I can't believe we spent ten days in Hoi An. It has to be the most comfortable town in the country. On the river it is possible to be mesmerized and caressed by the cooling breeze for hours. Beware! The restaurants are some of the best in the country and most are sinfully cheap. I have lots of fantastic recipes brewing in my mind, like daydreams of our idyllic stay.
My Son was average. (I'm so spoiled by Angkor!) We were disheartened by the dishonest tour guide who stole thousands of dong from our bus by insisting that no one could buy their own tickets, buying an insufficient amount of them and pocketing the remaining funds. The guards counted the tickets and the people frantically as the guide hurried us through the entrance. When the guard pointed out that the ticket/person ratio was off the guide insisted some of us weren't even in his tour! C'est la Vietnam! The complex was destroyed by the Americans during the war and while I'm sure it was once magnificent, now it is literally just a pile of red bricks which makes the whole scene look like a collection of colonial buildings fell down.
We returned down the Hoi An river by boat while enjoying a bizarre lunch of cold, sticky rice covered in fat sugar crystals and peanuts.
On the 10th we woke up at 5:30 and rode bikes to Cao Dai beach (part of China beach). We splashed around in the temperate ocean and laid on the bleached sand for hours. The experience was everything you could want from a day at the beach. Long fishing boats trolled the waters a short distance out, the waves teased and tossed us, the air was dry and hot, the only sound was the strong pull of the tide's retreat. It was blissful and we were only approached once by a woman selling fruit. We packed up and rode off when a girl told us we couldn't leave our bikes padlocked to a palm tree on the sand any longer.
Even after such a long stay it was hard to leave.
Our flight last night was a half hour late arriving from Hanoi and an hour late departing for Saigon. As we waited for a boarding call feisty rats scurried around the displays of Pringles and Oreos. Though it was a mostly empty plane they had seated every passenger in a large clump, three to a row in the center of the aircraft. When the service cart came down the aisle our row was totally ignored. Pacific Airlines: Just so you know, you're in Vietnam.
We arrived at the hotel around midnight. The walls in our room were completely covered in ants this morning, which was awesome. Also, the bathroom door fell off and hit Jessica in the head. And the TV doesn't have any sound. So we kindly suggested that we should move rooms and headed out to pick up our plane tickets.
Monday we fly to Tokyo, where our layover is ten hours. Narita is one of my favourite airports and I am seriously looking forward to being "stuck" there. The airline is providing us with a hotel because of the long delay. I have promised Jessica that we can have sushi at the airport because otherwise she will make me eat sushi in Saigon, which does not appeal. Then we are on to New York. My despair is only mollified when I remember who will be waiting for us there...
7.5.07
DO NOT EVER TAKE A LUXURY BUS IN VIETNAM!
You have been warned and I wash my hands of any harm or horror that befalls you for thinking you can handle it.
By the time our "luxury bus" arrived in Ninh Binh it had been filled to capacity with people who boarded in Hanoi. Only 1.5 hours into their trip they all looked ready to smash out the plexi-glass windows and hurl themselves from the moving vehicle. Jessica got a seat next to a Vietnamese man who thought she would make a good elbow rest. I was lucky enough to secure a choice seat in the back row, which did not recline. It did allow me the honour of cradling in my lap for ten hours the head of the man in front of me who felt he needed to recline fully.
Probably the most frustrating part of the whole journey was that the Vietnamese folks on board (the ones with perfectly good seats that reclined and offered access to the small stream of air from the vents) left their seats empty to take up residence in the aisles! But if anyone tried to sit in their seat it would suddenly be "occupied" by the feet of a neighbour.
To add salt to the wound when we arrived in Hue we were told the bus was terminating and we would have to wait in a travel agent's office until the onward bus showed up. So we sat in the darkened office with signs boasting that they "OGRANIZED ROMATIC KAYARKING" trips for almost two hours waiting for the bus. It was bound for Hoi An, but we were stopping in Lang Co to enjoy a few days on the beach.
Well, the bus didn't even stop in Lang Co. It stopped 3km from any part of Lang Co. A guy with a motorbike said he would bring us to a hotel of his choosing and that we could call him when we wanted to rebook the bus to Hoi An. We decided to be done with this Trekking Travel bus company sooner rather than later. I tossed our bags back under the bus and we rode on to Hoi An.
It's been five days now and I am really glad we came straight to Hoi An. We bargained our hotel down so low that they give us evil stares when we go up for the free breakfast, or to use the free pool, or to get on the free computers. Soon we plan to make use of their free bicycles, BWAHAHAHAHAHA! We emptied our backpacks completely (NOW THAT'S LUXURY) and have been extremely lackadaisical about our daily activities. They consist of strolling by the river, exploring the old town streets, visiting cloth shops to arrange for tailor made clothes and eating local delicacies.
Tomorrow we are doing something that can actually be considered cultural, visiting the My Son temples nearby.
By the time our "luxury bus" arrived in Ninh Binh it had been filled to capacity with people who boarded in Hanoi. Only 1.5 hours into their trip they all looked ready to smash out the plexi-glass windows and hurl themselves from the moving vehicle. Jessica got a seat next to a Vietnamese man who thought she would make a good elbow rest. I was lucky enough to secure a choice seat in the back row, which did not recline. It did allow me the honour of cradling in my lap for ten hours the head of the man in front of me who felt he needed to recline fully.
Probably the most frustrating part of the whole journey was that the Vietnamese folks on board (the ones with perfectly good seats that reclined and offered access to the small stream of air from the vents) left their seats empty to take up residence in the aisles! But if anyone tried to sit in their seat it would suddenly be "occupied" by the feet of a neighbour.
To add salt to the wound when we arrived in Hue we were told the bus was terminating and we would have to wait in a travel agent's office until the onward bus showed up. So we sat in the darkened office with signs boasting that they "OGRANIZED ROMATIC KAYARKING" trips for almost two hours waiting for the bus. It was bound for Hoi An, but we were stopping in Lang Co to enjoy a few days on the beach.
Well, the bus didn't even stop in Lang Co. It stopped 3km from any part of Lang Co. A guy with a motorbike said he would bring us to a hotel of his choosing and that we could call him when we wanted to rebook the bus to Hoi An. We decided to be done with this Trekking Travel bus company sooner rather than later. I tossed our bags back under the bus and we rode on to Hoi An.
It's been five days now and I am really glad we came straight to Hoi An. We bargained our hotel down so low that they give us evil stares when we go up for the free breakfast, or to use the free pool, or to get on the free computers. Soon we plan to make use of their free bicycles, BWAHAHAHAHAHA! We emptied our backpacks completely (NOW THAT'S LUXURY) and have been extremely lackadaisical about our daily activities. They consist of strolling by the river, exploring the old town streets, visiting cloth shops to arrange for tailor made clothes and eating local delicacies.
Tomorrow we are doing something that can actually be considered cultural, visiting the My Son temples nearby.
1.5.07
There's One in Every Country
Okay. We grabbed our gear early in the morning and headed out to catch a bus to somewhere. When we checked out of our strange guesthouse they charged us $2 a night LESS than we were originally told. Very Un-Vietnam.
We wandered the misty streets heading for a random street corner where we had been told (by the Vietnamese Tony Soprano the night before) the bus for Lai Chau picked up passengers. When we got there a bus waited with a sign for Son La. As I remembered it our itinerary should have gone:
Lai Chau for one night,
Dien Bien Phu for one night,
Son La for one night
and then on to Hanoi.
This route was necessary because of the distance and condition of the roads between all these towns. But seeing the possibility of a bus straight to Son La was kind of intriguing. After seeing a bus for Dien Bien Phu pull up, bursting with passengers, rice bags and chickens, we decided to take a chance and hop of the bus marked "Son La". No one on that bus spoke English so we couldn't really verify where we were going or how long it would take but we felt energized and ready for an adventure. The one thing we could ascertain, via Jessica's calculator, was that it would cost us significantly less than our hotelier wanted to charge for half the distance.
After about fifteen minutes up a winding, dirt road we came to a stop behind twenty other cars and buses. There was a landslide up ahead. Two bulldozers and a backhoe were trying to push some red earth around so we could pass. But in the meantime a small celebration had begun. People poured out of their minibuses and cars to chat. Women had set up small grills where they roasted sweet potatoes, eggs, water chestnuts and bamboo. Jessica made a few friends, had some tea, had her photo taken with a dozen guys and got a present. I went up ahead to take photos of the "construction".
About an hour later we were off. It was a truly spectacular ride. Limestone mountains, waterfalls, misting valleys, rice terraces, banana trees stretching out for miles, thai stilt houses, temples on distant hills. Our passengers changed frequently. The driver would honk wildly as we passed anyone on the side of the road. Sometimes they would grab a bag and jump on with the bus still moving, sometimes they would wave us past. Children would shout "hello!" and run up to the window to wave. Water buffalo, dogs and ducks would wander into our path and the swerving and honking would increase. Sometimes the sky would darken and open up to pelt us with heavy rain drops and our backseat would flood.
It was an awesome ride.
It started to get dark as we crossed into Son La. Everyone kept asking us "which hotel?" but we just wanted to go to the bus station to look up schedules to Hanoi. The bus slowed just before we reached the station and a woman and man jumped on shouting "hotels? sleep? hanoi?". We rolled to a stop inside the station walls and I spotted a sign in a bus for Ninh Binh. That had been our next destination and we had assumed there would be a grueling journey through Hanoi, but there it was in eight gorgeous letters! I checked the schedule inside as the woman determinedly grabbed my pack and called "hotel, hotel" repeatedly. I ran to catch up and she showed us across the street.
Our guidebook had mentioned that many of the hotels in Son La doubled as brothels, but with night falling and the bus station so conveniently close (for our 5am departure) we couldn't really argue or go searching for alternatives. The sweetest woman led us up past the rooms with curtains instead of doors to what must have been her nicest suite (with a wooden door: BONUS). It had a balcony and lacey canopies plus a Spice Girls nightstand. We went out for a quick dinner at a local Com Pho and crashed.
I set the alarm for 4:30 and we were up and motivated. Jessica showered first, but we kept the lights off in the main room because we feared you could see in through the tinted glass windows which lacked curtains. I guess this made the prositute left in charge of us think we were still asleep and she tried to wake us up several times by banging and shouting at the door. When we were dressed we opened the door to her. She came in and got excited about us missing the bus, standing there as we finished packing. Then we were escorted to the bus station in darkness, where someone else took over escorting us to the ticket window, where someone else took over escorting us to the bus, where someone else took over showing us to our seats.
I guess they don't get a lot of tourists in Son La...
We've spent our two days in Ninh Binh well. It was mercifully good weather. Yesterday we took a local bus to Phat Diem to visit the town's cathedral. It's strange how many catholics there are in Vietnam. The Vietnamese Buddhists just do not get it and come to gawk. In the cathedral in Phat Diem (a working church, with daily service) some guy jumped the gate and climbed into the pulpit shouting excitedly for someone to take a photo!
Today we rode on the back of motorbikes to the Cuc Phuong National Park. They have a rescue center there and care for many endangered species of primate. We also did a 7km loop walk completely uphill (or so it felt)! Absolutely beautiful jungle and worth the hike. On the way back to Ninh Binh we took back roads which were stunning. Our drivers stopped to show us the gear of the local fisherman. They had two long poles that I thought were regular fishing poles until they touched them together. An electric shock spit sparks into the street. They shock the fish in the water and then just collect the startled creatures into wooden baskets! Keeps them fresh I guess...
Now we are exhausted and about to hop on a "luxury bus" (God, help us) to Lang Co Beach.
We wandered the misty streets heading for a random street corner where we had been told (by the Vietnamese Tony Soprano the night before) the bus for Lai Chau picked up passengers. When we got there a bus waited with a sign for Son La. As I remembered it our itinerary should have gone:
Lai Chau for one night,
Dien Bien Phu for one night,
Son La for one night
and then on to Hanoi.
This route was necessary because of the distance and condition of the roads between all these towns. But seeing the possibility of a bus straight to Son La was kind of intriguing. After seeing a bus for Dien Bien Phu pull up, bursting with passengers, rice bags and chickens, we decided to take a chance and hop of the bus marked "Son La". No one on that bus spoke English so we couldn't really verify where we were going or how long it would take but we felt energized and ready for an adventure. The one thing we could ascertain, via Jessica's calculator, was that it would cost us significantly less than our hotelier wanted to charge for half the distance.
After about fifteen minutes up a winding, dirt road we came to a stop behind twenty other cars and buses. There was a landslide up ahead. Two bulldozers and a backhoe were trying to push some red earth around so we could pass. But in the meantime a small celebration had begun. People poured out of their minibuses and cars to chat. Women had set up small grills where they roasted sweet potatoes, eggs, water chestnuts and bamboo. Jessica made a few friends, had some tea, had her photo taken with a dozen guys and got a present. I went up ahead to take photos of the "construction".
About an hour later we were off. It was a truly spectacular ride. Limestone mountains, waterfalls, misting valleys, rice terraces, banana trees stretching out for miles, thai stilt houses, temples on distant hills. Our passengers changed frequently. The driver would honk wildly as we passed anyone on the side of the road. Sometimes they would grab a bag and jump on with the bus still moving, sometimes they would wave us past. Children would shout "hello!" and run up to the window to wave. Water buffalo, dogs and ducks would wander into our path and the swerving and honking would increase. Sometimes the sky would darken and open up to pelt us with heavy rain drops and our backseat would flood.
It was an awesome ride.
It started to get dark as we crossed into Son La. Everyone kept asking us "which hotel?" but we just wanted to go to the bus station to look up schedules to Hanoi. The bus slowed just before we reached the station and a woman and man jumped on shouting "hotels? sleep? hanoi?". We rolled to a stop inside the station walls and I spotted a sign in a bus for Ninh Binh. That had been our next destination and we had assumed there would be a grueling journey through Hanoi, but there it was in eight gorgeous letters! I checked the schedule inside as the woman determinedly grabbed my pack and called "hotel, hotel" repeatedly. I ran to catch up and she showed us across the street.
Our guidebook had mentioned that many of the hotels in Son La doubled as brothels, but with night falling and the bus station so conveniently close (for our 5am departure) we couldn't really argue or go searching for alternatives. The sweetest woman led us up past the rooms with curtains instead of doors to what must have been her nicest suite (with a wooden door: BONUS). It had a balcony and lacey canopies plus a Spice Girls nightstand. We went out for a quick dinner at a local Com Pho and crashed.
I set the alarm for 4:30 and we were up and motivated. Jessica showered first, but we kept the lights off in the main room because we feared you could see in through the tinted glass windows which lacked curtains. I guess this made the prositute left in charge of us think we were still asleep and she tried to wake us up several times by banging and shouting at the door. When we were dressed we opened the door to her. She came in and got excited about us missing the bus, standing there as we finished packing. Then we were escorted to the bus station in darkness, where someone else took over escorting us to the ticket window, where someone else took over escorting us to the bus, where someone else took over showing us to our seats.
I guess they don't get a lot of tourists in Son La...
We've spent our two days in Ninh Binh well. It was mercifully good weather. Yesterday we took a local bus to Phat Diem to visit the town's cathedral. It's strange how many catholics there are in Vietnam. The Vietnamese Buddhists just do not get it and come to gawk. In the cathedral in Phat Diem (a working church, with daily service) some guy jumped the gate and climbed into the pulpit shouting excitedly for someone to take a photo!
Today we rode on the back of motorbikes to the Cuc Phuong National Park. They have a rescue center there and care for many endangered species of primate. We also did a 7km loop walk completely uphill (or so it felt)! Absolutely beautiful jungle and worth the hike. On the way back to Ninh Binh we took back roads which were stunning. Our drivers stopped to show us the gear of the local fisherman. They had two long poles that I thought were regular fishing poles until they touched them together. An electric shock spit sparks into the street. They shock the fish in the water and then just collect the startled creatures into wooden baskets! Keeps them fresh I guess...
Now we are exhausted and about to hop on a "luxury bus" (God, help us) to Lang Co Beach.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)