TravelStream™ news feed for member jamesandjulie on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/jamesandjulie en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sun, 03 May 2009 07:37:49 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamesandjulie/1/1240651440/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamesandjulie/1/1240651440/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamesandjulie/1/1240651440/tpod.html Sun, 03 May 2009 07:37:49 -0400 In Search of Adventure - A world tour 2008/09

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London, England, United Kingdom

This is the last blog entry of our trip. The emotions are mixed. Sadness that this incredible life experience has come to a close and excitement to see our friends and family again. I always say about traveling that you don't know how amazing it was, how much you have learned or the effect it has had on you until months after it has ended. The reality of what you did, experienced, lived, comes through in waves of smiles weeks and months down the line.We have learnt so much. Learning by visiting, learning by exploring, learning by talking to people. Understanding how each country deals with political, social, cultural and environmental challenges. We learnt about the melting Bolivian glaciers from climatic changes and the massive impact that is is having on South America's poorest country. We got to see first hand the massive water shortages in Australia, which is fast becoming the biggest problem that country will face in future years. We got a greater understanding conflicts and regimes. The disappearings of thousands of people in Argentina during the notorious years of military rule in the late 70s, early 80s. The sadness upon learning much more deeply what the people of Laos and Vietnam have been through during the war with the US, and the genocide of millions of Cambodians during the Khymer Rouge years.We have seen an unbelievable amount of wonderful places walking through the worlds own movie set. The power of Iguassu Falls, the grace of Angel Falls. The fairytale beauty of evenings in Cartagena, the tango shows of colorful Buenos Aires, the sheer craziness of Bangkok nights. Watching sunrises at spectacular Machu Pichu and serene Angwar Wat, watching the sunset over the Bohemia that is Valparaiso, in the wildness of Australia's outback and the idyllic seas of the Gulf of Thailand. Swimming with wild dolphins, whale sharks and giant sea lions. Tasting a whole manner of food fusions, trying anything and everything - how we managed to get food poisoning only once is a miracle.We had some crazy moments. Flying around on motorbikes in Vietnam, standing in shorts in a Brazilian river fishing for piranha, jumping off a cliff in Lima to go paragliding, having a pilot fly us to the Canaima National Park while reading his newspaper over the controls. Whizzing down the death road in Bolivia on mountain bikes and watching people fight snakes in Thailand and Laos.Our greatest memories though are the friendliness of the people we met in every country. From the family that saved us in Maracaibo in Venezuela when the bus dropped us in the middle of nowhere in a dangerous spot, to the warmth of the Peruvian family we stayed with on Lake Titicaca, to the generosity of our friends in Australia who provided us with some much needed home comforts whilst we were there. We called this blog "In Search Of Adventure", it was certainly that and a whole lot more. Providing we look after this world, respect each others cultures and religions, ensure the cruelness of regimes and wars are learnt from then this really can be a beautiful world. Julie and I march on into the next chapter of our lives with a wiser and more open mind, we can't wait.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamesandjulie/1/1240731960/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamesandjulie/1/1240731960/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamesandjulie/1/1240731960/tpod.html Sat, 25 Apr 2009 04:11:10 -0400 In Search of Adventure - A world tour 2008/09

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Ko Samui, Thailand

We catch our taxi in just an hour or so. We have to say goodbye to our travel for now. Our last couple of days has been in the busy resort of Chaweng in Ko Samui. The place is winding down for the season and with the impact of the trouble in Bangkok and the global recession it is relatively quiet. I was surprised how lovely the beach was too, about 3km long, clean and soft sand and crystal water. The town itself is based around one long coastal road a vast number of bars, restaurants, massage parlors and hotels stand opposite one another. It is an eclectic mix of people too, from the teenage Euro and Aussie kids, to holidaying families and couples, to the wrong side of middle age single men on the prowl, and lots of locals. It is a bustling place with everyone competing for your baht and for the first time on this trip we have seen bars with "All day Happy Hours". Like some of the big Eurotrash resorts you do occasionally get an horrendous, pungent whiff of the drainage system when walking down the strip but all in all it wasn't quite as bad as we thought. Seemed like a fun place to be if you wanted to party and it is clearly a popular place.Everywhere seems to be showing re-runs of the Liverpool v Arsenal game from mid week, a 4 - 4 extravaganza that I stayed up until 2am to watch in our hostel bar in Phangan with Kareem the Thai barman, a cool guy who was a professional Thai boxer though sadly he a United fan. What a game though. As an obsessed Gooner I was in two minds about the game, wanting Liverpool to keep challenging the 'scum' for the title whilst wanting to win the game. I guess the result was the best I could have hoped for, even found myself wanting Liverpool to equalise in the dying minutes and they did. Have never ever wanted that to happen before, but these are the feelings that wanting Manchester United to fail puts into opposition fans.In Chaweng we found a delightful and well run small guesthouse called Pretzys, run by a Thai lady and her American fella. They are really welcoming, will help you with anything and everything, and very chatty. It is just of the main drag at the far end from most of the bars, so it is quiet. But the best thing is that it has air conditioning. We have spent the best part of two weeks sweating ourselves to sleep in the oven like night temperatures. One thing we will be thankful for upon our return back to the UK too.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamesandjulie/1/1240394700/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamesandjulie/1/1240394700/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamesandjulie/1/1240394700/tpod.html Sat, 25 Apr 2009 03:44:47 -0400 In Search of Adventure - A world tour 2008/09

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Ko Phangan, Thailand

We heard a lot about the big resorts in Ko Phangan and Ko Samui on our travels in Thailand, the gist was that the main resorts were South Asian versions of Magaluf or Kavos. As we come to the end of this 6 month whirlwind journey we just want to sit by a pool or on the beach and contemplate the meaning of life, so we headed to stay in a small resort area in the North West of Phangan, Haad Yao beach, where we found a gem of a backpacker resort, Shiralea. Wooden hut bungalows line the hill around a great bar and pool just 100 metres from the beach. The food is excellent and the British and Thai staff that run it are fun and chilled about, well everything (so much so that we had to wake Geoff, one of the owners, from his comatose state in a hammock in the bar to take us back to the ferry on the morning we left - he had only got back an hour before from a Black Moon beach party). They have a bunch of resident dogs, including a bright eyed white puppy that would come and lay on the Thai cushions watching TV with you, attaching itself to your trouser bottoms when you tried to leave. We barely ventured from the place, we just lounged by the pool.Haad Yao is much more like the Thailand I imagined than Ko Tao, which is more of a rocky outcrop in comparison. From Haad Yao you can see tiny islands jut from the water in the distance, reminiscent of the scenes in the film "The Beach". The beach itself is a sweeping kilometre of fluffy cream coloured sand with a few resorts dotting its edges along with excellent seafood restaurants that offer candlelit tables in the warm sea breeze under bright stars. We found it a relaxing place set against the back drop of dense palm tree hills. A place to stick on the Jack Johnson and sink a cocktail or five. The major problem you find with a lot of Thai beaches on these islands is that they are so shallow, you have to wade out 50 yards to get to your knees but a least you are walking on sand in Phangan, in Ko Tao it was a challenge due to the coral and stones that you had to negotiate.I took another dive trip this time with Reefers Scuba Diving. We headed to dive at Sail Rock, probably the most famous dive site in the Gulf of Thailand, 20 kilometres from the island or so. It was awesome. On dropping down on a very windy and choppy day but with good visibility the first thing we came across at around 20 metres was a 3 metre long whale shark. It just glided past me in all its glory with its greyish blue skin and white spots, at this size it is probably just an adolescent, whale sharks after all are the biggest fish in the sea growing to over 40 feet. I came across it twice more on the next dive, one time it swam a foot from me for about 5 metres, I was blown away. The site itself has beautiful coral surrounding a couple of large pinnacles that act as magnets to schools of different types of fish - angel fish, butterfly fish, squid, eel, barracuda even a few scorpion fish. It also famous for its chimney that you can enter and then swim up through for about 8 metres before popping out the top. It is hard to believe that we jump on a plane late on Saturday night and head home. But these last few weeks our minds have moved back to domestic and work stuff. For me I am really excited to head back and see my family, friends and work colleagues. Just two more days. Ko Samui next.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamesandjulie/1/1240143120/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamesandjulie/1/1240143120/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamesandjulie/1/1240143120/tpod.html Wed, 22 Apr 2009 06:03:08 -0400 In Search of Adventure - A world tour 2008/09

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Ko Tao, Thailand

We said goodbye to out tour group in Bangkok and headed to the train station. The night train left two hours late out of Bangkok (we were lucky due to the political demonstrations in the city the station was closed the next day). The train was hot and it was packed. Families slept under seats on mats and in the aisles. People danced over them selling drinks, food and all manner of foods. The seats didn't recline, in fact they were just hard back benches, sleep isn't an option. To try and get air in the carriage the windows were all opened full and the fans whizzed above us pushing the hot air around. Julie and I were the only westerners traveling, in fact even as we scouted the platform before we boarded we couldn't see any Westerners in the 1st and 2nd class sections let alone in slum 3rd class where we were. At 5 in the morning we arrived into Chumphon, which was helpfully pointed out by the locals around us who we had struck up broken conversation with, lots of "Yes" and "OK's". The trip was tough, it was fun, it was an experience. So was boarding the boat at the harbour, kind of orderly chaos ensued as our half asleep souls stumbled through the masses to get on board the boat to Ko Tao.Ko Tao is the smallest of the three major tourist islands in the Gulf of Thailand and least commercialized but if you see pictures of it from less than 10 years ago you can clearly see the direction it's heading. Nonetheless it is still a charming place and very relaxed, even in Sairee and Mae Head the two main towns that sit adjacent to one another on the west coast it is quite chilled. Sabai, sabai is the order of the day - relax, relax. In the night time there is a host of bar and restaurants, yes it is a little garish in areas but in others orange glowing lanterns line the streets and fire shows take place on the beach bars with background chill out tunes, tourists look at out across the bay laid on Thai floor mats.The island is diving mad, so whilst its official nickname is "Turtle Island" you could equally call it "Scuba Central". I headed out over 4 days during the week we were there and completed my Advanced Open Water course with Crystal Diving. Crystal is definitely one of the big factory schools on the island, their boats laden with divers on different courses hardly provides an intimate experience for those starting out diving but the instructors and Dive Masters are good fun and despite the disorganization of getting people on the boat at the right times are very professional. The dive sites are pretty good, the visibility was up at 15+ metres at times, 8 at worst. The corals were colourful and there is an immense amount of fish types. The stand out thing is the temperature of the water though, it is like bath water, 31 degrees. Jumping in the sea to cool down from the baking temperatures doesn't help much.After completing the course we moved down to a more secluded spot on the south of the island staying at Coral View at Hat Sai Deng beach. I did some excellent diving with their much smaller dive school (Coral View Divers), the team there are great fun but the best thing was the idyllic bay which accommodates Coral View resort and only one other small resort, so you are cut off from any crowds. They also have resident Black Tip reef sharks that come into the bay each afternoon, which is cool to watch. Plus, it is pretty darn cheap but I guess everything is here except may be the beer in the bars... The only issue with Coral View is getting there. You have to head off on a dirt track up and down some severe hills, and I mean severe, through a coconut plantation and then down the other side off another cliff like hill. It is bad enough in a four by four, so we hired a motorbike. Julie loved holding onto me as I opened her up over the slippery dust road, which had various crevices from rain water. If your wheel goes down one it's over. We did fall off once but as we were only going 2 mph we were OK and I just jumped off and held the bike up, Julie popped off the back in giggles, which must have been a cover reaction as she wouldn't get back on whilst we were on the track. Her loss, she had to walk the last kilometer up the hill. On a serious note we saw so many people with battle scars falling off bikes on these roads, it is said that if you come to Ko Tao and don't leave with a Ko Tao tattoo (a graze or worse) then you haven't experienced the island. Nice. Nonetheless we are having a relaxing time, a good way to end our adventures.Just a week left now. We head to Ko Pha Ngan now.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamesandjulie/1/1237096260/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamesandjulie/1/1237096260/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamesandjulie/1/1237096260/tpod.html Tue, 14 Apr 2009 08:41:13 -0400 In Search of Adventure - A world tour 2008/09

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Bangkok, Thailand

Bangkok is loud and garish all bright neon lights, packed tourist streets and the worst city traffic you will ever find - and I mean ever. It is crazy but its fun if you can get over that and has a very unique atmosphere. There is loads of street markets selling cheap clothes and knock offs watches and DVDs, and we picked up a few bargains including the token Chang beer t-short for 100 Baht (two pounds). The bartering involves passing the calculator from buyer to seller until a price is agreed, usually between a third and a half of the first price, or so we found. Between the mad streets you will find stunning temples and palaces, all strikingly bright in colour adorning elegant Buddhas and shrines. You have to keep your wits about you as it seems everyone us up to some sort of scam, but we have managed to stay clear of any major issues. I am sure we will be 'templed out' by the end of this part of our trip but for now we are enjoying themWe took a tour out to the floating market at Damnoen Saduak about an hour or so from Bangkok. It is very touristy, as everything seems to be here, but it was good to see and off the main canals you could see the locals picking up their weekly groceries from the boat vendors. On the way back we stopped at a snake farm where the most bizarre show took place involving men in a pit dodging the most dangerous snakes in Thailand after they had made them angry by slapping and poking them. One of the shows involved a guy who had three Cobras in with him, he caught two in his hands and the final one with his teeth via a ninja style dive. Bonkers.A must do in Bangkok is to spend the evening at the Thai boxing. We went to one of the main stadiums, which was more of a shed made up of wooden bleachers and a corrugated roof. It isn't cheap, in fact it is expensive by Thai standards, it was 1,000 Baht to stand with the locals, where we were, or 2,000 for ringside seats. The locals are mad for it, it is very loud and lots of betting goes on. These guys seem to spend the opening rounds grappling one another and the final rounds really going at it. The idea isn't too punch or kick, but to use the elbows and the knees in a pretty much everything goes kind of way. One guy was elbowed in the top of the head and sparked out and we think another guy got his leg broken in the main event by the sound, though the way he was stretchered off we couldn't tell. Within seconds of him being on the floor a stretcher appeared and he was roundly dumped on it by two guys, then lifted and jogged out the arena, I thought the Benny Hill sound track was going to come on.We took a day trip out to the "Bridge Over the River Kwai" and crossed it both on foot and on a train. There is a huge number of tourists but the story of its building and the POW camps is moving. Visiting the immaculate nearby cemeteries for the thousands of Allied soldiers we learned of the vast numbers involved. Some 60,000 people consisting of Indian, Burmese, Malaysian, Indonesian, Chinese and Thai labourers as well as prisoners of war constructed it in horrendous conditions, and at the Jeath (Japan, England, America, Australia, Thailand and Holland) Museum you can read some of the stories of the men.The sadder side of Bangkok is that of the sweaty white men. The wrong side of middle age, these single men are strolling the streets at night time and during the day you see many with very young Thai girls, and even occasionally boys. It is a haven for this type of thing and I watched a girl who must have been 17 or 18 being heavily groped (hands under the table) by a guy of about 60 in plain view in a well known restaurant chain as she appeared to be teaching him the Thai language. The locals told us that many of these girls are looking to either be looked after (wined, dined etc) for a week or longer, depending on how long these men stay, or to actually get their ticket out of their lives here through marriage or companionship with a Westerner. The two big areas to go out are the Patphong area where you find bustling nightlife, lots of bars (including all the go-go bars), the 'special' massage parlours and another night bazaar, and of course Koh San Road, probably the world's most famous backpacker street. It is good for a night out but we were glad we weren't staying on it.We start our tour tonight where we head to Northern Thailand before taking in Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamesandjulie/1/1239366060/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamesandjulie/1/1239366060/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamesandjulie/1/1239366060/tpod.html Sat, 11 Apr 2009 01:57:51 -0400 In Search of Adventure - A world tour 2008/09

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Siem Reap, Cambodia

We took off on our long drive to Siem Reap and the roads deteriorated very quickly. I felt like I was back in Bolivia.Our teeth rattled and our arses went numb. We stopped a few times along the way, including one stop where a bunch of kids descended on us to sell stuff and a young guy put a tarantula on my head, nice. Some of the girls freaked out, still, it was a cool photo.Siem Reap is home to the temples of Angkor and the most famous in this grouping Angkor Wat. The city and temple complex is vast, covering 40 miles around Siem Reap. Built between the 8th and 13th century as a place of worship and as a capital city (Angkor means capital). It is Indiana Jones-esque and no amount of footage and pictures prepares you for your first glimpse of Angkor Wat, just incredible. We visited for sunrise at 6am and sat in deckchairs in the small lake that sits in front of the temples and drank coffee. Our tour leader Kevin from Intrepid Travel, who is from Cambodia and a former full time Angkor tour guide, doubled as our local guide and provided an excellent understanding of the place.Over two and a half days we toured different parts from the city complex to the outer temples, all in there own way fascinating. We saw the jungle temple, where the film Tomb Raider is filmed and is so old that giant trees have grown out of the walls, it looks like a theme park, we took in the pyramid Baphuon temple and the Preah Khan temple, which famous for its impressive stone carvings. Despite the excessive heat we remained mesmerized by what we were seeing. Every time we pulled up at a new one we had to run the gauntlet of women and children running to the bus doors to sell us everything from musical instruments to books to t-shirts. It is quite fun really as they provide a lot of good humored banter.Close to the Angkor temples is the Cambodian Land Mine Museum, which was another eye opener. Having seen so many victims on this trip so far it was good to get a further insight. Some 6 million landmines still litter Cambodia and around 200 people still die a year, three times that are maimed. It is a major issue across this part of the world and because there is no maps of where they were planted anyone that works off a beaten trap could become a victim, it is quite frightening.We really enjoyed Siem Reap, a bustling town that has excellent markets, restaurants and bars, including the Angkor What? bar where we had a particularly crazy session (literally) drinking buckets of spirits and bumping into a girl who was on a tour with us in South America. The pictures speak for themself. The town is a far cry from the dusty ugliness of Phnom Penh, although the history of that city still makes it one of the most fascinating places we have taken in on this journey.It is back to Bangkok now where we say goodbye to our small tour group before we then travel down to the south of Thailand for two weeks of diving and chilling on a beach before we get back to Blighty. The only issue is we have to travel 3rd class on the overnight train without A/C, despite booking it 5 weeks ago there was no 1st or 2nd class tickets left as it is Thai New Year on 14-16 April, so one and all are traveling. It will be an experience.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamesandjulie/1/1239079380/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamesandjulie/1/1239079380/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamesandjulie/1/1239079380/tpod.html Thu, 09 Apr 2009 08:20:21 -0400 In Search of Adventure - A world tour 2008/09

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Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Our crossing into Cambodia on a public bus, the Mekong Express, was easy. A young boy, who was kind of the bus conductor, took our passports and visa money and sorted it all out for us while we drove up the road to a restaurant. First time that has ever happened to us and as this is one of the most corrupt place on earth leads us to believe it is quite easy to cross over the border in you have a brown envelope and some readies, but we weren't complaining. Am sure the bus company gets a tidy kick back from the restaurant, the whole bus got off, mostly locals and piled into it.As the rice fields rushed past the window we eventually stopped at the Mekong River where our bus was loaded onto a small ferry to cross over and take us forward onto the capital Phnom Penh. The feel is quite similar to Thailand, in the architecture, the people, the food and the more cars there are in the city. There is also a lot of poverty on the streets, in addition to the child beggars there are war veterans and landmine victims with missing limbs and also those people deformed from the toxic and chemical weapons used during the Vietnam war. Very sad.The Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda complex is striking and the gardens are beautifully manicured, kind of similar to the one in Bangkok. The centre of the city is small and easy to navigate, the tuk tuk drivers are a constant hassle but they soon leave you alone with a firm "no", but they are very cheap, so we used them when we needed to and in the oven temperatures they were needed.Cambodia's history is dark and its more recent history even more so. Between 1975 and 1979 around 3 million people died from execution or torture or from starvation during the infamous totalitarian communist Khmer Rouge regime led by an educated man called Pol Pot. The Khmer Rouge forced all city residents into the countryside and to labor camps. During the three years, eight months, and 20 days of Pol Pot's rule, Cambodia faced its darkest days, at that time the population was only 7 million. Nearly half perished. Almost every Cambodian family has lost at least one relative during this most gruesome holocaust. What Pol Pot was doing was implementing a ruthless program to "purify" Cambodian society of capitalism, Western culture, religion and all foreign influences. Hewanted to create Cambodia into an isolated, one class society that was totally self-sufficient. Anyone who it opposed were killed. Anyone educated and therefore a potential threat was killed.The executed were buried in mass grave sites all around the country. We visited a site that was outside Phnom Penh that had over 80 graves where approximately 17,000 victims were buried. Some of the graves have not yet been dug up as the present government would rather put the episode behind them. To this day as the rain comes down large amounts of bones and clothes rise to the surface on the footpaths, clearly visible. It is incredibly moving.We visited the genocide museum on the sight of one of Pol Pots 'education' centres called Tuol Sleng or Section 21. S-21 was a high school that Pol Pot turned it into an important secret prison in Phnom Penh. Those that were brought to S-21 included the educated who might cause problems (doctors, policemen, teachers), those inside theKhmer Rouge thought to have betrayed the movement and anyone else that disagreed with the regime.In January 1979 Vietnamese invaded and freed the Cambodian people from Khmer Rouge's reign of terror. 600,000 Cambodians fled to Thai border refugee camps. This is heart wrenching to see, an unforgettable experience that will be permanently etched in my brain as a reminder of the cruelty that mankind can do to one another. In a cruel twist of fate the UN considered Pol Pot leader of Cambodia until 1990 despite him going into hiding near the Thai border and therefore continued to have a seat in the UN despite condemning his regime, this was due to support from the US, China and ASEAN countries. It is amazing the friendliness and compassion of people in Cambodia, despite all that has taken place in the country. Everywhere we have been so far we have been greeted with big smiles and "Hello's".
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamesandjulie/1/1238920620/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamesandjulie/1/1238920620/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamesandjulie/1/1238920620/tpod.html Mon, 06 Apr 2009 00:42:00 -0400 In Search of Adventure - A world tour 2008/09

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Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

If Bangkok was crazy then Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is bonkers. Crossing the road is a life or death gamble as the sea of crazy bikes bounce off one another and dash around you in a blur, and the cars slam their horns at you before darting past. Still, we have gotten used to it whilst in Vietnam and thankfully we are still alive to continue this blog. Lucky you.Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) when Vietnam was unified in 1975 in honour of their former President whose face adorns everything from their money to people's mobile phone screens. However, locals have referred to Saigon as HCMC for around 30 years before that. It is a big place and the most Western city we have visited so far in Indochina. Huge neon lights, cleanish streets, designer shops and fantastic European style architecture, particularly the General Post Office building, Notre Dame Cathedral and the Opera House.It is in the night time that the city really comes alive though. People lining the sidewalks sat on their bikes with their lovers, kids playing foot tennis with hacky sacks and something that resembles a shuttle cock but heavier (they are brilliant) and street vendors constantly hassle you to buy anything and everything. Later in the night more hassle comes from guys on motorcycles with girls on the back asking if you would like a special massage, it probably would be special if it was on the motorbike... I have to say I really like the place though, despite the constant hassling and the traffic, it is buzzing, and the nightlife has everything, though you have to watch the bars here and pay for each round as you go or they have a habit of adding drinks on. The backpacker bar Allez Boo has a particular reputation for this.During our three days in HCMC me and the guys in the group took a day trip out to the Cu Chi tunnels, Julie has done this before so stayed behind with the girls. Although we paid over the odds for our private taxi to get there, the experience was both incredible and frightening at the same time. There are over 200km of tunnels in this part of Vietnam, which is near the Cambodia border. They were being used during the Vietnam war before and it was many years in before the US discovered they were even there, in fact in one area they actually built an Army camp on top of part of the network, leading to the Vietnamese below moving further North undetected. They are tiny in size and not for the faint hearted or claustrophobic like me, but I went in anyway.The first one we entered I could barely squeeze through the opening, which was slightly larger than a cat flap. I was first in and alone, they handed me a torch, the door above was closed and I nearly fainted. It was only a 15 or 20 metre scramble through to the other end, past numerous dead end turns but all alone with no guide I was sweating in panic. I moved as fast as I could when I realized actually I wasn't alone, I counted about ten bats flying around me in the two foot high tunnel, one bounced off my head. I fought the urge to scream and curl into the fetal position and rounded the final bend and pulled myself out, gasping for air like an Olympic swimmer. Someone said "how was that", I nonchalantly replied "not too bad" in true manly style. Two others entered this section and were a bit peeved that I never mentioned the bats, I told them that I purposefully didn't as it might put them off. The other two in the group totally bottled it.The next section was over 100 metres and was cleaner than the last and slightly bigger, again totally dark. This time the guide went in and I followed in first and soon found myself alone, again. The guide was way too small and way too fast for me to stay with him, he also had the only torch, and somehow the others had fallen way behind. Eventually I got through the network, which every 20 metres or so would come to a seemingly dead end before you saw a small hole to drop you further into the underworld and continue forward. I could hear the guide calling that his torch had run out of batteries some way ahead heightening the tension so I scraped my legs, back and elbows to move as quick as I could towards him, I was caked in dirt, sweat and fear. After an eternity I got out the other end where the guide was laughing, this was the first time I had seen him since I got in the tunnel and he was flashing his light on and off again. Seems it had strangely started to work again. Everyone's a comedian. I turned to see the rest of the group walking through the jungle path towards us, they had gotten out at the midway point hole, which we were told about, it was enough for them, though a couple claimed they only got out because they saw everyone else do it and thought it was "the way". It was absolutely fascinating how not just soldiers but whole villages lived in these tunnels. The way they used them to fight the enemy was equally fascinating and we were shown numerous crude but effective traps that they fashioned from bamboo and metal stakes. The experience was one of my highlights of Vietnam.On our second day we took in the sights of the city, fighting through the street vendors and traffic to visit the sites. This included a tour of Reunification Palace, which housed the US puppet government from 1954 until April 30, 1975 when tanks thundered through the gates and Saigon surrendered to the NLF (National Liberation Front). You can still see the President's living and working quarters, as well as the helipad used for escape, which still has a US chopper on the pad. There is also a solid bomb shelter in the basement. The most interesting museum we took in though was the War Remnants Museum. If you ever get to HCMC do not miss this, even for non-Museum people this is a must. It is a graphic portrayal of the Vietnam US War. When you walk through it is hugely moving and led each of us in our group to ask the question, as many people have asked before, how on earth did the US authorities never get brought to trial to trial for war crimes for using illegal toxic/chemical weapons, crimes against women and children, crimes against POWs and even genocide. Anyway, it is time to say goodbye to Vietnam, Cambodia is calling.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamesandjulie/1/1238735400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamesandjulie/1/1238735400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamesandjulie/1/1238735400/tpod.html Thu, 02 Apr 2009 08:36:47 -0400 In Search of Adventure - A world tour 2008/09

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Hoi An, Vietnam

Before we arrived into Hoi An, the suit tailoring capital of the world we had a day and an evening in Hue, which sits on the bank of the Perfume river. The night train from Hanoi wasn't the cleanest and we were all in need of a good shower and wash. After freshening up we arranged a motorcycle tour of the city, which meant hanging on the back of a motorbike whilst a driver whizzed us around various historical sites and around the scenic countryside.The most interesting site in Hue is the Imperial Citadel, which was once the royal residence of the kings in Vietnam. Built in 1804 a lot of it has been damaged in various wars, particularly during the US conflict. Parts of the site, which covers around a 2.5km squared area, is still land mined and cordoned off. Whilst all the land mines on the surface have been removed, some still lay deeper, five had been discovered in the past week.We took a wide berth of those areas, identified by a flimsy piece of rope (wandering around the city in the evening we were amazed to see that you could actually purchase difused land mines from street vendors). The outside walls and a couple of main buildings of the Citadel still stand and our quirky guide, who kept rolling out English cliches and jokes, gave us the low down. After this we sped through the rice fields in the countryside before returning to the city to visit a famous lady who makes conical hats, the round dome shaped hats made from bamboo wood and leaves. A veteran of 32 years in the trade the fascinating thing about this lady is that she manages this with just one hand, we made a purchase and headed to another temple, which was followed by a trip to the famous Perfume Pagoda with its seven storeys. It reminded me of many that I saw in China. Compared with Laos and Thailand there is a very strong and historical Chinese influence, whether in the writing, the architecture, food and politics. We arrived into Hoi An the next day under ashen skies and short blasts of torrential rain, which continued on and off for the three days we stayed with the occasional blast of hard sun. Hoi An is much more relaxed than anywhere we have been in Vietnam and reminded me of Laos, Luang Prabang perhaps. The place has hundreds of tailor shops for suits, jackets, jeans, dresses, bags and if I was a girl, I could go on as I am not I shall not. Anyway, the quality is superb and the prices very reasonable.You can pick up a cashmere wool made to measure suit (made inside 24 hours) for between $100 and $400 USD, depending on the colour, pattern and cut. I bought three from a shop called Mr Xe, which was the name of the camp, perfectionist gent that runs it. All his staff were super nice and I had to go back three different times for tiny alterations, many of which I couldn't pick up but good old Mr Xe did, either that or he liked wrapping his measuring tape around my waist and such areas. Julie was loving it too and picked up a few lovely made to measure blouses.As we had three days me and all the boys in our group hired motorbikes for a day for the equivalent of 4 pounds, which included the petrol and headed off to explore the area. Within the first hour one guy had knocked over a cyclist at an intersection (no-one was hurt) and dropped his bike by accidentally grabbing the throttle as he was jumping off as we pulled u[, another guy had a blow out and another of the guys wobbled so much that no-one wanted to ride anywhere within 50 metres of him. It was bloody great fun. My speedo was broke but I was told I took over the group at one point when they were all doing 95 kph, I shot past. The bikes didn't look like much but they went when you rattled through the gears. On our trip we took in Marble mountain, which was kind of like those giant limestone monoliths in Halong Bay that jut out of the water, but this was on land and surprise, surprise is of marble persuasion. It hides an amazing bunch of things in it, lots of caves, pagodas, shops and numerous buildings. It was cool place and at its base is lots of shops selling everything marble from small ornaments to giant water features to jewelry to huge Buddhas.Near to Hoi An is (on me 'ed) My Son, pronounced Mee Sun, which Julie and I, plus another of our group visited very early one morning in yet more torrential rain. It is similar to Angkor Wat and was the capital and spiritual centre for the Cham people who originated in the first and second century, unfortunately the US forces (again) during the war believed that My Son was a field headquarters for the Viet Cong, which is heavily disputed, and bombed ten bells out of it, destroying most of it. You can clearly see the bomb craters all around. It was certainly worth the visit though, parts of 25 of the original 70 buildings still exist made of brick not too dissimilar to what we use today, only with no mortar.The food in Hoi An is excellent and again very cheap, the street restaurants offer particularly tasty local food, usually with teenage boy waiters who love to sit and chat football. Julie loved it so much she enrolled in a cooking school for an afternoon to get some tips and cook her own delicious meal. The bar scene was great too, 'Before and After' was great and we spent a few nights in there making use of their 2 for 1 Happy Hour, which lasted three hours, so it had to be done. Today we head to Saigon on a very short internal flight.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamesandjulie/1/1238316720/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamesandjulie/1/1238316720/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamesandjulie/1/1238316720/tpod.html Sun, 29 Mar 2009 05:44:11 -0400 In Search of Adventure - A world tour 2008/09

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Hanoi, Vietnam

Hanoi really is life in the fast lane. So many people and so many bikes, we are told that Vietnam has the most motorbikes per capita in the world and it is very obvious. Billions of motorbikes and mopeds fly down the streets and crossing the road is a scary task, no-one really takes note of the traffic lights, you just have to go for it. After a few days you actually get used to stepping out into the rush of traffic, just like the locals do, drivers just weave past you like it is the most normal thing in the world. The most annoying thing is the constant crescendo of horns.Above street level are mangled cobwebs of phone lines, the pollution is edible and the footpaths are hidden in the sea of parked bikes, leading you to have to force you way down the side of the road. But despite this I really like it. People cook in door ways and on street corners, young children practice their English as you wander past ("Hello, how are you", "I'm fine thank you", big smiles), moped drivers offer you lifts every second and cyclos (cycle tuk tuks) calmly negotiate the crazy roads. We explored the old quarter, "36 streets", where lots of small shops flaunt the usual stuff, restaurants serve up cheap meals and bars spill out onto the streets selling the wincing Hoi beer for 3,000 dong (12 pence!) - man is it rough stuff. At the Hoi Chi Min Mausoleum we joined the thousands of people to file past President Hoi Chi Min's embalmed body. At the Hoi Chi Min museum we learned more about Vietnam's hero Uncle Ho, as people call him, and got to see the houses in which he used to live. Uncle Ho created the new Communist party that fought to unite Vietnam after WWII leading the resistance, leading to battles with French rule. In addition to the French in the last 100 years this country has nearly been at constants war with someone, the Japanese during the war, neighbours Cambodia and of course with the US. The ramifications of the latter is still obvious as you walk the streets, tens of thousands of people without limbs or living with respiratory problems.One of the most interesting places to spend a couple of hours is the "Hanoi Hilton", the name given to the local prison by American POW's in the 60s. Now a museum it records the history of this detainment facility from its horrendous use by the colonial French in the late 1890s through large parts of the early part of the 1900s to deal with up risers, to housing prisoners from the Vietnam conflict. Equally the Army Museum is interesting too, following Vietnam's series of battles with foreign aggressors. There is a certain propaganda about the way that their history is told but well worth the visit.One evening we took a one hour cyclo tour, which is a must, finishing at the very strange and famous Vietnamese water puppet show, where we took in a performance, never again, enough said. The food has been cracking. We had great meals in Koto, another restaurant that is run by street kids and their teachers, just around the corner from our hotel and at Little Hanoi, a famous place in the old quarter. It is so cheap too. The bar scene is vibrant too, though things don't kick off until late in the evening. There are loads of quirky, arty bars, lot of trendy ones and ones that just provide plastic chairs on the streets, particularly in the Old Quarter.Tonight we jump on an overnight train to head south to Hue.
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