Catching up with Halong Bay!

Hello my friends. Since I am having a bit of a quiet time now, due to a lack of will to live... (just kidding!!) no, better said: due to soreness and laziness, I can recall past memories and catch up with unfinished stories. We went to Halong Bay quite a long time ago, now (it seems...). It was a 3 days trip from Hanoi, in the north of Vietnam. There was a few of us, on a very beautiful wooden boat (I wanted sails but it was out of our budget!), with a restaurant were they fed us very tasty vietnamese specialities! (it was mainly fish! every day!! and rice, of course, how to forget it, and the spring rolls! they were tasty!), we started a trip around this amazing scenery! it is basically full of rocks, this Bay, and they are pointy and there are many of them, and I think (if I understood our tour guide right [her English sounded very much like vietnamese to me, and to all of us I must say...]), the story is that in vietnamese imagery these rocks look like the scales of a dragon? or something like that...

The truth is that they are very impressive, and it is a very beautiful site to sail around. Visited some cave... and arrived at Cat Ba Island, where we spent the first night. Very nice island too, fishing villages, lovely beaches hidden behind the jungle, only accessible by a walkway around the cliffs! In the morning I did some trekking to explore the insides of this island (the girls were too lazy and decided to have beach time instead). The highlight of our trek was the heat! I don't think I have sweated as much, it felt like melting! It was a hot day and a steep climb... quite cool because there was no proper ways, we had this boy from the village leading us, but sometimes it was hard to tell that there was a way, with so much vegetation, and rocks and ups and downs...
Afterwards was the best: we went to the beach and that was heaven!! a well deserved swim!

Then back to the boat (pretty busy, you know? always pushing us around, these people!), for our second night!!!! it was my first night on a boat! on a proper room as well, with a bed!!! tiny rooms but with all mod cons! The upper deck was our favourite place, though, you could see all the view and you got a breeze! In the evening we still had time for kayaking around some lagoons, you had to pass under a cave to access them, how cool is that! and there was a floating village! the people from the village were selling stuff from boats to the ships (they had all the favourite western delicacies, even Pringles!!!) and when I saw a bottle of red wine I could not resist the temptation!!! And that was what started all the trouble! all my fault!!! poor me!! I bought the bottle and the captain came running and shouting at me in vietnamese, really angry!! apparently, as I found out afterwards, you can only buy alcohol from the boat! company policy! but by then all the tourists (who had been drinking all afternoon alcohol that they bought before, on the deck!) were upset and started arguing back with the captain!! I did not know what to do with myself! all would have been sorted if I had payed 5$ but the other tourists (silly boys) would not have it! oh my Bhudda!!! If only I had known that I was going to cause so much havoc!

Nevermind, at the end it all resolved quite succesfully: we all got drunk together at night!! and the captain was quite happy to share the wine I bought and he even invited us to his own rice whisky. And he got quite a liking for me, kept kissing my hand all night!!! so, maybe the whole argument brought us all together, although the silly boys were still silly.... ah well! another story to tell...

Accident!

Hello people!

I know I promised you an account of Halong Bay Adventure about 2 days ago and I haven't been able to keep my promise, sorry! but I have a good excuse: I had a bicycle accident!!! In Hue, we were ciclying along happily when a motorbike came my way and I could not avoid it!! motorbikes here are quite crazy, as I think I have told you, and I just literally ate the road! it was quite painful, my face was burning and bleeding... I won't go into disgusting details but I got to experience a side of Vietnam that I could have passed without: hospitals!! not at first, the man who hit me was very kind an worried and he took me in his motorbike to... a pharmacy? where (even though I kept insisiting on going to the hospital) a whole family cleaned my wounds very kindly. It was mainly the right side of my body that is a bit scraped... my leg, my arm, shoulder and cheek!


After that, and after buying a lot of medicines and wipes, and iodine for me, the man droped me off at the same place of the accident, and there Helen and I walked to the hospital, only a convenient 5 minutes walk! There we were lucky to find a doctor who spoke English and who was very friendly too! the lovely Dr Phu, who x-rayed my head and arm and gave me the tetanus jagg, and basically brought me back to my feet!! I am very thankful to him!

And now, after 2 days, my injuries are pretty much cured, some scabs, and scratches, nothing mayor, and if I have any scarrs left afterwards, it will be cool to say that they are from Vietnam! I will be a veteran!! the only thing that bothers me quite a lot is my face, that keeps changing colour around my right eye... not pretty! I look like a traffic light! from red to yellow and to ...blue?!maybe green? oh, my bhudda! So I am a little bit down at the moment, I need cheering up because I am not looking forward to looking at myself in the mirror! not to talk about all the bruising that keeps me awake at night! well, I don't like to complain but tomorrow I have to try on a new dress (how exciting is that, they are making a dress for me, tailoring clothes are really cheap here in Hoi An, I could not resist it) and I am not exactly my sexiest me! anyway, I will keep you posted about the changes in colouring... kisses and hugs from battered me...

Sapa!

Hello my friends!
I am still here! if not very regular! I have sooo many things to tell you, again, so many adventures!!! I was in Sapa trekking for three days, and it was very exciting, we took the train up, for 10 hours!!! it was a night sleeper and we travelled through the night to arrive there just in time to go trekking!!! very sudden but that is what happens when you are on a tight schedule! and now, we only have over amonth left so we have to be quick! nevermind, as soon as we got of the minibus there was a crowd of women and girls waiting for us, with a smiley face, asking us our name and lots more questions... and they came trekking with us!! they were much more agile and fit than us and sometimes helped us in the difficult passages... walking through rice paddies!!! all surrounded by them... how exciting is that?! it was all green, of course, and there was lots of water everywhere, rivers, streams, ... and the water buffalo where there too!! they are funny animals, no furr, and very very long horns!! Our guide was a girl from one of the little villages, she even took us to her parents house, where she lives (when she is not working!), a hut made of hay and mud, where things are cooked on a fire on the floor and all the smoke flies around the house, and there are pigs and chicken everywhere,... and we met her granma, 95 years old and as fit as one can be!! still sewing and selling her merchandise around.... that is something I found a little bit sad, although understandable, that after a whole morning chatting with the girls, having fun, thinking how nice they are... they take out their merchandise (pillowcases, scarves, jewelry, that their family makes) and their faces change, the only thing that matters is selling them to you!!! I was a bit disappointed but still made very good friends with one little girl, who I want to think liked me too... of course, I bought from her, how couldn't I?

The homestay was very nice too! In another little village, a big new hut, with mattresses on the floor with moskito nets! (I still miss that bed, I don't think I have slept as well since!) and it was cold at night!!! I could barely believe it! and the food this woman cooked for us was heaven! and we swam in the river... (of course, I swim whenever I have the opportunity)... The next morning I woke up a bit tired and hangover... playing cards with happy water (rice wine) till late at night and trying to talk to the villagers (no english, only sign language!!)... so when it was raining I kind of hoped we would cancel the trekking and stay a bit longer.... no chance!! we got wet with rain and sweat, climbing up and down the muddy paths... it was so slippery!!! I fell on my bum!!! thank goodness this old lady (yes! an old lady with slippers on, rescued me!!), saved me from slidding all the way down the mountain! (ok, I may be exagerating a little, but it was steep!) so at the end of the trek (she held my hand for most of it, telling me where to step!) ... guess what! I had to buy from her!! of course I did, she saved my life! I haven't bought so much crap in a long time, pillow cases, and jewelry that I don't even like! But nevermind, it was cheap and it was for a good cause!

And at the end I was happy because our girls came to say goodbye to us, and not only did they not sell us anything but they bathed us with presents!!! I got literally 5 bracelets (one from each girl!!), they were genuinely nice, really, believeme!! (0r at least I want to believe it!)

After that train back another 10 hour journey, this time not so lucky! harder berths, crammed, and with noisy people who snored but I slept anyway! And back to crazy Hanoi at 6 in the morning, life never seems to stop in that place! we got a motorbike ride to the hotel, how cool is that? too sleepy to argue the price, they overcharged us, one thing is sure, these people know when and how to make business!! it was exhausting....
but there is more! after recovering we went to the beautiful Halong Bay! more tomorrow (really, I promess!)

From Vientiane to Hanoi!

Hello darlings!!! I am happy to hear from all of you people!!! tell me the news back... home?
I have lots to tell you too!! I think last time I left you in Vang Vieng, what a place that was! Everyone goes there to try Laos most famous delicatessen:"happy food", as they call it! and it is cooked with lots of love and really nice herbs... but the highlight of that little place was flowing down the river sitting on a huge wheel tube! can you imagine? if I had not been there I wouldn't have believed it myself! you had to be mad or... something... to do that but everybody was going for it, even though it was pissing down with rain!! at first we were quite shocked because the current was quite fast and we couldn't quite steer the tube. But then we saw many little huts beside the river where there was music playing and party going and they had to pull us in! (not an easy job against the current), after we had had a drink to steady us, we were ready for more!! and down we went..........."tubing in the rain"!!! and singing the song too!! It was more than 2 hours down the river, with several stops when the rain got really heavy! but it did not really bother us because it was quite warm! when I think about it now I have to laugh! it was so crazy! flowing down holding hands together and turning round and all...

After Vang Vieng we drove down to Vientiane, a surprisingly small, sleepy and laid back town/village. And it was just as well because the experience in Vang Vieng left us quite... spaced out! It was not easy to do anything, we just lazed around the whole day without an aim... quite pleasant. Laos is such a rural country that chicken rule the place! We still spent quite a long time (3 days) in Vientiane, looking for the places to visit? but, I think in these countries you are really lost without a motorbike, and we did not have any!

What a contrast with Vietnam! I mean, we caught a plane and in an hour we were in the middle of a crazy buzz of a city! the taxi from the airport was beeping his horn all the way into town!! just for the fun of it!! it comes automatically! you should hear the street where I am just now! at first you are shocked (after relaxing Laos), and stressed out, but after a while you learn not to take it personally!! everybofy beeps constantly, just to say "I am here too!" and it is such an incredible place, Hanoi, especially the old town, you can't walk on the busy sidewalks because there are motorbikes parked everywhere and people eating and cooking and selling stuff and you can't walk on the street because there are motorbikes and bicycles and cars and people selling stuff....it is amazing! so intense! not to talk about crossing the street! you really have to keep cool and find your way and just keep walking, not run or stop, always keep going steadily!!!.... it is so frightening that we have to hold hands the three of us to make more bulk so that they avoid us!! can you believe it? no pedestrian crossings or even traffic lights are respected, everybody finds their way beeping?

It is such an intricate neighbourhood as well that it is easy to get lost. We spent the whole day yesterday finding our way through markets selling everything possible, even fish and seafood alive! and I can't tell you more now because I am going trekking!! for 3 days up to the north in a village called Sapa! And I am quite happy to leave the buzz for a wee while! tell you more when I come back! bear with me!!! kissis

Laos in one week

It has been a very short stay in Laos, and yet very pleasant. Not too much to do, just chilling out. I mean, in Luang Prabang (my favourite place in Laos) we went on a boat trip up the Mekong, for a couple of hours, visiting some little village where they sold Whisky distilled from rice!! and very nice scarves... and then we went to a sacred cave filled with Buddha statues, that people are not sure where they come from or why they are there, but they keep bringing more and more... the only sad part of this excursion was the children begging. They were everywhere, selling anything, even stones, or little birds in cages?! and the only word they know in English is "one dollar" and you really want to buy everything because they look at you with those eyes...

In the afternoon we went to see a beautiful waterfall! very high and with lovely blue waters... we climbed up with our tour guide, a very nice little lao boy called Keo, who became our friend and told us all these popular stories about dragons and rivers, and who knows what... it turned out he had been a monk himself for 6 years, and thats why he knew all the stories, and many more things, like English. We climbed up the waterfall and then went down for a swim because it was quite a climb and we got really hot and sweatie. It was a bit of putting that Katie got a leech on her foot but that did not stop me from swimming!

That was probably the day with the most action in our stay in Laos. Afterwards we went to Vang Vieng, and it was quite a journey. We were on a VIP bus (!!) and still it was soooo slow! and the roads are so twisty and narrow and there are so many mountains... and then we had a puncture! But we made it finally, to... the middle of nowhere? it was literally a one street village in a valley surrounded by huge, beautiful mountains. And I am sure you are dying to know the end of this story since in this village we practiced a new sport called "tubing"!! tomorrow more...

From Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang

Hi everyone! just a quick word about that wonderful place, its a place to stay, really. Although I am afraid my judgement is not very reliable because I like it everywhere I go!! I felt at home in Chiang Mai, even though our hostel was a bit of a mess. During the day it was managed by very grumpy people but at night the night porters were quite sweet! and we had a swimming pool! I don't think I managed to go to bed before 3 am any of the nights we stayed there, there was always chatting going on, or party or,... whatever. It was very easy going. And we met this girl from Paris, Sarah, very nice too!

The best thing in Chiang Mai, though, was the sunday market!(which was a night market too!! I think it is too hot during the day) I have promised myself I have to go back there before going back to Europe for all my Christmas presents!! It was the first "real" market, not only for tourists, there was tai people all around! and you did not feel harassed at every corner, like in the tourist markets... and the prices!! they were real prices that you did not need to bargain! too cheap!

Anyway, Chiang Mai, was the right place to start a journey to Laos from. Even though I would have liked to take the boat down the Mekong to go to Luang Prabang, but it was still nice to fly into Laos. Not so nice were the reports we heard about Laos Airlines, but nevermind, we made it! Laos is very different to Thailand, and still very similar. Thais have a very appropriate expression:"same same,... but different!" how cool is that!! even the language is very similar, but I got the impression that Lao people don't like Thais very much, they stole some treasures from them... (like the emerald Bhudha in the Grand Palace of Bangkok!).

Laos is very rural, Luang Prabang looks more like a village than a town. Motorbikes and monks everywhere (although not together, monks are not allowed to ride a scooter!), and the Mekong! a very impressive river. So powerful and red!!! it looks like very strong currents, and it also looks like the spine of the life in Laos. I would love to sail it! maybe next time! I have to leave you now guys, catch you later with more about Laos!

Second part: The Tiger Temple!!

Here I am as promised, with the last part of my trip into the deep north... although I have to say that I am a bit disappointed that no comments have been posted... I was hoping for a bit more expectation... nevermind, here it goes. We went on a day trip (always rushing us around places!) to Kachanaburi, where we saw a floating market! it was quite spectacular, if you did not have a boat you could not buy anything, vendors and buyers both on their small but long boats crammed the tiny canals... selling nearly everything! they were even cooking food on the boats! I loved to watch an old lady rowing around looking for bargains...

And then we went to the temple, which was not a temple, really. Like a conservation park for unwanted animals that was run by monks and where the main attraction were the tigers because you could touch them!!! have never been so close to an animal so imposing, with their stripes and their whiskers, like gianormous cats! they were quite scary, and I even touched them!!! about 4 of them. I was led to them by the hand (literally) by one of the guides and told were to approach them... they were sleepy, but not asleep! what an adventure! and the best of all was that there was a baby tiger as well, playfully lying with his monk, which we could stroke as well... soo cute! and again soo strong, I mean his paws were like 5 times a cats, or so, he must have been as big as my dog, if not more! Finally, to finish the day we went to see the famous (or infamous) bridge over the river Quai, quite a sad story which I am not going to retell... but it was a nice day full of adventures.

Then Sukhotai, I haven't told you about it. That was an old capital as well (like Ayyuthaya) and full of temple ruins, very pretty. It was in a very peaceful environment, lots of lakes, trees, grass, and more temples. We rented some pink bikes to look around it and it was quite impressive. And then it started raining!! you don't believe it how it pours down, which such energy, so overwhelming. Luckily there was some shelters around for the occasion... and we took refuge, and so did the people that were cutting the grass! And I started communicating, even without language skills. I can't help it, for me that is what really counts about it all! And we had to pass the time while it rained! We ended up looking at my pictures album (as always, they love it! always so interested!) We made friends with a lady and a boy, who, after the rain decided to become our guide around the temples! What a lovely guy, Sum Kiat. He cycled around with us, taking us here and there, and he did not speak any english at all!!! he invited us to a coconut, to some lotus flower seeds (?) or something like that, and I even made an offering to the Big Buda!! (which is no easy thing to do, don't you think!) It was a very exciting day, I loved it in Sukhotai, and kind of promised my friend that I would visit in November...

Into the deep Thailand...

Hello my friends!
Here I am in Chiang Mai, in the north of Thailand. We have been on the go for nearly a week now and we were exhausted so we decided to take a wee break in this wonderful town. It is quite nice here. Not so hot and not so touristy as Bangkok. On the way here we have visited many ancient cities, from the past glories of Thailand, but, to be honest, all that was left were temples, and more temples, and most of them were broken!! only a couple of stones left!

No, but it was very nice to get out of the city at last, it is too noisy and stressful and a lot of hassle. You have to haggle your way through! (mind you, I was getting very good at it!) . But out of Bangkok everything is easier and more friendly, if that is possible. We stopped first in Ayyuthaya, the ancient capital of Thailand, only a village now. But what I liked most of it was not the temples (that were gorgeous) but the elephants!!! yes, you read right! we went to visit the elephants after work (they work in the temples carrying tourists around) and saw them bathing in the river (a very versatile river, by the way, used for dishwashing, clothes, human and animal bathing!) with their mahouts on them (the drivers, I mean) and they are such powerful creatures, and they dived fully into the water while the poor drivers tried to balance on top of them! you had to see it! and then there were the babies! there was 3 of them running around the place playfully, attacking the tourists ant thais alike,... quite a spectacle. They seem to like my skirt particularly and started running after me, which was a little bit scary, since they were very strong and they could push quite hard! still, they were very cute and I survived!

you are going to have to excuse me, I promise I will finish my story tomorrow! but now I am running out of credit in the computer and have no more change with me. Sory! I will keep you awake tonite with the prospect of the next story: the tiger temple!!! nighty night!