Bangkok, Thailand - Days 1 & 2

.. And so Part III of our trip has commenced (Taiwan-Vietnam-Thailand).. Yes, we have reached the sunny, lemon-yellow coloured, green curry, lime and chilli- scented shores of Bangkok, Thailand's illustrious and cosmopolitan capital!

The run-down so far:

We arrived on Saturday morning, pretty tired and a little shell-shocked upon arrival. After taking it relatively easy on the first day, on Sunday we embarked upon a full-blown walking tour (three maps in all) across Bangkok.

We started at the Grand Palace, the pinnacle of any Bangkok visit. In this case, we can only hope that the photos speak volumes of the striking beauty of the Palace. (For my two cents).. In my mind, it absolutely kicks the Forbidden City in Beijing and most any other thing I've seen.

"For just about 150 years, Bangkok's Grand Palace was not only the home of the King and his court, but also the entire administrative seat of government. Within the crenelated walls were the country's war ministry, state departments, and even the mint. Thai Kings stopped living in the palace full time around the turn of the twentieth century, but the complex remains the seat of power and spiritual heart of the Thai kingdom... The area totals nearly sixty acres in size." -- ThailandVisitor.com

We then spent much of the afternoon trekking across the city to the Main Train Station, through the streets of Chinatown; if anything, this trip has been incredibly illuminating as to how vast an expanse Chinese culture and language has crossed in Asian history, and its continued relevance today.

On the way, we also visited Wat Tramit, a temple famous for its pure gold, five tonne, two metres high Buddha. Beautiful, although pretty disconcerting- the temple housed a huge array of touristy gear AND a currency exchange booth. (?) Really, immensely odd for an active place of worship. (Also, pretty disrespectful on part of some of the tourists there, some of whom showed no respect of their surrounds..) This IS Thailand, however, a country which sees some 12 million tourists per year; so perhaps its to be (cynically) expected.

Finally, we took a famous "tuk-tuk" back to the backpacker area. A "tuk-tuk" is difficult to describe - like a mini-taxi/billy cart (?) They run off diesel and are notorious for their fumes and roaring engines, so too the drivers for their corrupt commissions.. But all in all, great fun, we loved it. Definitely part of the experience (cheap thrills abound!)

Today we took it pretty easy, spending the morning in and around the Silom area, famous for its huge shopping complexes. We headed to the 'Shabuya'-esque young local designers area, which was great, before splurging on some gold class movie tickets for the afternoon. :)

Tomorrow is our final day in Bangkok, and we're considering how deeply we want to delve into our curiosities about the sex industry areas here. Lady-boys abound!(The "tuk-tuk" driver on the way home offered to take us to a ping-pong show.. promising we'd love it.. Then kindly simulating the act.. Hilarious.) Interestingly, I've read that 95% of the notorious Bangkok sex industry caters for the local Bangkokians, rather than the tourists. It remains to be seen.

Until then, feel free to check out the photos that Sim's posted on his Facebook profile (for any of you Facebook friends out there), and more soon. x

Unassuming Contributions

This was our final day in the streets of Hanoi. Though the day itself wasn't too much to speak of, I felt it important to write of the one thing that happened today that has imprinted itself in our memories. Without realising it, today we unintentionally made a contribution (albeit somewhat minor) to Vietnam's sex tourism industry.

We'd planned to get massages this afternoon to counter the effects of sleeping in soft, lumpy hostel beds. I suggested we go to a massage place that I saw when we were having coffee in a small department store in the centre of Hanoi - one which was well-lit and advertised a range of beauty treatments. From the surrounds, I figured it was a legitimate operation...

.. While I was being cracked and pummeled, so too climbed upon (?), poor Simon was being propositioned in the next room. In the main, the woman had behaved perfectly naturally and professionally, until the last few minutes of the 'massage' where it became clear that the woman worked for 'tips'. Simon handled the situation very well and before we knew it, we were out the door.

We're both pretty shocked and affronted by the situation, more so because of the attitude of the women. Both with the curves of mothers, no less. It has been clear from the outset we were a couple, and in this situation, the women need not sell their bodies to us - but chose to regardless - and seemed shocked that we'd not reponded in kind.

It's not the perculiarity of it, no, I'm sure this kind of 'misunderstanding' happens all the time. Rather, it's the grit, the muck, the grime of a sex tourism industry of which we'd heard so much but seen so little...

Good Morning.. And Good Bye.. Vietnam

Just briefly, today marks our final day in Hanoi and in Vietnam. We'll take with us the memories of cyclo tours, French colonial architecture, white sandy beaches, kayaks in Halong Bay, the headiness of tourism and the smiling faces and wonderful hospitality of the Vietnamese.

Tomorrow we're set for Bangkok, Thailand - sure to be an experience! We're planning to find a place to stay before settling in for the afternoon, as the "Australia Network" is showing the election live from the ABC. Hooray!

Halong Bay - The Experience of a Lifetime

It's been a whilewind since I was last here, that's for sure.

Courtesy of the aforementioned floods in the Central Highlands, Sim and I made an executive decision to head back to Saigon and simply fly across the country to Hanoi. Courtesy of some excellently-priced flights, we were able to do so, and flew over the north of the country, arriving late last week.

We spent a day wandering the streets of Hanoi, initially, to find that it's a far more delightful city than Saigon. It's just... bustling et beautiful, French colonial architecture abound, an a certain integrity and grit to the city that's always appealing. We immediately booked our tour of Halong Bay, ready to head straight into it.

For those of you who don't know about Halong Bay, here's a description from its UNESCO World Heritage Site listing:

Situated in the North-East region of Vietnam, Halong Bay is a bay in the Gulf of Tonkin comprised of regions of Halong City, the township of Cam Pha, and a part of the island district of Van Don. Halong Bay borders Cat Ba Island in the southwest, the East Sea in the east, and the mainland, creating a 120 km coastline.

Halong Bay is made up of 1,969 islands of various sizes, 989 of which have been given names. There are two kinds of islands, limestone and schist, which are concentrated in two main zones: the southeast (belonging to Bai Tu Long Bay), and the southwest (belonging to Halong Bay). This densely concentrated zone of stone islands, world famous for its spectacular scenery of grottoes and caves, forms the central zone of Halong Bay, which has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site... an area of 43,400 ha...

Viewed from above, Halong Bay resembles a geographic work of art. While exploring the bay, you feel lost in a legendary world of stone islands. There is Man's Head Island, which resembles a man standing and looking towards the mainland. Dragon Island looks like a dragon hovering above the turquoise water. La Vong Island resembles an old man fishing. There are also the islands of the Sail, the Pair of Roosters, and the Incense Burner, which all astonishingly resemble their namesakes. The forms of the islands change depending on the angle of the light and from where the islands are viewed. At the core of the islands, there are wonderful caves and grottoes, such as Thien Cung (Heavenly Residence Grotto), Dau Go (Driftwood Grotto), Sung Sot (Surprise Grotto), and Tam Cung (Three Palace Grotto).

Halong Bay has many links to the history of Vietnam. For example, there are such famous geographical sites as Van Don (site of an ancient commercial port), Poem Mountain (with engravings of many poems about emperors and other famous historical figures), and Bach Dang River (the location of two fierce naval battles fought against foreign aggressors).
It has been proven by scientists that Halong was one of the first cradles of human existence in the area at such archeological sites as Dong Mang, Xich Tho, Soi Nhu, and Thoi Gieng. It is also a region of highly-concentrated biological diversity with many ecosystems of salt water-flooded forests, coral reefs, and tropical forests featuring thousands of species of animal and plant life.

With all this in mind, the 18th meeting of the Committee of the World Heritages of UNESCO (in Thailand on December 17th, 1994), officially recognized Halong Bay as a natural heritage site of worldwide importance.


Yes... Halong Bay. A sight for tired Australian eyes. We booked a three day tour, and spent the first day travelling out to the bay, then to settle into the refurbished junk (like a pirate ship, really) that we'd spend our first night on. It was great! Sailing away into the distance. We spent the afternoon eating, drinking, and swimming in the bay (mostly by jumping off the roof of the boat, which was great.)

The second day, we spent mostly on two-person kayaks. Our tour guide went through the safety routine before we were able to head out as a group, often kayaking beneath - yes, beneath - some of the limestone cliffs around us. The water was a beautiful emerald green colour, so clean, so precious. Then onto a smaller junk headed out to Cat Ba Island, off the coast of Halong Bay, some forty minutes from where we were anchored.

We spent the evening and the following day mostly in the four-star RESORT that we'd been given as part of the tour, complete with the usual perks (hah!) like a private beach and swimming pool. A definite luxury experience, not too shabby, that's for sure.. Certainly not what we'd expected. But nice, nonetheless.

So we're back in Hanoi today, and spent a lovely day wandering the city, seeing the Temple of Literature and the like. Simon had a great street-side haircut from a local guy, who shaved his head and beard (leaving the moustache!) - much to the amusement of the locals (and foreigners) scattered around us. That was great.

And finally, a late lunch and coffee at KOTO, a famous Australian-Vietnamese restaurant which is based upon giving disadvantaged street kids an opportunity to learn on the job hospitality training skills. The food was delectable and the service excellent, and all for a good cause, too.

Only two more days in Hanoi before heading upwards and onwards, we'll post photos soon (definitely some of Halong Bay!) Until then, all our love. xo

Stranded! Tragic Floods in Central Vietnam

Sim and I had planned to travel north yesterday, to a city called Hoi An on the central coast of Vietnam. However, the area has been experiencing extreme flooding (it's rainy season here at the moment), and twice, our transport has been canceled. So we've decided to head back to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) in the south of Vietnam and take a domestic flight to Hanoi for the rest of our travels, skipping the central coast entirely (at least for this trip). We're fortunate to have avoided the floods (almost) entirely, as if we'd left a day earlier, we'd probably still be stuck on the bus (some three days later).


From: http://www.thanhniennews.com

Heavy rains and floods have once again battered central provinces, leaving at least 26 dead or missing, submerging hundreds of thousands of houses, and forcing the evacuation of over 100,000 residents.

The central meteorological agency reported Monday the floods have forced water levels to 4.1 m in some areas, the highest level since 1999.

Around 2,000 passengers were left stranded in Thua Thien-Hue as the floods cut off the provincial rail system.

In Quang Nam Province's Hoi An 550 tourists in were moved to higher ground, authorities said.

In Hue City, some 3,000 tourists were stuck in local hotels and all Thua Thien-Hue-Da Nang tours were canceled.

Dalat

Dalat - Some 1457m high and the 'fruitbasket' of Southern Vietnam

Nha Trang, Day Three

Just a brief note today.. As we spent the day at a place called the "Louisiana Brewhouse". It's a sort of brewhouse-cum-resort, with a swimming pool and big comfy beach lounges under bamboo, gumnut-esque shades... Luxury! Fresh beer and lounging about. We'd expected to get on a bus tonight to Hoi An, on the Central coast of Vietnam. However, there's been heavy storms there, so perhaps tomorrow we'll consider going snorkelling or scuba diving.. If we're not seduced by the Brewhouse once more.

Simple Pleasures

A local villager sharing her home-grown strawberries with us,

Dalat Village

Roses and Strawberries, Dalat

A greenhouse full of hybrid-coloured roses.

The greenhouse itself had been provided courtesy of a Dutch foreigner some thirty years prior. This sharing of knowledge led to great things, allowing the locals to harvest year-round, instead of once or twice anually. So too did this allow the hybridisation of the roses - yellow, pink, and orange too.

Leese and Nghiep,

Dalat Village

Coffee in Dalat

Our 'Easyrider', Mui

Delving into great detail about the nature of coffee in Vietnam. Vietnam is the world's fourth largest coffee exporter, and this particular plantation was undergoing its annual harvest. The fruits (yes, coffee is grown as a fruit!) are plucked from the vine by hand; red if ripe, green if otherwise.

Dalat Village,

Southern Vietnam

Mui Ne

Sedation and satisfaction,

The seclusion of Mui Ne Beach

South China Sea

Southern Vietnam

It's a hard knock life... for some

Leese, Mui Ne Beach

Nha Trang - Hot Springs and Mineral Mud

Onwards and upwards.


Yesterday morning we got on a bus at Dalat, determined to make it to Nha Trang at a relatively reasonable hour. (Perhaps it goes without saying that "Vietnam time" is extremely different to "Australian time"...)

On the bus, we met a lovely Canadian girl who had suffered from some pretty serious abrasions after a motorcycle ride with another 'Easyrider' in Dalat. Apparently, it had been some kind of freak accident (dog runs out onto the road, colliding with the bike), and no fault of the driver. While she was relatively unharmed (all things considered), we were pleased that we'd opted out of a big 5 day trek up into the Highlands with the 'Riders.

This hadn't been the only factor in our decision to trek it via the traditional bus route. It's rainy season here in Vietam (and the low tourist season) and yesterday it didn't just rain... It absolutely poured. The floods were torrential, brief but dramatic (at least through foreign eyes). We watched carefully as the bus driver slowly hearded our tour bus through, stopping briefly to rescue our packs.

This morning we headed out onto the beach, with somewhat high expectations - Nha Trang is supposed to have the "most beautiful beaches" in all of Vietnam. Again, it was okay, but nothing spectacular, unlike the beaches at Mui Ne. And getting hassled by vendors every three minutes - "cigarettes, miss? Sunglasses? I make nice massage for you" - isn't quite as cruisey as we'd imagined.

So this afternoon, Sim organized for us to visit the local Hot Springs Center (very Taiwanese, we thought). It was fantastic! Initially, we shared a private outdoor tub full of green mineral mud (Sim looked like the Grinch, especially with his new Paul Smith-esque shaved head... very amusing!) From there a brief shower to wash off the muck, and into some high-pressure hot mineral water sprays.. And a slosh in a big hot mineral water tub. We finished up with a 45-minute massage. Nice.

Must run, but more later. xo

The Easyriders, Dalat City, Central Highlands, Southern Vietnam

I'm overwhelmed already, just at the thought at how I'm going to suitably describe the amazing experience that we had today, here in Dalat, Southern Vietnam. No reflections so far, simply travel writing, it seems...

As per our last post, Sim and I organised yesterday to have a full-day tour of Dalat City - "The City of Eternal Spring" - through an organisation who call themselves "the Easyriders." Some 70 riders strong, this group are the "original and the best" tour guides of the city, and have been known to trek tourists across the country on the back of their Hondas. Their success has been phenomenal, as they intend to "give foreigners a taste of the real Vietnam;" so much so that copycat groups have sprung up across the city (and the country, for that matter). So we were quite pleased to be approached by a "real" 'Rider, named Mui, yesterday afternoon, whose sunny personality won us over in a second.

Dalat is a pretty city settled up in the Central Highlands of Southern Vietnam. It's known as the honeymoon escape of foreigners and locals alike, and while its natural surrounds are rather beautiful, the hoo-haa about Dalat kind of escaped us, at least initially. So we were determined to find the beauty of this city for our one-day stay. In which case there's nothing like a tour from the locals.

This morning we were set to depart at 7:30, only to allow Mui an extra hour to have breakfast. At a small cafe, sitting in the sun across from one of the city's famous lakes, Sim and I enjoyed the 'jolt' that is Vietnamese coffee - thick as oil, it's strong even for my tastes! (Vietnam is the world's fourth largest coffee exporter, though their focus is predominantly Robusta beans; that which you find in Nescafe.)

At 8:30, we headed back and apprehensively set ourselves on the back of our bikes. (Sim's first motorbike experience, and nothing like the one-ride I had on one when I was ten.) Our tour guides, the (aforementioned) Mui and Sim's driver, Niehp, are two lovely, jovial men, who set us up with good helmets and a safe ride. It was clear from the outset that they were extremely reliable and professional riders, with some 20 years experience between the two of them.

Thirty seconds into it, cruising along the dusty streets of Southern Vietnam, I couldn't believe it... So exhilirating! A totally liberating feeling. All feelings of apprehension slid off us in minutes; our guides took to the streets in a way that made us feel totally comfortable. The "defensive driving" techniques used in parts of South East Asia made me feel a little unsure of myself, but honestly, this is cruisy compared to Taipei traffic. Joyous!

First stop: the infamous "Crazy House" of Dalat City. The famous daughter of the second Secretary General of the Communist Party of Vietnam (whose name totally escapes me) had studied in Russia as a young woman, and returned to Vietnam to build a "fantasy-land" of sorts. It's difficult to describe (will leave it to the photos?) Kind of Harry-Potter, Alice-in-Wonderland-esque museum-slash-hotel. Strange. But interesting.

Then, a quick stop at the oldest railway station in Vietnam. A French colonial building, which was relatively pretty. Niehp went into a fair bit of detail about it (I think the significance of it escaped me.) Nonetheless, we found out that Dalat had been largely unaffected (comparatively speaking) to other areas of Vietnam during the Vietnam War.

From here, we headed out to a local temple-slash-pagoda-slash-bell-tower, predominantly Buddhist in its design. It was beautiful if only for the clearly pain-staking effort that had gone into its design; each element of the temple made up of mosaics of porcelain and coloured glass. Nothing like any of the temples that I've seen in either China or Taiwan, which was interesting, as there was a lot of Chinese iconography in the building; reminding us of the 1,000 year long colonial history that China shares with Vietnam.

This is evident in the language, also; we've already found strong similarities between Chinese and Vietnamese. For example, both are tonal languages and share similar pictograph characters. Common words like "flower" - hua - are pronunced similarly.

When we came down from the bell tower this afternoon, Neihp and Mui were eating some food from a local vendor which I recognised as the hugely popular Taiwanese dish, "dou hua" - soft tofu pudding would perhaps best describe it. Unlike the Taiwanese version, this version was much more delicious, tofu set in a warm sweet-ginger sauce. (A commentary, no doubt, on the marked difference in the deliciousness and quality of Vietnamese food compared to Taiwanese food, generally speaking.)

Then, a brief stop up at a lookout over the mountain ranges of Dalat, before onwards to the farm of some friends of our guides. Into the rural part of the city, this particular farming family had once been neighbours of our guide Mui, only to move out of the city to grow roses, strawberries, and other fruits. They welcomed us warmly into their home and onto the farm, allowing Niehp to take us into the greenhouse full of the budding season harvests... Red, yellow, orange, white and pink roses abound... Beautiful! Niehp mentioned that it had been the contribution of a foreign Dutchman some twenty years prior that had introduced the idea of a "greenhouse" to this part of Southern Vietnam, allowing for year-long harvests, instead of the once/twice yearly seasons.

The owners then stuffed us with some of their homegrown strawberries, fresh of the vine. Delicious!

Following this, we headed up to a coffee plantation, where Mui took pains to explain to us each stage of the coffee harvest process. After all these years in coffee, it was a complete joy to be at the place where it all begins.

Then, onto a famous Dalat waterfall... Where Leese encountered her first snake... (More dangerous than the biking, perhaps?) Beautiful. (Perhaps that goes without saying.)

Finally, a stop at a Zen Buddhist Monastery, set ni the mountains across from the largest lake in Dalat. This allowed Sim and I an opportunity to breathe and take in the course of our huge day in the city.

And so ends our day in Dalat - jam-packed, non-stop travel goodness. It's only 6:30pm but we're pretty stuffed, and somewhat pleased to be back at the beaches tomorrow (it's cold up here in the mountains, which is a bit of a shock to the system!) We've got another 6 hours on the bus tomorrow to Nha Trang, coast of the South China Sea.

All our love, L and S xo

Mui Ne and Dalat Beginnings, Week One, Southern Vietnam

Well, it's clear that Sim's leaving me to carry on the blog flame now that we've hit Vietnam's shores. I can see why he's hesistating - it's a bit of a stretch to describe our surrounds. Nonetheless...


We'd spent the past few days in the little town of Mui Ne on the coast of the South China Sea, some 3-4 hours drive north of Ho Chi Minh City. Mui Ne is essentially a budding village-cum-beach-resort, which was reflected in the large amount of construction around the place. Not to cite too much from the Lonely Planet, but they capture it exactly - "Despite its location... Mui Ne.. retains a rickety charm." We spent three nights staying in our own personal beach hut, only 10 steps from the white sandy beach and the sways of the South China deep. My image of Honolulu/Tahiti/Fiji combined! We've done little but swim, drink beer, read, and soak in the suns sweet rays.

Alas, all good things must come to an end.

Today we decided to head onto our third Vietnamese town, a place called Dalat - "The City of Eternal Spring." Dalat is the honeymoon capital of the Central Highlands, settled in mountains some 1500m high (so we've rugged up for the first time in months.. its about 17C outside.) Six hours on the bus, so we arrived safely late this afternoon.

We're set for lakes, waterfalls and other sights au naturale tomorrow, upon the motorbikes of the local tour guide bikies - the "Easyriders". Can't wait!

Day Two - Ho Chi Minh City - Southern Vietnam

We spent our first full day in Ho Chi Minh City, otherwise known as Saigon, somewhat unsure of ourselves but ready to dive headlong into it. After consuming a blissful breakfast of banana crepes and tea (courtesy of French colonialism, no less) I was swayed into taking a tour with a local 'xe om' driver whose smile wooed me from the outset. A 'xe om' is a bicycle with a proper seat attached to the front, so that its passenger can enjoy a lolling view of the city around them.

So Sim and I, in individual seats with our drivers, were given a tour of downtown HCMC. First, we were taken to the War Remenants Museum, which focuses predominantly on photography as a means of expressing the inhumanity of the Vietnam War. It reminded me much of the 'Nanjing Massacre Museum' in China, which outlines similar atrocities suffered by the Chinese during the Japanese incursion into Western China. Needless to say, it was a sobering experience, so many photos of bombings, killings, and Agent Orange victims. However, I was pleased with a small section of the exhibition which celebrated the foreign photographers who sought to provide the visual backdrop of the war to the foreign community.

Following this, we were taken to a local factory which produced mosaics and artwork from a variety of materials, including ceramic, mother of pearl, and egg shells. Beautiful stuff, clearly tailored to tourists; a well-executed collaboration between local authorities, the factory owners and the xe om drivers.

From there, we headed to the Notre Dame Cathedral, built in 1860. Beautiful.

Then, onto a local temple; which our driver personally escorted us through, explaining each of the gods and their respective premises. I couldn't help but giggle at his enthusiasm for Simon and I to touch the relevant spiritual elements of the 'fertility' god, which had itself blessed our driver with four healthy children.

Following this, we went to... Where did we go to? It was such a whirlwind tour. Oh, that's right, to the edge of the Saigon River - reminding me of Guangzhou's River (can't remember the name) and pictures of Gaosiang River in Taiwan. By this I mean, a river with sole utilitarian purposes, with little of any real beauty. Nonetheless, our driver spent ten minutes explaining the designs of a number of bonsai plants along the river. Sim felt it a little unneccesary, but I couldn't help but smile - sometimes you need someone to point out the beauty of things for you, otherwise... their significance is meaningless. And I certainly can't remember the last time somebody explained bonsai designs to me. It was great.

We've finished our day with more Tiger beer and book reading. Must run, but more later. x

Our Taiwanese Finale - Musings from Ho Chi Minh City - Southern Vietnam - Day Two

It's certainly been a long time between drinks in terms of blog entries, online recordings of our musings and the daily grind. I sit here, somewhat guiltily in that regard, as the rain pours outside - in a manner which dutifully confirms our presence in South East Asia - and wonder how I'm to catch up on everything that's happened over the course of the past fortnight.

So, first things first. We spent our final working week cleaning, posting, loitering and generally distancing ourselves from our Taiwan experience. It was stressful, necessarily so. We felt mightily tense until we took the bus trip out to Taoyuan Airport to pick up Simon's parents last Saturday week. The ride allowed us a view of Taipei County previously unbeknowns to us. In that, the shift from resident to traveller flowed more smoothly, preparing us for a week of travel around the island.

The four of us visited the cities of Jiufen, Hualian (Taroko Gorge) and Puli (Sun Moon Lake). I'll surely get to all that eventually, but it must be said that it was a perfect blend of relaxation, spontaneous spending, hotel rooms and being out in the bliss of the natural environment - the perfect antidote to the ebbs of living in a big city. It was also a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the love of my life with the people who know him best.

Writing about Taiwan from the lobby of a cheap hostel in Ho Chi Minh City, Southern Vietnam, seems more incogrious than I'd envisaged. So I might leave it there for the moment, and allow another set of (promised!) postings of photos to narrate this tale on my behalf.

Apologies for the rambling nature of this post. We are thinking and feeling and coming to grips with the joy of travel, and it's quite heady. More on all later, but until then, all our love. x