Up North in Sapa!!!

Saturday 31st January 2009
The following day we return to Hanoi and I get my stuff together for the trip to Sapa. I end up running late for my train and have to grab a taxi to the station. As we make it to the platform the train seems to be pretty packed. When I get on I then realise how much so. There are people everywhere and I mean everywhere! Lying under seats, under the tables next to seats, on the isles...every possible space you could imagine has been pretty much taken up. I manage to squeeze on and make my way to my seat. With the rucksack & day pack its a nightmare to find space for them. I eventually get to my seat, which has already been taken, and find a space for my luggage. Around my seat I have to put my feet in amongst the people who are lying on the ground below and I'm thinking this journey could be a little draw out! I'm lucky enough I get seat next to a student who has pretty good English and he explains to me the train is packed because people are visiting relatives for Tet. I am the only white person on the carriage and its amazing the interest you attract. There are a 3-4 old men sitting in the aisle next to my seat and they start to ask loads of questions to the Vietnamese student next to me...where is he from? what does he do? my family? what they do and the list goes on. In the end I'm chatting to these guys until about 2.30am about all sorts. They are so interested in what the westerners do for a living and how they live their day to day lives, they turn out to be a great bunch of people. As the night goes on I need my first toilet stop...first its a challenge to get there and then when I do I realise there 2-people in there sleeping...even at the crossing between carriages people lie fast asleep on the ground...you have to see it to believe it. There is very little sleep got that night, I'd say about 1hr30 max. I get wakened at about 6.30am with a tap on the shoulder by one of the old men...they are all getting tucked into some food they had brought along and they ask me to join them, I couldn't refuse. We arrive in Lao Cai at about 8am, from here its a bus journey of about 1hr30 to Sapa. When we arrive in Sapa the place is covered in cloud and the first thing you notice is that its a lot cooler than Hanoi. I'm not fit do do much other than wander about the town. The following day the weather is a lot better and as most of the villages you can trek to are lower than Sapa the cloud disappears quite fast. Its fantastic scenery by all accounts but I'd say this place in summer must be unbelievable. There are paddy fields all across the hills, set out just like you see in all the pictures. At this time of year the fields have only recently been planted with rice so its all a little dull and gray. As you enter many of the villages you get accosted by some of the local tribe women. They all want to show you around the village...at a cost of course. They are pretty well accustomed to tourists and its become a way for them to earn some extra money. They are all very friendly and mischievous enough. They like a bit of banter and it amazing how good their English is. My last day in Sapa is a bit of a stinker. I have planned a trip to another village and set off early enough. At first the weather holds up but later it chucks it down. Its hard to avoid the mud and getting wet. In the end I'm glad to get back to Sapa and get a change of clothes. Very one warned me about Sapa that it would be cold but really its not the cold that's the matter. You just don't have a way of getting warm and dry once you get wet. The hotel doesn't have any heating and most of the places just have a little fire which everyone huddles around. Dry clothes and some local Apple wine are the best way to get the blood flowing! My train back to Hanoi is very different to the one I took to Sapa...everyone has a seat! I get back to Hanoi at about 5.30 am and its straight to the Backpackers to get cleaned up. I decide to have another night in Hanoi before heading for Hue and cross the border into Laos. These couple of days in Hanoi are very different to before, the place finally has some life about it now that Tet is over and its even quite warm! Its actually a really nice place, so many little side streets all selling something, food, beer, clothes...you name it you'll find a street that has it. Its hard enough to know what to make of the locals here, some are very friendly and others you get the feeling they don't like you very much. Then again like any place it has the good the bad and the ugly! Before I depart for Hue I decide to get my visa for Laos. While they are processing my visa I decide to get a hair cut, lucky enough there is a barber just around the corner. When I venture in there is a little bit of a wait and in the mean time I eye up whats going on. One man is having cut-throat shave, another having his gray hairs pulled out and two having some sort of ear clean...it looks serious, the women doing it have head torches on! As a result I decide to have a shave along with the hair cut, not had a cut throat shave before...might as well go all out. The shave is a great job altogether, the funny thing about it though is they tend to shave pretty much everywhere on your face, right below the eyes, along the temples and even the forehead!!! After the haircut and shave the lady asks would I like a hair wash...well I've gone this far I might as well! This in itself is a job and a half, along with washing my hair twice over they even wash your face and ears...not just a wipe down, its a serious wash. When I think its all done its time for a massage of the neck and face...madness! At this point I am thinking what's all this going to cost me? Less then 4 pound it comes to! I can't help but give a tip, what a service. I might even ask for an ear clean the next time!

Vietnam Highlights

• Best Meal :- Pho Bo...Beef Noodle soup with loads of chille paste & garlic
• Best Beer :- Beer Hanoi
• A must visit place :- Hoi An, Halong Bay, Hanoi...the list goes on
• A must try when in Vietnam :- Pigs intestine or baby chickens...push the boat out on dog meat!!!

Halong Bay

Friday 30th January 2009

The following day I set off on the Halong Bay trip with a group from the Backpackers. Our luck is in weather wise, its a clear blue sky!! Saying that there is still a little haze but the view of the islands is impressive. Supposedly there are over 3000 islands, 1969 of which are classified as an UNESCO world heritage site...why the other 1000 or so are not I don't know. Travelling out to the islands you meet boat after boat returning from the day trips to the islands...its pretty crowded to say the least. Part of the trip is to stay over night on the boat and then do some kayaking around the islands. Its a fantastic tour and the over night stay on the boat is a great laugh.

Hanoi

Wednesday 28th January 2009

The trip to Hanoi is on a sleeper bus so you can't get it much more comfortable than that other than taking a flight. Its another long slog...18hr in total. I arrive in Hanoi at 6.30am...its cold, very cold! On the way here we stopped off midway for some food and you could even then feel it was getting a little cooler. Passing through most of the towns on the way you can almost sense the change in climate. Anyway it seems as if I'll be wearing a jacket & jumper from here on in! I have booked to stay at the Hanoi backpackers and when I arrive, about 7am, the place is alive with people. There is a great atmosphere about the place...even at 7am!!! Hanoi like all other places in Asia has its far share of touts, all asking if you want a motor bike or to buy something or another. There usual approach is "Hey! Hey you! Motor bike, taxi? After hearing it so often I've gotten into the response of shouting back to them "Hey, How's it going, any craic with ya?" which seems to be enough to throw them off.

Hanoi is like a ghost town, everyone seems to have either left for Tet (Chinese New Year) or are celebrating indoors, either way there are very few shops, restaurants or bars open. Along with that most of the tourist sights are also closed...Tet Tet Tet. I decide my best option is to venture out to Halong Bay and take the trip to Sapa after. There isn't much option on going to Halong Bay on your own, so I book up with the backpackers which seems like a reasonable enough deal. To kill the rest of the day I go to see the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. This is where Ho Chi Minhs body is kept and is laid out in full view for all to see. Its a funny enough site as there are some stricked rules when you enter the building...no photography, no hats, no talking or laughing, no putting your hands in your pockets...its so regulated its unreal. There are guards all around who keep track of your progress, anyone stepping out of line gets a swift hand signal to sort them self's out...which only makes you laugh away to yourself...its hard not to get into trouble! We are quiet lucky as on entering the building we manage to see the change of guard, it almost rivals the British equivalent...well almost they wear shinny white as apposed to red & black! Other than the Mausoleum there is the presidential palace & the Ho Chi Minh Museum to visit. Around the presidential palace there are also several little areas that display items used by Ho Chi Minh one of which is his collection of cars. This made me laugh, there are only two cars on display and one of which is none other than a Peugeot 404...the same car my parents had when I was a kid!

Hoi An

Saturday 24th January 2009

Hoi An is the next stop on the cards so I book an over night bus to take me there. Its a sleeper bus so we all get a bed...that's some service! We arrive in Hoi An about 7am so its straight to the hotel for a shower and some breakfast. As I go down for breakfast there is only one other person sitting at the table. "Morning" I say, "Morning, Jasus what part of Ireland are you from?" The fella replies in a thick Cork accent...and sure enough as any Irish people who meet your first aim is to try and establish who you might know in common. I tell him I've been working in Cambridge for the past 7 years and he says "Jasus sure I've played music around there boy, do you know the Earl of Derby?" and this is where it all begins. Its a small world, he's known Tadhg (the owner of the Earl of Derby) for years and plays in a band called Loudest Whisper (pretty popular in Ireland a few moons ago). Its not the first time this has happened on the is trip and I am sure it won't be the last! After all that we agree to meet again for a drink or two and I then venture off into the old town to get a feel for the place.

Its like a step back in time, narrow lanes with lots of colonial architecture. As I'm walking through everyone seems to be getting ready Tet, they are busy painting buildings washing paths & drive ways & putting up decorations. The market like any other I've seen so far is madness, people are everywhere, motor bikes pushing through the crowds, lots of shouting and of course the sound of horns from the motor bikes. They are no end of places to eat here, food seems to be the highlight of this place! Restaurants galore plus some fantastic bakery's!

TET (Chinese New Year)

On the eve of Tet they have arranged some celebrations along the river side. Its a pretty quiet affair, but colourful none the less. We are all expecting it to go on until 12am and bring in the New Year in style...but that wasn't the case. It was all wrapped up at 10pm and the only people celebrating at midnight were the tourists! Walking back to the hotel that night you could see a lot of the Vietnamese were bringing in the New Year in their own homes. Some were outside their houses either burning paper along the road side (not sure what all this was about) or having a party & a few drinks. I end up getting invited into a party, its all civilised enough but some of the Vietnamese sure like to drink. None of the people have much English so the best way to communicate is just to drink when they drink. At this stage I've had enough beer for the night so I just stay for a couple and wish them all the best for the New Year.The following day, first day of the New Year, seems to be a very special one. Very few shops are opened and it seems to be considered a day of rest for all...well today and probably the next 2-3 days for some! Everyone seems to be dressed in their Sunday best either drinking coffee & green tea in the local cafes or families of 4 sometimes 5 are loaded onto bikes going to different destinations. I doubt you'd get an entire Irish family on one of those bikes, certainly not the 9-McMorrow's! later that day I decide to hire a bike and go see Danang & China Beach. Its about a 30min drive from Hoi An but its a very different place. Its Vietnam's 4th biggest city and it seems to be a very big port town. Along some of the roads next to the beach you could well think you were somewhere in the US. Its 3-4 lane wide roads lined with Palm trees.

It seems as if these huge roads have only been recently built as there are now vast amounts of resorts been built along the beach front where it seems as if there was once nothing and to the other side of the road you can see the remains of many villages the road has cut through. The beach front stretches all the way back to Hoi An, Cu Lao Beach...about 30km.

Nha Trang

Tuesday 20th January 2009

Sure enough as the days go by I start to get itchy feet again so its time for some place new plus I hope to make it to Hoi An for Tet (Chinese New Year). Nha Trang is the next stop...the Lonely Planet describes it as having a split personality...tourists one side of the town and the locals the other...it could be another Phuket I'm thinking?!The bus trip is a tale of two halves. From Da Lat we probably take one of the worst buses on the road, looks Ok on the outside but once you get into it you are thinking what on earth is this...you feel every bump and not alone that its the slowest thing around, getting up around the mountains you are thinking we'll have to get out and push this thing. Anyway our luck is in we stop half way on the trip and are told to change buses. What a contrast...we hop on to a sleeper bus which has every mod con under the sun...it even has a drop down flat screen TV!
When I arrive in Nha Trang I'm kind of happy to be back along the coast and am looking forward to a few days of relaxing along the beach. I get the shorts on and head for beach. Supposedly Nga Trang is Vietnam's main dive resort so I trail the beach and price up a few places. In the end I find a place that offers me two dives in a day & food for $50 so I decide to take it up. On the morning of the dive I discover that our instructor for the day is from Co. Clare, Ireland. He's pretty laid back about the whole thing..."we haven't had anyone die on us yet this year" he tells a Vietnamese couple who are also taking the dive...nothing like filling them with confidence eh?The Vietnamese couple have not dived before so as we head out to the dive spot on the boat he goes through all the basics...at a rapid rate! I'm just thanking God at this stage I managed to get a dive in in Koh Tao...not sure I would have known what to do basing it on what this guy tells us.
Unfortunately the visibility for the dive is pretty poor, only up to about 7meters but we manage to see some fish & some impressive coral. All in all it was nice to get a couple of dives in, certainly felt on the second dive I was a little more confident and able to maneuver a bit better.
A funny thing I've noticed about Asia is that if people are in need of a toilet (a number 1 that is) then they have a tendency to do their business against a wall or some quite area. When in Cambodia, there was an ally way down to where I was staying. It seemed every tuck-tuck drive under the sun used it as a toilet. There were plenty of other scenes but I'll spare you all the details...some were just comical!As for what Nha Trang is like, well its not as bad as the Lonely plant suggests. There are very few people here at this time of year, the beach is almost empty...then again it would be hard to fill a 6km stretch of beach! Other than diving, visiting the island and chilling out on the beach there isn't a whole lot else to do...which is grand if you just want to relax.

The Alps of Vietnam!

Saturday 17th January 2009
After spending a few days in Ho Chi Minh I venture North to Da Lat. Da Lat is different to anything else I've seen so far in Asia. Its over 1400 meters above sea level and driving up there makes it feel a little like making your way up the Alps! And that's not the only thing it has in common, its pretty cold in the morning & at night but beautiful during the day. Its a little off the beaten track so it doesn't get that many tourists which is great. The first thing that I notice is that pretty much all the locals are wrapped up in big jackets, jumpers and even gloves. One of the main things to do in Da Lat is to take a Easy Rider tour. Basically you hop on the back of a motor bike with a guide and they take you around the town and the villages showing you the various sights for something like $20. Its a great idea and a cool way to spend a day. You hear stories of people taking these tours from Da Lat to as far as Hanoi!!! One thing is for sure, its the easiest way to get off the beaten track.As for the Easy Rider tour around Da Lat the day entailed the following stop off's...a visit to a Minority Group, Coffee Plantation, Strawberry Plantation, Flower Plantation, Tea plantation, Mushroom plantation, Making Rice Wine, Elephant Water fall, The Crazy House and the old town Railway...all in the one day!!! Sure enough some of the stops are just to fill the gaps but the majority of them are interesting. If you are wondering what the crazy house is well I suggest you look it up on line, its a guest house in the form of a giant surreal artwork...it has been described as Gaudi meets Alice in Wonder Land...its nuts!

Ho Chi Minh City & the Cu Chi Tunnels

Wednesday 14th January 2009

Ho Chin Minh city is one mad spot...you just can't believe all the motor bikes. If you think its bad during the day time then wait until dusk...its mayhem! Also what's mad is there seem to be very little rules on the road as to who has right of way. The only main rule is that the smaller vehicle must give way to the bigger one. At junctions bikes & cars just drive through trying to avoid one another as they go...you have to see it to believe it.On my way across the border from Cambodia to Vietnam I bumped into an American guy who I'd met in Siem Reap. He hasn't any accommodation booked in HCM but the room I have booked is a twin so we decide to split the cost...which suits us both! Now I sometimes have a tendency to do a little talking/shouting in my sleep which doesn't bother me as I never remember much of it. But on our last night in the city I must have been having one of those nights. I wake up to find myself sitting in bed shouting & screaming at the top of my voice. This must have been going on for a little while because the American guy is now doing the same right back at me! In the morning we have a good laugh about it.

In the few days that I have in Vietnam I manage to meet up with a work colleague of mine, Ky. He is originally from HCM so its great to have someone show you around who knows the place. One thing I didn't know about the Vietnamese is that they can hold their drink I'll say that much! Cheers for those couple of days Ky if you are reading this!
The video above is from the Cu Chi tunnels. They are as small as you ever imagined and more! There was a Dutch guy on our trip who tried to get into that very same tunnel and got stuck for a minute or two. There are a couple of openings else where that have been developed so that tourists can venture down to see what it was like, its a tight fit, you pretty much have to crawl with very little room either side to manoeuvre. Its certainly worth seeing the tunnels but the place is littered with tourists, its one bus load after another. One of the better places to go in HCM is the War Remembrants museum. The photos of the Vietnamese war are pretty graphic but its well worth going to see.