Apres Sapa

I'm waiting to board a bus headed for the city of Hoi An in Central Vietnam. I arrived into the city of Hue, 600 km south of Hanoi, after a 12 hour bus ride from Nimh Binh, 93km south of Hanoi. Nimh Binh is a sleepy town nearby scenic Tam Loc, one of Northern Vietnam’s natural wonders. The Tam Loc region is best described as “Halong Bay in rice paddies”. Whereas the rock formations in Halong Bay rise out of the large bodies of water, the rock formations at Tam Loc jet out over rice fields. The journey through scenic Tam Loc takes two hours on a hired rowboat. A slow ride through the center of Tam Loc brings travellers to lush rice paddy fields surrounded by large limestone formations.

On Friday, I said my final goodbye to Hanoi. It has been, “my home away from home” since arriving in Vietnam. While in Hanoi, I had the opportunity to stay at one of the friendliest places I ever have stayed at during any of my travels, the Thu Giang Guesthouse. Thu Giang, her sisters, Hien and Li, and rest of family provide a caring atmosphere for those that make the journey to the capital of Vietnam and into their guesthouse. They not only provide great value for their rooms, they make an effort to geniuely know every traveler they encounter. Their kindness and humour made my stay in Hanoi and Northern Vietnam that more special.

Over the last week, I have endured two overnight train rides from, and to Sapa in Northern Vietnam. The town of Sapa is 1600 m above sea level, and rests on a mountain range. I stayed in Sapa for two days, and two nights before returning for my last day in Hanoi.

The first day I hiked to a Hmong hill tribe village called Cat Cat, one hour away from Sapa. The hike to the village featured a small waterfall, and provided my first glimpse of the Hmong people. When I returned from my short hike, I met up with Tim and Tracey, who I met while traveling in Hanoi, for a few bottles of Tiger, and a round of darts.

On the second day, a guide, Wilda from Puerto Rico, and I left Sapa in the morning. Wilda was staying at a different hotel, and decided at the last moment to join us. We planned to hike into the Sapa valley and visit two hill tribe villages, Lao Cai and Ta Van. After arriving Ta Van, we planned to stay with a hill tribe family for the night.

During our trip, we walked, and hopped through muddy rice fields encountering wild buffalo, chickens, pigs, and roosters. The scenery was incredible, and the weather was favorably hot. We encountered many of the Hmong villagers, who were in traditional dress. Most were women offering souvenirs to buy. Many of the younger Hmong were fluent in English, and friendly -- to my surprise. A group of three young Hmong, Aa, Xo, and Li, befriended Wilda and I, then joined us for the rest of the hike. Aa was the friendliest of the three, and most fluent in English. She was nine, and part of the Black Hmong hill tribe. We arrived in Ta Van at 3 o' clock in the afternoon after 12 km of hiking and pleasant time with Hmong girls. Wilda and I were bombarded by the older Black Hmong ladies selling souvenirs. Before we could sit down, we were surrounded by at least 15 Hmong women all chanting, “you buy from me”, over and over again. Wilda and I escaped from the chanting, and walking off to explore the rest of the village before nightfall. Then, Aa, the small Hmong girl, kindly invited us to her family’s house. We climbed through a few rice fields before finally arriving at her house. Aa’s house was very basic. It consisted of one large room with no windows, and a dirt floor. A small fire at the center of room provided the heat for the house. We sat with Aa and her friends in front of the fire, as she introduced her family to us. We spent next 20 minutes inside Aa’s house, then it became evident we had to leave before it was too dark. We said thank you to her and her friends, and made it back to where we were staying before nightfall. Later that night, we were treated to the best dinner I have had so far in Vietnam, and my shots of homemade rice wine. The mother of the house insisted we drink several shots of rice wine with her, so we had to kindly oblige. The next day, Wilda went back to Sapa via motorbike, and I hiked to another village with my guide. My guide and I returned to Sapa around 3pm, and I took the overnight train back to Hanoi on Wednesday night.

Thursday was spent crawling through 9 reproduced hill tribe houses at Vietnam's museum of ethnology, and hanging out with Andy and Tess from Sweden in the guesthouse.

Pics of Sapa
Pics of Sapa
Throwing darts with a hill tribe women
Tracey, and Tim hanging out on my balcony
Sapa Town Market
"You buy from me"
Aa, Xo, and Li - the Black Hmong girls
Aa and her two year old brother at home
Wilda and Aa talking
A Hmong family dinner
Reproduced house at Ethnology museum
Saying goodbye to Li and Thu Giang at the guesthouse
Pics of Tam Loc
Pics of Tam Loc

Arnie invades Northern Vietnam

I spent last night on a overnight train from Hanoi to Sapa. Sapa is in northern Vietnam is 10 hours northeast of Hanoi by train. Sapa is situated in the mountains near China. The main attraction in Sapa is its mountainous scenery and proximity to various hill tribe villages relatively untouched by tourism. With a guide on hand, I plan to trek to nearby Cat Cat village, and a waterfall this afternoon. Then, tomorrow I will spend the day trekking up and down the valley, and stay overnight with a family in one of the villages.

I've spent the last 3 days in scenic Halong Bay. My tour of Halong Bay left at 8:30 last Friday, and shortly arrived in Halong City 3 hours later. After a short break, we boarded a large boat, and navigated through a sea of boats parked at the dock. The first stop was the So Song Cave. So Song means "amazing" in Vietnamese. The So Song Cave or Amazing Cave is another UNSECO world heritage site - conserved and recognized worldwide for its natural beauty. The Amazing Cave has 3 rooms. The first two rooms are impressive, but the last room is truly amazing. My pictures, and words cannot explain how amazing this room is. The room is at least 2 football fields long, and 1 football field wide. The ceiling is approximately 100 ft. The room is decorated with fluorescent lanterns, and features a large walking path. After visiting the cave, we set sail and docked the boat in La Ha Bay where we stayed overnight admiring the stars, and a small sampling of Halong Bay's 1600 limestone and slate rock islands. On Saturday, we hiked 5km to a fishing village on nearby Cat Ba Island, and climbed up to a viewpoint overlooking the village called Navy Point. In the afternoon, we went kayaking around Halong Bay. We spent the in a hotel on Cat Ba Island. We spent most of Sunday traveling back to Hanoi. I returned to my guesthouse at 5pm, then boarded a train for Sapa at 9:30 last night.

Pics from inside the Amazing Cave
Pics from inside the Amazing Cave
Scenic Halong Bay
Kayaking Halong Bay with Michel from Quebec
Me and the view from Navy Point
More of Halong Bay
My group in Halong Bay: starring Huan, Delores from France, Michel from Quebec
A pig being slaughtered
Rice patty fields on Cat Ba Island

Good morning Vietnam

Honk, Honk, Honk, Honk. Darryl is driving, and I’m hanging on to back of his motorbike. I met Darryl while rock climbing in Rai Lay a few weeks ago. He lives in Hanoi at the Australian embassy, and kindly invited me for beer and pizza at his place tonight. When we arrive, we are greeted by his wife, mother-in-law, and one and half year old daughter, Sophie. His house is a large four level French colonial style house with vaulted ceilings, a large granite staircase, terra cotta tiled floors, nice groomed courtyard, and solid wooden trim and doors. Darryl has lived in Hanoi for over 6 years. Prior to Vietnam, he lived in China and is fluent in Vietnamese and Mandarin. While looking after little Sophie, we spend the balance of the night gabbing over sightseeing in Vietnam, ex-pats in Vietnam, the tech boom of 2000, crime in Hanoi, diving, Vancouver, and rock climbing in Laos.

I arrived in Hanoi on a hungry stomach on Tuesday. I was grumpy and had to eat. I dropped off my backpack at the guesthouse, grabbed my Let’s Go guidebook and proceeded to find a restaurant recommended in the book. I had no local currency, and suddenly my bank card wasn’t working.

I walked thru Old Quarter, the oldest part of the Hanoi city, for a couple of minutes before realizing I was lost. The streets in the Old Quarter are not well organized due to a lack of early city planning. Many of the streets change names suddenly, and very few of them run parallel to each other. Unlike Thailand, the signs in Vietnam do not have any English on them. My patience was running on empty. I was hungry and couldn’t read any signs. I also started realized I had to still cross the street.

Hanoi’s street traffic is best described as a constant onslaught of honking cars, and motorbikes. There are no crosswalks, and you must walk into oncoming traffic to cross the street. It’s a scary proposition, but I was willing to try considering how hungry I was. As I walked through, I bit my lip trying not to focus on the motor bikes that were headed straight for me. Before I knew it I was across, and found the restaurant I was looking for. In Vietnam, US dollars are accepted at most stores and restaurants. I had an emergency stash of US dollars on me, and used them to pay for lunch.

With lunch of the way, I started to explore the city, and country I just arrived in. The city of Hanoi is lined with French colonial architecture from years of French rule. There are 4 million people in Hanoi, and twice as many motorbikes on the road. The motorbikes outnumber the cars ten to one. The pungent smell of exhaust consumes the air. The Vietnamese yellow star on red flag, and images of a sickle and hammer (circa USSR) everywhere are constant reminder that I am not in Canada anymore. I spent the rest of the day strolling around Hanoi, and eventually meet another Canadian, Yanick, lives in Hanoi as an English teacher. We head to a nightclub at night. For the rest of the evening, I drink Tiger beer while watching locals dance to ear-blaring dance music.

Wednesday was a quiet day in comparsion to Tuesday. I spent Tuesday afternoon at the national army museum. I gazed in amazement over wreckages of American and French planes, and tanks. I also saw the tank that ran over the gates of the Presidential palace in Saigon - signaling the end of the Second Indochina or American war.

Earlier tdday, I continued to my tour Hanoi. A couple of the guests at the guesthouse, Christina and Maria from Sweden, and I visited the late President Ho Chi Minh’s body at his mausoleum. Ho Chi Minh perceived as a genius, and national hero. He helped lead Vietnam to its independence from the French in the 40’s and 50’s, and provided the ideology that has shaped Vietnam into the country it is today. In his honor, Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City in the 70s. His body has been preserved since his death over 30 years ago and is open for viewing five days a week.

On Friday, I'm off to Halong Bay for the next 3 days. Halong Bay is about three hours outside of Hanoi. It's a UNESCO World Heritage site, meaning its been revered for its natural beauty. While in Halong Bay, I plan to sleep on a Junk style boat, as well as stay on Cat ba Island. I will be back in Hanoi on Sunday night.


Deadly Hanoi street traffic

Street banners

Two twins, a/c, fan, cable, hot water, private bath all for $7 a night!

A public collage of downed American and French aircraft from the first and second Indochina wars

A Russian MIG

Alone in Bangkok

I got up this morning with a bit of anixety. This is the first time in over 3 weeks I've woken up, and no one was around. I was alone. Harv and Dan left for Japan at 4am, and I was left in Bangkok waiting to catch a flight to Hanoi, Vietnam tomorrow morning. I came to the realization that I'm on my own for rest of the trip. I tried to drown my anixiety by keeping busy. I ate some breakfast, watched the Super Bowl in Thai (those poor Seahawks), worked out in my DIY gym, and switched guesthouses.

We arrived in Bangkok on Friday afternoon in good spirits. I was yearning to see anything new, and looking forward to getting out of Pukhet. The temperature was hovering around 36C when we arrrived, and has been since I've been here. The sky in Bangkok is always grey, because of the smog generated from cars, tuk-tuks, and buses. Learning from the past, we made reservations, and arrived at our guesthouse without any problem. The guesthouse Dan picked was convieniently located near Khosan Road. Khosan Road has the distinct reputation as being the worldwide mecca for backpackers. It is to backpackers what Vegas is to gambling in America. Khosan is only open to pederstrain traffic. The 2km strip is lined with restuarants, bars, shops, street vendors, guesthouses, and food stands -- all priced for the budget conscience traveller. In the evening, we walked around Khosan for dinner, and accidently ran into Mark and Kindra from Vancouver - who we met on Bottle Beach at the beginning of January. They were eating Indian food when I heard someone yell Harvey's name. We met up with them for quiet drink after they had their dinner.

On Saturday, we visited the Chatuchak Weekend Market. The scale of the market is unbelievable - it covers an area of 35 acres, contains more than 15 000 shops and stalls, has over 200 000 visitors each day. The range of products on sale is extensive, and includes household accessories, handicrafts, religious artifacts, art, antiques, live animals (which unfortunately are frequently caged in cruel conditions), books, music, clothes, food, plants and flowers etc. Most of the shops are under large tents. Each tent containing a certain type of product. I stayed in the large clothing tent most of the day. I restrainted myself from buying too much, but I ended up with the most items bought between the three of us. I bought 5 nice T-shirts for 450 baht or $12. The t-shirts were a steal, and easily cost $15 each in Canada. At 7pm, we met up with Mark and Kindra before they headed off for Laos. We had dinner, and drinks at the Wild Orchid with them, then wandered Khosan before turning in for the rest of the night.

Dan and I spent most of the day at MBK Center on Sunday. MBK is a mega mall in the center of Bangkok that contains 7 floors of market-style shopping. Dan wanted to do some last minute shopping before leaving Bangkok, so I decided to tag along. The shopping experience was like no other. We were scurried in by mobs of Thai people looking for bargains. I paused to look around when we were on the escalator. The floors below us looked like ant farm. There were thousands of people in the building, and we were in the middle of the maddness. I didn't buy anything but vowed I would return to MBK when I catch my flight home in May. In the evening, we met up with Kimko and Sebastian from San Francisco. Kimko and Sebastian met Dan and Harvey in Chang Mai when I was still in Vancouver. We had dinner and some drinks then, all of us including Kimko and Seb caught a tuk-tuk to Patpong to watch some ping-pong. It's hard to describe what we saw in Patpong without getting too graphic. But, we basically watched a 20 min show where we saw razor-blades, rope, a birthday cake being blown out, a ping pong ball thrown across the room, and darts being shot at several baloons. I'll let you figure out what body part was ultilized in the all of the tricks. After the show, we visited an old Shell Gas station that turned into a nightclub at night. Cigarettes, and torches were lit around gas pumps where gasoline was once dispensed.

I love Bangkok in doses. There is a lot to like about Bangkok if you can get over the smog and exhaust that pollutes the city everyday. Tonight, I'm heading to the sports stadium to see some real Muay Thai Boxing. I can't wait!


Khaosan at night
Yum. My first serving of street Pad Thai for 15 baht, or .45 cents.
Fake Student, Driver license, Press IDs for sale on Khaosan
Trying on traditional headwear
Mark and Kindra with us at the sidewalk patio
Baby elephant walks down street
Dan drooling over the pirated software at MBK center
Seb, Kimko, Harv and Dan on Khaosan
Kimko lighting a cigarette beside a gas pump

Get me out of Phuket!

If you have a shopping fetish, you may want to come to Thailand. On every street corner, there is someone selling illegal copies of movies that are still in the movie theaters, or fake designer clothing. If you want a Rolex, a pair of Diesel Jeans, a new Prada purse, they got it. And if you want that copy of Brokendown Mountain (still in the theaters) – well, they got that too. The copyright laws are completely ignored in Thailand. For a couple of years, I’ve been looking for an Omega watch but I never bought one because they were very expensive. In Thailand, the going price for a good fake Omega is around 1200 baht, or 30 dollars, which sounds more reasonable than buying one at home. While bootleg designer clothing and DVDs are openly displayed in store shops, shopping for designer watches, and bags is slightly more secretive. Most proprietors will ask quietly if you are seeking a Rolex, or Prada. Once you confirm you are, you are whisked away into a backroom where all the watches are displayed as well as all the designer bags. This is where the action begins. First, you pick what you are looking for then you haggle. It’s quite the shopping experience. I haven’t got the price I’m looking for, but I’ll try in Bangkok this weekend where there are a lot more vendors. There are over 9000 vendors in the market we are planning to go to!

All day today, I’ve been counting the hours until we get to leave Phuket. I’m not in position to complain since I am on vacation, but Phuket is not for me. I’m happy we leave tomorrow for Bangkok. Phuket is boring unless you are over 55!

Yesterday, we rented motorcycles and drove around Phuket to the Gibbons Rehabiliaton center. Harvey got on a motorcycle for the first time in his life. He was afraid at first, but then Harvey settled down and started to rip down the highway at speeds of 80km/h and higher. The Gibbons are monkey like animals that are an endangered species. The center we visited rescues Gibbons that have been abused, and rehabilitates them so that they can return to the rainforest – their natural habitat. An astonishing fact about Gibbons is that they have 95% of the DNA humans have. They are very smart, and much like humans.

At night, we visited Patong Beach. When we arrived, we were greeted by Thai women dancing on tables, and women asking us to sit with them. We walked by laughing at all the requests. Because Dan and I blend in well with rest of the Thai people, we weren’t bothered at all. Harvey sticks out, because he is not Asian. This was evident, when he was groped by a few Thai women trying to get his attention. After the first hour on Patong, we were bored, and were disgusted by the behavior of the male tourists immersed our surroundings.

Karon Beach, Phuket Island


Gibbons Rehab Center


My wheels

Harv on his bike

Dan finding us on the map

Welcome to Patong Beach