The final stretch
Okidoke
The few days on koh phang nan were nice, after the rocky start with the islanders! Considering we were there in the run up to the full moon however, the island was pretty dead - by 11.30 Nadia and I were the only people wandering the streets, trying to find signs of life in the few bars that were open. Perhaps we are the thai idea of party animals after all, and should have headed to hat rin!
After vegging out for a full day on the beach, we decided that the next day we woud try our hands at kitesurfing - snowboarding on the sea powered by a kite instead of a boat! Alas, the water was too shallow for begginers to safely learn, so we admitted defeat and headed to hat rin beach for the day. It was nice - but not as nice as nai pan - and everyone there who spoke english were steadily turning into lobsters. oh well. plus nadia said there were loads of jellyfish in the water - i didn't venture in to see for myself!
That night got the night ferry to the mainland, where we got a few buses to reach penang - originally had wanted to get a train but only one goes a day and it was a 20hour wait - typisch! The journeys weren't too bad, as we rocked on into penang at around 5pm, about 19 hours after we left the island!
Suki's "cousin" (exact relationship a mystery, but aren't they always!) kuljit collected us from the shopping mall the bus driver had dropped us off at (he knew us so well!). After a brief tour of penang we went to gurdev's house (the father) and showered and ate, then went out for drinks and more food - malaysians certainly like their food - I have spent the last 4 days stuffed to the brim! I had a lie in the next day whist nadia went for a run. She came back sooooo sweaty and beetroot we decided to skip our plans to climb penang hill(a 4 hour trek) in favour of the shopping mall and chinatown! After a delicious banana leaf meal in an indian restaurant we continued shopping whilst suki's dad (who had come from ipoh to collect us!) joined gurdev and kuljit in a round of golf. We had barely digested lunch when it was time for dinner - chinese at the penang swimming club! I had asked at lunchtime if malaysians eat their main meal in the middle of the day and a small snack in the evening and kuljit replied, aghast "no, main meal, main meal!" He certainly wasn't joking!
The next morning we set off for ipoh - the home of suki's parents. We had a relaxing couple of days eating, visiting their club to swim, and fitting in a bit more shopping! then the night bus to singapore!
I barely recognise the place! I know i've never been one for directions, but when we finally made it to scotts mall, I couldn't even locate the entrance to the Ascott - I had to ask! Nevertheless it was fun having a nosey round the joint and trying to find the old favourities - but they'd all gone! Searched scotts road for the fish and chip shop we often ate in - a burger king and subway were there in its place! Level one shopping mall was still their - but not the shops. Tangs was still preserved though - phew! Also discovered a new area of town - bugis street! Oh my god did we get some bargains! That evening we tried to get some hawker food as it was late - time flies when you're shopping! We firstly walked along orchard road, but they were mostly shutting and had no more food, so we jumped on the mrt and went to boat quay and clarke quay...way too posh for stalls. Finally we headed to chinatown and the lau pa sat hawker centre when i had some grimy noodles and egg as everyone was also packing up. d'oh.The satay stalls were still going strong, but it wasn't really what we had in mind!
Today we are going to do chinatown by day (if it stops raining!), then a bit more shopping, then perhaps check out raffles bar - will all depend on the weather I suppose! Tomorrow we spend the day at the tanglin club (v.excited - spent many a summer there as a child!) before catching our night flights to the UK.
angkor wat, shopping and the islands
Angkor did not disappoint.
We started our day of touring the temples at a very leisurely 9AM - well the sky was cloudy and i've seen my fair share of sunrises! Vuthy, our driver, had organised a guide for us, so after picking him up we were on our way to the temples of angkor! After passing through one of the massive gates, and over the bridge spanning the moat (illustrating demons (bulging eyes) and gods (lotus hats) working together to pull a snake round a mountain to churn the sea of milk to find immortality...don't ask!) we were in! Our first temple was the bayon. It was huge; most of the walls "bas reliefs" were engraved with battle scenes or ADLs, and in the central area (used for meditation) there are 1000s of faces chisseled out of the stone. Apparently, king jayavarman VII thought he looked like the buddha, so the faces were both self portraits and a point of worship!
Next we headed to the terrrace of elephants and the terrace of the leper kings. They are on the outside of the grand palace and might have been used for elephant fighting or theatre - no one knows - one of the problems of not keeping up to speed with the ancient languages...
Most of the grand palace was closed for renovation, so we climbed up to the top of a temple to see the swimming pools - one small one for the king, and a large one for his 300-odd concubines! He seemed like a bit of a diva - his wife was apparently stationed in the wat tower permanently and he visited her every night to sow his seed!
Next off we visited one of the smaller temples that was unfinished as all the builders got recruited to war. Was rather bland compared to the others but it showed us a different style of temple...there are four: mountains that are temples, temples built to look like mountains, flat temples and terraced ones (I think - something to look up when i get home!)
Last before lunch we visited the magnificient Ta prohm, which has been left exactly as it was found and was used for the tomb raider movies. It is slowly being eaten by the jungle - tree roots and walls all merge together - it was great exploring it. Also the guy on the front of LP's cambodia guide still sits in the central meditiation complex!
After we had refuelled on some Khmer curry - just like irish stew and not at all spicy - we braved the biggie - angkor wat. We spent a long time listening to the stories of hindu mythology, then our guide pointed out the depictions on the massive bas reliefs. The detail is quite incredible - in total there are about 1200 angels carved into the stone to try to persuade the god Vishnu to set up residence in the temple (forgotten the actual name of them) - and each one has a different hairstyle, facial expression, or accessory. Similarly all the different armies are slightly different - long earlobes, shape of hats or hair or the presence of footware all help to unravel who's who! The ground floor for the locals was almost finished (it was quite common to leave temples unfinished) but the middle floor for the high priests, and the top floor for jayaverman itself seemed quite spatan in comparison. Anyhoo, enough of temples!
After a really long, really bumpy bus ride,we fell into the first bed we could find on bangkok's khao san road. Had a great lie in then an even better afternoon shopping in Siam's fantastic MBK centre before heading back to khao san for more last minute shopping...and a quick rendez-vous with nav! medic on elective, take 2! having tried out both of bangkok's main touristy areas now, I am still at a loss as to what is so repulsive about the city - I will definately be coming back! (still haven't done any of the sites really!)
Now on Koh Phang Nhang (?sp), an island off the coast of koh samui. The beach is nice, and the bars are cool enough, but considering its the full moon party on saturday, the place is a little, dead. And the prices are a little, inflated. We opted for the quiter north-east as recommended by most travellers, but will have a half-day on crazy hat rin beach whilst waiting for the ferry back to the mainland. Will wait for tomorrow to pass further judgement. Unlike the muslims of malaysia, I shall not pray for rain, but lovely blue skies for the next 2 days!
Cambodia
Our 2 day trip down to the mekong delta was more a mammoth bus and boat journey than a visit to the region. We spent the whole time travelling, and spent only 30mins of day light visiting a village on the delta (and fishfarm - yuk!)
some of the scenery on day 1 was pleasant enough - although it all passed a bit too quickly from the back seat of a minivan! We spent the night in a "resort" (i.e. seeing nada of chau doc, the nearest delta town...) then carried on to the cambodian border by boat. It was quite striking seeing the difference in houses and farmland either side ofthe border - Cambodia was much more ramshackle (and quaint) with stilt wooden houses and fields of maize instead of rice paddies and concrete. After another full day's travelling, we arrived into phnom penh that evening, checked into the cheapest guesthouse we could find ($2/rm) and ate the cheapest dinner ($2.50!) Prices seem to be the inverse of vietnam, where accomodation was relatively expensive but food practically free.
The next day, after another bad night's sleep (about the 10th running, for various reasons) we set out to do PP. After reading wild swans i've become quite interested in the communist movement and their "cultural revolutions": We learnt quite a lot about the cambodian one in the tuol sleng museum - a high school that was converted into S-21 - a torture camp and prison for high ranking officials. Not only can you see the conditions the prisoners were kept in, and the torture instruments used to get "confessions", you can also read quite a few personal testimonials. There seemed to be little logic in who was taken - the educated and farmers, people in the party and those working against it - and anyone who was related to someone to whom the party took a dislike. We learnt even more from our fabulous moto driver, who drove us to the killing fields at choeung ek. He was studying law at uni, and wants to become a human rights lawyer next year when he graduates, so was very knowledgeable about the whole subject. Well, as knowledgeable as one can be in a country where all information is sensored by the government, and disagreeing with them can get you killed... The killing fields are still very much a graveyard - many of the bodies lying in the mass graves have not yet been exhumed - and bones and pieces of clothing stick out of the walking paths. At the entrance there is a monument filled with 17 storeys of reclaimed skulls - apparently they can't dig up any more of the pits until they find some more space for the remains...nice.
On a slightly cheerier note, the royal palace was back to glistening Thai standards. Restoration was still been undertaken, but the coronation room and the silver pagoda were magnificient. The silver tiles on the floor were engraved, and the 2 buddhas - one small one in solid emerald; the other lifesize made of solid gold and studded with thousands of diamonds, were beautiful. It's still the official residence of King Shinaouk (?) so much of the grounds were off-limits, but I enjoyed what we were allowed to see.
We then raced to get a tuk-tuk to the russian market, but ended up in a cyclo, who went very slowly and in the wrong direction, so had to find another moto, by which time the market had packed up and we had a very long walk home. boo hoo. Passed the central market but didn't go in.(probably just as well!)
Today we took the bus to Siem Reap, the town closest to the temples at Angkor. Finally found a place to slum it - $1/night in a dorm, with shared bathroom and no hot water - and a driver to take us round the temples tomorrow. Had a practice run tonight - went to THE hill to watch sunset (entry after 5pm is free) - to be surrounded by many many other bemused package tourists, wondering how we'd come to be up the top of a hill, on a perfectly cloudy day, attempting to watch sunset with the horizon obscured by overgrown trees! We thought the temple on the hill was ok, but conceeded defeat and arranged for an official giude to escort us around tomorrow - the story's all in the telling after all.
Saigon/ho chi minh
Right, so I know I'm starting to sound a little schizophrenic, but...I really do like Vietnam! Not all of it, granted, Halong bay and Nha trang should be retargeted by the yanks as far as I'm concerned, but aside from that it's all good.
We spent our last long day in Nha Trang at the Thap Ba mineral mud baths (These can be spared in the bombing raid!) We arrived mid morning, when it was pretty empty, apart from one other foreign couple and a few local families. When we left at 6pm, it was heaving - mostly with Vietnamese so I guess the mud must be tried and tested in its claims to help chronic rheumatism, gout, bone tuberculosis and disorders of the external nervous system (whatever that is!) It was a fun day - but complicated! The procedure is as follows: have a mineral water shower (instead of taps there's a pressure pad on the floor so the water starts when you step on it - genius - i'm going to market this in the UK!) followed by 20 minutes soaking in a bath filled with mineral mud, then leaving the mud to dry on your skin, another mineral shower, a power shower (where the water attacks you from all sides) then another soak in a mineral water jacuzzi! My skin was truly as soft as a baby's after all that! In the afternoon we tried to sit under the waterfalls and go for a swim - but the water was too hot - uncomfortable even for a bath! So we contented ourselves with a sunlounger instead!
That night we took the bus to Saigon (was not nearly as delux as the one that took us to hoi an!) and after a few extra hours kip in our hotel room, we were ripe to explore the town. After booking our onward journey, we realised that we need some more cash. It was 1pm on a saturday - the banks were closed till sunday - the day we leave for cambodia and need dollars in cash for a visa. oops. After trying (and failing) to change TC's at the posh hotels we decided to cut our losses and head for the palace: "reunification or independence palace". It was home to the president and french leader before the communists set up home there so we were expecting grandeur like that displayed in the royal palaces in laos and Thailand...but no. It was a modern french-designed 1960's concrete invention with art deco influence. Random or what? well, the first colonial-style palace was irrepairably damaged by a bomb...
Even though it was not what we were expecting, the building was pretty cool. It had a helipad, cinema and games room that would have made James bond proud. The communications suite in the 2-storey basement was fairly swish too! however, fear the interior designer may have been colourblind - not one room had a matching colourscheme...red chairs with maroon carpet with yellow curtains - all with different patterns? I don't think so...apparently the original designs were lost and had to be reconstructed! Once the palace had closed (and the torrential rain had abated) we resumed our search for an exchange buro. Hurrah - we found one - and they had really pretty tea sets and noodle bowls for sale. Against our better judgement we both entered into negotiations, flushed with our new crisp dollar bills, and each emerged carrying several kilos of ceramic kitchenware! Needless to say, 5 paces down the street we found the identical product for half the price. Cursing furiously, I frogmarched Nadia back to the shop and asked for a refund. Nearly 2 hours later (and some devious tactics on my part) I emerged semi - victorious with 8 of my 10 dollars back and a chopsticks holder (priced at $3, valued at 0.00003!) Will think more carefully next time - and will save the breakables for malaysia or s'pore!
Today we did an organised tour to the cu chi tunnels. We were slightly apprensive about this after our halong bay fiasco, but unless we hired a car or chartered a taxi (unfeasabily expensive for our anorexic budgets!) we couldn't get there on our own steam. As it turned out, the tour guide was excellent. "Mr Binh" had "binh there and done that" (so sorry!) in the 1970's - so had a real knowledge of the area and the tunnels. Slighlty confusingly, we think he is Vietnamese but fought for the americans, given his commanding officer was John Carey and he lived in San Diego, Ca for 2 years. Guess he could at least give both sides of the story! After watching a video and learning about the construction and purpose of the tunnels, we were led through the jungle where we could see the original tunnel exit sites and some of the traps that were used to catch meat and soldiers. They really did blend completely into the ground (and looked exactly like the ones in indiana jones - not sure which came first!)- I was not at all surprised they were so succesful. Next we learnt about the clothes and shoes nad daily life of the Viet Cong and cu chi villagers, and about how they could cook without the steam betraying their whereabouts etc - all facinating stuff. After firing an AK47 in a firing range (completely missed the target btw) it was our turn to road test the tunnels. They have preserved a 100m stretch for visitors which has each of the 3 levels - 3m (living), 6m (fighting), and 8-10m (escape). It was so hot, and so dark and so small that soon I was so scared I had to escape. Fortunately the VC built exit and air holes every 30m that i could use - but it seemed much longer than that. Certainly would not have liked to be chased down those things, much less made it my home!
This afternoon we mostly ambeled and window-shopped - Saigon is ace for shopping, although expensive: will def come back when i am earning! We have an early start tomorrow as we head down to the mekong delta so off to get some dinner and an early night.
Hoi an and Nha Trang
Was thrilled with my suit from Hoi An. I went for my first fitting expecting it to be roughly the right shape but in need of major alterations – and it all fitted perfectly! At $73US for a 3 piece suit with 3 shirts, was a bit of a bargain. Cost half as much again to send it home though! I don’t mind as long as it gets there – will be heartbroken if it goes missing as I also sent all my other souvenirs from Asia.
Hoi An in general was lovely – we made it to the beach and the Cham ruins at My Son (although the “sunrise” tour which necessitated a 4.30AM start actually completely missed the event by several hours once we had spent an hour circling Hoi An, and another having breakfast at a roadside café!) We still beat the crowds though – on our return we passed coach after coach – we were very lucky and had only our minibus, plus one other at the site so the ambience remained intact. My Son itself was a religious centre, to where the Cham people would make a pilgrimage. Although the ruins were mostly destroyed by the war (yes that bloody war yet again…), the remains gave a good idea as to what it would have looked like. The buildings were small, with no windows, and turreted roofs (rooves?) and were made with bricks but no mortar – amazing they still stand at all really!
With the 2 excursions and hours of shopping, didn’t do any of the “sights” of Hoi An, excepting the Japanese covered bridge. That suited me fine really, as I got a feel of the place from trekking up and down the streets on our shopping expeditions! Crazily, bumped into Graham Nelson on our last day who is also heading south through Vietnam – perhaps we’ll meet again soon!
Took the night bus to Nha Trang – was much better than anticipated as seats reclined a good deal and the temperature control worked! After a lovely few days in Hue and Hoi An, Nha Trang has come as a bit of a disappointment. Had a nice day today relaxing on the beach avec parasol and sun lounger at the Louisiana café…but only managed a few minutes in the water as it was quite dirty. Nadia went in a few hours after me and was horrified – cotton wool buds, crisp packets, and fuel containers aplenty. I don’t recall it being that bad when I went in…at least I hope it wasn’t! Tomorrow we treat ourselves at the mineral mud farm before heading down to Saigon – figured we’d forsake the boat trip and a day more beach time, and spend the time somewhere cleaner (and preferably a bit quieter – think I am now a beach snob after Aitutaki!)
About to head out for some dinner and drinks in one of the many beachfront bars before getting an early night to steel ourselves for another overnighter on el bus!
Hanoi water puppets
After all my whingeing in my last entry, i neglected to say how fun the water puppets of Hanoi were! The stage is a big tank of water with a screen behind, and the puppet masters move the puppets from behind the screen so it looks like they are dancing on the water. Classic! Apparently it is a tradition upheld from when the workers in the paddy fields had nothing to do during the monsoon, so created this form of entertainment.
It was a fun evening - and came with the added bonus of keeping us away from the shops for another few hours!
We got the overnight train that evening from Hanoi to Hue. The soft sleeper bed was very comfortable, and both of us got a reasonable amount of sleep. The morning portion of the journey was a bit more interesting, as unlike most other sleeper trains, the ones in Vietnam don't fold back into seats - so we had the choice of lying flat until 11AM or standing in the corridor! Still think it was preferable to the coach - although we're trying that next as hoi An has no train station!
hue itself was quite lovely. It was a lot less touristy than other towns we've visited, and retained some of its charm. However, before we could see any of ot, the first stop was the doctors - I'd had a small rash on my thighs for the past 2 weeks and it had suddenly, allarmingly, multiplied out of control! The doctor filled me with confidence...not! Had a quick look, went "wow, that's a big one" (I presumed he meant my rash, not my backside...) then gave me, antibiotics, antihistamine, antiinflammatory, and multivitamins. Blatently hadn't a clue! Never mind - we took our own initiative and bought some antibiotics that actually penetrate the skin (no, ciproflox is not same, same, as flclox...) so will keep fingers crossed!
After that palava, we headed into the old town to walk around the citadel and the forbidden purple city - it was massive! A lot of it had been levelled, and converted to agriculture, or left to crumble, but UNESCO had restored parts of the compound so you got an idea as to what it would have looked like in the "good old days". Lots of painted wood and tiled floors I gather.
The following day we got a cyclo to the thien mu pagoda - a 7 story job which looks like the tiers on a wedding cake. I think it became famous after some guy burned himself to death on the grounds to protest about the communist regime and the denunciation of buddism as a religion. A highlight of our trip their was that it coincided with lunchtime for the monks (11am - obviously!), so we got to see their rituals and hear their singing. unusually, there were also female monkesses and little children, who were dressed in grey as opposed to orange. will try to find out why at some point!
After a whislestop tour of Hue, got a bus to Hoi An - the capital of tailor made clothes. We had a quick reccie last night to sus out where the best tailors looked, so today we head for them to get quotes for an interview suit (+/- whole new wardrobe - depends how strict I am!)Whilst the clothes get made, we'll either head to the my son ruins, the beach, or laze by our pool - that's right - we are staying in a hotel that has a pool! Plus free breakfast, satellite TV, DVD hire, and free cocktail du jour from 7-8 at teh poolside bar - all for $10 per night!
halong bay
We spent a lot of our one day in Hanoi faffing around sorting out onward train journeys, excursions, money and moving hotel. However, we did get to see the temple in the middle of Hoan Kiem Lake which is dedicated to the patron saint of physicians. (however, we couldn't get inside as we were gossiping and didn't realise they were closing up - a sign perhaps!!!) We also had a lovely wander around the old quarter with it's quirky buildings and crooked streets (we're getting better at crossing them - the trick is never to take a step backwards!) For dinner we went to a fabulous veggie restaurant where they use soybean as meat substitutes - I can't vouch for the taste, but the beef and bbq pork certainly looked like the real thing! (the squid did taste quite similar to the mouthful I tried in Aitutaki...) Was a surreal experience - and a totally different way of eating - no carb, little veg, much protein! It hasn't tempted me back yet...
We've just returned to hanoi after a 3 day boat trip to halong bay and cat ba island. I want to go into vast detail explaining the beauty of the limestone carsts and the national park on cat ba island...but I just can't bring myself to (I'll read nadia's blog instead!). There were so many tourists boats there, it really did feel as if the boat was attached to a monorail and you have just queued up for "it's a small world". The caves had "feature lighting", the national park had a concrete road running up to the viewpoint with litter strewn either side, and at night, cat ba island rivalled blackpool for its tackiness and illuminations. On the first night there was the option of sleeping out on deck "under a blanket of stars". Nadia and I were forced to take this option after 3 cockroaches attacked us in our cabin! Luckily it was a beautifully clear night - but the stars were obscenely dim because the boats sharing the bay kept their lights on all night- fuelled by noisy generators which somewhat destroyed the tranquility. The next day we had some time scheduled for swimming - but the water looked so dirty I could barely bring myself to get into a kayak. It was the first time I have ever joined a group excursion - convenient it was, but not having any say as to where/what/when we ate/slept/went tried my patience to the limit! Fortunately we had a really good group, many of whom are following the same route as us, so at least the evenings were lively! On cat ba island we went to a cocktail bar and lounged around drinking island ice teas and puffing on a nargile! Very hip.
Although I have had,(and am still having) a great time, Vietnam has been an eye-opener with regards the "South East Asia loop". We have systematically tried (and failed) to:
1) get off the tourist trail
2) find any geniune culture
3) find any semblance of culture at all...
Even in Laos, even when we went on a canoe for 2 whole days, all that we saw was stuff created for (and being ruined by) tourism. Even areas of outstanding natural beauty lose their charm a bit when they're covered in placards, rubbish, graffiti...The cities aren't much better: the shopping is great but the history is absent. I know much of this can be blamed on centuries of conflict, oppressive communist regimes, repeated invasion by foreign powers, but still...we thought there'd be something, anything! The abundance of lemming travellers I can understand- I put it down to the fact that there are usually only one or two roads per country - and everyone's got to use them if they want to move! Crazy public bus drivers (if available) and the risk of banditry/accidents/mudslides/suffocation by overcrowding (insert according to country) mean that many travellers take the tourist buses - which only stop in certain towns (which quickly become meccas for bars and markets). Having talked to fellow travellers on the same route it doesn't seem as if we're barking up the wrong tree: SEA is very cheap, it's very easy to get around, and its fun. But compared to Europe, Cuba and India, it's definately lacking. I would gladly swap the hot showers and western toilets for a real flavour of asia...but sadly, i'm coming to realise what I was looking for doesn't exist any more. How many times we've said, "it's nice, but we're 10 years too late"?
However, enough of the whingeing. After a few days of coming to terms with the facts, we have adopted a new outlook. We are on holiday (not travelling), we will shop and lie on the beaches, and we will stay out late and lie in late if we feel so inclined. Except Cambodia - angkor wat awaits!
Tonight we head down to Hue on the train - we went to the station and booked hard sleeper - all they had left. On the bus back the tour guide was explaining to our friends how foreigners weren't allowed to use these - only the soft sleepers (at three times the price). I hope this was a scam tactic or it's going to be an interesting journey...hard sleeper with vietnamese would be fine...the corridor outside it might not be so nice!
