It took an age to get from Yuanyuang to Kunming. Two hours on a bus to get to Gejiu, and then about another 6 hours getting to Kunming.
I wasn't going to write a separate post about it, except I managed to have a quick look around Gejiu and was really impressed by it. It reminded me of Hamilton in Ontario Canada, with a nice wide open street and a work a day laid back vibe. Just wish I'd had more time to stop and look around.
The other interesting thing about it is: it's famous for Tin Mining, and apparently the big lake in the centre was "created" when one of the mines collapsed and the resultant hole got filled with water...not to miss an opportunity - they've turned the lake into a feature :-)
Thursday 30 April 2009
Wednesday 29 April 2009
Yuanyang
It's a bit confusing, because Yuanyang isn't a place, it's a county, and it has two towns that are called Yuanyang. I decided to stay in Xinjie - which is Yuanyang old town - as apposed to the Yuanyang new town which is an hour away. No one speaks English here, and it seems that it's not on the tourist trail, although I have seen a few westerners bobbing about.
It's been a bit of a culture shock, particulalry as nothing is written down in Roman text, and I've been playing match the symbols trying to work out where I'm going. But the local people are incredibly friendly and very very helpful - so it's actually not been that much of a hassle - although I'm working hard on my Mandarin skills :-)
(On an amusing side note, I learned how to say thankyou using the phrasebook and kept saying it to people who all started laughing. Turns out I wasn't saying it anywhere near how it's pronounced. I am slightly worried in case I was telling people there mother looked like a water buffalo by accident :-)
The big draw here are the Yuanyang rice terraces, and they are definielty worth coming to see. The terraces have been worked here for over 1300 years ago, and today they still use traditional methods to work the land. It's an incredible example of peoples ingenuity and ability to master the tough environment. And the rice terraces add to the beatuy of the area.
I'm really lucky to be here now, because they are starting to flood the terraces for the new crop planting, and the water on the hill side really adds to the effect.
There's a place in town that can arrange a tour for 250 Yuan (about 25 pounds), but I ran into a french couple who told me you can do the trip yourself, using local transport for a lot less. They also told me there was a local market at one of the villages.
So I set my alarm for 5:00am, and ended up sleeping through it until past 8am. I'm still feeling really drained after the recent episode, so probably needed the rest. When I finally surfaced (after having enjpoyed the last Sapa choclate bread :<( I got outside to find it was raining and really misty.
Not to worry - as I did some Internet, and then got a taxi to one of the best view points. The taxi driver was really great, and stopped at all these great places to see the terraces. He was really upset at the weather and kept pointing at the sky and shacking his head. At one point he races off and comes back with a bottle of ice tea for me - what a top bloke...
But in the end, the weather didn't cause any problems as it made the terraces more atmospheric and I really enjoyed the trip out through the villages.
The taxi guy took me back into town and I had lunch: a weird pancake thingy made with what tasted like really bitter grass (of the lawn variety :-) and chips. Yes - chips. But with soy suuce, chili, and two types of paste of which I have no idea what they were. They were totally awesome. Total cost: 20 pence!
They have these three wheeler thingies here, and so I got one of these to take me to one of the other villages where they have more rice terraces, and again, really enjoyed the trip out.
So that's about it...Here's some pics:
Looking down from the top of a very big cliff:
And when the sun's shining:
Pimp my ride three wheeler:
People still work the land as they have for 1300 years - except for the wellington boots:
It's been a bit of a culture shock, particulalry as nothing is written down in Roman text, and I've been playing match the symbols trying to work out where I'm going. But the local people are incredibly friendly and very very helpful - so it's actually not been that much of a hassle - although I'm working hard on my Mandarin skills :-)
(On an amusing side note, I learned how to say thankyou using the phrasebook and kept saying it to people who all started laughing. Turns out I wasn't saying it anywhere near how it's pronounced. I am slightly worried in case I was telling people there mother looked like a water buffalo by accident :-)
The big draw here are the Yuanyang rice terraces, and they are definielty worth coming to see. The terraces have been worked here for over 1300 years ago, and today they still use traditional methods to work the land. It's an incredible example of peoples ingenuity and ability to master the tough environment. And the rice terraces add to the beatuy of the area.
I'm really lucky to be here now, because they are starting to flood the terraces for the new crop planting, and the water on the hill side really adds to the effect.
There's a place in town that can arrange a tour for 250 Yuan (about 25 pounds), but I ran into a french couple who told me you can do the trip yourself, using local transport for a lot less. They also told me there was a local market at one of the villages.
So I set my alarm for 5:00am, and ended up sleeping through it until past 8am. I'm still feeling really drained after the recent episode, so probably needed the rest. When I finally surfaced (after having enjpoyed the last Sapa choclate bread :<( I got outside to find it was raining and really misty.
Not to worry - as I did some Internet, and then got a taxi to one of the best view points. The taxi driver was really great, and stopped at all these great places to see the terraces. He was really upset at the weather and kept pointing at the sky and shacking his head. At one point he races off and comes back with a bottle of ice tea for me - what a top bloke...
But in the end, the weather didn't cause any problems as it made the terraces more atmospheric and I really enjoyed the trip out through the villages.
The taxi guy took me back into town and I had lunch: a weird pancake thingy made with what tasted like really bitter grass (of the lawn variety :-) and chips. Yes - chips. But with soy suuce, chili, and two types of paste of which I have no idea what they were. They were totally awesome. Total cost: 20 pence!
They have these three wheeler thingies here, and so I got one of these to take me to one of the other villages where they have more rice terraces, and again, really enjoyed the trip out.
So that's about it...Here's some pics:
Looking down from the top of a very big cliff:
And when the sun's shining:
Pimp my ride three wheeler:
People still work the land as they have for 1300 years - except for the wellington boots:
Kunming
Kunming is a seriously nice place.
I've been trying to think all day of how to describe it, and haven't really come to any conclusions - so here goes.
It's a really modern city (and a total contrast to Yuanyang), but is seriously laid back. There's not that much to see in terms of tourist sites, but walking about is so much fun. There's incredible shopping - no matter if your a clothes fiend or a techno geek. And there are some incredible restaurants and bars.
It has nightlife in spades - but you need to be here on the weekend when it's really wild - which is a shame as I won't be here then :<(
If there is one complaint - and it's not really a complaint just a minor gripe - it's quite big and spread out, so to get places takes a lot of walking - although it's a great way to see the place.
It's home to just over a million people, so is the same size as Leeds, but doesn't feel so busy and claustrophobic, and is laid back like Christchurch in New Zealand. But it looks like a modern city - like a super cool version of Singapore.
They are redeveloping it and some of the buildings look like they are going to be incredible. If you like modern architecture then you'll enjoy a wander around.
It's even got a much nicer version of Central Park in New York, and a University that looks like it would be a cool place to study.
And did I mention it feels really safe. Oh, and people ride around on Electric Scooters or Bicycles so the air feels pretty clean. And did I mention that people are really friendly here. And did I say it's a seriously nice place?
Here's some pics:
Random street in Kunming:
This is one of the most important Zen Buddhist Temples in China - the Yuantong Temple. It was built over 1200 years ago, but was modernised in around 1320 AD. People come to make offerings including uber incense - imagine incense sticks that are almost two feet long and an inch thick! It's a really nice calm spot:
The water might look really nasty, but it's teeming with fish and turtles.
Intricate carving at the temple:
Green Lake Park - where the locals come to chill out, do Tai Chi, and have fun:
Kunming at night:
Fountain in Government Square:
The main square: at night it's packed with people hanging about:
On an amusing note, I decided to try one of the best restaurants in town (it cost about five quid so it was really up there :-). I order soup and some beans in a vegetable and chili sauce. So they bring the soup and in it's a huge dish and could have fed a family of four. Stuck in the bowl is a huge ladle, and I'm wondering if I'm supposed to eat the soup with this monster ladle.
So after some contemplation I decide I'm too hungry to care, and remember that at Wagamama you just use the spoon that's in the bowl. So I pick up the ladle and start drinking the soup, and realise that there's general amusement from the tables around.
Next I know a waitress appears with a spoon and I can tell she trying not to laugh.
It turns out they'd already given me a spoon but I'd assumed it was to get the beans into the eating bowl :-)
The next night I decided to put my vegetarian sensibilities behind me for a night and try the "Across the Bridge Noodles" which is the local speciality. It's named after a dish created by a local woman who used to take her husband food across one of the bridges to where he worked hence the name.
They bring you plates with different raw meat, veges, and noodles, and a big big bowl of chicken stock, into which you put the raw stuff, and the heat cooks it. So I go to the place in town and look at the menu (part of which is in English), and notice that you can have either "different cuts of pig", chicken, intestines, or a combination including all three.
Now I usually like to avoid intestines as much as I can, so manage to find someone who speaks English and order the "different cuts of pig". But - it turns out that she orders me the combination....
So it all comes and at this point I didn't know what to do, so the waiter shows me, and chucks everything into the bowl.
It was pretty good, but the chicken was the worst bit, along with a rather nasty looking bit of red pig meat, which had a really nasty meat taste. Rather surprisingly, the intestines tasted OK - so you never know.
I'm staying at a place called "The Hump" which is a great hostel. It's what the Americans called The Himalayas when they were flying stuff into China during the Second World War. It's got a great bar, and I got chatting to a guy from America whose retired out here. It was great to get some inside info on the place. It's where the local Kunmingers (man - that sounds wrong on all levels) come to hang out - so it's a pretty cool place.
It's back to hostels and dorm rooms now I'm in China (but it's only three quid a night :-) and there are three Chinese people in my dorm - a guy from Hong Kong, a girl from Hunnan province, and another Chinese guy. It was really fun having a three way conversation in English and Mandarin, making sure that everyone got what was going on. They gave me loads of great travel tips which are really appreciated.
I've been trying to think all day of how to describe it, and haven't really come to any conclusions - so here goes.
It's a really modern city (and a total contrast to Yuanyang), but is seriously laid back. There's not that much to see in terms of tourist sites, but walking about is so much fun. There's incredible shopping - no matter if your a clothes fiend or a techno geek. And there are some incredible restaurants and bars.
It has nightlife in spades - but you need to be here on the weekend when it's really wild - which is a shame as I won't be here then :<(
If there is one complaint - and it's not really a complaint just a minor gripe - it's quite big and spread out, so to get places takes a lot of walking - although it's a great way to see the place.
It's home to just over a million people, so is the same size as Leeds, but doesn't feel so busy and claustrophobic, and is laid back like Christchurch in New Zealand. But it looks like a modern city - like a super cool version of Singapore.
They are redeveloping it and some of the buildings look like they are going to be incredible. If you like modern architecture then you'll enjoy a wander around.
It's even got a much nicer version of Central Park in New York, and a University that looks like it would be a cool place to study.
And did I mention it feels really safe. Oh, and people ride around on Electric Scooters or Bicycles so the air feels pretty clean. And did I mention that people are really friendly here. And did I say it's a seriously nice place?
Here's some pics:
Random street in Kunming:
This is one of the most important Zen Buddhist Temples in China - the Yuantong Temple. It was built over 1200 years ago, but was modernised in around 1320 AD. People come to make offerings including uber incense - imagine incense sticks that are almost two feet long and an inch thick! It's a really nice calm spot:
The water might look really nasty, but it's teeming with fish and turtles.
Intricate carving at the temple:
Green Lake Park - where the locals come to chill out, do Tai Chi, and have fun:
Kunming at night:
Fountain in Government Square:
The main square: at night it's packed with people hanging about:
On an amusing note, I decided to try one of the best restaurants in town (it cost about five quid so it was really up there :-). I order soup and some beans in a vegetable and chili sauce. So they bring the soup and in it's a huge dish and could have fed a family of four. Stuck in the bowl is a huge ladle, and I'm wondering if I'm supposed to eat the soup with this monster ladle.
So after some contemplation I decide I'm too hungry to care, and remember that at Wagamama you just use the spoon that's in the bowl. So I pick up the ladle and start drinking the soup, and realise that there's general amusement from the tables around.
Next I know a waitress appears with a spoon and I can tell she trying not to laugh.
It turns out they'd already given me a spoon but I'd assumed it was to get the beans into the eating bowl :-)
The next night I decided to put my vegetarian sensibilities behind me for a night and try the "Across the Bridge Noodles" which is the local speciality. It's named after a dish created by a local woman who used to take her husband food across one of the bridges to where he worked hence the name.
They bring you plates with different raw meat, veges, and noodles, and a big big bowl of chicken stock, into which you put the raw stuff, and the heat cooks it. So I go to the place in town and look at the menu (part of which is in English), and notice that you can have either "different cuts of pig", chicken, intestines, or a combination including all three.
Now I usually like to avoid intestines as much as I can, so manage to find someone who speaks English and order the "different cuts of pig". But - it turns out that she orders me the combination....
So it all comes and at this point I didn't know what to do, so the waiter shows me, and chucks everything into the bowl.
It was pretty good, but the chicken was the worst bit, along with a rather nasty looking bit of red pig meat, which had a really nasty meat taste. Rather surprisingly, the intestines tasted OK - so you never know.
I'm staying at a place called "The Hump" which is a great hostel. It's what the Americans called The Himalayas when they were flying stuff into China during the Second World War. It's got a great bar, and I got chatting to a guy from America whose retired out here. It was great to get some inside info on the place. It's where the local Kunmingers (man - that sounds wrong on all levels) come to hang out - so it's a pretty cool place.
It's back to hostels and dorm rooms now I'm in China (but it's only three quid a night :-) and there are three Chinese people in my dorm - a guy from Hong Kong, a girl from Hunnan province, and another Chinese guy. It was really fun having a three way conversation in English and Mandarin, making sure that everyone got what was going on. They gave me loads of great travel tips which are really appreciated.
Sunday 26 April 2009
Stuck in Sapa...
I'd planned to have a day off and do as little as possible before the trip to China the next day...but that plan was soon going to change for some rather unpleasant reasons.
In the afternoon I felt a bit drained, but thought that I just needed an early night, and after an average meal I went back to the hotel and went to bed. About an hour later I felt really ill, (I'll spare everyone the details) but spent the rest of the night rushing to the bathroom.
I think I must have picked up food poisoning or something - this is the first time on this trip, and I can't remember being this sick in a long time. At one point I was even contemplating going back to Hanoi and catching the next flight back to the UK!
Even more strange - at one point all I could think about was how good a cup of Yorkshire tea made with real Yorkshire water would be :-)
In the morning I'd had no sleep, and was still suffering the after shocks (as it were) of the night before, so dragged myself to the hotel reception and said that I'd like to stay another night and catch the bus to the border the next day.
One thing about Vietnam is - if people don't understand what you're saying they just say yes. So every time I ask if I can stay another night and get the bus the next day, the guy keeps saying yes, although his body language is saying he's really confused.
So I go back to my room and at 7:30am when the bus is about to leave there's a knock at the door and the guy is there saying: "you get on bus now, you get on bus now".
So I drag myself back to the reception and one of the girls who speaks great English says it's not a problem and makes the arrangements.
I went back to bed and slept through the whole day and night.
The next morning I still didn't feel great so decided to stay another day. I spent most of the day sleeping and I'm still feeling pretty bad, so I arrange to stay another day.
By the end of the third day I'm starting to feel a bit better and force myself to go out for a plate of pasta, and decide that I'm probably going to be OK to go to China the next day, so tell them that I'd like to get the 7:30am bus the next day.
Not a pleasant epsiode. But thankfully, there's a small shop in Sapa that makes the most incredible choclate bread as that's all I've managed to eat over the last three days...
I've taken no pictures in the last few days (for obvious reasons). But here's one from the other day while walking around Sapa:
So this is what happened to the little piggy that went to market:
In the afternoon I felt a bit drained, but thought that I just needed an early night, and after an average meal I went back to the hotel and went to bed. About an hour later I felt really ill, (I'll spare everyone the details) but spent the rest of the night rushing to the bathroom.
I think I must have picked up food poisoning or something - this is the first time on this trip, and I can't remember being this sick in a long time. At one point I was even contemplating going back to Hanoi and catching the next flight back to the UK!
Even more strange - at one point all I could think about was how good a cup of Yorkshire tea made with real Yorkshire water would be :-)
In the morning I'd had no sleep, and was still suffering the after shocks (as it were) of the night before, so dragged myself to the hotel reception and said that I'd like to stay another night and catch the bus to the border the next day.
One thing about Vietnam is - if people don't understand what you're saying they just say yes. So every time I ask if I can stay another night and get the bus the next day, the guy keeps saying yes, although his body language is saying he's really confused.
So I go back to my room and at 7:30am when the bus is about to leave there's a knock at the door and the guy is there saying: "you get on bus now, you get on bus now".
So I drag myself back to the reception and one of the girls who speaks great English says it's not a problem and makes the arrangements.
I went back to bed and slept through the whole day and night.
The next morning I still didn't feel great so decided to stay another day. I spent most of the day sleeping and I'm still feeling pretty bad, so I arrange to stay another day.
By the end of the third day I'm starting to feel a bit better and force myself to go out for a plate of pasta, and decide that I'm probably going to be OK to go to China the next day, so tell them that I'd like to get the 7:30am bus the next day.
Not a pleasant epsiode. But thankfully, there's a small shop in Sapa that makes the most incredible choclate bread as that's all I've managed to eat over the last three days...
I've taken no pictures in the last few days (for obvious reasons). But here's one from the other day while walking around Sapa:
So this is what happened to the little piggy that went to market:
Sapa to Yuanyang
I didn't sleep that great last night, but decided (despite still feeling a bit queasy), that I'd head off to China. I'd read so many bad reports about the bus to Kunming that I'd decided to break the journey up and go to Yuanyang instead - and it's turned into a really great adventure.
But first - getting out of Vietnam - the experience really sums up everything that's wrong with the place...
It takes almost one and a half hours to do the 35km to the border gate. The first half of the journey, we're being driven around Sapa by a mad man whose desperate to get as many people in the bus as he can. He looked like he was on drugs, because he couldn't sit still, his eyes were all over the place, and he talked really loudly - well - shouted.
I'm feeling really sick at this point, but thankfully another guy was driving us to Lao Cai and the border down the small mountain road with steep drop offs and no guard rail. Except - they didn't want to take us to the border because it was a bit further than the station - even though some of us had already paid extra to get there. I think he wanted even more money - which is no surprise.
There was an Australian couple on the bus with me, and when the three of us refused to get out at the station, he drove us towards the border and then tried to get us to get out at a tour company. They probably had rip off coach prices for the China buses.
We refused to get out, and after a short stand off, he finally drove us to the border. When we get there, a guy says he'll change money for us, but it's at only half the official rate - and then gets pretty cross when we won't change money.
We get in the Vietnamese border office, and despite there being loads of officials hanging around, no one wants to deal with us. Eventually, we manage to get one of the immigration people to sign us out, but it takes ages...
Then we walked across to the bridge to China...
...and everything changes. The guards are really well presented, and are smiling, and help people to go into the right queue. Everything is really efficient, and it doesn't take long for us to get signed in. No hassle - no problems. You even get to say how good or bad the service was by selecting smiley or sad faces on a machine!!!
When we walk out of the building into China, there's zero hassle. A guy even points out the way to the bus station. What a contrast...
I think Vietnam would make a great holiday destination, when you've got a couple of weeks and want to do a tour of the main sites. But as a travel destination - it's been a total disappointment. Of all the countries I've visited so far it's at the very bottom of the list, by a long way.
The sad thing is - it's got some great stuff to see: Hue, Hoi An, Hanoi, Phong Nha, the DMZ. All worth a visit. And a few of the people I've met have been incredibly friendly and helpful. I'm thinking of David in Dalat, the hotel people in Hoi An and Dong Hoi, the students I met in Saigon, and Sea in Sapa.
Vietnam is the most money grabbing place I've ever been to. People just want money ("you give me dollah") and that's about the long and short of it. You get constant hassle from the minute you step out of the hotel to the moment you get back to it. And it seems that there are plenty of people who are as happy to scam money from you as they are to earn it honestly. One foreign investor in the country (he runs a small chain of restaurants) said that people are only interested in making money today - no interest in customer service or repeat business - it's the dollar today that counts. Which kind of sums it up.
I've only ever been scammed once on a trip - and a kid managed to get the equivalent of five pence out of me in Morocco. But in Vietnam - there's a scam at every corner.
For me, the best thing about Vietnam is the new friends I've made, and the trip to Phong Nha stands out as one of the more memorable places I've ever been.
I think I'd better leave it at that (rant officially over :-)
Anyway, back at Hekou in China, we meet a great guy at the bus station who speaks perfect English, and he exchanges our money for more than the official visa rate, and helps us buy bus tickets. Because the others are going to Kunming their bus leaves before mine, and I spend forty minutes chatting with the guy at the bus station.
The bus ride to Yuanyang was long, because of the state of the road, but the scenery was incredible. I've found a great hotel to stay in, for four pounds fifty a night, and ate a great meal in the market for one pound sixty!!!
Just looking forward to getting out and about tomorrow for a look around.
But first - getting out of Vietnam - the experience really sums up everything that's wrong with the place...
It takes almost one and a half hours to do the 35km to the border gate. The first half of the journey, we're being driven around Sapa by a mad man whose desperate to get as many people in the bus as he can. He looked like he was on drugs, because he couldn't sit still, his eyes were all over the place, and he talked really loudly - well - shouted.
I'm feeling really sick at this point, but thankfully another guy was driving us to Lao Cai and the border down the small mountain road with steep drop offs and no guard rail. Except - they didn't want to take us to the border because it was a bit further than the station - even though some of us had already paid extra to get there. I think he wanted even more money - which is no surprise.
There was an Australian couple on the bus with me, and when the three of us refused to get out at the station, he drove us towards the border and then tried to get us to get out at a tour company. They probably had rip off coach prices for the China buses.
We refused to get out, and after a short stand off, he finally drove us to the border. When we get there, a guy says he'll change money for us, but it's at only half the official rate - and then gets pretty cross when we won't change money.
We get in the Vietnamese border office, and despite there being loads of officials hanging around, no one wants to deal with us. Eventually, we manage to get one of the immigration people to sign us out, but it takes ages...
Then we walked across to the bridge to China...
...and everything changes. The guards are really well presented, and are smiling, and help people to go into the right queue. Everything is really efficient, and it doesn't take long for us to get signed in. No hassle - no problems. You even get to say how good or bad the service was by selecting smiley or sad faces on a machine!!!
When we walk out of the building into China, there's zero hassle. A guy even points out the way to the bus station. What a contrast...
I think Vietnam would make a great holiday destination, when you've got a couple of weeks and want to do a tour of the main sites. But as a travel destination - it's been a total disappointment. Of all the countries I've visited so far it's at the very bottom of the list, by a long way.
The sad thing is - it's got some great stuff to see: Hue, Hoi An, Hanoi, Phong Nha, the DMZ. All worth a visit. And a few of the people I've met have been incredibly friendly and helpful. I'm thinking of David in Dalat, the hotel people in Hoi An and Dong Hoi, the students I met in Saigon, and Sea in Sapa.
Vietnam is the most money grabbing place I've ever been to. People just want money ("you give me dollah") and that's about the long and short of it. You get constant hassle from the minute you step out of the hotel to the moment you get back to it. And it seems that there are plenty of people who are as happy to scam money from you as they are to earn it honestly. One foreign investor in the country (he runs a small chain of restaurants) said that people are only interested in making money today - no interest in customer service or repeat business - it's the dollar today that counts. Which kind of sums it up.
I've only ever been scammed once on a trip - and a kid managed to get the equivalent of five pence out of me in Morocco. But in Vietnam - there's a scam at every corner.
For me, the best thing about Vietnam is the new friends I've made, and the trip to Phong Nha stands out as one of the more memorable places I've ever been.
I think I'd better leave it at that (rant officially over :-)
Anyway, back at Hekou in China, we meet a great guy at the bus station who speaks perfect English, and he exchanges our money for more than the official visa rate, and helps us buy bus tickets. Because the others are going to Kunming their bus leaves before mine, and I spend forty minutes chatting with the guy at the bus station.
The bus ride to Yuanyang was long, because of the state of the road, but the scenery was incredible. I've found a great hotel to stay in, for four pounds fifty a night, and ate a great meal in the market for one pound sixty!!!
Just looking forward to getting out and about tomorrow for a look around.
Wednesday 22 April 2009
Sapa
I'd have to say - Sapa is my favorite place in Vietnam.
It's a small town set in beautiful countryside, at the top of a big mountain, with an incredible valley below with awesome views. The area is home to some of Vietnam's minority tribes, and part of the experience here is to visit the minority villages.
I caught the night train from Ha Noi, but had zero sleep, because the guy in the berth next to mine snored so loudly that it was impossible to do anything but stare at the ceiling. Not to worry.
When you arrive at the station you are bombarded by people trying to sell you a minibus ride up to Sapa. The drive up is incredible, with amazing views on a little windy road that climbs up the mountain. (Tim's Top Tip: Sit on the left - you get way better views).
Sapa itself is pretty small. And while there are loads of people trying to sell you stuff, it's really relaxed and stress free.
I really wanted to do the walk down to the villages, so having dumped my bags at the hotel, went to try and get on a tour. Everyone told me I was way too late for the walk that day, which would take 6 to 8 hours, and the prices seemed to be really high.
Not sure of what to do, I got chatting to some of the women from the village, who were saying I should definitely go with them to see the village. Which sounded like a great idea. One of the village people (no - not the band) spoke really great English, and I got chatting to her about a possible route.
She said she'd take me, and when I asked her how much, she said it was up to me. I think that she'd have taken me for free, but I wanted to see three of the villages and it was a long way - and I'd have had to pay for a tour anyway - so it only seemed fair to pay something.
My guide's name was Sea (no idea how to spell it, but that's what it sounded like), and despite only three years of school spoke incredibly good English. It was really great walking down the mountain chatting away about all sorts of things.
As we're walking down the road, a minibus grinds to a halt and out jump Jacqui and Leah - who I'd met on the Halong Tour. So we arranged to meet up that night for some food.
After about an hour, we caught up with all of the people who'd set off on the tours earlier that day:
Now I like to walk pretty quickly, and Sea had no problems keeping up with me (or was it me trying to keep up with her :-) - but when we got to this really steep down hill bit, she was off running, and I was struggling to keep up even though she was wearing sandals, and I had on my fancy walking shoes on :-)
Rice Paddy's:
A rather nice heart made of ferns that one of the ladies from the village gave me. Not sure if she was trying to tell me something but there was a lot of marriage talk at one point :-)
"Baby Rice" which will be replanted in a few months time:
No, No, NO. NO! Some ducks:
A water buffalo:
Village houses:
We walked through the first village and then on to the next, where Sea pointed out the different style of dress - they even have a different language. And then on to the next village - again a different way of dressing and a different language.
At the next village there was no tourists - and I think we'd already walked about 14 kilometers or so. So I got out the chocolate bread I'd bought in Sapa this morning, and we ate it on the side of the path. Sea then pulled these shoot things from the ground and showed me how to peel them so you could eat the inside. The first bite was a bit weird, but it was pretty good after that.
From there, it was the long path up to the road. If you do the walk to the first few villages, you can walk back to the road and get a moto road back to town. But we'd gone so far that there weren't any moto's so started walking back towards Sapa.
After seeing this I told Sea we should steal some Water Buffalo and ride them back to Sapa:
I got joking with See that I was going to walk back to town and she was laughing at me saying it was too far. It turned out to be a punishing 11 kilometer up hill climb in the baking sun. Fun - but hard work - made even worse by plenty of "you want moto" offers on the way.
But the good news was - I met loads of local people on the road, and it was good fun to chat to some of them.
I managed just over 25 kilometers in five and a half hours - which was pretty good seeing the last half was up hill. :-)
Sea's village:
An incredible day out - made all the more fun by Sea - whose standing on the right:
That night I met up with Jacqui and Leah and we went for food in one of the restaurants. Sadly, there other friend Emily, wasn't feeling well so wasn't able to join us. We ended up at the place that makes the chocolate bread (which was totally awesome) but ended getting kicked out at 10:30 because they were closing!
It's a small town set in beautiful countryside, at the top of a big mountain, with an incredible valley below with awesome views. The area is home to some of Vietnam's minority tribes, and part of the experience here is to visit the minority villages.
I caught the night train from Ha Noi, but had zero sleep, because the guy in the berth next to mine snored so loudly that it was impossible to do anything but stare at the ceiling. Not to worry.
When you arrive at the station you are bombarded by people trying to sell you a minibus ride up to Sapa. The drive up is incredible, with amazing views on a little windy road that climbs up the mountain. (Tim's Top Tip: Sit on the left - you get way better views).
Sapa itself is pretty small. And while there are loads of people trying to sell you stuff, it's really relaxed and stress free.
I really wanted to do the walk down to the villages, so having dumped my bags at the hotel, went to try and get on a tour. Everyone told me I was way too late for the walk that day, which would take 6 to 8 hours, and the prices seemed to be really high.
Not sure of what to do, I got chatting to some of the women from the village, who were saying I should definitely go with them to see the village. Which sounded like a great idea. One of the village people (no - not the band) spoke really great English, and I got chatting to her about a possible route.
She said she'd take me, and when I asked her how much, she said it was up to me. I think that she'd have taken me for free, but I wanted to see three of the villages and it was a long way - and I'd have had to pay for a tour anyway - so it only seemed fair to pay something.
My guide's name was Sea (no idea how to spell it, but that's what it sounded like), and despite only three years of school spoke incredibly good English. It was really great walking down the mountain chatting away about all sorts of things.
As we're walking down the road, a minibus grinds to a halt and out jump Jacqui and Leah - who I'd met on the Halong Tour. So we arranged to meet up that night for some food.
After about an hour, we caught up with all of the people who'd set off on the tours earlier that day:
Now I like to walk pretty quickly, and Sea had no problems keeping up with me (or was it me trying to keep up with her :-) - but when we got to this really steep down hill bit, she was off running, and I was struggling to keep up even though she was wearing sandals, and I had on my fancy walking shoes on :-)
Rice Paddy's:
A rather nice heart made of ferns that one of the ladies from the village gave me. Not sure if she was trying to tell me something but there was a lot of marriage talk at one point :-)
"Baby Rice" which will be replanted in a few months time:
No, No, NO. NO! Some ducks:
A water buffalo:
Village houses:
We walked through the first village and then on to the next, where Sea pointed out the different style of dress - they even have a different language. And then on to the next village - again a different way of dressing and a different language.
At the next village there was no tourists - and I think we'd already walked about 14 kilometers or so. So I got out the chocolate bread I'd bought in Sapa this morning, and we ate it on the side of the path. Sea then pulled these shoot things from the ground and showed me how to peel them so you could eat the inside. The first bite was a bit weird, but it was pretty good after that.
From there, it was the long path up to the road. If you do the walk to the first few villages, you can walk back to the road and get a moto road back to town. But we'd gone so far that there weren't any moto's so started walking back towards Sapa.
After seeing this I told Sea we should steal some Water Buffalo and ride them back to Sapa:
I got joking with See that I was going to walk back to town and she was laughing at me saying it was too far. It turned out to be a punishing 11 kilometer up hill climb in the baking sun. Fun - but hard work - made even worse by plenty of "you want moto" offers on the way.
But the good news was - I met loads of local people on the road, and it was good fun to chat to some of them.
I managed just over 25 kilometers in five and a half hours - which was pretty good seeing the last half was up hill. :-)
Sea's village:
An incredible day out - made all the more fun by Sea - whose standing on the right:
That night I met up with Jacqui and Leah and we went for food in one of the restaurants. Sadly, there other friend Emily, wasn't feeling well so wasn't able to join us. We ended up at the place that makes the chocolate bread (which was totally awesome) but ended getting kicked out at 10:30 because they were closing!
Hanoi
If it was a choice between Saigon or Hanoi - I'd pick Hanoi every time. It's a great place just to walk around, and there are some great things to see here.
I had a handy list of things worth doing, which Mel had kindly provided me, and so I set off to see what there was to see...
The old city, with it's markets and little stores is definitely worth having a walk around. Each street sells something different, and the street names usually refer to what's being sold!
Just south of the old quarter is Hoan Kiem lake, which has a temple on a little island. Here's the bridge across to the temple:
From there, I took a Cyclo to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum where you can see the actual body (yes - you read that right) of Uncle Ho.
Your not allowed to take anything in, so you have to check your bags and cameras and then join the long long queue to get into the mausoleum. The queue moves really quickly, although there was plenty of pushing and queue jumping going on.
The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum:
As you walk in there's one of Uncle Ho's most famous quotes written up on the wall:
Once your in the Mausoleum, you shuffle into this little room, where the body is displayed in a cabinet. I must admit, it does look a bit spooky. I also got told off for having my hands in my pockets. I was going to say I was valuing my independence and freedom - but thought better of it :-)
Around the corner is the Royal Palace:
Now this is where Uncle Ho could have lived. But instead, he had a little house (think just two rooms upstairs and an open room downstairs), as he wanted to live in the same type of house as the people. Here's his house - yes - it really is that small:
Around the corner from Uncle Ho's house is the One Pillar Pagoda. It's a small scale copy of the original, but it's a pretty cool idea:
And then, just around the corner from that, is the Ho Chi Minh Museum. You don't learn that much about the man himself, it's not a museum in that sense, but it's worth a look around just for the bizarre pieces like: this presentation is the representation of a cave in the shape of a brain to honor Ho Chi Minh's time living in the caves:
No - I can't see it either...
Around the corner from that, is the temple of literature. It's the only thing left from the time of the Emperors, but is worth checking out if your in the area:
On my way to the station to buy a ticket to Sapa, I popped in at the Hoa Loa Prison - AKA The Hanoi Hilton. It's where the French used to keep the Vietnamese during the uprising, and where the Vietnamese kept American service men during the American War.
It's a total exercise in propaganda. Loads of displays of the French mistreating the Vietnamese (it's pretty gruesome stuff), and then loads of pictures of happy US service men - absolutely no mention of the torture and in human conditions that existed in the prison during the 70's.
Here's a pic of one of the prisons most famous prisoners - Senator John McCain:
In the evening I went to see the famous Water Puppet Show. I was slightly concerned that it might be a bit boring, or the novelty would wear off, and that I'd be sitting there bored for an hour. But it was totally awesome. If your in town - you should definitely go and see this show.
The "stage" is a big tank of water, with a bamboo screen at the back, from where the puppets appear. They have scenes of rural life, and because each one only lasts under 5 minutes it goes really quickly.
I thought I'd only been there about 20 minutes when it ended, but it had actually been 50. It's really funny - and I just wish I could have taken Joshua to go and see it.
Here's a video:
Check out the crazy Saturday night Hanoi traffic - I ended up having to cross right through the middle of this :-)
And finally...they have a thing called Bia Hoi here, which roughly translates as "Fresh Beer". They have these small brewery's in every town, and deliver the barrels on the back of moto's to people who set up stalls on the side of the street: A few stools, a couple of barrels of beer, and some glasses.
A large glass (probably the same as a 440ml can back home) of pretty good beer is only 3000 dong - that's just under 12pence...so you can go out with a pound in your pocket, have an awesome night out - and still have change left over at the end of the night.
I had a handy list of things worth doing, which Mel had kindly provided me, and so I set off to see what there was to see...
The old city, with it's markets and little stores is definitely worth having a walk around. Each street sells something different, and the street names usually refer to what's being sold!
Just south of the old quarter is Hoan Kiem lake, which has a temple on a little island. Here's the bridge across to the temple:
From there, I took a Cyclo to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum where you can see the actual body (yes - you read that right) of Uncle Ho.
Your not allowed to take anything in, so you have to check your bags and cameras and then join the long long queue to get into the mausoleum. The queue moves really quickly, although there was plenty of pushing and queue jumping going on.
The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum:
As you walk in there's one of Uncle Ho's most famous quotes written up on the wall:
"Nothing is more valuable than independence and freedom."
Once your in the Mausoleum, you shuffle into this little room, where the body is displayed in a cabinet. I must admit, it does look a bit spooky. I also got told off for having my hands in my pockets. I was going to say I was valuing my independence and freedom - but thought better of it :-)
Around the corner is the Royal Palace:
Now this is where Uncle Ho could have lived. But instead, he had a little house (think just two rooms upstairs and an open room downstairs), as he wanted to live in the same type of house as the people. Here's his house - yes - it really is that small:
Around the corner from Uncle Ho's house is the One Pillar Pagoda. It's a small scale copy of the original, but it's a pretty cool idea:
And then, just around the corner from that, is the Ho Chi Minh Museum. You don't learn that much about the man himself, it's not a museum in that sense, but it's worth a look around just for the bizarre pieces like: this presentation is the representation of a cave in the shape of a brain to honor Ho Chi Minh's time living in the caves:
No - I can't see it either...
Around the corner from that, is the temple of literature. It's the only thing left from the time of the Emperors, but is worth checking out if your in the area:
On my way to the station to buy a ticket to Sapa, I popped in at the Hoa Loa Prison - AKA The Hanoi Hilton. It's where the French used to keep the Vietnamese during the uprising, and where the Vietnamese kept American service men during the American War.
It's a total exercise in propaganda. Loads of displays of the French mistreating the Vietnamese (it's pretty gruesome stuff), and then loads of pictures of happy US service men - absolutely no mention of the torture and in human conditions that existed in the prison during the 70's.
Here's a pic of one of the prisons most famous prisoners - Senator John McCain:
In the evening I went to see the famous Water Puppet Show. I was slightly concerned that it might be a bit boring, or the novelty would wear off, and that I'd be sitting there bored for an hour. But it was totally awesome. If your in town - you should definitely go and see this show.
The "stage" is a big tank of water, with a bamboo screen at the back, from where the puppets appear. They have scenes of rural life, and because each one only lasts under 5 minutes it goes really quickly.
I thought I'd only been there about 20 minutes when it ended, but it had actually been 50. It's really funny - and I just wish I could have taken Joshua to go and see it.
Here's a video:
Check out the crazy Saturday night Hanoi traffic - I ended up having to cross right through the middle of this :-)
And finally...they have a thing called Bia Hoi here, which roughly translates as "Fresh Beer". They have these small brewery's in every town, and deliver the barrels on the back of moto's to people who set up stalls on the side of the street: A few stools, a couple of barrels of beer, and some glasses.
A large glass (probably the same as a 440ml can back home) of pretty good beer is only 3000 dong - that's just under 12pence...so you can go out with a pound in your pocket, have an awesome night out - and still have change left over at the end of the night.
Tuesday 21 April 2009
Ha Long Bay
I caught the night train to Hanoi, and decided to stay a day to hang out and book a tour to Halong Bay for the following day.
Halong Bay is the second of Vietnam's World Heritage Sites (the other being Phong Nha), and while Phong Nha sees hardly any (western) visitors, Halong is the big thing to do while here.
It's a series of Limestone Karsts which stick out of the sea. It's pretty interesting to read about (if you like that kind of thing), and there are more details here.
While you can do it independently, it's much easier, and not that much more expensive to take a tour. One problem with the Ha Long tours is that there are loads of horror stories, about people who discover terrible food, poor service, or even rats on board the boats. So I spent quite a bit of time researching the options.
There are two companies who seem to get consistently good reports: Handspan and Vega Travel. Mel had been on a Handspan tour and it sounded great. They are more expensive that everyone else, but you usually get what you pay for as they say. The only problem was that I really wanted to go sea kayaking which meant their mid-range tour which was almost $170 USD for two days, including the single supplement.
So I went to check out Vega, and their tour was $87USD including free kayaking and the single supplement. Only problem was, they didn't have enough people for the tour the next day. So I hung around in Hanoi and went back at 4:45pm (all the boat companies close the lists at 5pm - and sometimes you can negotiate a late booking discount). Luckily there were enough people so I signed up.
The tours are fairly straight forward - a three hour drive to Ha Long, a cruise through the bay while enjoying lunch, stop at a cave, cruise through the bay, climb up one of the limestone karsts to get a great view. Cruise to another bay, kayak, and then food. The next day it's another cruise while enjoying breakfast, and back to Ha Long to drive back to Hanoi.
It can feel a little bit like being on a tourist conveyor belt - everyone does the same stuff on all of the tours. But - it was an incredibly relaxing and thoroughly enjoyable two days. I'd totally recommend it - and the great thing about Vega is they go to a quite bay for the night you spend on the boat.
Luckily, there were some great people on the Vega tour, including two Canadians and an Australian. We ended up playing cards on the cruise back which was great fun. Just wish I'd taken some more pictures of the tour - but I was enjoying it way too much...
Here are a few pics:
Sailing into Ha Long Bay:
Big cave in one of the karsts:
The view across the bay after climbing 400 steps:
Halong Bay is the second of Vietnam's World Heritage Sites (the other being Phong Nha), and while Phong Nha sees hardly any (western) visitors, Halong is the big thing to do while here.
It's a series of Limestone Karsts which stick out of the sea. It's pretty interesting to read about (if you like that kind of thing), and there are more details here.
While you can do it independently, it's much easier, and not that much more expensive to take a tour. One problem with the Ha Long tours is that there are loads of horror stories, about people who discover terrible food, poor service, or even rats on board the boats. So I spent quite a bit of time researching the options.
There are two companies who seem to get consistently good reports: Handspan and Vega Travel. Mel had been on a Handspan tour and it sounded great. They are more expensive that everyone else, but you usually get what you pay for as they say. The only problem was that I really wanted to go sea kayaking which meant their mid-range tour which was almost $170 USD for two days, including the single supplement.
So I went to check out Vega, and their tour was $87USD including free kayaking and the single supplement. Only problem was, they didn't have enough people for the tour the next day. So I hung around in Hanoi and went back at 4:45pm (all the boat companies close the lists at 5pm - and sometimes you can negotiate a late booking discount). Luckily there were enough people so I signed up.
The tours are fairly straight forward - a three hour drive to Ha Long, a cruise through the bay while enjoying lunch, stop at a cave, cruise through the bay, climb up one of the limestone karsts to get a great view. Cruise to another bay, kayak, and then food. The next day it's another cruise while enjoying breakfast, and back to Ha Long to drive back to Hanoi.
It can feel a little bit like being on a tourist conveyor belt - everyone does the same stuff on all of the tours. But - it was an incredibly relaxing and thoroughly enjoyable two days. I'd totally recommend it - and the great thing about Vega is they go to a quite bay for the night you spend on the boat.
Luckily, there were some great people on the Vega tour, including two Canadians and an Australian. We ended up playing cards on the cruise back which was great fun. Just wish I'd taken some more pictures of the tour - but I was enjoying it way too much...
Here are a few pics:
Sailing into Ha Long Bay:
Big cave in one of the karsts:
The view across the bay after climbing 400 steps:
The Baby Train, Dong Hoi, and Phong Nha Cave.
One of the things I really wanted to do when I was on this trip was to get off the beaten track. While I do appreciate doing the tourist sites, I really like going to places where other people don't go. Even if that means some small town in the middle of nowhere where there's nothing to see in the traditional sense, as what you do get to see is what life is really like for people living in which ever country it happens to be.
I'm pleased to say that I've just had two of those days - although (incredibly) it did include a trip to a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
I caught the train from Hue to Dong Hoi, taking the locals train, rather than the usual "Tourist Express". I was the only westerner on the train, and the conditions were totally different from the express trains. Hard seats, jam packed with people and luggage, and fans to stir the hot air.
Compared to the express, it was uncomfortable. But incredibly, people were doing the Saigon to Hanoi run on this train. Three hours was enough for me. Some of the people were spending a couple of days on the train.
At one point I could tell something was happening, but no one spoke English, so I kept looking around wondering what it was.
Then a man mimes a pregnant woman, and then rocks his hands as if he's holding a baby - everyone falls about laughing as I suddenly work out what's going on. It turns out that a woman was giving birth in the next carriage. The train didn't stop, it just kept going, and they rustled up hot water, blankets, and had a collection for baby clothes.
It was a real eye opener. People just got on with it - no fuss, no messing around. I felt sorry for the woman though - what a place to give birth...
My destination was Dong Hoi, which was on the north of the dividing line during the American War, and was therefore heavily bombed. It's basically all new, and it makes a nice place to stop.
Dong Hoi:
This is all that's left of Dong Hoi's church - bombed by the Americans during the war - you can still see bullet holes in the wall:
View over the fish ponds to the mountains behind:
It's a great place to walk around, and after seeing all there was to see, I headed to the market for food. The one thing I wanted to try was the local specialty Banh Khoai - a type of pancake with shrimp and pork.
So they brought the food, which included what looked like sheets of plastic, a bowl of herbs, the pancake, super hot chilies, and a plate of meat which I was unable to identify.
Luckily, there were other people in the place, and I'd been watching what they did. You basically grab a sheet of plastic (which turns out to be rice paper), put in some meat, put in some pancake, add some herbs, roll the paper like a big joint, and then dip it in this really nice sauce.
It was pretty good, although the meat was pretty nasty stuff. I only managed to eat half before giving up. I really don't know what it was, but a store down the street sold dog meat so you never know (although I definitely prefer my dog on a lead, than a plate...).
The reason I wanted to come to Dong Hoi was because back in the early 90's when I was climbing on a regular basis, people were talking about this huge cave system in Vietnam. I remember reading a report by the British team (The British Cave Research Association) who'd been to explore it, and had been further than anyone else into the cave - about 8 kilometers!
I headed to the tourist office to see if there was a tour for the next day, but they wanted $85USD - which was way way way out of my budget and stupidly expensive. So I headed back to the hotel who were really helpful. They spoke the best English of anyone I met in Dong Hoi, although we did need to do some writing down and miming. In the end they said it was 650,000 Dong for a car, 350,000 Dong for a moto with driver, or the same for a moto for me to drive.
I thought - OK - I might as well get someone to drive - at least they'll know the way. So I negotiated a rate of 200,000 dong (about 8 quid) for the moto and driver.
I was slightly surprised when the next morning, bright and early, I waited at reception and a lady pulled up, and handed me the key and helmet for a moto. It seems there were some crossed wires along the way :-)
Not to be perturbed I asked them the directions (which I couldn't follow), and then consulted the Rough Guide who had some basic instructions (which turned out to be wrong) and then set off for the 100km round trip.
The first bit is on Route 1, with trucks and coaches, and was definitely the worst bit. I pulled over and drove slowly when there was other traffic, and then floored it (well, as much as you can do with 125cc engine :-) when there wasn't any other traffic.
Once you get to Hoan Lao, it's a left turn, and then through villages and rice fields, until another little village where there's a roundabout. Some guys thankfully gave me some really great mimed directions, and I was able to find the rest of the way with no problems.
The Ho Chi Minh Highway:
The only way to the cave is in a boat, and as I was a little later than originally planned, there wasn't anyone else to share with - so I had to hire my own. It's a beautiful ride up the river.
On the boat:
Children swimming in the river:
The local village:
People harvesting reeds from the river:
There are actually two caves to see here - Tien Son Cave - which is a dry cave at the top of 350 very hot, and very steep steps.
Inside Tien Son Cave:
And then it's back to the boat for the ride into Phong Nha.
And what a ride. This is one of the best things I've ever done. I took some video of the ride into the cave, but it's too big to upload on the slow Internet speeds.
After a fair old trip in, you get out into this huge cave, and walk up to the end:
Is it me, or does this look like something out of Alien?
I only saw four other westerners on the trip - and they passed in a boat as I was heading up river to Phong Nha. All the other visitors were Vietnamese, and they all wanted to say hello and have a picture taken - with me!!!
I even got adopted by a family who insisted that I walk around Tien Son Cave with them, even though none of us could speak to each other.
And then another group adopted me for the trip into Phong Nha - the boat drivers even came along and wanted pictures. Which was really great as everyone was so friendly - it felt like I'd seen another side of Vietnam...
From there, it was back on the boat to the boat station.
I was pretty hungry by this point, so I stopped for lunch at a place, and ordered Tom Rim (prawns that are cooked so the shell is crispy so you don't need to peel them), and rice. They insisted that I tried some other things, and just kept bringing stuff out. There was so much food (including really good roast fish) that in the end I had to decline any more. And it cost hardly anything...
And then it was back to Dong Hoi, and the night train to Ha Noi.
This is one of the best trip's I've ever made anywhere. An incredible two days, made even better by the kindness of strangers whose language I'm unable to speak, but who made it a trip to remember. The caves were awesome - and it was so good to finally see what all the fuss was about :-)
I'm pleased to say that I've just had two of those days - although (incredibly) it did include a trip to a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
I caught the train from Hue to Dong Hoi, taking the locals train, rather than the usual "Tourist Express". I was the only westerner on the train, and the conditions were totally different from the express trains. Hard seats, jam packed with people and luggage, and fans to stir the hot air.
Compared to the express, it was uncomfortable. But incredibly, people were doing the Saigon to Hanoi run on this train. Three hours was enough for me. Some of the people were spending a couple of days on the train.
At one point I could tell something was happening, but no one spoke English, so I kept looking around wondering what it was.
Then a man mimes a pregnant woman, and then rocks his hands as if he's holding a baby - everyone falls about laughing as I suddenly work out what's going on. It turns out that a woman was giving birth in the next carriage. The train didn't stop, it just kept going, and they rustled up hot water, blankets, and had a collection for baby clothes.
It was a real eye opener. People just got on with it - no fuss, no messing around. I felt sorry for the woman though - what a place to give birth...
My destination was Dong Hoi, which was on the north of the dividing line during the American War, and was therefore heavily bombed. It's basically all new, and it makes a nice place to stop.
Dong Hoi:
This is all that's left of Dong Hoi's church - bombed by the Americans during the war - you can still see bullet holes in the wall:
View over the fish ponds to the mountains behind:
It's a great place to walk around, and after seeing all there was to see, I headed to the market for food. The one thing I wanted to try was the local specialty Banh Khoai - a type of pancake with shrimp and pork.
So they brought the food, which included what looked like sheets of plastic, a bowl of herbs, the pancake, super hot chilies, and a plate of meat which I was unable to identify.
Luckily, there were other people in the place, and I'd been watching what they did. You basically grab a sheet of plastic (which turns out to be rice paper), put in some meat, put in some pancake, add some herbs, roll the paper like a big joint, and then dip it in this really nice sauce.
It was pretty good, although the meat was pretty nasty stuff. I only managed to eat half before giving up. I really don't know what it was, but a store down the street sold dog meat so you never know (although I definitely prefer my dog on a lead, than a plate...).
The reason I wanted to come to Dong Hoi was because back in the early 90's when I was climbing on a regular basis, people were talking about this huge cave system in Vietnam. I remember reading a report by the British team (The British Cave Research Association) who'd been to explore it, and had been further than anyone else into the cave - about 8 kilometers!
I headed to the tourist office to see if there was a tour for the next day, but they wanted $85USD - which was way way way out of my budget and stupidly expensive. So I headed back to the hotel who were really helpful. They spoke the best English of anyone I met in Dong Hoi, although we did need to do some writing down and miming. In the end they said it was 650,000 Dong for a car, 350,000 Dong for a moto with driver, or the same for a moto for me to drive.
I thought - OK - I might as well get someone to drive - at least they'll know the way. So I negotiated a rate of 200,000 dong (about 8 quid) for the moto and driver.
I was slightly surprised when the next morning, bright and early, I waited at reception and a lady pulled up, and handed me the key and helmet for a moto. It seems there were some crossed wires along the way :-)
Not to be perturbed I asked them the directions (which I couldn't follow), and then consulted the Rough Guide who had some basic instructions (which turned out to be wrong) and then set off for the 100km round trip.
The first bit is on Route 1, with trucks and coaches, and was definitely the worst bit. I pulled over and drove slowly when there was other traffic, and then floored it (well, as much as you can do with 125cc engine :-) when there wasn't any other traffic.
Once you get to Hoan Lao, it's a left turn, and then through villages and rice fields, until another little village where there's a roundabout. Some guys thankfully gave me some really great mimed directions, and I was able to find the rest of the way with no problems.
The Ho Chi Minh Highway:
The only way to the cave is in a boat, and as I was a little later than originally planned, there wasn't anyone else to share with - so I had to hire my own. It's a beautiful ride up the river.
On the boat:
Children swimming in the river:
The local village:
People harvesting reeds from the river:
There are actually two caves to see here - Tien Son Cave - which is a dry cave at the top of 350 very hot, and very steep steps.
Inside Tien Son Cave:
And then it's back to the boat for the ride into Phong Nha.
And what a ride. This is one of the best things I've ever done. I took some video of the ride into the cave, but it's too big to upload on the slow Internet speeds.
After a fair old trip in, you get out into this huge cave, and walk up to the end:
Is it me, or does this look like something out of Alien?
I only saw four other westerners on the trip - and they passed in a boat as I was heading up river to Phong Nha. All the other visitors were Vietnamese, and they all wanted to say hello and have a picture taken - with me!!!
I even got adopted by a family who insisted that I walk around Tien Son Cave with them, even though none of us could speak to each other.
And then another group adopted me for the trip into Phong Nha - the boat drivers even came along and wanted pictures. Which was really great as everyone was so friendly - it felt like I'd seen another side of Vietnam...
From there, it was back on the boat to the boat station.
I was pretty hungry by this point, so I stopped for lunch at a place, and ordered Tom Rim (prawns that are cooked so the shell is crispy so you don't need to peel them), and rice. They insisted that I tried some other things, and just kept bringing stuff out. There was so much food (including really good roast fish) that in the end I had to decline any more. And it cost hardly anything...
And then it was back to Dong Hoi, and the night train to Ha Noi.
This is one of the best trip's I've ever made anywhere. An incredible two days, made even better by the kindness of strangers whose language I'm unable to speak, but who made it a trip to remember. The caves were awesome - and it was so good to finally see what all the fuss was about :-)
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