TravelStream™ news feed for member nas.latif on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/nas.latif en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Mon, 23 Nov 2009 02:47:55 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nas.latif/2/1258961699/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nas.latif/2/1258961699/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nas.latif/2/1258961699/tpod.html Mon, 23 Nov 2009 02:47:55 -0500 On the road again, at 64.

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Phuket, Thailand

One of the most memorable things about today was the buffet breakfast..After noodles and rice it was nice to get bacon and eggs, toast and marmalade etc etc and loads of it. I'm afraid I made a pig of myself. There are two ways to get off Phuket island - bus or boat. I chose the latter. So tomorrow I take the ferry to Phi Phi Don which is about 53 kms. In another direction is James Bond Island where they made the film but I cannot see it. I hope to see something similar elsewhere. The next few days will be a little uncertain as I hope to do a bit of island hopping on my way to Krabi. The eventual destination will be Kuala Lumpur. FOOTNOTE: I booked my trip with kataboyage_travel@hotmail.com  I found them to be very helpfuland they got me a good deal which was cheaper than other tour operators. They also have Skype which not many places have over here.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nas.latif/2/1258960033/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nas.latif/2/1258960033/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nas.latif/2/1258960033/tpod.html Mon, 23 Nov 2009 02:34:48 -0500 On the road again, at 64.

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Phuket, Thailand

Arrived in Phuket after a 3 hour stopover at Bangkok. this is a popular destination for people and there are many Russians in town. i had not booked anywhere to stay and at the airport I managed to get a 3 night deal a this resort for about 17 pounds a night with breakfast.  It is in the Karen district and far from Phuket City which I thought was a pretty dull place. It is supposed to be the high season but very few people here and I am sure that thos who beeked with a tour will have paid a lot. My room is on the 4th floor and over looks the pool and the palms. the pool is like a river that meanders round the grounds and has bars scattered here and there. If you want massage you only have to ask.the beach is a short walk away and is clean. I walked down there in the evening. I am looking forward to chilling out and planning the next part of the trip. FOOTNOTE: I don't know what the normal rates are at the Kata Sea Breeze Hotel but it is worth checking out. I this season you may be able to get a deal as well. there are many other resorts here as well ( Club Med for instance) and they may have offers as well. But its worth checking out
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Hanoi, Ha Nội, Vietnam

I am going to Phuket to spend a few days by the beach and plan the nest part of my trip. Travel in Vietnam is testing and the taxis rip you off. For example they have meters but I am convinced that they have been tampered with. On one occasion I paid about 3 pounds, which is a lot of money here to go about two miles. On another nearly 20 pounds for a 10 mile trip whilst searching for a travel agent. I was told to negotiate a fixed rate which the locals do but they but the drivers refuse. so I now bookd the taxis through the hotels and pay in advance. there is competition between them so you can get good rates, but sometimes you have to use the street taxis. At one of the airports they had a great racket. The Information centre and the taxi people had it sown up and you had to pay what they asked as there was no alternative. However quite by chance I found a way round it. I was trying to do a deal with a friendly minicab driver when the policeman came up and the man scooted. I told the policeman that I needed a cheap taxi and he offered me one whcih undercut everyone. I was told to take a seat and within 5 mins a car came and picked me up.So ther police had a fiddle going as well. The taxi man told me he was a bartender so I am not sure how all this works. But thats the way it is here and you have to go with the flow. Some people get really worked up about it but there is no point as the tourist always loses.  
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Hue, Vietnam

A very slow bus brought me to Hue. Although we went passed some very nice scenery it would have been better to have come by train. Wrong choice. The main thing to see is the citadel which was built about 200 years ago for the emperors. Unfortunately the place is not in good state of repair and even though there are renovations being carried out it is all very untidy.  The pouring rain made it even more depressing. The whole area is vast with different buildings serving different functions. For example, there are buildings where the mandarins used to prepare for audience with the Emperor. The last emperor came to the throne when he was 13, he had 13 children and his reign finished in the late 1940's.There were photos of him and his advisers, and costumes for important ceremonies. Once aggain its not clear what happened at the end of his reign, probably the French occupation. I have one more day left in Vietnam. I have enjpyed my time here     
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Hoi An, Quảng Nam, Vietnam

From about the 3rd century people from India were trading in Indo-China and subsequently established temples in this area. Ankor Wat was one and My Son was the one here. the Champa disappeared from thess parts in the 17 century but pockes of their descendents are in the south. For example when I was in Chou Doc I went to their village. However these were Muslim so somewhere they changed religion from Hindu.  One of the problems in this country is the lack of information available or the English is so poor that its too difficut to understand. so I shall have to do some research when I get back.The My Son complex is large and was discovered by acdcident when a Frenchman was hunting in the area. Some parts of the complex are still being excavated. The main area has the usual hindu carvings. The conical buildings are hollow and and inside is a alter which is over the grave of a king. There are 5 of these buildings. The ordinary people are buried elsewhere. Unfrotunately the heads of the statues have been taken - someone said to a museum in France. The bricks are small and have no motar. The bricks are made smooth and a solution containing honey is then placed between them. the bricks are set on fire and this action causes them to stay glued. That at least was my understanding from the Vietnamese guide. I would have liked to have spent more time there but there were other stops on the tour. The next place was Marble mountain just outside Da Nang. These hills contain the marble from which the shops at their base make some fantastic carvings. The prices were reasonable abut I suppose transportation would be the problem.During the drive were came across a funeral procession. At the rear of the vehicle containing the coffin were people throwing out handfulls of paper money. Apparently this is the way it is done here. At the front of the procession was a group of motorcyclists with large banners, I suppose to warn people that the funeral was coming.       
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nas.latif/2/1258692050/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nas.latif/2/1258692050/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nas.latif/2/1258692050/tpod.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:06:42 -0500 On the road again, at 64.

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Hoi An, Quảng Nam, Vietnam

The hour long flight took me to Da Nang from where I was to make my way to Hoi An. I thouhg it would be easy to find the bus terminal but after many false direction and wandering round the town in the pouring rain it dawned on me that there was no terminal and the only way to get to my destination was to take a taxi. That cost about $20. On the way the road skirted the sea and there were lovely beaches. Hoi An is on  a river estuary and I was able to get a hotel on an island which was reached by a small bridge. It appears that the typhoon that made me change my plans some weeks earlier had struck this place and caused serious flooding. the water in some places was up to 6ft high. People had to take their belongings up to the first floor ( those who had one ) and apart from the musty smell the hotel had been redecorated and looked like new. The is quite and old town which has a lot of Chinese influence. the 3 streets closest to the river had wooden houses. These I discovered were all owned by the government which then rented them out to people. The streets  further back were more modern of French influence.Between the streets were narrow alleyways on either side of which were little houses. Each had flower pots outside. It reminded me of Venice. There were many clothes shops and I wondered if they could all make a living. There were also a couple of places where women were doing embroidery and creating pictures that looked as though they had been painted. There was also a theatre where I saw a performance of music and dance. However by about 10 pm the streets were empty. It seems that in Vietnam everyone goes to bed very early.    
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nas.latif/2/1258507229/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nas.latif/2/1258507229/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nas.latif/2/1258507229/tpod.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:39:58 -0500 On the road again, at 64.

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Sapa, Vietnam

Every Sunday there is a hugh market in Bac Ha where all the people in the neighbouring villages come to buy and sell. It is not a tourist market  although there are many there to see the spectacle. We went by minibus which took about 4 hours on firly good roads which was a change in this area. It is recommended to get there before 10 am as it gets really busy thereafter and as usual our tour organisation was such that we got there when the place was heaving with people. But it was such a colouful sight to see the Flower H'mong people everywhere. Their costumes were so very colourful. Some wore red scarves others blue green and so on..They had a sortrectangular brightly coloured cloth tied at the waist at the front and back underneather which was a bright skirt. The colours were different which I suppose showed they came from different  villages. They took no notice of tourists and it was nice to see them haggling between themselves for goods. I saw a man who seemed to be walking a pig. Every now and again someone would go up and speak to him. I later discovered that he was trying to sell the pig and  the enquiries were about the price. At one stall there was a hugh argument beteen the customers and the stallholder. It was just nice to see howthe argument went . Different women in the crowd would take up the argument. I could not work out what it was about. In one place was the open air barber stalls where I could have got a haircut if I wanted and not far away was a chap dispensing herbal medicines for all sorts of problems. One old lady had a hugh growth on her wrist ans she was given some sort of portion. There wer tobacco sellers . Here thery don't have the hookah but a hollow bamboo. Near the end of which they have a another small piece of bamboo at right angles and into this they press the shreded tobacco which is then lit. Two good puffs, with lots of smoke, and its gone.Coming to this place has to be one of the highlights of the trip. After lunch we were taken to the train staion at Lao Cai to go back to Hanoi but before that we stopped at the border with China where we saw lorries queueing to cross over with their goods. the overnight train got me back to Hanoi at about 6 am.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nas.latif/2/1258381127/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nas.latif/2/1258381127/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nas.latif/2/1258381127/tpod.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:42:13 -0500 On the road again, at 64.

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Sapa, Vietnam

Some of those who come here stay in one of the villages but from what I could see their accommodation was of a superior spec to the locals so I did not bother. I wanted to see some of the other tribes so whilst the others had a free afternoon to took a 4 x 4 to a Dzao village some distance to the north of Sapa. I had toyed with the idea of hiring a moped but because of the mist decided against it. I was pleased that I did because there was no way that I could have found my way to the village without a map. We truned off the main road road and passed some H'mong villaes where I took some photos. At one point we passed the ruins of an Abbey where some nuns had lived for a few years in the 1940' s but left because of the lack of security. Sometime later the place was set on fire and now the shell remained. Why they came to this remote area was hard to understand and there was no other information available. As we went further we saw more and more women wearing the large bright red hats which distinguishes them from the other Dzao. The men seem to dress much more plainly. There were not many tourists in this village and with a bagful of sweets I befriended some of them to let me take photographs. Some of the older women did not like to be photographed. They were acheerful lot as they sat in their small groups hand sewing dresses to sell. I would have loved to have bought a couple of them but they were very heavy. I was told that they could weigh up to 5 kgs. I also watched a man making a drum out of skin which I assumed was buffalo. Unlike the women the men were very uncommunicative. On the way back to Sapa I saw some women  returning home after a day in the town selling their wares. I assume that when they got home they would have to do the cooking, and the same cycle the next day. Although their life seems to be hard they were always smiling.  
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nas.latif/2/1258379252/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nas.latif/2/1258379252/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nas.latif/2/1258379252/tpod.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:18:39 -0500 On the road again, at 64.

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Sapa, Vietnam

Most people who come to this region catch the overnight train from Hanoi to Lao Cai and then tke the bus to Sapa. I booked such a tour but its difficult to know what you will get - either the transport, hotel or connections are not what you are led to believe. The brochure for the train suggested that it was a bit like theOrient Express but I shold have realised that because of the price difference it could never be. Although the train was dirty the beds were comfortable enough in compartments of 4 people. It stopped several times and got to Lao Cai by about 6 am where I was met by someone from the hotel. The drive was up to about 1500m and through mountainous countryside where the people had used most of the landto grow rice in terraces but unfortunately because of the cloud we saw little.It was also much colder.We were given breakfast and went on a hike to some of the villages. Here the majority are Black H'mong and as their name suggests their hats, jackets and skirts are mainly black. They wear black leggings. Their origins were Chinese. The path was steep and once in a while we came to a house where they sold the goods they made. All the selling was done by girls who had learned English. The men either worked in the fields or looked after the children. They married at 13 or 14 but nowadays there was a tendancy to marry a bit later. The houses had a large living area with a wood fire in the centre where they did their cooking. The area was divided into different areas such as a place for their foodstuffs, a place for their maize and another for fodder for cattle.. As we walked down the path each one of us was accompanied by a couple of girls who asked about our ages, family and where we were going after Sapa. All this was to to soften us up for the sell that came later. Each carried a basket on her back in which were the things she was going to try and sell.  Eventually we came to the river at the bottom of one of the valleys and then began the ascent back to the hotel which was quite taxing. Along the way were motorbike riders offering their services but I refused and arrived back at the hotel extremely tried. It would have been nice if it had been sunny so that we could have seen some of the stunning views. Maybe tomorrow.     
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nas.latif/2/1258016439/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nas.latif/2/1258016439/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nas.latif/2/1258016439/tpod.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:40:34 -0500 On the road again, at 64.

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Hanoi, Vietnam

This Temple dates back to 1070 and was set up on the instructions of the then Emperor as a place a place of excelence for literature and education. I was told that the original students the sonsof high ranking officials and nobility but later it was opened up to everyone. Entry was by emamination which were extremely tough eg on one occacion 3000 took the examination and only 8 passed, It became the place to produce mandarins and the Temple was dedicated to Confucius and thus a spritual centre. In the complex are gates through which people and everyone is required to dismount from their horses so as to be at the same level even if you were the son of the Emperor. Around one of the courtyard were statues of hugh tortorises ( for strength and longevity) on whose backs were flat stones with names of some of those who had passed through. It was a very peaceful place and in one of the halls was a group of local muisicans which added to the atmosphere. Another tour was to go south of Hanoi to the sea where legand has it that a dragon descended into the sea and as he thrashed about he carved several small islands. these rock formations jut vertically out of the sea and there are thousands of them in the area. We were put onot a flatbottomed boat with a sort of lounge on the bottom deck and we made our way slowly toward the islands.  The boat trip took us round some of these. The weather was perfect and the sea the colour of jade. Then we came to some floating huts and tied up alongside. On the upper deck soe of u too photos of the scenery and lazed in the sun. Then it was lunchtime. A good assortment of food (Vietnamese of course) and after lunch whist some went kayaking I did some more lazying. Its no wonder that this has been designated a World Heritage Site.   The final bit of the trip was a visit to a cave with stalagmites. We had to clibm quite a few steps and I have to say that what we saw was not very interesting. Then it was back in the minibus to return to Hanoi. 
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