cat_moonstone's TravelStream™ — Recent TravelPod.com entries TravelStream™ news feed for member cat_moonstone on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/cat_moonstone en-us Copyright ©2012 TravelPod.com Tue, 04 Dec 2007 05:33:40 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com Hue to Ha Noi — Hanoi, Vietnam http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cat_moonstone/indochina_2007/1195381080/tpod.html http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cat_moonstone/indochina_2007/1195381080/tpod.html#comment Travel Blogs http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cat_moonstone/indochina_2007/1195381080/tpod.html Tue, 04 Dec 2007 10:33:40 +0000 Indochina 2007
Hanoi, Vietnam

Hue to Ha Noi This morning I was very lazy and didn't do any sightseeing, I just wasn't in the mood for it. Everyone else rushed off and saw things, but I took time out to chill and to be on my own for a while. It was enjoyable to do nothing with no one else around, a real luxury that I so rarely experience. We left the hotel in Hue at about 10:30 in the morning and drive to the nearby airport for the final domestic flight of the trip, this time to Ha Noi. I've reached the point where I can't be bothered with anything much; I really just want to go home because I'm missing James and Nathaniel so very much. I guess when I booked the trip I hadn't realised how much I've changed over the past couple of years. Before, going away for months at a time was fine and I didn't really miss anyone; but now, settled with my own family, I really think I prefer being with them rather than gadding off to exotic foreign destinations. Ha Noi This is so not for me. The capital of Viet Nam with around 5m inhabitants, it's jam-packed with bodies and motorbikes which all try to squeeze into its narrow streets. The bus trip to the hotel took a little over an hour but we got lost! Doesn't auger well if a local can't find his way around; what chance do I have? Driving around Ha Noi was interesting because it gave me a chance to see the different streets and areas. I'll do a walk of the centre of the city tomorrow and hopefully learn more about the place. I keep saying this, but each big city I visit seems to have even more crazy and terrifying traffic! Ha Noi is most certainly the winner on this trip! My Saigon rules of the road still apply but with modifications and adjustments for the roads and traffic here. The roads of Ha Noi are not wide boulevards like the ones in Saigon; they're narrower and more packed, and if anything, this makes them even scarier and more treacherous to cross until you get the hang of it. I went out with Michele once we'd checked into our hotel, and she took an instant dislike to the place. She really didn't want to stray from the hotel so we ate lunch in the tiny restaurant which was on street level with our hotel. Lunch wasn't that great, to be honest, but it filled me up and it made Michele feel ready to face Ha Noi roads. Now, these roads are a bit of a bugger to cross. Even though there are crossings and little red and green men signs, they aren't always obeyed, or they certainly weren't on a Sunday afternoon. We successfully got across two small road and wove our way along the crowded pavements. The pavements, they aren't for walking, they're for living life. I'll say more about this later, I think. Back to the road crossing story. We got stuck at a crossing for a very long time indeed because the motorbikes felt like a thick and impenetrable wall. I'd have given it a go if I'd been on my own but Michele wasn't shifting. She looked really ****** off. Eventually, a lady grabbed my arm and yanked me across the road with her. I grabbed Michele and that's how we made it across. I think the lady who helped us must have thought we were totally pathetic, but it was kind of her to help. Having made it across the road, we walked around what I can loosely describe as a local park. Mainly concrete but with flowers and shrub borders, life was really happening this late Sunday afternoon. Boys were playing football in one area; two teenage girls massacred a game of badminton; families promenaded; and old men sat and watched the world go by. Everyone seemed so very happy and joyful, enjoying the autumn evening together. We went back to our hotel. Not the best hotel I've ever stayed in unfortunately. The room itself was tiny although clean and tidy, but no window!!! I hate rooms with no windows. The fancy TV and spa shower in no way compensated for the tiny claustrophobic space, and I guess being stuck in while Michele got over her paddy didn't make me feel any happier about Ha Noi. I took a long shower, bugger all else to do. I know, I could have gone out on my own, but I felt bad about leaving Michele. I caught up with the world later with BBC News. Lots has happened since I went away. A farewell dinner with the group at the Old Ha Noi restaurant and a drink at Legend Bar finished the evening. All-in-all a bit of a **** day, I should have made more effort.
]]> Quick dash to Hue — Hue, Vietnam http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cat_moonstone/indochina_2007/1195293780/tpod.html http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cat_moonstone/indochina_2007/1195293780/tpod.html#comment Travel Blogs http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cat_moonstone/indochina_2007/1195293780/tpod.html Tue, 04 Dec 2007 10:17:59 +0000 Indochina 2007
Hue, Vietnam

Quick dash to Hue It rained all night - heavily. It's raining again in the morning - heavily. I'm very glad to be leaving Hoi An because I don't want to be caught in another flood. I like the town more than anywhere else I've been in Viet Nam despite the rain; it's small, people are friendly and helpful, and I haven't felt uncomfortable here, unlike the rest of the country. We leave at 8am in the pouring rain and take a bus to Hue on the central coast of Viet Nam. The former capital of Vietnam, Hue was traditionally a cultural, religious, and educational centre, serving between 1802 to 1945 as the political capital under the 13 emperors of the Nguyen (pronounced Noi-yen) dynasty. The decaying, opulent tombs of the Nguyen emperors which we'll visit in the afternoon, and the grand, crumbling Citadel comprise a Unesco World Heritage site. I'm doing well on this trip to be visiting so many amazing places. These all seem to lie along the north side of the Song Huong, known also as the Perfume River. In the pouring rain, we visited the Imperial City of Hue, built by the Nguyen Emperor Gia Long. It's designed in keeping with the symmetrical layout of Beijing's Forbidden City, on a north-south axis. Our guide told us that during its period of prosperity, the Nguyen Imperial City consisted of some 148 splendidly decorated buildings which included palaces, assembly halls, pavilions, ancestral alters and gardens, spread over 6km of land. Sadly many of these architectural delights were devastated during the Viet Nam War, although many have been restored to the former glory. Indeed, restoration was continuing during my visit. While we were there we saw the Thien My Pagoda, one of the most famous structures in Viet Nam. It's also known as the Heavenly Lady Pagoda, and was built in 1601 by Lord Nguyen Hoang. It's situated on the banks of the Perfume River and I'm sure that when it isn't raining, it must be quite romantic and beautiful. I'll tell you the story of how the pagoda got its name. legend has it that a lady appeared to Nguyen Hoang and told him of the spiritual significance of the place by the river so to mark the event and the importance of the site, he build the pagoda. Throughout its history, the pagoda has been a centre of Buddhism in Hue, and we were lucky enough to see many of the monks leaving from worship. More famously, though, its monks waged strong opposition to colonialism and repression of Buddhists by President Ngo Dinh Diem in the 1960s. It was also the home pagoda of Quang Duc, who publicly burned himself to death in 1963 protesting President Diem's policies.
]]> Final fittings — Hoi An, Vietnam http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cat_moonstone/indochina_2007/1195206960/tpod.html http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cat_moonstone/indochina_2007/1195206960/tpod.html#comment Travel Blogs http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cat_moonstone/indochina_2007/1195206960/tpod.html Tue, 04 Dec 2007 10:03:09 +0000 Indochina 2007
Hoi An, Vietnam

Michele and I stayed much longer at Hoi An orphanage than we had planned, so were very late for our final outfit fittings at the tailor's. we rushed over there, and I felt very down after the time I'd spent that afternoon with the children. I guess I felt guilty for being so self-indulgent and decadent when there's such deprivation in the world, and that my money would be better spent on people other than myself. Still, I had ordered the garments and walking away now would mean that people wouldn't get paid for hours of hard work. I did my final try on for the shirts, pants, skirt and waistcoat, and all were perfect. The only thing to be finished was the raincoat which needed to be hemmed and the buttons applied, this took only ten minutes or so, and then it was time to pay. Time to panic! The machine wouldn't accept my credit card and I didn't have enough US dollars or Vietnamese Dong on me to pay in cash. I think the machine was broken because the transaction went straight through when the cashier tried a second machine. I found out later that others had experienced the same problem. Perhaps the cashier enjoyed the look of panic on everyonnne's face when she used the faulty machine, who can say. So now I have a very smart new wardrobe and no space in my backpack - oops! I don't really want to throw away my clothes that I brought with me because I quite like them, even though they're old and tatty, so time to bite the bullet and buy an extra bag! I don't think this will be a problem on internal flights in Vietnam, but totally not sure about the flights between Ha Noi and Bangkok, and then Bangkok to London. Oh well, gonna give it a try because this new gear just won't squish up small enough for the backpack. My evening finished with a delicious dinner with my fellow-travellers - unusually for this trip, the menu was 95% veggie/vegan so I was spoiled. Very happy end to the day.
]]> Hoi A orphanage — Hoi An, Vietnam http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cat_moonstone/indochina_2007/1195196700/tpod.html http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cat_moonstone/indochina_2007/1195196700/tpod.html#comment Travel Blogs http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cat_moonstone/indochina_2007/1195196700/tpod.html Fri, 23 Nov 2007 07:05:56 +0000 Indochina 2007
Hoi An, Vietnam

Hoi An orphanage Our tour leader, Debs, is a fantastic dynamo of a person; highly organised and efficient, but so much fun and very compassionate. On all her tours, she offers her clients the opportunity to go with her to an orphanage, and this trip was no different. I decided I wanted to go along, so I bought some animal-shaped whistles as gifts because I thought a toy that had a practical purpose and an end result would bring some pleasure as well as developmental use. I'd done a little reading about orphanages in Vietnam but it was so much worse than I had imagined. We went first into the room for disabled kids, and my God, it was all I could do not to cry. But this felt like the wrong thing to do; my distress brings nothing to the kids. Tiny babies were left alone on beds, cushions around them to stop them from falling off. I never left my son like that when he was little, but these poor kids have no one but the care staff or volunteers to look after them and tend their needs. Not only babies, though. Kids the age of my son and older were there, each with different disabilities: Agent Orange Dioxin Poisoning, cerebral palsy, cleft lips and cleft palettes, Down's Syndrome, and hydrocephalus. Which are due to Agent Orange and which to accidents of birth, I don't know, there was no one there to ask. The worst for me was a little girl, maybe six months old, who had hydrocephalus, which means water in her brain causes her head to swell to gigantic proportions. Debs said the swelling had got worse since she had last saw the girl. There's an operation that can fix this and make the head stop swelling, but it needs to be done as soon as possible to be successful. I guess it's either lack of funds or not catching the problem early enough, but so many kids are left like this poor wee girl, her head swelling until she dies. She just lay there on her cot bed staring at the ceiling. That's her life. No kisses or cuddles or games, it's heartbreaking and brings tears to my eyes as I write because I am so helpless to make things right. I stroked the girl's hands and let her hold my finger. I felt useless. Next we went into a classroom where older kids were having lessons. There were a couple of helpers but I didn't get a sense of structure to the class. The kids were doing different things and I got the feeling that this was more due to lack of funds to provide textbooks and teachers than the fact that each child was afforded the opportunity to work at his or her own pace. How can Communism be an option when kids are discarded by their families and the state in this way, even though this is a state run orphanage? OK, these kids have a home of sorts in that they have meals, beds, and some care, which is more than the street kids, but I thought Communism meant the same treatment for everyone. I'm not naïve, I know in Communist countries there are those with more than others, but surely the basic necessities of life should be met better than this! There's a theory about need, Maslow's Triangle of Needs, and only the very basics were met here, but better than nothing, better than no food or shelter. We continued so we didn't cause too much disruption to the lesson, and went into a playroom. Here, again, the kids had some sort of disability, either physical or mental. There were lots more helpers here, three Vietnamese ladies and two volunteers, I think, perhaps, from France or Belgium. One boy, Tong, was physically disabled, his legs and curled up under him and his arms and hands slightly mobile. He's a great kid, happy, chatting away in English and playing Connect 4 with Debs. The others could sit, some could shuffle on their bottoms, and one girl was learning to walk. One volunteer, Gerard, told me that he and his wife were retired and spent a few months each year helping out at the orphanage. The little girl learning to walk they had found two years earlier, just lying on her bed. She was two years old and had never crawled or shuffled, never had the opportunity to move or to play. With months of time spent with her over the next two years, she was able to shuffle around on her bottom and with help was learning to stand and walk. She was a beautiful child. We stayed and played for ages, but I continued to feel useless. For some reason, I just couldn't engage too deeply with the kids. It's made me see just how bloody lucky I am. I have a wonderful son and I give him everything I can to make him happy, to grow and to learn. These kids, well, they get what's available and they accept the way life is. They take the short time that we had, they play with us, and then they just accept that we go out of their lives forever. So, another life-changing experience for me, and what can I do to make a difference, how can I help? Gerard was able to give me the URL of the British charity that help[s the orphanage, but he said it gives only one side of the story. I'll look it up when I get home, but I need to find out the reality of it too. I asked if sending toys or clothes would be useful, but he told me that what they really need is money. So, I'll send money, and I think it's something we should know about in our cosy, safe lives. I noticed on someone's Facebook profile that they'd been watching "Children in Need" that night. These kids are in need, serious need. I don't know if kids in Vietnamese orphanages benefit from the millions of pounds we donate to Children in Need, but their need is as great as kids in Britain, in Africa, or anywhere else in the world. If anyone wants to see the website for Hoi An orphanage, it's www.kianh.org.uk. If you want to help, help these kids because few tourists visit. In Saigon or Ha Noi, tourists visit and give basic drugs, nappies, milk formula, toys, but few go to Hoi An orphanage. I long now to be home with my own family, to spend time with Nathaniel who is a fortunate child indeed.
]]> Hoi An in the rain — Hoi An, Vietnam http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cat_moonstone/indochina_2007/1195229940/tpod.html http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cat_moonstone/indochina_2007/1195229940/tpod.html#comment Travel Blogs http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cat_moonstone/indochina_2007/1195229940/tpod.html Thu, 22 Nov 2007 16:20:28 +0000 Indochina 2007
Hoi An, Vietnam

Hoi An in the rain I woke up to the sound of rain hammering down outside my window. Great, but it's the first real rain of my trip so I've been really lucky thus far. I didn't have the greatest sleep because everything was damp and yukky. I don't know if this is just because of the flooding in Hoi An or if it's due to the rainy season in Central Vietnam, but it isn't the most pleasant thing in the world. Luckily my mattress was dry so that was good. The sheets when I climbed into bed last night were clammy and damp, and in the end, I kicked them off and stuck with a blanket I'd found in the cupboard - dry and snug because it's pretty cold at night, around 20 degrees C. So anyway, it's raining and there's so much to see and experience in Hoi An. Michele and I are making a good friendship and spend most of our time together, so we wandered out early to do some sightseeing in the morning. First we went to the Japanese Bridge which is very lovely but I'm perhaps being a Philistine when I wonder why it's meant to be a tourist attraction. Am I jaded with too much travel packed in to such a short space of time. I need to look at my travel book to understand the historical significance of the bridge to Hoi An. Next we visited a family home which is typical of the shrines in Hoi An. A very old gentleman turned on the lights to illuminate the pictures of his ancestors along with their shrines. It was similar to the house in which I stayed in the Mekong Delta, but much darker and more enclosed. I found it a little unsettling, all these generations of dead ancestors staring down at me, and I'm glad that it's not a thing that we do in my culture. That's not to say that venerating one's ancestors is wrong but my every move being watched by them so isn't my bag. Our next visit was infinitely more exciting. We went first to an artisanal craft shop and watched the production of tourist souvenirs. Most interesting for me was watching ladies hand-stitching pictures. They have large wooden frames stretched with canvas, the picture design sketched in pencil. Depending on the size of the finished picture, there are multiple designs on the canvas. I asked how long it would take to create a 7" by 5" picture and was told it took about three days of work. An 8" by 10" picture would take about five days. Such a lot of time for these delicate pictures. I bought a small picture at a cost of only $7! So little money for so much work. Next, it was downstairs for a performance of local music and dancing. Because I was early I bagged a central front row stool so my view wasn't spoiled by flashing cameras; I just sat there and spoiled it for other people. The music was great, a real revelation to me, with its upbeat tempo and to me, strange looking instruments. The dancing was fun, as was the singing. The concert lasted maybe 15 minutes in its entirety, so just a bite-sized fast food portion of Vietnamese culture. Sad to say, but I may have reached my saturation point with sightseeing. The tour I do here is so fast and packed, I don't know if I can take much more in. My usual travel style is at a gentler pace so I have time to absorb everything and also time to do normal stuff as far away from tourism as possible. This trip has been good, though, and I recommend it to anyone with only a limited amount of time. Anyway, to get to the point, I'd had enough sightseeing in the rain and so had Michele so we went back to our hotel to dry off. Hoorah for hairdryers! You can use them for so many different things. The hotel hairdryer worked wonders on my wet hiking pants and hat and I was dry again after about half an hour. Lunch in central Hoi An next. My afternoon was rather frenetic for a vacation. At 1pm both Michele and I had our first fittings for our new Vietnamese wardrobes. I met with Susan and she showed me the garments. I couldn't believe how quickly they'd made everything! We made small adjustments to the fit of the garments, remarked darts and set hem lines. Easy peasy, I love buying clothes this way. We have to go back later for final fittings and collection. And, of course, payment. Time to go see my new boots. Michele and I walked to the shoemaker's, both feelings as excited as schoolgirls on a first date. When we got there, we were in for a huge disappointment. First, Michele's shoes. The leather was watermarked and the soles were completely wrong. My boots looked fantastic - but they didn't fit! To make them fit would have needed complete re-cutting but the cobbler wanted to insert bits here and there. I just wasn't happy but I felt so bad for the ladies in the shop. I left my deposit to cover the work; they're great boots but they just didn't fit me.
]]> I want to be a WAG — Hoi An, Vietnam http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cat_moonstone/indochina_2007/1195181640/tpod.html http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cat_moonstone/indochina_2007/1195181640/tpod.html#comment Travel Blogs http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cat_moonstone/indochina_2007/1195181640/tpod.html Sun, 18 Nov 2007 02:55:15 +0000 Indochina 2007
Hoi An, Vietnam

Travelling day Up early and take a short boat trip to the mainland, then 3 hours on a bus back to Nha Trang. In the day light you can see just how bad the road is in places, lots of potholes, and in many places it's so bad that the bus driver was going along on the wrong side of the road! Scary stuff playing chicken with the other drivers. At Nha Trang airport it was only a short wait until our flight on a small Airbus to Da Nang airport. Da Nang itself is the fourth largest city in Vietnam with around 700,000 inhabitants. The transfer to Hoi An took maybe 45 minutes but we were all sardined on to a tiny bus, so the journey was cosy and intimate. Hoi An To my delight, it was actually dry in Hoi An when we arrived at around 2pm and the centre of the town was being cleared up after the 8' high flood. Floods are bad news, though, especially when the road drainage system is primitive at best. There was mud and silt everywhere and it was pretty stinky. Some roads by the river were still flooded, and people were getting around by boat. Any garbage that was floating around was being quickly cleaned up, and all-in-all, the clean-up after the flood was very efficient. But this is the monsoon season and they have contingency plans for such events. Now, I'm not one to shop, I don't even buy souvenirs usually on my travels, but maybe there was something in the air because I went shopping crazy. I could rival the most shopaholic WAG on the planet! Michele and I made straight for a tailor that had been recommended to us, and it was heaven/ hundreds of bolts of fabric in every colour imaginable, and even some you just couldn't being or want to imagine: cottons, plain and patterned silks, cashmere; chiffons; linens and on and on forever. My vendeuse was a young lady who called herself Susan; I'm sure she chose this name to make it easier for her clients, for all the vendeauses had English names. First, we discussed what I wanted made, then I looked through the appropriate books with photos and pictures of clothes to select designs. If I'd been properly prepared, I'd have drawn some designs in England and brought them with me. That said, I had no problem in describing what I wanted. Designs selected, we went in search of the perfect fabrics. Each bolt of fabric was labelled with a price in US dollars. This price, Susan explained to me, included the cost of the fabric, cutting and making of the garment. I wish it worked that way in England at my tailor's! so, the first selection was easy; I chose an English cashmere in black with a very subtle pinstripe. And in that I'm having made pants, a skirt and a waistcoat. Smart but not severe. Next I went in search of the perfect cotton for a shirt. The first cottons Susan showed me were nice but not for me; crisp poplins and sheer lawns in plain colours. I explained I wanted subtle patterns and stripes so we went up to the stockroom. Boy, Heaven, so much fabric. I wanted hundreds of shirts. In the end I settled on a soft eau-de-nil, a pale blue, and a whit with small stripes. Now, as if that wasn't enough luxury for one girl to handle, I had one final indulgence: a silky raincoat. I think the tailor may have trouble interpreting the design I want but I'm sure it'll be gorgeous, no matter what. I asked for something very flared and floaty with lots of fabric but I think it'll be straight and dimple. As always with me, the coat will be black but the lining will be a silver grey. If I had a couple ore days I'd probably end up with more coats with crazy coloured linings, so good job I'm here for only two nights. James - if you're reading this, sigh with relief because we're not yet bankrupt after my fit of insanity! The next stop in the tailoring process is measurements. Susan took hundreds of measurements to ensure that each garment would be a perfect fit for me. I asked about her training and she told me that it takes about four months to learn to take measurements correctly. Also part of the training is eliciting from the client what she or he wants and gently guiding them away from huge fashion disasters. I think this makes sense because the client may refuse to pay for finished garments if she or he hates how they look. Susan had been a vendeuse at Yaly for four years, and she was expert in her job. Lastly, I met the tailors who would be working on my garments. This happens, I think, so that they can see your size and body shape so the garments are cut to fit individual quirks, not standard sizes. Photos completed the process; front, side, and rear views. I felt as though I should be holding up my prison number: those women on "Prisoner: Cell Block H" have nothing on me in looking grim and hard, and I'm sure they didn't pong as much as me. The tailoring process is very similar to other tailors I've used when I've lived or travelled overseas. It's almost an illicit pleasure to make your design, select your fabric and know that it'll be fitted expertly for your body; something unique and beautiful just for me. I'm still wearing a coat I had made four years ago when I lived in Beijing and I love it madly even now. Next, Michele and I found a shoemaker and described what we wanted made. I opted for a pair of black boots that definitely fall in the '**** me' category. Shoe-making, Hoi An style, is fun. Socks and boots off, the cobbler draws around your foot to get an exact copy of your foot. For me, lots of pen marks down my legs for width measurements to make the boots fit perfectly - I hope! Next, discussions about materials and buckles, and finally a deposit paid. Boy, I'm all shopped out! Surprisingly all of this took only three and a half hours including walking between the tailor and cobbler and back to the hotel. I wish life were so simple back in Higham Ferrers where I feel I'm battling with my dressmaker over just one frock!
]]> Island in the sun — Nha Trang, Vietnam http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cat_moonstone/indochina_2007/1195092840/tpod.html http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cat_moonstone/indochina_2007/1195092840/tpod.html#comment Travel Blogs http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cat_moonstone/indochina_2007/1195092840/tpod.html Sun, 18 Nov 2007 02:33:21 +0000 Indochina 2007
Nha Trang, Vietnam

Just another day in paradise... So, I am here on an island paradise off the coast of Vietnam. It's a very exclusive island, with something like 30 detached or semi-detached bamboo and reed bungalows on one corner of the island. It feels very unreal to me, especially as I walk along the path between my bungalow and the restaurant, almost like I'm on a film set. Of course, this corner of our remote island has been created expressly for tourism, but it's nicely done, I think. What to do on this island in the sun? after breakfast, the first thing or me was s dip in the lovely blue sea in the bay. It was refreshingly cool, a start contrast to the humidity on land. After my drip which became a small snorkelling expedition, I retired to a sun lounger and lazed for a couple of hours, shaded by a large tropical umbrella. Life was calm and tranquil, real down time for me, which is something I rarely get in my life in Higham Ferrers. I decided to treat myself to some pampering and had a pedicure and manicure whilst lying on my sun lounger. Now, my fingers and tow mails are a bright turquoise! It's a good colour because hopefully it'll hide the dirt and grunge that I seem to be accumulating as I travel - very yuk, I know. The resort provided a very good and quite enormous lunch - I'm sure by the end of this trip in Vietnam, I'll resemble the island because I'll be the size of a whale! Not good. Eating with the rest of the group, lunch took a couple of leisurely hours, plenty of time to laugh and to relax. More swimming in the sea, more sunning myself on the beach. Today, my life has been truly hard work. It's good to do very little - for a while. I think two weeks of this would drive me crazy because I'm so used to being busy all the time. I took a very interesting boat trip around the island in the afternoon. It took about an hour, which should give an indication of how very small the island actually is. What was most interesting to see were the floating fisheries around the island's coast. Each fishery seemed to be constructed of a grid of wooden planks, he sort you can buy from your local DIY store. They were bolted together and lashed with ropes to floating drums. The grids were anything from approximately 20 metres square. Each had a hut or shack on it, and the larger ones would have also what I can only guess were toilets. Every floating fishery had one or two dogs at leas, and they would bark manically as the boat we cruised past. Our captain called across to a few men before stopping at one fishery where we stopped and were invited to climb on to the floating structure. It's much more difficult than it looks to even stand on the wood. The plans are lashed so that they're about 2 feet apart so you can either walk along on one, as though you're an Olympic gymnast on the beam, or have one foot on each plank. They were maybe 3" wide, so not exactly enormous. The boys al hopped on and crossed to the centre of the floating structure, but I didn't go as far as them. For me, it was enough to move a couple of feet from the boat in order to better see what was going on. In each square in the grid there were deep nets in the sea, and in the water were fish. I have no idea what kind of fish, being somewhat fish phobic myself, but the ones I saw were scary critters, with mean-looking faces and spikes everywhere. I guess seeing the fish decided me for not going further along the planks. If I'd lost my balance and fallen in, I'd have been a very unhappy bunny! It was truly interesting to experience, though. None of us speak Vietnamese, and none of them spoke English, so communication was limited to gestures and smiles. I'd have loved to be able to ask about what they do. Do they live there? I think maybe they do some of the time because so many of the larger shacks seemed like homes. They had TV aerials and TVs inside, radio cassette players and people of different ages moving around checking their nets or sorting fish. I didn't see women, though, only men and boys. I wanted to know about the dogs because they clearly have an important role in this microcosm of floating island living, but what I can only guess at. All the dogs looked alert and healthy but I'm sure they were more than pets. In such a hard way of life, they must guard each person's fiefdom. Back on land, I transferred my photos to my portable hard drive - and then disaster struck! My hard drive locked up and the reset button is so useless it may as well not be there. I'm in a panic now in case I've lost all my photos from the previous two weeks, and also acutely aware that if I can't fix the hard drive, that I must limit the photos I take over the next few days because I only have 3 compact flash cards. Of course, I could shoot smaller pictures, but I'm only working in JPEG which is already lossy, so I'm concerned about the loss of detail. What a bummer it would be to take the perfect photograph and then lose the detail and quality. So far taking the hard drive apart isn't working. Hoorah for the trusty Swiss Army knife; I don't have jeweller's screwdrivers with me but the blade of the knife has at least allowed me to disconnect the battery.
]]> Whale Island — Nha Trang, Vietnam http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cat_moonstone/indochina_2007/1195005660/tpod.html http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cat_moonstone/indochina_2007/1195005660/tpod.html#comment Travel Blogs http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cat_moonstone/indochina_2007/1195005660/tpod.html Sun, 18 Nov 2007 02:14:07 +0000 Indochina 2007
Nha Trang, Vietnam

Whale Island We checked out of our uptown hotel this morning and drove across town to the airport. Clever me - I managed to leave my hoodie at the hotel. Not a problem for me, I think, while I'm in Vietnam, but not good for my flight to England! I am hoping that James will remember to bring my fleece to LHR next week or I'll be freezing in just my t-shirt and hiking pants. The flight with Vietnam Airlines was fine, nothing special, so all good. We landed at Nha Trang after circling the airport for half an hour, maybe some problem with the landing? Nha Trang airport is very small, a bit like one on a tiny Greek island. I hunted some time for a trolley for my backpack. I'm confused; I flew to Bangkok with it weighing about 15kg, but at Saigon it was 21kg! How did that happen? I bought one t-shirt only as a souvenir and that doesn't weight 6kg. anyway, it took ages to find a trolley and it wasn't that great when I got it. My backpack kept escaping, finding new and creative ways to fall off. I'll stop complaining about the shopping trolleys at Waitrose; they, at least, go more or less in the same direction. My airport trolley clearly had a mind of its own, its three wheels all trying to go in different directions at the same time. We got to our bus and had to heft out luggage up through the back window. Why didn't they stow it all in the side lockers is beyond me, but with hindsight, I think maybe it's deliberate to add to our sense of adventure and make it feel different and special. It was twilight as we departed a little after 5pm. First we drove through Nha Trang Town which is pretty and where the locals hang out. Next, upmarket Nha Trang Beach, fully of fancy tourist hotels and international restaurants. All these buildings have gone up in the past year, it seems. Nha Trang is trying to be to Vietnam what Phuket is to Thailand. Hoorah - the Benidorm-in-waiting for Vietnam? I sincerely hope not, but with mass tourism comes money and jobs. I hope the place doesn't change too much more. Our journey through the night probably felt more precarious than it really was, but when you're bumping along roads in various states of repair, it feels pretty hairy. I find, also, that people don't worry too much about driving on the wrong side of the road, either they they're overtaking or because they want to avoid a huge pothole. All fun, especially with a large tanker playing chicken on your side of the road! Eventually our bus ride finished and we were at the dock to catch a local boat over to Whale Island. It's high tide, so a bit of wading was necessary to get on the boar. For me, it was off with my hiking boots and socks, and pants rolled up as high as they'd go. I tied my boots around my neck so they wouldn't get wet. I looked pretty stylish, I can tell you! The sea water was only ankle deep so it was an easy wade across the beach to the wooden jetty. I'm so glad I had my head torch easily accessible because it was pretty dark out there. 20 minutes in the dark crossing the China Sea and we're at our island paradise. Michele and I are sharing a bungalow. This is made of bamboo and has two beds with mossie nets, and a seriously big ceiling fan. We also have a bathroom with loo and wet room-style shower facilities, so we have everything we need/ a quick freshen up then wander down the beach path to find the restaurant where a veritable banquet awaited us. I went o bed early, and am glad I did because I'd have ended up getting very hammered on rice wine if I'd stayed with the others.
]]> Whale Island — Nha Trang, Vietnam http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cat_moonstone/indochina_2007/1195005600/tpod.html http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cat_moonstone/indochina_2007/1195005600/tpod.html#comment Travel Blogs http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cat_moonstone/indochina_2007/1195005600/tpod.html Sun, 18 Nov 2007 02:12:30 +0000 Indochina 2007
Nha Trang, Vietnam

Whale Island We checked out of our uptown hotel this morning and drove across town to the airport. Clever me - I managed to leave my hoodie at the hotel. Not a problem for me, I think, while I'm in Vietnam, but not good for my flight to England! I am hoping that James will remember to bring my fleece to LHR next week or I'll be freezing in just my t-shirt and hiking pants. The flight with Vietnam Airlines was fine, nothing special, so all good. We landed at Nha Trang after circling the airport for half an hour, maybe some problem with the landing? Nha Trang airport is very small, a bit like one on a tiny Greek island. I hunted some time for a trolley for my backpack. I'm confused; I flew to Bangkok with it weighing about 15kg, but at Saigon it was 21kg! How did that happen? I bought one t-shirt only as a souvenir and that doesn't weight 6kg. anyway, it took ages to find a trolley and it wasn't that great when I got it. My backpack kept escaping, finding new and creative ways to fall off. I'll stop complaining about the shopping trolleys at Waitrose; they, at least, go more or less in the same direction. My airport trolley clearly had a mind of its own, its three wheels all trying to go in different directions at the same time. We got to our bus and had to heft out luggage up through the back window. Why didn't they stow it all in the side lockers is beyond me, but with hindsight, I think maybe it's deliberate to add to our sense of adventure and make it feel different and special. It was twilight as we departed a little after 5pm. First we drove through Nha Trang Town which is pretty and where the locals hang out. Next, upmarket Nha Trang Beach, fully of fancy tourist hotels and international restaurants. All these buildings have gone up in the past year, it seems. Nha Trang is trying to be to Vietnam what Phuket is to Thailand. Hoorah - the Benidorm-in-waiting for Vietnam? I sincerely hope not, but with mass tourism comes money and jobs. I hope the place doesn't change too much more. Our journey through the night probably felt more precarious than it really was, but when you're bumping along roads in various states of repair, it feels pretty hairy. I find, also, that people don't worry too much about driving on the wrong side of the road, either they they're overtaking or because they want to avoid a huge pothole. All fun, especially with a large tanker playing chicken on your side of the road! Eventually our bus ride finished and we were at the dock to catch a local boat over to Whale Island. It's high tide, so a bit of wading was necessary to get on the boar. For me, it was off with my hiking boots and socks, and pants rolled up as high as they'd go. I tied my boots around my neck so they wouldn't get wet. I looked pretty stylish, I can tell you! The sea water was only ankle deep so it was an easy wade across the beach to the wooden jetty. I'm so glad I had my head torch easily accessible because it was pretty dark out there. 20 minutes in the dark crossing the China Sea and we're at our island paradise. Michele and I are sharing a bungalow. This is made of bamboo and has two beds with mossie nets, and a seriously big ceiling fan. We also have a bathroom with loo and wet room-style shower facilities, so we have everything we need/ a quick freshen up then wander down the beach path to find the restaurant where a veritable banquet awaited us. I went o bed early, and am glad I did because I'd have ended up getting very hammered on rice wine if I'd stayed with the others.
]]> More Saigon ... — Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cat_moonstone/indochina_2007/1195004280/tpod.html http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cat_moonstone/indochina_2007/1195004280/tpod.html#comment Travel Blogs http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cat_moonstone/indochina_2007/1195004280/tpod.html Sun, 18 Nov 2007 01:59:04 +0000 Indochina 2007
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

(Ho Chi Minh City hotels)


More Saigon ... We got back to the Huong Sen hotel at around 6pm on Monday night. Spending a day and a half in the Mekong Delta has been an incredible experience, and I feel very fortunate to have been here. In many ways, life is very different to mine: life is lived much more in the open air, walls supporting the roof rather than keeping the elements of life out. Life seems simpler, dealing with the basic needs of life rather than the acquisitive "me me me" search for celebrity status and global brands. Yesterday, I was lucky to witness local industry, brick and tile making, a lady weaving conical hats, men and women sitting in front of their homes whilst making knives. Industry was on a small scale rather than the massive conglomerates of the western world. The people I saw in the Mekong Delta work damned hard, much longer hours than we do for much less money. I watched men and women making ceramics and terracotta pots, the process was fascinating. That beautiful blue pot that you bought at your local store such as B&Q or Homebase, the ceramic planters you have in your garden - did you ever wonder who made them or how? I for sure have never given them a thought before, and that shows how thoughtless I am about the world. I won't be looking at these pots and planters with so little regard in the future. Let's take your large blue pot. To make it, a man takes two moulds and packs them with clay. Men do this because of the size of the moulds packed with clay are heavy. The clay is pressed into the mould by hand so it can take on any patterns. The mould is then removed and the resultant pot left to sit for a number of days to dry before firing and glazing. The mould is then cleaned before the process begins again. These guys do this day in, day out, in the intense heat and humidity. And for so little money. My eyes have again been opened and I feel bad that I'm a party to this kind of exploitation. Yes, I know they're paid, but is it really a fair wage? I don't think so. I'm becoming a bit of a preacher, here, and that was never my intention with this travel blog, so for anyone who has read this far, my apologies, but I am changed because of my experience and I feel compelled to write it down so I can look back in years to come and remember why I feel this way. Well, that was an enormous digression from what I'd intended to write, but maybe it's a good contrast to the kind of tourism I'm experiencing just now. We got back to Saigon last night in rush hour, and this caused a frenzy of photography among many of my group. Maybe I'm just jaded but I've been experiencing rush hours in many cities for some years now. I lived in China and have regularly been mown down by bikes, and have indeed been part of the traffic. Here, Saigon is a city of motorbikes, they're everywhere. Rush hour, you see the streets packed with them for hundreds of metres in every direction. People don't wait for the lights to change; many mount the pavements to get ahead. And yet there doesn't seem to be that many accidents, and people re reasonable. Road rage just doesn't seem to exist here. I saw a prang: a cyclist went into the back of a scooter, and everyone was so apologetic/ perhaps it'd e nice to have this attitude in England where even I get wound up, and I don't have a driving licence! So, photo ops galore. I wonder if anyone would take photos of rush hour in the UK, or is it just too normal and familiar to appear interesting? Don't know, I guess all of life is interesting although I think if I pulled my camera out to memorialise some guy's apoplectic fury on the road, I'd probably get the cap beaten out of me and the camera would become an ex-camera very quickly! So, we get cleaned up; how you appreciate a hot shower in a clean and spider-free bathroom! And then it's time for a little dressing up: for me, my one and only skirt I have on the trip, and a vest, plus the obligatory Tevas, somewhat stinky after the mud and water of the river. Be glad you aren't travelling with me these Tevas could be used for germ warfare, I think! I took Michele to the Rex Hotel rooftop bar for a pre-dinner drink. It was a good experience, very relaxing. Saigon District 1 is certainly pretty and vibrant in the evening, twinkling lights everywhere, shimmering silver Christmas trees in random and unexpected places. Next, dinner in a local restaurant. It wasn't full but the waiters were clearing our table before we'd even eaten our meals! Helen joined us for dinner, and afterwards we went back to the Rex because she hadn't been there and it was a sight too pretty to miss. I still feel the same about Saigon, although I'm mellowing a little. It's not the place for me. I can't fall madly in love with everywhere I go. It's a fascinating city; it seems rich, especially for a Communist country, but is still one of huge contrasts. Street kids are everywhere, and poor families regularly send children to orphanages so that they get food and an education. A book to check out, "Bridge over my sorrows" about an Irish lady, Christina Nobel. In 1975 she had a dream that told her to go to Vietnam so she came here to help the street kids. She helped a local orphanage and has been raising funds to help ever since. Known as Mama Tina, all the streets know her.
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