Asia Summary and Cultural Learnings #2.

So, how does one summarise Bangkok, Cambodia and Vietnam?  Different, that's for sure - and a great experience.  I think we were really lucky with both our group leader (Wasa) and our group - a really good bunch of people to spend time with.  There were parts that we loved, parts we didn't and moments when poverty and strife brought our own blessed existence into stark contrast.  Definitely no regrets however and I wouldn't hesitate to see another part of the world with GAP Adventures.

More important stuff we learnt:

1.  I'm going to generalise horribly here:  Folk in Asia love to gamble.  Unfortunately gambling is banned in Thailand and Vietnam.  There's always a solution however and there are actually casinos located in 'no-man's land' at Poipet between Thailand and Cambodia.  Goodness-knows who monitors these and what sort of laws operate. It sounds like trouble to me.  Anyway, I'm not a betting man but if I were, I'd certainly have a few quid on our mate Mandy riding "The Rock" in the 13:30 at Hue.

2.  Money in Cambodia is simple - the unofficial currency is the U.S. Dollar and it is used everywhere.  This means that you don't have to faff-about too much but does mean that Cambodia is more expensive than both Thailand and Vietnam as few things cost less than "One Dolla Misda."  Now, Vietnam is a completely different kettle-of-fish.  The picture below shows something like 1,750,000 Dong - yup, we were living it large ("This time next year Rodney we'll be millionaires!")  The only thing is that, if memory serves, this equates to about 55quid!!

3.  Cars, trucks and vans cost heaps in Asia, certainly relative to the average wage.  Consequently the motorbike/moped is king.  However, forget your Western views on what is safe to carry on a bike.  Amongst other wonders, we saw a family of five on a moped and three pigs strapped to the back of one.  Even if we had caught this on camera I'd have been reluctant to post it on here due to concern for our readers of a vegetarian disposition (Hi Sarah!.)  My particular favourite though was the trailers they attached to the things.  Look at this:

In the UK it'd probably need a "Long Vehicle' sign, if it didn't fall foul of all sorts of legislation that is.  As for the trucks that were on the road, it looked like the locals judged how much to put on them by either waiting for them to fall over or waiting for an axle to snap.  Amazing.

Next time, Milford Haven Sound.

T&K.xxx

Hanoi Rat Race...

Our stay in Halong Bay was short and sweet. The hotel was quite plush, the evening's pizza edible and the local market interesting enough (although we've well and truly had our fill of bloody markets now.). The reason for our stay however was the bay itself and its circa 5000 rocky islands and outcrops. We boarded what was described  by the tour operator as a 'junk' but was really just a thinly disguised tourist boat.

As we sailed out of dock we were served lunch - seafood and fish for the majority, and chicken and pork for those with more conservative tastes (ahem = KW.)  Once lunch was concluded and we were well away from the clogged and worrying polluted port-area we had some time to take in the dramatic scenery before tying-off at a floating village for a spot of exercise. A few of us had indicated that we'd enjoy a bit of kayaking and five crews of two from our tour did just that. Miss WIlliams and I donned our life jackets before determining that any 'man-over-board' exploits would likely be hindered by the 'aids' which could not be secured properly around one's torso. Consequently we left them on the raft. Much to our surprise we proved to be a highly co-ordinated and efficient outfit and after plunging through a few tunnels into bays with huge limestone sides, we were the only crew to paddle beyond the confines of the floating village into more open waters. Here the currents and winds were much stronger and we had to work a lot harder to maintain our course; still very good fun however.  Once back aboard the raft, the only set of steps were in use on another ship. Our boat had also drifted away a little. Not being the most patient of souls, I reached and just grabbed a tyre on the back of the boat and managed, with Kate's help, to haul the boat close enough so we could clamber aboard - much to the amusement of the crew and the staff hiring out the kayaks.

Once all back aboard, we then chugged our way back to a cliff-side stop and took a tour of a huge cave complex that had been discovered by a fisherman in 1993. I have to say that, despite my patriotic tendencies, this knocked-spots off Dan-Yr-Ogof!

From Halong Bay we were bussed to the capital, Hanoi. You'll have to excuse my language but I really would not be surprised if Hanoi was Vietnamese for "Shit Hole". It's really not a great place to spend time. It is, by some margin, the most polluted environment I have ever had the misfortune to have to breathe in. The city has 6.5M inhabitants and 3.5M mopeds! We never saw the sun in our three days there due to the constant smog!

 Things to see are actually pretty limited. We visited the French-built prison which became known as the 'Hanoi Hilton' by U.S. airmen (including republican presidential candidate John McCain) who were imprisioned there having been shot down during the war. What was most striking was the difference in the way that the prisioners were apparently treated in French-Colonial times compared to how the U.S. prisoners were held during the war. If there is one thing that the Vietnamese government seem to do really well it is propaganda.

We decided not to go to see the embalmed form of Ho Chi Minh who lies propped-up in bed like some sort of natural history museum exhibit.  Minh had requested that his body be cremated and his ashes spread in the countryside all over his beloved nation.  It therefore seemed wholly distasteful to effectively support going-against a man's last wishes - a bit like not putting "I told you I was ill" on Spike Milligan's gravestone.  What we did visit and thoroughly enjoyed however was the famous Water Puppet Theatre.  It clearly takes a lot of skill, coordination and practice to do something that well.

Our last day was spent wandering around with the two Aussies who were also exiting the tour at the same time as us (the majority were continuing to Laos.)  We also had to move hotels as we'd decided when we'd booked to try somewhere a bit more central for our last night.  This was a terrible mistake!  The hotel we moved to scores remarkably well on Trip Advisor and the breakfast tables are decorated with letters of thanks from past-visitors.  One even suggested that they would return soon for another 'pampering.'  We wondered if the online comments and letters were actually an elaborate joke.  The staff were curt and our room had no windows to the outside.  Worse of all, when we the lights were extinguished we heard a lot of scurrying and then found rat droppings.  I went to the desk and asked to be moved.  From the third floor we were moved to a similarly nasty room on the ground floor.  Thankfully it appeared that there was no way that a rat could infiltrate the similarly windowless space.  Unfortunately, we were wrong.  At 02:30 Kate shot-up in bed saying that she'd heard something knock-over a water bottle.  As I rubbed my eyes to clear away the sleep, they focussed on something; a new friend, let's call him Roland, sat atop the TV! He then dashed behind the fridge.  As Kate and I sat there, we could hear squeaking and tiny footsteps all over the main foyer outside.  This place was riddled!  After a short chase we managed to persuade Roland to join his friends and family in the corridor.

After a couple more hours we were relieved to hear the alarm that signalled that we needed to get up for our early flight to Bangkok.  If you have arrived at this blog because you've Googled something related to travelling in South East Asia, please take our advice and avoid the Hanoi Astoria Hotel like the plague carried so effectively by Roland's fore-fathers!  Stay in the Anh Hotel.  We certainly wish we hadn't moved after the end of our GAP Adventures Roam Cambodia and Vietnam tour!*

*Full title included to aid web searches.

We have quite a lot of catching up to do too.  Since doing aour bit for human-rodent relations, we've spent 30hours solid travelling to Auckland and since drive 1800kms around NZ.  Anyway, the weather here is fabulous, unlike at home by all accounts.  That said, there is still snow on the mountain peaks.  Again, photos to follow!

Until then.

Ciao (We'll learn the Maori phrase ahead of my next post!)

T&K.x

Oh, one more thing: congratulations to Sméagol for finally finding the ring and then offering it to Nyki in exchange for her hand in marriage!

Bloomin' 'tinterweb...

For some reason, web services in developed NZ are far worse than in
developing countries in Asia. As such, posting on the blog at present
is a touch problematic. We will update ASAP.

TC&KW

Miss Saigon?

We crossed from Cambodia into Vietnam and headed for Chau Doc.  Chau Doc seems to exist for two reasons.  Firstly it's close to the aforementioned border.  Secondly, it sits within the heart of the fertile Mekong Delta, where the majority of the Muslim Cham population now resides after being pushed from central Vietnam when the North and South first became one.  We took a boat ride on one of the delta's many rivers.  The delta is absolutely teeming with life - fish, birds, humans, pigs.  Eh? 

The thing is, like anywhere, living on the land costs money; rent, taxes etc etc.  If you live on the river, these charges don't apply.  As such thousands of people live in floating houses near the river's edge.  These folk still need to earn money to live however so the more enterprising have built small floating farms.  We visited one such farm that had an enclosure (beneath the house) holding some 70,000 Catfish as well as a sty housing 5 or so poorly exercised pigs.

Because these people live on the river, other enterprising people have set-up boat-shops that remove the need to go ashore for groceries.  The picture below shows a fruit and veg' market but we were assured that there are also fish markets and supermarkets that sell "everything, including beer."

From Chau Doc we bussed to Ho Chi Minh City, better known as Saigon.  Saigon has quite a cosmopolitan feel (by local standards) and a strong French influence.  We visited the colonial Post Office and sent two pairs of jeans, two fleeces and a jacket back to Herefordshire.  It rained a bit and was most memorable for our visit to the Cu Chi Tunnels.  This vast tunnel complex was dug by the Viet Cong during the war.  There was an opportunity to go underground for 100 metres, with the tunnel starting "tourist size" and then getting narrower every 10 or so metres, with exit points after each section.  My claustrophobia meant that I barely got to the bottom of the entry steps before heading back 'air-side.'  Kate came out a few minutes later almost crawling through the ultimate exit.  Sod that!

As well as the tunnels themselves, we watched a first-class government sanctioned video about the war that explained how the American devils were repelled by the locals using guerilla tactics.  We saw some of the traps they used - not nice but very inventive.  Our guide for the day was actually a South Vietnamese war veteran who had fought alongside the yanks.  It was great to get a balanced first-hand analysis from someone who was actually there.  A good day.

From Saigon we headed to the coastal town of Nha Trang via the first of three overnight trains.  The train was reasonably modern, if rather cramped.  Kate and I share a cabin with a couple from Toronto.  They are yet to complain about my snoring.   Nha Trang had the potential to be a really nice couple of days.  It's right on a huge beach for a start.  As it was, the two days were a near total washout.  We had rain that was reminiscent of sunny Blaenavon.  Non-stop.  On our first day we did brave a visit to a natural spring where we were covered in mineral-rich mud before going through a number of cleansing processes, including a salt-pool.  It was cheap and the rain didn't matter.  On the second day Kate and I got a taxi (Kia Picanto!) to the local market.  Kate bought a vest and we both invested in pillow cases (very 70s Miami) for the subsequent train journeys.  We then walked back, in more rain.

Nha Trang to Hoi An meant another overnight train.  This time it was less clean, less modern and generally less pleasant.  The journey was worth it however as Hoi An is pretty lovely!  It’s another coastal town but centres around a tidal river.  The town was also looking its best as it was hosting the international beauty pageant 'Miss Earth' while we were there.  

We ate close to the waterfront and Kate and I hired push-bikes to explore.  We must've traveled a good few miles, including to the beach and all over town. 

This was one of our best days yet and the saddle-sore could do little to diminish our enthusiasm.  One of the things that Kate and I wanted to do was to visit the local orphanage which cares for handicapped kids.  We went to the market and bought enough fruit to fill both our daysacks and a few sweets.  We couldn't stay long as our bus was leaving within the hour but we saw a few of the unfortunate kids as well as the areas where they live, eat and in some cases do physio.  We both found it pretty tough but the staff seemed genuinely grateful to see us and our small donation. 

We then got back on another bus and headed to Hue.  I can't really comment on the evening's activities as I felt full-up with cold so opted-out and slept and watched BBC World News.  It might be worth mentioning at this stage that the full horror of the scenes in Phnom Phen (Cambodia's capital) then became apparent.  We'd heard about the Water Festival while we were there less than two weeks ago and none of us expected it to result in nearly 400 dead.  Thanks to AJGM for the message which allowed us to alert our tour leader who then checked that all other tours were unaffected.

Anyway, back to Hue and today's activities.  I felt a bit better so along with those from the group not suffering from self-induced illness (a few apparently had a BIG drink last night) we donned helmets and set-off on a motorbike tour.  Motorbike is a bit of a stretch to be honest - these were scooters.  Anyway, we visited some temples, a pagoda and the rice museum. 

The rice museum was brought to life by an amazing 75 year-old woman who didn't speak a word of English but sang and demonstrated her way around the exhibits.  Some of our colleagues have offered to adopt her as their grandmother.  Total star.

Competing with the rice museum for the day's highlight was the journey itself.  We off-roaded, used dirt tracks, traversed bridges with no sides and one memorable bridge in particular that was so narrow that the railings threatened to remove my knee caps at any moment. 

I have to say my man perhaps wasn’t the best rider.  I don't think he was used to hauling an additional 90kgs on his bike.  His bike was also just about the oldest in the fleet and the rear shock bottomed-out A LOT!

Anyway, having eaten and negotiated to get access to a shower we headed back to the train station to board our final overnight train.  This is where I'm writing this from.  I am pleased to report that the train appears clean and comfortable enough.  Unfortunately after the train North to Hanoi we then have a four-hour bus journey south.  The good news is that Halong Bay is what awaits us.  This should be one of the highlights of the trip and we're praying for fine weather!

Laters,

T & K

Cambodia

We're now nearing the end of our time in Cambodia so thought it an opportune moment to get some photos posted-up.

We spent the first few days in Siem Reap, very close to what was once the centre of the great Khmer Kingdom. This gave us access to some of the incredible temples and palaces that are now circa 900 years old. We started at the most famous temple, Angkor Wat, boarding a bus at 5am local time to watch the sun rise.

It is interesting to see how the landmarks have been modified over the centuries to reflect the country's transition from Hinduism to Buddism and back again.

Ta Prohm may be familiar to those that have watched the Tomb Raider film.

This is also where we visited a slum containing families that are supported by the New Hope Organisation.

They offer free education, healthcare and will soon move the familes from the slum to new accomodation on a newly set-up farm complex in the city. There are many NGOs in Cambodia and some of them are apparently pretty dubious. However, even as a sceptic , it was hard not to be awe-struck by the work that the team (mainly western Ex-pats) at New Hope do.

From Siem Reap we travelled to the modern capital Phnom Penh. Here we got a much better understanding of the way that the country has been ravaged by war and oppression over the last 4o years. We visited S-21, a former school turned prison used by the Pol Pot regime to detain, torture and kill its enemies - often just normal educated people ranging from teachers and doctors to buddist monks.

We then visited the nearby killing field where it is estimated that in the region of 9000 men, woman and children were bludgeoned to death between 1977 and 1979.

There are many similar sites all over the country. Consider the genocide alongside the three Indochina wars and the impact of colonialism as well as the prevailing poverty and it is hard not to wonder how the Cambodian people function at all. They have an incredible spirit however and despite the ongoing difficulties, every local that I spoke to about the future had a positive outlook.

Kate and I had another early start to take a boat trip on the largest fresh-water lake in South East Asia. It is truly vast!

As I write this, we are in the coastal resort of Sihanoukville, a 4.5 hour bus ride from the Capital. This has provided much-needed light relief and we've had the opportunity to let our hair down. Kate and I decided to show the youngsters on tour that us older folk could still mix it with them. We certainly didn't let ourselves down; well we did actually but that was rather the point of the exercise. A good night was had by all at a beachide bar, with the power occassionally going off due to the persistant thunder storm. So, we're just about recovered now and about to jump in the pool.

One final point, Facebook friends of Kate may well have seen the posts about some of the unusual fayre we've sampled thus far (snake and tarantula.) Here's a pic of the snake:

Cheers,

T&K.x

Very quick Cambodia update...

After entering Cambodia yesterday, witnessed some startling poverty
but also spent some time with an organisation genuinely making a
difference.

More to follow.

Cultural Learnings No.1.

Hi Folks.

Cheney here - very quick update as we are leaving Thailand for Cambodia soon.

Day 1.

Flight not too bad - both of us managed some sleep; helpful considering the long journey.  Headed for Hotel ('backpacker', really?  Very good.) and Kate managed to bump her head on the taxi boot loading her bag.  Good start.  She's fine though.

Checked-in and hungry.  Braved street vendor and really enjoyed it - Kate had Pork with veg.  I had fish (sorry Mum - no idea what!) with chilli.  Yum.  Fancied a beer.  No bar at hotel but a 'nightclub.'  Turned out to be some bizarre Karaoke joint with mainly female clientele - all dressed in their best frocks.  Of course Kate's beauty shone through but in fairness we were a bit under-dressed (read: very.)  Anyway, a girl sang and received a garland made out of Money...  perhaps a healthy career move for my crooning lil' bro.

Day 2.

Walked lots.  Visited 'Golden Mountain' - Google it folks.  Had a disastrous Tuk Tuk ride that somehow involved 3 tailor shops, a carpet maker and several other souvenir shops.  As for this guy's driving, in return I'd like to tie the driver to the back of a car and drive him at speed around the South Wales valleys - it seems only fair.  All good though. 

Kate has found that her 40GBP Birkenstocks are uncomfortable and has bought a pair of local flip-flops for 1.50GBP - typical.  Met our tour party over a green curry and beer last night. Mainly Brits but German, Canadian and Kiwis also. 

Will update when we can.  Missing you all.

T & K. x

Stand by...

We're going, the blog's coming.