Tom's Travels

To view full size photos and captions click here:
http://www.travellerspoint.com/photos/gallery/users/tommydavis/

I took a night train from Hanoi to the mountain town of Sapa and was immediately greeted by smiling Hmong people and reasonable temperature. Actually, I think this is the first time in over two months that I have not sweat buckets just sitting down. (Some of my friends here claim I should see a doctor about how much I sweat, no joke.) I originally tried to put together a motorcycle tour of North Vietnam on a 125cc Russian Minsk, but the logistical support proved too expensive, so I settled for a three day, self-guided tour on a Chinese piece-of-shit.

Day one I spent most of the time with Claire and Anna, enjoying a bit of mountainous motorbiking until the girls had a low-speed accident on a flooded part of the road. Neither of them suffered more than a few ankle scratches and ass bruises: very fortunately, but their brand new bike was a bit scratched, and had a broken mirror. I stood beside Anna as she returned it, expecting to haggle down extortionate repair fees, but the shop didn't seem to notice right away so we walked away very quickly, running when we hit the corner. The girls skipped town a few minutes later (off to China) so I have to give a final farewell to Claire, Nicola, and Anna: great travel companions through Cambodia and Vietnam.

About an hour before sunset, I rode in a small Dao Tribe village called Ban Ho. Of course their were no English speakers here (but strangely a few Spanish speakers) and people looked at me quite confused as to why big white guy just rolled up on a piece-of-shit Chinese motorbike. I managed to find a home-stay for $2 and met up with a couple of Canadian sisters (Mei and Mei Ling) that I had met the day before, doing a similar motorbike adventure. Dinner with the family included about 15-20 shots of various homemade rice wine / bath-tub gin concoctions that had to be preceded by loudly shouting, "Mot, Hai, Ba, YO!!!" I think we also finished all the beer in the village that night.

Day two was spent hiking to a tiny mountain-top village called Ta Trung Ho where we were greeted with a reaction more bizarre than I could imagine. Imagine some big, sweaty white guy and two Asian (but very much Canadian) girls showing up, pointing to their empty water bottles. Everyone just looked at us strangely and shook their heads no, even when I pulled out a few thousand Dong to demonstrate that we would pay for water. When an old women with two teeth kept staring at us and a drunk old man started chasing the girls, we decided we would rather hit the road and risk dehydration than stick around. We made it back okay.

Anyway, the next few days were as follows: saw some amazing scenery, motorbiked some awesome roads, got sick on the night train to Sapa, and went on a 30-hour, eight-vehicle marathon bus ride with a high fever and puking until I got into Vientiane, Laos.

As a final note on Vietnam: I am counting my blessings for being the hell out of this country. The South was a bit more mellow, but simply existing in the North permeates your soul with stress and I think I aged two years in the last two weeks. As a tourist, you must be on your toes every step of the way here to avoid being ripped off or scammed by someone on the street, guesthouse owner, or "reputable" travel agent. Also, I am not exactly sure, but I think the locals out here despise me and all other tourists (I did not get this feeling in the South.) Oh yeah, and Hmong guys have legs like Tom Platz.

Anyway, Laos is awesome and way more mellow. I'll get another update out in a couple of weeks.

Tom

Scene from Sapa

Bamboo Fence

Dinner

Chocolate waterfall near Sapa

Kids n kows

Some corn and rice

Rice up close

Kids keeping in the shade

Some dirty Hmong kids

Water-powered rice thresher

Staggered rice paddies

Sapa skyline

With the bottle of gasoline strapped to me am I:
a: A suicide bomber?
b: Worried about running out of gas?
c: Stupid?
d: Both b and c

This rattan bridge is a tourist gimmick

More staggered rice paddies

The great city of Ban Ho

A couple of geese at the home-stay

Another view of Ban Ho

Bamboo canal

Me, Mei Ling, and Mei cooling off during a hot hike

Shallow waterfall

Me hiking about

The real bridge is far more dodgy than the gimmicky one

Playing the harmonica near Ban Ho

Sapa center at night

Night market (no dog meat at this one, that's in Hanoi)

Between Sapa and Lao Cai

Motorbiking heaven

Perhaps the perfect Sapa photo

Native forests

A Hmong kid in the road with two fighting bulls and a motorbike flying by: ha ha ha

Mountains near Sapa

Silver falls

This bull isn't fighting anymore

Volleyball net used to tie up goats

Blue house in Sapa

Sapa town

To view full size photos and captions click here:
http://www.travellerspoint.com/photos/gallery/users/tommydavis/

Day 1 in Hanoi...

We showed up at about 5:30 in the morning in the outskirts of Hanoi. The bus company promised to take us for free to their downtown office in a taxi, so we jumped in for the five minute ride. We showed up at a guesthouse (surprise, surprise) and chose not to stay, so the "free" taxi suddenly became $10 per person. We were not pleased by the attempted extortion so early in the morning so we decided to walk away. To make a long story short, the 5 foot tall guesthouse manager went ape shit and followed us down the street for a few hundred meters, repeatedly yelling "fuck you" to us in his best English. This is where things turned ugly: The guy thought it was alright to get slightly physical with the girls (grabbing them by the arms, sticking his finger right up to their faces, etc) I had to step up to him and push him back a few times. Finally, bystanders circled around us and made the guy go away, leaving us in peace. How insane must this guy be to try to get physical with Westerners of our stature? Imagine if instead of me, he had assaulted the likes of one of Morada's resident Ultimate Fighters.

After walking around hot and hectic Hanoi for a few hours, we stumbled upon a white girl face down in the middle of the street, an obvious victim of a motorbike accident. For about ten seconds, we watched in shock and disbelief as people crowded about, but no one really seemed to try to help her. Claire orchestrated the rescue effort, while I ran down several roads, collecting information and trying to find this girl's friends. After returning to the scene, everyone was gone and a random French guy was waiting to take me to the hospital on his motorbike. After a few hours Kate was doing fine, with only a minor concussion. Kate and her friend Paula turned out to be really entertaining girls and we all ate dinner together that night, joking about motorbikes. Oh yeah, the hotel turned a bunch of Nicola and Anna's clothes pink in the laundry. It felt like a 48 hour day.

Back in time to Hoi-An...

I spent three days in Hoi-An and didn't venture further than one kilometer from the hotel. The weather was quite rainy (I just missed a typhoon in Central Vietnam) and I had to run back and forth the several tailors for my new clothes (one cashmere suit, two trousers, two dress shirts, three short-sleeve shirts, one jacket, and three ties.) Why, might you ask, did I get a suit? I don't really know, but I sure will look good for my next job interview. One more highlight of Hoi-An was a small restaurant with the nicest people I have ever met. We ate there about six times and when we left, they almost cried and gave us a goodbye package of bus snacks.

Forward in time to just after Day 1 in Hanoi...

I went to Halong Bay and Cat Ba Island on a three day outing. Typical ocean tour: a bit of of hiking, kayaking, jumping off the top deck, fishing, eating and drinking. We even snuck on a bottle of rice vodka to avoid paying higher prices on board. (how old am I?) See photos below for a better story.

Days 2-5 in Hanoi...

Went to the Laos Embassy to get the visa sorted out and realized after about an hour that it was closed and then hurried to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum to see Ho Chi Minh's embalmed corpse. Then I sweat a few liters while stressing about God knows what all day. I also jumped farther than I ever have before to avoid being hit by a bicycle and realized that my peripheral vision actually extends behind me as I jumped to avoid a motorbike. I swear the moto drivers steer toward you sometimes. More sweat, more accident avoidances, some Bia Hoi and lots of getting lost. I am very relieved to be leaving Hanoi tonight.

Today I tried my very best Vietnamese language skills. Walking up to a street-side cafe, I proudly said "ca phe sua da" (Vietnamese iced coffee with condensed milk.) The two girls behind the counter exchanged a few words and then one of them reached into the fridge and grabbed me a Schweppes Soda Water. I give up. The kids in the Internet cafe are getting way too into their online games now and screaming their heads off all around me. It is time to go; I hope I can find my hotel...

Tom

Looking out at the streets of Hoi-An

Designing clothes at a Hoi-An tailor

Single breasted cashmere jacket, matching pants, cotton shirt and silk tie for about $70

Nicola, Claire, and Anna in some tailored outfits

Hoi-An riverside

Sunset in Hoi-An

This Vietnam War relic uses the VIC1 intercom system

View from the Japanese Bridge in Hue

It rains a lot in Vietnam

Monestary in Hue

Lakeside retreat in Hue

View from the other side

Incense making stand

The park around Tu Duc's tomb

Getting a bit carried away with the water reflection shots

Many fish at the Citadel in Hue

Building that was bombed out in the war

Packed sleeper bus to Hanoi

Lakeside in Hanoi

Green water in Hanoi

Thap Rua Tower in Hanoi

Fishing in Hanoi

Ngoc Son Temple at night

Thap Rua Tower at night

St. Joseph Cathedral looks a bit out of place in SE Asia

The hotel staff wearing my hat and tie (I have since lost the hat)

I see you, rat!

Anyone else think it is funny that there are shuttlecocks in the street?

Celebrating Kate's (third from left) good health after she got hit by a motorbike

Halong Bay is a bit of a tourist trap

A pretty shot from the party deck

Cave in Halong Bay

Food vendor rowing away in Halong Bay

Here's an "anchor and hazing background" shot

A junk boat in Halong bay

Dusk in Halong Bay

The party deck

Sun setting in Halong Bay

Another view of Halong Bay

How about the old self photo?

Nice sunset in Halong Bay

Claire and I on a rickety platform after a tough hike

View of my boots and down the platform

I think I have a sweating problem

Fishing from the pier on Catba Island

This is the result of being a little drunk and setting up a long exposure shot with the camera on an oscillating fan

Hung Long in Hanoi

Squatting and smoking a cigarette in the streets of Hanoi (I almost puked after one puff)

Bumped into the friends from Mui Ne at Bia Hoi