Indochina Tour 3

Dear All,

Hello again and welcome to a further Southeast Asia travel monologue. Been quite busy since the last mail so will just add a few highlights here.


I think I left you last when we were about to board an overnight train to Dong Hoi. Said goodbye to our cheerful guide Mango, and boarded at 10pm for an 11pm departure. I was lucky in getting a berth in one of the nicer cabins, along with Praz, Usha and Kiran. The others got stuck in a 6 bedded berth, though we'd bought all 6 berths for some privacy. More cramped in there though and from all accounts more smelly. Quite late by the time we settled ourselves in, so put our heads down for some sleep pretty soon. A/c stopped working in the night leading to a bit of a warm tropical nights slumber. The next morning up early and witnessed some lovely beautiful scenery on our way. Disembarked at 8am and met by our guide for the next 3 days, a Mr Chin (seriously, not making these names up!). He turned out to be a slightly older man in his 50s, peering out at the world through thick glasses (reminded one irresistibly of Mr Magoo!). Initially came across as slightly unorganised, but the fault of the company, not his. Over the course of the day quickly established himself as a firm favourite with us and took on the benign uncle role effortlessly. He drove us to a lovely beach-side resort (the only one this part of Vietnam) for breakfast and a chance to freshen up. Lovely place to spend a few relaxing days, with private access to the beach and landscaped gardens. Mr Chin observed sagely that we looked tired and gave us an hour to collect ourselves.


A huge breakfast buffet on offer and was taken advantage of with alacrity by almost everyone. Following breakfast, took a bus to the Phong Nha National Park, another UNESCO World Heritage Site. Again, pretty cool scenery, including the usual pastoral scenes (this time enlivened by a man riding a buffalo quite fast and trying not to fall off). At the Park, we were subjected to a brief subtitled film on the glories contained within, most of which we had no time to see. Took a short 5km boat ride on the Son River to the Phong Nha caves (the main 2 - there are over 300 scattered in the hills at last count). Great experience, as were were slowly rowed through the low set cave mouth and floated through a series of tunnels and caverns admiring the rock formations and lighting which made it look quite otherworldly at times. Rivalled the Halong Bay cave for impressiveness. After that cave, had a stiff climb (about 600 steps) the the other main cave. Managed to get to the top without my lungs staging a mutiny (though I resembled a perambulating sweat bath), and hoping that meant slowly getting fitter with all this activity! This cave also quite fantastic and again, words unable to do it justice. Could have spent a lot longer in there marvelling at the various features. This particular cave quite sacred to the Vietnamese and it was believed to be the abode of fairies and some rock formations resembled the 4 sacred animals of their religion (Turtle, Dragon, Phoenix and Lion). By now almost 3pm, so headed down to our boat and then back onto the bus. Still had over 200km to go before reaching our nights stop in Hue, the ancient imperial capital. Had a lunch/dinner combo at the same resort on our way at 4pm, which revitalised everyone a bit. Including Mr Chin obviously, as no sooner had we got back on the bus and settling down to a reading, napping, music, etc. than he started singing a Vietnamese song and then made up a game where one of us would have to go up and sing after him. Ended with most of us sitting at the front of the bus, on the floor, near the driver, and singing along to various songs on the iPods for the next 3 hours. Was worth any number of missed naps to watch Mr Chin dancing away to random western songs! Finally arrived at the Asia Hotel in Hue around 9pm. Everyone very tired and looking forward to a good shower and sleep.


The next day saw various sights around Hue. The imperial capital if Vietnam since 1800s, and had a lot of historical buildings. The Imperial Citadel was most impressive, covering 9 square km, even with most of the buildings destroyed in the wars of the last century. Mt Chin (fornerly a history teacher) kept us both entertained and educated with his enthusiastic teaching gestures. Learnt the rather complex succession of the Nguyen Dynasty (the last dynasty of Vietnam) with a number of betrayals, poisonings and coups enlivening the history. My favourite bit was when the adopted son of Tu Duc (a great king who ruledfor 36 years but without heirs) was put in prison after 3 days on the throne by the Queen Mother for being ugly! had to ask Mt Chin to repeat this as seemed a bit too random, even for such obviously enthusiastic people as the Vietnamese. A true account though. Thankful I wasn't in the royal line of those times is all I can say! That day very hot and humid and all of us visibly flagging. Went through innumerable bottles of water and the girls swarmed the ice cream stand like locusts. Never has a cold coke tasted so good! The rest of the day saw another pagoda which didn't make a huge impression on me. A boat ride up the Perfume River which was far too loud and mundane for my liking. Perfume River sadly not the answer to cosmetic companies dreams. The afternoon saw us visiting a couple of mausoleums whioch were very impressive though. the first was that of the above mentioned Tu Duc. Huge grounds and impressive monuments. Custom had it that these places were built when they were alive and so Tu Duc used to come to his own mausoleum to rest, do office work and hang out wioth his concubines. Certainly an interesting take on ones own graveyard! That evening spent recovering from the days heat, while the girls indefatigably went shopping.


The next day we drove to Hoi An, a beautiful small town slightly further south and spared the destruction that seems to have visited so much of Vietnam during its wars. The whole town declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. On the way passed by some spectacular coastal mountain scenery, with white sandy beaches, jungle green mountains and deep blue sea all in a sweep of the eye. Rather aggressive vendors when we stopped at viewpoints, but not in a threatening way. Unpleasant after the laidback style of Laos. Reached Hoi An in the afternoon. Stopped off at a silk tailoring shop where I finally succumbed and got myself measured for a black silk traditional Vietnamese outfit. To be delivered to my room the next morning - amazingly quick service and incredibly cheap compared to western prices. Ironically, the girls bought nothing at that shop, but more than made up for it by spending about 3 hrs shopping that evening. Walkied arounf Hoi An with Mr Chin (whose hometown this was) and saw the unique Japaneses covered bridge. It contains a shrine to a god who is supposedly keeping in check a big monster. When I say big, I mean huge. The monsters head supposedly in India, the body though Vietnam and the tail in Japan. Seemed a rather small shrine for such a big job!


The next day, the 25th November, we left Hoi An to go to Saigon (now renamed Ho Chi Minh City). Spent the morning wandering about a few more places in Hoi An, with Mr Chin providing more stories to keep out interest engaged. Very lucky to have found a guide such as him. My outfir arrived and after some expertcritique from the girls (mainly Taz), sent it back for a few adjustments. Came back in an hour and seemed to be fine to my inexpert eye (girls not around), On the way to the airport, had a lovely walk on the China Beach, very relaxing and a great way to say goodbye to central Vietnam and our benign guide, Mr Chin.


Short flight to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) and picked up by a rather taciturn guide called Duc. A quick city tour of Saigon followed. The War Remnants museum was very interesting and quite horrifying. The scale and callousness of the Vietnam War and the tactics used by the American troops really sunk in for the first time, despite what I'd read previously. The pictures of maimed and deformed victims of napalm and Agent Orange (so many children!) were so saddening, and yet the Vietnamese get on with their lives and look forward all the time. A seriously strong willed people.


The next day was our trip to the Mekong Delta. This is where the mighty Mekong, a huge river that flows through 7 countries and is the lifeblood of Indochina, finally empties into the sea, but not before dividing into 9 other river and countless streams which crisscross the land for miles. Fascinating to see the lives of people living so symbiotically with the water, houses overhanging the river, petrol stations on boats, morning shoppers paddling from boat to boat to get all their vegetables. The water a muddy brown and at points, the Mekong so wide we could hardly see the banks on either side. Doing all this exploring in a low lying (especially after I got in!) boat. Our homestay that evening was more in the nature of a small guesthouse, with 8 beds set up in a roofed but open walled hut. Flowering gardens, bonsai trees, sitting areas with hammocks all added to the sense of idyllic peace, with a couple of small streams running through the compound.


That afternoon went for a bike ride which was the highlight of the day. Wound our way (on the flat thankfully) along a narrow path lined with banana plantations and fruit orchards, occasionally crossing small streams on narrow bridges with no railings. Local children shouting hello as we passed and no other foreigners in sight. A few people fell off bikes (no names of course), but soon everyone picked up old skills and enjoyed themselves. Great fun and a lovely way to see the remoter areas of the delta.


On the way back form the ride stopped off at a bonsai garden where for reasons unknown, they had a boa constrictor. Our local guide, Mr Lucky (so far Vietnam guides been Mango, Chin, Duc and Lucky) suggested I try draping it round my neck. About 5 ft long and surprisingly heavy. Strong bugger too! Took a lot of strength to hold it in place when it finally woke up and tried to investigate the gastronomic possibilities of a duckling cheeping away at my feet. Predictable enough chorus of screams and gasps from the girls, though Praz and Kiran touched it and Nishat had already done this before (one wonders what she hasn't done!). Uzma caught on video speculating on what a fine handbag it would make. Left the poor snake alone after 10 mins and on our way again.


An early night that day, though rather restless. The local roosters obviously decided to show off for the benefit of us outsiders and held a crowing contest every few mins from midnight on. Pretty sure thay'd have been in the cookpot if they'd messed around like that in our village in India!


So, next day found us groggy but smiling. Early morning walk ( a habit of mine in this tour) found 3 of us wandering over random bridges and deeper into delta territory. Peaceful. Locals ambling back from their morning shopping giving us cheery greetings. A brief stop at a pottery cottage industry, where I helped make a few bricks (sounds more impressive than what I really did, which was toss a lump of clay into a machine) and then met up with our bus again.


The afternoon was pretty cool. Managed to negotiate a trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels, even thouh not on our itinerary. Saw incredibly small tunnels (though Praz, Uzma and Taz managed to slip through an opeining about a foot wide!) and even got to squirm our way through a 30m stretch.later the guide told us that normal tunnels about 60-70cm high, while the ones we went through had been enlarged to 1m high. Even then pretty claustrophobic and hot down there. Any smaller and I'd have been a permanent ornament down there. Also introduced to the pretty clever way they hid their tunnels from the Americans.


Back to Saigon and this is our last evening in Vietnam. Tomorrow we fly to Cambodia where we'll be exploring the mysteries of Angkor Wat and the Khmer culture. May even bump into some of my ex-pat acquaintances.


Again have probably gone on for far too long and you're either falling to sleep or building up a good dose of resentment that you're not enjoying these cultures instead of working. What that, I bid you adieu and hope that you're all well.


Siri

Indochina Tour 2

Dear all,

If I remember right the last email ended in Luang Prabang. Since then seen and done so much! Apologies to those who've emailed me, as soon as I get a chance, an individual reply will be winging it's way to you.


The next day after our city tour in Luang Prabang, with me restored to fighting fitness, went outside the city to a nearby famous waterfall, called Kuangsi Falls. On the way, stopped off at a couple of ethnic villages. People quite friendly and welcoming. Girls ooh and aahing over antics of half naked children. Quite primitive places in many ways, with electricity, clean water arriving in the last five years, outdoor communal showers and incongruous satellite dishes outside some of the poorest thatched huts! The people seem generally close as a community, with tight knit groups which support each other and a genuinely gentle people from our impressions.


The waterfall was beautiful. Located in the jungle, and first come to a series of rapids creating lovely clear blue pools, and leading to a 100m multilevel waterfall surrounded by jungled cliffs. Stunning setting. I and 2 of the girls went swimming before lunch (others opted for wading). Cold refreshing water and invigorating. In an excess of childish spirit, even jumped from a 15ft mini waterfall. Following the swim had a lovely picnic lunch in a jungle clearing next to the waterfall. On the way back to our bus, stopped off at a tiger enclosure where a tiger saved from poachers was kept. Fortunate enough to catch it indoors and we were given the option of feeding it with a strip of meat. One of our number (no names of course), kept flinching away, so the poor tiger saw it's snack appearing and disappearing. Started pacing the cage in frustration, until the snack was finally delivered. Even got to pet it a bit, as the woman in charge obviously had a good working relationship with it. Never been that close to a tiger before.


The evening in Luang Prabang was spent relaxing, emailing and watching a film in the local cinema (essentially a series of rooms with TV and DVD player). Praz, running late, was hurrying along and seeing an open doorway nearby, rushed straight in, only to half scare to death a Lao family spending the evening peacefully! They started screaming, she started backing out sheepishly and we were incapacitated with laughter when she found us and described the encounter.


The next day was a long one. Arranged to have a homestay with a low Lao family in a village. Apparently a rare thing to do, for only 1-2 groups a year did this and the family we were staying with had never hosted foreigners before. Nice to go off the beaten trail a bit. Bus journey to Vang Vieng uneventful, though passed through some amazingly beautiful moutain scenery on narrow winding roads. Vang Vieng itself a fairly small town, though favoured by backpackers for its beautiful location and laid back attitude. Most tourist filled place in Laos. Once there, a tractor cart took out luggage to the village 6km away, while Mr Nung our guide led us toward a nearby cave. Mr Nung proved a memorable character, quiet and dignified but with a slightly wicked sense of humour, and huge amounts of patience. Grew to be a favourite with our group.


The walk to the cave led through tall grass and then rice fields. Harvest time and peasants in their typical conical hats at work all around us sorting the rice and threshing it. Girls slightly nervous about insects but bore the walk with good grace. Unfortunately, the cave trail gate closed by villagers to prevent tourists trampling their crops at this time. Mr Nung suggested an alternatve route and on our acquiescence (reluctantly in some cases!) promptly disappeared into heavy bush, hacking a completely inadequate path with a stick. I enjoyed it immensely but most of the girls not so impressed. Taz held her hands staright up to avoid touching anything (an unwise policy witnessed by her slide to the bottom of a muddy ditch), Praz used her hands to seal off her face (presumably to ward off overly curious insects) and Usha brought up the rear with a low voiced moan about the indignity/discomfort of it all. After all that, the 2nd cave trail blocked as well, and even Mr Nung had to give up and head out. A 2km walk through thorns, streams, muddy ditches and rice fields later, met our tractor cart ina dirt track and clambered in to go to the village. Great fun.


Our hosts in the village were the proud owners of a big concrete house, with a large central hall where we were to sleep and a small squat toilet/bathing room out back. Only indoor toilet in the village, Mr Nung informed us, beaming proudly. The matron of the house also ran a small shop from her front porch. They welcomed us with smiles, and we were there long enough to dump our stuff before heading out to another cave nearby. Further groans from the couch potatoes among us, but everyone gamely got back on the tractor cart. The next cave was definitely one of the highlights of our experience in Laos. I enjoyed it immensely, while most of the other had reactions ranging from panic attacks to nervous disaproval. The main reason for this was that as we started to climb to the cave, darkness fell. The trail was about 100m straight up, along pretty jagged and treacherous rocks, and no hint of railings, lights etc in evidence. The cave itself was almost completely untouched by man, going about 400ft deep and stygian blackness. Rocks damp and slippery. A beautiful reclining Buddha shrine inside (ironic that this signified passing away!) a huge natural cavern about a 100ft inside the cave. The climb down in pitch blackness with out handheld torches managing to stave off any serious missteps. Again, great fun.
Back to our village, where we all had cold bucket baths (fortunately no one heard my screams, engrossed as they were in some hybrid Lao/Indian tv programme) and a dinner more suitable to a bunch of sumo wrestlers than 7 girls and me. Certainly can't fault their hospitality. The days entertainment rounded off by watching the girls scream with every passing moth, grasshopper and random bug in the room and eventually had to help them out for fear of full blown hysterics. The Lao family watching all this in some bemusement.


Next day early start after thanking our hosts, and after another cave (this one with proper steps and lighting to the vast relief of some of our number), we were on our way to Vientiane, the capital of Laos. On the way stopped at a salt factory (no idea why this was on the tourist radar but there it is) where Amandaunwisely decided to hand out some fruit to the local bunch of children and almost got mobbed! Vientiane itself a real city feel, with none of the charm of Luang Prabang, though plenty of French influence in its restaurants and houses still noticeable. The next day (18th November) had a quick city tour of the That Luang and Arc d'Triomphe. The That Luang a hue golden stupa, supposed to hold a headbone from the Lord Buddha and the most important Buddhist site in Laos.A truly impressive edifice and with pleasing symmetry. The Arc d'Triomphe a bit more of a concrete monument commemorating Lao soldiers and offering panramic city views from the top. That afternoon, tranferred to the airport for our flight to Hanoi, Vietnam, and the next leg of our trip. Said farewell to Mr Nung reluctantly, though not before he tried to pick me up (long story) and had an uneventful flight to Hanoi.


Met by our local guide there, with the amusing and improbable name of Mango. A chatty, ebullient and altogether more sophisticated person than Mr Nung, yet somehow lacking the quiet charm we'd enjoyed in Mr Nung. Still, a pleasant guide and generally very organised and helpful. Quite late evening by arrival time and so went to dinner and hotel. Really good food here.


The APEC conference being held here this week and a very positive step for Vietnam on the world stage. Lots of streets and monuments blocked off though, and played around a bit with our itinerary. Apparently we'd been lucky to get visas at all for this week. So te next day went out of the city to visit a couple of handicraft villages. Saw a family run traditional woodblock printing place. Run by the same family for the last 500 yrs (in their 21st generation of artists now) and yet the old man a very quiet humble man, and welcoming of us. Lots of very beautiful woodcarved blocks and prints (some made from carvings over 200 yrs old). In the afternoon had a visit to the ethnology museum to learn about the 54 different ethnic groups here (as opposed to the 54 different ethics Taz thought we'd learn about!). Information overload, though cool that they've made an effort to represent all the different groups equally. Interesting place. Had a cyclo (rickhaw) tour of the old quarter of Hanoi, merging with what often seemed suicidal intent into the stream of cars and motorbikes here. Narrow streets dediacted to shoes, clothes, silk, toys, etc. Quite cool to see.


Following the cyclo ride, had dinner sitting in the garden of a post restaurant, watching a far away lightning storm, and enjoyed excellent seafood and chicken dishes. The evening rounded off by a visit to the ancient traditional art of water puppetry, unique to Vietnam. The puppets manipulated from underwater, and all the scenes take place on the surface of a pool as the stage. Some lovely traditional folk music followed by a fast paced and always eye catching depiction of historical and folkloric scenes, mixed with scenes from everyday village life. The hour went by really fast. A pleasant walk back to hotel by the shores of the lake (Hanoi has 10 natural lakes inside the city and plenty of greenery) completed the evening. Slept soundly that day!


The next day had an early start to go to Halong Bay, about 150km from Hanoi, and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We would spend the night there on board a junk. On the way, stopped off at a tailors where a couple of the girls arranged to have some outfits made up to be collected the next day. Very touristy as a place but lots of tailors beavering away. Poor Mango seriously underestimated the time needed when letting a whole bunch of girls loose in a shop with silks and a ready supply of tailors! Managed to get going not too behind schedule, and followed a very well maintained road past some beautiful scenery. Plenty of flat rice paddies stretching out on both sides, worked by peasants with buffalo pulling plows, small kids going to school or playing in the fields. Backdrop of high green clad hills. Fit in with my pre-conceived image of the Vietnamese countryside.


Got to Halong Bay by 12pm, welcomed aboard our junk, the Huong Hai, by our affable captain, and set sail almost immediately. The boat had 7 twin cabins and we had it all to ourselves. Well furnished with dark woods, bamboo furniture and spotless ensuite bathrooms. Felt very cosy and comfortable.


Halong Bay itself was quite beautiful, and certainly the most impressive bay I've ever seen. Huge bay, filled with a maze of cliffs, caves, lagoons and beaches. Arounds every cliff jutting up from the water appeared a new enchanting vista. Everyone very impressed with it, and wishing we had booked more nights on the junk! That afternoon did a bit of kayaking. Found a lovely lagoon with a water grotto leading to a completely enclosed smaller lagoon, encircled by forested cliffs. Felt like something out of a book. Paddled around until sunset, and then back to the boat for an early dinner of prawns, crabs, fish, etc. Spent the evening relaxing out on the foredeck, chatting with the others and enjoying the thunderstorm that had caught up with us from Hanoi. Some truly spectacular displays of sheet lightning, thunder that rattled the boat. The next day we heard it had been so fierce that it had destroyed houses on the peirs and 8 people had died! We were lucky to be moored in such a sheltered spot.


After a sound nights sleep shltered from the fury of the storm, emerged to a sunny day, though with storm clouds approaching ominously fast. By 7.30am, we were in the middle of another full fledged thunderstorm, though this one blew out within an hour. Spent the time playing a few hands of blackjack, passing on the tricks I'd learnt in Vegas. That morning, visited one of the most specular caves I've ever seen (the Sung Sot cave), and the most renowned in Halong Bay. Huge overarching caverns of organic looking rock, with stalacttes and stalagmites in every stage of formation, all the way to mighty pillars towering above us. Lit in an array of soft colours and instead of appearing garish, looked very beautiful. Had a great time wandering around in there, being shown which rocks looked like which animals (we're talking serious eyes of faith here) and the history behind certain parts of the cave. After rthe cave, had a further brief bit of kayaking, where I honed my skills a bit more, and a refreshing dip in the bay for a swim (no, I didn't capsize). Lovely cool water, not cold.


Reluctantly disembarked at noon and back to Hanoi, with a brief stop at the tailors shop. The outfits had turned out perfectly and everyone involved looking very pleased. The tailors gathered in a crown around me to watch me write in my journal, and one of them explained later they'd never seen anyone write that fast (inspiration had hit that point in time). Back in Hanoi, continued the bit of our tour interrupted by the APEC conference (now over), with a vist to the Temple of Literature and Ho Chi Minhs Mausoleum. The Temple of literature built originally in 1070AD and dedicated to Confucius. Remained Vietnams highest centre for learning for the next 800 years. Amazing amount of history there. Also scattered with lovely old examples of bonsai trees. Learnt a bit about Ho Chi Minh from Mango while standing outside the mausoleum, watching the changing of the guard. An impressive man. One of the most respected scholars in Vietnam in his youth, travelled the world for 30 years doing menial jobs, in order to learn more about world culture before coming back to Vietnam. Lived in a simple hut on stilts all his life, and had virtually no possessions or private money. Seems to be genuinely loved by the people of Vietnam.


That evening had a bit of time to ourselves (spent in the old quarter by most of us) before boarding an overnight train to Dong Hoi, there to continue the next leg of our trip in Vietnam.


By now you must be drooping a bit with email overload from this long update. So I'll leave it there for now. Hope everyone well and look forward to hearing more news from you.

Siri.