Well it is another post too early in the morning where I am saying good bye to yet another Vietnamese city. This time it is Hanoi, which I found out means "city within the River". Like many places it is the last day that you really come around. I must admit I wasn't impressed with Hanoi when I got here because almost everyone is a rip off merchant. But after being here for a few days, I understand the charm that Hanoi is reputed for.
Yesterday was an interesting and jam packed day. We were off bright and early in the morning to go and see Uncle Ho (Ho Chi Minh to the uninitiated) which was cool but kinda creepy. The man has been dead for 40 years but he is that well preserved that he looks like he is having a nap. The Muesoleum itself is a grand, roman like structure that is surrounded by guards. As a matter of fact, there are guards everywhere in the complex, and one step in the wrong direction and they get their whistle on. Considering that you are only allowed to go in one direction, I got whistled at a fair bit.
The rest of the day was pretty much wandering the city, trying to find certain shops people had told us about. This turned out to be more difficult that first expected as it is like the Mad Hatter's Tea party- at the drop of a hat everyone has changed places! And there is no concept of copyright here so there are clones, upon clones, upon clones of everything- from travel agencies to enire hotels. And they are quick little buggers- The "New Moon" movie has been available to purchase for at least a week now
Our night finished with the famous water puppet show. It is like punch and Judy in a pool. It is very intersting, they are very talented... all of this is true but Mum and I had previously had a few drinks and ended up having small naps during the performance. I kinda wished we didn't because it is a great show, but that Asian folk music gets mere everytime (or maybe it is the Tequila)
So we are off to breakfast to expand my increasing waistline, but for the first time in my life I really don't give a s***. This trip has truely changed my life, my perception of myself and my relationship with my mother. I am truely, no bulls*** happy.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Journey To Jurassic Halong Bay
Once again Vietnam has shown us yet another beautiful location, The world famous Halong Bay. The rugged limestone outcrops covered with vegetation and shrouded in mist gave the whole trip a mysterious and serene feeling. We spend the first day on a Junk and cruised among the 1969 outcrops and jade green waters. Whilst I was photo-happy, the photos truely do it no justice.
After cruising along for a couple of hours, we arrived at the Thien Cung and Bao Dau Go Caves. Thien Cung translates to paradise, and whilst it is beautiful, it would be a very isolated and strange paradise. There are eerie formations created about 250 million years ago from erosion in the shapes of dragons, turtles and Buddha- if you look hard enough. And the place is massive, it is hard to believe that such a huge area was created by the ebb and flow of water. The Thien Cung caves were actually only discovered by a fisherman seeking shelter from a huge storm in the bay in 1993. In true Vietnam form, the caves were open and ready to accommodate tourists by 1994 and have been lit up in a variety of colours.
Our next stop on the Halong Bay Cruise was a floating fish market. Trust me when I tell you, there is some weird shit living in Vietnam- massive fish that look like a cross between a shark and a grouper, strange looking cuttle fish and a range of crustaceans that defy definition. And as you can imagine it is an understatement to say that it smelt a little fishy. So after a brief look around the holding bays, I was back onto the boat and into some local cuisine- mostly vegetarian though!
We spent the night after a day of cruising at Cat Ba Island, the land that time forgot. Well that is until you reach the other side of the island and it is lined with shops, restaurants and bars where the only english the Girls know is "Happy Hour- 2 for 1". But the 40 minute drive from the wharf was something else. I was expecting to see dinosaurs roaming around and old T-Rex to come out of nowhere and rip off the top of our minibus. And despite the winding narrow roads that navigate the limestone peaks, the drivers are just as crazy as here in Hanoi- only they have goats to dodge as well.
Mum was a little disappointed at Cat Ba Island this time around, apparently in the peak season the place is lit up like Vegas with restaurants overflowing into the streets and markets set up all over the place. But this time there was a few lonely motorcycle riders and a weird music mix of Kenny G and traditional music pipped repeatedly on public radio in the streets. We were lucky enough to be woken up by it at like 6am- there is no escaping the public radio! There are some weird propaganda messages in between the music, the only word of which I understood was "progress".
Today we headed back from Cat Ba through the idylic surrounds of the bay and met so many people. From the bus taking us from Hanoi, to the Junk and transport to Cat Ba, the tour guides played "shuffle the tourists" so we ended up with a different group of people every couple of hours. So we met people from Korea, France, Canada, Phillipines and of course Aussies and one British woman that was lovely, but a bit of a cling on- and trying to hook me up with her son. Mmmmm no
Well we are back in Hanoi and going to check out more of the sights and sounds so i'll keep you updated.
After cruising along for a couple of hours, we arrived at the Thien Cung and Bao Dau Go Caves. Thien Cung translates to paradise, and whilst it is beautiful, it would be a very isolated and strange paradise. There are eerie formations created about 250 million years ago from erosion in the shapes of dragons, turtles and Buddha- if you look hard enough. And the place is massive, it is hard to believe that such a huge area was created by the ebb and flow of water. The Thien Cung caves were actually only discovered by a fisherman seeking shelter from a huge storm in the bay in 1993. In true Vietnam form, the caves were open and ready to accommodate tourists by 1994 and have been lit up in a variety of colours.
Our next stop on the Halong Bay Cruise was a floating fish market. Trust me when I tell you, there is some weird shit living in Vietnam- massive fish that look like a cross between a shark and a grouper, strange looking cuttle fish and a range of crustaceans that defy definition. And as you can imagine it is an understatement to say that it smelt a little fishy. So after a brief look around the holding bays, I was back onto the boat and into some local cuisine- mostly vegetarian though!
We spent the night after a day of cruising at Cat Ba Island, the land that time forgot. Well that is until you reach the other side of the island and it is lined with shops, restaurants and bars where the only english the Girls know is "Happy Hour- 2 for 1". But the 40 minute drive from the wharf was something else. I was expecting to see dinosaurs roaming around and old T-Rex to come out of nowhere and rip off the top of our minibus. And despite the winding narrow roads that navigate the limestone peaks, the drivers are just as crazy as here in Hanoi- only they have goats to dodge as well.
Mum was a little disappointed at Cat Ba Island this time around, apparently in the peak season the place is lit up like Vegas with restaurants overflowing into the streets and markets set up all over the place. But this time there was a few lonely motorcycle riders and a weird music mix of Kenny G and traditional music pipped repeatedly on public radio in the streets. We were lucky enough to be woken up by it at like 6am- there is no escaping the public radio! There are some weird propaganda messages in between the music, the only word of which I understood was "progress".
Today we headed back from Cat Ba through the idylic surrounds of the bay and met so many people. From the bus taking us from Hanoi, to the Junk and transport to Cat Ba, the tour guides played "shuffle the tourists" so we ended up with a different group of people every couple of hours. So we met people from Korea, France, Canada, Phillipines and of course Aussies and one British woman that was lovely, but a bit of a cling on- and trying to hook me up with her son. Mmmmm no
Well we are back in Hanoi and going to check out more of the sights and sounds so i'll keep you updated.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Hanoi Hustle
We have finally made it up to the Capital of Vietnam after a few brief stops in Danang and Hue. Both were interesting places to say the least, and somewhat evil because you can get Jose Cuervo 60ml shots for about $1.50... Don't even ask me how I went!
But we had a great time doing more sightseeing in Hue- Temples, Pagodas, Forbidden City- still interesting in their own way but after a while and 1000 temples later, they start to lose their appeal. One memorable stop was the Thien Mu Pagoda, which was the home pagoda of the monk which set himself alight in the 60's protesting against the governement at the time. The Austin motorcar that was in the background of that famous photo is even there, which seemed a little out of place since it is a operating temple of buddist worship. Of course, Mum and I do things a little differently and decided to walk there- just over 8km return trip. With slight drizzle and huge puddles on the road, the locals though we were crazy. Some of the travellers we met later on thought we were crazy too for walking. But hey- Crazy is just what we do.
On the way home, Mum was getting a little itszy because she decided to wear new shoes for our adventure so I started up a game of I spy. We were near a park when mum said "I spy with my little eye something beginning with P" I then looked up to see some guy sitting on a motorcycle wanking himself off. "Is it penis?" I said. Totally gross at the time, but funny now
Danang doesn't have much to see so mum and I did what we do best- Lushed out and got manicures, pedicures, massages etc. One of the best afternoons I have had here in Vietnam.
So we are now in Hanoi, were I have truely had my swagger on- walking out into the street without looking, giving dirty looks to the drivers that honk at me. Mum and I walk around like we own the streets. But after a while you have to be like that or you will get run over. It is funny watching the new tourists freaking out trying to cross the road. Mum saw this woman in a cyclo today, crippled with fear and all she would move was her eyes. It's probably not cool to laugh at this people- but who cares HAHAHAHAHAHA. We have already seen Hoem Kiem Lake which is radioactive green and is home to the fabled Golden Tortoise. There is stuffed version of one that died in 1968 which weighs 250Kg and is 2.1m long. Looking at the water they are meant to be living in, I understand where the idea for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles came from.
Now it is time for us to head out again and explore Dong Xuan Markets and the rest of old town, and maybe fit in a water puppet show tonight. So goodbye for now and I will put up some more photos soon xoxo
But we had a great time doing more sightseeing in Hue- Temples, Pagodas, Forbidden City- still interesting in their own way but after a while and 1000 temples later, they start to lose their appeal. One memorable stop was the Thien Mu Pagoda, which was the home pagoda of the monk which set himself alight in the 60's protesting against the governement at the time. The Austin motorcar that was in the background of that famous photo is even there, which seemed a little out of place since it is a operating temple of buddist worship. Of course, Mum and I do things a little differently and decided to walk there- just over 8km return trip. With slight drizzle and huge puddles on the road, the locals though we were crazy. Some of the travellers we met later on thought we were crazy too for walking. But hey- Crazy is just what we do.
On the way home, Mum was getting a little itszy because she decided to wear new shoes for our adventure so I started up a game of I spy. We were near a park when mum said "I spy with my little eye something beginning with P" I then looked up to see some guy sitting on a motorcycle wanking himself off. "Is it penis?" I said. Totally gross at the time, but funny now
Danang doesn't have much to see so mum and I did what we do best- Lushed out and got manicures, pedicures, massages etc. One of the best afternoons I have had here in Vietnam.
So we are now in Hanoi, were I have truely had my swagger on- walking out into the street without looking, giving dirty looks to the drivers that honk at me. Mum and I walk around like we own the streets. But after a while you have to be like that or you will get run over. It is funny watching the new tourists freaking out trying to cross the road. Mum saw this woman in a cyclo today, crippled with fear and all she would move was her eyes. It's probably not cool to laugh at this people- but who cares HAHAHAHAHAHA. We have already seen Hoem Kiem Lake which is radioactive green and is home to the fabled Golden Tortoise. There is stuffed version of one that died in 1968 which weighs 250Kg and is 2.1m long. Looking at the water they are meant to be living in, I understand where the idea for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles came from.
Now it is time for us to head out again and explore Dong Xuan Markets and the rest of old town, and maybe fit in a water puppet show tonight. So goodbye for now and I will put up some more photos soon xoxo
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Belated Photos- The magesty of Angkor Day 1
The last Four are of Ankor Wat at sunrise, and the first two are of Ta Prohm. The one with the faces is Bayon and I will fill in the blanks later when I find my lonely planet guide :)
Ok we took about 300 photos of temples so I wouldn't bore you with the entire catalogue, but here are some of the better shots xoxo I actually bought postcards so that I would have perfect shots of these temples :)
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Belated Posts: Big Trouble in Little India
Photo 1: Not even throw the first drink at the Beattle Bar, KL
Photo 2: Mum learning "westside" In the Reggae Bar, KL
Photo 3: Me and Bob at the Reggae Bar in KL
Photo 4: Mum and I made our mark in the Reggae Bar, along with every other traveller
Photo 5: Me hugging the door when we finally got a room in Chinatown
Photo 6: The View of the chinatwon markets from the Beattles Bar
Although I am miles away from KL, Malaysia, I figured since I am uploading the photos a little late, recounting our tales from there can be a little late as well. As you can tell from the photos, in the couple of days we had in KL we certainly got around the city.
I must admit it was somewhat of a rocky start. After numerous hours in the air, being a little jet lagged sucked a little enthusiasm out of us both, but being our first day we pushed on. And then we got to little India. We had booked our room at the Garden City Hotel where we probably met the rudest Indian woman in our lives. Mum coined her as "full of self importance" which is a pretty accurate description. Now I find the silent battle of wills between mum and that woman extremely amusing- eye brow raising, stiff body language, the works. What was worse is that I had forgotten from previous experience that Indian men take a preference to me. So you can imagine the leering eyes that were in little India...
So there was a little drizzle that night but as you can imagine we were undeterred and set about exploring the city and that is were our holiday truely began. We saw the Petronis Towers which were brilliantly lit up and the KL Tower which is not as famous, but equally as lovely. After seeing as much as we could in the darkness of night we settled into a Indian restaurant were there was little English spoken, but the fresh naan was freaking amazing.
Our last night in KL is were we really came into our own. We arrived back from our brief sojourn in Singapore (which I will relate to you later) we decided to wing it and find our own hotel in Chinatown. It was a balmy night and we ended up dragging our bags around the Chinatown markets, fighting off market stall owners, tying to find a hotel. One man ended up taking us through the back of people's stalls, through places that were clearly marked no entry, to the Swiss Inn- But the wrong side. We ended up dragging everything through their restaurant, having to work out the series of lifts that went up two floors, down other floors and a maze of doors and steps to find the lobby which was on the same floor as the restaurant, the the other side of the building. You can imagine our jubilation when there was a room available and the staff were warm, funny and kind.
After ditching our bags in the room, we braved the markets again were I practiced my battering skills for the first time- and quite woefully. I remembered a friend of mine saying that if they put your purchase in a black bag you have been ripped off and it is a signal to other stall owners that you are an easy mark. So when I saw the wallet going into the black bag I high-tailed it out of there without buying a thing. The man was quite pissed off but hey- you can't win them all.
With all the excitement of the evening, mum and I decided it was time to do what Dad feared, we did some pub crawling. First was the Beatles bar which looked like a dark Opium Den, but the beer was cheap (well for first timers to Asia we thought it was) and there was a view of the markets and our next stop- The Reggae Bar. We loved it there so we decided to stay, sinking a few Tigers and having a great old laugh. I even taught mum how to do the "westside" hand gesture which was hilarious.
With the shopping we did the next day and all the adventures we had in the first three days of our holiday, KL was a great place to start our Asian adventure
Belated Photos
Hey I have finally got my act togther and here are some photos from the beginning of our trip
Photo 1: The KL Tower obviously in KL
Photo 2: The Petronis Towers in KL
Photo 3: Me loving food in little India in KL
Photo 4: Some street art in downtown KL
Photo 5: Mum walkin it in style down some random walkway near the massive causeway in KL
More later xoxox
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