Hue. Not Hue as in Hugh but Hue as in Hway. We all made that mistake too. Hue is in central vietnam, just below the demilitarised zone where the most intense fighting took place during the vietnam war.
This hotel i'm in atm is great for internet- its fast enough to upload a few pics and lets me access yapped. Go to my flickr for a quick snapshot of the things i've been getting up to here in Vietnam so far.
For the past 10 or so days i've been exploring the north of vietnam, starting in hanoi, then making my way to halong bay, cat ba and sapa. Halong bay was incredible. Emerald waters with rock structures jutting out of the water. Had me my first swim since beginning this trip, with a junk we were travelling on acting as a good jump off point. Halong bay is in contention for a unesco world heritage site, and i think it deserves it.
Cat ba was great for kayaking, which we spent nearly 4 hours doing in some incredibly baking mid day sun. I would love to take up kayaking back home, purely to get that bruce lee body, but something about the cold water keeps me away. Yes i know, i'm a wuss.
Sapa is in the highlands, and so the scenery and climate is alot different. We stayed with a local family in a homestay which was nice, playing poker with stones for chips, and then eventually using real money as chips. We all got our money back in the end. Learnt a good vietnamese card game that's very similar to big 2, but not quite. Or, as the Vietnamese say, same same but different. Highlight of the sapa trip was trekking through rice paddies and seeing how the locals use an ingenious water catchment system to keep their rice fields wet. Vietnam is the second largest exporter of rice in the world, and given that rice is probably my favourite staple food, it was great seeing where alot of it comes from. Respect to the rice.
Hue is also fascinating. We did a royal dinner last night, where we drew straws to decide who would be dressed as the emperor and emperess. I won and got to sit at the head table, with my four mandarins eating a level below me. I can see why power is so addictive. I could get used to having 5 musicians entertain me as i eat. And every time someone looks at me funny, death would ensue. Brilliant. I couldnt however get used to wearing so many clothes in such a hot place. Which is why i think the story about the emperors clothes involves him being naked. He wasn't stupid or proud or whatever the moral of the story was, he was bloody baking under all the fabric.
And now we continue our trip southward, which fills me with anticipation because i'm craving some clear water and beach. We're off to Hoi An tomorow, which is world famous for its many tailors. Apparently you bring them a magazine cut out of ANYTHING, and they'll recreate it for you for next to nothing, ready to try on the next day. I'm gona get some shirts for work.
Oh and i have travelled on 3 overnight trains so far (12 hours each time). One was amazing, one was ok and one was terrible. But fortunately sleeping helps take away the motion sickness. I was however gutted to miss the champions league final while on one of these trains, but was glad to see Man u won it. I miss pro evo. What can i say. I'm human.
Until next time...
Friday, 23 May 2008
From Hue
Friday, 16 May 2008
From Sapa
Finally, an internet cafe that allows me to access my blog. Hence the long lack of updates.
In brief, Singapore was great. Spent 3 days there eating very well and meeting old friends. Was great to see people that I last saw 10 years ago and also to see the places i used to hang out in. 3 days flew very fast and soon I was in Hanoi. First impressions of Hanoi were mixed. It was exciting to be in a new place, but at the same time the palpable differences between Hong Kong/Singapore and Hanoi were quite overwhelming. I was told of how dangerous Hanoi can be for the solo traveller at night, and that fitted the image I was seeing. The biggest shock was the lack of English writing or speaking going on, which sounds absurbly abnoxious, but you take it for granted in an Asian city like Hong Kong, and especially Singapore. I hooked up with my driver and spent 40 terrifying minutes fearing for my life- traffic in Vietnam is unlike anything i've ever witnessed. At first sight it seems like chaos, and my heart beat must of been right up there. Bikes are everywhere, no road rules seem to exist and near misses happen every other second. BUT, i soon realised (the next day) that there is method behind the madness. People on bikes and in cars know how to avoid almost everything on the road, meaning that even if it looks as though a crash is iminent, one never actually happens. Or at least, i've not seen one in the time i've been here. Also, the average speed of drivers in the city is quite slow. The trick with crossing the road is to walk out into a sea of oncoming madness and stride confidently but slowly. If you make the mistake of trying to dodge the traffic by running or stopping and starting you will inevitably die, because they wont be able to predict your movement and avoid you. It's actually pretty fun after awhile. But for the British driver (and especially motorbike rider), traffic in this place takes some getting used to.
Food wise, things arent as great as i expected. Main reason for this is that Hong Kong and Singapore will leave you with a very high standard to expect, one which is hard to match in a poorer country like Vietnam. Also, i'm travelling with a group of Western people (who are all very nice), and therefore we tend to frequent alot of western/vietnamese eataries. I guess i was looking forward to pho, vietnamese curry and the like, which does exist, but the places that sell them are very local and cheap (eating on the curb), and with the cholera problem here and my western stomach, i havent risked visiting yet. So far the best dish has been the Vietnamese spring rolls- these definitely live up to expectations.
I'll leave it there for now. More to write about but i'm dying from the smoke in this dodgy but blogspot friendly internet cafe. Till next time...
Friday, 9 May 2008
Photo time
In Singapore now. Not enough time for a post but here are a few pics...
Thursday, 8 May 2008
Not so hot anymore...
I made it. I'm in Hong Kong. And although the 11 hour delay was a bugger, the upside of it was that the plane was only half full (or half empty). So I had 3 seats to myself, and no seats in front of me. This must be the closest I'll ever come to knowing what business class feels like (Note: It feels good).
I watched nearly 6 movies:
Jumper - Absolutely pants.
Juno - Absolutely brilliant.
There will be blood - Absolutely mediocre.
Awake - Absolutely never heard of it, but it was'nt bad.
I am Legend - Absolutely seen it before- not as good the second time (Didn't finish this).
Air Newzealand are also very impressive. Great food and equally good service. But then again, maybe I just enjoyed my 3 seats...
Did a quick bit of shopping today. I realised that using my mobile as a watch isn't gona work whilst travelling, as it's off most of the time, and is a pain to keep reaching into my pocket to get. SO, I bought a casio watch for 10 quid. Not flashy, but cheap, light, durable and water resistant. Picked up some mosquito killer, sun cream and panadol. Oh and a moleskin diary (just because ernest hemmingway used one- ya i'm a sucker for plugs like that).
I'm now trying to recover from the biggest and tastiest lunch I've had in a long time. I can't upload pics here but when I can I will.
Tomorrow it's back to the airport at 8am for a flight to Singapore. Something tells me this bloated feeling isn't gonna go away anytime soon. So long skinniness.
OH, and lastly, I think it is worth mentioning that I shaved my head. It was one of the hardest decisions I've had to make on this trip so far. I was terrified of doing it and looking like those skinny white boys who shave their heads to look 'ard (translation for the non-brit: tough). After getting it done I went to Viv for approval, and all she could do was laugh. Judging by this reaction, I'd say 'ard I'm not... But I have to tell you, a shaved head is incredibly convinient. I need no shampoo, no conditioner, no hair product and ultimately, no hassle. I look the same when I get up as when I go to sleep, and most importantly, I'm never hot. Sadly, this seems to be true in both senses of the word.
Tuesday, 6 May 2008
I love air travel
For some reason, every time I travel somewhere by plane, something always goes wrong. Ofcourse, most people who travel expect a certain amount of hassle or annoyance, but what I'm talking about goes way beyond your average grumble.
