Halong Bay

I'm back in Hanoi after 3 epic days in Halong Bay. If you ever feel like shooting a pirate movie then this is the place to do it! Picture perfect place with thousands of islands all real close to each other. Unfortunately it's the rainy season so the last day was a bit spoilt but we were lucky the first 2 days.

Stayed on a traditional junk which was by no means junk at all. The boat was refurbished to Western standards so was real luxury and drinking on (and jumping off) the roof was heaps of fun. Also did some trekking which the guide assured us was 12km but in reality was about 3km and some kayaking through a few caves and into some awesome coves. Plenty of cool caves to check out too.






I'm back in Hanoi now which is currently hosting the world hooting championships. Hootie (my driver from my story below) definitely made it and I felt really nostalgic when I heard him going mental on his little hooter in the street outside my hotel at 5 this morning. Bless his soul. He officially opened the games and it's been non stop all day. Even an afternoon rain storm just made them all a bit more excited (like frogs before the rains). I think the one guy was just hooting at the rain drops - must be part of the special olympics or something.... But he definitely showed those raindrops who's boss and I'm pretty sure he'll get a medal for his efforts!

Besides Halong Bay, Vietnam has been a bit of a letdown in all honesty. The locals are all out to rip you off as much as possible and always seem like they feel so hard done by. Also not shy to ask for tips (when not deserved at all) and make you feel really shit if you don't give or only give them a small amount. Quite a contrast to Cambodia where the people are all just so grateful for anything they get from the tourists and seem far more genuine, honest and friendly. But really glad I got to come here. I'm off to Bangkok tomorrow for 2 days before flying out to London on the 3rd.




This is a floating village - all the houses are floating on pontoons out in the middle of nowhere. They all farm fish in big nets on the pontoons cos the local waters are all fished out. Each house has about 3 dogs on average. Poor things can't really run around but they seem happy enough...

Good Morning Vietnaaaam

As much as I was loving the beach in Cambodia, I decided I best keep moving and check out Vietnam while I'm in the area. The trip from Sihanoukville in Cambodia to Saigon is normally 14 hours via bus. Unfortunately there is no real option to fly or train it. The thought of a whole day spent on a cramped bus was not too appealing so when 2 Aussie girls who are living and teaching in Saigon told me there was a shortcut that they were gonna do and would only take 6 or 7 hours, I was well up for it. This is a brief summary of the trip:

1. Luxury Toyota Camry for the first 2 hours. Aircon, music, good roads, lovin it.
2. Road gets bad so we're told to climb into 1970 something clapped out skedonk. Sorry - only climb in once the locals have push started it. Car never manages to go more than about 30km an hour. Windows broken. Driver no speaka da English. Get to boom in road and driver kicks us out.
3. Cross border into Vietnam by foot (1 hour)
4. Walk 500m in blazing sun while we get the motorbike taxi riders to slowly drop their price. Started at 10USD and dropped 1 dollar for every 100m we walked and made them chase us. Backpack goes between driver's legs and my huge travel bag goes between myself and the driver so I was basically hanging onto the very back of the seat by my nads! Luckily I managed to get my hand at the back and grip on the indicator light too so when he hit the many bumps I didn't make an early dismount. Drove 25km like this!! He was goin about 90kmh overtaking buses on blind corners etc. We had 2 real close calls and even he gave a few nervous laughs. Decided best not to watch and rather count the number of times he hooted at other bikes and cars to pass the time. In 5 minutes I counted 72 times! I think he's in the Vietnamese Hooting Team! Serious talent that!
5. Hootie decides to make up for the cheap fare by trying to scam us by dropping us off at a bus company for the last leg where he gets a huge commission. Price starts off at 3 times normal so we decide we've had enough and leg it on foot to try find the main bus station. 1 km later we decide to regroup and rethink the plan.
6. Jump on local taxi bike to try find the bus station. Driver can't speak a word of English other than 1 Dollar and yes. Eventually find it. Drive back to others to let them know and pick up stuff.
7. Jump on new taxi bike with all my gear again.
8. Find a local minibus company that has 1 spare seat leaving in 2 minutes. Next one with 3 seats was in 2 hours so the Aussies tell me to take it. No worries they say - it's only about 2 hours to Saigon. Jump in - only Westerner and nobody speaks a word of English. They all turn around and point and laugh at me - no jokes. I laugh at myself too. 3 hours later I manage to ask the old dude next to me how much longer it is to Saigon. 4 hours it sounds like. Can't be right! Unfortunately after 4 more hours we still weren't there! Another hour later and I finally arrive in Saigon.
9. Only Westerner at the bus station and a million taxi and bike drivers are fighting for my business. Still manage to get ripped off a few dollars and arrive at my destination 15 hours since starting! Wish I'd just taken the bus cos it would have been a lot cheaper and a lot less stressful. Poor Aussie girls were still another 2 hours behind me and in a big bus which would have been a lot slower too.

Anyway, I made it to Saigon and amazing how different it is to Cambodia. Much richer country and waaaaay more people!! Really amazing how crowded the streets are and the traffic is ridiculous. Spent the first day recouperating and then decided to do a day trip to the Mekong Delta (huge river system).
















The day after that I visited the Cu Chi tunnels (200km network of underground tunnels the Vietnamese used in the war). All I can say is that I would have hated to be a US soldier there cos those tunnels were really effective. Enemy just disappears in front of you and pops up behind you. And I'd hate to have been a Vietnamese soldier cos those tunnels are really, really, really tiny and ridiculously hot. I climbed through one of the bigger ones and it was pretty hectic. Not quite as hectic as seeing photos of the victims of Agent Orange and all the other chemicals though! Americans really messed this place up and the Vietnamese aren't too keen to let them forget it!


I'm running out of time in Vietnam fast so decided to skip the East Coast beaches and head up north to check out Hanoi and HaLong Bay. It's a 24 hour bus ride which is 20 hours more than my new limit so flew into Hanoi this afternoon and I'm off for a 3 day mission to the islands tomorrow.

For those of you in London I will be back from 3rd March to 11th so hope to catch up with you all soon!

Sticker on local minibus door.

Back to da beach

So I'm back on the beach and it's flippin awesome. Staying in a real friendly place and most days involves just lying on a big sun lounger in the shade, reading my book, swimming in the sea and playing pool against some other travellers I've met. The beaches aren't as clean or picturesque as Thailand but they are still really good and there is an awesome atmosphere here. Everyone is super friendly and the only drawback is the constant begging from landmine victims and children. But after a day or so they get to know u and if u give them a small amount of money or food they're happy to leave u be.

Met a crazy German tourist the other day and his collarbone is sticking out really badly and he has a bunch of roasties so I asked him what happened. About 10 days ago he was riding home on his scooter on the way back from the pub and he fell asleep at the wheel!!! His friends saw him just slowly drift up onto the pavement and he went flying!

He broke his collarbone really badly and needed a steel plate put it in. So he went to the local hospital where they did the op the next day and the aneathetist had to travel in from a nearby town. It took 3 injections to finally get the guy asleep. The aneathetist apparently looked a bit worried. So guess what happens - poor guy wakes up in the middle of the op!! Has to listen to them drilling and screwing into his bones for the next 2 hours! Couldn't move cos he was heavily sedated. Not cool!

You see crazy things on the road too - like 5 people on 1 motorbike, or an 11 year old kid riding a motorbike while talking on his mobile phone and driving on the wrong side of the road. But u see it all the time. These poor pigs are still alive - it's the only way to move them around.

Yes the beef is very fresh sir!

If you're looking for a good book then I can definitely recommend this one. It's an autobiography of a Cambodian who survived the whole Pol Pot regime and then went on to win an oscar for best supporting actor in the Killing Fields (Hollywood movie). Anyway, if you ever think you've had a tough life then this book will make you think again. It's an easy read and not very political or anything like that. Enjoy!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Survival-Killing-Fields-Haing-Ngor/dp/1841197939/sr=8-2/qid=1171868213/ref=sr_1_2/026-7628268-9705201?ie=UTF8&s=books

Cambodia

So onto Cambodia it was starting in Siem Reap - home to the famous temples, the most famous of which is Angkor Wat. Wasn't expecting much but have to admit they blew me away!! Probably the best architecturally cool thingy majigs I've seen in the world. More impressive than the pyramids and Rome in a lot of ways. The old empire stretched for miles so the distance between some of the buildings is about 30km and the main temple is meant to be the biggest religious structure in the world! Dates back about 700 years ago. The whole area is where they filmed Tomb Raider (mmmmm... Angelina Jolie). Here's one or two photos but to get a better idea click on the link below (it's easier to post them on the other website):

http://myfriendcolin.shutterfly.com/action/




















It's a real interesting country besides all that because 30 years ago they had the holocaust here where 2.5 million Cambodians (about a third of the population!!) were killed under the notorious Pol Pot regime (he was waaay worse than Hitler). Everyone in the country had to abandon cities and homes and go and work in the fields for the new communist governement. Anybody who wore glasses, spoke a foreign language or gave any other indication of being intellectual was tortured and then killed. I visited the Tol Sleung prison today which was used for the torture and was one of the most hectic places I've been to cos it's still in a pretty original condition and there are some hectic photos of what went on. It was tne place where my camera didn't come out cos don't really want to relive that.

The commies were overthrown in about 1980 so the country is relatively new in a lot of ways. There are very few old people (most died in the 70's) and the people are all super friendly. A beer costs 40 pence at a restaurant here and you can hire your own tuk tuk driver for a full day for 6 pounds..... And I didn't even try and bargain him down (which u normally do in Asia). I don't think that would be fair here cos everyone is so poor and therefore desperate for work. My room now costs 5 quid a night with aircon, hot water and cable tv. That is pure luxury here. My last room was 2 pounds a night but that's for a small fan room....


Hmmm - some other prices. Today I got taken to a shooting range where the artillery is supplied (backhandedly) by the army. For $200 you can fire a rocket launcher!! For an extra $500 they will give you a live cow as a target! Crazy place this.


You can't take photos of the "menu" at the shooting range but how's this for my hotel room door!


On a much lighter and brighter note, there are a lot of people doing volunteer work here as well as teaching English etc. I was pretty keen to do some volunteering too and try help out so visited an orphanage the other day and it was pretty crazy to see where they lived. There's basically 1 room that's not totally enclosed (so if it's windy and rainy they get wet). This is their classroom, bedroom and playroom!! They had to sit on the floor for their lessons (the teachers are volunteers) and at the end of the day they pack the books away and sleep on the floor right there. 25 kids in a pretty small area.


But the kids are all super happy and only too keen to learn!! All they want is to go to school and learn as much as possible cos they know it's the only way out of poverty for them. So decided to do my bit and went to the local town and bought them 10 desks and benches and a bunch of books and pens. They were soooo stoked that when we were offloading them at 4:30pm on Saturday afternoon they immediately set them up and wanted to be taught with their new desks. Not a "bunker" among them! Speaking of which, I actually wonder if they gonna use them as bunk beds now too!



So to bring you riiiiight up to date now, I've been in Phnom Penh for 3 days. Original plan was to spend 1 day here and then head to the beaches and then try and make my way to the Phillipines to join Badger and a couple other mates for about 10 days or so. Unfortunately, I got put on the Cambodian diet the first day. Very effective weight loss program where you basically just go to the toilet all day and don't eat a thing. Thought it was pretty mellow at first but after 24 hours of not going further than 10 metres from the toilet I was eventually forced to go to the hospital. Scary thing is that the worst toilet I've seen in all of SE Asia was in that hospital. Little bit worse than the infamous Trainspotting one! Luckily I only needed some medication and didn't have to be admitted. But it was still 2 and a half days in bed so became a bit too late to get flights to the Phillipines.... So tomorrow I will hit the Cambodian beaches and then on to Vietnam from there!


This is the view from the restaurant of the $4 a night hotel.

I'm Back

Ok - so been a bit slack on the blog updates but plan to sort that all out now cos I'm in a fancy hotel with internet connection to my laptop and a few hours to spare so this will be a pretty big post to catch up!

Luckily my trusted travel writer has been on the ball with some good stories so check these links out in order and then I'll update from there afterwards:

http://badgerstravels.blogspot.com/2007/01/krabi-to-ko-tao.html

Just to point out that the burn on my leg there is probably a bit more hectic than it looks. Still a long way from healing properly and kept me out the water a fair bit (more on that later). Moral of the story though is to always check your bike fully before renting it. I overlooked the rather important fact that bikes really do need the front brakes (helmets are not so important cos on this island there were none at all). Cos the back brake is a foot brake and the front brake is a hand brake. And if you're trying to go down steep dirt tracks with a million rocks, you're eventually going to have to put your foot down for balance. And when your foot is on the floor, there's no more brakes. And when there's no more breaks on a steep incline, there's trouble!

The snorkelling in Koh Tao was awesome squared so check out some more shots from the underwater camera:

The bungalows we stayed in...

An underwater tortoise!

Swimming with sharks was awesome. Up to 4 at once and some decent sized ones around.....

Anyway - after Koh Tao we hit Koh Pangan for (probably) the biggest beach party in the world and then also some real relaxation time:

http://badgerstravels.blogspot.com/2007/02/ko-phangan-and-full-moon-party.html

From Koh Pangan it was onto Koh Samui which was pretty awesome. A lot more developed than the other islands but good to have some civilization and entertainment again. Entertainment being in the form of a monkey show (it's not cruel - they only make the floor a little hot to make them dance). Just kidding!

Lead guitarist of the "not so" arctic monkeys
We got to see the only monkey fire dancer in the world (other than my friend Reeko who has since retired).

A boa constrictor. After this photo, it tried to kill me and we wrestled for an hour. I won!

After 2 days on Samui I realised I needed to make a decision on where to go next and soon cos my visa was expiring. I wasn't too keen to spend 24 hours to do a visa run (go to the nearest border and leave and come back in). If you overstay your visa then you pay about 7 quid a day as a fine - doesn't sound like much but u can almost live on that for a day in Thailand. I was super keen to make a plan to go back to Koh Tao and do a dive course but my leg is taking forever to heal and 5 days of scuba would be no good. So finally decided on heading to Cambodia. Only sh1t thing is that I have to do it on my lonesome cos Bren and Laura have gone back and Badger is enjoying Thailand too much. Check the photo below to see why.

Is it just me or is she trying to look up Badger's little skirt?

It gets pretty difficult to get all the photos on a long post so will have to split it here. Next stop - Cambodia!