Very early in the morning, after three glorious days in Siem Riep at our wonderful hotel, we prepared to board a bus to the border. Lonely Planet loves to remind you of "Scam Buses" in the area- since the drive to Bangkok is only around six hours, many buses will take you to a border further South, making the six hour trip a twelve hour trip, dropping you in front of their partner guesthouse and assuming that you will be too tired after the journey to look elsewhere.
OR there's a bus that will offer to take care of your Thai visa, so they will charge you the "visa fee" and run your passport through immigration. There is no visa fee, it's always free to enter Thailand, so some people get tricked that way.
We thought we did pretty well when we booked our bus. We made sure it went through the right border and made sure we got the visas ourselves. The plan was: pay for a ticket directly to Bangkok but switch buses at the border. Foolproof, right?
Well, yes. Sort of.
First of all, this guy comes in his car to pick us up at our hotel. Strange, but we've seen strange and weren't put off by it. Another Japanese couple were already in the car.
Second, when we arrived to the bus... not to sound snobbish, but I was just surprised... it was really run down and dumpy looking. We usually paid ten bucks and got a really nice air con bus, so to pay twelve and get this was an unpleasant surprise... more for Pat than me, who has issues with leg room at the best of times. But still! No problem, we're on our way to Bangkok. Nothing will stop us now!
We got on the bus to find throngs of foreigners- only foreigners- already loaded onto the bus with all of our bags piled in the back. Interesting. One always becomes a bit suspicious when they look around and can't find a local. It makes you think that there are much better ways to get where you're going. But even that didn't bother us and we found a seat.
After the bus was filled (over)capacity, we finally got on the dusty road to the border. LP says the road is full of potholes, but it has been fixed since they printed their last guide so it was one of the smoother rides we had. We continued on, having a nice conversation with the last guy to board the bus, who therefore had to sit on the floor by the bus driver. Among the crowd there were some rowdy Dutch who kept the whole bus laughing, a haughty wannabe hippy who spent most of the time on her cellphone talking (loudly) about the great yoga detox she was going to do when she got to Bali, and two women- one with a videocamera who kept filming the every move of her travel buddy, which we thought was strange.
We made our first stop after about two hours, and the driver immediately got out and started eating with the people who owned the place. The Dutch said "Probably extended family".
We hung out for about 30 minutes as children did their rounds, asking everyone for their foreign coins. I haven't quite figured out why they wanted foreign coins, but I was happy to see that they weren't begging and they were actually quite cute. So yeah, I gave them some Thai Baht. One of the older kids ran over to me and tied a piece of coloured string around my wrist as a thank you. Then we were on our way again.
About 15 minutes later, we stopped again. Huh? Why would we stop after only 15 minutes?
"Lunch time" said the bus driver.
It was 10 AM.
The entire bus of foreigners became mutinous.
"We don't want to eat lunch, we want to get to the border!"
"How much longer until we get to the border?"
"We just #%%^&& stopped!"
"We aren't going to spend any money here."
And so on.
The bus driver said, "I don't care if you think it's too early. In Cambodia, it's lunchtime. We are stopping for 30 minutes".
And that was that.
The bus was in an uproar. The wannabe hippy girl suggested we all stay on the bus as a show of solidarity. That lasted for about 5 minutes, when the smokers decided to go out to smoke and everyone else decided to stretch their legs. Ever the "hippy", the girl stubbornly stayed put the entire time. The only person on the bus.
After a time we did, eventually, get to the border. And the crossing was fine, and we waited on the other side for our new bus, thinking "this is Thailnd, no more crappy buses!".
Then, instead of being loaded on a big, air con bus we were shown to two minibuses. OK, whatever. Air con, at least.
However, they never thought about room. They overloaded the bus in Siem Riep, and now there weren't enough seats for all the passengers. After some fiddling around, Pat and I were wedged tightly next to the luggage. Great. Very comfortable.
We were driving for about 20 minutes when our driver got a call on his cellphone.
"Janine MacLean? Canada?"
"Yes...", I said.
"Ah." The driver said something into his cellphone and turned the minibus around, taking us back towrds the border. I was petrified. The driver couldn't speak any English so he just pointed at a passport and made an X with his arms. Something wrong with my passport? Had I been accused of some crime that I didn't do? Did something happen to my family back home? A million things ran through my mind as I mentally prepared to freak out. Pat was looking extremely concerned, the Dutch guy was cracking jokes about me being a terrorist, and the woman (who we found out was filming a documentary about her friend who is very rich and lives in LA and never travelled anything but first class) was videotaping every second of my agony.
We passed by an Army Base where they had all the soldiers out, marching. The Dutch guy said "My God, what did you do?!"
I was very pale. I was terrified. I thought I was going to jail where I would be beaten and, eventually, executed.
We arrived and the stern looking official who stamped my passport looked in the bus and said "Janine MacLean?"
I timidly said "Yes?"
"I need to talk to you. Step outside, please"
My legs were shaking so badly I could barely walk. I made Pat come with me for support. That man was scary.
As I got outside, he broke out into a huge smile.
"Ahhh! Sorry, sorry! I made mistake with your passport! I would be given large penalty for mistake! Thank you for understanding!"
I was torn between hugging him and punching him in the face. That was one of the scariest ordeals of my life. And for nothing! Apparently, he had given me a 60 day visa by accident, when I was technically only allowed in the country for 14 days.
He said, "I understand you are leaving in two days, but I needed to make sure to fix my mistake. Thank you for understanding and I hope you visit our country again".
Wow! Hilarious. First of all, how did he know I was leaving? Maybe he called the airport to ask when my departure date was? Who knows. Second of all, he would have been in serious trouble if I had overstayed my 14 day allowance. So ends the terror and so ends my last real adventure on the trip.
We arrived in Bangkok early that evening, and got ourselves a hotel. We did some shopping on Khao San Rd., and the next day we went to the fancy business and shopping centre of the city, where we though Pat might find some shows that actually fit him (nonexistent in Korea).
We arrived at the airport right on schedule, I took some valium to quell my fears, and before we could blink we were back in Korea. Our trip was over. So, so sad.
Showing posts with label cities. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cities. Show all posts
Friday, June 19, 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Siem Riep: Amazing Hotels, Amazing History
So, we almost cried when we discovered that all of our Siem Riep pictures, minus the cooking class, would be forever lost. OK, I cried a little bit. That meant losing our Angkor Wat pictures and the pictures I was planning to use to boast about the awesome hotel we stayed in! Very sad, indeed, but I have a vivid memory of our time in Siem Riep- it was my favourite place that we visited in Cambodia.
We took a very long bus ride from the South in Sihanoukville to Siem Riep, which is more to the Northwest. We hadn't heard great things about the road to Siem Riep, and sure enough, it was bumpy and I got a bit motion sick. No biggie.
So here's the thing about buses in Cambodia: some of them stop every five minutes for bathroom breaks and refreshments, while some... well... drive for eight hours straight with no such stops. In the defense of our bus driver, there was only one place on the entire way that was decent to stop in, and he did stop- for five minutes. I barely got back from the bathroom in time!
The real issue of the day was the fact that Pat and I, being used to the buses that stop every five minutes, failed to bring any snacks with us. We were ravenous when we arrived in Siem Riep eight hours later. Funny enough, when we switched buses in Phnom Penh (all roads lead to the capital) a nice young man who worked for the travel company helped me with my bag and asked me if I wanted his friend to pick us up in a tuk tuk when we arrived. If this had been two months ago I would have told him to leave me alone (please). However, we had been on the road a long time and we were tired. I said sure. Why not. I know he'll just try to take us to a guest house that will give him a cut of the profits, but I would rather that than have to haggle with a non-English speaking tuk tuk driver. So I gave the guy my name.
Sure enough, when we arrived in Siem Riep, there were two young men holding a sign with my name on it. I forgot to tell Pat I had given the guy in Phnom Penh my name, so he was pretty surprised by the royal treatment we were receiving. We asked them to take us to a place we found in the Lonely Planet, but actually, they were able to really convince us- not because we were tired, but because they knew what they were talking about- to go to a locally owned guest house. It's true! All LP ever recommends are foreign owned businesses! Not fair. We decided to go see what the guys had to offer... and ... oh my God is all I can say. What a beautiful guesthouse.
Our room was pretty much poolside, with a nice little patio, air conditioning, cable, hot shower... mini bar... everything you could want for 20 bucks a night. And since it was our last place before going back to Korea, we splurged and were glad. The pool was surrounded by a beautiful, lush tropical garden and the pool itself was just gorgeous. We were a five minute walk away from the famous night market and "Pub Street", and we liked the look of this touristy, but still Cambodian town.
We arranged with the tuk tuk guys to take us around Angkor the next day... at 5:30 AM, to see the sunrise. We went to Pub Street and had Shepard's Pie and Angkor beer for dinner. Very satisfying.
The next morning, we got up early and our tuk tuk dude was already waiting for us. It was 5 AM but it was already hot. It was rainy season in Cambodia but that just means 23 hours of pure, hot sunlight and 1 hour of torrential downpour- if that.
The temples of Angkor are spread over about 15 kilometres (from the most famous to the most remote). The most famous temples are, of course, Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom (which is really a bunch of temples and was once the capital city of Angkor) and Ta Prohm- which is famous among travellers as the building that trees started growing around and on top of, and famous among everyone else as the temple in Lara Croft: Tombraider (I think- I've never seen it myself...).
We bought a one day pass for 20 bucks and went to Angkor Wat to see the sun rise. Angkor Wat is considered the largest ever religious building... or something like that. Anyway, you need to cross the moat before you even see it. It's huge. The moat itself is huge! We sat and watched the sunrise and then wandered around the temple. Every boy tourist (Patrick included) kept whistling the Indiana Jones theme song. It was amusing and annoying all at the same time.
After Angkor Wat we were supposed to go to Angkor Thom, but we couldn't find our tuk tuk driver. Eventually we found him napping in a corner. Tuk tuks, or at least, bikes, are necessary in order to see the different temples. I think I read somewhere that Angkor was the biggest pre-industrial city ever discovered, so the temples are very spread out. Ankgor Thom was cool. We had to pass through the city gates and then, everywhere you look, there are piles of stones, ruins and well preserved buildings of the old city. We found out that Angkor flourished until the Thais sacked it and whoever was left fled and re-established a new capital in Phnom Penh. No one remembered Angkor until it was discovered in the 1900's by a Frenchman. Then they started trying to put everything back together. Then the Khmer Rouge came into power and destroyed all historical records and documents, so after they fell no one could remember where the stones were supposed to go. Also, they mined the area really heavily, so that had to be taken care of.
After Angkor Thom we went to the famous Ta Prohm temple, which was really a monestary! It's funny, Angkor started out as, I believe, a polytheistic society. Then they turned Hindu, and finally they were Buddhist. The artwork carved into the buildings is a mixture. It tells stories of great wars, of bare breasted dancers (they say the Thais took the dancers with them and that's where Thai dance has it's roots) and then there are Buddha's and Krishnas everywhere. It's great. Ta Prohm was amazing. It's crazy how the trees are holding the building together!
There was much more to see, but we were exhausted and all templed out. It was getting very hot and I could hear the pool calling my name, so we went back happily to our hotel where we swam, relaxed and had lunch. Lovely.
The next day we took a Khmer cooking class at a restaurant on Pub Street. It was fun, as our cooking classes always are! We cooked alongside an American Philippino couple who actually live in Korea and work as nurses on the American base in Yongsan (Seoul). Too wierd! They were really nice and we enjoyed a nice lunch together afterward. The four of us all made different dishes and shared. I made Amok, which is sort of like a curry, but with a different, more Cambodian paste. Sarah made a curry, her boyfriend made a stir fry, and Patrick made LocLac- Cambodian steak (very yummy). We all made salads- I made mango, Pat made banana flower and the couple made a papaya salad and spring rolls. Great lunch!
After lunch I thought I would treat myself to a mani-pedi. My first one, ever. And it cost me 12 bucks (for both). Very relaxing. After that, a swim and a smoothie and some BBC Newsworld, we hit the town!
Back on Pub Street we had a nice dinner and several glasses of wine and beer. Then we hit the night market. I loved it! The stuff wasn't as nice as the night market in Luang Prabang, but there lots of great dresses and we got a hammock and some scarves and some little ornaments. And then we found Dr. Fish! Yet another Korean installment! Of course we had a go, and I asked if the fish came from China (I knew that would be the first question asked by my Korean friends- no dirty Chinese fish, please! For whatever reason...). Of course the man running the pool said no! These are clean fish from Europe! A fish is a fish if you ask me, but I have fun teasing my Korean friends about their inherent racism towards China... and Japan... and almost everywhere else...
We didn't want to leave, and I certainly didn't want to go to Bangkok because I hate flying and the closer we got to Bangkok the closer we got to flying... but we were up bright and early the next day, ready for anything. We would be in Bangkok later that afternoon...
After we cooked our meals they were brought out so we could dine al fresco.
Pat, concentrating on making the perfect LocLac.
Ready to plate it up.
Stirring up my Amok. I made this one with chicken, but it can also be made with fresh water fish.
Pat's banana flower salad in the foreground and my mango salad in the background. Both delicious! 
Ingredients for Banana Flower Salad. After shredding the banana flower, Pat had to soak it in lemon for about 15 minutes. On the plate you can see sweet basil and shredded carrot.
Getting ready to pound up my curry paste.
Curry Paste ingredientsL lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, fresh root turmeric, small red chillis, galangal ginger, garlic and shrimp paste.
Mango salad ingredients: sweet basil (ribboned), shredded carrot and shredded mango. Easy!
For my Amok? Onion, oyster mushrooms, chicken and tamarind leaf (I think?).
LocLac ingredients: zucchini, tomato, beef and onion. And chillies.
Slicin'
The first thing we saw when we came in. Glorious!
Fresh produce at the market.
The fishmongers just sat on their tables.
Hard at work.
Of course, we had to try some crickets. They tasted really nutty, and actually yummy, but I gagged when I tried to swallow their legs and my throat got tickled.
Plenty of stuff for sale.
We took a very long bus ride from the South in Sihanoukville to Siem Riep, which is more to the Northwest. We hadn't heard great things about the road to Siem Riep, and sure enough, it was bumpy and I got a bit motion sick. No biggie.
So here's the thing about buses in Cambodia: some of them stop every five minutes for bathroom breaks and refreshments, while some... well... drive for eight hours straight with no such stops. In the defense of our bus driver, there was only one place on the entire way that was decent to stop in, and he did stop- for five minutes. I barely got back from the bathroom in time!
The real issue of the day was the fact that Pat and I, being used to the buses that stop every five minutes, failed to bring any snacks with us. We were ravenous when we arrived in Siem Riep eight hours later. Funny enough, when we switched buses in Phnom Penh (all roads lead to the capital) a nice young man who worked for the travel company helped me with my bag and asked me if I wanted his friend to pick us up in a tuk tuk when we arrived. If this had been two months ago I would have told him to leave me alone (please). However, we had been on the road a long time and we were tired. I said sure. Why not. I know he'll just try to take us to a guest house that will give him a cut of the profits, but I would rather that than have to haggle with a non-English speaking tuk tuk driver. So I gave the guy my name.
Sure enough, when we arrived in Siem Riep, there were two young men holding a sign with my name on it. I forgot to tell Pat I had given the guy in Phnom Penh my name, so he was pretty surprised by the royal treatment we were receiving. We asked them to take us to a place we found in the Lonely Planet, but actually, they were able to really convince us- not because we were tired, but because they knew what they were talking about- to go to a locally owned guest house. It's true! All LP ever recommends are foreign owned businesses! Not fair. We decided to go see what the guys had to offer... and ... oh my God is all I can say. What a beautiful guesthouse.
Our room was pretty much poolside, with a nice little patio, air conditioning, cable, hot shower... mini bar... everything you could want for 20 bucks a night. And since it was our last place before going back to Korea, we splurged and were glad. The pool was surrounded by a beautiful, lush tropical garden and the pool itself was just gorgeous. We were a five minute walk away from the famous night market and "Pub Street", and we liked the look of this touristy, but still Cambodian town.
We arranged with the tuk tuk guys to take us around Angkor the next day... at 5:30 AM, to see the sunrise. We went to Pub Street and had Shepard's Pie and Angkor beer for dinner. Very satisfying.
The next morning, we got up early and our tuk tuk dude was already waiting for us. It was 5 AM but it was already hot. It was rainy season in Cambodia but that just means 23 hours of pure, hot sunlight and 1 hour of torrential downpour- if that.
The temples of Angkor are spread over about 15 kilometres (from the most famous to the most remote). The most famous temples are, of course, Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom (which is really a bunch of temples and was once the capital city of Angkor) and Ta Prohm- which is famous among travellers as the building that trees started growing around and on top of, and famous among everyone else as the temple in Lara Croft: Tombraider (I think- I've never seen it myself...).
We bought a one day pass for 20 bucks and went to Angkor Wat to see the sun rise. Angkor Wat is considered the largest ever religious building... or something like that. Anyway, you need to cross the moat before you even see it. It's huge. The moat itself is huge! We sat and watched the sunrise and then wandered around the temple. Every boy tourist (Patrick included) kept whistling the Indiana Jones theme song. It was amusing and annoying all at the same time.
After Angkor Wat we were supposed to go to Angkor Thom, but we couldn't find our tuk tuk driver. Eventually we found him napping in a corner. Tuk tuks, or at least, bikes, are necessary in order to see the different temples. I think I read somewhere that Angkor was the biggest pre-industrial city ever discovered, so the temples are very spread out. Ankgor Thom was cool. We had to pass through the city gates and then, everywhere you look, there are piles of stones, ruins and well preserved buildings of the old city. We found out that Angkor flourished until the Thais sacked it and whoever was left fled and re-established a new capital in Phnom Penh. No one remembered Angkor until it was discovered in the 1900's by a Frenchman. Then they started trying to put everything back together. Then the Khmer Rouge came into power and destroyed all historical records and documents, so after they fell no one could remember where the stones were supposed to go. Also, they mined the area really heavily, so that had to be taken care of.
After Angkor Thom we went to the famous Ta Prohm temple, which was really a monestary! It's funny, Angkor started out as, I believe, a polytheistic society. Then they turned Hindu, and finally they were Buddhist. The artwork carved into the buildings is a mixture. It tells stories of great wars, of bare breasted dancers (they say the Thais took the dancers with them and that's where Thai dance has it's roots) and then there are Buddha's and Krishnas everywhere. It's great. Ta Prohm was amazing. It's crazy how the trees are holding the building together!
There was much more to see, but we were exhausted and all templed out. It was getting very hot and I could hear the pool calling my name, so we went back happily to our hotel where we swam, relaxed and had lunch. Lovely.
The next day we took a Khmer cooking class at a restaurant on Pub Street. It was fun, as our cooking classes always are! We cooked alongside an American Philippino couple who actually live in Korea and work as nurses on the American base in Yongsan (Seoul). Too wierd! They were really nice and we enjoyed a nice lunch together afterward. The four of us all made different dishes and shared. I made Amok, which is sort of like a curry, but with a different, more Cambodian paste. Sarah made a curry, her boyfriend made a stir fry, and Patrick made LocLac- Cambodian steak (very yummy). We all made salads- I made mango, Pat made banana flower and the couple made a papaya salad and spring rolls. Great lunch!
After lunch I thought I would treat myself to a mani-pedi. My first one, ever. And it cost me 12 bucks (for both). Very relaxing. After that, a swim and a smoothie and some BBC Newsworld, we hit the town!
Back on Pub Street we had a nice dinner and several glasses of wine and beer. Then we hit the night market. I loved it! The stuff wasn't as nice as the night market in Luang Prabang, but there lots of great dresses and we got a hammock and some scarves and some little ornaments. And then we found Dr. Fish! Yet another Korean installment! Of course we had a go, and I asked if the fish came from China (I knew that would be the first question asked by my Korean friends- no dirty Chinese fish, please! For whatever reason...). Of course the man running the pool said no! These are clean fish from Europe! A fish is a fish if you ask me, but I have fun teasing my Korean friends about their inherent racism towards China... and Japan... and almost everywhere else...
We didn't want to leave, and I certainly didn't want to go to Bangkok because I hate flying and the closer we got to Bangkok the closer we got to flying... but we were up bright and early the next day, ready for anything. We would be in Bangkok later that afternoon...
After we cooked our meals they were brought out so we could dine al fresco.
Pat, concentrating on making the perfect LocLac.
Ready to plate it up.
Stirring up my Amok. I made this one with chicken, but it can also be made with fresh water fish.
Pat's banana flower salad in the foreground and my mango salad in the background. Both delicious!
Ingredients for Banana Flower Salad. After shredding the banana flower, Pat had to soak it in lemon for about 15 minutes. On the plate you can see sweet basil and shredded carrot.
Getting ready to pound up my curry paste.
Curry Paste ingredientsL lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, fresh root turmeric, small red chillis, galangal ginger, garlic and shrimp paste.
Mango salad ingredients: sweet basil (ribboned), shredded carrot and shredded mango. Easy!
For my Amok? Onion, oyster mushrooms, chicken and tamarind leaf (I think?).
LocLac ingredients: zucchini, tomato, beef and onion. And chillies. 
Slicin'
The first thing we saw when we came in. Glorious!
Fresh produce at the market.
The fishmongers just sat on their tables. 
Hard at work. 
Of course, we had to try some crickets. They tasted really nutty, and actually yummy, but I gagged when I tried to swallow their legs and my throat got tickled. 
Plenty of stuff for sale.Thursday, May 21, 2009
Phnom Penh: Dusty and Hot... and Awesome.
We left Saigon at around 3 PM, and were assured that we would be in Phnom Penh a mere six hours later- border crossing included! That sounded almost too good to be true since we spent about 2 or 3 hours at the Laos/Vietnam border, but still, we went with it.
From Saigon it takes about 2 hours to get to the border. While on the bus (12$ US) one of the attendants asked us for our passports. He took every passport on the bus, filled out our arrival and departure cards, took the 25$ US for our Cambodian Visa and did *absolutely everything* for us. All we had to do was pass through to show the border officials that we were the same person as in the passport. It was the easiest and fastest border crossing. Ever. I totally recommend the bus.
When you arrive in Cambodia you don't see any poverty. You see a lot of casinos. A lot. Right at the border.
Our bus stopped just outside the border and we had our first Khmer meal. It was pretty yummy, actually, considering I had heard mediocre things about Cambodian cooking (same as Thailand, only bland, apparently). Their curries (amok) are quite sweet with pineapple. I didn't like that so much. But they made a delicious pork and egg soup that I enjoyed pouring over my rice, and their meat and stir fries were great, too. I think a lot of the food catered to tourists is mediocre, but this backroads place was pretty great!
We arrived in Phnom Penh at about 9:30 PM. We're getting used to busses dropping us off in the middle of nowhere, outside of the cities or in front of a guesthouse that gives the bus company money, so while we were prepared we still lucked out since we met two Australian girls who were living in Phnom Penh for several weeks, volunteering at a hospital. I've noticed that expats here generally work for an NGO or have drug/sex addictions. And then there are the perfectly normals ones who just love the country and the people.
Anyway, the Australian girls offered to share a tuktuk with us, and we were relieved, because you never know how much it should cost to get somewhere, which means you never know if you're getting ripped off. It was much easier to just follow the girls to their guesthouse.
Most of the good guesthouses in Phnom Penh are located in a place called the "Lake District". It is full of backpackers, full of restaurants, and full of people trying to sell you stuff. It's a bit hard to find, so again we were lucky to have the girls show us around. The guesthouse we wanted to stay in was full, so we stayed at a very cheap and slightly sketchy guesthouse until the next morning, when we moved into the air conditioned, cable TV room that we've gotten so used to renting since Vietnam. We ate breakfast and then hired a tuktuk driver for the day.
The city was once known as the "Pearl of Asia" and since the Khmer Rouge days it has started to fall apart, piece by piece. The French colonial buildings still stand, and they are beautiful, but most are in desperate need of paint and plaster. I remembered from the books I read by Khmer Rouge survivors that some of the best memories the authors had as small children included sitting with their Dads in the evening on their apartment's balcony, watching the world go by.
Driving through the wide boulevards of Phnom Penh, I could almost see what the city was like in her glory days, which families out socializing, sitting out on their balconies and eating in the restaurants. Today the people still smile and they continue to make a living, but you can see the remnants of war sketched on everyone's face. I think it will still take a few generations to heal the wounds of the Khmer Rouge. Forget the current trials- most of the people involved are corrupt government officials and, many, former Khmer Rouge, but the people of Cambodia are so resiliant and I really love their country.
As someone recently told me, Cambodia's economy is growing thanks to the investments of other Asian countries- namely, Korea! You see Korean busses and businesses everywhere here, and plenty of signs are translated into Korean as well. Who knows what Korea's motive really is, but I like to think that they, more than most countries, understand what it's like to strengthen your economy after war, so I think it's cool that they've taken an interest in Cambodia.
Indeed, there are lots of ways to get involved in community projects here, moreso than anywhere else in Southeast Asia. NGO's, volunteer projects, orphanages, fair trade- the possibilities of doing some good are endless in this country, but you should do your homework before you think about volunteering. Lots of "projects"and "organizations"here are really just tourist traps- you spend money on something you think is worthwhile, but your money just goes into some businessman's pocket. We really lucked out when we volunteered at our orphanage... more on that later!
Of course, no visit to Phnom Penh is complete without witnessing the atrocities the Khmer Rouge commited during their regime of terror in the 1970's. It''s difficult to see, but I think it's one's duty as a human being to see what can happen when the wrong person comes into power and always remember. I often wonder where the governments of our great countries of the West were while the Khmer Rouge were killing millions of their own people. I mean, I know they were secretive about it, but wouldn't you start to wonder what was going on when an entire capital city is cleared of people, all foriegners are expelled and the currency is obliterated? I suppose there's a lot about this time that I don't understand, but walking down the streets of Phnom Penh and seeing seeing people in Cambodian villages you can tell that the war is still affecting them, and the form the war has taken today is poverty.
That being said, so far Cambodia has been a great country and everywhere you look there are new businesses, developments and wonderful people. Those living in rural or poverty stricken areas no longer want your charity; they want their children to have an education and have the same chance in life as other children. Giving in to children begging on the street or trying to sell you trinkets in frowned upon, and Cambodians now ask you not to support this kind of thing. There are other, better ways you can help.
I think everyone should come to Cambodia. This country is amazing! The kids are wonderful, the food is wonderful, the hospitality is top notch and the stories people have will melt your heart and bring tears to your eyes. You'll never forget this place once you visit.
Pictures coming soon!
From Saigon it takes about 2 hours to get to the border. While on the bus (12$ US) one of the attendants asked us for our passports. He took every passport on the bus, filled out our arrival and departure cards, took the 25$ US for our Cambodian Visa and did *absolutely everything* for us. All we had to do was pass through to show the border officials that we were the same person as in the passport. It was the easiest and fastest border crossing. Ever. I totally recommend the bus.
When you arrive in Cambodia you don't see any poverty. You see a lot of casinos. A lot. Right at the border.
Our bus stopped just outside the border and we had our first Khmer meal. It was pretty yummy, actually, considering I had heard mediocre things about Cambodian cooking (same as Thailand, only bland, apparently). Their curries (amok) are quite sweet with pineapple. I didn't like that so much. But they made a delicious pork and egg soup that I enjoyed pouring over my rice, and their meat and stir fries were great, too. I think a lot of the food catered to tourists is mediocre, but this backroads place was pretty great!
We arrived in Phnom Penh at about 9:30 PM. We're getting used to busses dropping us off in the middle of nowhere, outside of the cities or in front of a guesthouse that gives the bus company money, so while we were prepared we still lucked out since we met two Australian girls who were living in Phnom Penh for several weeks, volunteering at a hospital. I've noticed that expats here generally work for an NGO or have drug/sex addictions. And then there are the perfectly normals ones who just love the country and the people.
Anyway, the Australian girls offered to share a tuktuk with us, and we were relieved, because you never know how much it should cost to get somewhere, which means you never know if you're getting ripped off. It was much easier to just follow the girls to their guesthouse.
Most of the good guesthouses in Phnom Penh are located in a place called the "Lake District". It is full of backpackers, full of restaurants, and full of people trying to sell you stuff. It's a bit hard to find, so again we were lucky to have the girls show us around. The guesthouse we wanted to stay in was full, so we stayed at a very cheap and slightly sketchy guesthouse until the next morning, when we moved into the air conditioned, cable TV room that we've gotten so used to renting since Vietnam. We ate breakfast and then hired a tuktuk driver for the day.
The city was once known as the "Pearl of Asia" and since the Khmer Rouge days it has started to fall apart, piece by piece. The French colonial buildings still stand, and they are beautiful, but most are in desperate need of paint and plaster. I remembered from the books I read by Khmer Rouge survivors that some of the best memories the authors had as small children included sitting with their Dads in the evening on their apartment's balcony, watching the world go by.
Driving through the wide boulevards of Phnom Penh, I could almost see what the city was like in her glory days, which families out socializing, sitting out on their balconies and eating in the restaurants. Today the people still smile and they continue to make a living, but you can see the remnants of war sketched on everyone's face. I think it will still take a few generations to heal the wounds of the Khmer Rouge. Forget the current trials- most of the people involved are corrupt government officials and, many, former Khmer Rouge, but the people of Cambodia are so resiliant and I really love their country.
As someone recently told me, Cambodia's economy is growing thanks to the investments of other Asian countries- namely, Korea! You see Korean busses and businesses everywhere here, and plenty of signs are translated into Korean as well. Who knows what Korea's motive really is, but I like to think that they, more than most countries, understand what it's like to strengthen your economy after war, so I think it's cool that they've taken an interest in Cambodia.
Indeed, there are lots of ways to get involved in community projects here, moreso than anywhere else in Southeast Asia. NGO's, volunteer projects, orphanages, fair trade- the possibilities of doing some good are endless in this country, but you should do your homework before you think about volunteering. Lots of "projects"and "organizations"here are really just tourist traps- you spend money on something you think is worthwhile, but your money just goes into some businessman's pocket. We really lucked out when we volunteered at our orphanage... more on that later!
Of course, no visit to Phnom Penh is complete without witnessing the atrocities the Khmer Rouge commited during their regime of terror in the 1970's. It''s difficult to see, but I think it's one's duty as a human being to see what can happen when the wrong person comes into power and always remember. I often wonder where the governments of our great countries of the West were while the Khmer Rouge were killing millions of their own people. I mean, I know they were secretive about it, but wouldn't you start to wonder what was going on when an entire capital city is cleared of people, all foriegners are expelled and the currency is obliterated? I suppose there's a lot about this time that I don't understand, but walking down the streets of Phnom Penh and seeing seeing people in Cambodian villages you can tell that the war is still affecting them, and the form the war has taken today is poverty.
That being said, so far Cambodia has been a great country and everywhere you look there are new businesses, developments and wonderful people. Those living in rural or poverty stricken areas no longer want your charity; they want their children to have an education and have the same chance in life as other children. Giving in to children begging on the street or trying to sell you trinkets in frowned upon, and Cambodians now ask you not to support this kind of thing. There are other, better ways you can help.
I think everyone should come to Cambodia. This country is amazing! The kids are wonderful, the food is wonderful, the hospitality is top notch and the stories people have will melt your heart and bring tears to your eyes. You'll never forget this place once you visit.
Pictures coming soon!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Hoi An and Saigon
After Sapa, Pat and I prepared ourselves for a long train ride and a much warmer climate than we had been experiencing in the south. We were taking one train to Hanoi from the border town of Lao Cai *an hour away by bus from Sapa) and from Hanoi we were catching another train allllll the way below the old DMZ line to the small city of Hoi An. Why go to Hoi An? For the culture, sure, but mostly we were going for some tailor made- cheaper than you can get in Canada-custom fit clothes. Like every other foreigner in Hoi An.
So our first task was to hop the bus from Sapa to Lao Cai. There are busses everywhere in Sapa so it should be easy, right? No.
We got on a bus, no problem there. And the bus driver knew we had a train to catch, he did. And we proceeded to drive in a circle around the town of Sapa until we picked up more passengers. I went from nervous to frightful to furious in a mere forty minutes. Finally, after the ten thousandth loop around the small town, we raised our voices a smidgen. Then we got one more passenger and the bus driver made us get out and get on another bus which had more people. I nervously checked the clock: it read 7:40 AM. Our train was due to leave at 9. And it was still an hour to drive to the train station. Ugh.
So we were finally on our way, packed tightly in a slightly falling apart mini bus, and I cursed the fact that there were no guard rails down the winding, one lane road. When we arrived in Lao Cai, we ran to the train station, scared to death that we had missed our train, and were met by three people: one girl behind the counter who had no idea what I was going on about, an older woman who kept saying "It's ok, it's ok" and a frowning younger man who kept replying "NOT ok, NOT ok". Apparently they didn't recognise the ticket I had. The man phoned the number on our ticket and remained frowning. The older woman kept reassuring us that everything was ok and we had not missed our train, and the girl behind the counter continued to chew her gum sullenly.
Finally the man said "Ok, ok" and exchanged our first ticket for a proper train ticket. The woman told us their wasn't any food on the train and took Pat to a place where he could get a baguette. While Pat was gone, I profusely thanked the man, who I assumed worked for the train station, for helping us.
"Ah, no problem", he frowned.
Then he said: "Are you going to give me something for my trouble?"
I was taken aback. I said "What?"
He said, "You know, I don't work here, I am just working for myself. Give me some money for what I did".
Not knowing what else to say, I replied "My boyfriend has all the money".
When Patrick got back, I whispered that the guy wanted money from us. Pat, who was hurrying me to the train, told me to forget about it, he was a jerk and he scared us when he shouldn't have. We started to run for the train and the guy trailed after us:
"Hey! What about me?!"
I replied that he never informed us about his "business" beforehand and he wasn't getting a cent. And my faith in humanity was shaken.
I told Pat that at least the older woman was kind to us. Patrick replied sarcastically, "Yeah. She made me go to her store to buy food. She didn't work for the train station either".
How depressing.
The train ride was very uncomfortable. Apparently when the Vietnamese say you booked a "hard seat" they literally mean a wooden bench. For about 11 hours. My bum's faith in humanity was shaken that day, as well. But the locals on the bus were great fun. They would just take our stuff without asking, looking through our books, playing with our playing cards, looking at the pictures on our postcards and laughing. It's like we were all old friends. A man who sold tea would sit down next to us and say we were like his children. That was sweet.
When we finally arrived in Hanoi we had a few hours to kill. I suggested that, if the hard seats were really that hard, then the hard sleepers would probably be absolute hell, as that is what we planned to sleep on en route to Hoi An (our train left at 11 and was due to arrive the next day around noon). We tried to get some soft sleepers but to no avail, and we ate a fattening meal at Lotteria (Korea's version of McDonald's, spread all around Asia) and had a beer at what appeared to be an upscale brothel. Finally we boarded our train and discovered, to our delight, that the hard sleepers actually have cushioning. Excellent. I fell asleep immediately.
The next day, after training through some beautiful seaside landscapes, we arrived in the city of Danang (a bus ride away from Hoi An). We forgot what the weather in the rest of Southeast Asia was like: unbearably hot! We didn't want to pay 10 American dollars to get to Hoi An by car, so we opted for the public bus, which we were told was only 10,000 dong (75 cents) per person. When we got on the bus, the ticket man demanded 50,000 dong from us. We said no, and he kicked us off at the following stop. We waited for the next bus, and they didn't try to overcharge us (although I handed her 10,000 dong extra, just in case).
We arrived in Hoi An and Pat found a great place with a pool and cable for just 12 bucks a night. Yay. We spent the next two days having fitting after fitting, picking out fabrics and eating clay pot pork with rice. Then we took the train once again on our way to Saigon!
Note: the dude on our bus back to Danang tried to overcharge us as well, but luckily I still had our tickets from the last bus that clearly said "10,000 dong from Hoi An to Danang". The ticket guy knew he was had, and to make him appear that he had not lost face we stayed quiet and simply handed him our fare. It's important for Asians never to lose face.
On the train to Saigon, I got cheated twice more by a guy that a) tried to show us to our car (which was clearly number four. I can count.) and then demanded money for helping us and b) a guy who served us a meal on the train and never gave me back my change, shaking his head and smiling and then quickly walking away. I mean, none of this would have cost us much, but it was the principle of the whole thing that made me very angry!
We arrived in Saigon at around 6 AM. We found a taxi that was honest and he took us to the backpacker district where we found some good accomodation. Pat wanted to go to the Cu Chi Tunnels, where the Vietnamese hid from the Americans during the "American War", as they call it, but I was tired and found that we had Discovery Travel and Living included in our cable. Hmmm, tunnels, or all of my favourite cooking shows that I haven't seen in ages? Easy!
Pat went to tht tunnels and had a great time, while I ate a great breakfast and watched Anthony Bourdain... and had a great time. When he got back we went to the War Museum, which was a sobering experience with very graphic images (but was surpisingly neutral in it's content! They talked about how both sides were affected by the war, not just the Vietnamese) and then proceeded to have some of the best ice cream I've had in three months before heading back. We left the next day on a bus bound for Phnom Penh, which is a mere six hour drive from Saigon. Goodbye, Vietnam! You're a wonderful country with some people that infuriate me, but I have no hard feelings.
The mean streets of Saigon.
Pat in his new suit, a la Toto Tailors in Hoi An.
Me, trying to sleep on the sleeper train to Danang. The view was too nice to nap, though.
The sandwich stand that dreams are made of... Pate Baguettes! Thank God they have them in Cambodia, too!
Outside the War Museum in Saigon.
Peace paintings by the children of Saigon: The War Museum
Clearly the Cu Chi Tunnels were not made with Patrick in mind.
Who keeps these darn bombs lying around?!
A typical Cu Chi Tunnel room. Uncle Ho: you the man.
Pat is like a kid in a candy store.
Images of victims of the "American War".
I wouldn't want to be a victim of these guy. Would you?
I got softhearted on some kid that looked like my brother Rory and bought this dragonfly that defies gravity. See how it rests on my glasses?
My new winter coat.
So our first task was to hop the bus from Sapa to Lao Cai. There are busses everywhere in Sapa so it should be easy, right? No.
We got on a bus, no problem there. And the bus driver knew we had a train to catch, he did. And we proceeded to drive in a circle around the town of Sapa until we picked up more passengers. I went from nervous to frightful to furious in a mere forty minutes. Finally, after the ten thousandth loop around the small town, we raised our voices a smidgen. Then we got one more passenger and the bus driver made us get out and get on another bus which had more people. I nervously checked the clock: it read 7:40 AM. Our train was due to leave at 9. And it was still an hour to drive to the train station. Ugh.
So we were finally on our way, packed tightly in a slightly falling apart mini bus, and I cursed the fact that there were no guard rails down the winding, one lane road. When we arrived in Lao Cai, we ran to the train station, scared to death that we had missed our train, and were met by three people: one girl behind the counter who had no idea what I was going on about, an older woman who kept saying "It's ok, it's ok" and a frowning younger man who kept replying "NOT ok, NOT ok". Apparently they didn't recognise the ticket I had. The man phoned the number on our ticket and remained frowning. The older woman kept reassuring us that everything was ok and we had not missed our train, and the girl behind the counter continued to chew her gum sullenly.
Finally the man said "Ok, ok" and exchanged our first ticket for a proper train ticket. The woman told us their wasn't any food on the train and took Pat to a place where he could get a baguette. While Pat was gone, I profusely thanked the man, who I assumed worked for the train station, for helping us.
"Ah, no problem", he frowned.
Then he said: "Are you going to give me something for my trouble?"
I was taken aback. I said "What?"
He said, "You know, I don't work here, I am just working for myself. Give me some money for what I did".
Not knowing what else to say, I replied "My boyfriend has all the money".
When Patrick got back, I whispered that the guy wanted money from us. Pat, who was hurrying me to the train, told me to forget about it, he was a jerk and he scared us when he shouldn't have. We started to run for the train and the guy trailed after us:
"Hey! What about me?!"
I replied that he never informed us about his "business" beforehand and he wasn't getting a cent. And my faith in humanity was shaken.
I told Pat that at least the older woman was kind to us. Patrick replied sarcastically, "Yeah. She made me go to her store to buy food. She didn't work for the train station either".
How depressing.
The train ride was very uncomfortable. Apparently when the Vietnamese say you booked a "hard seat" they literally mean a wooden bench. For about 11 hours. My bum's faith in humanity was shaken that day, as well. But the locals on the bus were great fun. They would just take our stuff without asking, looking through our books, playing with our playing cards, looking at the pictures on our postcards and laughing. It's like we were all old friends. A man who sold tea would sit down next to us and say we were like his children. That was sweet.
When we finally arrived in Hanoi we had a few hours to kill. I suggested that, if the hard seats were really that hard, then the hard sleepers would probably be absolute hell, as that is what we planned to sleep on en route to Hoi An (our train left at 11 and was due to arrive the next day around noon). We tried to get some soft sleepers but to no avail, and we ate a fattening meal at Lotteria (Korea's version of McDonald's, spread all around Asia) and had a beer at what appeared to be an upscale brothel. Finally we boarded our train and discovered, to our delight, that the hard sleepers actually have cushioning. Excellent. I fell asleep immediately.
The next day, after training through some beautiful seaside landscapes, we arrived in the city of Danang (a bus ride away from Hoi An). We forgot what the weather in the rest of Southeast Asia was like: unbearably hot! We didn't want to pay 10 American dollars to get to Hoi An by car, so we opted for the public bus, which we were told was only 10,000 dong (75 cents) per person. When we got on the bus, the ticket man demanded 50,000 dong from us. We said no, and he kicked us off at the following stop. We waited for the next bus, and they didn't try to overcharge us (although I handed her 10,000 dong extra, just in case).
We arrived in Hoi An and Pat found a great place with a pool and cable for just 12 bucks a night. Yay. We spent the next two days having fitting after fitting, picking out fabrics and eating clay pot pork with rice. Then we took the train once again on our way to Saigon!
Note: the dude on our bus back to Danang tried to overcharge us as well, but luckily I still had our tickets from the last bus that clearly said "10,000 dong from Hoi An to Danang". The ticket guy knew he was had, and to make him appear that he had not lost face we stayed quiet and simply handed him our fare. It's important for Asians never to lose face.
On the train to Saigon, I got cheated twice more by a guy that a) tried to show us to our car (which was clearly number four. I can count.) and then demanded money for helping us and b) a guy who served us a meal on the train and never gave me back my change, shaking his head and smiling and then quickly walking away. I mean, none of this would have cost us much, but it was the principle of the whole thing that made me very angry!
We arrived in Saigon at around 6 AM. We found a taxi that was honest and he took us to the backpacker district where we found some good accomodation. Pat wanted to go to the Cu Chi Tunnels, where the Vietnamese hid from the Americans during the "American War", as they call it, but I was tired and found that we had Discovery Travel and Living included in our cable. Hmmm, tunnels, or all of my favourite cooking shows that I haven't seen in ages? Easy!
Pat went to tht tunnels and had a great time, while I ate a great breakfast and watched Anthony Bourdain... and had a great time. When he got back we went to the War Museum, which was a sobering experience with very graphic images (but was surpisingly neutral in it's content! They talked about how both sides were affected by the war, not just the Vietnamese) and then proceeded to have some of the best ice cream I've had in three months before heading back. We left the next day on a bus bound for Phnom Penh, which is a mere six hour drive from Saigon. Goodbye, Vietnam! You're a wonderful country with some people that infuriate me, but I have no hard feelings.
The mean streets of Saigon.
Pat in his new suit, a la Toto Tailors in Hoi An.
Me, trying to sleep on the sleeper train to Danang. The view was too nice to nap, though.
The sandwich stand that dreams are made of... Pate Baguettes! Thank God they have them in Cambodia, too!
Outside the War Museum in Saigon.
Peace paintings by the children of Saigon: The War Museum
Clearly the Cu Chi Tunnels were not made with Patrick in mind.
Who keeps these darn bombs lying around?!
A typical Cu Chi Tunnel room. Uncle Ho: you the man.
Pat is like a kid in a candy store.
Images of victims of the "American War".
I wouldn't want to be a victim of these guy. Would you?
I got softhearted on some kid that looked like my brother Rory and bought this dragonfly that defies gravity. See how it rests on my glasses?
My new winter coat.Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Hanoi: I can't cross the road.
While planning our trip to Vietnam we, of course, asked our friends who had been there how they liked it and what their experience was like. We invariably got two answers: the first half of our friends said that they loved Vietnam so much. They want to go back and live there forever with the wonderful Vietnamese people and among some of the most beautiful scenery they have ever seen. The other half said they hated Vietnam and anyone associated with it. The people there cheat and lie and never give you an honest answer or opinion. You lose so much money getting ripped off that you're forced to leave earlier than planned. It's a lousy country full of jerks.
Hmm. Makes you a little nervous, no?
So, about a week ago we hopped on a bus (Korean made, of course) in Vientiane and tried to mentally prepare ourselves for the next 24 hours. We would have no reclining chairs, no leg room, few bathroom breaks, one very long break at the border (where who knows what will happen with finicky or bribe crazed border officials) and will try, to no avail, to sleep on a small bus absolutely packed to the brim with smoking, vomiting, coughing locals. Indeed, they even set up plastic chairs in the aisle of the bus to accomodate more people. Add this to the twisting, winding mountain roads of Laos and you can guess how I felt about the whole venture. Not great. But I took a xanax and, after the first of only two pit stops, managed to put myself to sleep. Unfortunately for Pat, he had no pills to take and was constantly used as a pillow for the guy sitting in the asile next to him.
Soooo, the bus wasn't great and certainly isn't recommended unless, like us, you are absolutely stuck in Vientiane for days and are behind schedule. We wanted to mosey on through Laos at a snail's pace, but we needed our Vietnamese Visas and it was a long weekend. No moseying allowed.
We arrived at the Vietnamese border at approximately 8AM. We fought a huge crowd of backpackers and sharp elbowed Laos women (no such thing as a line up) and somehow managed to get stamped out. We got a shady meal of pho (Vietnamese noodle soup) sans meat on the Laos side of the border and realized that our bus had already gone through to the other side. We had to walk to the Vietnamese side of the border, about 500 metres away. No biggie.
We paid the border guards an American dollar each (it was "required", but not required) and got through into Vietnam without incident. I was a little nervous ever since news of that girl from Britain being sentenced to death in Laos got out (she says she never saw the heroin before, and I didn't want anyone to plant stuff in my bag so I duct taped it like a madwoman so I would know if it had been touched by someone). But there were no such incidents; nothing to worry about, and we got through to Vietnam with no problems.
Back on the bus and finally in Vietnam, we still had about 12 hours to go until we arrived in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. I don't want to talk about the next 12 hours. They were long and boring and when we stopped for lunch I saw a big rat in the lady's bathroom. What I also noticed was that there was finally some noise in the background. In Laos you only hear passing traffic and that's about it. In Vietnam people are screaming at each other, singing songs, puppies are crying in their cages, birds are screeching in theirs, people are selling you stuff at the sides of the road (and they even climb on your bus when it stops). I missed the social butterfly-ness that was so lacking in Laos. It was a nice touch. Plus, people were smiling at me again. Thank God! For the longest time I thought I was walking around Laos with a dirty face or something. No one EVER smiled at me, ever! Don't get me wrong, Laos was amazing and the people were very kind and hospitable, but that doesn't mean they like you.
So finally, at 7PM, exhausted and dusty, we arrived in Hanoi.
A man on our bus stood up, introduced himself and said that he would take us to the old city (where all the accomodation is) for free if we would take a look at his guesthouse. We took a look and it was too expensive, but we were so tired that we paid 16$ US for two nights and had, for the first time, hot water and cable TV (with BBC Newsworld) in one room. Since then we have realized that guesthouses in Vietnam have amazing value for the money you're paying. We've had hot water and cable TV (even swimming pools) for 10$ a night. Anyway, we paid more than usual, but we were happy with the free breakfast and free internet and the comfy bed and morning cartoons.
When we awoke the next day we were pleasantly surprised by my friend, not only from university in Canada, but from Korea as well, Genevieve and her boyfriend Scott, who were in Hanoi at the same time as us and who were staying just down the road from us. I was so happy to see them! Sometimes it's hard to meet people if you're backpacking as a couple- the singles tend to stick to themselves- and I was feeling a bit friend deprived after saying goodbye to our friends in Luang Prabang, so Gen and Scott were a great addition to our travels.
We all decided to book the same trip to Halong Bay and then to meet up for dinner and a traditonal water puppet show later that evening. We booked a nice looking trip on a traditional junk for the next three days and arranged where we would meet later on. Then, Pat and I took off to explore the Old Quarter of Hanoi.
I loved this city! The climate was cooler than we had been getting in Laos and Thailand, which was a nice surprise. The buildings, some in shambles and some looking quite spiffy, were the traditional colonial French buildings we had been seeing in Laos, but the streets were winding and full of motorbikes and cars that didn't care if they ran over pedestrians. It was hard to learn to cross the street, even though the streets themselves were very narrow and it would only take half a second to cross. Everywhere you go there is a constant scream of horns honking as everyone tries to maneuver themselves around the city.
We grabbed a typical Vietnamese snack, known as a pate baguette, which actually has no pate inside. It's a homemade, crusty baguette filled with all kinds of seasoned and smoked meat, some fresh cilantro and cucumber and then drizzled with a chili sauce. It's delicious. And worth risking running to the bathroom immediately after eating it (not that we ever had to, but you never can trust street food). It only cost 10,000 Vietnamese Dong, or about 75 cents Canadian.
Anyway, with baguette in hand, we took to the streets of the old city. We walked the diameter of the lake, which had a small island with a pretty buddhist temple on it. Then we walked through the market where I saw lots of cool spices and found some coffee beans that a weasel pooped out before they were collected and roasted (poop coffee is all the rage these days, but it's generally cats that I thought pooped it out- not weasels). Needless to say, I bought some for my Dad.
We went to an old traditional house that was restored and turned into a museum which shows you how the merchants of the old city lived at the turn of the century (called Memorial House). It was nice to see how the streets were organized according to what trade they were selling- it makes me understand Korean culture a bit better, actually, since there are still entire streets in Seoul devoted to selling the exact same thing.
We wanted to go visit Uncle Ho's corpse at the Ho Chi Min Masoleum but unfortunately you can only visit in the morning, so we missed our chance. No problem, we had a cup of tea at a roadside cafe, wrote some postcards to family back home and made our way back to our hotel where we watched movies on HBO.
We met up with Gen and Scott and had dinner at "Little Hanoi"- a restaurant recommended in the Lonely Planet. It was standard, serving more Western dishes than Vietnamese (although I ordered their traditional claypot eggplant and it was delicious). In my opinion, you should stay away from any business recommended in the Lonely Planet. Why? Because while they may be inexpensive and honest businesses when the author stays there, it still takes two years for the publication to come out. By the time you read the recommendation, the owners have already become cocky and raised their prices. At least, that's been 90% of our experience. The businesses that are striving to be recommended by LP are the best places to stay and eat. Actually, the best places to eat are the markets and food stalls if we're going by taste and not sanitation.
After dinner we got a cheap and tasty Bia Hanoi at a street restaurant and then made our way to the puppet theatre. The performance was one of the best I've seen in all of Southeast Asia. The music was absolutely amazing! I loved the guy playing the flute and the two women singers that just sat there fanning themselves, clearly bored to tears, but still making beautiful music. The puppeteers were on one side of a curtain and the puppets came out dancing and making everyone laugh . Of course, all of the puppets were in the water so they showed special stories like "fishing" and "working in the rice fields", etc etc. It was very cool!
Stay tuned for our Halong Bay, Sapa and Hoi An experiences...
Hmm. Makes you a little nervous, no?
So, about a week ago we hopped on a bus (Korean made, of course) in Vientiane and tried to mentally prepare ourselves for the next 24 hours. We would have no reclining chairs, no leg room, few bathroom breaks, one very long break at the border (where who knows what will happen with finicky or bribe crazed border officials) and will try, to no avail, to sleep on a small bus absolutely packed to the brim with smoking, vomiting, coughing locals. Indeed, they even set up plastic chairs in the aisle of the bus to accomodate more people. Add this to the twisting, winding mountain roads of Laos and you can guess how I felt about the whole venture. Not great. But I took a xanax and, after the first of only two pit stops, managed to put myself to sleep. Unfortunately for Pat, he had no pills to take and was constantly used as a pillow for the guy sitting in the asile next to him.
Soooo, the bus wasn't great and certainly isn't recommended unless, like us, you are absolutely stuck in Vientiane for days and are behind schedule. We wanted to mosey on through Laos at a snail's pace, but we needed our Vietnamese Visas and it was a long weekend. No moseying allowed.
We arrived at the Vietnamese border at approximately 8AM. We fought a huge crowd of backpackers and sharp elbowed Laos women (no such thing as a line up) and somehow managed to get stamped out. We got a shady meal of pho (Vietnamese noodle soup) sans meat on the Laos side of the border and realized that our bus had already gone through to the other side. We had to walk to the Vietnamese side of the border, about 500 metres away. No biggie.
We paid the border guards an American dollar each (it was "required", but not required) and got through into Vietnam without incident. I was a little nervous ever since news of that girl from Britain being sentenced to death in Laos got out (she says she never saw the heroin before, and I didn't want anyone to plant stuff in my bag so I duct taped it like a madwoman so I would know if it had been touched by someone). But there were no such incidents; nothing to worry about, and we got through to Vietnam with no problems.
Back on the bus and finally in Vietnam, we still had about 12 hours to go until we arrived in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. I don't want to talk about the next 12 hours. They were long and boring and when we stopped for lunch I saw a big rat in the lady's bathroom. What I also noticed was that there was finally some noise in the background. In Laos you only hear passing traffic and that's about it. In Vietnam people are screaming at each other, singing songs, puppies are crying in their cages, birds are screeching in theirs, people are selling you stuff at the sides of the road (and they even climb on your bus when it stops). I missed the social butterfly-ness that was so lacking in Laos. It was a nice touch. Plus, people were smiling at me again. Thank God! For the longest time I thought I was walking around Laos with a dirty face or something. No one EVER smiled at me, ever! Don't get me wrong, Laos was amazing and the people were very kind and hospitable, but that doesn't mean they like you.
So finally, at 7PM, exhausted and dusty, we arrived in Hanoi.
A man on our bus stood up, introduced himself and said that he would take us to the old city (where all the accomodation is) for free if we would take a look at his guesthouse. We took a look and it was too expensive, but we were so tired that we paid 16$ US for two nights and had, for the first time, hot water and cable TV (with BBC Newsworld) in one room. Since then we have realized that guesthouses in Vietnam have amazing value for the money you're paying. We've had hot water and cable TV (even swimming pools) for 10$ a night. Anyway, we paid more than usual, but we were happy with the free breakfast and free internet and the comfy bed and morning cartoons.
When we awoke the next day we were pleasantly surprised by my friend, not only from university in Canada, but from Korea as well, Genevieve and her boyfriend Scott, who were in Hanoi at the same time as us and who were staying just down the road from us. I was so happy to see them! Sometimes it's hard to meet people if you're backpacking as a couple- the singles tend to stick to themselves- and I was feeling a bit friend deprived after saying goodbye to our friends in Luang Prabang, so Gen and Scott were a great addition to our travels.
We all decided to book the same trip to Halong Bay and then to meet up for dinner and a traditonal water puppet show later that evening. We booked a nice looking trip on a traditional junk for the next three days and arranged where we would meet later on. Then, Pat and I took off to explore the Old Quarter of Hanoi.
I loved this city! The climate was cooler than we had been getting in Laos and Thailand, which was a nice surprise. The buildings, some in shambles and some looking quite spiffy, were the traditional colonial French buildings we had been seeing in Laos, but the streets were winding and full of motorbikes and cars that didn't care if they ran over pedestrians. It was hard to learn to cross the street, even though the streets themselves were very narrow and it would only take half a second to cross. Everywhere you go there is a constant scream of horns honking as everyone tries to maneuver themselves around the city.
We grabbed a typical Vietnamese snack, known as a pate baguette, which actually has no pate inside. It's a homemade, crusty baguette filled with all kinds of seasoned and smoked meat, some fresh cilantro and cucumber and then drizzled with a chili sauce. It's delicious. And worth risking running to the bathroom immediately after eating it (not that we ever had to, but you never can trust street food). It only cost 10,000 Vietnamese Dong, or about 75 cents Canadian.
Anyway, with baguette in hand, we took to the streets of the old city. We walked the diameter of the lake, which had a small island with a pretty buddhist temple on it. Then we walked through the market where I saw lots of cool spices and found some coffee beans that a weasel pooped out before they were collected and roasted (poop coffee is all the rage these days, but it's generally cats that I thought pooped it out- not weasels). Needless to say, I bought some for my Dad.
We went to an old traditional house that was restored and turned into a museum which shows you how the merchants of the old city lived at the turn of the century (called Memorial House). It was nice to see how the streets were organized according to what trade they were selling- it makes me understand Korean culture a bit better, actually, since there are still entire streets in Seoul devoted to selling the exact same thing.
We wanted to go visit Uncle Ho's corpse at the Ho Chi Min Masoleum but unfortunately you can only visit in the morning, so we missed our chance. No problem, we had a cup of tea at a roadside cafe, wrote some postcards to family back home and made our way back to our hotel where we watched movies on HBO.
We met up with Gen and Scott and had dinner at "Little Hanoi"- a restaurant recommended in the Lonely Planet. It was standard, serving more Western dishes than Vietnamese (although I ordered their traditional claypot eggplant and it was delicious). In my opinion, you should stay away from any business recommended in the Lonely Planet. Why? Because while they may be inexpensive and honest businesses when the author stays there, it still takes two years for the publication to come out. By the time you read the recommendation, the owners have already become cocky and raised their prices. At least, that's been 90% of our experience. The businesses that are striving to be recommended by LP are the best places to stay and eat. Actually, the best places to eat are the markets and food stalls if we're going by taste and not sanitation.
After dinner we got a cheap and tasty Bia Hanoi at a street restaurant and then made our way to the puppet theatre. The performance was one of the best I've seen in all of Southeast Asia. The music was absolutely amazing! I loved the guy playing the flute and the two women singers that just sat there fanning themselves, clearly bored to tears, but still making beautiful music. The puppeteers were on one side of a curtain and the puppets came out dancing and making everyone laugh . Of course, all of the puppets were in the water so they showed special stories like "fishing" and "working in the rice fields", etc etc. It was very cool!
Stay tuned for our Halong Bay, Sapa and Hoi An experiences...
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