Tag: Vietnam (Page 2 of 2)

Phu Ly – Vietnam 5-11 March 2011

March 11, 2011 / terry

I am writing from the hotel, having spent the day resting up with a “touch of belly”. After the things we have been eating, it’s not surprising. Christine, as usual, had a quick bout of mild illness then straight back on deck while I seem to take a couple of days to get over anything.

The experience working with Project Vietnam (PVI) has been all we hoped it would be. We are part of a group of 29 wonderful people, most from Queensland but with a smattering of New South Welshmen, West Aussies and Canberra-ites thrown in. We spent the first night in Hanoi, getting reacquainted with the Bia Hoi stall down the road then travelled approximately 75km South East to Phu Ly, the provincial capital of Hai Nam. Phu Ly is home for the next two weeks, which puts us nearly half way through the current project. We are staying at the Hoa Binh Hotel, a very comfortable (and even luxurious by our usual standards) seven storey building in the classy part of town. The room is setting us back a whopping $18 a night.

PVI is running two projects in the area, both kindergartens that are in need of rebuilding. They require re-roofing, concrete cancer taking care of the old ones, ceilings, the provision of power points, lots of painting and replastering as well as any odd maintenance jobs we can manage. The team has several builders, with one having been on site for several weeks planning the work and assembling materials. A lot is sourced locally, although the roofing steel has been imported from Australia. Some labour is also sourced locally, mostly bricklayers and plasterers. We also have an electrician with us . The building codes here seem very loose to non-existent. Seldom is anything done with a level or a string line and the lack of cavity walls or damp courses means that most buildings rapidly succumb to damp and rot.

Each morning, we head out in a bus (actually two buses because the two jobs are in opposite directions). The weather has been cool and very misty, although the rain has been restricted to the night. Most days, we return totally exhausted, especially after a day on the roof clambering around. We are very well fed along the way. At our site, some locals provide an amazing array of dishes; fried chicken, roast duck, calamari, deep fried prawns, buk choy, sweet cabbage, and rice have all been on the menu. Sadly, the other site has not fared so well and there have been numerous complaints about the chewy broiled beef and sticky rice or plain noodles.

As a learning experience, the project has been terrific because not only have I learnt a lot about Vietnam, I have learnt some new building techniques. The work is very hard but very satisfying. Access to power is one of the issues we face. As a power saving measure, the village only gets supplied for half a day so the electricity goes on or off at noon. At other times, we rely on a very noisy diesel generator that can just run two power tools at a pinch. Our biggest need is for ladders and scaffolding. One aluminium 4-way folding ladder was brought in from Australia but often we have to use a long bamboo job. While this is undeniably strong, it does twist and groan when one is up near the top so it takes some getting used to.

Throughout the day, there is a steady stream of locals dropping in to see the progress and to say “sin cheow”. We use our very few Vietnamese phrases and they respond with their very few English phrases. The Principal and teachers are often on site, organising things for us or helping clear away the continual mess that builders always seem to create. School is held in two shifts. Just after noon when the first shift finishes, the yard fills with curious kids. At other times, the Principal closes the gate and they mill outside, keen to watch the strange “round-eyes” at work. Christine sat with one group and they worked through their English lessons, practising phrases.

One of our favourite times is the walk back through the community to catch the bus, an easy trek of around a kilometre. In the afternoon, the narrow village streets are full of people who all greet us or wave. Everyone around seems well aware of who we are and what we are doing and appear to be very appreciative. We also pass a large duck pond and each day we mentally count the ducks to see whether the day’s lunch diminished their numbers.

At the end of each day, most of the team members will congregate in the nearby Bia Hoi. This sells local keg beer in tankards, along with a variety of nibbles. A heavy session on the Bia wouldn’t make a monkey drunk so we tend to consume quite a bit of the stuff. The whole bill for the group is shared out, usually coming to around 25,000VN each (about $1.25). For evening meals, most just head off in small groups to find some Pho (noodle soup) or similar fare. Often, we just take a couple of bread rolls and cheese or bananas back to our room because we a so tired or lunch was so filling.

Yesterday, Christine and I travelled East to Thai Binh, about 50kms away, to take part in a ceremony handing over bursaries to 5 final year medical students. This is an annual award from PVI to the University and we enjoyed the hospitality of the Vice Rector and the Vice Head of International Cooperation, including a sumptuous lunch at a hotel. The five students were very appreciative of the $200 they were receiving, an amount that will support them for 5 or 6 months of their final year. We also took the opportunity to visit an orphanage in Thai Binh, the scene of an earlier project. There were only 4 children present, most being off at school. The other team members that had worked with the orphanage were greeted with much enthusiasm. The children were given some knitted toys and soccer balls. Christine and I thought that the standards the children were enjoying were higher than some of the aboriginal students and communities back home in Australia.

Tomorrow, a film crew from Channel Seven’s Sunrise arrives (Natalie Barr) to film the work we do. At this stage, I’m not sure of just when and how this footage will be shown back in Australia but I’ll post up the details as soon as they are known.

Langkawi Feb 28 – Mar 4 2011

March 6, 2011 / terry

We spent 4 wonderful days in Langkawi, en-route to Vietnam for this year’s Project Vietnam undertaking. Our visit last year to Langkawi was all too brief and we promised ourselves a return trip. We still didn’t allocate anywhere near enough time and we are determined to come back for a extended stay. In fact, a lot of the Europeans we came across were spending several months there. It is certainly cheap enough to permit that.

The whole time was spent around water sports. Why not when we were living right on the beach at Pantai Cenang? Here the beach is clean and white with good swimming water. Our bungalow was 50 metres from the water and afforded a great view of the comings and goings on the beach from the comfort of our front porch. The AB Motel is cheap and basic but serves the purpose very well. It really is just a place to shower and sleep, with most of the time spent on the beach, in the streets or off on an excursion.

We caught a taxi to Mt Mathincang where there is a cable car ride that boasts of being one of the steepest in the World. The total ride is 2.2km and the top of the mountain is up around 700m so it is really spectacular. Unfortunately, we shared our cable car with a guy (I think he was German) who had the worst BO I’ve ever encountered. The cable car itself is rather confined so we were gasping by the time we reached the first station. We took in the fabulous views from the mid level station (about 3/4 of the way up) then went back to continue the journey. I looked around for the BO man but he wasn’t in sight. As we took our place in the line, he materialised next to us and we got another dose.

The view from the top was even better and we took a walk down to an amazing semi-circular walking bridge that creates a walk over the rainforest canopy. After much camera clicking and ooing and arhing, it was time to climb the steps back to the cable car station. The buttocks were screaming in protest by the end. This exercise had definitely shaken off the BO man (did I forget to say that he was also disabled and walked with the aid of sticks?). Back in the village at the base of the mountain, we ate a wonderful lunch of Mee Hoon and Fried Kweay Teow washed down with lemon juice (it’s a Muslim country). After wandering the shops for a bit (and losing Christine), we taxied back to our home stretch of Pantai Cerang and had a swim followed by a lovely afternoon nap.

Another day was spent snorkeling on Pulau Payar, an island off the South West corner of Langkawi. It has been a declared marine reserve for many years so the fish life is more abundant than other places. The coral is disappointing by Australian standards but the water was very clear and the snorkeling excellent.

The large number of black tip reef sharks were fun and showed no fear of humans at all. We also saw a wonderful metre long groper and a huge metre plus barracuda. The whole day, with transfers, boat trip, lunch and snorkeling gear was $A40 each, fantastic value. These group trips are terrific entertainment because one gets to watch all the different types. Many people were amused by a group of 4 young Aussie girls who strutted their stuff and showed off their best “absolutely fabulous” talk. We called them the Princess Group. Then there were the Japanese couples who head for the water bound up in life jackets, snorkeling gear, hats and no idea at all of how to swim. Another Middle Eastern guy spent over an hour standing in the water surrounded by the teaming small coral fish demanding that his wife take photos of him. She seemed to tire of the game but wasn’t allowed to stop. Meanwhile, he was turning a brilliant shade of red on his back.

We cast our hatred of jet skis aside and hired one for a 4 hour trip around a group of islands of Pantai Cenang. The guide was a young Pommie guy named Tom who reckoned he had a holiday job from heaven. We visited a spot where three species of eagles come to be fed chicken scraps by tour boats. While this is a spectacular sight, with White Breasted Sea Eagles, Langkawi Eagles and Brown Eagles all diving and swooping, the practice is leading to a major change in the ecology of the birds themselves, who are losing the art of hunting and are forming social groups rather than the territorial bonded pairs that they usually form.

We explored some isolated beaches, snorkeled (although the water was not too clear) and spent a wonderful hour on an exclusive island resort relaxing on lounges in luxurious surroundings. The trip was an absolute highlight and changed our outlook on “personal water craft”. We tend to see people just hooning around on them and making a noise on beaches but used as a form of transport, they are unbeatable for getting around quickly.

Our favourite restaurant was the Palm View, a Chinese Seafood place a little North of the AB Motel. They served a magnificent duck dish and another night we tried an ostrich dish. The food was well priced and incredibly good. A meal of half a duck (shared), braised vegetables and beancurd, rice and 4 Tiger beers set us back around RM50 ($A17).

In general, things were pretty quiet in Langkawi. Apparently, the normal European high season hadn’t materialized this year for some reason. While this was good for us, with small groups and uncrowded beaches, it is not so good for the local Malays, with many stalls and restaurants staying shut or only opening for dinner.

Langkawi will draw us back again. We have so much more to do. Next time we will hire a car or some motor bikes and explore the island. Some trips North to Koh Lipe and Koh Lanta are also on the list.

Hanoi and Sapa

March 24, 2010 / terry

Day 20-21 24-26 Hanoi 13-14, 17-19 March 2010

Getting back to Hanoi has been one of the main aims of the whole trip and our memories of this wonderful city have not disappointed us. Many people do not see the beauty in Hanoi, finding the narrow, dirty and horribly crowded streets of the Old Quarter just too much to handle. For us, the joy of Hanoi is all of that. We spend a lot of time simply watching the street life. When booking a hotel in Hanoi, a street balcony is a real asset because standing on the balcony looking down on the hustle of street-life is extremely entertaining.

The weather is Hanoi was cool and even threatening to rain, though this year’s monsoon really failed to materialize. We haven’t used an airconditioner since Ho Chi Minh and while the temperature is comfortable, the odd bit of sunshine would be welcome.

We had few plans, other than heading up into the mountains for a couple of days trekking around Sapa. Our success with tailors and cobblers in Hoi An had prompted us to try the many cheap opticians in Hanoi. Talk on the Internet suggested that very high quality specs can be obtained for $10-$50. Unfortunately, we tried a few opticians but language barriers became too great and in the end we abandoned the plan.

The other major tourist drawcard from Hanoi is Halong Bay but we had done a wonderful cruise in 2007 and visited again on the Virgo cruise a year later so we felt that we had “done Halong”.
Much of the time, therefore, was simply spent walking. With the huge increase in motorbike numbers, walking has become a lot more challenging. Most pavement areas are now taken up with parked scooters and people are forced to walk on the streets along with the motor bike, cycles, cars, hand carts, basket carrying women and the odd mini-bus. Despite seeing quite a few near misses, we never have witnessed an actual collision. We quickly became quite adept at negotiating even the busiest road and found ourselves mimicking the locals by completely ignoring traffic lights at the few intersections that bother with any form of control. A few times, we had a reason to walk through the streets in company with a local. They appeared completely oblivious to the presence of any vehicles and even talked a lot on their mobile phone while crossing streets and dodging bikes. The main reason the system works is that most vehicles are doing around 20km/hr and generally act as a cooperative mass. The same thing in Perth would result in scores of deaths each day, as inconsiderate maniacs competed to fill empty spots as quickly as possible.

One very frustrating aspect of life in the Old Quarter is that it is set out on the old Chinese principles of commercial guilds. Hence, each specific trade or merchandise type has a street. If you want a bag, you search in vain until you locate the street of bags, then almost every shop sells bags. Small convenience stores (Seven Elevens) that are so common in other parts of Asia, don’t seem to exist. If one wants some snacks and beer, you have to search for the snack and biscuit street. The Alcohol Street is good for buying wine but won’t sell beer in quantities less than a carton. One night, we wanted some paracetamol. After searching the small generalist street stalls in vain, we asked at a wine shop, figuring that if they can cause the headaches they should know where to cure one. The owner called her daughter out who spoke faltering English with a US accent and gave us directions to a “drug store”. The pharmacist completely ignored us for ages, probably fearful of a difficult language problem. Finally, she pushed a paper and pencil in front of us and we wrote, “Paracetamol”. With such an easy request, we were attended to and soon on our way.

We met a lot of real characters on the streets. The Chinese gentleman who ran the nearest photo printing place loved to engage us in conversation, some of which we understood. He showed us how to use a “blue light” to detect the many Chinese banknote forgeries that were coming across the border. They were made of the same polymer plastic that we use (Australia makes Vietnamese Dong) but lacked the secret images that can be revealed by special light. The man at the “Wild Kangaroo Travel Agency”, where we booked some train tickets and Sapa accommodation, was also very chatty and seemed happy to talk without always trying to sell something. Another interesting group was a bunch of Aussies we met one night at a Bia Hoi (local beer) corner. With good beer at 23c a glass, the talk came easily. This group visits every year, taking on tasks in isolated outlying visits. This year, they were fixing up an old toilet in a village school and making a kitchen and meals area for the kids. They raise their own funding through sponsorship, pay their own fares and accommodation and have a ball. Their wives were just returning to Hanoi as part of a medical team giving assistance in another area. The group is based on the Sunshine Coast but with one West Aussie member, we promised to look up the details on the net and maybe follow up. It looks like exciting and fun work.

As usual, the food was wonderful. We revisited some favourites from our last visit; 69 Café and Little Hanoi. Across the road from 69 Café, we were intrigued by one establishment that looked basic but was always filled to overflowing with both locals and tourists. We gave it a go one night. The menu had both a-la-carte and “From the kitchen” prices. We asked about “from the kitchen” and the waiter immediately whisked us away into the kitchen area and showed us a huge array of food. Before we knew what was happening, we had both ordered duck, rice, some vegetables and a potato dish. We were sent back to our table and the food started arriving. We watched in despair as food for a family of 15 arrived on our table. The duck alone would sink us. With no idea of what we had spent, we made a feeble attempt at making a hole in the pile before asking for a container to take some back to the hotel. We filled a foam dish with duck and waited for the bad news in the form of the bill. The whole spread, with a beer to wash down, set up back a whole $US10. I still have no real idea of how the “from the kitchen” menu works but we need one just like it in Perth.

Our Hanoi stay was in two parts, around a visit to Sapa. The first couple of days was at the Hanoi Boutique Hotel in Bat Su, a good neat little place run by Miss Moon. The whole staff were very keen to please and keep our business and we felt quite guilty about swapping to the Nam Hai 1 for the second part of our stay. We mainly did this because Ma May St has so many more interesting eateries and sights than the Bat Su area. The Nam Hai 1 was slightly more expensive at $40 a night but it is a very good standard of hotel for the money. We had also been subjected to the egg and baguette breakfast for nearly a week by now and relished the options of a real buffet at Nam Hai. Cheap Hanoi Hotels are an absolute bargain. The $25-40 price range gets some incredible deals with very little shopping around. We checked out the rooms at the Camellia 4 and decided that it was a top spot to recommend. At $27 a night it is hard to beat. The Prince II Hotel was also good value at $25 although the rooms were a little smaller and it didn’t have a lift.

The local beer, or “Bia Hoi” is both famous and very cheap in Hanoi. We had a couple of big sessions at our favourite Bia Hoi corner. You sit on tiny plastic stools at tiny plastic tables, reminiscent of kindergarten furniture and get served in glasses. The owner keeps a tab. Every so often, a motorbike stops and someone gets off with an empty cool drink bottle and fills that up from the keg. I get the impression that the whole operation does not require the participation of a liquor licensing court. Some places sell raw peanuts as well and Bia Hoi corners are often strewn with empty shells. The alcohol content must be pretty low because it’s not hard to drink a belly full and still walk away.

We undertook another cooking lesson. We checked with the Travel guy at Nam Hai and he took us down the street, through a narrow alleyway and up some stairs to an almost secret restaurant called the Pham Anh Tuyet. This place is very famous, he assured us. He spoke to a young girl and we organized an afternoon of cooking for the following day. A check on the Internet later revealed that the Pham Anh Tuyet is indeed famous and very well respected, the owner winning numerous awards for cooking and hospitality as well as running her own TV show. At $US40 each, it was pretty heavy going but the experience was worth every cent. Once again, we had a personalized lesson and a trip to the markets to buy some ingredients. The markets were close by, but we were quite unaware of their existence. A few ingredients would be a challenge in Perth but mostly things are the same or easily substituted. The cooking itself was an excellent mix of demonstration, hands on practical and some pre-preparation by other restaurant staff. We cooked ourselves a truly magnificent meal, quite different from the one in Hoi An. Even the spring rolls, bore little resemblance to Hoi An Spring Rolls. These were very delicate and a lot healthier. However, we both got into trouble a lot for rolling ours too thin and long. Hanoi Spring Rolls are supposed to be shorter and fatter. At the end of the course, we were presented with certificates and photos of the experience. We left with very full stomachs.

Overall Impressions of Hanoi
• Nothing much has changed except there are more motorbikes and more ATMs.
• Hanoi is as different to Ho Chi Minh as Darwin is to Melbourne. It has a “small town feel” and the locals are fiercely proud of their city.
• Hanoi is terrific.

Day 22-23 Sapa 15-16 March 2010

From Hanoi, we organized a couple of days in Sapa, a mountain village on the China border to the North. With numerous tour packages on offer and ranging from $US60 to $300 a person, we were not sure of just how to go about it. In the end, we decided to opt out of a tour and organize the separate elements ourselves, not so much to save money (because you don’t) but to ensure that we got just what we wanted.

We stopped in at the Wild Kangaroo Travel Agency in Ma May (I kept calling them the Kangaroo Creek Gang). They sold us the train tickets for the overnight sleeper to Lao Cai, only 1.5km from the border. He also recommended the Sapa Summit Hotel, which at $US12 a night for a balcony room looked and sounded fine. The best thing he sold us was hotel transfers for $2 each person each end. I’m not sure we would have coped with the confusion and hustle of Hanoi Train Station when 3 huge trains all leave for Lao Cai in the space of 2 hours without the services of a wonderful lady who took charge of everything. “You wait here. Don’t move! Now, all follow…. “ and off she would go weaving through the crowd. We given a card to display at Lao Cai which basically told us to look for a man bearing a Summit Hotel sign and not to believe anything anyone else told us.

The train was similar to the one from Danang but each compartment was a little larger and decked out in wood grain finish. The tracks were not as good though, and the train tended to lurch and pitch more than the coastal line. We shared our compartment with a local couple returning home to Lao Cai. Once again, we shared little language but got on well with smiles and nods. Leaving at 9:30, we traveled though the night, arriving around 5:00am. We both slept well.

The hotel transfer system once again worked brilliantly, and as I watched some backpackers in difficult negotiation with the army of waiting motor bike riders, taxi drivers and mini-bus operators, I was glad we had pre-arranged this aspect of the trip. Lao Cai is a modern small city of around 300,000. Very few old buildings remain. The French bombed it to the ground while fighting the Viet Minh then it was leveled again by the Chinese in 1979. What has sprung up is spacious, neat and well planned.

The drive up the valley and mountain pass took 40 minutes. For 30 minutes, the bus climbed, often up very steep grades. Christine handled the steep drop-aways very well and it seems that her near phobic hatred of edges has been cured. I was more concerned about missing the trucks that came careering around the hair-pin bends towards us but somehow all went smoothly and we were deposited at the aptly named Summit Hotel. We could look down on the village of Sapa, which, of course, meant a walk back up the hill to the hotel from the village was needed. The room was excellent, with a wonderful balcony vista of mountains and village.

We organized a couple of treks, getting straight into it with a 15km hike after only an hour to check in and grab breakfast. We joined a small group of 5 with a Sapa local named Hin as our guide and set off down into the valley to the river. We followed the river along the valley floor and eventually reached a village of the H’mong people. The whole trek, we were accompanied by both young H’mong girls aged 11-13 and H’mong women in their fifties. They were keen to chat and we were really surprised at their good grasp of English, given that they only have 4-5 years of school, attend infrequently as family commitments permit and are only taught Vietnamese. The English and French is picked up from tourists. They must be naturally gifted in languages because their accent was perfect and it seemed that vocabulary was limited more by narrow experience than lack of language. Of course, the more we talked with them, the bigger the expectation that we would buy some handicrafts when we reached their village.

Hin had to pay a couple of tolls along the way to give the group access to land and the village. We were also warmly greeted by all manner of workers and children along the way. The sides of the valley are heavily terraced for rice production and although currently lying fallow between crops, there was still work to be done. We stopped to watch a small group of children fishing in the river. They used two long bamboo poles, each with a steel electrode attached. Wires ran all the way back down the river to the nearest hut. They probed under rocks and waterfalls, seeking to stun the fish enough to force them into small dab nets. There was much excitement each time they managed to capture a minnow sized fish.

The village was primitive. Rice is still husked using a water driven stomper, only some houses had electricity and hand tools are much in evidence. Even so, we always had mobile phone coverage and many villagers could be seen talking or texting. We were given a basic lunch of bacon, tomato and baguettes at a simple restaurant. Even though Hin assured us we were under no obligation to by craft goods from the children that had accompanied us, we did, paying out for too much for a couple of small hand bags that we didn’t really want. All the clothing and bags are made from indigo dyed hemp. The colours are not set and one must be careful to separate the stuff out from other clothing when packing lest the indigo spreads. All the women and girls continuously spun hemp into yarn as they walked, spooling it around on their hands. There is also a concept promoted by some that tourists should not buy things from children in underprivileged communities because it fosters paternalism and a reliance on consumer goods. My feeling is that this is hypocritical and that the only true way of protecting the villagers from the outside influences is not to visit at all. One can hardly come to look then ignore the villagers attempts to emulate the outside World or dismiss the only access they have to the kind of commercialism that gave us the money to come in the first place. Some of the villages have taken this one more step and set up home stay environments for trekkers but we opted to return to the hotel. In the end, Hin’s warnings proved correct and as soon as we bought from the children that had helped us along the way, the other children wanted us to buy from them also. They are very good at playing the sympathy game.

Meanwhile, we shocked one young Irish backpacker who had travelled through the depths of Africa and up through the Thai, Cambodian, Laos interiors as well as East Coast Australia. She talked of the poverty she had seen. We compared what we were seeing amongst the H’mong with some of the communities in the NT and Kimberley and she was genuinely horrified that such conditions could exist in Australia. I think she was most upset to think that she had been in Australia and missed a chance to see some people in crisis. It’s very true that the rest of the World knows little of the problems facing so many Australians.

After a 15km hike, a bus ride back up the valley to the hotel was welcome. Even though much of the hike was down-hill, we found this still works calves and thighs hard. Worst of all was the bruising to the toes with the feet being constantly forced forward by the sharp downhill angle. By the time we got back, we were ready for a decent rest.

The next day, we took a much shorter trek of around 6km. Again, Hin was our guide but this time we had different companions. One particularly interesting couple was a mother and son from Georgia in the US. The mother was raised in Hanoi but left to go to Saigon after the separation into North and South, then further fled Vietnam as a refugee after the fall of Saigon. This was her second visit back, her first was to try to locate family and this was to show her son (in his 20s) some of the country. She could remember the Sapa of old and mourned the loss of much beautiful scenery as more clearing for rice paddies has taken place.

Though shorter, the trek was not much easier than the previous day. The muscle soreness probably made things worse but the climb down the valley was very steep in places and hard on the legs. About a third of the way down, the vista opened up and Hin pointed to a tiny cluster of buildings far below on the opposite bank. With horror, we realized that he was pointing out Cat Cat, our destination. It looked a ridiculously long way away and far too far down to reach. We followed goat trails down; we knew this because sometimes the goats shared the trails; eventually emerging into the village and crossing a bridge over the river. A small collection of souvenir selling stalls awaited and a resting spot in front of a rather pretty waterfall.

We were told we could either walk back up a made track and follow the main road up to to Sapa, wait for a hotel mini bus and pay 20,000 Dong each or negotiate with the many persistent motorbike riders for a lift on the back of a bike. As the weather began to close in and visibility worsen, we opted for the quickest and jumped on the back of a bike each, having got the price down to 20,000 dong. What an amazing ride. As we climbed, the visibility dropped to around 20 metres. The road was a series of hairpins with almost sheer drop-offs but it didn’t matter because we could barely see the front wheel of the bike. The trip was much longer than I’d thought and after the guy dropped me at the Sapa Markets, I gave him another 10,000 dong for his troubles. He looked thrilled, as did Christine’s driver when they emerged from the mist.

Walking around Sapa was difficult because we really couldn’t see much at all in the rain/mist. We went back to the hotel to rest up for a bit and wait for the weather to ease. By the afternoon, the weather had improved but the temperature had dropped. I stopped at one of the many mountaineering stores and bought a genuine “Columbia” jacket for around $20. We ate at a great little restaurant in town, drank some local beer (bia hoi) at 3000 dong a glass (18 cents) and checked out a few markets (You buy from me???)

By late afternoon, it was pack up and back into the mini bus for the drive down the mountain to Lao Cai. The bus was completely packed. It was so bad, they had to fill it with people, put down the aisle seats, fill them with people, fill the remaining aisle with bags, then finally pass more bags through the window to stack up against the closed door. I was worried about driving down the mountain pass in such poor visibility but I found the secret was simply not to watch and somehow we arrived unscathed.

Once again, we were very glad that we had paid a tiny amount to have a local woman organize our life onto the train. She scurried around, buying train tickets for people and issuing instructions about where to wait and when to board the train etc. We killed some time with a young Irish couple we seemed to keep bumping into during our travels and sank a few beers in a local establishment.

We boarded our train around 8:45 to find we were sharing with two French women. They had filled the compartment with their baggage and were straight into bed, making it pretty clear that the sooner we switched the light out and the door shut the happier they would be. We sat up for a while, sorting photographs on the laptop before turning in for the night. The trip was good and we both slept well. I find the rocking of the train is very conducive to sleep and actually have trouble staying awake. We pulled into Hanoi just on daybreak, managed to ignore the taxi touts and organized our own taxi to the hotel. It was a bit embarrassing waking up the night staff who were still asleep on mattresses in the lobby of the hotel but we retrieved our luggage from storage and found our room waiting for us. The hotel staff at Nam Hai 1 were amazingly accommodating and seemed to fall over themselves to help organize our Sapa trip, even though we didn’t use their travel service. In fact, the whole time we stayed with them, they felt more like family and seemed to like to have a chat (as best our limited common language would allow) about our trip and our plans. We obliged them with a very positive review lodged on www.tripadvisor.com.

Hoi An

March 21, 2010 / terry

Day 16 – 18 Hoi An 9-11 March 2010

We used a hotel transfer from Danang to Hoi An, approximately 30kms South. Danang seemed like just another Asian City, whereas everyone raves about Hoi An and says it is a “must see”. It proved to be so for us. The love affair with the old-world charm of sleepy Hoi An started with the charm and elegance of the Green Fields Hotel. Granted, it has seen some better days and the cold wind whistled between the French doors to the balcony but the room was excellent value for $31 a night. Not such good value was the included breakfast but the lack of excitement at the buffet was more than made up for by the amazing fresh-backed baguettes. One can make anything into a great meal by stuffing a variety of ingredients into these wonderful bread rolls that are so common around Vietnam.

The Streets of Hoi An
Hoi An is a small town by Asian standards. The central part of town is UNESCO World Heritage classified and rightly so. 19th Century French influence predominates but there is lots of evidence of buildings dating back to the 15th Century. Many aspects of the town operate as they have done for centuries and commercialism and tourism, though rampant, do not conflict with the ambience that flows throughout. Just walking around, stopping for coffee or browsing the shops is an absolute delight. The markets yield more aggressive salespeople but the usual good nature prevails so a laugh or a polite “no” gets one by. The traffic is also very manageable. We had no problem cycling around amongst the other bikes, scooters and cars. Only a couple of times did we try to ride on the wrong side of the road. I’m OK with riding/driving on the right except when it comes to entering a major road from a side street when instinct takes over and I try to drift over to the left.

Cooking Class

Hoi An is famous for its cuisine, with regionally distinctive dishes and local variations on many Vietnamese favourites. We signed up for a cooking class, paying $US25 each. This gave us the exclusive attention of the Chef of the Hoi An Hotel for the morning. First, we strolled downtown to the markets and he gave us a guided tour of how the fresh vegetable, meat and fish markets operate. The fish species were all represented back home in WA but were a mixture of Northern and Southern species, much as we find in Shark Bay. There were Spanish mackerel sitting alongside yellow-tailed kingfish.

After the markets, we cycled about 2km out into the fields to a vegetable garden, where we were shown all the various herbs and spices being grown. As we went, we sampled the fresh herbs and at one point, stated our mutual dislike of coriander. This proved to be a good move, because he immediately eliminated coriander from the cooking that was to follow.
Once into the kitchen, we washed up, doned aprons and the real chef’s hat and it was straight into it. The menu consisted of Hoi An Spring Rolls (the best variety I’ve tasted), some Xeo Cake (a rice flour omelet with pork and bean sprout filling) and some tiny finger foods made by wrapping blanched spring onions around carrot, green papaya and pork.
Between dishes, we learnt to cut fancy table decorations from vegetables, making carrot florets and roses from tomato skins. I showed Christine up with my skills at tomato peeling to produce a near-perfect rose but failed dismally with the carrot flowers.
While we cooked and prepared, other large tour groups came through to see the vegetable garden and we had to show off our prowess and skills. We had a fantastic time, learnt a hell of a lot and loved every mouthful when it came time to dine on our creations. This was an experience to rival the best of our tourism jaunts anywhere and I would thoroughly recommend it. (Christine really talked it up to a French couple the following night, telling them they should do it until he revealed that he was in fact, a chef.)

Amazing Restaurants

The cooking here is Hoi An is distinctive and of a very high standard. However, we went to one charming little restaurant one night and I ordered a chicken in a peanut type sauce. It turned out to be incredibly salty and I was unable to eat it. Since it represented the loss of around $2 and Christine’s meal was big enough for two, we said nothing and shared hers. Later, when the waitress arrived and asked after our meals, I did comment that it was too salty. She seemed upset but went off. When she bought the check, she had not charged for it and had discounted the bill as well. The rest of the staff were assembled near the kitchen area, looking miserable. We felt so bad that we rounded the bill up and ended up paying more than we would have anyway. We fell for the “old salty food trick of Hoi An”.
Another incredible Restaurant is the “Café des Amis” down on the waterfront. This place is run by the famous Mr Kim. It does not have a menu, instead, Mr Kim decides what you will eat and how. We indicated that we wanted some good vegetables and something with some crispy noodles. Mr Kim told us not to worry and that he had been an official food tester for the Generals in the South Vietnamese army. He rattled out a heap of instructions to a waitress. The food began to arrive, wonderful spring rolls and other small entrée sized things, followed by a terrific dish made around pieces of shark, some crispy noodles and seafood (Mr Kim was very keen for us to have seafood), a wonderful vegetable concoction and finally, some incredible crème caramels. At each dish, Mr Kim would arrive to show us how to dip things into which special sauce, or what eating instruments to use and generally how to avoid making Vietnamese fools of ourselves. Three large bottles of Tiger helped everything down and I started to wonder if we had enough to pay for all this. Finally, we asked for the bill but the waitress said “No bill” and looked over to Mr Kim for advice. He thought for a while and said 230,000 dong ($A13). We protested and reminded him that we had had three large Tigers but he said, “Is included.” We paid 250,000 Dong and left well content. Everyone coming to Hoi An MUST eat at this famous and amazing place.

The Tailors

We usually go out of our way to avoid tailors in SE Asia. Experience has shown them to be very aggressive in their marketing techniques and persistent to the point of following you down the street. In Thailand, the tailor touts see us coming and call out “Gday might. You shike my hand might.” Hoi An is the home of tailors in Vietnam.
Our hotel had an offer that if you stayed two or more consecutive nights, you got a free shirt made at a local tailor. Of course, there is no such thing as a free shirt and we knew that there would be little chance of having one shirt made without buying anything else. However, Christine wanted a couple of simple formal dresses made so we decided to give it a try. As soon as we entered the shop, girls appeared from all directions to drape Christine in material, pour through fashion magazines and measure her. Basically, if you have a picture of it, they will make it. All this and a guarantee of the first fitting that evening. She ordered two dresses and the shirt and we got the price down to around $80. The girl taking the final measurements was fascinated by Christine’s bust and I think she really wanted to give it a squeeze to see if it was real.

We went back, full of apprehension but to our surprise, the shirt and one dress fitted perfectly and the other dress needed slight alteration for length and fit. Christine was very impressed with the standard of finish. The alterations were made as promised and we went away much impressed. We could probably have got the same things a lot cheaper, especially as we didn’t have to work too hard to get them down to $80 but the fact remains that we got a bargain in Australian terms.

The Cobblers

As well as tailors, the streets of Hoi An abound with shoe stores. They advertise the ability to copy any shoe in existence. Now that Christine had two new dresses, she needed some new shoes (of course). Shortly after entering the first shoe shop to enquire, it was obvious that we would never be allowed to leave without buying.
Out came the catalogues. Christine pointed at some shoes with heels in the book so the girls then produced a big box of heels of all shapes and sizes. We went through these until the right height and shape was located. Then came the leather samples, huge bunches of the stuff in every conceivable colour and texture. A quick set of measurement was made and a rough outline taken. Throughout all this process, we were unable to get even a hint of price. “No worry! I give you best price.”
When it did finally come down to price, we were staggered and agreed to pay $50 for two pairs much too easily. Once again, it is a question of value. We could have worked our way down much cheaper but $25 a pair for custom made shows is amazing.
We were told to come back in around 6 hours and true to their word, the shoes were ready and fitted perfectly. Having spent many unproductive hours trying to find shoes that fit Christine I am now prepared to come to Hoi An for the shoes alone. It is worth it.

My Son

My Son is a significant archaeological site some 40kms out of Hoi An in a narrow mountain valley. The Cham people came from Java and settled the area between the 3rd and 14th Centuries, constructing an extensive temple-city and fortification in the valley. While not on the scale of Ankor Wat, My Son is similar in many respects. Its builders were Hindu and the Southern Indian influences are obvious. The endeavor and skills of the people is to be marveled at; the intricate rock carvings in particular are quite astounding.
Unfortunately, the whole site took a battering during the Vietnam War. The US saw My Son as a major Viet Cong stronghold and bombed it continuously. Of the original 60 significant structures, only 25 remain. Evidence of bomb craters is still plentiful and we were given warnings about not venturing too far off the given paths and into the jungle because of the ever-present land mines. Vietnam is still suffering a considerable annual “mine toll” which reads like our road toll. All this from ordinance which is often 40 years old.
The trip to My Son was terrifying. Christine insisted on sitting in the front seat of the bus so she could get a better view. I wanted to crawl under the seat as trucks, motor bikes, buffaloes and pigs came within a razor’s width of the bus on all sides. The twisting climb up into the mountains contained numerous blind corners but these meant nothing to the driver, if indeed he could even see them. The bus could only go so far before we transferred to an ex-US Army jeep for the last stretch. I think ours was 40 years over-due for a service.

The ruins themselves are spectacular. Set in a lush jungle environment, the towers of the temples are dotted around over quite a large area. Almost all the statues have been stolen over the years and mostly adorn house gardens in Hoi An. Some statues of Shriva remain, though headless. The site was crowded with tours, though not unbearably so and there was a good mix of guided commentary and free exploration. Despite the site being under UNESCO protection and control, there is little attempt made to restrict access and people are free to climb on things and pose for photos etc. I worry that such a freedom will lead to further rapid degradation but it is a relief to be free of the often over-protective restrictions so often encountered. Even public liability in Vietnam is restricted to a well-meant “very sorry” when a tourist is maimed or injured. There is an expectation that people are responsible for looking after themselves.

On the bus ride up, we were convinced by the organizer that we should partake of a river cruise on the way back instead of the bus. Thinking that this might be a suitable diversion, we paid up. Unfortunately, this actually meant riding the bus nearly all the way back to Hoi An and then getting on one of the oldest boats in Vietnam to putt-putt along a dull and murky river. We were given a basic “chicken and rice” lunch (washed down with a beer of course) and forced to disembark at the word carver’s island to pretend to be interested in wood carving and shell inlay. We did in fact buy a small wooden box that we will use to “put things in” and leave it on a shelf somewhere to get dusty. The highlight for us was an amazing display of cast-net throwing by a local. He could through a huge circular cast net so that it snapped out to its full extent. He made it look so easy.

Overall Impressions of Hoi An

• Hoi An is on of Asia’s little gems. It is a must-visit place and I sincerely hope that it retains its character as Vietnam grows into the modern era.
• Allocate at least 5 days to Hoi An. It is a top place to kick back an slow the pace.
• Choosing a place to stay in Hoi An is not difficult. Cheap but good hotels abound and the town is small enough that anywhere within walking of the market area is fine.

Ho Chi Minh City

March 21, 2010 / terry

Day 13 Ho Chi Minh City 6 March 2010

Arrival at Ho Chi Minh was on time and we cleared immigration without a fuss. I’m not sure that the man even looked at the passport or visa properly. He seemed to be half asleep anyway. Once outside, we prepared for the onslaught of taxi touts. To my dismay, the concourse was nearly deserted. We were, however, accosted by a taxi man who demanded $US25. “No way!”, we confidently replied, and offered $US15 which he immediately accepted with a smile. (We found later the official rate is $US7). He led us out through the barriers to a car in the carpark, clearly NOT a taxi. We paid him rather than the driver and off we went. Once at the toll gate, the driver demanded more but we stood our ground. Christine’s tone suggested that she would cast an ancient Australian spell on the driver and all his family if he persisted so he paid himself and we proceeded on. The traffic was chaotic and progress was slow. The way in which cars and the thousands of motorbikes interact is beyond understanding. Buses tend to just carve through the mass but cars have a way of blending into the pack. Then again, a close inspection of most cars shows a lot of small dingles and scratches.

The hotel was the near new iPeace Hotel just off the Pham Ngu Lao (the backpacker street). It is six storeys high and around 8 metres wide. Many of the hotels are like this and those with a lift are a luxury. Ours had a lift which was handy because we were on the third floor. Our room was small but very well appointed and as clean as any hotel room can be. The girl at the front desk spoke good English and was an absolute delight. What we did find, was that Asiarooms.com had let us down for the first time ever. We booked through them but paid the standard rack rate rather than the usually heavily discounted price. At least the Standard Room rate was only $US30 a night with breakfast so we couldn’t complain too much. We unpacked then went out to sit at one of the many cafes for a snack and a nightcap.

Day 14 Ho Chi Minh City 7 March 2010

Today was a very frustrating day. One of our main aims was to organise an itinerary and bookings for the next week, having run out of all levels of organisation. After a fair bit of discussion and consulting maps and calendars, a previous half-formed plan to bus it to Nha Trang ( coastal resort in the South East) was abandoned and we decided to fly to Danang, stay 30kms South in Hoi An then train it to Hanoi and on to Sa Pa. Once the plan was sorted, the implementation phase began. This was heavily reliant on two factors; Internet access and English speaking travel agents. Both were hard to locate.
Our hotel had wireless Internet. However, for some unexplained reason, it would sit and do nothing every time you tried to access a secure site to actually make a booking or pay something. You could surf around, make some decisions then try to book a flight…then nothing. We tried in the room, we tried down in the lobby. We also tried the other free wireless networks that seemed to abound. All with the same result.
We went off to see a couple of travel agents. According to the information we had, they seemed to want $US10 too much for the train tickets. Any attempt to depart from a very narrow line of conversation was met with blank looks. They did their best but we had to promise to come back later, knowing full well that we were going to cut and run.
We went around the corner to the dodgy looking Cyclo69 Bar to use their free WiFi. This meant buying a drink of course. The girl in the tight-fitting mini-dress hated Christine immediately because she suggested that $1.30 was too much to pay for a beer and ordered a water. I became her friend because I not only had a beer, but I gave the correct little flick of the finger when I had finished it and immediately got another. The place was a real dive straight out of Apocalypse Now. There were a couple of guys (a German and an American) draped over the bar having a weird conversation. Eventually, the Matron of the establishment came in with her rather obviously silicon chest and started nibbling the German’s ear lobe. By this stage, Christine almost had a plane booked and was just waiting for the confirmation of the credit card when the Internet died yet again. This time, we did not know whether it had gone through or not. We packed up and headed off on a long walk across town to find the actual office of Vietnam Airlines to sort out the mess.
It turned out we had not made a booking so we purchased a ticket the old fashioned way and left. The whole day had passed and we had only succeeded in buying one airline ticket.
The cross town walk proved what we already knew from our last visit to HCM. It is a dump. There is very little to recommend it other than some fine cuisine and that seems to be available everywhere in Vietnam anyway. The main reason for anyone coming to HCM would be that it seems to be the cheapest option for flying in to Vietnam and once here, domestic flights are well priced. The other attraction is access to the Mekong Delta, which is both exciting and picturesque.

Day 15 Ho Chi Minh 8 March 2010

The search for the train ticket recommenced today. The Internet claimed it is possible to buy tickets direct from Saigon Railway Station so we decided to walk there, a good trip of just on 3km. Given that this is through heavy traffic, across broken footpaths and having to skirt numerous open drains and sewers, the trip was heavy but we decided we needed the exercise and could always jump in a taxi if it got too much.
We relied heavily on the iPhone GPS to get us there but at the last point, it let us down. We did indeed locate the outer perimeter of the “Ga Sai Gon” but the GPS suggested we had to walk around it to the far side to enter. The suggested route took us down an ever-narrowing lane. When it got to the point where we had to walk right down the land mingling with the motorbikes and cars, we gave up and backtracked to the place where we had turned off and went the other way. Only hundred metres around the corner was the entrance to the railway station.
Our next hurdle was to purchase a ticket. There was a counter with a number issuing machine, much like the deli counter in a supermarket. Around 20 people sat in seats waiting and three service desks operated, one clearing displaying the next number, one displaying a readout that was frozen on all nines and a third that had a number that had no relationship to the ones in use. Unfortunately, the number issuing machine was broken because it was not feeding paper properly. As we stood by, trying to get someone to fix the machine, a steady stream of people arrived to push past us or reach over us to keep pressing the button. I thought of the old adage, “If you keep doing the same thing, you get the same result.”
Eventually, we were taken in tow by a young man, who having looked at our written requirements for a train from Danang to Hanoi, led us to a set of steps and pointed upwards. We felt a surge of hope as we climbed the stairs to the “real counter”. Alas, the guard who controlled access to these service desks looked at our written request for a train from Danang to Hanoi and led us to another set of steps, which went down and emerged just near the first service desk. Here we found a queue of people pressing the button on the number issuing machine but it still did not work. “If you keep doing the same thing…..”.
Another man waived us around to a service desk (probably anxious to get rid of us) and finally a girl took out written request for a train from Danang to Hanoi. She seemed to understand that we wanted the SE6, that it left at 04:48 and that we wanted air-con soft sleeper top and bottom bunk (You can see that we had done our homework). The price was mutually agreed at 1,172,000 Dong and we handed over 1,500,000 Dong. She immediately began demanding another 22,000 Dong. Thinking this was an attempt at extortion, we protested and made many hand gestures, many of which were probably offensive in Vietnamese polite society. It turns out, she was trying to make it easier to supply change. At last, we headed off, having managed to secure two tickets on the train at a saving of around $4 over what the travel agent just metres from the hotel would have charged.
On the way back, I spied a kitchen and cooking supply shop (actually, there was a whole street of them. We had been really taken with some miniature coffee filters that sat astride our coffee cups at a restaurant the day before and Christine had photographed one. We show the photo to someone on the iPhone and he waved us on down the road towards another shop. I was sure he was sending us to a Café for a cup of coffee but to our surprise, the shop did indeed sell the little devices for the princely sum of 8000 Dong each (around 50 cents) so I had a job restricting Christine to a set of 4 just to keep costs down a bit.
After mid day rest and recreation time inn the hotel, we hit the streets again to explore the many wonderful Chinese curio shops that abound in the Pham Ngu Lao area. These are wonderful little shops, filled with curios both new and old, including a great many that are made to look very old but are in fact very new. Many wonderful things are ridiculously cheap but luggage space and weight demands some restraint. Also, we have found that what looks terrific in a Chinese curio shop is often best left in its native environment, and suffers from sitting on a laminex surface surrounded by Ikea furniture. In short, we bought nothing.
While walking the streets, we saw an amazing sight (even for HCM) in the form of a guy on a scooter with a full sized fridge strapped to his back. He obviously liked his food cold and immediately to hand. We often see two adults and a child on a scooter but reading the literature, it is possible to get seven people on a motorbike.

Day 16 Ho Chi Minh 9 March 2010

We took a taxi to the airport for the trip to Danang. We made it clear that we were going domestic and the driver even checked with us as the fork in the road came up. However, the language barrier let both sides down and he took us to the International airport, an error easily corrected but costly for the taxi driver because he had to pay the toll on the way out. He looked like he was going to cry but he accepted responsibility and made no attempt to make us pay so we took pity and gave him a big enough tip to cover it and a little more. (It’s the tenth time this month that scam has worked for him).
It is with little regret that we farewell HCM City. It is too big, too crowded, too dirty and makes one realise that environmental care of our Planet goes well beyond Kevin Rudd’s posturing. On the positive side, it remains cheap and has wonderful food and some wonderful people.

The Cruise, Hong Kong, Singapore etc

October 25, 2008 / terry

Travelling from Shenzen back to Hong Kong to board the Virgo proved uneventful. Perhaps we are getting used to trains, border checks and immigration. We had to slow Bill down a bit as he raced ahead with his 30kg luggage on wheels but otherwise the trip was pleasant enough.

Boarding the ship proved equally easy and within no time at all we had had the obligatory boarding photos taken, received our electronic pass and located our cabins. The cabins were bigger than I had imagined and very well appointed. Lack of a window was a little off-putting but by looking at the picture of a Mediterranean village long enough I could at least imagine we could see out. Mary had convinced us to pay a little extra for deck 9, rather than being “down below”. This was a great idea because it meant all the fun decks were nice and handy.

The four of us explored the ship, locating the many restaurants and bars, swimming pools, health club etc. The main foyer was as good as any hotel, with a beautiful sweeping staircase, glass lifts and numerous shops dotted around the mezzanine. It was soon obvious that there would be no shortage of things to do on board but that the waistline was in for a pounding. We tested that out by settling in at the poolside bar for the first of many “refreshing ales”. Life on board revolves around the magic electronic card. You hand it over as a credit card, use it to record your presence at meals and scan it leaving and re-boarding the boat. Christine and I took the attitude early on that scrimping and saving was pointless and that we would book up what ever took our fancy. Meals are included in the trip costs but drinks and other snacks come at prices a bit below Perth pub prices. Shore excursions are also an extra expense. One can elect to go ashore under own steam but in reality the ship is not docked long enough to allow too much time to do your own thing.

We went ashore in Sanya, a new resort town on the Southern end of Hianan Island (China). It was a rip-off. All they did was bundled us into a bus, took us to an ordinary beach where we were pestered by hawkers selling strings of rubbish pearls. Then they dumped us at a 6 storey department store complex for a couple of hours so we could be absolutely bored. The highlight of the store was when Bill wanted to by a cake of soap. We went into a supermarket but couldn’t locate the right aisle. Christine went off to get help, mimed washing under her arms and got carried away by an army of assistants to the deodorant section. The store had 10 times more assistants than customers. We couldn’t believe just how many workers were lining the aisles and standing in well-ordered groups until it occurred to us that they were actually part of a mass training exercise. Another highlight was exploring the roof-top area of the complex in search of a bar and a snack only to be lost in a massive seedy brothel. The girls were really impressed.

Bill and Mary also went ashore in Halong Bay (Vietnam) whereas we have cruised Halong before and stayed on board. They were left very unimpressed after a boring boat tour and an ordinary lunch at a run-down hotel. The conclusion we have reached is that you don’t choose a cruise for the destinations, just the ship’s facilities.

After 4 days of cruising, we have both firmly decided that it is the way to go. We have now started keeping an eye on www.vacationstogo.com where last minute cruise vacancies are sold at discounts of up to 70%.

Leaving and entering Hong Kong harbour is a fantastic experience. Rain and heavy mist spoiled some of the views but the vista of towering buildings clinging to the sides of the mountains is exceptional. On our return to Hong Kong, most of the passengers disembarked but we stayed on for a further night at sea. The ship filled up with Chinese wanting to put to sea to gamble. The trip out through the harbour at night is something to experience.

On our final return to Hong Kong, we got off the ship and caught the ferry from Kowloon over the harbour to Hong Kong Island. Bill and Mary had booked mid level hotel at JJs. It proved very good. We went down-market and stayed at the Alisan Guest house. The room was actually smaller than the cabin on the Virgo but it did the trick for the couple of nights in Hong Kong. Christine and I quickly fell in love with HK. It is lively, bustling, clean and well organised (at least compared to Shenzen and Guangzou). Life can be a little pricey, with accommodation being very expensive by Asian standards and food being more like cheap Perth prices. During our time on the Virgo, the World’s financial systems had been going into melt-down and the Aussie Dollar lost nearly 20% of its value. As we went around HK and saw the exchange rates plummet on a daily basis, we kicked ourselves for not buying some $US at 95c on a few weeks earlier.
During our time in HK, we took the mandatory trip up Victoria Hill on the famous funicular tramway and took in the fabulous views of Victoria Harbour and across to Kowloon and the New Territories.

With Hong Kong behind us, we stopped off in Singapore for a couple of days unwind and to slow the pace a little. I think we almost regard Singapore as one of our many homes and can’t help returning to favourite eating places and locations. We stayed down in the Geylang District. Being a red light area, life on the streets is colourful and entertaining although a little heart wrenching to see the sad looks on the faces of some of the girls who have obviously been imported from other less affluent Asian countries.

We have been eagerly awaiting the opening of Singapore’s new “big wheel”, the Singapore Flyer. It is an immense wheel, modelled after London’s Millennium Wheel. We went on a one rotation 30 minute ride, taking in terrific views of Singapore and across the Straits of Malacca to Indonesia.

The flight back into Darwin went smoothly and we spend a couple of days resting up and packing for the long trip across the Kimberley to work in Derby. We stopped off for a couple of days work in Muludja (near Fitzroy Crossing) and caught up with Trev and Em. We were warmly welcomed in Muldja, with the kids all calling out “hello” to Benji and Poppy as we drove in. The days went by in a blur of work, travel and fishing once again on the Fitzroy (hooked and lost 1 barra). We finally arrived at Derby to set up ready for life between now and the end of the school year.

Hanoi and Halong

October 20, 2007 / terry

Hanoi has proved to be a real treasure. Our small boutique hotel is situated in the Old Quarter, an area rich in colonial French architecture, narrow winding streets and crowded night-life. The food is VERY cheap but outstanding in quality. We have tended to follow the recommendations of the Lonely Planet guide and we have not been disappointed. Last night, we sampled the local brew at “Bia Hoi” corner where 14 cents Australian buys a glass of good beer. Even export quality beers like Heineken or Tiger can be had for around $1. A good meal with a couple of Tiger Beers each thrown in is unlikely to come out at more than $10.

We spent a couple of days at Halong Bay, a 3 to 4 hour drive East of Hanoi. Here we were treated like royalty on a junk, along with 4 other couples. Accomodation was excellent with our own air-conditioned cabin with en-suite shower and toilet. Each meal was a banquet with full white linen and silver service. Drinks were more expensive here, especially wine. We tried the local “Dalat Wine” but it was not up to even the poorest of Australian standards. Our trip was made all the more enjoyable through the company of a Dutch couple who are staying in Singapore at present but holidaying in Vietnam. Marilyn is studying business management in Singapore and Paul is a PE teacher who has had to take leave to join her. We spent hours talking “school” as teachers do and found that the problems besetting education in Australia are mirrored in Holland. We hope to keep in touch.

The scenery in Halong Bay was spectacular. The huge limestone horsts emerging from the sea are reminiscent of the Phuket / Phi Phi area but on a much grander scale. Unfortunately, the water lacks the clarity that it has in Thailand and snorkelling was not really an option. There are some amazing cave systems to be visited and enough to do to work off some of the excess calories consumed.

Back in Hanoi, we hired a car, driver and English speaking guide for the morning and asked to be taken out into the rural countryside and be shown the farming methods and rice growing processes. We had an outstanding morning and it was so refreshing to have a tour without an itinerary or without the necessary “commission stops” at art houses or lacquer work factories. The guide talked freely about rural and city life in Vietnam and we both felt that we started to get a real insight into the country we have enjoyed so much. Christine even joined a couple of women harvesting rice with a sickle but I think they were secretly laughing at her behind her back. Our time here ends tomorrow but we will return for an extended time sometime soon. There is so much to see.

More Vietnam

October 16, 2007 / terry

We have finally mastered the business of crossing the road in Ho Chi Minh City. It is just like the guide books say, go slowly and make eye contact. Remain calm and say “shit” quietly to yourself as you go.

We took a tour of the Cu Chi tunnels. This is a network of over 250km of tunnels extending from just outside Saigon to the Cambodian border and was constructed by the Viet Minh/ Viet Cong between 1947 and 1975. . They are considered by many to be one of the modern wonders of the World. The human endeavour that went into their construction is beyond belief. I travelled on hands and knees through only 100 metres of tunnel and the total darness and close confinement was almost too much. How so many lived for nearly 30 years in these conditions is amazing.

We also toured the Mekong Delta, a trip that involved much paddling and motoring around in small boats amongst a maze of rivers, canals and creeks. This area supports a population of 32 million peoplle and is so flat and low that global warming should take care of it over the next 50 years or so. It was interesting to experience the life in one of the World’s great food growing areas. However, my bum is growing seriously sore after days of sitting on benches that are too hard and too narrow for the likes of us well-fleshed Westerners.

The trip to Hanoi was marred by a badly delayed flight with Pacific Airways. We arrived at the airport at 8:30 and finally took off at 2:00. The leg room in the plane was even less than Tiger Air but thankfully it is only a 2 hour flight to Hanoi so we didn’t suffer too much.

Ho Chi Minh – Moped City

October 13, 2007 / terry

Here we are in cloudy downtown HCM City. Christine is currently swearing about the girl on the front desk of the hotel because she robbed us blind over a tour booking. We booked a half day tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels (Viet Cong) and paid $US13 each. Then we found that we could have got it for $US4 so we won’t go anywhere now in case we get done for a whole $9.

Things here are so cheap. We went to the restaurant on the top floor of our hotel. The guy asked if we wanted A-la-carte but when we said yes he looked amazed. Why would anyone not take the all-you-can-eat buffet for 75,000 Dong ($A5.25). There were three specialized cooks in each area preparing the most amazing delicacies in front of you. We drank Tiger beer at $1.11 a stubby but could have had French Bordeux for only $A12 a bottle.

The traffic is incredible. Composed of $80 scooter/moped it flows like a river. Sitting in a taxi it is tempting to wind down the wndow, give the nearest one a little push and watch the domino effect. Again, we had a fight over money with a taxi driver who was trying to rip us off to the tune of 63,000 Dong but we held our ground and only got done by 40,000 Dong. It’s all good fun and at least it’s cheap.