So our plans didn't quite pan out like we had wanted. Our original plan was to take the bus from Siem Reap to Bangkok which would take 6 hours... it ended up taking 11 hours. Then we were going to go to train station in Bangkok where we would book our train ticket to Vientiane in Laos that night. So not what happened. Trains are booked up until January 2nd. We ended up buying a bus ticket from a tour agency that I hope is reputable and isn't going to scam us. It's apparently a "TAT" agency which is a government run travel agent, but the thing in Asia is that if a business is doing well, another entrepreneur might steal the name and call their business the same thing. The sign on the travel agency said TAT, but we have no idea what the company's logo looks like. For example in Hanoi, Vietnam, there is a very successful travel agency called Kangaroo Travels. There is one real one, and 5 fake ones.... Lets hope that's not the case with this one. Although I don't see how the government wouldn't immediately shut down a fake TAT agency. In Asia, anything is possible.
We're in Bangkok and ended up staying in a guesthouse close to the train station called "Your Place." It's really cute and you can't even tell you're in Bangkok. It's in a little alley way with a lush garden and lots of birds and fish in ponds. It's expensive but we still didn't have a place to sleep until 9:30 last night, so we were willing to pay the $26.
Tonite we leave for Vientiane in Laos. Hopefully things run accordingly but the last couple of days have been a clusterf$@* which has been quite frustrating. Nothing has worked out according to plan. Cross your fingers for us.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Angkor WHAT!!!??
We did our duty as tourists of Cambodia and paid homage to Angkor Wat and other surrounding temples that surround the city. Most of these temples are about 800-1000 years old and were built by Buddhists and Hindus..... I don't feel like explaining much more than that so google it if you really care to!
Honestly, Joey and I aren't fans of temples. So after waking up at 4:30am to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat with 100000+ people we were already tired of it! We went to about 10 temples that day. Our tuk tuk driver was the best. His name is Phat and we became pretty good friends. He actually got out of the tuk tuk and personally showed us some of the temples. He would like to become a tour guide one day, so it's a good chance for him to practice his English and guiding skills. It was really nice hearing about his life in Cambodia. He was open to any questions that we had about his life, or Cambodia views in general. Phat is getting married in March and he's excited for their wedding. You could tell he's also a bit nervous. We drove by a Cambodian wedding and did the slow drive by to see what was happening. Weddings here last three days! On the last day is when it's fun, just like a typical western wedding, everyone is dancing and getting drunk. We're really not much different from Cambodians.
After 2pm rolled around, Joey and I were templed out. They look pretty much all the same. Also, we didn't bother to know more about them previously, so it was just like looking at old stone buildings. I wish we could appreciate it more, but that's just us and temples don't tickle our fancy! We decided that we'd rather nap for the rest of the day than see more temples. We did take lots of nice pictures though.
Our Christmas Eve was quite tame. There wasn't much going on, and we were so tired from the temples and two nights of really bad sleep. First the sleeper bus, and now the stupid rooster by our hotel that goes off all hours of the night! Have any of you ever had work dreams? You get home late from work and go to bed shortly after, and your dream is still like you're at work? I've had these dreams as a bartender where I just serve drinks all night in my sleep. I've been having "market dreams" where I'm going through a market and there is all these people asking me to buy stuff and saying "Lady you want to buy something?" "Where you from?" and also beggars on the street asking me for money. In my dream all I want to do is help people but no matter how much I buy, or how much money I give, it doesn't solve the problem. So not what I would call beauty sleep.
We woke up to 30degrees outside and no christmas tree. It wasn't starting to look a lot like Christmas, that's for sure. There was no indication that it was Christmas day. Obviously they don't celebrate it here because Cambodia is a Buddhist country. It was business as usual. I woke up with a hankering for mimosas because thats what my family has every Christmas morning, that and Egg Mc'Wiltons. We went to the gas station to see if they had champagne but the only bottle they had was $26. I didn't mimosas that badly. We mostly spent our christmas morning talking with our families on skype, which was really nice.
For our Christmas present to one another, Joey and I brought two big 50kg bags of rice to COFCO orphanage in Siem Reap. As soon as we pulled up in the tuk tuk, a bunch of kids came running over to us with huge smiles on their faces. They were giving us hugs and laughing. It was so welcoming and such a good feeling. Inside the orphanage it was all decked out with Christmas decorations. The kids were in their best clothes and wore little santa hats. There were already quite a few foreigners there playing with the kids. Most of them had two or three kids hanging off of them. It wasn't too long before Joey and I had our own orphans to hang from our arms like monkeys. They were soooo affectionate. They were giving kisses on the cheek, hugs, and wanting to be touching you constantly.
About 20 minutes after arriving there was a dance show put on by the older kids of the orphanage. They were all decked out in traditional costumes and makeup. The dancing was truly fantastic and very professionally done. When the dancing was done it was time for Christmas carols! The kids sang us Jingle Bells (well the chorus atleast, they didn't know the in between parts) with such enthusiasm. Next it was birthday time! Most Cambodian orphans do not know their real birthday so every year on Christmas they celebrate everyone's birthday with cake, streamers, silly string, sparklers and music. It was so awesome to see these kids go crazy over the cake. All of them looked so excited to devour the cake. Soon after they were served the cake, they were trying to share with all of us. This might be the only cake they get in an entire year, but all they want to do is share with us. It was amazing to see how giving these kids are. They have nothing, yet want nothing more than to share.
After the birthday celebration it felt like the right time to leave. While we were leaving I had a bit of an emotional breakdown. Obviously the orphanage was really fun and moving, but I couldn't help think that these beautiful, happy and caring children aren't wanted by anyone. Rarely do these children actually get adopted. Most of them will grow up in the orphange until they are young adults. Cambodians are very family oriented and extended family is very important. You know these children at the orphanage aren't even wanted by their extended family. These kids have nothing, and face great challenges once they get older and move out of the orphanage into the real world.
After a heavy experience at the orphanage, Joey and I decided it was time for some Christmas fun. We found a bar that was having a $5 all you can eat buffet with cheap drinks. There were backpackers from all over the world. While the food wasn't exactly what we expected (Chicken wings, noodles, veggies, fries) it was still good, and the Christmas cheer was definitely in the air. We had a really good time and for a while forgot about missing our families. We truly miss you guys!!!! We met a nice aussie named Ian, whom we met up with today for some lunch. He might be following our route to Laos tomorrow with us.
Tomorrow we will be leaving at 8am for Bangkok. We will spend a few hours in Bangkok and then head to Vientiane in Laos on ... you guessed it, a sleeper train. Maybe it won't be so bad?
Honestly, Joey and I aren't fans of temples. So after waking up at 4:30am to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat with 100000+ people we were already tired of it! We went to about 10 temples that day. Our tuk tuk driver was the best. His name is Phat and we became pretty good friends. He actually got out of the tuk tuk and personally showed us some of the temples. He would like to become a tour guide one day, so it's a good chance for him to practice his English and guiding skills. It was really nice hearing about his life in Cambodia. He was open to any questions that we had about his life, or Cambodia views in general. Phat is getting married in March and he's excited for their wedding. You could tell he's also a bit nervous. We drove by a Cambodian wedding and did the slow drive by to see what was happening. Weddings here last three days! On the last day is when it's fun, just like a typical western wedding, everyone is dancing and getting drunk. We're really not much different from Cambodians.
After 2pm rolled around, Joey and I were templed out. They look pretty much all the same. Also, we didn't bother to know more about them previously, so it was just like looking at old stone buildings. I wish we could appreciate it more, but that's just us and temples don't tickle our fancy! We decided that we'd rather nap for the rest of the day than see more temples. We did take lots of nice pictures though.
Our Christmas Eve was quite tame. There wasn't much going on, and we were so tired from the temples and two nights of really bad sleep. First the sleeper bus, and now the stupid rooster by our hotel that goes off all hours of the night! Have any of you ever had work dreams? You get home late from work and go to bed shortly after, and your dream is still like you're at work? I've had these dreams as a bartender where I just serve drinks all night in my sleep. I've been having "market dreams" where I'm going through a market and there is all these people asking me to buy stuff and saying "Lady you want to buy something?" "Where you from?" and also beggars on the street asking me for money. In my dream all I want to do is help people but no matter how much I buy, or how much money I give, it doesn't solve the problem. So not what I would call beauty sleep.
We woke up to 30degrees outside and no christmas tree. It wasn't starting to look a lot like Christmas, that's for sure. There was no indication that it was Christmas day. Obviously they don't celebrate it here because Cambodia is a Buddhist country. It was business as usual. I woke up with a hankering for mimosas because thats what my family has every Christmas morning, that and Egg Mc'Wiltons. We went to the gas station to see if they had champagne but the only bottle they had was $26. I didn't mimosas that badly. We mostly spent our christmas morning talking with our families on skype, which was really nice.
For our Christmas present to one another, Joey and I brought two big 50kg bags of rice to COFCO orphanage in Siem Reap. As soon as we pulled up in the tuk tuk, a bunch of kids came running over to us with huge smiles on their faces. They were giving us hugs and laughing. It was so welcoming and such a good feeling. Inside the orphanage it was all decked out with Christmas decorations. The kids were in their best clothes and wore little santa hats. There were already quite a few foreigners there playing with the kids. Most of them had two or three kids hanging off of them. It wasn't too long before Joey and I had our own orphans to hang from our arms like monkeys. They were soooo affectionate. They were giving kisses on the cheek, hugs, and wanting to be touching you constantly.
About 20 minutes after arriving there was a dance show put on by the older kids of the orphanage. They were all decked out in traditional costumes and makeup. The dancing was truly fantastic and very professionally done. When the dancing was done it was time for Christmas carols! The kids sang us Jingle Bells (well the chorus atleast, they didn't know the in between parts) with such enthusiasm. Next it was birthday time! Most Cambodian orphans do not know their real birthday so every year on Christmas they celebrate everyone's birthday with cake, streamers, silly string, sparklers and music. It was so awesome to see these kids go crazy over the cake. All of them looked so excited to devour the cake. Soon after they were served the cake, they were trying to share with all of us. This might be the only cake they get in an entire year, but all they want to do is share with us. It was amazing to see how giving these kids are. They have nothing, yet want nothing more than to share.
After the birthday celebration it felt like the right time to leave. While we were leaving I had a bit of an emotional breakdown. Obviously the orphanage was really fun and moving, but I couldn't help think that these beautiful, happy and caring children aren't wanted by anyone. Rarely do these children actually get adopted. Most of them will grow up in the orphange until they are young adults. Cambodians are very family oriented and extended family is very important. You know these children at the orphanage aren't even wanted by their extended family. These kids have nothing, and face great challenges once they get older and move out of the orphanage into the real world.
After a heavy experience at the orphanage, Joey and I decided it was time for some Christmas fun. We found a bar that was having a $5 all you can eat buffet with cheap drinks. There were backpackers from all over the world. While the food wasn't exactly what we expected (Chicken wings, noodles, veggies, fries) it was still good, and the Christmas cheer was definitely in the air. We had a really good time and for a while forgot about missing our families. We truly miss you guys!!!! We met a nice aussie named Ian, whom we met up with today for some lunch. He might be following our route to Laos tomorrow with us.
Tomorrow we will be leaving at 8am for Bangkok. We will spend a few hours in Bangkok and then head to Vientiane in Laos on ... you guessed it, a sleeper train. Maybe it won't be so bad?
Monday, December 21, 2009
Scuba doo ba doo, where are you?
So it's been a while! Joey and I have been busy bees in Cambodia. After Phnom Penh we headed to Sihanoukville which is a beach bum town on the coast. The beach itself wasn't that nice but we knew it would be the last one for a month or two while we go through Laos, Northern Thailand and Myanmar. We met a really nice Irish couple named Sarah and Donough. Super nice and the first night we had happy hour and pizza at one of the beach bars.
The Serendipity beach is the beach we stayed by in Sihanoukville. Most of the time it was far from relaxing. We would be sun tanning on some chairs and then be hassled by kids selling bracelets, fruit, books, sunglasses... you name it. Also the massage ladies who always took notice to my unshaven legs. I couldn't go 10 minutes without my leg being caressed by a Khmer lady who wanted to wax them for me! haha.
At one moment Joey and I were surrounded by about 7 kids. We had started talking to one girl who just wouldn't leave us alone and once the beach kids see that you are talking to one of their kind... you better watch out. They will swarm you. She was giving us this sad story about how she doesn't go to school and needs to work on the beach to support her and her mom. We didn't want to buy a bracelet so we bought her a meal. Soon after she was done eating, she was asking us to buy bracelets again! Then she was offended and left without saying thank you. (She said it later when we walked past her)
There have been several times when giving money to amputees or poor people where they actually say they want more than you are giving them. Today I handed a man 500 riel (which is about 12 cents, I know it's not much but every bit counts. We would rather give to as many people as we can instead of giving a couple a lot) and he looked at me and said "I want 1000riel." The nerve! I could be like a lot of tourists and pretend you're not even alive (This is the tactic used by many tourists to avoid beggers) and not give you anything. Its frustrating that we try to help, but it's never enough and sometimes not even appreciated. Obviously some of them have been jaded by tourists.
During our stay in Sihanoukville we signed up for a PADI open water scuba diving course through a place called EcoSea. The first day we watched the DVD's and filled out the questions. The next day we did the confined underwater session with our instructor. I found it quite overwhelming at first because I felt like I was suffocating from breathing underwater. After a while I got the hang of it and really started to enjoy learning the underwater skills. I've been spending a lot of time swimming and going in pools, which unfortunately triggered an ear infection. The day we had to leave for the island to do the underwater dives, my ear was killing me. I couldn't hear at all, and I couldn't imagine going underwater especially at 10m below the surface. Joey and I had to cancel our course which sucks. We had already passed the exam and did the confined underwater, so now we will be able to go to Thailand with a piece of paper from our dive instructor as a referral. That way we don't have to do the test or confined dive again. Plus, we won't have to pay for the course all over again.
We went to a doctor in Sihanoukville who checked out my ear and said it had actually been infected for a while. This guy spoke perfect French, but wasn't great at English. I knew Joey would come in handy on this trip. To get an inspection of my ear and medication cost $5. It's amazingly cheap to buy pharmaceuticals here. My ear is definitely feeling better but I really dislike being on antibiotics.
Joey and I spent almost a week in Sihanoukville and decided we best be on our way. What better way to travel than on a sleeper bus. I thought we learned our lesson, but apparently not. This bus was mainly just upright sitting seats that were really cushy. Plus you get a blanket and a pillow. Not really my idea of a comfortable sleeper bed. Which was more unfortunate was that there were two babies on the bus sitting close to us , both of which intermittently cried alllllllllllllllllllllll night. Absolutely brutal. I think there have been a couple times during this trip where transportation felt like hell on earth, but this one took the cake.
We arrived in Siem Reap quite early at 6am. Our guesthouse arranged a tuk tuk to pick us up for free which was a godsend. Getting off a bus at a bus station is definitely an experience. You see all the tuk tuk and moto drivers just drooling like wolves when the bus pulls in. When the door opens the hunt for them begins. You will have 5-6 tuk tuk drivers talking to you at once, all trying to undercut the other to get your business. Most of the time Joey and I just decide to walk but this time the bus station was 13km out of town. It was so nice to see a tuk tuk driver holding a sign with our names on it. You belong to them, and the other drivers know this, so they don't even try. It's quite pleasant!
I arranged for us to stay at Jasmine Guesthouse in Siem Reap. It's a cute family run guesthouse that hires disadvantaged youth and younger people from surrounding villages who normally would just be farmers not making much money and not going to school. Mr. Kunn and his wife, Jasmine, are so friendly. Our room is nice and we get free breakfast! We've had a good time here so far.
The Serendipity beach is the beach we stayed by in Sihanoukville. Most of the time it was far from relaxing. We would be sun tanning on some chairs and then be hassled by kids selling bracelets, fruit, books, sunglasses... you name it. Also the massage ladies who always took notice to my unshaven legs. I couldn't go 10 minutes without my leg being caressed by a Khmer lady who wanted to wax them for me! haha.
At one moment Joey and I were surrounded by about 7 kids. We had started talking to one girl who just wouldn't leave us alone and once the beach kids see that you are talking to one of their kind... you better watch out. They will swarm you. She was giving us this sad story about how she doesn't go to school and needs to work on the beach to support her and her mom. We didn't want to buy a bracelet so we bought her a meal. Soon after she was done eating, she was asking us to buy bracelets again! Then she was offended and left without saying thank you. (She said it later when we walked past her)
There have been several times when giving money to amputees or poor people where they actually say they want more than you are giving them. Today I handed a man 500 riel (which is about 12 cents, I know it's not much but every bit counts. We would rather give to as many people as we can instead of giving a couple a lot) and he looked at me and said "I want 1000riel." The nerve! I could be like a lot of tourists and pretend you're not even alive (This is the tactic used by many tourists to avoid beggers) and not give you anything. Its frustrating that we try to help, but it's never enough and sometimes not even appreciated. Obviously some of them have been jaded by tourists.
During our stay in Sihanoukville we signed up for a PADI open water scuba diving course through a place called EcoSea. The first day we watched the DVD's and filled out the questions. The next day we did the confined underwater session with our instructor. I found it quite overwhelming at first because I felt like I was suffocating from breathing underwater. After a while I got the hang of it and really started to enjoy learning the underwater skills. I've been spending a lot of time swimming and going in pools, which unfortunately triggered an ear infection. The day we had to leave for the island to do the underwater dives, my ear was killing me. I couldn't hear at all, and I couldn't imagine going underwater especially at 10m below the surface. Joey and I had to cancel our course which sucks. We had already passed the exam and did the confined underwater, so now we will be able to go to Thailand with a piece of paper from our dive instructor as a referral. That way we don't have to do the test or confined dive again. Plus, we won't have to pay for the course all over again.
We went to a doctor in Sihanoukville who checked out my ear and said it had actually been infected for a while. This guy spoke perfect French, but wasn't great at English. I knew Joey would come in handy on this trip. To get an inspection of my ear and medication cost $5. It's amazingly cheap to buy pharmaceuticals here. My ear is definitely feeling better but I really dislike being on antibiotics.
Joey and I spent almost a week in Sihanoukville and decided we best be on our way. What better way to travel than on a sleeper bus. I thought we learned our lesson, but apparently not. This bus was mainly just upright sitting seats that were really cushy. Plus you get a blanket and a pillow. Not really my idea of a comfortable sleeper bed. Which was more unfortunate was that there were two babies on the bus sitting close to us , both of which intermittently cried alllllllllllllllllllllll night. Absolutely brutal. I think there have been a couple times during this trip where transportation felt like hell on earth, but this one took the cake.
We arrived in Siem Reap quite early at 6am. Our guesthouse arranged a tuk tuk to pick us up for free which was a godsend. Getting off a bus at a bus station is definitely an experience. You see all the tuk tuk and moto drivers just drooling like wolves when the bus pulls in. When the door opens the hunt for them begins. You will have 5-6 tuk tuk drivers talking to you at once, all trying to undercut the other to get your business. Most of the time Joey and I just decide to walk but this time the bus station was 13km out of town. It was so nice to see a tuk tuk driver holding a sign with our names on it. You belong to them, and the other drivers know this, so they don't even try. It's quite pleasant!
I arranged for us to stay at Jasmine Guesthouse in Siem Reap. It's a cute family run guesthouse that hires disadvantaged youth and younger people from surrounding villages who normally would just be farmers not making much money and not going to school. Mr. Kunn and his wife, Jasmine, are so friendly. Our room is nice and we get free breakfast! We've had a good time here so far.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Cambooooooodia is serious stuff
Didja know that Cambodia is the 10th poorest country in the world? Joey and I had felt like we hadn't seen much poverty until we took the bus to Sihanoukville on the coast. Along the way, we realized how much trouble the people of Cambodia are in. Sihanoukville is a haven for ex-pats and tourists. Unfortunately where the tourists are, are where the poor kids flock to. Kids are begging for money and trying to sell you anything they can. Some of them are quite funny to talk to because they have already been hardened by tourists, and are such smart asses. You'll ask their name and they'll be like "Why would I want to tell you that?" They also have a preprogammed answer to "Why aren't you in school?" which happens to be "Had it this morning" Or if you don't want to buy a bracelet shaped like a squid, their answer will be "Do you think I care?! I don't care!" This is soon followed by the worst cut eye I've experienced from what might be one of the cutest little girls I've ever seen.
Joey and I are feeling overwhelmed. Being asked for money left, right and center is exhausting especially when you know these people depend on it and have no other way of income. These kids can't afford to go to school so they sell bracelets, and sunglasses or the services of others (manicures, massage, waxing etc). It's either this, prostitution, or working in the rock quarry for a lot of kids. Most of them know quite good English from working on the beach and are easy to make friends with until they keep on asking for money. Joey and I had a conversation with a girl for quite some time today at the beach. She was quite keen on selling us an ugly bracelet neither of us wanted. We ended up buying her lunch and that made her happy. Most of the beach kids were super jealous that she was eating in a fancy "westerner restaurant." They couldn't believe that we had bought her something. We mostly did it so she would shut up about the bracelets. Haha. As soon as she was done eating, it was back to the bracelets. Jeeeeeze. We just bought you a huge lunch and you still want us to buy a bracelet? Bug off.
During her lunch with us, we were visited by all her beach friends. One particular young girl kept on asking Joey if he wanted a massage. His answer was that I give him massages. Bad idea, buddy. This led to quite an inappropriate conversation with one girl who quite graphically described what she thought was a massage. I was in disbelief. This young girl, probably not even 7 years old, claims to know what happens behind closed doors at night. We didn't even ask to discuss, she just put it out there. We didn't even know how to respond with what she had just said. It made both of us quite uncomfortable. It's hard to know what to do in a situation like that. You can't scold the child, you shouldn't laugh, and they're not gonna go away if you tell them too. Especially after reading a book called Sex Slaves in Asia which discusses the process of which young girls go through (emotionally and physically) the world of the sex trade. This young girl was obviously being prepared for it by somebody. Either a parent or someone she trusted. It makes me sick to think about.
The sex trade is very apparent here. It's a regular sight to see a fat ugly bald white guy with a hot young Cambodian girl. After reading the book I mentioned previously, I really start to empathize for these girls, and the younger ones who will ultimately be put into the trade. The psychological and physical pain these women go through on a regular basis is unimaginable for me. Today, I saw a old man with a prostitute on the beach. I guess she did something he didn't like because next thing I saw he grabbed her by the face and pushed her down to the ground. Next thing he does is shake his finger at her like she's some kind of dog. I had to contain my anger and walk away. NO ONE should ever have to be treated like that, and it breaks my heart that I'm in a country where this kind of a event (and even worse) happens every day.
Joey and I are enjoying the beach and the pool by our hotel, but both of us are feeling more and more heavy hearted. There is so much pain here. We're so lucky to come from where we do. It's sad to say, we're also lucky for what colour skin we have. It is a very common practice for women in South East Asia to bleach their skin to become more fair. I've seen lots of women who do this, and it surprised me today when one of the young girls on the beach inquired about my sunscreen making her whiter like me. She seemed disappointed that it wasn't going to help her be less Cambodian.
We didn't expect for this trip to be all fun and games. This trip is to open our eyes and see things that make us realize that we can't take life for granted because there are people out there in the world who would do anything (sell themselves, or bleach their skin) for a chance to be us. I apologize if this blog entry is depressing because I don't mean it to be that way. If anything I wish it were more funny, or exciting, but it's just reality for today.
On another note, tomorrow Joey and I are signed up for our Open Water PADI course which will allow us to go scuba diving throughout our trip. It's quite expensive but it was something that we had planned to do while we are here. The first day of the course will involve sitting in a classroom for 5-6 hours, watching DVDs and doing quizzes. The next two days will be on an island nearby where we will actually learn how to dive. We're both pretty excited!
We're also starting to make plans for Christmas. We will more than likely be in Siem Reap for Christmas. We have nothing special planned, but we'll skype with our families for sure. I think if we think about Christmas too much, we'll get more sad. It's been exactly a month since we left. We're starting to miss you guys back home! I hope some of you decide you want to come visit us out here during our journey. It's easier than you think. Yes it's expensive getting out here, but once you are here, it's soooooooo cheap. Think about it ;) haha.
Joey and I are feeling overwhelmed. Being asked for money left, right and center is exhausting especially when you know these people depend on it and have no other way of income. These kids can't afford to go to school so they sell bracelets, and sunglasses or the services of others (manicures, massage, waxing etc). It's either this, prostitution, or working in the rock quarry for a lot of kids. Most of them know quite good English from working on the beach and are easy to make friends with until they keep on asking for money. Joey and I had a conversation with a girl for quite some time today at the beach. She was quite keen on selling us an ugly bracelet neither of us wanted. We ended up buying her lunch and that made her happy. Most of the beach kids were super jealous that she was eating in a fancy "westerner restaurant." They couldn't believe that we had bought her something. We mostly did it so she would shut up about the bracelets. Haha. As soon as she was done eating, it was back to the bracelets. Jeeeeeze. We just bought you a huge lunch and you still want us to buy a bracelet? Bug off.
During her lunch with us, we were visited by all her beach friends. One particular young girl kept on asking Joey if he wanted a massage. His answer was that I give him massages. Bad idea, buddy. This led to quite an inappropriate conversation with one girl who quite graphically described what she thought was a massage. I was in disbelief. This young girl, probably not even 7 years old, claims to know what happens behind closed doors at night. We didn't even ask to discuss, she just put it out there. We didn't even know how to respond with what she had just said. It made both of us quite uncomfortable. It's hard to know what to do in a situation like that. You can't scold the child, you shouldn't laugh, and they're not gonna go away if you tell them too. Especially after reading a book called Sex Slaves in Asia which discusses the process of which young girls go through (emotionally and physically) the world of the sex trade. This young girl was obviously being prepared for it by somebody. Either a parent or someone she trusted. It makes me sick to think about.
The sex trade is very apparent here. It's a regular sight to see a fat ugly bald white guy with a hot young Cambodian girl. After reading the book I mentioned previously, I really start to empathize for these girls, and the younger ones who will ultimately be put into the trade. The psychological and physical pain these women go through on a regular basis is unimaginable for me. Today, I saw a old man with a prostitute on the beach. I guess she did something he didn't like because next thing I saw he grabbed her by the face and pushed her down to the ground. Next thing he does is shake his finger at her like she's some kind of dog. I had to contain my anger and walk away. NO ONE should ever have to be treated like that, and it breaks my heart that I'm in a country where this kind of a event (and even worse) happens every day.
Joey and I are enjoying the beach and the pool by our hotel, but both of us are feeling more and more heavy hearted. There is so much pain here. We're so lucky to come from where we do. It's sad to say, we're also lucky for what colour skin we have. It is a very common practice for women in South East Asia to bleach their skin to become more fair. I've seen lots of women who do this, and it surprised me today when one of the young girls on the beach inquired about my sunscreen making her whiter like me. She seemed disappointed that it wasn't going to help her be less Cambodian.
We didn't expect for this trip to be all fun and games. This trip is to open our eyes and see things that make us realize that we can't take life for granted because there are people out there in the world who would do anything (sell themselves, or bleach their skin) for a chance to be us. I apologize if this blog entry is depressing because I don't mean it to be that way. If anything I wish it were more funny, or exciting, but it's just reality for today.
On another note, tomorrow Joey and I are signed up for our Open Water PADI course which will allow us to go scuba diving throughout our trip. It's quite expensive but it was something that we had planned to do while we are here. The first day of the course will involve sitting in a classroom for 5-6 hours, watching DVDs and doing quizzes. The next two days will be on an island nearby where we will actually learn how to dive. We're both pretty excited!
We're also starting to make plans for Christmas. We will more than likely be in Siem Reap for Christmas. We have nothing special planned, but we'll skype with our families for sure. I think if we think about Christmas too much, we'll get more sad. It's been exactly a month since we left. We're starting to miss you guys back home! I hope some of you decide you want to come visit us out here during our journey. It's easier than you think. Yes it's expensive getting out here, but once you are here, it's soooooooo cheap. Think about it ;) haha.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Phnom Penh: A different world from Vietnam
We made it to Phnom Penh in Cambodia this afternoon after a smooth border crossing with a tour company. As soon as we crossed the border it looked a lot different. The Khmer people look dramatically different from the Vietnamese people and the architecture of the buildings are very different as well. The only thing that remained the same were the cows and water buffaloes on the side of the road.
You can definitely tell that Cambodia is not a communist country because the rich here, are really rich and unfortunately the poor, are really poor. It's really sad to see people who are skin and bones, or children who don't have shoes. One of the saddest things I saw was a young boy carrying around a baby in his arms looking through garbage for food. The city of Phnom Penh is very beautiful, so you begin to wonder where the government spends the money when you see Lexus' everywhere and then children who are begging for money. There are a lot of people looking for handouts from tourists, which I can see is understandable. While Joey and I were enjoying some beers on our guesthouse patio, a boy wearing tattered clothing and no shoes approached us begging for money. He didn't speak a word of English so I asked the server to ask him if he was hungry and if I could buy him some food. He declined, but still stood there begging for money for another 20 minutes.
Cambodia has no social or economic support for amputees or disabled people. These people are usually shunned from the rest of society as well. It really breaks our hearts to feel this privileged and these people have nothing. This trip has really made both of us re-evaluate what we want in life, and how fortunate we are to be from where we come from. If any of you who are reading this, and felt stressed today, try to think about what kind of stress and hardship someone in a country like Cambodia has to go through everyday. It's obviously easy to ignore when you don't have to see it, but it's becoming increasingly harder for Joey and I to deal with. I have really started to realize that most of my worries are very trivial and will soon pass. Living on the street or in dire conditions doesn't pass so easily.
Tomorrow we have hired a tuk-tuk to take us to the Killings Fields which are located 15km from our guest house. The Killing Fields was where over 17,000 men, women and children lost their lives in the late 70's and early 80's during the Pol Pot regime. Their bones and skulls remain in massive graves. 2 millions people overall were killed during this genocide. Cambodia only had a population of 7 million at the time. We will also being visiting an elementary school that had been converted into a prison where people (including children) were tortured before being killed in the Killing Fields. It should be a very sobering day for the both of us.
You can definitely tell that Cambodia is not a communist country because the rich here, are really rich and unfortunately the poor, are really poor. It's really sad to see people who are skin and bones, or children who don't have shoes. One of the saddest things I saw was a young boy carrying around a baby in his arms looking through garbage for food. The city of Phnom Penh is very beautiful, so you begin to wonder where the government spends the money when you see Lexus' everywhere and then children who are begging for money. There are a lot of people looking for handouts from tourists, which I can see is understandable. While Joey and I were enjoying some beers on our guesthouse patio, a boy wearing tattered clothing and no shoes approached us begging for money. He didn't speak a word of English so I asked the server to ask him if he was hungry and if I could buy him some food. He declined, but still stood there begging for money for another 20 minutes.
Cambodia has no social or economic support for amputees or disabled people. These people are usually shunned from the rest of society as well. It really breaks our hearts to feel this privileged and these people have nothing. This trip has really made both of us re-evaluate what we want in life, and how fortunate we are to be from where we come from. If any of you who are reading this, and felt stressed today, try to think about what kind of stress and hardship someone in a country like Cambodia has to go through everyday. It's obviously easy to ignore when you don't have to see it, but it's becoming increasingly harder for Joey and I to deal with. I have really started to realize that most of my worries are very trivial and will soon pass. Living on the street or in dire conditions doesn't pass so easily.
Tomorrow we have hired a tuk-tuk to take us to the Killings Fields which are located 15km from our guest house. The Killing Fields was where over 17,000 men, women and children lost their lives in the late 70's and early 80's during the Pol Pot regime. Their bones and skulls remain in massive graves. 2 millions people overall were killed during this genocide. Cambodia only had a population of 7 million at the time. We will also being visiting an elementary school that had been converted into a prison where people (including children) were tortured before being killed in the Killing Fields. It should be a very sobering day for the both of us.
Hello Hello Hello Hello.. yea
Saigon was a big city. What more to expect? Although it was a lot more modern than the Hanoi in the north. We found a nice guest house that had internet, a/c, and free breakfast. We've heard from other travelers that we can get rooms for a lot cheaper, but we never really asked the details. Internet is crucial for Joey, and A/C is a necessity for the both of us. We were right in backpacker central on Bui Vien Road. Our guest house was tucked away in a little alley way so the sounds of scooters and partiers were non existent, which is the way we like it :) Joey and I are turning into old people. Haha just kidding.
Our first night in Saigon we didn't do too much. Had dinner and then went to bed early. We had booked a Mekong Delta tour for the next day and needed to get our sleep! The morning came too fast. Still not caught up from our sleeper bus experience to and from Mui Ne, we half walked half slept to the tour office. I know we said we wouldn't do anymore tours, but honestly, it's usually the easiest way to see a bunch of sights in one day.
Our tour was unexpectedly decent! We drove to My Tho on the bus and then boarded a boat that took us down and around the Mekong River. The Mekong river is vital to many Asian countries. 6 to be exact: China, Loas, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam. Passing through that many countries (especially China) makes me wary about what kinda fish comes out of there. Good thing we had pork for lunch. The tour took us to Unicorn Island where they make spectacular coconut candies. The highlight of the tour was getting up close and personal with a real water buffalo. He was really cute and friendly. I also got a little bit friendly with a boa constrictor owned by one of the locals. Joey bribed me into doing it! Another highlight was taking a boat paddled by two local ladies through a jungle like alley way in their island village. It was neat to see what island life meant in the Mekong Delta.
That night Joey and I decided to eat where the locals ate. Enough of these Westerner style restaurants. It was time to sit in plastic children's furniture on the sidewalk and breath in the smoke of the local men. The guy beside us just so happened to speak perfect english. We started discussing the Vietnamese economy, and other questions Joey and I had been itching to ask someone. It was really neat to finally talk to a local that didn't want anything from us, even though he had his own tour business. His friends did not speak very good English but took this as an opportunity to practice, which made it even more fun.
Minh (the English speaking Vietnamese guy) mentioned the idea of playing a game of pool with us at a pool hall about 5 minutes away. Joey and I were a bit skeptical because we've heard of so many scams. It's really unfortunate that we have to have our guard up so much when talking to locals. It's necessary but it really hinders our ability to gain a better perspective on our lives. Who can blame us though? 99% of Vietnamese people who have talked to us during our visit here have wanted something from us.
We had a great time with Minh and his friend at the pool hall. Joey and Minh battled it out with the billiards which left me to entertain Minh's friend who speak minimal English. Tai was his name. He used to be a telegrapher in the Cambodian civil war in the 70's and 80's. He may have not spoke much English but he sure knew how to flatter me. Every second sentence was "You are so charming." "You could be a model" or "You are so happy." Him and I played a game of pool but the bugger forfeit the game because I was so bad and he wanted me to feel like a winner! Joey and Minh played best of 7 games. Unfortunately Joey lost and had to pay for the beers. Minh still chipped in, which we both thought was really nice and somewhat relieving. Joey and I were ecstatic that we had our first real local experience which is pretty hard to do when you are a tourist and on the main tourist trail. We were glad that we spent one of our last nights in Vietnam with locals and getting to know what they are all about.
Our first night in Saigon we didn't do too much. Had dinner and then went to bed early. We had booked a Mekong Delta tour for the next day and needed to get our sleep! The morning came too fast. Still not caught up from our sleeper bus experience to and from Mui Ne, we half walked half slept to the tour office. I know we said we wouldn't do anymore tours, but honestly, it's usually the easiest way to see a bunch of sights in one day.
Our tour was unexpectedly decent! We drove to My Tho on the bus and then boarded a boat that took us down and around the Mekong River. The Mekong river is vital to many Asian countries. 6 to be exact: China, Loas, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam. Passing through that many countries (especially China) makes me wary about what kinda fish comes out of there. Good thing we had pork for lunch. The tour took us to Unicorn Island where they make spectacular coconut candies. The highlight of the tour was getting up close and personal with a real water buffalo. He was really cute and friendly. I also got a little bit friendly with a boa constrictor owned by one of the locals. Joey bribed me into doing it! Another highlight was taking a boat paddled by two local ladies through a jungle like alley way in their island village. It was neat to see what island life meant in the Mekong Delta.
That night Joey and I decided to eat where the locals ate. Enough of these Westerner style restaurants. It was time to sit in plastic children's furniture on the sidewalk and breath in the smoke of the local men. The guy beside us just so happened to speak perfect english. We started discussing the Vietnamese economy, and other questions Joey and I had been itching to ask someone. It was really neat to finally talk to a local that didn't want anything from us, even though he had his own tour business. His friends did not speak very good English but took this as an opportunity to practice, which made it even more fun.
Minh (the English speaking Vietnamese guy) mentioned the idea of playing a game of pool with us at a pool hall about 5 minutes away. Joey and I were a bit skeptical because we've heard of so many scams. It's really unfortunate that we have to have our guard up so much when talking to locals. It's necessary but it really hinders our ability to gain a better perspective on our lives. Who can blame us though? 99% of Vietnamese people who have talked to us during our visit here have wanted something from us.
We had a great time with Minh and his friend at the pool hall. Joey and Minh battled it out with the billiards which left me to entertain Minh's friend who speak minimal English. Tai was his name. He used to be a telegrapher in the Cambodian civil war in the 70's and 80's. He may have not spoke much English but he sure knew how to flatter me. Every second sentence was "You are so charming." "You could be a model" or "You are so happy." Him and I played a game of pool but the bugger forfeit the game because I was so bad and he wanted me to feel like a winner! Joey and Minh played best of 7 games. Unfortunately Joey lost and had to pay for the beers. Minh still chipped in, which we both thought was really nice and somewhat relieving. Joey and I were ecstatic that we had our first real local experience which is pretty hard to do when you are a tourist and on the main tourist trail. We were glad that we spent one of our last nights in Vietnam with locals and getting to know what they are all about.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Yet another bus from hell.....
To get from Hoi An to Mui Ne we had to take a 20 hour bus ride on a sleeper bus. We had been told to be at our hotel at 6pm by reception. Joey and I decided it would be a good idea to eat at the Indian restaurant we had been to earlier in the week. As we're walking to our hotel we see a sleeper bus drive by. Joey was like "I hope that wasn't our bus...." When we get to our hotel (It's 5:50pm) There is a man waiting outside saying that we need to follow him NOW because our bus has already left and we need to meet up with it. We're running through alley ways in Hoi An trying to catch up with the bus. When we catch up with it, there are about 4 guys grabbing our bags and yelling for us to get on the bus. I made the mistake of not taking my shoes off before I entered the bus, and got an ear full from the driver. Sorry I'm not familiar with Vietnamese bus etiquette.
Obviously we choose the worst seats on the bus. Joey still has the school bus mentality that it's "cool" to sit in the back of the bus. We're in this little corner on the back wheel of the bus. I can feel us driving over pebbles on the street. The A/C didn't work down there so it was blistering hot. Plus the beds we're in don't full recline, and they're so inclined that I kept sliding down. I lasted about 2 hours there before I couldn't take it anymore. As much as I would have liked to be with Joey for the journey, my sanity and beauty sleep are more important.
20 hours later: We arrived in Mui Ne. We had already decided that we were going to stay at the Watering Hole Resort which was rated highly by our Rough Guide book. It was supposed to have a restaurant, a beauty salon, a bar and a travel office. Non of which were open when we arrived. $20 a night bought us a room with 2 of the hardest beds my tush has ever experienced. We were also accompanied by many friends. Ants were everywhere. I took the initiative to use toothpaste to plug up the holes they were entering the room through. Much to my dismay, they'd make another hole somewhere else. I gave up pretty fast. We upgraded the next night to a room directly on the beach which has less ants.
The beach in front of our resort was covered in garbage. Obviously this is a 1 star resort, but still not what we were expecting. Walking the beach involved not getting plummeted with brown waves, and not stepping on articles of clothing, dead crabs, and fishing net. Grrrrrreat. The construction site two doors down really added to the ambiance.
Mui Ne is a weird place. It's definitely set up for hordes of tourists and could accommodate thousands of foreigners if need be. In reality, it's a ghost town. There weren't that many tourists here. Restaurants line the main drag of the town, and pretty much all of them are empty. Most travelers take the precaution of not going to a restaurant with no people, so the vicious cycle continues until one brave soul bites the bullet. Joey and I didn't want to be that brave, so we followed a family of four on their venture. They settled on a place that looked like a little hole in the wall. We were skeptical but after a look at the menu and it's cheap prices we were sold. Other travelers on the road followed suit. Next thing there were 10 people in the restaurant. That's the way it works here. We were greeted with such a kind, warm smile of the owner. He was excited to have customers and even told us that we had made him really happy to have us. Pin spoke very little english but his smile and enthusiasm made up for it. The food was really good and Pin even gave us a special complimentary dessert. We went back there the next day.
We decided that it probably wasn't worth spending a full day on the beach, so Joey and I rented a motorbike for $5. There were lots of jeep tours to the sand dunes outside of town, but much to Joey's disappointment, they wouldn't rent out a jeep to us. It had to be on a tour. The bike would have to do. The bike was a standard and Joey scared me a bit at first. It took him a couple minutes to get used to the shifting. After a few bumps and high revs it was smooth sailing. We made our way to the White Sand dunes which were about 20-25km away from the beach. It was so nice to be doing something on our own instead of a tour. We can stop whenever we like and go wherever we like.
The sand dunes were far more impressive than Joey and I could have imagined. Alluring white mountains of sand with a lush blue lake at the foot. Who would have thought that Vietnam had a desert? This wasn't anything that we had thought we would find in Vietnam. We rented crazy carpets from some boys at the parking lot. 30,000VND wasted. Those crazy carpets did nothing at all. I was quite bummed out because I've gone sledding down dunes before and it's very fun.
We wanted to get back to town before the sun set because we had to drive through a couple of towns, and didn't want to in the dark. I feel pretty safe in Vietnam and there hasn't been a situation where I have every felt threatened, but there's no harm in being cautious.
That night we went for dinner at a place called Luang Tom's. It was recommended in both the Lonely Planet and Rough Guide for it's fresh, cheap and tasty seafood. Probably not recommended for their service. One concept that I don't think Vietnamese restaurants have grasped it strategically cooking meals so that every one at a table can eat at the same time. Joey's always the lucky one with his food arriving first. This time, he could have eaten his entire dinner and had dessert plus a beer, by the time mine arrived. It was alright, and probably not worth the wait.
The next day I spent the morning laying on the beach while Joey worked. He had planned to do the same as me, but work got in the way. By the time he was done, it was time to pack up and check out. We had a bus ticket to Saigon that afternoon. Once again we said goodbye to the beach and soldiered on.
Obviously we choose the worst seats on the bus. Joey still has the school bus mentality that it's "cool" to sit in the back of the bus. We're in this little corner on the back wheel of the bus. I can feel us driving over pebbles on the street. The A/C didn't work down there so it was blistering hot. Plus the beds we're in don't full recline, and they're so inclined that I kept sliding down. I lasted about 2 hours there before I couldn't take it anymore. As much as I would have liked to be with Joey for the journey, my sanity and beauty sleep are more important.
20 hours later: We arrived in Mui Ne. We had already decided that we were going to stay at the Watering Hole Resort which was rated highly by our Rough Guide book. It was supposed to have a restaurant, a beauty salon, a bar and a travel office. Non of which were open when we arrived. $20 a night bought us a room with 2 of the hardest beds my tush has ever experienced. We were also accompanied by many friends. Ants were everywhere. I took the initiative to use toothpaste to plug up the holes they were entering the room through. Much to my dismay, they'd make another hole somewhere else. I gave up pretty fast. We upgraded the next night to a room directly on the beach which has less ants.
The beach in front of our resort was covered in garbage. Obviously this is a 1 star resort, but still not what we were expecting. Walking the beach involved not getting plummeted with brown waves, and not stepping on articles of clothing, dead crabs, and fishing net. Grrrrrreat. The construction site two doors down really added to the ambiance.
Mui Ne is a weird place. It's definitely set up for hordes of tourists and could accommodate thousands of foreigners if need be. In reality, it's a ghost town. There weren't that many tourists here. Restaurants line the main drag of the town, and pretty much all of them are empty. Most travelers take the precaution of not going to a restaurant with no people, so the vicious cycle continues until one brave soul bites the bullet. Joey and I didn't want to be that brave, so we followed a family of four on their venture. They settled on a place that looked like a little hole in the wall. We were skeptical but after a look at the menu and it's cheap prices we were sold. Other travelers on the road followed suit. Next thing there were 10 people in the restaurant. That's the way it works here. We were greeted with such a kind, warm smile of the owner. He was excited to have customers and even told us that we had made him really happy to have us. Pin spoke very little english but his smile and enthusiasm made up for it. The food was really good and Pin even gave us a special complimentary dessert. We went back there the next day.
We decided that it probably wasn't worth spending a full day on the beach, so Joey and I rented a motorbike for $5. There were lots of jeep tours to the sand dunes outside of town, but much to Joey's disappointment, they wouldn't rent out a jeep to us. It had to be on a tour. The bike would have to do. The bike was a standard and Joey scared me a bit at first. It took him a couple minutes to get used to the shifting. After a few bumps and high revs it was smooth sailing. We made our way to the White Sand dunes which were about 20-25km away from the beach. It was so nice to be doing something on our own instead of a tour. We can stop whenever we like and go wherever we like.
The sand dunes were far more impressive than Joey and I could have imagined. Alluring white mountains of sand with a lush blue lake at the foot. Who would have thought that Vietnam had a desert? This wasn't anything that we had thought we would find in Vietnam. We rented crazy carpets from some boys at the parking lot. 30,000VND wasted. Those crazy carpets did nothing at all. I was quite bummed out because I've gone sledding down dunes before and it's very fun.
We wanted to get back to town before the sun set because we had to drive through a couple of towns, and didn't want to in the dark. I feel pretty safe in Vietnam and there hasn't been a situation where I have every felt threatened, but there's no harm in being cautious.
That night we went for dinner at a place called Luang Tom's. It was recommended in both the Lonely Planet and Rough Guide for it's fresh, cheap and tasty seafood. Probably not recommended for their service. One concept that I don't think Vietnamese restaurants have grasped it strategically cooking meals so that every one at a table can eat at the same time. Joey's always the lucky one with his food arriving first. This time, he could have eaten his entire dinner and had dessert plus a beer, by the time mine arrived. It was alright, and probably not worth the wait.
The next day I spent the morning laying on the beach while Joey worked. He had planned to do the same as me, but work got in the way. By the time he was done, it was time to pack up and check out. We had a bus ticket to Saigon that afternoon. Once again we said goodbye to the beach and soldiered on.
Hoi An
After our Scottish friends left, Joey and I hung out with our Swiss couple friends. Sacha and Sinette were staying at a really nice resort on the beach about 4km out of town. Joey and I decided it would be a good idea to rent bikes for 10,000 VND (less than 60cents) for the day. It felt so amazing to have the wind in our faces and the freedom to go where ever we wanted to. The traffic in Hoi An was quite tame compared to all the other places we had been, so we felt confident with staying alive and unhurt! The beach was an oasis. Beautiful palm trees, and turquoise waters. Bikes, beaches, and beers, what else could you possibly need?
We arrived at the resort that our friends were staying at and then hit the waves. Joey and I tumbled around in the waves. Splashing, jumping, running, leaping, and diving through the waves. Just like kids, not a care in the world. It was such a good feeling to experience again. Traveling although very fun, can also be stressful. You have to deal with a lot of crap. This is the kind of thing that makes our trip worth it.
We made our way back to Hoi An after a nice lunch on the beach with Sacha and Sinette. As we rode into town the sun was setting in the horizon. That night I got a shirt made from a tailor. It's a beautiful silk shirt that is flowy, light and elegant. Joey was tempted with the idea of a suit, but decided against it. You can purchase a beautifully tailored suit (complete with tie, shirt, the whole kit and caboodle) for less than $60USD.
Although we were loving our time in Hoi An, we wanted to keep moving. Mui Ne was our next destination.
We arrived at the resort that our friends were staying at and then hit the waves. Joey and I tumbled around in the waves. Splashing, jumping, running, leaping, and diving through the waves. Just like kids, not a care in the world. It was such a good feeling to experience again. Traveling although very fun, can also be stressful. You have to deal with a lot of crap. This is the kind of thing that makes our trip worth it.
We made our way back to Hoi An after a nice lunch on the beach with Sacha and Sinette. As we rode into town the sun was setting in the horizon. That night I got a shirt made from a tailor. It's a beautiful silk shirt that is flowy, light and elegant. Joey was tempted with the idea of a suit, but decided against it. You can purchase a beautifully tailored suit (complete with tie, shirt, the whole kit and caboodle) for less than $60USD.
Although we were loving our time in Hoi An, we wanted to keep moving. Mui Ne was our next destination.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Hue --> Da Nang --> Hoi An
Hue was growing on us, but the weather was crap and we were getting itchy feet. The day after our DMZ tour we took the train to Da Nang. The scenery on the train was amazing. We were on a cliff looking down at lush jungle and rocky beaches. I wish the train window hasn't been so dirty, it would have been nice to take pictures.
Da Nang looked like a hole, and didn't have much to offer so we were only there enough time to catch the public bus to Hoi An. What an adventure that was! We hop on the bus and the bus dude (not really sure what he was) was trying to charge us 50,000VND each! We had just talked to some other travelers who got a ride on the bus for 10,000VND each. We finally haggled him down to 20,000VND each. Joey held out a 100,000VND bill but wanted the change before he handed it over to the dude. The guy was not impressed. He grabbed a huge wad of cash out of his wallet and threw it at Joey telling Joey to take it. Joey was like "K, well I guess I'm getting off the bus now" and he was losing his patience with this guys behaviour. The guy calmed down and gave him the change. The WHOLE ride to Hoi An he would look back at us with death glares. At one point he even talked to another traveler on the bus and said "Not good, not good, not good. He's a cheap man." At this point Joey and I are quite entertained!
This bus ride was probably one of the highlights of our trip thus far. The bus never fully stopped to pick people up. It simply slowed down while old ladies with huge bundles of junk chased it and barely managing to get on. Sometimes the old ladies would have too much and the bus guy would yell at them and wouldn't let them on. One old lady got on the bus and I guess the bus guy was asking her for too much too. She did the same thing as us, held on to her money until she saw the right change. (Locals only had to pay 7000VND for the same trip) and he started yelling at her. She yelled back and eventually hit the guy really hard with the bag in her hand. It was truly hilarious.
About an hour later we arrived in Hoi An. It was absolutely pouring outside. We put our raincoats and backpack covers out and headed for the hotel that we thought we wanted to stay at. After getting lost and having to walk for quite some time, we arrive and the place is quite gross and worst of all, no internet! We ended up having to walk across town to where all the other hotels are. Another one we would have liked to stay at turned out to be $25 a night. That is wayyyy out of our budget. Two doors we settled on another hotel for a room that cost $12 a night. The room itself have 3 double beds and was absolutely huge. A distinct moldy smell filled the air. The bathroom was even more gross smelling. We were so tired, so hungry and so wet we decided that this would be our home for the night.
After having a wonderful dinner (yet very expensive) at the Cargo Club, we met up with Lindsey and Jamie for some happy hour drinks. It was nice except the place we were at had about 8 different kids walking through and trying to sell us useless crap like whistles and packs of 20 postcards. (For everyone's info, you might not get a postcard from Vietnam because you can only buy them in packs of 10 or 20... I only want 1 or 2 and they wont sell them to me) It gets annoying to have these "visitors" every time you are out at a restaurant or bar. They know no limits and will pester you time and time again. They are somewhat easy to ignore but it does put a damper on the evening because you are there to enjoy yourself, not be guilt tripped into buying a clay whistle from a 4 year old.
This morning we were woken up to the dog of the hotel who kept on barking and barking and barking. It was getting ridiculous. We were also close to the front desk and could hear the phone ringing off the hook (from what we assume is other hotel guests wanting the dog to shut up). We could barely stand to stay there any longer. Soon we were all packed up and ready to go somewhere else. The hotel we are in now is a lot nicer but the same price. Our room is quite small but only has one bed which is really all we need!
Today we hired a driver to take us to My Son ruins with Lindsey and Jamie. Apparently there are tours to go see the ruins but it takes ALL day and you have to wander around the ruins for 4 hours. All four of us get tired of looking at stuff, so we knew we'd only want to be there an hour. The ruins were built anywhere between 4th century AD and 14th century AD. They are Hindu temple where Cham royalties and war heroes were buried. The temple was also a place of worship for Shiva, a Hindu god. It was truly amazing to walk through the jungle and see the beautiful ruins. The nature was starting to overtake the ruins but it made it ever more stunning to see such architecture and nature blended together.
After the Hindu temple, all four of us were really craving Indian food! So thats what we went and got when we got back into town. The food was spectacular and left us wanting more! Lindsey and Jamie are now on their way to Nha Trang on a sleeper bus. We will be leaving in the next day or so as well. The weather is supposed to be beautiful tomorrow. Sunny and 30 degrees! Time to rent a bicycle and go to the beach! WOOOOT!
Da Nang looked like a hole, and didn't have much to offer so we were only there enough time to catch the public bus to Hoi An. What an adventure that was! We hop on the bus and the bus dude (not really sure what he was) was trying to charge us 50,000VND each! We had just talked to some other travelers who got a ride on the bus for 10,000VND each. We finally haggled him down to 20,000VND each. Joey held out a 100,000VND bill but wanted the change before he handed it over to the dude. The guy was not impressed. He grabbed a huge wad of cash out of his wallet and threw it at Joey telling Joey to take it. Joey was like "K, well I guess I'm getting off the bus now" and he was losing his patience with this guys behaviour. The guy calmed down and gave him the change. The WHOLE ride to Hoi An he would look back at us with death glares. At one point he even talked to another traveler on the bus and said "Not good, not good, not good. He's a cheap man." At this point Joey and I are quite entertained!
This bus ride was probably one of the highlights of our trip thus far. The bus never fully stopped to pick people up. It simply slowed down while old ladies with huge bundles of junk chased it and barely managing to get on. Sometimes the old ladies would have too much and the bus guy would yell at them and wouldn't let them on. One old lady got on the bus and I guess the bus guy was asking her for too much too. She did the same thing as us, held on to her money until she saw the right change. (Locals only had to pay 7000VND for the same trip) and he started yelling at her. She yelled back and eventually hit the guy really hard with the bag in her hand. It was truly hilarious.
About an hour later we arrived in Hoi An. It was absolutely pouring outside. We put our raincoats and backpack covers out and headed for the hotel that we thought we wanted to stay at. After getting lost and having to walk for quite some time, we arrive and the place is quite gross and worst of all, no internet! We ended up having to walk across town to where all the other hotels are. Another one we would have liked to stay at turned out to be $25 a night. That is wayyyy out of our budget. Two doors we settled on another hotel for a room that cost $12 a night. The room itself have 3 double beds and was absolutely huge. A distinct moldy smell filled the air. The bathroom was even more gross smelling. We were so tired, so hungry and so wet we decided that this would be our home for the night.
After having a wonderful dinner (yet very expensive) at the Cargo Club, we met up with Lindsey and Jamie for some happy hour drinks. It was nice except the place we were at had about 8 different kids walking through and trying to sell us useless crap like whistles and packs of 20 postcards. (For everyone's info, you might not get a postcard from Vietnam because you can only buy them in packs of 10 or 20... I only want 1 or 2 and they wont sell them to me) It gets annoying to have these "visitors" every time you are out at a restaurant or bar. They know no limits and will pester you time and time again. They are somewhat easy to ignore but it does put a damper on the evening because you are there to enjoy yourself, not be guilt tripped into buying a clay whistle from a 4 year old.
This morning we were woken up to the dog of the hotel who kept on barking and barking and barking. It was getting ridiculous. We were also close to the front desk and could hear the phone ringing off the hook (from what we assume is other hotel guests wanting the dog to shut up). We could barely stand to stay there any longer. Soon we were all packed up and ready to go somewhere else. The hotel we are in now is a lot nicer but the same price. Our room is quite small but only has one bed which is really all we need!
Today we hired a driver to take us to My Son ruins with Lindsey and Jamie. Apparently there are tours to go see the ruins but it takes ALL day and you have to wander around the ruins for 4 hours. All four of us get tired of looking at stuff, so we knew we'd only want to be there an hour. The ruins were built anywhere between 4th century AD and 14th century AD. They are Hindu temple where Cham royalties and war heroes were buried. The temple was also a place of worship for Shiva, a Hindu god. It was truly amazing to walk through the jungle and see the beautiful ruins. The nature was starting to overtake the ruins but it made it ever more stunning to see such architecture and nature blended together.
After the Hindu temple, all four of us were really craving Indian food! So thats what we went and got when we got back into town. The food was spectacular and left us wanting more! Lindsey and Jamie are now on their way to Nha Trang on a sleeper bus. We will be leaving in the next day or so as well. The weather is supposed to be beautiful tomorrow. Sunny and 30 degrees! Time to rent a bicycle and go to the beach! WOOOOT!
Tours Tours Tours
Joey and I were loving the laid back atmosphere of Hue and we thought it would be a good idea to experience what the town of Hue has to offer. We signed up for a boat cruise/bus tour that took us to all the "exciting" sites of Hue. It was a cheap tour (only 6USD for the whole day including lunch) so we knew what we were getting into. Honestly, we were both regretting not bringing books. The weather was dismal and the boat went 5km/h up the river. Ok, so I'm making it sound pretty horrible, but I guess I could say there were some good things too. We got to go by a fisherman's village which was kind of neat. You could see the people living on their boats and going to their neighbours in a dinghy. It was interesting to see Vietnam from a boat perspective. The whole tour was about going to different places a long the way, such as the Perfume Pagoda which was very nice. The other sites we visited we had to pay additional money to see, and being the cheapies we are, we went on our own adventures. We took pics of cows, tried sneaking across walls to take pics of the tomb or temple the group was visiting, and just going for mini hikes. It turned out to be a fun day because we did our own thing and didn't spend much money!
The next day we went on the DMZ tour. Hue and the surrounding towns were De Militarized Zone in the Vietnam war. A DMZ is an agreed upon piece of land where there shouldn't be any fighting. Unfortunately this area still saw it's fair amount of fighting. Land mines, bombs and other explosives are still very much a reality. People still die every month. Sometimes kids will even think a bomb is a toy and play soccer with it. Others take the gun powder from the bombs and go fishing with it. Agent Orange was a chemical that was heavily blanketed on the area has affected 3 generations of family with cancer, mutations and disabilities. The amount of crippled and specials needs people is one thing we have noticed since being in the central part of Vietnam.
On the tour we saw the Ho Chi Minh trail which is a trail used by the communist revolutionists of North Vietnam to get their ammunition, food, and supplies from the Laos border. It's now a paved road, and most of it still remains in Laos. On the way there we got to drive through minority villages. Most of the people in these villages are farmers and do as much as they can to live off the land. They live in houses on stilts which I thought was pretty neat. I thought it was interesting that the people living in these villages get free health care and education from the government when families that live in cities are left to fend for themselves. Vietnam is a communist country, but obviously it's not perfect.
One of our favourite stops were the Vin Moch tunnels. Vin Moch is a huge range of tunnels that go as far as 30 meters below ground. A village of 60 families lived in this tunnels during the day for 6 years. Each family was giving a room that was 2x2metres large. 4-5 people lived in each room. There was one toilet for 400 people! The tunnel was dark, humid and very wet. I can't imagine living here for 6 years. The network of tunnels was quite impressive and well thought out. There was a hospital, a school, a meeting room, and enough room for everyone. It was definitely not designed for tall people! My neck was hurting by the end of it.
The tour went from 6 am to 6 pm and by the end of it, we were so sick and tired of sitting on a bus! It felt good to get to our hotel and eat some real food at a restaurant nearby. We went to Lac Thuans restaurant which is recommended by Lonely Planet. It is run by a deaf guy and his family. He is a super sweet man who always has a smile on his face. He made both Joey and I one of his special beer bottle openers which is a well engineered piece of wood with a bolt on it. Haha. We thought it was pretty funny. During our dinner we were also visited by two rats and a gecko. Unfortunately, I think we're gonna have to get used to that.
That night I ended up buying a dress from a local tailor. They made it for me that night. It's a beautiful cotton wrap around dress and I got it for only $15. It fits me perfectly. There are a lot of amazing tailors here, but I've decided that I've got an amazing tailor at home (I'm talking about you, Grandma Sandra) who will lovingly make me anything I want :). I am thinking of buying fabric here and bringing it home so she can make me something beautiful.
The next day we went on the DMZ tour. Hue and the surrounding towns were De Militarized Zone in the Vietnam war. A DMZ is an agreed upon piece of land where there shouldn't be any fighting. Unfortunately this area still saw it's fair amount of fighting. Land mines, bombs and other explosives are still very much a reality. People still die every month. Sometimes kids will even think a bomb is a toy and play soccer with it. Others take the gun powder from the bombs and go fishing with it. Agent Orange was a chemical that was heavily blanketed on the area has affected 3 generations of family with cancer, mutations and disabilities. The amount of crippled and specials needs people is one thing we have noticed since being in the central part of Vietnam.
On the tour we saw the Ho Chi Minh trail which is a trail used by the communist revolutionists of North Vietnam to get their ammunition, food, and supplies from the Laos border. It's now a paved road, and most of it still remains in Laos. On the way there we got to drive through minority villages. Most of the people in these villages are farmers and do as much as they can to live off the land. They live in houses on stilts which I thought was pretty neat. I thought it was interesting that the people living in these villages get free health care and education from the government when families that live in cities are left to fend for themselves. Vietnam is a communist country, but obviously it's not perfect.
One of our favourite stops were the Vin Moch tunnels. Vin Moch is a huge range of tunnels that go as far as 30 meters below ground. A village of 60 families lived in this tunnels during the day for 6 years. Each family was giving a room that was 2x2metres large. 4-5 people lived in each room. There was one toilet for 400 people! The tunnel was dark, humid and very wet. I can't imagine living here for 6 years. The network of tunnels was quite impressive and well thought out. There was a hospital, a school, a meeting room, and enough room for everyone. It was definitely not designed for tall people! My neck was hurting by the end of it.
The tour went from 6 am to 6 pm and by the end of it, we were so sick and tired of sitting on a bus! It felt good to get to our hotel and eat some real food at a restaurant nearby. We went to Lac Thuans restaurant which is recommended by Lonely Planet. It is run by a deaf guy and his family. He is a super sweet man who always has a smile on his face. He made both Joey and I one of his special beer bottle openers which is a well engineered piece of wood with a bolt on it. Haha. We thought it was pretty funny. During our dinner we were also visited by two rats and a gecko. Unfortunately, I think we're gonna have to get used to that.
That night I ended up buying a dress from a local tailor. They made it for me that night. It's a beautiful cotton wrap around dress and I got it for only $15. It fits me perfectly. There are a lot of amazing tailors here, but I've decided that I've got an amazing tailor at home (I'm talking about you, Grandma Sandra) who will lovingly make me anything I want :). I am thinking of buying fabric here and bringing it home so she can make me something beautiful.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Sick of getting ripped of in Hanoi so we're on our Hue to Hue!!
**For your info, Hue is pronounced Way in Vietnamese!
When we got back from Ha Long bay we headed back to our hotel because we had made a reservation. Turns out the girl didn't keep our reservation, and didn't even bother telling us that there wasn't a room when we tried to reserve. She was super pissed that we booked our tour with another company instead of with her at the hotel desk, so I guess this was her way of getting back at us. Luckily the hotel has a sister hotel just down the road that had a room available. It was the same price, but way less clean. The guy from the hotel told us that they had WiFi and it turned out that it was someone elses' in the area and the hotel guy had "forgotten" the password. Then they said that a complimentary breakfast was served from 7:30-9am. We made our way down there for 8am and there was no breakfast to be seen. It was another guy at the desk and he pretended to not know what we were talking about. So frustrating.
Joey and I spent our last day in Hanoi with our Scottish pals. Jamie was still sick so we kept him company in the hotel room. Joey, Lindsey and I let Jamie sleep for a while and went to Happy Hour across the street at Magnolia Cafe. We should have taken the hint when we saw absolutely NO ONE in there that place was a crock. The sign outside said 3 drinks for price of 2. Sweet 3 of us, only gotta pay for 2. So we ordered 3 beers. It didn't help that our server didn't know English and just nodded when we asked about Happy hour. When we went to go pay, all of a sudden they are saying it's only from 4-6pm (It's like 6:05 when paying) and that it was only for a special type of drink not the beers we had.
After dinner at another place it was time for Joey and I to make our way to the train station. We hailed a taxi. We negotiated 30,000 VND for the trip which was more than reasonable. The driver takes us to somewhere completely different, and then goes the long way to the station. When we arrive Joey hands him a 50,000 bill, and the driver will only give us 10,000 back because he had to drive around longer to get us to the station. Joey kept on saying "It's your fault you went the wrong way. Give me back 20,000!" We just got so sick of it that we settled with 10,000 for the change. Joey said "You are a bad man!" which I thought was hilarious. It still annoys me to think about how this guy ripped us of. We learned a lesson though. Never give them the money until you see they have the right change in their hand.
The night train to Hue was horrible. We got soft sleepers this time, but it didn't help that when we first stepped on to the train we saw cockroaches climbing up the walls. Joey nearly puked in his mouth. As we looked for our beds we were serenaded by music that could induce a brain hemorrhage. It was so loud and blood curdling high pitched. There was no way of getting rid of it. The train ride itself was incredibly bumpy. Bumpy ride + fear of cockroaches + snoring Vietnamese man = no sleep for us.
We arrived in Hue this morning. There was a cute man waiting for us with sign saying Joey and Skye. He was from the hotel we are staying at which includes the free service of pick up from the train station. It was actually quite nice to have someone waiting for us on arrival, even though he was just our cab driver :)
Our hotel is quite nice. The room is nothing special but we get free coffee and tea all day, free breakfast and dinner... and the lady at the front desk is THE CUTEST lady I have ever met. Seriously so cute. High pitched voice, always laughing, and says exactly whats on her mind. The best thing of all, she doesn't try to push tours on us.
We walked around the streets of Hue. It's definitely not as busy here and it's also a lot more pedestrian friendly. The scenery is quite nice too with a river running through the city, and a huge citadel across the water way. We really like it here so far. It's such a nice change of pace.
For lunch we went to Lac Traun's which is a restaurant owned by a deaf mute. It is a restaurant that is highly recommended by Lonely Planet, and you can tell it's loved by many others because all the walls inside had writings from other travelers. The food was amazing.
Now Joey and I are just taking it easy for the night at our hotel. Going to eat some dinner downstairs, then watch a movie in our room. We're both super exhausted from no sleep on the train, and from all the exercise we've been getting. We will also be choosing what we want to do tomorrow. We are thinking we will take a tour to the DMZ (de militarized zone). Hue saw a lot of the fighting in the Vietnam war and there is a lot of museums and war stations we can see on this tour. It will only cost us $10 to do a full day tour including lunch and access to all the war stuff.
When we got back from Ha Long bay we headed back to our hotel because we had made a reservation. Turns out the girl didn't keep our reservation, and didn't even bother telling us that there wasn't a room when we tried to reserve. She was super pissed that we booked our tour with another company instead of with her at the hotel desk, so I guess this was her way of getting back at us. Luckily the hotel has a sister hotel just down the road that had a room available. It was the same price, but way less clean. The guy from the hotel told us that they had WiFi and it turned out that it was someone elses' in the area and the hotel guy had "forgotten" the password. Then they said that a complimentary breakfast was served from 7:30-9am. We made our way down there for 8am and there was no breakfast to be seen. It was another guy at the desk and he pretended to not know what we were talking about. So frustrating.
Joey and I spent our last day in Hanoi with our Scottish pals. Jamie was still sick so we kept him company in the hotel room. Joey, Lindsey and I let Jamie sleep for a while and went to Happy Hour across the street at Magnolia Cafe. We should have taken the hint when we saw absolutely NO ONE in there that place was a crock. The sign outside said 3 drinks for price of 2. Sweet 3 of us, only gotta pay for 2. So we ordered 3 beers. It didn't help that our server didn't know English and just nodded when we asked about Happy hour. When we went to go pay, all of a sudden they are saying it's only from 4-6pm (It's like 6:05 when paying) and that it was only for a special type of drink not the beers we had.
After dinner at another place it was time for Joey and I to make our way to the train station. We hailed a taxi. We negotiated 30,000 VND for the trip which was more than reasonable. The driver takes us to somewhere completely different, and then goes the long way to the station. When we arrive Joey hands him a 50,000 bill, and the driver will only give us 10,000 back because he had to drive around longer to get us to the station. Joey kept on saying "It's your fault you went the wrong way. Give me back 20,000!" We just got so sick of it that we settled with 10,000 for the change. Joey said "You are a bad man!" which I thought was hilarious. It still annoys me to think about how this guy ripped us of. We learned a lesson though. Never give them the money until you see they have the right change in their hand.
The night train to Hue was horrible. We got soft sleepers this time, but it didn't help that when we first stepped on to the train we saw cockroaches climbing up the walls. Joey nearly puked in his mouth. As we looked for our beds we were serenaded by music that could induce a brain hemorrhage. It was so loud and blood curdling high pitched. There was no way of getting rid of it. The train ride itself was incredibly bumpy. Bumpy ride + fear of cockroaches + snoring Vietnamese man = no sleep for us.
We arrived in Hue this morning. There was a cute man waiting for us with sign saying Joey and Skye. He was from the hotel we are staying at which includes the free service of pick up from the train station. It was actually quite nice to have someone waiting for us on arrival, even though he was just our cab driver :)
Our hotel is quite nice. The room is nothing special but we get free coffee and tea all day, free breakfast and dinner... and the lady at the front desk is THE CUTEST lady I have ever met. Seriously so cute. High pitched voice, always laughing, and says exactly whats on her mind. The best thing of all, she doesn't try to push tours on us.
We walked around the streets of Hue. It's definitely not as busy here and it's also a lot more pedestrian friendly. The scenery is quite nice too with a river running through the city, and a huge citadel across the water way. We really like it here so far. It's such a nice change of pace.
For lunch we went to Lac Traun's which is a restaurant owned by a deaf mute. It is a restaurant that is highly recommended by Lonely Planet, and you can tell it's loved by many others because all the walls inside had writings from other travelers. The food was amazing.
Now Joey and I are just taking it easy for the night at our hotel. Going to eat some dinner downstairs, then watch a movie in our room. We're both super exhausted from no sleep on the train, and from all the exercise we've been getting. We will also be choosing what we want to do tomorrow. We are thinking we will take a tour to the DMZ (de militarized zone). Hue saw a lot of the fighting in the Vietnam war and there is a lot of museums and war stations we can see on this tour. It will only cost us $10 to do a full day tour including lunch and access to all the war stuff.
Ha Long Bay adventure!
Joey and I have been busy bees since getting to Vietnam. We spent the first couple of days getting used to the hustle and bustle of Hanoi. Got lost quite a few times trying to find our hotel, but we always eventually found where we needed to be.
We booked a trip to Ha Long Bay with a tour company called Kangaroo Tours. It was reasonably priced. Only $79USD for a 2 day 1 night trip to Ha Long. Our scottish friends Jamie and Lindsey were supposed to come with us, but Jamie ate a chicken burger at an Irish bar in Hanoi and they decided to reschedule. Turns out Jamie has a parasite, which is something Joey and I are going to be really careful of from now on. Jamie doesn't know what gave it to him, but it sounds like it is a pretty nasty parasite that seems to cripple you for days. Joey and I are going to be smart about our food choices from now on. We'll wash our fruit with soap and water, brush our teeth with bottled water, ask for no ice in our drinks and avoid salads when possible. Neither of us want to have to deal with what Jamie is going through. Plus the antibiotics and antiparisitics he has to take seem pretty nasty too.
The journey to Ha Long bay started at the travel centre. We had a nice breakfast before the bus arrived and scoped out the other tourists on the tour. It was an odd group of people that's for sure. There were only 11 people on the tour which included a Malaysian family of 4 (2 little girls and parents), a 70+ years old couple from Australia, and a couple a bit older than us from Switzerland. Our tour guide was named Thou. He was a very cute, and timid Vietnamese guy. He had pretty good english and on the 3.5 hour bus ride to the bay he helped Joey and I with our Vietnamese. We can now say Hi, bye, no thank you, thank you, How much is this?, and That is expensive! It is funny because now when we ask "How much is this?" in Vietnamese, they answer back in Vietnamese, then we look silly because we don't know what they said. At least we're trying! haha.
When we arrived at the bay we quickly got on to our boat and motored away from the busy harbor. There were hundreds of boats that looked just like our boat in the harbour and I'm surprised we didn't run into anything! As soon as we got away from the business we sat on the deck and soaked up the sun rays. The weather was perfect for our adventure. It wasn't too hot or humid. A nice breeze blew along the water and it was actually quite comfortable. We soon reached the limestone islands that dappled the coast line. Big beautiful islands covered in lush forest surrounded us. I can definitely see why they would name this area a UNESCO World Heritage site. Something this beautiful needs to be protected for years and years to come.
Soon it was time for lunch. All 11 of us sat down for what was one of the best feasts I have ever had the opportunity to eat! Seafood galore, veggies, rice, pork, tofu... you name it and it was on the table. The colours and the tastes were really something. Joey and I definitely had our fill! We were almost too stuffed to go kayaking, but obviously thats not something we wanted to miss out on. We rented a kayak and set of with the Swiss couple to a "secret" lagoon. As we arrived at the lagoon you could tell it wasn't so secret because a lot of other kayaks were coming out from the cave entrance to the lagoon. When we got into the "secret lagoon" there was absolutely no one else except the 4 of us. The lagoon was stunning. Beautiful jungle covered the walls of the limestone, and all you could hear was thousands of birds chirping. All of us were silent for about 5 minutes, just taking in the beauty. This lagoon was our secret for that moment. All good things come to an end though... a motor boat made it's way in there.
We found our way to another island and parked our kayaks on the white sand. It was time for a swim after all that kayaking. The water itself wasn't too cold, and wasn't too warm. It still took a while to get all the way in though!
Back on the "junk boat" (That's what they call the boat that we were staying the night on) we got to know all the fellow travelers on the boat. The Aussie couple had been in Vietnam for a couple of weeks and had a lot of feedback to share with the rest of us. They were planning to go to the West Coast of Canada next year and I gave them lots of info on the beautiful place we come from!
Joey quickly made friends with Sacha the Swiss. Soon Joey was teaching him what it truly means to be a Canadian. SHOT GUN! For those of you who don't know what this is, it is when you poke a hole near the bottom of a beer can, put the hole in your mouth and then open the top of the beer can so that beer rushes into your mouth. It's a very classy thing to do on a cruise. The whole boat gathered around to see Joey's moment of glory. Even 3 days later, he's still pretty impressed with himself! Those two also got up to other adventures that night. Tried to climb the ladder attached to the mast, attempted to put the fake sails up (the boat is motorized and has sails for decoration) and also tried to get a taxi over to another boat that was parked in the bay. They also bugged our guide to death to sing them karaoke, but much to their disappointment, he did not cooperate!
The next day we woke up to fog. It was no longer sunny like the day before. The bay had a slight Bermuda Triangle feeling. The boat took us to a HUGE cave on one of the islands nearby. There were three caverns. I think the cave would have been more stunning if there wasn't a paved sidewalk, penguin and dolphin shaped garbage cans, and fake lighting. It was most definitely a tourist attraction. The sheer beauty of the cave had been stripped over the years as stalagmites and stalagtites have been ripped from their homes, and graffiti decorated on the walls. Needless to say, Joey and I weren't all that impressed.
The boat made it's way back to the harbor and we started our journey back to Hanoi. Back to the hustle and bustle. Our time in paradise was short but much appreciated.
We booked a trip to Ha Long Bay with a tour company called Kangaroo Tours. It was reasonably priced. Only $79USD for a 2 day 1 night trip to Ha Long. Our scottish friends Jamie and Lindsey were supposed to come with us, but Jamie ate a chicken burger at an Irish bar in Hanoi and they decided to reschedule. Turns out Jamie has a parasite, which is something Joey and I are going to be really careful of from now on. Jamie doesn't know what gave it to him, but it sounds like it is a pretty nasty parasite that seems to cripple you for days. Joey and I are going to be smart about our food choices from now on. We'll wash our fruit with soap and water, brush our teeth with bottled water, ask for no ice in our drinks and avoid salads when possible. Neither of us want to have to deal with what Jamie is going through. Plus the antibiotics and antiparisitics he has to take seem pretty nasty too.
The journey to Ha Long bay started at the travel centre. We had a nice breakfast before the bus arrived and scoped out the other tourists on the tour. It was an odd group of people that's for sure. There were only 11 people on the tour which included a Malaysian family of 4 (2 little girls and parents), a 70+ years old couple from Australia, and a couple a bit older than us from Switzerland. Our tour guide was named Thou. He was a very cute, and timid Vietnamese guy. He had pretty good english and on the 3.5 hour bus ride to the bay he helped Joey and I with our Vietnamese. We can now say Hi, bye, no thank you, thank you, How much is this?, and That is expensive! It is funny because now when we ask "How much is this?" in Vietnamese, they answer back in Vietnamese, then we look silly because we don't know what they said. At least we're trying! haha.
When we arrived at the bay we quickly got on to our boat and motored away from the busy harbor. There were hundreds of boats that looked just like our boat in the harbour and I'm surprised we didn't run into anything! As soon as we got away from the business we sat on the deck and soaked up the sun rays. The weather was perfect for our adventure. It wasn't too hot or humid. A nice breeze blew along the water and it was actually quite comfortable. We soon reached the limestone islands that dappled the coast line. Big beautiful islands covered in lush forest surrounded us. I can definitely see why they would name this area a UNESCO World Heritage site. Something this beautiful needs to be protected for years and years to come.
Soon it was time for lunch. All 11 of us sat down for what was one of the best feasts I have ever had the opportunity to eat! Seafood galore, veggies, rice, pork, tofu... you name it and it was on the table. The colours and the tastes were really something. Joey and I definitely had our fill! We were almost too stuffed to go kayaking, but obviously thats not something we wanted to miss out on. We rented a kayak and set of with the Swiss couple to a "secret" lagoon. As we arrived at the lagoon you could tell it wasn't so secret because a lot of other kayaks were coming out from the cave entrance to the lagoon. When we got into the "secret lagoon" there was absolutely no one else except the 4 of us. The lagoon was stunning. Beautiful jungle covered the walls of the limestone, and all you could hear was thousands of birds chirping. All of us were silent for about 5 minutes, just taking in the beauty. This lagoon was our secret for that moment. All good things come to an end though... a motor boat made it's way in there.
We found our way to another island and parked our kayaks on the white sand. It was time for a swim after all that kayaking. The water itself wasn't too cold, and wasn't too warm. It still took a while to get all the way in though!
Back on the "junk boat" (That's what they call the boat that we were staying the night on) we got to know all the fellow travelers on the boat. The Aussie couple had been in Vietnam for a couple of weeks and had a lot of feedback to share with the rest of us. They were planning to go to the West Coast of Canada next year and I gave them lots of info on the beautiful place we come from!
Joey quickly made friends with Sacha the Swiss. Soon Joey was teaching him what it truly means to be a Canadian. SHOT GUN! For those of you who don't know what this is, it is when you poke a hole near the bottom of a beer can, put the hole in your mouth and then open the top of the beer can so that beer rushes into your mouth. It's a very classy thing to do on a cruise. The whole boat gathered around to see Joey's moment of glory. Even 3 days later, he's still pretty impressed with himself! Those two also got up to other adventures that night. Tried to climb the ladder attached to the mast, attempted to put the fake sails up (the boat is motorized and has sails for decoration) and also tried to get a taxi over to another boat that was parked in the bay. They also bugged our guide to death to sing them karaoke, but much to their disappointment, he did not cooperate!
The next day we woke up to fog. It was no longer sunny like the day before. The bay had a slight Bermuda Triangle feeling. The boat took us to a HUGE cave on one of the islands nearby. There were three caverns. I think the cave would have been more stunning if there wasn't a paved sidewalk, penguin and dolphin shaped garbage cans, and fake lighting. It was most definitely a tourist attraction. The sheer beauty of the cave had been stripped over the years as stalagmites and stalagtites have been ripped from their homes, and graffiti decorated on the walls. Needless to say, Joey and I weren't all that impressed.
The boat made it's way back to the harbor and we started our journey back to Hanoi. Back to the hustle and bustle. Our time in paradise was short but much appreciated.
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