THE BEARD
REPORT PT.III – HIDDEN FISH & SCAN BEEF
Spinach's Tear
Scan Beef
Hidden Fish
Hot Fried Beef
Ingredient Fried Beef
Curly Flower Fried
???? (my personal favourite)
Pregnant-Egg
Dry Salt Fish
Modern Salad
Steak Beef
So many choices, so many choices. It all looks so good! What to choose, nobody
knows. And this was the best restaurant in town. Town in question? Ban Leung,
provincial capital of Ratanakiri
Province, Cambodia,
the Wild East. Known for its cashew nuts, crater lakes and perhaps most
famously as the setting for Apocalypse Now.
\u003cbr\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-style:italic\"\>I'm taking you in reverse during this beard report, from the present to the past, just for a change. Spooky huh?\u003c/span\>\u003cbr style\u003d\"font-style:italic\"\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-style:italic\"\>\nAnyway...\u003cbr\>\u003cbr clear\u003d\"all\"\>\u003c/span\>4 days ago we left from Kratchie on the 7 hour ride to Ratanakiri. We had booked tickets the day before, and were allocated seats 27 and 27, but as the ancient Korean jalopy pulled up we noticed it was rather full. Trying to find room for our bags in the luggage department, the driver tried several times to unsuccessfully squash them in between a sack of potatoes and 4 live chickens, but it wasn't to be. Bags in tow, we hopped on the bus, only to find locals in our seat. We tried to explain to the staff that they were our seats, apparently its first come first serve. There were two seats left, of the pullout middle aisle kind, and they looked like they were about to disintegrate upon takeoff. Added to the fact we would have to have a large packs under us, and we decided to skip it, and get the next bus in an hour.\n\u003cbr\>\u003cbr\>After 2 hours, we left on a minibus, and the first couple of hours were fine on a newly sealed road. Then came the off-road section. As we bumped over craters and crevasses of various sizes, enjoying our bad massage-chair like seats, the sun started to go down. This is a dusty place, and bush fires seemed to be burning randomly all around us. The countryside itself looked like it had been through its own genocide, and I was honestly waiting for Marlon Brando to come striding through the napalm. I chucked on Ki-Oki, an album by DJ Krush and Trumpeter Toshiniri Kondo (check it out if you haven't, great stuff) which was perfectly eerie for our surroundings. Arriving in town after dark, we were of course treated to the usual flood of touts trying to get us to stay at their guesthouse. Tired and weary, we bowed to one particular keen fellow, and stayed accordingly at a rather crappy place. Moving the next day proved to be a good choice, as we ended up in a place\n that used to be the governors house, complete with high ceilings, weird buffalo horn adornments and a marble bathroom the size of a small tanker truck.\n",1]
);
//-->
I'm taking you in reverse during this beard report, from the present to the past, just for a change. Spooky
huh?
Anyway...
4 days ago we left from Kratchie on the 7 hour ride to Ratanakiri. We had
booked tickets the day before, and were allocated seats 27 and 27, but as the
ancient Korean jalopy pulled up we noticed it was rather full. Trying to find
room for our bags in the luggage department, the driver tried several times to
unsuccessfully squash them in between a sack of potatoes and 4 live chickens,
but it wasn't to be. Bags in tow, we hopped on the bus, only to find locals in
our seat. We tried to explain to the staff that they were our seats, apparently
its first come first serve. There were two seats left, of the pullout middle
aisle kind, and they looked like they were about to disintegrate upon takeoff. Added
to the fact we would have to have our large packs under us, and we decided to
skip it, and get the next bus in an hour.
After 2 hours, we left on a minibus, and the first couple of hours were fine on
a newly sealed road. Then came the off-road section. As we bumped over
craters and crevasses of various sizes, enjoying our bad massage-chair like
seats, the sun started to go down. This is a dusty place, and bush fires seemed
to be burning randomly all around us. The countryside itself looked like it had
been through its own genocide, and I was honestly waiting for Marlon Brando to
come striding through the napalm. I chucked on Ki-Oki, an album by DJ Krush and
Trumpeter Toshiniri Kondo (check it out if you haven't, great stuff) which was
perfectly eerie for our surroundings. Arriving in town after dark, we were of
course treated to the usual flood of touts trying to get us to stay at their
guesthouse. Tired and weary, we bowed to one particular keen fellow, and stayed
accordingly at a rather crappy place. Moving the next day proved to be a good
choice, as we ended up in a place that used to be the governor’s house,
complete with high ceilings, weird buffalo horn adornments and a marble bathroom
the size of a small tanker truck.
\u003cbr\>Set in our new surroundings, we hired a motorbike, and then also decided to get a guide for the day. One because we had no idea about where to go, and two so Trish could ride on the back of his bike (me being a novice on a bike and unable to ride it coolly enough). After riding for a few hours we came to a town, supposedly deserted after US bombing in the 70's. It wasn't quite deserted, but we managed to visit a monastery and find some old bomb craters. Driving back, I picked up a nail and almost crashed off from the resulting flat tire. Pushing the bike into a local families house, the dude proceeded to fix the four punctures with hot rubber from his local tree. Meanwhile a curious crowd of around 40 kids gathered to stare at us - mainly at my beard. We passed the time entertaining them with my camera, funny faces and turns in stroking my hairy masterpiece. The next day we went with two other tourists, a couple of English lasses to visit some ethnic villagers. We\n were disappointed with this as they were obviously used to tourists, and just hungry for candy of all things. In the afternoon we visited the beautiful crater lake, went for a swim and drunk crazy palm wine out of a Dionysus-like jug using bamboo straws.\n\u003cbr\>\u003cbr\>We are back in Kratie now, a nights stopover, then heading to Phenom Penh where we will meet up with various members of my family, heading to angkor wat and then on to Vietnam.\u003cbr\>\u003cbr\>Since the last report from the crazy letongku village, we headed up to Northern Thailand to a little hippy village called Pai, to meet up with a mate we met down in the islands. Pai is great, laid back, chilled, and whilst perhaps full of a few too many feral hippies, home to lots of cool peeps nonetheless. We spent about 4-5 nights up there, Trish was a little sick, but I managed to get out a couple of nights on the sauce and catch some live music. From there we went down to Chaing Mai for a few nights of checking out the markets and such, then did the insane bus trip from there to the southern Thai/Cambodian border.\n",1]
);
//-->
Set in our new surroundings, we hired a motorbike, and then also decided to get
a guide for the day. One because we had no idea about where to go, and two so
Trish could ride on the back of his bike (me being a novice on a bike and
unable to ride it coolly enough). After riding for a few hours we came to a
town, supposedly deserted after US bombing in the 70's. It wasn't quite
deserted, but we managed to visit a monastery and find some old bomb craters.
Driving back, I picked up a nail and almost crashed off from the resulting flat
tire. Pushing the bike into a local family’s house, the dude proceeded to fix
the four punctures with hot rubber from his local tree. Meanwhile a curious
crowd of around 40 kids gathered to stare at us - mainly at my beard.
We passed the time entertaining them with my camera, funny faces and turns in
stroking my hairy masterpiece. The next day we went with two other tourists, a
couple of English lasses to visit some ethnic villagers. We were disappointed
with this as they were obviously used to tourists, and just hungry for candy of
all things. In the afternoon we visited the beautiful crater lake, went for a
swim and drunk crazy palm wine out of a Dionysus-like jug using bamboo straws.
We are back in Kratie now, a nights stopover, then heading to Phenom Penh where
we will meet up with various members of my family, heading to Angkor watt and
then on to Vietnam.
Since the last report from the crazy laetongku village,
we headed up to Northern Thailand to a little
hippy village called Pai, to meet up with a mate we met down in the islands.
Pai is great, laid back, chilled, and whilst perhaps full of a few too many
feral hippies, home to lots of cool peeps nonetheless. We spent about 4-5 nights
up there, Trish was a little sick, but I managed to get out a couple of nights
on the sauce and catch some live music. From there we went down to Chaing Mai
for a few nights of checking out the markets and such, then did the insane bus
trip from there to the southern Thai/Cambodian border.
\u003cbr\>The Cambodian land borders are extremely dodgy and corrupt. A Cambodian tourist visa should cost US$20. However, when you cross by land, the officials will charge you in Thai Baht, anywhere between $30-40. Having heard of this, we thought we had found a loophole, the new e-visa. Applying online and paying by credit card should get us past this, right? Wrong. We got through, but not after an hour of bollocks, which I'm sure a slipped $20 would have solved but that would have defeated the purpose right? Anyway, they had to let us through eventually and we just got on our transportation to the beach town of Sihanoukville.\n\u003cbr\>\u003cbr\>I've been to Cambodia before, but it was still a shock to the system. Its a poor country, and the begging is right in your face. This beach resort proved to be the worst of it, and we couldn't get out of there fast enough. We spent a couple of nights off the coast at a beautiful isolated beach, finally got that sunny weather we had been after. From there it was on to the capital phenom penh, heart of darkness. A few days there and we were again ready to roll, and here we are.\n\u003cbr\>\u003cbr\>I know its another novel, hope this one is a little shorter for you all.\u003cbr\>I assume that everyone this email goes out to is deceased, as the only people that seem to reply are relatives, but I will put this down to the bulk email rule of never to reply.\n\u003cbr\>\u003cbr\>Till next time, you may print this picture and worship my beard.\u003cbr\>\u003cbr\>Shane\u003cbr\>",1]
);
//-->
The Cambodian land borders are extremely dodgy and corrupt. A Cambodian tourist
visa should cost US$20. However, when you cross by land, the officials will
charge you in Thai Baht, anywhere between $30-40. Having heard of this, we
thought we had found a loophole, the new e-visa. Applying online and paying by
credit card should get us past this, right? Wrong. We got through, but not
after an hour of bollocks, which I'm sure a slipped $20 would have solved but
that would have defeated the purpose right? Anyway, they had to let us through
eventually and we just got on our transportation to the beach town of Sihanoukville.
I've been to Cambodia
before, but it was still a shock to the system. Its a poor country, and the begging
is right in your face. This beach resort proved to be the worst of it, and we
couldn't get out of there fast enough. We spent a couple of nights off the
coast at a beautiful isolated beach, finally got that sunny weather we had been
after. From there it was on to the capital phenom penh, heart of darkness. A
few days there and we were again ready to roll, and here we are.
I know its another novel, hope this one is a little shorter for you all.
I assume that everyone this email goes out to is deceased, as the only people
that seem to reply are relatives, but I will put this down to the bulk email
rule of never to reply.
Till next time, you may print this picture and worship my beard.
Shane
THE BEARD
REPORT PART IV – MOTORCYCLE GANGS & ROAD-KILL DOG
My fingers are frozen as I type this. North Vietnam
is cold, colder than I expected, and my body, having adapted to 5 months of
extreme heat, is unprepared. Luckily there is 'bia hoi', or 'fresh beer', or
more accurately some kind of chemical concoction that faintly resembles beer
available for 10 cents a glass to keep me warm.
\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>Where was I at my last update? Ahh yes, my beard was at the rugged woodcutter stage (it has now proceeded to the feral bushman phase) and my extended family were just about to arrive. Let us journey back in time to that fateful day..... \u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\> \u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>My parents, uncle, aunt and family friends arrived on the same day, and my mum had booked us in to stay at a reasonably nice hotel to meet up. Me & Trish checked in the morning before they arrived, and were blown away by the luxuries. "Oh my god, we have hot water!" I shouted out of the bathroom. "I think this is air conditioning", Trish replied. "And the sheets look clean!". As you can see this was rather a lush occasion for us, and the dirt came off in sheets under the first hot water experience in months. Mum & Dad arrived and it was great to see them. After a catch up we went and found the others, and had a reunion dinner. Spent a few days in Phenom Penh visiting the sites, and I think everyone was a bit stunned by the decrepit state of things in the capital. Phenom Penh does provide a shock to the system, especially as an introduction to Cambodia. \u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\> \u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>Next was the bus ride up to Siem Reip (angkor wat), the highlight of the trip being an english munter, wearing a t-shirt pronouncing 'I hate myself and want to die' downing one of the deep fried tarantulas, a speciality of the village we stopped at for lunch. I had already visited a lot of Angkor before, so we all split up during this to do different things. Me & Trish headed for a far away temple, around 2 uncomfortable hours on a tuk-tuk, but it proved to be worth it. Named Beng Melea, it has to be one of the only ways you can become Indiana Jones for a day. This place was straight out of Raiders of the Lost Ark, and it was blissfully spared by the tourist mania that has unfortunately ruined a lot of Angkor. We spent the day clambering over ruins and contemplating swinging from vines before returning to town. ",1]
);
//-->
Where was I at my last update? Ahh yes, my beard
was at the rugged woodcutter stage (it has now proceeded to the feral bushman
phase) and my extended family were just about to arrive. Let us journey
back in time to that fateful day.....
My parents, uncle, aunt and family friends arrived on the
same day, and my mum had booked us in to stay at a reasonably nice hotel to
meet up. Me & Trish checked in the morning before they arrived, and were
blown away by the luxuries. "Oh my god, we have hot water!" I shouted
out of the bathroom. "I think this is air conditioning", Trish
replied. "And the sheets look clean!" As you can see this was rather
a lush occasion for us and the dirt came off in sheets under the first hot
water experience in months. Mum & Dad arrived and it was great to see them.
After a catch up we went and found the others, and had a reunion dinner. Spent
a few days in Phenom Penh visiting the sites and I think everyone was a bit
stunned by the decrepit state of things in the capital. Phenom Penh does
provide a shock to the system, especially as an introduction to Cambodia.
Next was the bus ride up to Siem Reip (Angkor watt), the highlight
of the trip being an English munter, wearing a t-shirt pronouncing 'I hate
myself and want to die' downing one of the deep fried tarantulas, a speciality
of the village we stopped at for lunch. I had already visited a lot of Angkor before, so we all split up during this to do
different things. Me & Trish headed for a far away temple, around 2
uncomfortable hours on a tuk-tuk, but it proved to be worth it. Named Beng
Melea, it has to be one of the only ways you can become Indiana Jones for a day.
This place was straight out of Raiders of the Lost Ark, and it was blissfully
spared by the tourist mania that has unfortunately ruined a lot of Angkor. We spent the day clambering over ruins and
contemplating swinging from vines before returning to town.
\n\u003cdiv\> \u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>I knew it was coming, and it happened that night. My family are big drinkers. On this trip I haven't been. It was about to clash. All meeting up at the notorious bar Ankor What?, my family hit the vodka and whisky buckets. My uncle was the main culprit, twisting our rubber arms and buying us drinks at a ludicrous rate. If you don't know what a bucket is it resembles the thing you used to play in the sandpit with, except it is filled with a hip flask of whisky or vodka, a can of coke and a can of redbull. Then they plonk 10 straws in it and set it down in front of you. Sipping out of one, two or even three straws was not enough for my uncle. "Two straws! Nah, you have to use all of them, go on, do it!" Needless to say we were not well the next day, but we had a blast and it was a fantastic time. \u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\> \u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>After angkor my uncle, aunt and friends decided to fly to hanoi in the north of vietnam, whilst me, trish and my parents opted to take the bus to saigon in the south. The bus ride proved to be quite comfortable for a change, and crossing between the two countries provided a stark contrast. The orange, dusty landscape of cambodia quickly gave way to the iconic vivid green rice paddies of the communist state. My body chose this inopportune time to get sick, and I spent most of our three days in Saigon in bed, or on the toilet. I did manage to visit the Re-Unification Palace and have a walk around the city, which impressed me with its green spaces and sensible design. \u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\> \u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>Feeling a bit better, we jumped on a hydrofoil and headed down to a place called Vung Tao. Not really on the tourist trail, it was nevertheless a very important stop on this trip, especially for my father. He fought in Vietnam (or the American War as it is called here) and had not been back for 36 years. There were a lot of old wounds to heal, and he was a little nervous about the whole thing. The town itself was greasy, full of old westerners sleazing onto the young prostitutes at the bars. The next day we took the tour around the sites, visiting dads old base, of which nothing really remained, as well as an orphanage of kids from the war. The weirdest part was visiting a memorial to foreign soldiers killed in a particularly nasty battle. To visit you had to get a permit from the police, and they then give you a rusty plaque and chain. You then visit the memorial, which is a small plain stone cross, and hang the plaque up. When finished you take the plaque back to the station. Strange? Yep. But that's communism for you, and also Vietnam. The most emotional part was when we visited some of the tunnels the vietcong used in the war. It was run by an ex vietcong soldier, and dad got to have a chat with him, which i think did a world of good. ",1]
);
//-->
I knew it was coming, and it happened that night. My family
are big drinkers. On this trip I haven't been. It was about to clash. All
meeting up at the notorious bar Angkor What?,
my family hit the vodka and whisky buckets. My uncle was the main culprit, twisting
our rubber arms and buying us drinks at a ludicrous rate. If you don't know
what a bucket is it resembles the thing you used to play in the sandpit with,
except it is filled with a hip flask of whisky or vodka, a can of coke and a
can of redbull. Then they plonk 10 straws in it and set it down in front of
you. Sipping out of one, two or even three straws was not enough for my uncle.
"Two straws! Nah, you have to use all of them, go on, do it!"
Needless to say we were not well the next day, but we had a blast and it was a
fantastic time.
After Angkor my uncle, aunt and friends decided to fly to Hanoi in the north of Vietnam,
whilst me, Trish and my parents opted to take the bus to Saigon
in the south. The bus ride proved to be quite comfortable for a change, and
crossing between the two countries provided a stark contrast. The orange, dusty
landscape of Cambodia
quickly gave way to the iconic vivid green rice paddies of the communist state.
My body chose this inopportune time to get sick, and I spent most of our three
days in Saigon in bed, or on the toilet. I did
manage to visit the Re-Unification
Palace and have a walk
around the city, which impressed me with its green spaces and sensible design.
Feeling a bit better, we jumped on a hydrofoil and headed
down to a place called Vung Tao. Not really on the tourist trail, it was
nevertheless a very important stop on this trip, especially for my father. He
fought in Vietnam
(or the American War as it is called here) and had not been back for 36 years.
There were a lot of old wounds to heal, and he was a little nervous about the
whole thing. The town itself was greasy, full of old westerners sleazing onto
the young prostitutes at the bars. The next day we took the tour around the
sites, visiting dad’s old base, of which nothing really remained, as well as an
orphanage of kids from the war. The weirdest part was visiting a memorial to
foreign soldiers killed in a particularly nasty battle. To visit you had to get
a permit from the police, and they then give you a rusty plaque and chain. You
then visit the memorial, which is a small plain stone cross, and hang the
plaque up. When finished you take the plaque back to the station. Strange? Yep.
But that's communism for you, and also Vietnam. The most emotional part
was when we visited some of the tunnels the Vietcong used in the war. It was
run by an ex Vietcong soldier and dad got to have a chat with him, which I
think did a world of good.
\n\u003cdiv\> \u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>Next we headed into the cooler climate of the central highlands, and a town called Dalat. So tacky it works, it boasts a fake Eiffel tower and swan boats for lovers to cruise round in in the lake. Dalat is famous for its local motorbike gang, called the easyriders. Now, your probably all thinking Hells Angels, Black Power, Mongrel Mob. Not quite. Think 125cc bikes, retired vietnamese men and a killer sense of humour. Since 1993 they have been offering motorbike tours all over Vietnam, so of course we signed up for a day around the area. It was great fun, and the scenery was stunning. The highlight was visiting a place aptly named 'The Crazy House'. Built by a completely mad lady who studied architecture in Moscow for 14 years, it was a Dali-esque trip into the mind of a nutter. Very cool. If you want to know more check it out here: \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.traveladventures.org/continents/asia/crazyhouse.shtml\" target\u003d\"_blank\" onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\"\>http://www.traveladventures\u003cWBR\>.org/continents/asia/crazyhouse\u003cWBR\>.shtml\u003c/a\>\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\> \u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>We enjoyed this trip so much we decided to hire one of the guides for a 5 day tour up through the highlands. Mum wasn't keen on 5 days on the back of a bike, so we hired a private van. Me & Trish could never have afforded this, so we were grateful, and it gave us a chance to see a lot more than we would have. We saw so much in the 5 days, way too much to write here, so I'll just regale you with one incident during the adventure. Driving along the road, our guide suddenly stopped the car and reversed up to a little dirt road. "Down here is a little stream where the local villagers bath and wash, lets go have a look." OK, we said and down we wandered. Getting to the pool there were several people washing, and a group of about 5 men huddled around the edge intently engaged in some activity. Walking closer we noticed blood and entrails seeping in the water. Skinning some animal, we thought, and then thought about the people bathing in the same water.... Crouching down, I tried to determine the animal, and believed it was a goat. Nope, not quite. Our guide proceeded to say "This is dog, it was just hit by a car, very delicious." Waste not, want not. Mum was quite excited, believing she was back on the farm, but Trish's stomach took a turn for the worst at the sight and we beat a hasty retreat. ",1]
);
//-->
Next we headed into the cooler climate of the central
highlands, and a town called Dalat. So tacky it works, it boasts a fake Eiffel
tower and swan boats for lovers to cruise round in the lake. Dalat is famous
for its local motorbike gang, called the easy riders. Now, your probably all
thinking Hells Angels, Black Power, Mongrel Mob. Not quite. Think 125cc bikes,
retired Vietnamese men and a killer sense of humour. Since 1993 they have been
offering motorbike tours all over Vietnam, so of course we signed up
for a day around the area. It was great fun, and the scenery was stunning. The
highlight was visiting a place aptly named 'The Crazy House'. Built by a
completely mad lady who studied architecture in Moscow for 14 years, it was a Dali-esque trip
into the mind of a nutter. Very cool. If you want to know more check it out
here: http://www.traveladventures.org/continents/asia/crazyhouse.shtml
We enjoyed this trip so much we decided to hire one of the
guides for a 5 day tour up through the highlands. Mum wasn't keen on 5 days on
the back of a bike, so we hired a private van. Me & Trish could never have
afforded this, so we were grateful, and it gave us a chance to see a lot
more than we would have. We saw so much in the 5 days, way too much to write
here, so I'll just regale you with one incident during the adventure. Driving
along the road, our guide suddenly stopped the car and reversed up to a little
dirt road. "Down here is a little stream where the local villagers bath and
wash, lets go have a look." OK, we said and down we wandered. Getting to
the pool there were several people washing, and a group of about 5 men huddled
around the edge intently engaged in some activity. Walking closer we noticed
blood and entrails seeping in the water. Skinning some animal, we thought, and
then thought about the people bathing in the same water.... Crouching down, I
tried to determine the animal, and believed it was a goat. Nope, not quite. Our
guide proceeded to say "This is dog; it was just hit by a car, very
delicious." Waste not, want not. Mum was quite excited, believing she was
back on the farm, but Trish's stomach took a turn for the worst at the sight
and we beat a hasty retreat.
\n\u003cdiv\> \u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>Reaching our destination, Hoi An, we were excited to look around. A world heritage site for its old French Quarter and the place to get tailor made clothes, we were in for a rude shock. Completely ruined by tourism is a mild way to put it. Unable to walk down the street without being hassled by hawkers, the charm of the city had been lost a long time ago. We did however get some pimpin suits made up, stylish. \u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\> \u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>Another luxury provided bythe parents was our first domestic flight of the trip, up to Hanoi. I really enjoyed Hanoi, thought it had a great vibe about it. We of course went and visited Ho Chi Minh in his pickled state, after queuing up for kilometers to get in. Once inside you must walk in twos without stopping around his crystal coffin. He's looking pretty good for being dead for 40 years, although a little waxy on it. My beard caused quite a ruckus, I guess due to Ho Chi Minhs wisps (pathetic attempt) , and several locals wanted their photo taken with me. All in a days work for the bearded one. Also made a trip to the 'Hanoi Hilton', the prison where Vietnamese soldiers were held under the French and later American POWs. Lots of propaganda, but chilling stuff for sure. \u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\> \u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>The famed Halong Bay was next, and we spent a night out on a boat which was surprisingly nice. Unfortunately this time of year brings foggy weather, and the views would have been far better on a clear day, but it was still a good time. Drinking wine in the evening up on the deck of the boat was extremely relaxing. Back to Hanoi and it was time to say goodbye to mum and dad. One of the things about travelling and living abroad is that you miss you family and friends, and it is harder each time to say goodbye, knowing it will be a while again before you see each other. I thought they dealt extremely well with the stress of travelling in SE Asia, and think they enjoyed themselves a lot. \u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\> \u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>Back to just me and the missus, we got the overnight train to Sapa, a mountain station in the far north. We had our first really dodgy experience in Vietnam, when a guy who followed us into the train, offering to help with our bags and tried to be a slippery eel and steal my wallet. Luckily Trish, like a wolf, was onto him and I blocked the door while she found the wallet hidden under the mattress. The dude then had the cheek to ask for a tip for putting our bags up. Right. Getting into Sapa we checked into our hotel and went for a walk around. Despite being overcrowded with tourists the town is quite pleasant, but Trish learnt a hard lesson of not to show interest in the local hill tribe ladies selling stuff. Wanting to buy a blanket, she enquired, and was immediately surrounded by at least 10 woman, who wouldn't let her leave. Making our escape, one lady actually followed us around for an hour, no kidding, before giving up. Now that's persistence. The next day we went for an overnight hike, and while the scenery was beautiful, our guide was far from it. As my mum would say, a real 'vinegar tits'. At our homestay we met a 66 year old Canadian, who had led perhaps one of the most interesting lives I've heard of. Having travelled to over 100 countries in his life, many in the 60's hitchhiking, he entertained us with accounts of rabid vampire bats in the Congo and hitchhiking around Afghanistan before there were tourists there. ",1]
);
//-->
Reaching our destination, Hoi An, we were excited to look
around. A world heritage site for its old French Quarter and the place to
get tailor made clothes, we were in for a rude shock. Completely ruined by
tourism is a mild way to put it. Unable to walk down the street without being
hassled by hawkers, the charm of the city had been lost a long time ago. We did
however get some pimpin suits made up, stylish.
Another luxury provided by the parents was our first
domestic flight of the trip, up to Hanoi.
I really enjoyed Hanoi,
thought it had a great vibe about it. We of course went and visited Ho Chi Minh
in his pickled state, after queuing up for kilometres to get in. Once inside
you must walk in twos without stopping around his crystal coffin. He's looking
pretty good for being dead for 40 years, although a little waxy on it. My beard caused quite a ruckus, I guess due to Ho Chi Minhs
wisps (pathetic attempt) , and several locals wanted their photo taken
with me. All in a days work for the bearded one. Also made a trip to the 'Hanoi
Hilton', the prison where Vietnamese soldiers were held under the French and
later American POWs. Lots of propaganda, but chilling stuff for sure.
The famed Halong
Bay was next, and we
spent a night out on a boat which was surprisingly nice. Unfortunately this
time of year brings foggy weather, and the views would have been far better on
a clear day, but it was still a good time. Drinking wine in the evening up on
the deck of the boat was extremely relaxing. Back to Hanoi and it was time to say goodbye to mum
and dad. One of the things about travelling and living abroad is that you miss
you family and friends, and it is harder each time to say goodbye, knowing it
will be a while again before you see each other. I thought they dealt
extremely well with the stress of travelling in SE Asia,
and think they enjoyed themselves a lot.
Back to just me and the missus, we got the overnight train
to Sapa, a mountain station in the far north. We had our first really dodgy
experience in Vietnam,
when a guy who followed us into the train, offering to help with our bags
and tried to be a slippery eel and steal my wallet. Luckily Trish, like a
wolf, was onto him and I blocked the door while she found the wallet hidden
under the mattress. The dude then had the cheek to ask for a tip for putting
our bags up. Right. Getting into Sapa we checked into our hotel and went for a
walk around. Despite being overcrowded with tourists the town is quite
pleasant, but Trish learnt a hard lesson of not to show interest in the local
hill tribe ladies selling stuff. Wanting to buy a blanket, she enquired, and
was immediately surrounded by at least 10 women, who wouldn't let her leave.
Making our escape, one lady actually followed us around for an hour, no
kidding, before giving up. Now that's persistence. The next day we went for an
overnight hike, and while the scenery was beautiful, our guide was far from it.
As my mum would say, a real 'vinegar tits'. At our home stay we met a 66 year
old Canadian, who had led perhaps one of the most interesting lives I've heard
of. Having travelled to over 100 countries in his life, many in the 60's
hitchhiking, he entertained us with accounts of rabid vampire bats in the Congo and hitchhiking around Afghanistan
before there were tourists there.
\n\u003cdiv\> \u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>God, this is perhaps the biggest report yet eh? Enough already I know. Read it in lumps over the next few years if you get stuck for reading material.\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\> \u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>I've managed to finally update my photo page, there are about 120 or so new shots up so check em out if you have time. We head into Laos in the next few days, then meet some friends from Japan for a week or so of relaxing and recuperating before the trip is over and we head to Canada. Until the next report, I will welcome suggestions of Moustache styles to use when I begin to trim.... \u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\> \u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>Much Luv\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\> \u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>Shane\u003cbr\>-- \u003cbr\>Photos\u003cbr\>\u003ca href\u003d\"http://community.webshots.com/user/Deralikt\" target\u003d\"_blank\" onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\"\>http://community.webshots.com\u003cWBR\>/user/Deralikt\u003c/a\> \u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>Myspace\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>\u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.myspace.com/vonnutlung\" target\u003d\"_blank\" onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\"\>www.myspace.com/vonnutlung\u003c/a\>\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>Skype\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>Search Deralikt or Shane Cowlishaw\u003c/div\>\u003c/blockquote\>\u003cbr\>\u003chr\>Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows Live Spaces. It's easy! \u003ca href\u003d\"http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action\u003dcreate&wx_url\u003d/friends.aspx&mkt\u003den-us\" target\u003d\"_blank\" onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\"\>Try it!\u003c/a\>\u003c/div\>\n",0]
);
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God, this is perhaps the biggest report
yet eh? Enough already I know. Read it in lumps over the next few years if you
get stuck for reading material.
I've managed to finally update my photo page, there are
about 120 or so new shots up so check em out if you have time. We head into Laos in the next few days, then meet some
friends from Japan for a
week or so of relaxing and recuperating before the trip is over and we head to Canada. Until
the next report, I will welcome suggestions of Moustache
styles to use when I begin to trim....
