and I start to feel like I’m enjoying Vietnam despite the cold – I mean come on its not exactly Manchester weather is it!
Good Morning Vietnam
Hanoi
Friday 7th – Monday 11th
The flight to Hanoi from Bangkok is short and sweet and passes in no time. Upon arrival filling out forms to receive the visa is simple and we quickly get given the stamp, good job we brought the $50 fee, also despite forgetting the passport photos, there is no issue as they take a snap of us for $2. A good tip is to put your passport into them last as they process them in reverse order.
Hanoi is properly cold and once again we arrive inappropriately dressed. Crazily it is like English winter here despite being so close to Bangkok and we are shivering to the bone. We end up having to buy new clothes it’s so cold, so much for my original dumbass idea of bringing just one set of clothes, glad Kath persuaded me otherwise.
Hanoi is overrun by motorbikes and they chaotically dodge and weave between the traffic, we are glad to have a bit of the chaos of India back: far less westernised than the other cities we have visited, Hanoi is definitely the city closest to my interpretation of real Asia. The buildings and infrastructure are much more solid than in India, indicating to me that Vietnam is a wealthier country. However, it is obvious that Vietnam is not yet at a level with Thailand and Malaysia, with manic streets filled with busy people selling their goods and services. I like the fact that here everything is done on the street and miss this about India, unfortunately though, it is so cold that we cannot enjoy sitting and drinking/eating as much as usual.
We finally have invested in a guidebook, albeit an out-of-date one, and it proves helpful in guiding us to a very nice hotel with massively friendly staff. We get a nice room with en-suite and awesome double bed with big thick blankets; these are well and truly needed. We don’t do much of note over the next couple of days, mainly enjoying walking around and eating various noodle soups and street food. It is probably the best place we have been for food by the roadside, appearing much cleaner and well maintained than other countries. In the evening we see them wiping down and scrubbing the floors and ensuring all the litter is disposed of correctly, for this reason we see far fewer rats and vermin.
Beer here is very affordable at between 50p-£1, unfortunately we can’t drink to many as a cold beer on a wintery day doesn’t go down quite as well. We do get some coffees but they come super strong and super small like a mega espresso, apparently this is due to the French influence (it is ok once you ask for some hot water to mix it down with). Also due to the French influence you can buy cheap white baguettes for pennies by the roadside: this makes for a refreshing change.
The economy is similar to India’s and likewise the scamming culture is present – although not to bad at the food places – any market stall will try and charge you 5 to 10 times the price. I have to buy some jeans as I am so cold and it is a real nightmare, often with the stall quoting half a million dong (blagging currency! – 32,000 dong to the pound) – eventually I get a pair of “levis” for 6 quid. The quality at least seems good and remarkably the locals all look pretty swish and well dressed, all with their knock off D&G, CK and Levi’s: this gives the populous a western look that is paradoxical to their country, which although in some ways developed, retains much more character than it’s counterparts.
We learn a lot about the war and Vietnamese history – finding that now Vietnam has come to a position of power in the region under Ho Chi Minh. The leader is worshiped like a god here, and the Ho Chi Minh complex is well worth a visit. Also the “Hanoi Hilton” which was an American POW camp gives insight into the war and Vietnams terrible past under French colonial rule: the grim highlight being the guillotine that was used to behead revolutionaries. Vietnam has had a turbulent past of war and revolution, yet despite this the modern country seems to be powering along happily under a new era of commerce.
The people are difficult to deal with though, similar to India, they will try to charge 5 or 10 times the real price for everything, this is ok when you don’t really need something but for example when we try to buy some fruit in the morning I get really wound up – the local stalls quoting marks and spencers prices! Also similar to India things always seem to run late and in a disorganised fashion, we’re used to it, but others complain constantly about the chaotic nature of the country.
The best thing about Hanoi is the street food, which is consistently great. A highlight (or lowlight) is when we get a kilo of snails boiled for us and eat them straight out of the shells. The top half or head is nice like a very chewy muscle or clam, however, the bottom part is gooey and horrible – still it is something we can tick off our list.
We also enjoy an amazing feast at Quan an Ngan (as featured on top gear’s Vietnam special) – the whole thing came to about 8 with 2 beers each and read like this. Eel soup, sparrow salad, pickled pigs ear noodle roll x 2, beef and vegetable noodle roll x 2, fresh rice roll with shredded pig skin, wild goose and bamboo noodle soup, braised snail and banana tofu with rice noodle and for pudding jelly, water chestnut tapioca pearls with coconut milk soup.
The highlight was the sparrow which came whole with beak and all, it tasty like crispy duck, mmmmm. The wild goose was also gorgeous – maybe the meatiest bird I have ever had. Eel was very tasty also, like most other fish I suppose and the snail was much nicer in the sauce than just out of the shell. Pigs ear is ok, chewy but subtle tastes whereas the pig skin was disgusting – like a chewy pork scratching. The unexpected highlight was the pudding which was really sweet and tasty and with nice chewy chunks of jelly and tapioca.
Most of the posh touristy places are around the lake which is lit up at night like a school disco, which although tacky is well worth a look, something not to miss is the water puppet show. I didn’t expect much from this – however the pyrotechnic display of colours and sound was amazing. The puppets seem to move magically without strings and often the puppeteers incorporate fire and water jets to create an amazing display. The orchestra though steal the show – playing intricate pieces to effortlessly accompany the scenes played out on the stage, go for the music alone, it is exquisite.
Friday 7th – Monday 11th
The flight to Hanoi from Bangkok is short and sweet and passes in no time. Upon arrival filling out forms to receive the visa is simple and we quickly get given the stamp, good job we brought the $50 fee, also despite forgetting the passport photos, there is no issue as they take a snap of us for $2. A good tip is to put your passport into them last as they process them in reverse order.
Hanoi is properly cold and once again we arrive inappropriately dressed. Crazily it is like English winter here despite being so close to Bangkok and we are shivering to the bone. We end up having to buy new clothes it’s so cold, so much for my original dumbass idea of bringing just one set of clothes, glad Kath persuaded me otherwise.
Hanoi is overrun by motorbikes and they chaotically dodge and weave between the traffic, we are glad to have a bit of the chaos of India back: far less westernised than the other cities we have visited, Hanoi is definitely the city closest to my interpretation of real Asia. The buildings and infrastructure are much more solid than in India, indicating to me that Vietnam is a wealthier country. However, it is obvious that Vietnam is not yet at a level with Thailand and Malaysia, with manic streets filled with busy people selling their goods and services. I like the fact that here everything is done on the street and miss this about India, unfortunately though, it is so cold that we cannot enjoy sitting and drinking/eating as much as usual.
We finally have invested in a guidebook, albeit an out-of-date one, and it proves helpful in guiding us to a very nice hotel with massively friendly staff. We get a nice room with en-suite and awesome double bed with big thick blankets; these are well and truly needed. We don’t do much of note over the next couple of days, mainly enjoying walking around and eating various noodle soups and street food. It is probably the best place we have been for food by the roadside, appearing much cleaner and well maintained than other countries. In the evening we see them wiping down and scrubbing the floors and ensuring all the litter is disposed of correctly, for this reason we see far fewer rats and vermin.
Beer here is very affordable at between 50p-£1, unfortunately we can’t drink to many as a cold beer on a wintery day doesn’t go down quite as well. We do get some coffees but they come super strong and super small like a mega espresso, apparently this is due to the French influence (it is ok once you ask for some hot water to mix it down with). Also due to the French influence you can buy cheap white baguettes for pennies by the roadside: this makes for a refreshing change.
The economy is similar to India’s and likewise the scamming culture is present – although not to bad at the food places – any market stall will try and charge you 5 to 10 times the price. I have to buy some jeans as I am so cold and it is a real nightmare, often with the stall quoting half a million dong (blagging currency! – 32,000 dong to the pound) – eventually I get a pair of “levis” for 6 quid. The quality at least seems good and remarkably the locals all look pretty swish and well dressed, all with their knock off D&G, CK and Levi’s: this gives the populous a western look that is paradoxical to their country, which although in some ways developed, retains much more character than it’s counterparts.
We learn a lot about the war and Vietnamese history – finding that now Vietnam has come to a position of power in the region under Ho Chi Minh. The leader is worshiped like a god here, and the Ho Chi Minh complex is well worth a visit. Also the “Hanoi Hilton” which was an American POW camp gives insight into the war and Vietnams terrible past under French colonial rule: the grim highlight being the guillotine that was used to behead revolutionaries. Vietnam has had a turbulent past of war and revolution, yet despite this the modern country seems to be powering along happily under a new era of commerce.
The people are difficult to deal with though, similar to India, they will try to charge 5 or 10 times the real price for everything, this is ok when you don’t really need something but for example when we try to buy some fruit in the morning I get really wound up – the local stalls quoting marks and spencers prices! Also similar to India things always seem to run late and in a disorganised fashion, we’re used to it, but others complain constantly about the chaotic nature of the country.
The best thing about Hanoi is the street food, which is consistently great. A highlight (or lowlight) is when we get a kilo of snails boiled for us and eat them straight out of the shells. The top half or head is nice like a very chewy muscle or clam, however, the bottom part is gooey and horrible – still it is something we can tick off our list.
We also enjoy an amazing feast at Quan an Ngan (as featured on top gear’s Vietnam special) – the whole thing came to about 8 with 2 beers each and read like this. Eel soup, sparrow salad, pickled pigs ear noodle roll x 2, beef and vegetable noodle roll x 2, fresh rice roll with shredded pig skin, wild goose and bamboo noodle soup, braised snail and banana tofu with rice noodle and for pudding jelly, water chestnut tapioca pearls with coconut milk soup.
The highlight was the sparrow which came whole with beak and all, it tasty like crispy duck, mmmmm. The wild goose was also gorgeous – maybe the meatiest bird I have ever had. Eel was very tasty also, like most other fish I suppose and the snail was much nicer in the sauce than just out of the shell. Pigs ear is ok, chewy but subtle tastes whereas the pig skin was disgusting – like a chewy pork scratching. The unexpected highlight was the pudding which was really sweet and tasty and with nice chewy chunks of jelly and tapioca.
Most of the posh touristy places are around the lake which is lit up at night like a school disco, which although tacky is well worth a look, something not to miss is the water puppet show. I didn’t expect much from this – however the pyrotechnic display of colours and sound was amazing. The puppets seem to move magically without strings and often the puppeteers incorporate fire and water jets to create an amazing display. The orchestra though steal the show – playing intricate pieces to effortlessly accompany the scenes played out on the stage, go for the music alone, it is exquisite.
Monday, 10 January 2011
Thailand - bangkok
Thailand – Bangkok (4th jan)
My first impression of Bangkok is that it is like a much more developed version of India, shops open out onto the street and there are piled up boxes and junk spilling out onto the road, there streets are very busy with motorbikes and buses creating a wall of urban sound. Yet it is not a patch on India. Here people seem to have a notion of road laws, the buildings are made of solid materials not disintegrating wood and the noise level is nothing on Delhi. Bangkok is a bit like Mumbai – a prosperous and westernised city in a chaotic and developing country, however that doesn’t mean there is no character. Look beyond the shinning plazas and shopping malls down the narrow back streets and you soon see some more interesting things.
We start off being miss-directed by a railway employee and end up waiting for an hour for a bus that apparently doesn’t exist, not a good start in the 36 degree midday heat hen you just got off a 24 hour train journey. Eventually we manage to get a tuk-tuk for 100 baht (£2) and head to the tourist hotspot Kho-San Rd. It takes a while to find a viable guesthouse option as many want 20£+ per night, but eventually we book into the swasdee hotel for 550B. It is a nice clean hotel but still a bit pricey, tomorrow we switch to a dirty dingy place but get down to 250 per night.
First impressions of this area are not good; the 24/hour burger king (that amazingly I didn’t visit once!) gives you an idea of what kind of place you’re dealing with. Pissed up white people roam the street which is littered with merchants selling cheap knock off clothes and, among other things, the preferred memento of the drunken prick – a dirty infected body piercing or tattoo. For the first time so far I can only see white people and no locals and I feel a deep rooted dislike for all of them, bypassing the culture and amazing temples to see the inside of a bar, I don’t plan to spend much time on Kho-San rd.
By the time we check in its nearly 5 and we arrived at 12, so I’m grumpy and hot and starving, we get away from the main streets with over priced poor quality foods and head out towards less touristy areas, we find a basic food place with the usual Spartan interior and big bubbling pots. We enjoy some gorgeous soup with strange bread balls and sausages, it is just 30B (40p) so I get 2 bowls. Afterwards we wander around a while ending up in the square across from city hall. Groups of 100s of young Thais work out to banging music played through shitty speakers, they don’t move in time to the instructor and as we drink a beer from the shop watching them cracks me up.
We wander around having a few beers on the way and realise were soon getting smashed, this is because the best tasting and cheapest beer is also the strongest at 6.4%. Chang is definitely the way to go but it must be drunk slowly – this is a lesson that I am sure to learn soon enough. However, tonight by about 9 o’clock were feeling very worse for wear so decide to stop drinking and get some scran.
We head to the area where we were before (near the tourist information and bus depot) and find a place that is really busy, this is always a good sign. You couldn’t call it a resteraunt by any stretch of the imagination, tables and chairs are placed on the street and everything is cooked from a mobile unit about the size of a large book case which contains 2 wells filled with different stock and 1 big wok in which everything is fried. Next to this there is a barbeque pit where a man tends to some interesting fish covered in rock salt, it appears he does the grilling and a lady does all the rest, while another man, using a hose, washes up in big bowls which are also right on the pavement.
While we wait we get chatting to a nice Thai couple called Ak and Patty – given the shortage of tables they offer to share and we take them up on the offer. Having locals to help we enjoy an amazing range of foods, usually we just point and hope it comes out good but this time we find out what it is we’re eating. We share a big hot pot, a plate of BBQ pork, chicken and a very fresh spicy salad called som tum. The couple are very funny and interesting to chat with and we learn things about Thailand and explain things about politics and English culture. Being very generous they pay for our meal and won’t accept a contribution, so I insist we stop for a beer and get a round in. It is really refreshing and nice to spend time getting to know so locals and is a highlight of Thailand for me.
Jan 5th
We switch to a pretty scruffy guesthouse down the back alley across from subway at the side of kho-san rd, it isn’t great but is cheap at £5. We feel a bit tired after yesterdays travelling and drinking so we decide to take it easy and not go crazy on the sight-seeing as it can be pretty knackering. I find this free tram which goes from city hall, when we get on we get given a brilliant guide book with all the sights and guidelines etc, it is refreshing to find something free, Bangkok is very tourist friendly. We go on a route past a lot of cool temples and palaces so when we get off the tram I follow the route on foot and try to stop at some of the places. The city is actually very beautiful when you get away from the bars and clubs, a highlight being the modern Buddhist temple built recently by the king for the monks to live in. The colours are so vibrant and the design so grand that it puts many other temples to shame. Peaceful looking monks clad in vibrant orange wistfully sweep leaves from the temple grounds, I wonder what kind of life they have and am impressed by their discipline and dedication.
We pass the grand palace which is very impressive, however we learn it is closed for some kind of concert. Therefore, we head through many diverse stalls and eateries to the pier to catch a boat. Reminiscent of India, someone tries to sell us a tour for 1400B each, instead we join the locals for 20B and ride the transport boat down the river which is amazingly wide and shines like liquid gold in the sunset. Interestingly monks have the best seats reserved for them and line the edge of the boat in their distinctive day-glow robes.
We head back to our end of town and go back to the same place for dinner – once again it is absolutely bang on. We haven’t partied enough so far so we decide to get on the changs and have a mad one tonight! This isn’t too hard to do as Bangkok resembles blackpool on a Friday night. We start by having a few on our own until we acquire some companions in the form of 2 Irish blokes, one of whom is very very pissed. The pissed guy is a shambles, although funny to watch, he soon becomes embarrassing – ordering his drinks in a racist Asian accent doesn’t go down well. Eventually we lose this prick but the other guy (James) is well sound and we carry on drinking for a while stopping for some street side buckets filled with toxic (and I think illegal) red bull and vodka. Pretty drunk at about 2am I run out of cash but instead of heading home we go back and pick some more up and carry on going, finding a dodgey club with strobe lights and a dance floor – playing your usual r and b and pop crap. Things take a turn for the worse after my 8th or 9th chang and everything after that is a bit blurry. I don’t know what happened to James but I remember some aussie blokes who called me the big red machine carrying on drinking with us. I also remember a quick sly vom in the street on the way there! One sketchy moment came when I swapped caps with some bloke, only to find he had done one with my hat and the one I had on belonged to some random dude. I argued I wouldn’t return the hat and some shoving ensued, but in the end I accepted a conciliation chang (probably a bad idea). After that I dunno what happened, I do remember smashing a bottle of chang and having to pay for it and the next thing I woke up in the morning – obviously we navigated our way home but only just.
IMPRTANT NOTE – This is what happens when beer is less than a quid a pint! Don’t lower the tax on alcohol otherwise the country will descend (further) into chaos!
Jan 6th
Too hung over to have an eventful day, didn’t get up to very much. Bought some cool (debatable) specs at the market for a quid a pair and also avoided being conned into some shit boat trip by a tuk—tuk man. The palace was 700B and they want you to wear a frickin suit to get in (no shorts allowed) so I decided to pass on going in and we just chilled and ate food and drunk soft drinks all day, definitely no beers. I realised why we haven’t been partying before, it totally wrecks the day after! So we just take it easy and try to get an early night, partly due to the hang over, and also due to the fact we have 1000B to last the whole day and most of it has gone, luckily we save just enough for a taxi back and to pay for the room.
Jan 7th
We wake early (4am) for our flight to Hanoi at 6.50, despite being knackered I don’t sleep all night due to the heat and noise from all the local clubs and bars. Oh well next stop Hanoi Vietnam
My first impression of Bangkok is that it is like a much more developed version of India, shops open out onto the street and there are piled up boxes and junk spilling out onto the road, there streets are very busy with motorbikes and buses creating a wall of urban sound. Yet it is not a patch on India. Here people seem to have a notion of road laws, the buildings are made of solid materials not disintegrating wood and the noise level is nothing on Delhi. Bangkok is a bit like Mumbai – a prosperous and westernised city in a chaotic and developing country, however that doesn’t mean there is no character. Look beyond the shinning plazas and shopping malls down the narrow back streets and you soon see some more interesting things.
We start off being miss-directed by a railway employee and end up waiting for an hour for a bus that apparently doesn’t exist, not a good start in the 36 degree midday heat hen you just got off a 24 hour train journey. Eventually we manage to get a tuk-tuk for 100 baht (£2) and head to the tourist hotspot Kho-San Rd. It takes a while to find a viable guesthouse option as many want 20£+ per night, but eventually we book into the swasdee hotel for 550B. It is a nice clean hotel but still a bit pricey, tomorrow we switch to a dirty dingy place but get down to 250 per night.
First impressions of this area are not good; the 24/hour burger king (that amazingly I didn’t visit once!) gives you an idea of what kind of place you’re dealing with. Pissed up white people roam the street which is littered with merchants selling cheap knock off clothes and, among other things, the preferred memento of the drunken prick – a dirty infected body piercing or tattoo. For the first time so far I can only see white people and no locals and I feel a deep rooted dislike for all of them, bypassing the culture and amazing temples to see the inside of a bar, I don’t plan to spend much time on Kho-San rd.
By the time we check in its nearly 5 and we arrived at 12, so I’m grumpy and hot and starving, we get away from the main streets with over priced poor quality foods and head out towards less touristy areas, we find a basic food place with the usual Spartan interior and big bubbling pots. We enjoy some gorgeous soup with strange bread balls and sausages, it is just 30B (40p) so I get 2 bowls. Afterwards we wander around a while ending up in the square across from city hall. Groups of 100s of young Thais work out to banging music played through shitty speakers, they don’t move in time to the instructor and as we drink a beer from the shop watching them cracks me up.
We wander around having a few beers on the way and realise were soon getting smashed, this is because the best tasting and cheapest beer is also the strongest at 6.4%. Chang is definitely the way to go but it must be drunk slowly – this is a lesson that I am sure to learn soon enough. However, tonight by about 9 o’clock were feeling very worse for wear so decide to stop drinking and get some scran.
We head to the area where we were before (near the tourist information and bus depot) and find a place that is really busy, this is always a good sign. You couldn’t call it a resteraunt by any stretch of the imagination, tables and chairs are placed on the street and everything is cooked from a mobile unit about the size of a large book case which contains 2 wells filled with different stock and 1 big wok in which everything is fried. Next to this there is a barbeque pit where a man tends to some interesting fish covered in rock salt, it appears he does the grilling and a lady does all the rest, while another man, using a hose, washes up in big bowls which are also right on the pavement.
While we wait we get chatting to a nice Thai couple called Ak and Patty – given the shortage of tables they offer to share and we take them up on the offer. Having locals to help we enjoy an amazing range of foods, usually we just point and hope it comes out good but this time we find out what it is we’re eating. We share a big hot pot, a plate of BBQ pork, chicken and a very fresh spicy salad called som tum. The couple are very funny and interesting to chat with and we learn things about Thailand and explain things about politics and English culture. Being very generous they pay for our meal and won’t accept a contribution, so I insist we stop for a beer and get a round in. It is really refreshing and nice to spend time getting to know so locals and is a highlight of Thailand for me.
Jan 5th
We switch to a pretty scruffy guesthouse down the back alley across from subway at the side of kho-san rd, it isn’t great but is cheap at £5. We feel a bit tired after yesterdays travelling and drinking so we decide to take it easy and not go crazy on the sight-seeing as it can be pretty knackering. I find this free tram which goes from city hall, when we get on we get given a brilliant guide book with all the sights and guidelines etc, it is refreshing to find something free, Bangkok is very tourist friendly. We go on a route past a lot of cool temples and palaces so when we get off the tram I follow the route on foot and try to stop at some of the places. The city is actually very beautiful when you get away from the bars and clubs, a highlight being the modern Buddhist temple built recently by the king for the monks to live in. The colours are so vibrant and the design so grand that it puts many other temples to shame. Peaceful looking monks clad in vibrant orange wistfully sweep leaves from the temple grounds, I wonder what kind of life they have and am impressed by their discipline and dedication.
We pass the grand palace which is very impressive, however we learn it is closed for some kind of concert. Therefore, we head through many diverse stalls and eateries to the pier to catch a boat. Reminiscent of India, someone tries to sell us a tour for 1400B each, instead we join the locals for 20B and ride the transport boat down the river which is amazingly wide and shines like liquid gold in the sunset. Interestingly monks have the best seats reserved for them and line the edge of the boat in their distinctive day-glow robes.
We head back to our end of town and go back to the same place for dinner – once again it is absolutely bang on. We haven’t partied enough so far so we decide to get on the changs and have a mad one tonight! This isn’t too hard to do as Bangkok resembles blackpool on a Friday night. We start by having a few on our own until we acquire some companions in the form of 2 Irish blokes, one of whom is very very pissed. The pissed guy is a shambles, although funny to watch, he soon becomes embarrassing – ordering his drinks in a racist Asian accent doesn’t go down well. Eventually we lose this prick but the other guy (James) is well sound and we carry on drinking for a while stopping for some street side buckets filled with toxic (and I think illegal) red bull and vodka. Pretty drunk at about 2am I run out of cash but instead of heading home we go back and pick some more up and carry on going, finding a dodgey club with strobe lights and a dance floor – playing your usual r and b and pop crap. Things take a turn for the worse after my 8th or 9th chang and everything after that is a bit blurry. I don’t know what happened to James but I remember some aussie blokes who called me the big red machine carrying on drinking with us. I also remember a quick sly vom in the street on the way there! One sketchy moment came when I swapped caps with some bloke, only to find he had done one with my hat and the one I had on belonged to some random dude. I argued I wouldn’t return the hat and some shoving ensued, but in the end I accepted a conciliation chang (probably a bad idea). After that I dunno what happened, I do remember smashing a bottle of chang and having to pay for it and the next thing I woke up in the morning – obviously we navigated our way home but only just.
IMPRTANT NOTE – This is what happens when beer is less than a quid a pint! Don’t lower the tax on alcohol otherwise the country will descend (further) into chaos!
Jan 6th
Too hung over to have an eventful day, didn’t get up to very much. Bought some cool (debatable) specs at the market for a quid a pair and also avoided being conned into some shit boat trip by a tuk—tuk man. The palace was 700B and they want you to wear a frickin suit to get in (no shorts allowed) so I decided to pass on going in and we just chilled and ate food and drunk soft drinks all day, definitely no beers. I realised why we haven’t been partying before, it totally wrecks the day after! So we just take it easy and try to get an early night, partly due to the hang over, and also due to the fact we have 1000B to last the whole day and most of it has gone, luckily we save just enough for a taxi back and to pay for the room.
Jan 7th
We wake early (4am) for our flight to Hanoi at 6.50, despite being knackered I don’t sleep all night due to the heat and noise from all the local clubs and bars. Oh well next stop Hanoi Vietnam
Saturday, 8 January 2011
sorry for lack of updates (new year and beyond)
Thought I had made some blog updates recently but obviously not. Here comes the last few days!
New Years Eve
We hold out little in the way of hope for a party here in the highlands, it is very sleepy and relaxed, anyway that is for the evening so for the day we decide to hire a scooter and check out the area – we realise that you can save a lot of money by looking where the organised tours go and doing it yourself instead. The bike is a classic ancient Honda with clutchless manual gear box. Gear changes are facilitated by stamping down on a plate with your left foot, this takes some getting used to and for a while I’m gingerly going about in 2nd gear, however eventually I get up some confidence and hit 3rd and 4th gear.
We progress through steep winding roads in and out of the local towns, all with a similar strange European feel, until our first stop at cactus point which is a massive cactus farm on the hill and a decent photo-spot. Further, we progress to Kea where there are various things to see, we go first to a strawberry farm up a steep track to the left. Perhaps due to the British weather there are lots of strawberry farms here in the Cameron highlands, the farm itself isn’t very interesting just row after row of vines and greenhouses, however we do enjoy some very fresh strawberries and an excellent view over the valley.
Next we head to the rose garden through the vegetable market and down a narrow steep track. When we reach the bottom where the rose garden is we see a mob of local people with crates of beer and bonfires sat drinking and eating out in the street. They seem very merry and laugh and joke as I ride past tentatively at slow speed. As we walk past them to get to the tourists spot they beckon us over and demand we join them for a free beer, I try to protest but soon have a can of tiger thrusts into my hand and we are offered the seat of a local. We chat for a while although we speak no Malay and the men have broken English – with the gist of the conversation often eluding us. Unfortunately we have just eaten so can’t take advantage of an offer of free food but we do eat a plate of tasty pork and chilli sauce. The men laugh and joke, hopefully not at our expense and it is a funny experience. When we try to leave to carry on our sightseeing they insist we stay for another beer, I explain I’m driving the bike and can’t have another (this idea is scoffed by the locals who obviously drink drive everywhere). I don’t get why the man is saying “O’tel O’tel – take” and start telling him which guesthouse I’m at, eventually I realise he’s giving us a can to take with us and drink later. Although embarrassed I can’t understand much, it is really unexpected and fun to spend some time with real people, Malaysians are friendly and genuine, very different to the Indians.
We proceed to the rose garden which has a wide variety of bright and sweet-smelling flowers on display- many birds and insects fly among them enjoying the nectar and pollen. The gardens stretched high up on to the hills and from the top the view is nothing short of spectacular, which is more than I can say for the walk back down the hill!
We now ride off through the steep mountain passes in search of a tea plantation, I stat to enjoy the bike – it has much better handling than the scooter and a safer solid foot break which is stable when going downhill. I start to get up some speed and keep tight behind the local traffic. The tea plantation itself is a beautiful sight, a sea of vibrant green tips covering the hillside. Lean young men head up and down the fields – I assume picking the tea which is sold throughout the local area. It is interesting to see where the stuff we love (so much so drinking it is a national pastime) comes from and it is even better to sample a nice hot cup of tea on this cool and moist afternoon.
We head back to town and return the bike enjoying on the way amazing views once again, the landscape here is very dramatic with lush valleys and dense jungle vegetation the likes of which I didn’t expect to see until maybe Cambodia or Vietnam, the Cameron highlands has been a great destination and a real surprise.
In the evening I am determined to get drunk given that it is New Years Eve, but the locals don’t seem to realise that this is obligatory given the occasion. We walk from bar to bar but they are just as dead as yesterday – apart from one terrible karaoke bar, but I’ rather put pins in my eyes than drink there! We eat dinner and hope it picks up after – opting for a strange tandoori chicken egg roti thing, which is sort of like a kebab and omelette mixed together; it is the most filling thing I have ever eaten. I buy beers from the shop and Kath has a lychee spirit (which is proper cheap) with lemonade. We stick to having these ‘til about 10.30 to save money. Eventually the bars start to get busier and we bump into a Swiss couple who we saw at the coach station in KL. We learn they are called Jasmine and Luca and enjoy an evening chatting about our retrospective experiences in India. In the end we get pretty smashed and enjoy the party poppers and whistles given out by the wasted barkeep, but it isn’t a patch on a party back home. I wake up in the morning at 7.15 without even having a hangover, so it can’t possible have been much of a session. Still, I think of all you guys suffering back home and it makes me realise I’m glad I don’t feel too rough!
JAN 1st 2011 To George town Pennang.
We rise early and head to the unititi express again, this time fortunately it is on time and we get moving. We are absolutely knackered but it is hard to sleep with the coach winding and bumping its way through the mountain passes. It is a long 5 hour journey and we are glad when we finally arrive. Pennang is Malaysia’s smallest state and consists mainly of an island connected to the mainland by a bridge. There is a lot of confusion on the coach as the driver tells us to get off and catch a ferry, a lot of people thus head out but we are told the coach should go across the bridge to the island by another couple. Eventually, in a mad dash, we put our bags back on the coach and head back off not sure what is going on. Luckily we do get taken into the town but for a while we don’t have clue what is going on, this is one of the worst things about travelling in foreign lands, unless you’re going to a major city it is almost impossible to know when to get off the train or bus.
We arrive dressed for the highlands – me with full waterproof gear and Kath with her jogging bottoms and coat – only to find that it is scorching and humid here in Pennang. It is an unpleasant trek with our bags all the way to the hostel (called banana), and by the time we get there the sweat is dripping off the inside of my legs. Thankfully we find the place with little difficulty and find it to be clean and spacious with excellent wi-fi: a bargain with the double room costing just 25R (£5).
We don’t get up to much this evening as we only have half the day, I want to watch the united west brom match and set about a mission to find a food court to watch the game. There are mazing food courts all over Malaysia and Singapore where street stalls cumulate to offer many types of food under one roof: this is where the local men drink beer, eat and watch the sports. However, on this evening when I really want to watch the game we can’t find a single place with a screen. Stressed we traipse around town looking for an hour, eventually the only place we find being outside KFC of all places. We don’t want to eat KFC but have no option but to watch it here so end up getting a take out of laksa and chicken rice (which turns out to be pretty shit) and a few cans of chang from the shop and watchi it sat on a concrete building support across from KFC. It isn’t a great atmosphere but at least it is cheap and I finally get to catch a united game, it seems all the kick offs have been 8pm which is 4am here so I haven’t seen a game for ages. Importantly we win the game ( after they miss a pen, pretty lucky) and it puts me in a good mood. We also catch the Liverpool game and get some free food near the hostel as the local people celebrate New Year.
Jan 2nd
Today we spend In the blazing sun of pennang, exploring the island on a scooter. There are things like museums and temples in George town itself but we prefer to check out the scenery, as we have seen many museums and structures before. We head out towards the coastal road, eventually finding the right one after some troubles, the crappy map we has doesn’t provide much use once again but luckily the locals are very helpful and get us on our way. We stop on the outskirts of George town for breakfast and get a spicy mixed meat noodle soup called curry mee, it is excellent and just 3 ringgit, the food in Malaysia is awesome.
We enjoy amazing views along the winding roads and I enjoy all the long curves and hills, getting up some decent speeds. Taking the scenic route to the back side of the island, we make many stops to see the sights, a highlight of which was the tropical fruit farm where we got amazing fresh honey-dew melon juice. Our aim is to reach a very authentic small town called Baku Pilau – it is very quaint with traditional Malay houses bordering the rivers, the place is sleepy and rural and a refreshing chn age from anything else before. It is annoying though when we try to find a beer stop but everywhere is shut, although eventually we manage to find a small cafe. Strangely when we ask to use the toilet he leads us to a room with some lobsters in a water pit and no hole in the ground, I figure you’re supposed to pee on them but unsure I don’t risk it! We also get some more noodles in the centre of town at a very rustic eating place.
Pennag islands itself is a beautiful place with diverse environments like the bustling Georgetown and quiet little villages. There are some spectacular beaches along the coastal road and beautiful tree covered hills in the centre of the island make for wonderful views. As usual there are many temples and pagodas round every corner and you are seldom short of things to see. Given this we often just set off without any plan and see what we find, always managing to see some good stuff on the way; this was proven as on the way back to Georgetown we stumble across an awesome Chinese style temple on the hill which housed a statue that was surely 20 metres high. The red and golden pagoda and massive oriental gate were spectacularly set into the trees above a small town, we don’t know the name of the place but it was absolutely stunning.
In the evening as it goes dark I find it difficult to manage driving through the busy roads and get stressed out, eventually making it home to return the bike. Malaysia is much more organised and less chaotic than India, but still it seems a bit mad on the roads, especially at night time. Although it is very westernised and clearly quite rich it still has some authentic Asian feel t it unlike Singapore, conveniently also everyone speaks English which makes life very easy. I think Malaysia would be a good destination for anyone worried about travelling in Asia alone as it is so easy to get around and people are so friendly.
For the evening entertainment we find one of the amazing food courts I was talking about and catch Chelsea vs Villa. It is a wicked game to watch especially as Villa pulled of a miracle to snatch the draw at the end of the match, I’m so glad the cockney rent boy’s season is falling apart. We enjoy lots of food from all different stalls, and there is a really good atmosphere for the footy, gutted I didin;t find it yesterday, these places are the best!
Jan 3rd
Not much to report – we have a 24 hour train from Butterworth to Bangkok. We play silly games like hang man and 20 questions to try and pass the time and Kath gets mad when we play squares because it baffles her head. We worry that they will let us starve as no drinks or food are offered, and we start talking about what Bear Gryls would do in the situation, I said he’d already be drinking his own piss and catching flies to munch on!
Eventually after a sketchy border crossing they come round with food and beer, and in the evening we have a laugh chatting to a sound fella from London called Miles. He is on a shorter trip but gives us some tips about Vietnam and Thailand. We end up getting pretty merry and the time starts to pass a lot quicker.
Everything passes without much incident and we sleep pretty well in the spacious bunks. On to Thailand!
New Years Eve
We hold out little in the way of hope for a party here in the highlands, it is very sleepy and relaxed, anyway that is for the evening so for the day we decide to hire a scooter and check out the area – we realise that you can save a lot of money by looking where the organised tours go and doing it yourself instead. The bike is a classic ancient Honda with clutchless manual gear box. Gear changes are facilitated by stamping down on a plate with your left foot, this takes some getting used to and for a while I’m gingerly going about in 2nd gear, however eventually I get up some confidence and hit 3rd and 4th gear.
We progress through steep winding roads in and out of the local towns, all with a similar strange European feel, until our first stop at cactus point which is a massive cactus farm on the hill and a decent photo-spot. Further, we progress to Kea where there are various things to see, we go first to a strawberry farm up a steep track to the left. Perhaps due to the British weather there are lots of strawberry farms here in the Cameron highlands, the farm itself isn’t very interesting just row after row of vines and greenhouses, however we do enjoy some very fresh strawberries and an excellent view over the valley.
Next we head to the rose garden through the vegetable market and down a narrow steep track. When we reach the bottom where the rose garden is we see a mob of local people with crates of beer and bonfires sat drinking and eating out in the street. They seem very merry and laugh and joke as I ride past tentatively at slow speed. As we walk past them to get to the tourists spot they beckon us over and demand we join them for a free beer, I try to protest but soon have a can of tiger thrusts into my hand and we are offered the seat of a local. We chat for a while although we speak no Malay and the men have broken English – with the gist of the conversation often eluding us. Unfortunately we have just eaten so can’t take advantage of an offer of free food but we do eat a plate of tasty pork and chilli sauce. The men laugh and joke, hopefully not at our expense and it is a funny experience. When we try to leave to carry on our sightseeing they insist we stay for another beer, I explain I’m driving the bike and can’t have another (this idea is scoffed by the locals who obviously drink drive everywhere). I don’t get why the man is saying “O’tel O’tel – take” and start telling him which guesthouse I’m at, eventually I realise he’s giving us a can to take with us and drink later. Although embarrassed I can’t understand much, it is really unexpected and fun to spend some time with real people, Malaysians are friendly and genuine, very different to the Indians.
We proceed to the rose garden which has a wide variety of bright and sweet-smelling flowers on display- many birds and insects fly among them enjoying the nectar and pollen. The gardens stretched high up on to the hills and from the top the view is nothing short of spectacular, which is more than I can say for the walk back down the hill!
We now ride off through the steep mountain passes in search of a tea plantation, I stat to enjoy the bike – it has much better handling than the scooter and a safer solid foot break which is stable when going downhill. I start to get up some speed and keep tight behind the local traffic. The tea plantation itself is a beautiful sight, a sea of vibrant green tips covering the hillside. Lean young men head up and down the fields – I assume picking the tea which is sold throughout the local area. It is interesting to see where the stuff we love (so much so drinking it is a national pastime) comes from and it is even better to sample a nice hot cup of tea on this cool and moist afternoon.
We head back to town and return the bike enjoying on the way amazing views once again, the landscape here is very dramatic with lush valleys and dense jungle vegetation the likes of which I didn’t expect to see until maybe Cambodia or Vietnam, the Cameron highlands has been a great destination and a real surprise.
In the evening I am determined to get drunk given that it is New Years Eve, but the locals don’t seem to realise that this is obligatory given the occasion. We walk from bar to bar but they are just as dead as yesterday – apart from one terrible karaoke bar, but I’ rather put pins in my eyes than drink there! We eat dinner and hope it picks up after – opting for a strange tandoori chicken egg roti thing, which is sort of like a kebab and omelette mixed together; it is the most filling thing I have ever eaten. I buy beers from the shop and Kath has a lychee spirit (which is proper cheap) with lemonade. We stick to having these ‘til about 10.30 to save money. Eventually the bars start to get busier and we bump into a Swiss couple who we saw at the coach station in KL. We learn they are called Jasmine and Luca and enjoy an evening chatting about our retrospective experiences in India. In the end we get pretty smashed and enjoy the party poppers and whistles given out by the wasted barkeep, but it isn’t a patch on a party back home. I wake up in the morning at 7.15 without even having a hangover, so it can’t possible have been much of a session. Still, I think of all you guys suffering back home and it makes me realise I’m glad I don’t feel too rough!
JAN 1st 2011 To George town Pennang.
We rise early and head to the unititi express again, this time fortunately it is on time and we get moving. We are absolutely knackered but it is hard to sleep with the coach winding and bumping its way through the mountain passes. It is a long 5 hour journey and we are glad when we finally arrive. Pennang is Malaysia’s smallest state and consists mainly of an island connected to the mainland by a bridge. There is a lot of confusion on the coach as the driver tells us to get off and catch a ferry, a lot of people thus head out but we are told the coach should go across the bridge to the island by another couple. Eventually, in a mad dash, we put our bags back on the coach and head back off not sure what is going on. Luckily we do get taken into the town but for a while we don’t have clue what is going on, this is one of the worst things about travelling in foreign lands, unless you’re going to a major city it is almost impossible to know when to get off the train or bus.
We arrive dressed for the highlands – me with full waterproof gear and Kath with her jogging bottoms and coat – only to find that it is scorching and humid here in Pennang. It is an unpleasant trek with our bags all the way to the hostel (called banana), and by the time we get there the sweat is dripping off the inside of my legs. Thankfully we find the place with little difficulty and find it to be clean and spacious with excellent wi-fi: a bargain with the double room costing just 25R (£5).
We don’t get up to much this evening as we only have half the day, I want to watch the united west brom match and set about a mission to find a food court to watch the game. There are mazing food courts all over Malaysia and Singapore where street stalls cumulate to offer many types of food under one roof: this is where the local men drink beer, eat and watch the sports. However, on this evening when I really want to watch the game we can’t find a single place with a screen. Stressed we traipse around town looking for an hour, eventually the only place we find being outside KFC of all places. We don’t want to eat KFC but have no option but to watch it here so end up getting a take out of laksa and chicken rice (which turns out to be pretty shit) and a few cans of chang from the shop and watchi it sat on a concrete building support across from KFC. It isn’t a great atmosphere but at least it is cheap and I finally get to catch a united game, it seems all the kick offs have been 8pm which is 4am here so I haven’t seen a game for ages. Importantly we win the game ( after they miss a pen, pretty lucky) and it puts me in a good mood. We also catch the Liverpool game and get some free food near the hostel as the local people celebrate New Year.
Jan 2nd
Today we spend In the blazing sun of pennang, exploring the island on a scooter. There are things like museums and temples in George town itself but we prefer to check out the scenery, as we have seen many museums and structures before. We head out towards the coastal road, eventually finding the right one after some troubles, the crappy map we has doesn’t provide much use once again but luckily the locals are very helpful and get us on our way. We stop on the outskirts of George town for breakfast and get a spicy mixed meat noodle soup called curry mee, it is excellent and just 3 ringgit, the food in Malaysia is awesome.
We enjoy amazing views along the winding roads and I enjoy all the long curves and hills, getting up some decent speeds. Taking the scenic route to the back side of the island, we make many stops to see the sights, a highlight of which was the tropical fruit farm where we got amazing fresh honey-dew melon juice. Our aim is to reach a very authentic small town called Baku Pilau – it is very quaint with traditional Malay houses bordering the rivers, the place is sleepy and rural and a refreshing chn age from anything else before. It is annoying though when we try to find a beer stop but everywhere is shut, although eventually we manage to find a small cafe. Strangely when we ask to use the toilet he leads us to a room with some lobsters in a water pit and no hole in the ground, I figure you’re supposed to pee on them but unsure I don’t risk it! We also get some more noodles in the centre of town at a very rustic eating place.
Pennag islands itself is a beautiful place with diverse environments like the bustling Georgetown and quiet little villages. There are some spectacular beaches along the coastal road and beautiful tree covered hills in the centre of the island make for wonderful views. As usual there are many temples and pagodas round every corner and you are seldom short of things to see. Given this we often just set off without any plan and see what we find, always managing to see some good stuff on the way; this was proven as on the way back to Georgetown we stumble across an awesome Chinese style temple on the hill which housed a statue that was surely 20 metres high. The red and golden pagoda and massive oriental gate were spectacularly set into the trees above a small town, we don’t know the name of the place but it was absolutely stunning.
In the evening as it goes dark I find it difficult to manage driving through the busy roads and get stressed out, eventually making it home to return the bike. Malaysia is much more organised and less chaotic than India, but still it seems a bit mad on the roads, especially at night time. Although it is very westernised and clearly quite rich it still has some authentic Asian feel t it unlike Singapore, conveniently also everyone speaks English which makes life very easy. I think Malaysia would be a good destination for anyone worried about travelling in Asia alone as it is so easy to get around and people are so friendly.
For the evening entertainment we find one of the amazing food courts I was talking about and catch Chelsea vs Villa. It is a wicked game to watch especially as Villa pulled of a miracle to snatch the draw at the end of the match, I’m so glad the cockney rent boy’s season is falling apart. We enjoy lots of food from all different stalls, and there is a really good atmosphere for the footy, gutted I didin;t find it yesterday, these places are the best!
Jan 3rd
Not much to report – we have a 24 hour train from Butterworth to Bangkok. We play silly games like hang man and 20 questions to try and pass the time and Kath gets mad when we play squares because it baffles her head. We worry that they will let us starve as no drinks or food are offered, and we start talking about what Bear Gryls would do in the situation, I said he’d already be drinking his own piss and catching flies to munch on!
Eventually after a sketchy border crossing they come round with food and beer, and in the evening we have a laugh chatting to a sound fella from London called Miles. He is on a shorter trip but gives us some tips about Vietnam and Thailand. We end up getting pretty merry and the time starts to pass a lot quicker.
Everything passes without much incident and we sleep pretty well in the spacious bunks. On to Thailand!
Sunday, 2 January 2011
Cameron Highlands
Dec 29th To the Highlands!
We intend to wake early to see the Petronas towers given yesterdays debacle, but wake a little late at around 10am! Still we quickly head off by taxi and get there before 10.30; we head inside with our suitcases, eager to see the amazing skyline form the skybridge. Alas, it appears it was not meant to be, despite only being open for an hour the bloody tickets are sold out, it turns out you need to be puff daddy or something to blag your way up the towers. Obviously, unlike in India, the Malaysians don’t care about making money.
Disappointed, we head across town via monorail and train to get our bus, worst thing being we miss out on Krispy Kreme doughnuts as were too short on time. We are left waiting for an hour for our bus, it is pretty blagging; noon e seems to be able to give us any info as to where on when our coach will arrive, however eventually I spot the right one (unititi express) and we head to the hills. The coach is a big deluxe job with reclining seats and air con, but it still gives a pretty bumpy ride as we wind through crazy mountain roads and valleys. When we eventually arrive the scene is not what I expected (one of the bonuses of poor planning is you are always surprised by what you see), Tanah Rata is like a bizarre faux French or Swiss ski resort with black and white challets perched among luscious jungle. Mist rises out of the hills and clouds roll in across the valleys causing a beautiful but overcast skyscape. For the first time in a long while we are chilly and have to don our jumpers and pants – I’m pretty glad I wasn’t stubborn enough to stick to my initial idea of bringing just two sets of clothes.
We arrive in the evening and check into the cameronian inn (advertising home-made tea and scones) It is extremely clean and tidy and very very quiet. We head for dinner and a few beers but don’t get up to much this evening, we do get some funny looks though as we drink 12% strength larger called BISON (mixed with lemonade) the locals all drink super strength here and it is much cheaper, so we take to drinking it watered down to save cash. The tourists here though are all tea drinkers and eco warriors I think, not much night life to speak of, a fact proven by the hotel’s “Silence after 10pm” demands.
Dec 30th – Junglist massive
The mornings in the highlands are cold and it appears often wet, with a relatively persistent drizzle common-place. Other people we meet complain about the poor weather, but for us it’s like the best of British summer, damp but warm and humid – so we decide to head into the hills. We purchase a map from a local store, on first appearance it seems useful but we soon realise none of it is to scale and the jungle paths are represented by a mere dotted line which isn’t a lot of help – still, fearlessly we head out equipped with a rucksack full of waterproofs, crisps, a pen knife and an assortment of various random fruits including a small melon (essential for all intrepid adventurers).
Finding the bloody path is nearly as hard as actually trekking through the thing and we spend a lot of time wandering around the back end of town looking for it; eventually a local guides us to the right place which is an unmarked dirt track leading off into the thick forest. Thankfully we are being lead away from what sounds like a very hungry rabid dogwolf hybrid and I’m very glad, although once in the jungle scrub everything seems to creak and crack, which when mixed with exotic bird calls, leads to an authentically scary experience.
Our hiking sandals get a lot of good use as we stride up steep steps made from worn away earth and gnarly tree roots. Getting into the spirit of becoming fully experienced rambling hikers I break branches from a dead tree to create rustic walking sticks – later these save our skin on more than one occasion. We head left at a fork in the road to what we hope is path 10 on our crappy map; this seems to take us up and fast, with an unrelenting slope leading to the clouds. It is pretty knackering as we keep up a good pace but worth it in the end when we reach the summit and look across the emerald valleys. Grey mist rolls from above the hills and along the tree canopy: it’s as if a great fire was burning in some far off land and the smoke was flowing like a river in the cool air. Small white and black chalets look quaint among the trees and I can’t believe were trekking in the jungle of Malaysia, the environment is so diverse and I never expected anything like this.
We stop for lunch and I hack up the cumbersome melon (more to get rid of the weight than to allay my hunger) and munch some crisps and chocolates. We then are faced with a dilemma – the trail either goes up further to the peak of the mountain or what looks like back down the hill. We consult the map but it provides little insight, so we think down is probably the best option. We soon realise that this assumption was wrong as the trail gets more and more rugged and we have to scoot down on are arses to avoid falling over. Still, despite my best efforts to help her Kath falls on her arse (sometimes you cannot prevent the inevitable) we realise that the path has now turned into a strange drainage channel which appears to be something to do with a nearby pylon: bollocks! We head back up the steep rugged terrain back to where we were before; I start to worry that we could get lost in the jungle as the paths are not very well maintained. However, we have set off with plenty of time to spare and at 1.30 we have 5 hours of sunlight, also we aren’t exactly in the Amazon basin – we can hear the distant rumble of vehicles on the road below, but still it’s fun to get a taste of the authentic trekking experience without the massive danger and the vicious biting insects.
We reach the peak and enjoy even better vistas, then we head back down the mountain through muddy paths in much denser vegetation, here our sticks prove invaluable as we can lean into the mud and progress down the steep slopes. We go on trekking for another 90 minutes maybe eventually coming out at a strange settlement surrounded by quarries where a procession of earth movers dredge red soil and deposit it at the foot of the hills. We consult the map but surprise surprise we don’t have a clue where we are. Eventually we reach a golf course which is on the map and get our bearings, walking back to Tanah Rata, all in all it has been a serious mission – over 4 hours trekking in total.
We get hot showers to get rid of the cold and damp and ditch our filthy clothes, I’m glad were staying in a good hotel as for the first time ever we have properly hot showers and we really need them. Starving we head out for dinner and as we did yesterday we have the local speciality, the aptly named “steam boat”. This consists of a pot of bubbling broth on a gas stove in front of you which has 2 sides – one spicy tom yam soup and the other a tasty chicken stock concoction. You then get plates of raw stuff to chuck in your soup to cook, the highlights were beef, chicken, squid, fish, oyster mushrooms, whole eggs (which you crack into the broth) and also a lot of different noodles and vegetables. There were some other inclusions like jelly fish that didn’t go down quite as well (imagine chewing on fishy boot soles) but generally it is all awesome. The best thing about it is the fun of fishing out the stuff with your chop sticks and getting covered in sauce, it adds a new dimension to eating making it more of an activity than just eating. We sit and eat for 90 minutes, and all that for just 14R each (£3), we have the same thing at Red & Hot in Chinatown and it costs £16 each!
We finish up back at the hotel, again its dead, so we watch the T.V in a cute little tv room, we manage to catch Coralanne (?) on HBO and it has no adverts which is ace, and its a pretty good animated film.
We intend to wake early to see the Petronas towers given yesterdays debacle, but wake a little late at around 10am! Still we quickly head off by taxi and get there before 10.30; we head inside with our suitcases, eager to see the amazing skyline form the skybridge. Alas, it appears it was not meant to be, despite only being open for an hour the bloody tickets are sold out, it turns out you need to be puff daddy or something to blag your way up the towers. Obviously, unlike in India, the Malaysians don’t care about making money.
Disappointed, we head across town via monorail and train to get our bus, worst thing being we miss out on Krispy Kreme doughnuts as were too short on time. We are left waiting for an hour for our bus, it is pretty blagging; noon e seems to be able to give us any info as to where on when our coach will arrive, however eventually I spot the right one (unititi express) and we head to the hills. The coach is a big deluxe job with reclining seats and air con, but it still gives a pretty bumpy ride as we wind through crazy mountain roads and valleys. When we eventually arrive the scene is not what I expected (one of the bonuses of poor planning is you are always surprised by what you see), Tanah Rata is like a bizarre faux French or Swiss ski resort with black and white challets perched among luscious jungle. Mist rises out of the hills and clouds roll in across the valleys causing a beautiful but overcast skyscape. For the first time in a long while we are chilly and have to don our jumpers and pants – I’m pretty glad I wasn’t stubborn enough to stick to my initial idea of bringing just two sets of clothes.
We arrive in the evening and check into the cameronian inn (advertising home-made tea and scones) It is extremely clean and tidy and very very quiet. We head for dinner and a few beers but don’t get up to much this evening, we do get some funny looks though as we drink 12% strength larger called BISON (mixed with lemonade) the locals all drink super strength here and it is much cheaper, so we take to drinking it watered down to save cash. The tourists here though are all tea drinkers and eco warriors I think, not much night life to speak of, a fact proven by the hotel’s “Silence after 10pm” demands.
Dec 30th – Junglist massive
The mornings in the highlands are cold and it appears often wet, with a relatively persistent drizzle common-place. Other people we meet complain about the poor weather, but for us it’s like the best of British summer, damp but warm and humid – so we decide to head into the hills. We purchase a map from a local store, on first appearance it seems useful but we soon realise none of it is to scale and the jungle paths are represented by a mere dotted line which isn’t a lot of help – still, fearlessly we head out equipped with a rucksack full of waterproofs, crisps, a pen knife and an assortment of various random fruits including a small melon (essential for all intrepid adventurers).
Finding the bloody path is nearly as hard as actually trekking through the thing and we spend a lot of time wandering around the back end of town looking for it; eventually a local guides us to the right place which is an unmarked dirt track leading off into the thick forest. Thankfully we are being lead away from what sounds like a very hungry rabid dogwolf hybrid and I’m very glad, although once in the jungle scrub everything seems to creak and crack, which when mixed with exotic bird calls, leads to an authentically scary experience.
Our hiking sandals get a lot of good use as we stride up steep steps made from worn away earth and gnarly tree roots. Getting into the spirit of becoming fully experienced rambling hikers I break branches from a dead tree to create rustic walking sticks – later these save our skin on more than one occasion. We head left at a fork in the road to what we hope is path 10 on our crappy map; this seems to take us up and fast, with an unrelenting slope leading to the clouds. It is pretty knackering as we keep up a good pace but worth it in the end when we reach the summit and look across the emerald valleys. Grey mist rolls from above the hills and along the tree canopy: it’s as if a great fire was burning in some far off land and the smoke was flowing like a river in the cool air. Small white and black chalets look quaint among the trees and I can’t believe were trekking in the jungle of Malaysia, the environment is so diverse and I never expected anything like this.
We stop for lunch and I hack up the cumbersome melon (more to get rid of the weight than to allay my hunger) and munch some crisps and chocolates. We then are faced with a dilemma – the trail either goes up further to the peak of the mountain or what looks like back down the hill. We consult the map but it provides little insight, so we think down is probably the best option. We soon realise that this assumption was wrong as the trail gets more and more rugged and we have to scoot down on are arses to avoid falling over. Still, despite my best efforts to help her Kath falls on her arse (sometimes you cannot prevent the inevitable) we realise that the path has now turned into a strange drainage channel which appears to be something to do with a nearby pylon: bollocks! We head back up the steep rugged terrain back to where we were before; I start to worry that we could get lost in the jungle as the paths are not very well maintained. However, we have set off with plenty of time to spare and at 1.30 we have 5 hours of sunlight, also we aren’t exactly in the Amazon basin – we can hear the distant rumble of vehicles on the road below, but still it’s fun to get a taste of the authentic trekking experience without the massive danger and the vicious biting insects.
We reach the peak and enjoy even better vistas, then we head back down the mountain through muddy paths in much denser vegetation, here our sticks prove invaluable as we can lean into the mud and progress down the steep slopes. We go on trekking for another 90 minutes maybe eventually coming out at a strange settlement surrounded by quarries where a procession of earth movers dredge red soil and deposit it at the foot of the hills. We consult the map but surprise surprise we don’t have a clue where we are. Eventually we reach a golf course which is on the map and get our bearings, walking back to Tanah Rata, all in all it has been a serious mission – over 4 hours trekking in total.
We get hot showers to get rid of the cold and damp and ditch our filthy clothes, I’m glad were staying in a good hotel as for the first time ever we have properly hot showers and we really need them. Starving we head out for dinner and as we did yesterday we have the local speciality, the aptly named “steam boat”. This consists of a pot of bubbling broth on a gas stove in front of you which has 2 sides – one spicy tom yam soup and the other a tasty chicken stock concoction. You then get plates of raw stuff to chuck in your soup to cook, the highlights were beef, chicken, squid, fish, oyster mushrooms, whole eggs (which you crack into the broth) and also a lot of different noodles and vegetables. There were some other inclusions like jelly fish that didn’t go down quite as well (imagine chewing on fishy boot soles) but generally it is all awesome. The best thing about it is the fun of fishing out the stuff with your chop sticks and getting covered in sauce, it adds a new dimension to eating making it more of an activity than just eating. We sit and eat for 90 minutes, and all that for just 14R each (£3), we have the same thing at Red & Hot in Chinatown and it costs £16 each!
We finish up back at the hotel, again its dead, so we watch the T.V in a cute little tv room, we manage to catch Coralanne (?) on HBO and it has no adverts which is ace, and its a pretty good animated film.
Saturday, 1 January 2011
Happy New Year too all my family and mates.
We had new years eve in the sleepy town on Tanah Rata, safe to say you probably had a better time back home, i'm sure plenty of people are nursing hangovers this morning but we're just frsh from a 5 hour bus ride and not feeling to bad. Just wanted to wish you all the best for 2011. If anyone wants to get in touch - you know i'm not doing facebook so send me a message on my personal e-mail. Tim.black@hotmail.co.uk Peace! Tim!
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