The blog has been jumping around a bit but I realized that my favorite day of the trip so far has not been blogged.
We set up a day trip with our guesthouse in Siem Reap to get out in the country and see some of the floating villages and forests on the Lake in Cambodia. Because it is the dry season and the lake has shrunk considerably the only way to get there was by 4x4. Now with Catherine, the three of us jumped in having no idea what to expect. After a bumpy ride that had us literally jumping out of our seats and thrown around the vehicle we arrive at the shore of a small river about 10 feet wide, crowed with bushes and filled with colorful wooden longboats. We board with our hired driver and head out, no idea really where we are going. All we knew was that our driver had on a SS Titanic cap and we found this hilarious. I am pretty sure though the irony of this was wayy lost on him. The river is hard to navigate; boats come from both sides; fisherman and low boats holding dozens of locals huddled on for transport to the next village. You have to push against boats surrounding you to pass and try not to hit the fisherman wadding through the water in their speedo underwear. About 30 minutes into the ride the water opens to the lake and the view is beautiful. Cruising through the lake another 15 minutes later we arrive at a floating village. Words are difficult here. The floating villages are comprised of dozens of bamboo "houses"built on stilts above the water; some several flights up. They look so unstable it is scary and I can't imagine what this is like during the rainy season. Floating in the middle of the water are cages with pigs; this is where they keep the livestock to eat! Everyone there is so excited to see westerners; from their boats at the base of the houses and from the doorways they wave at us; children yell broken English, and we float by amazed at everything we see. Little did we know our driver was going to pull into one of these docks, let us get out and explore the village on the land side. We bring the boat to shore and the only dock to land is a plank about 18 inches wide and about 50 feet long that definitely starts to bow down towards the water when I am halfway across. I had to walk a balance beam to get to land. I made it to shore and said a little prayer. Right away we are greeted by yards and yards of shrimp drying out in the sun. This village is one of the fishing villages that produces the dried shrimp and shrimp paste used all over the country. They catch the shrimp in the water and then leave thousands of pounds of the shrimp out in the sun to dry out right in front of their homes.
We walk through the village; which to be fair is only one dirt path about a football field in length with bamboo stilted houses on either side. The children there are awesome. They are enthralled with us, the color of our skin and my height. They come out shy at first and then are in our faces, jumping all over us, waving and repeating "Hello, Hello" before they giggle and then run to hide. This pattern repeats itself over and over until finally they are comfortable with us and just start to swarm. I took so many amazing photos of these kids it was fantastic. I showed them some of the photos on the back of the camera and they went ballistic. They thought it was hilarious and started giggling up a storm. We showed them how to do a peace sign with their hands and they just kept doing it the rest of the afternoon no matter what we said to them. They also loved a game where they would latch on to us and we would lift them up; sometimes 4-5 attached to our arms at a time. The three of us stayed, took pictures and played with the kids for awhile until we were so hot and sweaty in the 100 degree weather that we had to retreat. It was so sad to see them go. You try to figure out what you can do to help; most of them did not have clothes or if they did only a top of bottom. None had shoes and it was obvious they did little more than play with the random trash in the area. We wish we had brought a soccer ball or such.
We went back to where the boat was docked for another surprise. We were greeted by two floating bamboo boats. These are essentially rafts with slight upturns on the front and back. They lay down rugs on the "boats"and motion for us to sit down on them. They are so close to the water and my panic starts to set in. I am pretty sure I am going to sink one. I sucked it up and got in. No sinking but if you think about moving the whole boats sways from side to side and when you start about two inches above the water the reality of falling in is pretty real. At this point I put my feet in front of me to give me a center of gravity, hold my breath, and just pray I will not flip. An old lady is in the front of my boat and starts to paddle me away from the village. We enter into the floating forest. The floating forest is one of the coolest things I have ever seen. It sounds obvious, but it is what is sounds like. A full Forest, tall trees growing up about 100 feet to form a canopy above your head. Only catch; there is no grounds, just water. You paddle through the trees! All close together like a regular forest and you have to swerve and bounce off the trees to zig zag your way through. The old women paddles me through the forest and slowly I have enough confidence to take out my camera and get some great photos of what this looks like.
Our original longboat meets us at the end of the forest and we have to climb from the bamboo boat to the longboat in the middle of the lake. Again, holding my breath I make it safely.
It was an amazing day of mind blowing nature, culture, education, and an encounter with children that rivals some of my biggest National Geographic fantasies. Again, so many amazing photos I do not know what I will do with them all. Any ideas??
Much more later.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
TOMB RAIDING ANKOR
I am giving up on trying to play catch up and am just going to do more current entries.
I should mention that we are now in Siem Reap, Cambodia. I have mixed feelings about it here. The best thing we have done yet is NOT stay in the main part of town. The downtown area is centered around one main street, Pub Street. Pub street is NOT Cambodia. It is a fabricated vaction spot set up for tourists that happens to be in Cambodia. Everything is english, restuarants, cheap drinks, drugs, and old men walking around with lady boys or 18 year old hookers. Sitting there for one night I hated it. Everyone there is a tourist and it has no flair, tradition or attitute. It represent the things I think are worst about traveling. As my brother would categorize; it is definately the kinda of spot that would sell fudge (if Cambodians ate fudge that is...) That said we are staying a five minute Tuk Tuk ride away from downtown in an area with actual natives and actual culture. Don't get me wrong; there are some great restaurants, cheap food and drink and a fabulous party scene on Pub Street( which will be ridiculous for New Years) but it is not how I like to spend my time traveling.
What are the good things about downtown....they have huge tanks of water filled with fish that eat dead skin. You can put your feet in and they swarm you, taking little nibbles of the dead skin off your feet. It is hilarious, makes you giggle and tickles like nothing I have ever felt. Downtown there is also a fabulous market with amazing silk products of all kinds. It is so big in fact that last night we were trying so hard to leave but could not find the exit. Everywhere you look there is another thing you want to take home. I need more luggage space...HELP!!!
Finally got to see Ankor Wat today. AMAZING!!. We started our first day with visiting a loop of the smaller/lesser known temples. While there are definite similarities and themes among all the temples each temple has its own unique and beautiful qualities. One is encircled with a mossy moat, another is engulfed with trees growing straight through and over the buildings, one an amphitheatre surrounding a lake, another an elephant theme, and yet another closer to a Mayan pyramid. All are left as they are, no railings, walkways or reconstruction; making it feel like an adventure. You can climb and walk through the myriad on entrance ways, small room, and open courtyards in each temple. If you have seen Laura Croft: Tomb Raider (which parts were filmed here) it really does look like that. It is raw,beautiful, engulfed with nature and magical. With the exception of one larger temple there were very few people visiting when we did. The one frustrating part is the children hawking stuff outside each entrance. They will just keep asking you to buy, pleading, saying they need money for school and telling you they will make good price. They attack you as soon as you get off your Tuk Tuk, calling out to you and will honest to god follow you through the entrance for over 5-10 minutes continually asking you to buy, even if you do not say a word to them. While you certainly feel pity it is quickly overrun by the nuisance of their inability to take no for an awnser and I found myself frustrating that their persistence was turning me bitter.
We enjoyed a full day of temples through the sunset and I got so many photos I don't know how I will ever get through them all. The trip has been like a photo safari; everywhere you look is an amazing moment, person or quality and in one instance I feel like there are a dozen different things I could be capturing and each one would be amazing. It almost gets overwhelming and you realize you have to take a break.
I should mention that we are now in Siem Reap, Cambodia. I have mixed feelings about it here. The best thing we have done yet is NOT stay in the main part of town. The downtown area is centered around one main street, Pub Street. Pub street is NOT Cambodia. It is a fabricated vaction spot set up for tourists that happens to be in Cambodia. Everything is english, restuarants, cheap drinks, drugs, and old men walking around with lady boys or 18 year old hookers. Sitting there for one night I hated it. Everyone there is a tourist and it has no flair, tradition or attitute. It represent the things I think are worst about traveling. As my brother would categorize; it is definately the kinda of spot that would sell fudge (if Cambodians ate fudge that is...) That said we are staying a five minute Tuk Tuk ride away from downtown in an area with actual natives and actual culture. Don't get me wrong; there are some great restaurants, cheap food and drink and a fabulous party scene on Pub Street( which will be ridiculous for New Years) but it is not how I like to spend my time traveling.
What are the good things about downtown....they have huge tanks of water filled with fish that eat dead skin. You can put your feet in and they swarm you, taking little nibbles of the dead skin off your feet. It is hilarious, makes you giggle and tickles like nothing I have ever felt. Downtown there is also a fabulous market with amazing silk products of all kinds. It is so big in fact that last night we were trying so hard to leave but could not find the exit. Everywhere you look there is another thing you want to take home. I need more luggage space...HELP!!!
Finally got to see Ankor Wat today. AMAZING!!. We started our first day with visiting a loop of the smaller/lesser known temples. While there are definite similarities and themes among all the temples each temple has its own unique and beautiful qualities. One is encircled with a mossy moat, another is engulfed with trees growing straight through and over the buildings, one an amphitheatre surrounding a lake, another an elephant theme, and yet another closer to a Mayan pyramid. All are left as they are, no railings, walkways or reconstruction; making it feel like an adventure. You can climb and walk through the myriad on entrance ways, small room, and open courtyards in each temple. If you have seen Laura Croft: Tomb Raider (which parts were filmed here) it really does look like that. It is raw,beautiful, engulfed with nature and magical. With the exception of one larger temple there were very few people visiting when we did. The one frustrating part is the children hawking stuff outside each entrance. They will just keep asking you to buy, pleading, saying they need money for school and telling you they will make good price. They attack you as soon as you get off your Tuk Tuk, calling out to you and will honest to god follow you through the entrance for over 5-10 minutes continually asking you to buy, even if you do not say a word to them. While you certainly feel pity it is quickly overrun by the nuisance of their inability to take no for an awnser and I found myself frustrating that their persistence was turning me bitter.
We enjoyed a full day of temples through the sunset and I got so many photos I don't know how I will ever get through them all. The trip has been like a photo safari; everywhere you look is an amazing moment, person or quality and in one instance I feel like there are a dozen different things I could be capturing and each one would be amazing. It almost gets overwhelming and you realize you have to take a break.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
I HATE YOU JETSTAR!!- Trying to get from Hanoi to HCMC
I cannot say enough how much I hate Jetstar. We had a 10 am flight to get us back from Hanoi to HCMC which got cancelled by then SIX TIMES!!! SIX!!! After having to kill a day in Hanoi that we wanted to spend elsewhere we got to the airport early, anticipating problems. They had cancelled every single flight that day until 10:45pm so we were worried it would be overbooked. We knew things would be fun when already huddled around the customer service counter were groups of people getting red in the face and yelling. Jetstar just doesn't care. Anytime you ask them something they just shrug or say "sorry". At 10:30 they make an announcement in Vietnamese. We have no idea what they just said but all the sudden everyone is on their feet and charging the check in desk. Like bulls in Spain they had fire in their eyes and were pretty close to blowing smoke out of their noses. It turns out they delayed the flight again and it was not scheduled to leave now until 3:30am. When I asked the man at the counter where the plane was and how did they know it would leave at 3:30 all he would tell me is " I don't know where the plane is but I am 90% sure it will probably most likely leave around 3:30am" Thanks Jetstar. I hate you! Meanwhile the Vietnamese were not taking this sitting down. They were all huddled around the desk and just screaming at the top of their lungs. It was over a hundred people just screaming. I could not even hear myself think. A 80 pound girl starts leaning over the counter, throwing her hands around, and threatening with her firsts. It was kind of funny. They had to call security over and lined the desk with a protective barrier of police. The airport was now closed so there were no shops and no AC on. When I asked him what we were supposed to do for water, ie.. could they arrange some, they said we could leave the airport and go back into town. I hate you Jetstar!! It was right about then that Michelle found a cleaning lady who went into a back closet where the shops stored the water for selling and bought some black market water. Don't worry parents it was sealed and fine, just probably not hers to sell. So together with the 100 Vietnamese we found little spots to sleep. Cafe booths were our spot of choice while we tried to get some shut eye.
The flight did take off until close to 3:30 and we got into HCMC just in time to have three hours to say hello to our hostel, go to the market, shower of the airport grime, pick up the clothes we had made for us and get on a bus into Cambodia.
I was tired, mad, baffled and pretty sure some rules of the Geneva Convention were broken. I HATE YOU JETSTAR!!
The flight did take off until close to 3:30 and we got into HCMC just in time to have three hours to say hello to our hostel, go to the market, shower of the airport grime, pick up the clothes we had made for us and get on a bus into Cambodia.
I was tired, mad, baffled and pretty sure some rules of the Geneva Convention were broken. I HATE YOU JETSTAR!!
Walking the Plank in Ha Long Bay
I'm sorry. We have been terrible about posting. Partially because so much is happening, we are both wordy, and are having a hard time posting without wanting to write every detail. No more. We will be better!
DAY 5-6
We took a two day trip out to Ha Long Bay. The Bay was both beautiful/fun and completely hectic/random. The bus ride out was scenic and by the time we got there we already had made some new friends. Our ship looked exactly like a pirate ship; old dark wood, adorned with a dragon and we even had to walk a plank to board! It was adorable with little cabins, eating room with full sides as windows to view while we ate, upstairs sunning area, and lots of other neat nooks and crannies. We toasted our journey with our new friends and ate our first lunch as we sailed into the bay. The weather was a bit grey but I am just standing firm that it made the bay all the more haunting. Thousands of bizarre limestone islands jutting out from here and there as you navigate the water on your boat. Our first stop was at a cave, which was far from my favorite. It lost its magic when they had set up neon colored lights inside to make it look more like a Disneyland adventure ride then a natural wonder. The hike around was still nice and we got a great view from above of the bay.
The Kayaking experience next was where chaos came into play. We docked again at this "dock" for kayaks. It really just just floating boards, most of which were broken in the middle of the water. Our boat of 16 seemed to keep getting pushed back until our life jackets finally arrived. Most had no zippers, were missing sections of the floatation, and mine was also missing the clip to secure it in the front. Nice. The paddles were no better, several broken off. Most of the people got their kayaks but Michelle and I and another couple got delayed because they ran out of kayaks. We waiting on the floating planks. We waited finally they got us kayaks. We were told that we would only have 20 minutes now. The other couple left and Michelle and I talked. This was not enough time to get where we wanted, the boats they found were horrible and we just didn't feel good about it. We passed and got back on the boat...good thing!!! That other couple that got held up got left behind on the raft. Not until over two hours later did our guide realize we had left them behind. They were stuck there waiting with nothing around them, no money and not a lot of clothes. Nice.
Evenings on pirate ships though are GREAT!!! ARRRRrrr ... (that's my pirate voice in case you cannot tell) We had a great dinner, some drinks, and then started Karaoke. Everyone at first was shy, staying in their seats and watching to see what would unfold, but slowly everyone got up, drank, and the fun began. We convinced everyone to dress up like pirates and soon we had scarves around our heads and were screaming along to bad Vietnamese Karaoke and dancing around. We build a beer can tower, saw the Spainard sing La Bamba four times, Saw the Dutch couple take the table clothes and make little Dutch Girl hats out of them and much more. It was a very good night!!
Morning came too soon and we had to eat breakfast, cruise the bay, and then head back into Hanoi.
DAY 5-6
We took a two day trip out to Ha Long Bay. The Bay was both beautiful/fun and completely hectic/random. The bus ride out was scenic and by the time we got there we already had made some new friends. Our ship looked exactly like a pirate ship; old dark wood, adorned with a dragon and we even had to walk a plank to board! It was adorable with little cabins, eating room with full sides as windows to view while we ate, upstairs sunning area, and lots of other neat nooks and crannies. We toasted our journey with our new friends and ate our first lunch as we sailed into the bay. The weather was a bit grey but I am just standing firm that it made the bay all the more haunting. Thousands of bizarre limestone islands jutting out from here and there as you navigate the water on your boat. Our first stop was at a cave, which was far from my favorite. It lost its magic when they had set up neon colored lights inside to make it look more like a Disneyland adventure ride then a natural wonder. The hike around was still nice and we got a great view from above of the bay.
The Kayaking experience next was where chaos came into play. We docked again at this "dock" for kayaks. It really just just floating boards, most of which were broken in the middle of the water. Our boat of 16 seemed to keep getting pushed back until our life jackets finally arrived. Most had no zippers, were missing sections of the floatation, and mine was also missing the clip to secure it in the front. Nice. The paddles were no better, several broken off. Most of the people got their kayaks but Michelle and I and another couple got delayed because they ran out of kayaks. We waiting on the floating planks. We waited finally they got us kayaks. We were told that we would only have 20 minutes now. The other couple left and Michelle and I talked. This was not enough time to get where we wanted, the boats they found were horrible and we just didn't feel good about it. We passed and got back on the boat...good thing!!! That other couple that got held up got left behind on the raft. Not until over two hours later did our guide realize we had left them behind. They were stuck there waiting with nothing around them, no money and not a lot of clothes. Nice.
Evenings on pirate ships though are GREAT!!! ARRRRrrr ... (that's my pirate voice in case you cannot tell) We had a great dinner, some drinks, and then started Karaoke. Everyone at first was shy, staying in their seats and watching to see what would unfold, but slowly everyone got up, drank, and the fun began. We convinced everyone to dress up like pirates and soon we had scarves around our heads and were screaming along to bad Vietnamese Karaoke and dancing around. We build a beer can tower, saw the Spainard sing La Bamba four times, Saw the Dutch couple take the table clothes and make little Dutch Girl hats out of them and much more. It was a very good night!!
Morning came too soon and we had to eat breakfast, cruise the bay, and then head back into Hanoi.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Day 3: THIEVES, CANNIBALISM & SANTA LOVE
Our hotel in Hanoi is awesome! Every time we enter there are people running over one another to assist us and give us water. Everyone is really sweet and accommodating. Today we slept in until 10am to make up for the 48 hours of no sleep.
We then proceeded to walk around the city to see the One Pillar Pagoda, Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, the President's Palace and a host of interesting monuments, churches, and markets. We tried to check out every nook and cranny and eventually found ourselves on the Pennsylvania Avenue of Hanoi. We saw this cool garden and tried to walk in while pointing to it to the uniformed government official, but he screamed something that we could only interpret as "No" or "Get off" or "Stupid Westerners," which definitely gave us the hint that going in was a no-go. However, even though we passed on by, he proceeded to close the gates...just in case. Turns out, we were at the Presidential Palace, which was this awesome yellow color. Michelle and Rachel- Yellow House Crashers?!
For some reason, we've been having trouble getting on some sort of normal eating schedule. After our 10am breakfast, it wasn't until 1pm that we mentioned we should find a place for lunch...but of course we got distracted. I needed a coat (it's cold-ish in Hanoi), there were some amazing photo opps, etc. and suddenly it was 4pm and we were ravenous, exhausted, hypoglycemic and on the brink of cannibalism- which seemed like a a much better option than the scraggly, burned baby chicken legs that were uncomfortably stuffed in sawed off coke cans on every corner. At this point, Rachel made the mistake of asking a non-English speaking, drugged-out local how to get back to the Old Quarter and he pointed us in the direction of what turned out to be an endless, residential, walled-in, cul-du-sac-filled, zigzagging neighborhood. We felt just like rats in a maze....but we couldn't find the cheese! In her delirious state, Rachel made the very observant comment that "If that guy wasn't a crackhead then Amy Winehouse is sober!"
Speed up to 5:30pm and we finally found a main road, a taxi, and a restaurant that was open and serving. After the meal, we felt rejuvenated and ready to find the night market we had eaten at last night- and which housed fluffy Santa earmuffs which we planned on purchasing for x-mas. I mean really...how could we not? But once again, vacation ADD took over and more photos, walking, and spacing out on our plan ensued. Once we finally came close to "home," we found this incredible street market of everything X-mas: Santas, glitz, sparkly red things, hats, toys, ornaments, and everything else festive. There were literally at least 100 stores selling the same items at the intersection of 3 main streets. It was chaotic and colorful and called for some major camera action (and alliteration). If you've ever wondered if they celebrate x-mas in Vietnam, rest assured...YES, YES they do! They may not have the annoyingly ubiquitous holiday music, but every storefront, building, hotel lobby, street corner, and person is dripping in santa love. I'm beginning to believe that he is indeed real (just kidding mom- my heart belongs to Harry Hanukkah)!
Whilst in the midst of picture-taking at the market, a man on a motorbike did a drive-by camera grab and pulled my pride and joy pink Nikon camera (named Hung) out of my hand and drove away…to no avail. My immediate gut reaction led me to an incredibly loud “F You” (obscenity rated “R” in real life) scream at rape whistle pitch, and since my camera string had been around my wrist, I yanked the camera away from the man’s motorbike stronghold. Thief: 0, Michelle: 1. I made Rachel so proud.
Going on a 2-day Halong Bay boat tour tomorrow. Will report back when we arrive home in Hanoi. See ya soon!
We then proceeded to walk around the city to see the One Pillar Pagoda, Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, the President's Palace and a host of interesting monuments, churches, and markets. We tried to check out every nook and cranny and eventually found ourselves on the Pennsylvania Avenue of Hanoi. We saw this cool garden and tried to walk in while pointing to it to the uniformed government official, but he screamed something that we could only interpret as "No" or "Get off" or "Stupid Westerners," which definitely gave us the hint that going in was a no-go. However, even though we passed on by, he proceeded to close the gates...just in case. Turns out, we were at the Presidential Palace, which was this awesome yellow color. Michelle and Rachel- Yellow House Crashers?!
For some reason, we've been having trouble getting on some sort of normal eating schedule. After our 10am breakfast, it wasn't until 1pm that we mentioned we should find a place for lunch...but of course we got distracted. I needed a coat (it's cold-ish in Hanoi), there were some amazing photo opps, etc. and suddenly it was 4pm and we were ravenous, exhausted, hypoglycemic and on the brink of cannibalism- which seemed like a a much better option than the scraggly, burned baby chicken legs that were uncomfortably stuffed in sawed off coke cans on every corner. At this point, Rachel made the mistake of asking a non-English speaking, drugged-out local how to get back to the Old Quarter and he pointed us in the direction of what turned out to be an endless, residential, walled-in, cul-du-sac-filled, zigzagging neighborhood. We felt just like rats in a maze....but we couldn't find the cheese! In her delirious state, Rachel made the very observant comment that "If that guy wasn't a crackhead then Amy Winehouse is sober!"
Speed up to 5:30pm and we finally found a main road, a taxi, and a restaurant that was open and serving. After the meal, we felt rejuvenated and ready to find the night market we had eaten at last night- and which housed fluffy Santa earmuffs which we planned on purchasing for x-mas. I mean really...how could we not? But once again, vacation ADD took over and more photos, walking, and spacing out on our plan ensued. Once we finally came close to "home," we found this incredible street market of everything X-mas: Santas, glitz, sparkly red things, hats, toys, ornaments, and everything else festive. There were literally at least 100 stores selling the same items at the intersection of 3 main streets. It was chaotic and colorful and called for some major camera action (and alliteration). If you've ever wondered if they celebrate x-mas in Vietnam, rest assured...YES, YES they do! They may not have the annoyingly ubiquitous holiday music, but every storefront, building, hotel lobby, street corner, and person is dripping in santa love. I'm beginning to believe that he is indeed real (just kidding mom- my heart belongs to Harry Hanukkah)!
Whilst in the midst of picture-taking at the market, a man on a motorbike did a drive-by camera grab and pulled my pride and joy pink Nikon camera (named Hung) out of my hand and drove away…to no avail. My immediate gut reaction led me to an incredibly loud “F You” (obscenity rated “R” in real life) scream at rape whistle pitch, and since my camera string had been around my wrist, I yanked the camera away from the man’s motorbike stronghold. Thief: 0, Michelle: 1. I made Rachel so proud.
Going on a 2-day Halong Bay boat tour tomorrow. Will report back when we arrive home in Hanoi. See ya soon!
DAY 2: HOOKERS AND AK47s
Our first night out in Vietnam turned out to be a woozy leading to a 48 hours stretch without any sleep. So far on this trip if you haven't noticed weird experiences 2 sleep 0. Adam and Nick got into HCMC and met up with us around 11pm. We went went for a few drinks, a cab ride that went nowhere, my first amazing bowl of pho, and more drinks. When the boys felt tired and retired for the evening Michelle and I stood on the street corner debating the age old question of the still 20 something..."To be responsible and go home to sleep for our 8am tour or go out and have some more drinks" Drinking 1 Responsibility 0. We went to some random bar across the street from an even more random neon sign of a buffalo and met a fun group of Irish and Brits. Joining us later was a Israeli Diamond dealer ( Mom and Dad- Don't stop breathing; he liked Michelle not me). After Michelle shinned as a Canadian Alanis Morissette impostor the Israeli told us about some upstairs club that we should check out. It didn't seem like much in the area but we decided to go and check it out. Drinking 2 Responsibility 0. We go to what has to have been the weirdest club experience to date. The entrance is guarded by all of these armed security officers who are not letting anyone in, despite people huddling outside the door and arguing about entrance. The Israeli pulls some magic and gets us in. Inside of what looked like nothing are a good group of people dancing under bad neon lights to a bunch of songs from 1992 remixed. We settle in and start dancing. Shortly into the night is becomes very obvious not only are we the only two western girls in the club, but we find out that every other girl inside is a Vietnamese Hooker. I am sure right now our parents are reading this and freaking out, but let me assure you they are the nicest hookers anywhere (all be it I don't know any others) Hooker with a heart of gold had to come from somewhere right? The night continues and we meet a slew of interesting characters from Italians, to She Boys (one even gave me a flower:) It was a great night filled with interesting dancing and drinking that could only have been in Vietnam (where else does an 18 year old boy insist on slow dancing with you like you are at your Junior High dance???) While a great night it was after 6am and the 8am tour was looming over us quickly.
We got back, rapidly showered, packed up, eat breakfast and met back up with Adam and Nick. We had booked a driver to take us out to the Cao Dai Temple and Cu Chi Tunnels. It was a long drive outside of the city but we saw some great sites and had some great conversations. We passed a wedding on the side of the Highway at one point and tried to confirm with our driver if indeed it was a wedding, speaking no English he replied to our questioning faces "He love her, She love him" and brings his hands together. We get to the temple with about one minute to spare before the ceremony begins. It is amazing- a church brought together on the merging of four different faiths. You hear that it looks like Disneyland on acid, but only being there does this really make sense. Can't wait to show pictures. You get to stand on the balcony of these enormous temple and watch the ceremony take place...they even let you take photos!
Our driver brought us to lunch after. It was a place on the side of the road with no menu and served only two things, Pork Pho and Pork Springs Rolls. They fill our table with platefuls of food, condiments, rice papers, soup, chilies, and a plate of 7-8 different herbs so enormous it looks like a forest is growing out of the middle of the table. We try to make our spring rolls and are failing miserably. The women from the kitchen comes over to our table and walks around making one for us on our plate one at a time. She just keeps rotating around the table as we eat! It was hilarious. We pull out of the restaurant and the entire family stands outside waving goodbye to us.
The Cu Chi Tunnels were awesome! We snuck in and joined a tour group going through a variety of different stops showing you the torture tools used, booby traps, uniforms and explanation of how the tunnel system was build and lived in. The tunnels were build during the war and existed of three underground levels. The Viet Cong lived and fought through this elaborate tunnel system. Babies were even born underground. While the info and exhibits were interesting the highlight was definitely the shooting range and an opportunity to climb through the tunnels yourself. We each got to shoot five rounds from an M16 and AK47 left over from the war. Rambo Power!! While thrilling safety was not a top priority. We saw a 4 year old boy shooting off rounds on a AK47, I got hit in the nose with a shell flying from Michelle's gun ( I was totally fine and even got this on video), and a smoking shell landed on one of our backpacks and threatened to catch fire. The tunnels were widened to be twice the size that they originally were but when we went through them they were still so short I had to crawl on all fours to get through and even then I still hit my dead on the top. At one point I almost got stuck and had to turn on my side and use my arms to pull me army style through the opening. The tunnel is small, completely dark except for an occasion small light added and totally dirt. You get dropped down into the ground and have to crawl or "tunnel shuffle" up and down drops 100m long. I am happy to report, while filthy, sweating like crazy ( no idea how hot it gets down there), and exhausted we all made it the entire way without bailing at several of the bailout options along the way for people who freak out when they get down there!
We were really late getting back to the car and subsequently really really late for the driver to get us to the airport. He had to sit on his horn, dodge and swerve through motorbikes EVERYWHERE that don't seem to understand that two way traffic means each way stays on one side of the road. The bikes come at you from both sides in the opposite direction and you have to also use the middle of the road as a lane if you want to pass. Who would have guessed. Beyond tired at this point and going on 40 hours without sleep we barely made it running to our flight to Hanoi only to find out the flight was delayed. We sat in the airport delirious from lack of sleep and trying to stay awake long enough to board the plane.
Hanoi is so different from HCMC. It is calmer, colder, beautiful, and definitely inspired by the nearby Chinese border. We were picked up at the airport by our hotel and arrived safe and sound. The staff here are AMAZING jumping to help with anything we need, bring us water, get us info, and chat with us about our impressions of the city. They had accidentally filled our double room so they gave us a dorm room with four beds all to ourselves for $6 a night! The bathroom in the room even has a tub; no more showering over the toilet. Starving at this point, even though it is 1am we set out to try and find food. What we found was an experience. There was a late night food market open. In Vietnam this does not mean funnel cakes and grilled corn on the cob. It is one small tent after another on a street with makeshifts kitchens serving food to you on miniature plastic table and chairs. We ate, we got some weird fruit after, played with some stuffed animals someone was selling, and debating buying earmuffs with a Santa head on each ear for a $1. SLEEP BEAUTIFUL SLEEP FINALLY CAME
Speaking of which, its late, another early morning, and it is time for bed.
We got back, rapidly showered, packed up, eat breakfast and met back up with Adam and Nick. We had booked a driver to take us out to the Cao Dai Temple and Cu Chi Tunnels. It was a long drive outside of the city but we saw some great sites and had some great conversations. We passed a wedding on the side of the Highway at one point and tried to confirm with our driver if indeed it was a wedding, speaking no English he replied to our questioning faces "He love her, She love him" and brings his hands together. We get to the temple with about one minute to spare before the ceremony begins. It is amazing- a church brought together on the merging of four different faiths. You hear that it looks like Disneyland on acid, but only being there does this really make sense. Can't wait to show pictures. You get to stand on the balcony of these enormous temple and watch the ceremony take place...they even let you take photos!
Our driver brought us to lunch after. It was a place on the side of the road with no menu and served only two things, Pork Pho and Pork Springs Rolls. They fill our table with platefuls of food, condiments, rice papers, soup, chilies, and a plate of 7-8 different herbs so enormous it looks like a forest is growing out of the middle of the table. We try to make our spring rolls and are failing miserably. The women from the kitchen comes over to our table and walks around making one for us on our plate one at a time. She just keeps rotating around the table as we eat! It was hilarious. We pull out of the restaurant and the entire family stands outside waving goodbye to us.
The Cu Chi Tunnels were awesome! We snuck in and joined a tour group going through a variety of different stops showing you the torture tools used, booby traps, uniforms and explanation of how the tunnel system was build and lived in. The tunnels were build during the war and existed of three underground levels. The Viet Cong lived and fought through this elaborate tunnel system. Babies were even born underground. While the info and exhibits were interesting the highlight was definitely the shooting range and an opportunity to climb through the tunnels yourself. We each got to shoot five rounds from an M16 and AK47 left over from the war. Rambo Power!! While thrilling safety was not a top priority. We saw a 4 year old boy shooting off rounds on a AK47, I got hit in the nose with a shell flying from Michelle's gun ( I was totally fine and even got this on video), and a smoking shell landed on one of our backpacks and threatened to catch fire. The tunnels were widened to be twice the size that they originally were but when we went through them they were still so short I had to crawl on all fours to get through and even then I still hit my dead on the top. At one point I almost got stuck and had to turn on my side and use my arms to pull me army style through the opening. The tunnel is small, completely dark except for an occasion small light added and totally dirt. You get dropped down into the ground and have to crawl or "tunnel shuffle" up and down drops 100m long. I am happy to report, while filthy, sweating like crazy ( no idea how hot it gets down there), and exhausted we all made it the entire way without bailing at several of the bailout options along the way for people who freak out when they get down there!
We were really late getting back to the car and subsequently really really late for the driver to get us to the airport. He had to sit on his horn, dodge and swerve through motorbikes EVERYWHERE that don't seem to understand that two way traffic means each way stays on one side of the road. The bikes come at you from both sides in the opposite direction and you have to also use the middle of the road as a lane if you want to pass. Who would have guessed. Beyond tired at this point and going on 40 hours without sleep we barely made it running to our flight to Hanoi only to find out the flight was delayed. We sat in the airport delirious from lack of sleep and trying to stay awake long enough to board the plane.
Hanoi is so different from HCMC. It is calmer, colder, beautiful, and definitely inspired by the nearby Chinese border. We were picked up at the airport by our hotel and arrived safe and sound. The staff here are AMAZING jumping to help with anything we need, bring us water, get us info, and chat with us about our impressions of the city. They had accidentally filled our double room so they gave us a dorm room with four beds all to ourselves for $6 a night! The bathroom in the room even has a tub; no more showering over the toilet. Starving at this point, even though it is 1am we set out to try and find food. What we found was an experience. There was a late night food market open. In Vietnam this does not mean funnel cakes and grilled corn on the cob. It is one small tent after another on a street with makeshifts kitchens serving food to you on miniature plastic table and chairs. We ate, we got some weird fruit after, played with some stuffed animals someone was selling, and debating buying earmuffs with a Santa head on each ear for a $1. SLEEP BEAUTIFUL SLEEP FINALLY CAME
Speaking of which, its late, another early morning, and it is time for bed.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Day 1: Good Morning Vietnam!!!
Who are we? After going to bed at 2:30am, Rachel awakens at 7am- 1 hour earlier than we set our super duper cool voice-activated alarm clock- to start getting ready. I soon follow suit with ease...because who needs sleep when fresh food, massages, good photos and adventure are just outside our quaint hidden alleyway hostel?
We trekked past a bunch of touristy shops and then to the local market where we saw a ton of colorful fabrics, purses, etc. as well as brains, severed pig tails, maggots (to eat…yes Danielle- to eat) and strange fruits.
A picture is worth 1000 words…but is it worth $700? In a quick, sleuth attempt to retrieve her camera for an awesome shot of a local reclining on a motorbike, Rachel accidently dropped her lens on the ground and what followed was a string of obscenities (none of which I will list here) and sighs of frustration. Good thing a camera shop was right around the corner and our trusty new friend, Tran was there to help us out! Tran spoke only a few words of English and couldn’t understand what Rachel was saying when she asked what time they closed. As he’s inspecting the inside of the lens and twisting it around with increased difficulty, I say in a low voice to Rach- “it looks like it needs some sort of lube.” Tran begins laughing hysterically. What? He understood? I mean I wasn’t even trying to be dirty- just practical. He doesn’t understand the word “close” but somehow “lube” is one of the 3 English words he knows? As his laughter increases dramatically, so does the red in my face. Michelle 0, Embarrassment 1. For $40 Tran will fix Rachel’s lens and all will be well. It was at this point that I realized I had probably gotten some sort of H1N1 Airplane Monkey Pox Sars because I was extremely nauseas and started getting this funky unwell feeling.
In order to recuperate from the drama we decided that our first massage absolutely necessary. We went a nice salon and had an hour long massage for $15!! Apparently word of our matching backpacks had gotten out because after squeezing into tiny silk robes we were lead into one room for a couples massage. The women walked and literally climbed on all fours over our backs. It was amazing!!!
We finally find the opera house and Notre Dame, and successfully crossed the street without getting killed by crazy motorcyclists numerous times. If you haven’t been to Ho Chi Minh City, then you will have no idea what I mean…Italy does not even come close to comparing. Pedestrians do not have the right of way. You are supposed to just cross and keep the same predictable pace so the drivers know how to dodge you. In a small city of 7 million people, you can imagine how much fun that is! We got the best massage ever and then continued on our merry, merry way (and Merry is the choice term considering the plethora of X-mas decorations around the city). I feel much better…time for us to nap and rally for drinks and dinner and fun and….more stories.
We trekked past a bunch of touristy shops and then to the local market where we saw a ton of colorful fabrics, purses, etc. as well as brains, severed pig tails, maggots (to eat…yes Danielle- to eat) and strange fruits.
A picture is worth 1000 words…but is it worth $700? In a quick, sleuth attempt to retrieve her camera for an awesome shot of a local reclining on a motorbike, Rachel accidently dropped her lens on the ground and what followed was a string of obscenities (none of which I will list here) and sighs of frustration. Good thing a camera shop was right around the corner and our trusty new friend, Tran was there to help us out! Tran spoke only a few words of English and couldn’t understand what Rachel was saying when she asked what time they closed. As he’s inspecting the inside of the lens and twisting it around with increased difficulty, I say in a low voice to Rach- “it looks like it needs some sort of lube.” Tran begins laughing hysterically. What? He understood? I mean I wasn’t even trying to be dirty- just practical. He doesn’t understand the word “close” but somehow “lube” is one of the 3 English words he knows? As his laughter increases dramatically, so does the red in my face. Michelle 0, Embarrassment 1. For $40 Tran will fix Rachel’s lens and all will be well. It was at this point that I realized I had probably gotten some sort of H1N1 Airplane Monkey Pox Sars because I was extremely nauseas and started getting this funky unwell feeling.
In order to recuperate from the drama we decided that our first massage absolutely necessary. We went a nice salon and had an hour long massage for $15!! Apparently word of our matching backpacks had gotten out because after squeezing into tiny silk robes we were lead into one room for a couples massage. The women walked and literally climbed on all fours over our backs. It was amazing!!!
We finally find the opera house and Notre Dame, and successfully crossed the street without getting killed by crazy motorcyclists numerous times. If you haven’t been to Ho Chi Minh City, then you will have no idea what I mean…Italy does not even come close to comparing. Pedestrians do not have the right of way. You are supposed to just cross and keep the same predictable pace so the drivers know how to dodge you. In a small city of 7 million people, you can imagine how much fun that is! We got the best massage ever and then continued on our merry, merry way (and Merry is the choice term considering the plethora of X-mas decorations around the city). I feel much better…time for us to nap and rally for drinks and dinner and fun and….more stories.
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