Myanmar is a country that seems to have been suspended in time. Once one of the richest country in South East Asia during the British colonial period, it has been on a steep decline since. Governed by a repressive military regime infamous for human rights abuses and oppression, it has been cut off from most of the world by sanctions and bans, except for a handful of nearby countries. The infrastructure in the country is terrible to say the least. Power outages are a norm here, censorship is a way of life (there are only 2 government channels on tv and many internet sites are blocked including gmail, yahoo and hotmail), and the cars/buses are 30-40 years old (still hot commodities at that age since there are so few of them). The roads are a nightmare making flying around the country somewhat of a necessity as a visitor (it's a 25 minute plane ride to get from Bagan to Mandalay, but a 4+ hour bus ride). Horse carts, oxen carts and covered pickup trucks packed with people both inside and on top and hanging off the back are just a few other modes of transportation in this country. Tourism is still a nascent industry, making this a fascinating place to visit.
We arrived in Yangon (Rangoon), the former capital of the country on August 3rd. The international terminal was new and modern, but practically deserted since it was much larger than necessary for the number of visitors they currently got (only a few hundred thousand a year). We exchanged dollars for kyats through a money changer (this is illegal but no other way to get kyats) and visited a pagoda before dashing off to Bagan later that afternoon. The domestic terminal was old, dirty and extremely ghetto - a truly night and day difference from the international terminal, which was probably built using forced labor. When we got to Bagan, there was no baggage carousel. 4 men, each carrying one of our bags, met us and gave us our bag. After paying the $10 entrance fee to Bagan (fees we had hoped to avoid paying since it went to the government and we were trying to be responsible tourists), we got settled into our hotel in New Bagan (in 1990, the government gave the people one week to move from Old Bagan to New Bagan where they had to build new homes, etc. and then eliminated any trace of a village in Old Bagan, which now houses the upscale resorts and hotels) and had dinner at the Green Elephant Riverview Restaurant at sunset. The views of the mountains, the Ayeyarwady River and one of the pagodas by the river was beautiful as the setting sun changed the sky from blue to shades of pink, orange and yellow.
We randomly met a local university student as we were walking back to the hotel who offered to be our tour guide the next day. We arranged for a horse carriage to take us around Bagan to the many temples that are there. Prior to a big earthquake in the 80s or 90s, there were over 5,000 temples in Bagan, which is a tiny little town. Now, there are 2,217. That number continues to grow as the wealthy people commission temples to be built. We visited 15 of the largest and most magnificent ones, including the Ananda and the Shwedigon Pagodas. Oftentimes, we were the only tourists at the temples. Since you can't wear shoes or socks into the pagodas, it felt like we were barefoot half the time. We even climbed up a few of the temples - the views from the tops of those temples were amazing. It didn't matter which direction you looked, you can see hundreds of temples all around you.
The next day we drove to Mt. Popa, where the statues of the 37 nats (holy spirits that the Burmese people worshipped) were located and where a pagoda was perched at the top of the mountain. On the way there, we stopped by villager's home to see his family collect palm sap, grind peanuts (using an oxen) to make peanut oil, boil the palm sap to make candy, alcohol and sugar. At Mt. Popa, there were hundreds of monkeys and local children selling monkey food (something wrapped in paper). To get to the temple at the top, we had to walk up hundreds of steps under a covered walkway. The monkeys follow you up, in the hopes of getting food. They jump on people and tug at your pant legs. Unfortunately for me, one of them decided to bite me on the shoulder as my back was turned towards it. Although we continued our trip as planned and went up to see the pagoda and the views, this unexpected incident created complications. It was difficult to find information and quality health care in Myanmar.
After Mt. Popa, we went back to Bagan and moved to Nyaung Oo where most of the backpackers stay. There was a small restaurant row where we had lunch and then we rented bikes and biked around the town, passing by the bus station (just a bench by a tree with people and a bus) and the fire department. We looked for the market but never found it. Instead, a random local woman invited us into her home, introduced us to her family, served us tea and some candy, taught us how to apply tanaka (this paste the women apply daily on themselves and the children made from the bark of some tree) on our faces, and sold us longyis (local sarongs that both the men and women wear). They showed us how to tie our longyis and we decided to wear them the next day in Mandalay. When we left her home, we biked to find the section of the main road that has been flooded by recent heavy rains. What we found there was hysterical. People seemed unconcerned that homes were in danger of being flooded. Instead, they turned it into the local swimming pool where little children played in tubes and people swam around. Entrepreneurial people even started water taxi services to get you to the other side. Some people even turned it into a car wash - they brought their cars to the edge of the water and washed their cars. It was crazy.
It was these local interactions and funny local experiences that made the trip to Myanmar really different from the other places. The people of Myanmar has shown surprising upbeat and resilience in the face of poverty and political suppression. Most were friendly and eager to share their culture, and some even invited us to visit their homes. It was a wonderful experience.
After using the slow dial-up internet service at a local internet cafe to look for information about rabies, we decided that I should seek medical care in Mandalay where we were heading the next day. I emailed my sister and enlisted Lisa's help in getting through to the embassy in Yangon to figure out where to find a doctor.
Mandalay, one of the old royal capital cities, was a huge sprawling city. When we arrived, we hired a taxi for the day to take us around the city. Unfortunately, the car broke down when we arrived in Mandalay (the cars there are so old and really not all that safe or roadworthy), and we were forced to switch cars. We went up to Mandalay Hill where we could see the entire city from the temple at the top (you can drive up and then take an escalator or walk up a covered walkway like the one in Mt. Popa). We stopped by the Kuthodaw Paya, located at the bottom of Mandalay Hill, where the world's largest book is housed in white stupas. Even in our longyis, we could not get pass the fee so we ended up walking around the outside where the stupas were located and did not go in. We went to the monk district where we visited Shwe In Bin Kyaung, a monastery built in the late 1800s of teak. The intricate carvings in the wood were amazing. The monks there were nice and allowed us to walk around. It was a beautiful, quiet and relaxing place.
Afterwards, we checked into a hotel and went in search of an internet cafe to get information on the hospitals. Internet was completely down at the first but we found working internet on our second try. We got information on doctors from the embassy and called the embassy doctor from a phone (a person sitting at a desk on a street corner with a phone - they don't really have public phones)). We had our cab driver take us to a hospital. The first one was a local hospital that was old and run down so we got the address to the private city hospital, which was much nicer. However, when we first arrived at the hospital, we thought it was completely deserted and abandoned. The main lobby was like a ghost town. Finally we found a man who lead us to another area and soon I had a doctor looking at my shoulder. She advised that I wait till I get to Bangkok to receive the rabies vaccinations and gave me some antibiotics. That made me feel a bit better about the bite.
After our hospital adventures, we visited the Maha Myat Muni Paya - a beautiful pagoda considered to be the second most holy site in Myanmar. It housed a huge gold buddha. Men (women were not allowed) could go up to the buddha and apply gold flakes to it. There were hundreds of local worshippers in addition to foreign visitors. We managed to get around paying the fee here, bypassing the whole $10 fee required for visiting the major sites in Mandalay.
After that we had our driver take us to Amarapura, another one of the old ancient capitals, where there is a famous teak bridge, the U Bein bridge. It is the world's longest teak bridge at over 1 km long and is made of over 1,000 teak wood boards and posts. The water levels in the lake was so high that some of the rest stops were flooded. Amarapura is a huge center for monastic studies in Myanmar, and we saw hundreds of monks in bright red and burgundy robes walking around. Some even turned the lake into a swimming pool. Local people and monks were jumped in, swimming and tubing in the water. I guess even monks need to have fun. When we got to the other end of the bridge, we wanted to visited the town there but the road was completely flooded so we ended up taking a boat and slowly drifted back to the other side of the lake while watching the people crossing the bridge as the sun slowly set.
For dinner, we ate chapatis and biryani at a local chapati stand on the street. Our waiter was a little boy who was adorable - he could not have been more than 7 or 8 but he was really efficient and professional, even at such a young age. He remembered everyone's orders without writing it down and ran around to serve everyone at the many tables he was covering. Myanmar food is not fabulous so we got around it by eating Shan, Chinese and Indian food which is also readily available in the country. We ended the evening by going to see a performance by the Moustach Brothers, 3 comedians who had been arrested in the 90s and imprisoned for making social commentary against the regime. Now, they're only allowed to perform for Westerners, in English. We took trishaws back to the hotel - bikes with big tricycle wheels attached to a seat that could hold a person facing forward and another facing backwards. Like I mentioned, cars are in short supply.
We flew to Heho the next morning where we took a cab to Kalaw, a town in the mountains. After grabbing a quick lunch at a Nepali restaurant, we went on a 17 km trek in the mountains to visit a couple of villages and see the beautiful verdant mountains and the countryside. The mountains were covered by trees, vegetation, and neat rows of vegetables in every shade of green imaginable. The villages were pretty much deserted, except for children playing, since the adults were all off working in the fields during the day. The children were adorable, but dirty from the mud and dressed in dirty, old and ripped clothing. We gave them cookies, which was probably a big treat for them. The poverty faced by the villagers was visible everywhere. Homes were essentially one large, dark room shared by many people. Cooking was done in the center of the room using fire from burning wood or charcoal. Small generators provide them with light for a few hours at night. Each family were allocated only approximately 40 watts of electricity, not even enough to light a light bulb in the U.S. We bought some handicrafts from one family, just so we could give them some money.
We took a very short speed boat trip in motorized canoes around Inle Lake the next day (2 hours is really not enough). Even though we got on the 6:30am bus, we did not make it to the Lake until almost 9am. The lake is surrounded by mountains on both sides. There were people fishing, collecting seaweed and vegetables on the lake. They balanced on the very tip of the boat with one leg and paddled the oar with their other foot. It was incredible to watch - almost like a delicate dance. We made 2 quick stops, once at a major pagoda where a monk was chanting over loudspeakers, and once at a monastery nicknamed "Jumping Cat Monastery." The monks there have trained their pet cats (15 in all) to jump through hoops on command. When we arrived, one of the monks had a kid show us the cats as they jumped through hoops. It was fun to watch. If we had had more time, we could have visited the villages around the lake where the villagers specialize in various crafts.
After we made it back on land, we raced to the airport and left for Yangon. We stayed in the Central Downtown area near the Sule Paya (a temple in the middle of the street) and the old British colonial buildings. We walked to the Sule Paya and saw the Independence Monument, which looked a lot like the Washington Monument in D.C. The colonial buildings have been abandoned for the most part and already, plantlife has slowly start to take them over. The government left Yangon suddenly a few years ago and has move the capital to some mountain fortress. The deterioration in the buildings is tragic since they were once beautiful and majestic. The rainy and dreary skies made it appear all the more desolate. Streets were squalid and dirty but there were tons of local street food shops set up on the street and people were out and about. We didn't try any of it since it didn't look sanitary. Stores with brand new electronic equipment could also be found. It was such an interesting contrast. We even found the British Council Library located in the UK Embassy. It's a local lending library with only English books and magazines. Children can even take English classes.
That night, we changed again into our longyis and headed to the Shwedagon Pagoda, the holiest temple in Myanmar. Even the local people try to come here at least once in their life. We had been templed out at this point, but even this one blew us away. The massive complex was covered with gold stupas and buddha statues. We managed to look like locals and avoided the entrance fee.
We left Myanmar the next morning. It felt weird to be back in Bangkok, in a developed city.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Vang Vieng and Last Minute Changes
Vang Vieng is a town whose entire economy is based on tubing. Someone figured out that a steady stream of crazy foreigners were willing to pay to tube down the Nam Song River in old tractor tires and the town has not only capitalized on that idea, but has also turned a 3-4 km stretch of that river into a veritable amusement park. In terms of pure, unadulterated fun (with no thoughts to cultural learning), our one-day in Vang Vieng has definitely been the most fun on this trip, and it was not even planned.
Our group, which had dwindled to 5, arrived in Vang Vieng at approximately 2am a few days ago. The bus ride took almost 6 hours, through windy mountain roads. According to the guidebook, there is practically "not a stretch of straight road" from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng, and that was not an exaggeration. When we hit the mountains, they passed out plastic barf bags. You had to brace yourself in your seat to not fall right out of it on some of the sharp turns. It was dark and rainy, and the Vang Vieng bus station was in the middle of nowhere, and pretty much deserted when we got there. The last-second tubing detour seemed like a bad idea at that moment. We took a tuk-tuk to our guesthouse, where we had to bang on the door to wake someone up to show us to a room.
Things definitely looked a lot better in the morning, when we realized we had a beautiful view of the mountains behind us and the river right below. The morning mist that swirled around the mountain peaks made for a spectacular backdrop. After signing away our lives (people have died in the past), we hit the river. We all could not fathom why a 3-km tubing trip would take 4-6-hours until we noticed the zipline and swing stations set up by entrepreneurial residents in the town. At these stations, you pay to zipline into the river or swing or jump from high platforms into the water. Jumps without beer costs money. The purchase of beer allowed unlimited free jumps. No wonder people die. I was originally freaked out about falling out of the tube into the river since the currents were pretty strong and there are rapids and I can barely swim, but somehow, I was convinced to swing into the river at 2 different stations - twice each time. The first one was about 20 feet high, and both times, I slipped and fell in the water too early (not to mention the fact that there is no way to keep your bikini top on so I flashed the entire group the first time). At the swing in the "last stop" the swing was like a trapeze swing that was suspended about 30 feet above the water. It was scary jumping off the platform but so much fun afterwards. We must have spent about 2-3 hours at this one station alone. We almost missed our car to Vientiane since we kept on pushing back when we planned to return to the town. The boys I travelled with jumped about 10 times each. It was awesome and I even have pictures of me jumping to prove it!
Vientiane was like any other big Asian city and we did not spend any time there. We stayed the night and flew to Bangkok early the next morning to get our visas to Myanmar (completely last minute change of plans). We get our visas tomorrow and leave for Myanmar for 6 days on Friday. Am really excited. We spent last night watching Thai Boxing - the national passtime here, at Lumphini Boxing Stadium. It was seedy to say the least. Almost no females there except a few foreigners. We watched 3 matches. It was an interesting cultural experience - there's an elaborate pre-fight ritual, a live band (playing traditional Thai music), lots of betting on the games, and 5 rounds of fighting during each match. Kicking is allowed in Thai Boxing, which sets it apart from other forms of boxing. We went to Siam Center in the new part of Bangkok and watched Ratatouille. The Siam Paragon is a fancy mall, which one of the guys called the "trophy wife" mall. The theater is massive - it has ultrascreens (huge plush seats that cost way too much), a members-only enigma screen (with couches and cushions), and regular theaters that have love seats in the back.
We're going to Ayuthaya tomorrow. It's one of the ancient capital cities of Thailand. And then, off to Myanmar!
Our group, which had dwindled to 5, arrived in Vang Vieng at approximately 2am a few days ago. The bus ride took almost 6 hours, through windy mountain roads. According to the guidebook, there is practically "not a stretch of straight road" from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng, and that was not an exaggeration. When we hit the mountains, they passed out plastic barf bags. You had to brace yourself in your seat to not fall right out of it on some of the sharp turns. It was dark and rainy, and the Vang Vieng bus station was in the middle of nowhere, and pretty much deserted when we got there. The last-second tubing detour seemed like a bad idea at that moment. We took a tuk-tuk to our guesthouse, where we had to bang on the door to wake someone up to show us to a room.
Things definitely looked a lot better in the morning, when we realized we had a beautiful view of the mountains behind us and the river right below. The morning mist that swirled around the mountain peaks made for a spectacular backdrop. After signing away our lives (people have died in the past), we hit the river. We all could not fathom why a 3-km tubing trip would take 4-6-hours until we noticed the zipline and swing stations set up by entrepreneurial residents in the town. At these stations, you pay to zipline into the river or swing or jump from high platforms into the water. Jumps without beer costs money. The purchase of beer allowed unlimited free jumps. No wonder people die. I was originally freaked out about falling out of the tube into the river since the currents were pretty strong and there are rapids and I can barely swim, but somehow, I was convinced to swing into the river at 2 different stations - twice each time. The first one was about 20 feet high, and both times, I slipped and fell in the water too early (not to mention the fact that there is no way to keep your bikini top on so I flashed the entire group the first time). At the swing in the "last stop" the swing was like a trapeze swing that was suspended about 30 feet above the water. It was scary jumping off the platform but so much fun afterwards. We must have spent about 2-3 hours at this one station alone. We almost missed our car to Vientiane since we kept on pushing back when we planned to return to the town. The boys I travelled with jumped about 10 times each. It was awesome and I even have pictures of me jumping to prove it!
Vientiane was like any other big Asian city and we did not spend any time there. We stayed the night and flew to Bangkok early the next morning to get our visas to Myanmar (completely last minute change of plans). We get our visas tomorrow and leave for Myanmar for 6 days on Friday. Am really excited. We spent last night watching Thai Boxing - the national passtime here, at Lumphini Boxing Stadium. It was seedy to say the least. Almost no females there except a few foreigners. We watched 3 matches. It was an interesting cultural experience - there's an elaborate pre-fight ritual, a live band (playing traditional Thai music), lots of betting on the games, and 5 rounds of fighting during each match. Kicking is allowed in Thai Boxing, which sets it apart from other forms of boxing. We went to Siam Center in the new part of Bangkok and watched Ratatouille. The Siam Paragon is a fancy mall, which one of the guys called the "trophy wife" mall. The theater is massive - it has ultrascreens (huge plush seats that cost way too much), a members-only enigma screen (with couches and cushions), and regular theaters that have love seats in the back.
We're going to Ayuthaya tomorrow. It's one of the ancient capital cities of Thailand. And then, off to Myanmar!
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Luang Prabang
Vietnam Airlines is the only airline allowed to fly domestically within Vietnam (those communists certainly know a thing about monopolies). We didn't have any trouble flying them until our last leg of the trip when we were trying to leave Hanoi for Laos. The flight got cancelled unfortunately and we were forced to stay an extra day in Hanoi. There is only one flight to Luang Prabang from Hanoi each day on a Vietnam Airlines/Lao Airlines codeshare flight so we had no other options. In exchange for signing away all of our rights, we were given $25, a night in a sketchy hotel that wanted to hold our passports (we refused and were given some really terrible rooms) and bad food. We even ended up adopting a Korean woman who spoke no Vietnamese or English, trying to make sure she got to Laos where her husband is working to build a new University. We took her to a local bar that night where some of us (and some other Westerners) tried the local draft beer. Definitely not part of the original itinerary.
The next day, our flight to Luang Prabang was delayed by several hours. We were afraid we would never make it here. Luang Prabang is a small idyllic town that is extremely charming. It is the royal city of Laos (where the monarchs used to live). Having only recently opened up to tourism, it feels much more genuine and unspoiled than both Cambodia and Vietnam. There are wats all over the town and monks wearing colorful orange and yellow garments walking around. Women ride motobikes carrying parasols. The people are extremely friendly and no one is aggressive when trying to sell you something. It is a welcomed change. Our first meal in Laos was a Laotian-style BBQ where we got to cook our own food in a broth. It was fun and delicious. We survived a sudden storm that knocked out power in the village twice. We made good use of the dorky head lights that a couple of people brought with them on the trip.
The next day, we woke up to the sound of roosters crowing at the crack of dawn. We decided to ride mountain bikes up a country road through the hills to visit some Laotian villages and take in the scenery. It was the first time I had ridden a bike in 7 years. It was a bumpy and muddy ride and I am very sore today, but I survived the experience. Ran into someone else's bike once but no falls, just a couple of scratches. We ate lunch at Tad Se waterfall and swam for a bit there before climbing into kayaks to paddle back to town. There were some rapids but the water levels are very low since rainy season here starts in August. It took over 3 hours of pretty rigorous paddling. I got a massage both yesterday and today (it costs only $3-4 per hour which is awesome) afterwards.
We walked around Luang Prabang today and climbed up Mount Phou Si to visit a wat at the top of the hill. The view from the hilltop was breathtaking. You can see the entire village - even the tiny airport that has only one gate (a man sitting at a desk with a sign that says show your passport please). We walked around the market and picked up souvenirs and ate lunch at a cute restaurant right along the river. It has been extremely relaxing - the pace of life is just much slower here. Things close early (we got kicked out of the bar at 11:30 last night) and people get up very early. We tried to crash a Laotian wedding (apparently it's something they welcome!), but it ended by the time we got there. We meant to get up to watch the procession of monks - a daily ceremony that takes place at 6am, but none of us managed to pull ourselves out of bed at the crack of dawn. It's something that the entire village takes a part in and villagers offer food as alms to the monks.
The original plan was to fly to Chiang Mai this afternoon, but we were unable to get plane tickets. So we are taking an unexpected detour to Vang Vieng where we plan to go tubing down the river, and then head down to Vientiane, the capital, where we will catch a flight to Bangkok.
The next day, our flight to Luang Prabang was delayed by several hours. We were afraid we would never make it here. Luang Prabang is a small idyllic town that is extremely charming. It is the royal city of Laos (where the monarchs used to live). Having only recently opened up to tourism, it feels much more genuine and unspoiled than both Cambodia and Vietnam. There are wats all over the town and monks wearing colorful orange and yellow garments walking around. Women ride motobikes carrying parasols. The people are extremely friendly and no one is aggressive when trying to sell you something. It is a welcomed change. Our first meal in Laos was a Laotian-style BBQ where we got to cook our own food in a broth. It was fun and delicious. We survived a sudden storm that knocked out power in the village twice. We made good use of the dorky head lights that a couple of people brought with them on the trip.
The next day, we woke up to the sound of roosters crowing at the crack of dawn. We decided to ride mountain bikes up a country road through the hills to visit some Laotian villages and take in the scenery. It was the first time I had ridden a bike in 7 years. It was a bumpy and muddy ride and I am very sore today, but I survived the experience. Ran into someone else's bike once but no falls, just a couple of scratches. We ate lunch at Tad Se waterfall and swam for a bit there before climbing into kayaks to paddle back to town. There were some rapids but the water levels are very low since rainy season here starts in August. It took over 3 hours of pretty rigorous paddling. I got a massage both yesterday and today (it costs only $3-4 per hour which is awesome) afterwards.
We walked around Luang Prabang today and climbed up Mount Phou Si to visit a wat at the top of the hill. The view from the hilltop was breathtaking. You can see the entire village - even the tiny airport that has only one gate (a man sitting at a desk with a sign that says show your passport please). We walked around the market and picked up souvenirs and ate lunch at a cute restaurant right along the river. It has been extremely relaxing - the pace of life is just much slower here. Things close early (we got kicked out of the bar at 11:30 last night) and people get up very early. We tried to crash a Laotian wedding (apparently it's something they welcome!), but it ended by the time we got there. We meant to get up to watch the procession of monks - a daily ceremony that takes place at 6am, but none of us managed to pull ourselves out of bed at the crack of dawn. It's something that the entire village takes a part in and villagers offer food as alms to the monks.
The original plan was to fly to Chiang Mai this afternoon, but we were unable to get plane tickets. So we are taking an unexpected detour to Vang Vieng where we plan to go tubing down the river, and then head down to Vientiane, the capital, where we will catch a flight to Bangkok.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Halong Bay
Our 3 day trip to Halong Bay was a ton of fun - definitely my favorite part of Vietnam. We took boat rides around many tiny islands (there are over 2000 of them), most of which are not inhabited. We were surrounded by cliffs and trees. The entire view was absolutely magnificent. Even the boat ride was fun. We did a bit of tanning on the top deck and jumped off the side of the boat several times to go for a swim. We explored Hang Dau Go, a large cave up in the hills of one of the islands, which people nicknamed "Surprise" Cave since the were surprised when they walked through it and found the 3rd chamber, which is huge and according to our guide, can hold up to 4,000 people. Unfortunately, people have defaced the walls inside the caves with graffiti and even chipped off the stalagmites to sell to tourists. We spent the night on the boat - it was like a mini-cruise ship that only accommodated around 12 people. Our group of 8 ended up with our own boat.
On our second day, we went kayaking in the morning and the afternoon around the islands that were part of Cat Ba Island National Park. Cat Ba Island is the largest island in the Halong Bay area. We paddled into secluded lagoons and had the opportunity to see the cliffs and rock formations up close. The water was calm so it was an easy paddle, although paddling the weight of my partner who has never kayaked before and is almost twice as heavy as I am did turn my arms into jello that night. We paddled to 2 different beaches, just a couple of the many secluded beaches that we found, and swam for a bit for before and after lunch. A boat took us to the main island where we spend the night.
On our last day, we took a boat ride to the pearl farm. We jumped into the waters closeby there for a swim before the boat brought us back to Halong City. This is definitely the thing to do if you are in Hanoi/Vietnam.
Hanoi on the other hand, has been a rather uninspiring city. It's busy and bustling, but everything closes very early. We tried a local grilled fish dish called cha ca at a restaurant which some author lists as one of the 1,000 things to do before you die. I thought it was okay - there is only one dish served - grilled fish (grilled really means deep fried in Vietnam). I'm really tired of fried foods, especially fried fish and spring rolls. Later that night, we closed out several places and then got lost trying to find a third bar that supposedly stayed open past midnight. We never found it, but ended up playing soccer on the streets with some locals, who then brought us to a dark alley with a pho shop at the end of it. The pho shop was really someone's tiny living room with a few tables and plastic chairs. I don't think they were really supposed be serving people there in the middle of the night since they kept trying to close the doors and wanted us to stay quiet. Nevertheless, the pho was great. It was such a random evening, but the first time that we have really had the opportunity to interact with the locals. The language barrier makes it rather tough.
We were supposed to leave Hanoi yesterday but our flight got cancelled. Will save that debacle for another posting. Miss everyone lots.
On our second day, we went kayaking in the morning and the afternoon around the islands that were part of Cat Ba Island National Park. Cat Ba Island is the largest island in the Halong Bay area. We paddled into secluded lagoons and had the opportunity to see the cliffs and rock formations up close. The water was calm so it was an easy paddle, although paddling the weight of my partner who has never kayaked before and is almost twice as heavy as I am did turn my arms into jello that night. We paddled to 2 different beaches, just a couple of the many secluded beaches that we found, and swam for a bit for before and after lunch. A boat took us to the main island where we spend the night.
On our last day, we took a boat ride to the pearl farm. We jumped into the waters closeby there for a swim before the boat brought us back to Halong City. This is definitely the thing to do if you are in Hanoi/Vietnam.
Hanoi on the other hand, has been a rather uninspiring city. It's busy and bustling, but everything closes very early. We tried a local grilled fish dish called cha ca at a restaurant which some author lists as one of the 1,000 things to do before you die. I thought it was okay - there is only one dish served - grilled fish (grilled really means deep fried in Vietnam). I'm really tired of fried foods, especially fried fish and spring rolls. Later that night, we closed out several places and then got lost trying to find a third bar that supposedly stayed open past midnight. We never found it, but ended up playing soccer on the streets with some locals, who then brought us to a dark alley with a pho shop at the end of it. The pho shop was really someone's tiny living room with a few tables and plastic chairs. I don't think they were really supposed be serving people there in the middle of the night since they kept trying to close the doors and wanted us to stay quiet. Nevertheless, the pho was great. It was such a random evening, but the first time that we have really had the opportunity to interact with the locals. The language barrier makes it rather tough.
We were supposed to leave Hanoi yesterday but our flight got cancelled. Will save that debacle for another posting. Miss everyone lots.
Monday, July 23, 2007
The Citadel at Hue and Hanoi
The Citadel - the ancient Imperial Palace in Hue, is a walled city that very much reminded me of the Forbidden City in Beijing. The gates and walls, as well as the moat that surrounds the complex is similar in designed to that of the Forbidden City. Unfortunately, most of it laid in ruins, having been destroyed during the Tet offensive. The few buildings that we did see though were impressive. We walked around the complex as best as we can in the heat. We literally "shade-hopped," scurrying from one shady spot to another. It's difficult to look put together in this weather, but we saw a girl in a beautiful sundress, matching jewelry and sunglasses looking cool as can be. She could have be strolling around Paris. It looked as if she were immuned to the heat. It made us all feel dumpy.
The entire time we were at the Citadel, we watched storm clouds rolling in. Half the sky looked completely dark. We barely made it out of there before this massive storm hit, ruining out afternoon plans of lounging by the pool at the 5-star hotel near where we were staying. The sky just opened up. Unfortunately for me, rainwater flooded my room at the hotel, drenching my stuff. It could have been a lot worse, but getting the hotel to do my laundry in time for our flight to Hanoi was a disaster. Customer service just does not exist in the developing world. My travel documents (but not my passport which I carried with me) also disappeared. The whole experience was aggravating.
For dinner, we decided to go to this restaurant called Lac Thien, which is run by a deaf-mute family that is supposed to be famous. It seriously looked like a hole-in-the-wall. The funny thing was there are 3 deaf-mute restaurants right next to each other, each claiming to be the original. Lonely Planet claimed Lac Thuen is the original, while Rouge Guide claimed Lac Thien is the original. I guess we will never know. The food was mediocre but the experience was interesting. They gave us wooden bottle openers and showed us how to use them. People take pictures with it around the world and send it back to them and they post them around the restaurant.
We arrived in Hanoi early this morning. It's a hectic city filled with people on motorbikes. We're staying in the Old Quarter right next to Hoan Kiem lake. It's Sunday night and there are tons of couples zipping along on their motorbikes with the girls perched on the backs. Some of them even ride sidesaddle. It's amazing they don't fly off. I thought it was crazy in HCMC, but in Hanoi, the sheer number of motorbikes is even more astonishing. Some of the streets are quite wide and motorbikes more than 10 deep come at you in all directions. Walking across the street is dangerous. I seriously feel like I'm risking my life each time. We do it in groups - you're supposed to calmly walk across as the motorbikes come at you, and trust that they will go around you and not hit you (they do not stop for you). But I think we are getting the hang of it. We've survived so far.
We saw a water puppetry show - a uniquely Hanoi experience. Supposedly the farmers invented it in the past to entertain themselves during the rainy season. They make marionette puppets dance and move on water. It was fun to watch but must have been uncomfortable for the puppet masters who had to stand in waist-deep water the entire time.
We booked a tour to go to Halong Bay and Cat Ba Island for the next 3 days. We're sleeping on a "junk" boat for one night, and on Cat Ba Island the 2nd. It's supposed to be amazing, with lots of caves and coves to explore, beautiful beaches and a national park. We're going to spend a chunk of the 2nd day kayaking.
We have to get up early tomorrow in search of bottled water to buy and liquor for the boat. 2+ weeks in Southeast Asia has toughened me. The need to constantly negotiate in order to prevent yourself from being ripped-off left and right is tiring and has made us all paranoid. Now, we will literally argue over the cost of a bottle of water even though the difference is less than 50 cents (but it sounds like a lot in Vietnamese dongs - the conversion is 16,000 dongs to a dollar). I can't wait to go back to a place where prices are set and are the same for everyone. Unfortunately for me Beijing will not be one of those places. But at least I will speak the language.
The entire time we were at the Citadel, we watched storm clouds rolling in. Half the sky looked completely dark. We barely made it out of there before this massive storm hit, ruining out afternoon plans of lounging by the pool at the 5-star hotel near where we were staying. The sky just opened up. Unfortunately for me, rainwater flooded my room at the hotel, drenching my stuff. It could have been a lot worse, but getting the hotel to do my laundry in time for our flight to Hanoi was a disaster. Customer service just does not exist in the developing world. My travel documents (but not my passport which I carried with me) also disappeared. The whole experience was aggravating.
For dinner, we decided to go to this restaurant called Lac Thien, which is run by a deaf-mute family that is supposed to be famous. It seriously looked like a hole-in-the-wall. The funny thing was there are 3 deaf-mute restaurants right next to each other, each claiming to be the original. Lonely Planet claimed Lac Thuen is the original, while Rouge Guide claimed Lac Thien is the original. I guess we will never know. The food was mediocre but the experience was interesting. They gave us wooden bottle openers and showed us how to use them. People take pictures with it around the world and send it back to them and they post them around the restaurant.
We arrived in Hanoi early this morning. It's a hectic city filled with people on motorbikes. We're staying in the Old Quarter right next to Hoan Kiem lake. It's Sunday night and there are tons of couples zipping along on their motorbikes with the girls perched on the backs. Some of them even ride sidesaddle. It's amazing they don't fly off. I thought it was crazy in HCMC, but in Hanoi, the sheer number of motorbikes is even more astonishing. Some of the streets are quite wide and motorbikes more than 10 deep come at you in all directions. Walking across the street is dangerous. I seriously feel like I'm risking my life each time. We do it in groups - you're supposed to calmly walk across as the motorbikes come at you, and trust that they will go around you and not hit you (they do not stop for you). But I think we are getting the hang of it. We've survived so far.
We saw a water puppetry show - a uniquely Hanoi experience. Supposedly the farmers invented it in the past to entertain themselves during the rainy season. They make marionette puppets dance and move on water. It was fun to watch but must have been uncomfortable for the puppet masters who had to stand in waist-deep water the entire time.
We booked a tour to go to Halong Bay and Cat Ba Island for the next 3 days. We're sleeping on a "junk" boat for one night, and on Cat Ba Island the 2nd. It's supposed to be amazing, with lots of caves and coves to explore, beautiful beaches and a national park. We're going to spend a chunk of the 2nd day kayaking.
We have to get up early tomorrow in search of bottled water to buy and liquor for the boat. 2+ weeks in Southeast Asia has toughened me. The need to constantly negotiate in order to prevent yourself from being ripped-off left and right is tiring and has made us all paranoid. Now, we will literally argue over the cost of a bottle of water even though the difference is less than 50 cents (but it sounds like a lot in Vietnamese dongs - the conversion is 16,000 dongs to a dollar). I can't wait to go back to a place where prices are set and are the same for everyone. Unfortunately for me Beijing will not be one of those places. But at least I will speak the language.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Hoi An and Hue
The old town in Hoi An was charming - a cute, quiet and peaceful place right by the beach. It feels right out of a different time period. The buildings have been very well preserved - there were beautiful Chinese Assembly Halls and little shops selling handicrafts and made-to-order clothing dot the streets. Several people in the group had suits, dresses and shirts made. There is also a riverfront and a bustling market, as well as some lovely art galleries. I bought a painting of the old town done with paint on rice paper. It was a really cool modern and abstract interpretation. Cars were not allowed into the old town because the streets are too narrow and the town is a World UNESCO Heritage site. The only modes of transportation are motobikes and bikes.
The heat in Hoi An was brutal though, making walking and being outdoors nearly impossible. The air was hot, heavy and stifling, making it hard to enjoy the town unfortunately. While we did walk around and even visited a fair trade crafts store and workshop, we spent a lot of time at the hotel trying to stay hydrated and cool. It's pretty sad when spending an extra half an hour on the bus to Hue (we requested the first pick-up) sounds like heaven. We skipped My Son where we had been planning to stop to see the Cham temples and ruins (a lot of it did not survive the Vietnam War since the Viet Cong decided to make this one of their base). It was just that hot.
I am in the Imperial City of Hue right now (another World UNESCO Heritage site). It was the ancient capital of Vietnam under the Nguyen Dynasty. We took a dragon boat ride down the Perfume River yesterday and visited the Thien Mu Pagoda, the Hon Chu temple and a couple of the royal tombs (the tombs of Emperor Tu Doc and Ming Manh). The pagoda is considered a symbol of Hue. It has seven layers and is perched on a hill surrounded by pine trees. It is beautiful. The tombs (really more like memorial gardens with lakes since their bodies were buried elsewhere) were also really pretty (Ming Manh in particular). Tu Doc was a particularly interesting emperor. He had 104 wives and concubines but had no children. When he died, the 200 servants that buried him were all beheaded to keep the location of his actual burial site a secret so grave robbers would not steal the treasures buried with him. Supposedly, they still have not found the site. And he was also really short, so the statues of civil and military servants in his honor courtyard were all made to be shorter than him - around my height. They looked really funny.
We had been planning to stop by a third one (the tomb of Khai Dinh) but it was too hot and miserable. Oh, and an interesting fact that I learned. The old system of written Vietnamese were based on Chinese characters. The emperors all wrote an autobiographical self-reflections about their life which were carved into these huge stone tablets - in Chinese. That's not used today anymore. There was a thunderstorm on our boat ride back but the boat drivers did not seen at all concerned by the fact we were in the middle of the river while there was lightning and rain. The storm brought with it cooler weather which was a welcomed respite from the heat.
We had an early dinner last night and then went to karaoke. Luckily they had English songs. I think we kept the entire neighborhood up with our loud, rather obnoxious singing. We did not realized how loud we were and how not soundproof the room was. Both Hoi An and Hue do not really have a happening night scene. It seems like most places close by 10pm. Last night was our first "late night" and we were out until around midnight only.
The plan is to hit the citadel later this morning and walk around. I ordered a silk dress earlier - completely made-to-order with hand embrodiery - all for $22. It's incredible. Hope it turns out well.
The heat in Hoi An was brutal though, making walking and being outdoors nearly impossible. The air was hot, heavy and stifling, making it hard to enjoy the town unfortunately. While we did walk around and even visited a fair trade crafts store and workshop, we spent a lot of time at the hotel trying to stay hydrated and cool. It's pretty sad when spending an extra half an hour on the bus to Hue (we requested the first pick-up) sounds like heaven. We skipped My Son where we had been planning to stop to see the Cham temples and ruins (a lot of it did not survive the Vietnam War since the Viet Cong decided to make this one of their base). It was just that hot.
I am in the Imperial City of Hue right now (another World UNESCO Heritage site). It was the ancient capital of Vietnam under the Nguyen Dynasty. We took a dragon boat ride down the Perfume River yesterday and visited the Thien Mu Pagoda, the Hon Chu temple and a couple of the royal tombs (the tombs of Emperor Tu Doc and Ming Manh). The pagoda is considered a symbol of Hue. It has seven layers and is perched on a hill surrounded by pine trees. It is beautiful. The tombs (really more like memorial gardens with lakes since their bodies were buried elsewhere) were also really pretty (Ming Manh in particular). Tu Doc was a particularly interesting emperor. He had 104 wives and concubines but had no children. When he died, the 200 servants that buried him were all beheaded to keep the location of his actual burial site a secret so grave robbers would not steal the treasures buried with him. Supposedly, they still have not found the site. And he was also really short, so the statues of civil and military servants in his honor courtyard were all made to be shorter than him - around my height. They looked really funny.
We had been planning to stop by a third one (the tomb of Khai Dinh) but it was too hot and miserable. Oh, and an interesting fact that I learned. The old system of written Vietnamese were based on Chinese characters. The emperors all wrote an autobiographical self-reflections about their life which were carved into these huge stone tablets - in Chinese. That's not used today anymore. There was a thunderstorm on our boat ride back but the boat drivers did not seen at all concerned by the fact we were in the middle of the river while there was lightning and rain. The storm brought with it cooler weather which was a welcomed respite from the heat.
We had an early dinner last night and then went to karaoke. Luckily they had English songs. I think we kept the entire neighborhood up with our loud, rather obnoxious singing. We did not realized how loud we were and how not soundproof the room was. Both Hoi An and Hue do not really have a happening night scene. It seems like most places close by 10pm. Last night was our first "late night" and we were out until around midnight only.
The plan is to hit the citadel later this morning and walk around. I ordered a silk dress earlier - completely made-to-order with hand embrodiery - all for $22. It's incredible. Hope it turns out well.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Cu Chi Tunnels and Diving
The Cu Chi Tunnels were one of the most interesting experiences on this trip so far. They were the old Viet Cong tunnels used during the Vietnam War. I got a chance to crawl through one of them. The tunnels were really narrow and dark, and it was extraordinarily hot and humid down there. I can't image what it must have been like to live down there for a long time. It was a claustrophobic experience (and I'm tiny!) and the tunnels have been widened for visitors. They were located in a forest in Cu Chi, outside of Ho Chi Minh City and the trees, the heavy rain and the sound of people firing AK47s in the background certainly gave it an eerie, atmospheric feeling. I fired a gun for the first time. It was rather scary - not something I care to repeat.
We went to the War Remnants Museum afterwards. The museum was not very well put together and the photographs of victims of the war were terrible. Granted the views presented by the museum were very one sided (obviously we were the evil Americans killing innocent villagers), it still makes me wonder why the Vietnamese people would even let Americans visit their country since the war really wasn't that long ago. Nevertheless, it is just a reminder that war itself is awful, regardless of the causes you are fighting for. So many innocent lives are wasted.
We left HCMC without really seeing much of it. We are currently in Hoi An right now, which is right by the coast. For the first time on this trip, we had time to lounge around. We spent half a day at Cua Dai beach which was beautiful. Even with SPF 70 sunscreen on under a big umbrella, I still got really sunbrunt. We took a cooking class that evening with was fun. We learned to make 3 dishes and tried 5 dishes total, including something called the White Rose, a special dumpling that is only available in Hoi An. It was delicious. We did more drinking than we did cooking - it was more of a cooking demonstration but I got to make Vietnamese spring rolls in rice paper.
And I went diving for the first time this morning! I didn't tell the people I couldn't really swim, but it really did not require a whole lot of swimming. It was an amazing experience. I saw whole schools of colorful fishes, coral, sea anemones and bright blue starfishes. I definitely need to learn to swim and tread water so I can get certified and go deeper into the water. Definitely much more fun than snorkling. The only downside was the long boat ride over. I was not feeling so great since the water was choppy.
Time to visit the Old Town which escaped damage during the war! We might get silk clothes tailor made here. There are so many tailor shops and luggage stores (selling luggage to people who literally acquire whole new wardrobes while they are here).
Oh, and apparently I look Vietnamese. I guess it wasn't just the people at the Vietnamese consulate that thought that. So many people have tried to talk to me in Vietnamese since I arrived in Vietnam 5 days ago. It's kind of funny.
We went to the War Remnants Museum afterwards. The museum was not very well put together and the photographs of victims of the war were terrible. Granted the views presented by the museum were very one sided (obviously we were the evil Americans killing innocent villagers), it still makes me wonder why the Vietnamese people would even let Americans visit their country since the war really wasn't that long ago. Nevertheless, it is just a reminder that war itself is awful, regardless of the causes you are fighting for. So many innocent lives are wasted.
We left HCMC without really seeing much of it. We are currently in Hoi An right now, which is right by the coast. For the first time on this trip, we had time to lounge around. We spent half a day at Cua Dai beach which was beautiful. Even with SPF 70 sunscreen on under a big umbrella, I still got really sunbrunt. We took a cooking class that evening with was fun. We learned to make 3 dishes and tried 5 dishes total, including something called the White Rose, a special dumpling that is only available in Hoi An. It was delicious. We did more drinking than we did cooking - it was more of a cooking demonstration but I got to make Vietnamese spring rolls in rice paper.
And I went diving for the first time this morning! I didn't tell the people I couldn't really swim, but it really did not require a whole lot of swimming. It was an amazing experience. I saw whole schools of colorful fishes, coral, sea anemones and bright blue starfishes. I definitely need to learn to swim and tread water so I can get certified and go deeper into the water. Definitely much more fun than snorkling. The only downside was the long boat ride over. I was not feeling so great since the water was choppy.
Time to visit the Old Town which escaped damage during the war! We might get silk clothes tailor made here. There are so many tailor shops and luggage stores (selling luggage to people who literally acquire whole new wardrobes while they are here).
Oh, and apparently I look Vietnamese. I guess it wasn't just the people at the Vietnamese consulate that thought that. So many people have tried to talk to me in Vietnamese since I arrived in Vietnam 5 days ago. It's kind of funny.
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