Morning All,
Well, we did promise to update you when we'd done something, but I'm afraid it won't take long. Our plan for Si Phan Don was always to fall in with the Laos mind set of taking it easy and we seem to have managed that with consumate ease. We have spent nearly three full days reading and lazing in hammocks, only getting up to eat or get another iced shake or beer. It just seems the right thing to do down here. The only thing rushing is the river itself which flows quite fast around the islands. There was also a medical reason for the easy life. Carol rolled her ankle on the way here and had a bit of a niggle in it. That first afternoon we hired a couple of bikes to cycle round the island. We set a very gentle pace and it still only took a couple of hours including stops. By the end of it though Carol's ankle was quite painful and had ballooned up good and proper, so a period of R&R was definitely called for. If we were going to have a little injury this was perfect timing. The swelling had just about gone yesterday so we tested it with a cycle around the neighbouring island of Don Det with no nasty side effects.
Tomorrow we head north again. We've changed our itinery slightly, and rather than bussing it from place to place every day for the next five days, we're now going to fly straight on to Luang Prabang (LP). It will be a shame to miss the capital, Vientiene, but this at least gives us 3 or 4 days in LP. Everyone we've met who has been there advises us to spend more time in and around LP rather than in Vientiene.
So we spent one last day lazing around before we pack and hit the road again. All in all, Si Phan Don was exactly as we hoped it would be, a lovely little break in the middle of our trip. A riverside ratan cabin, beautiful sunsets, very relaxed way of life and recovery time for Carol's ankle.
Love to all
Mr & Mrs McK xxx
Sunday, 28 November 2010
Wednesday, 24 November 2010
Goodbye Cambodia, Hello Laos!
Morning All,
First of all, I guess you may have seen the news about the tragic accident that happened during the water festival in Phnom Penh. To reassure you following our last entry, we were at the water festival in Siem Reap and were nowhere near the Phnom Penh disaster. From the little bit of news footage we've seen it looked horrendous and as we made our final passage north the mood of such a cheerful country had become somewhat sombre.
Our final journey through Cambodia was along the Mekong Discovery Trail in the north east. Our research had indicated that we should allow 3 or 4 days for this. However in reality the trail itself is still pretty much in its infancy and in fact peeters out half way along. This did not stop us having a cracking time in the first half that was ready for us! We went on a boat trip to see the endangered Irawaddy dolphins in the early morning and took about a million photos, most of which we had to delete because to the untrained eye they showed only river! It was a lovely tranquil setting; just our little boat plus two other tourist boats. For over an hour there was almost silence as the boats were just being paddled. All around we could hear the dolphins surface for air, then a quick glimpse before they went back under. They certainly were not interested in performing for us like sea water dolphins! After an hour the silence was broken. Yep, those bl***y Malaysians again. A fourth boat arrived full of them chattering away. Fortunately they eventually appreciated their surroundings and quietened down.
We spent the afternoon cycling around a small sand island that we can't remember the name of! It is a 3min ferry/fishing boat journey accross the Mekong from Kratie. The island doesn't have any cars, obviously there were a few of the mandatory hairdryers around but other than that it was wonderfully undeveloped. We had hired the normal bikes that we are slowly getting used to, they come complete with basket and bell, no suspension and slick tyres; seems reasonable for a pound!
Having done a few more touristy things in Kratie we decided to move up the river to the next place on the Discovery Trail, a town called Stung Treng. We have renamed this town Shouldn't Have Bothered! The Discovery Trail had yet to be discovered! We had arrived fresh and raring to go as we had booked minibus tickets for the two hour journey. This time we were savvy to their evil ways and decided that if we were to book 3 seats we would have a chance at comfort. Our cunning plan paid off, we were the only ones sharing our two seats! We could feel the Canadians eyes boring into the backs of our heads as they were 4 accross a skinny three seat row wondering why we were getting preferential treatment. They'll know better next time!
Needless to say our stay in Stung Treng was a short one. We got on a bus to Laos this morning and have arrived on a tiny island called Don Khon in Si Phan Don which is an archipelago of 4000 islands. We have a bungalow on stilts overlooking the river, the front porch/deck has a hammock which we intend to make great use of in the next few days.
We'll report again once we've done something!
Love to everyone xxx
First of all, I guess you may have seen the news about the tragic accident that happened during the water festival in Phnom Penh. To reassure you following our last entry, we were at the water festival in Siem Reap and were nowhere near the Phnom Penh disaster. From the little bit of news footage we've seen it looked horrendous and as we made our final passage north the mood of such a cheerful country had become somewhat sombre.
Our final journey through Cambodia was along the Mekong Discovery Trail in the north east. Our research had indicated that we should allow 3 or 4 days for this. However in reality the trail itself is still pretty much in its infancy and in fact peeters out half way along. This did not stop us having a cracking time in the first half that was ready for us! We went on a boat trip to see the endangered Irawaddy dolphins in the early morning and took about a million photos, most of which we had to delete because to the untrained eye they showed only river! It was a lovely tranquil setting; just our little boat plus two other tourist boats. For over an hour there was almost silence as the boats were just being paddled. All around we could hear the dolphins surface for air, then a quick glimpse before they went back under. They certainly were not interested in performing for us like sea water dolphins! After an hour the silence was broken. Yep, those bl***y Malaysians again. A fourth boat arrived full of them chattering away. Fortunately they eventually appreciated their surroundings and quietened down.
We spent the afternoon cycling around a small sand island that we can't remember the name of! It is a 3min ferry/fishing boat journey accross the Mekong from Kratie. The island doesn't have any cars, obviously there were a few of the mandatory hairdryers around but other than that it was wonderfully undeveloped. We had hired the normal bikes that we are slowly getting used to, they come complete with basket and bell, no suspension and slick tyres; seems reasonable for a pound!
Having done a few more touristy things in Kratie we decided to move up the river to the next place on the Discovery Trail, a town called Stung Treng. We have renamed this town Shouldn't Have Bothered! The Discovery Trail had yet to be discovered! We had arrived fresh and raring to go as we had booked minibus tickets for the two hour journey. This time we were savvy to their evil ways and decided that if we were to book 3 seats we would have a chance at comfort. Our cunning plan paid off, we were the only ones sharing our two seats! We could feel the Canadians eyes boring into the backs of our heads as they were 4 accross a skinny three seat row wondering why we were getting preferential treatment. They'll know better next time!
Needless to say our stay in Stung Treng was a short one. We got on a bus to Laos this morning and have arrived on a tiny island called Don Khon in Si Phan Don which is an archipelago of 4000 islands. We have a bungalow on stilts overlooking the river, the front porch/deck has a hammock which we intend to make great use of in the next few days.
We'll report again once we've done something!
Love to everyone xxx
Saturday, 20 November 2010
What Wat?
Morning All,
It appears the Cambodians do have a better sense of timing than the Vietnamese. We were only 15 minutes over the scheduled 5 1/2 hours: and the roads are far better than anything the Viets have built. Come to think of it, they are better than most of the West Berkshire roads.
That was 2 1/2 days ago, and since arriving in Siem Reap we have managed to fit in quite a few of the must see wats/temples of Angkor. These have included the obligatory sun rise over Angkor Wat which meant a 4.30am alarm call, the Bayon and the Baphuon of Angkor Thom and the Ta Keo. These are all in various states of degeneration/regeneration. Our personal favourite is the Ta Prohm which is a fascinating combination of thousand year old buildings and trees completely intertwined. They so obviously rely on each other for support now that it would be fatal for both if either one was removed. All of these places were of the type and scale that you just can't do justice in photos, they are so vast and yet so intricately detailed that even the David Baileys of the world would need to be on top form, needless to say we gave it a good go with our point and shoot though!
Luckily (??) for us when we came out of each of the arenas there were a thousand kids under ten ready and waiting to sell us packs of postcards with aerial and panoramic views. We have noticed a strict etiquette when it comes to street sellers - you should buy from the first person that approaches. As you all know we love a bit of etiquette so try our best to conform but it's not always easy when 8 kids run up and approach you simultaneously! Anyway, we get a pack of posties and walk away, the kids moan that they asked first etc etc but then give up one by one and peace resumes. That is until the smallest girl of the bunch who's no more than 5 follows us for about 400 meters repeating the following mantra "hey you, you by bracelet 3 for one dollar" over and over, this continued without her taking a breath until we turned to go out of sight of whoever she belonged to then she just stopped talking and walked away! Credit where it's due she was persistent but I think it's important not to give them money just to get rid of them, especially as we would be coming home early and broke if we start that sort of behaviour!
We spent this afternoon (Saturday) in the city of Siem Reap which is celebrating the annual national water festival. Whilst not completely certain of the reasoning behind it, it comes across as the Cambodian version of the Henley regatta. Except there are no toffs, the boats are about twice as long as an Oxbridge one, and the rowers face forward; all twenty two of them.
Tomorrow sees us on the move again, this time to Kratie and the Mekong Discovery Trail. We're hoping the bus is as good second time round as there is no real alternative long distance transport in Cambodia. So, where are we on our final night in Siem Reap? Sitting in a WiFi free bar in Pub Street having a beer. We've already decided that when we finish this beer we're Heading off for another massage. We got a bit addicted to these in Phu Quoc and also had a fab reflexology treatment session yesterday which was just perfect after a full day on our feet.
That's all for now folks. Hope you're all well.
Lots of love Mr & Mrs McK xxx
It appears the Cambodians do have a better sense of timing than the Vietnamese. We were only 15 minutes over the scheduled 5 1/2 hours: and the roads are far better than anything the Viets have built. Come to think of it, they are better than most of the West Berkshire roads.
That was 2 1/2 days ago, and since arriving in Siem Reap we have managed to fit in quite a few of the must see wats/temples of Angkor. These have included the obligatory sun rise over Angkor Wat which meant a 4.30am alarm call, the Bayon and the Baphuon of Angkor Thom and the Ta Keo. These are all in various states of degeneration/regeneration. Our personal favourite is the Ta Prohm which is a fascinating combination of thousand year old buildings and trees completely intertwined. They so obviously rely on each other for support now that it would be fatal for both if either one was removed. All of these places were of the type and scale that you just can't do justice in photos, they are so vast and yet so intricately detailed that even the David Baileys of the world would need to be on top form, needless to say we gave it a good go with our point and shoot though!
Luckily (??) for us when we came out of each of the arenas there were a thousand kids under ten ready and waiting to sell us packs of postcards with aerial and panoramic views. We have noticed a strict etiquette when it comes to street sellers - you should buy from the first person that approaches. As you all know we love a bit of etiquette so try our best to conform but it's not always easy when 8 kids run up and approach you simultaneously! Anyway, we get a pack of posties and walk away, the kids moan that they asked first etc etc but then give up one by one and peace resumes. That is until the smallest girl of the bunch who's no more than 5 follows us for about 400 meters repeating the following mantra "hey you, you by bracelet 3 for one dollar" over and over, this continued without her taking a breath until we turned to go out of sight of whoever she belonged to then she just stopped talking and walked away! Credit where it's due she was persistent but I think it's important not to give them money just to get rid of them, especially as we would be coming home early and broke if we start that sort of behaviour!
We spent this afternoon (Saturday) in the city of Siem Reap which is celebrating the annual national water festival. Whilst not completely certain of the reasoning behind it, it comes across as the Cambodian version of the Henley regatta. Except there are no toffs, the boats are about twice as long as an Oxbridge one, and the rowers face forward; all twenty two of them.
Tomorrow sees us on the move again, this time to Kratie and the Mekong Discovery Trail. We're hoping the bus is as good second time round as there is no real alternative long distance transport in Cambodia. So, where are we on our final night in Siem Reap? Sitting in a WiFi free bar in Pub Street having a beer. We've already decided that when we finish this beer we're Heading off for another massage. We got a bit addicted to these in Phu Quoc and also had a fab reflexology treatment session yesterday which was just perfect after a full day on our feet.
That's all for now folks. Hope you're all well.
Lots of love Mr & Mrs McK xxx
Wednesday, 17 November 2010
Goodbye Vietnam, Hello Cambodia
Morning All,
Yesterday we experienced our first overland border crossing and let me tell those of you that find the immigration process at airports tedious you ain't seen nothing yet! We left Chau Doc in Vietnam at 7.30am on the "express" boat to Phnom Penh, we liked the sound of this rather than the other option of the slow boat as it is scheduled to arrive after a mere 5 hour cruise up the Mekong River with a quick stop halfway for immigration purposes.
We set off all optimistic and excited to be heading off to a new country and a new phase of our trip and we are soon wondering exactly how slow the slow boat would've been! We relinquish our passports within no time and then we also seem to relinquish our luggage too as we pull alongside another boat and a load of tourists get on our boat and all of our bags are put on their boat. A serious lack of English follows but it seems our bags are to stay on that boat because it's broken down and we'll get them back later. There really isn't much to do in this situation but just go with it.
A couple of hours later we get to the border - we're told to get off of the boat for 20 mins which we do for about 50 mins, then we're back on the boat and off again. There's still no sign of our passports, which was alarming to an old American woman who was proclaiming loudly to no one in particular that she wasn't going anywhere without her passport, just like she said she wouldn't be separated from her luggage!
10 mins later we were off the boat again and everything is slightly clearer. The previous stop had been stamping us out of Vietnam, now we need stamping into Cambodia. Over an hour later we are finally boarding the boat, we have our passports back, our bags have turned up and the annoying American woman is back on her original boat - perfect!
Half a lifetime later (7 hours in total for the 5 hour journey) we finally dock in Phnom Penh and immediately love it, we get a tuk tuk to take us to our hotel and in the five minutes it takes to get there we decide we need to stay here an extra night. After checking in we head straight back out and had lunch in one of the many riverside restaurants, we feel we could be in any European "riviera" Resort apart from lunch was cheap and the waiters were really friendly!
The rest of the afternoon and most of today has been filled with the compulsory tourist spots with our tuk tuk driving guide. The history of this place is even more staggering than that of Vietnam and it's even more recent which made for a slightly morbid but really interesting day today visiting the Killing Fields of the Khmer Rouge genocide and the prison they kept people in before killing them. Not a great day for cheesy holiday snaps but the mood was lightened in the afternoon with a visit to a temple where we saw a monkey steal a woman's lunch, run up a tree and eat it!
With a lack of trains and planes in Cambodia we have booked a bus to Siem Reap tomorrow which allegedly takes seven hours, it's 317km away and I have to say that I'm not holding out much hope judging by recent events.
Here's hoping Cambodia has a more realistic approach to timings!
Yesterday we experienced our first overland border crossing and let me tell those of you that find the immigration process at airports tedious you ain't seen nothing yet! We left Chau Doc in Vietnam at 7.30am on the "express" boat to Phnom Penh, we liked the sound of this rather than the other option of the slow boat as it is scheduled to arrive after a mere 5 hour cruise up the Mekong River with a quick stop halfway for immigration purposes.
We set off all optimistic and excited to be heading off to a new country and a new phase of our trip and we are soon wondering exactly how slow the slow boat would've been! We relinquish our passports within no time and then we also seem to relinquish our luggage too as we pull alongside another boat and a load of tourists get on our boat and all of our bags are put on their boat. A serious lack of English follows but it seems our bags are to stay on that boat because it's broken down and we'll get them back later. There really isn't much to do in this situation but just go with it.
A couple of hours later we get to the border - we're told to get off of the boat for 20 mins which we do for about 50 mins, then we're back on the boat and off again. There's still no sign of our passports, which was alarming to an old American woman who was proclaiming loudly to no one in particular that she wasn't going anywhere without her passport, just like she said she wouldn't be separated from her luggage!
10 mins later we were off the boat again and everything is slightly clearer. The previous stop had been stamping us out of Vietnam, now we need stamping into Cambodia. Over an hour later we are finally boarding the boat, we have our passports back, our bags have turned up and the annoying American woman is back on her original boat - perfect!
Half a lifetime later (7 hours in total for the 5 hour journey) we finally dock in Phnom Penh and immediately love it, we get a tuk tuk to take us to our hotel and in the five minutes it takes to get there we decide we need to stay here an extra night. After checking in we head straight back out and had lunch in one of the many riverside restaurants, we feel we could be in any European "riviera" Resort apart from lunch was cheap and the waiters were really friendly!
The rest of the afternoon and most of today has been filled with the compulsory tourist spots with our tuk tuk driving guide. The history of this place is even more staggering than that of Vietnam and it's even more recent which made for a slightly morbid but really interesting day today visiting the Killing Fields of the Khmer Rouge genocide and the prison they kept people in before killing them. Not a great day for cheesy holiday snaps but the mood was lightened in the afternoon with a visit to a temple where we saw a monkey steal a woman's lunch, run up a tree and eat it!
With a lack of trains and planes in Cambodia we have booked a bus to Siem Reap tomorrow which allegedly takes seven hours, it's 317km away and I have to say that I'm not holding out much hope judging by recent events.
Here's hoping Cambodia has a more realistic approach to timings!
Tuesday, 16 November 2010
On The Road Again
Morning All
Now where did we leave you? Ah yes, Phu Quoc. On our penultimate day we decided to check out the north of the island. As we felt like experienced bikers by now it just had to be done on the hairdryers again. So off we set up the dirt roads again. The main north to south highway was being upgraded from dirt to something (I wouldn't want to guarantee tarmac), but in the most haphazard manner. Anyway after 30km of roadworks and dirt track we roll in to the northern village of Bai Thom and find . . . . Virtually nothing! So we stop for a drink by the sea, dip our toes and head off onto a side road. 3km later I get a puncture. We limp back to Bai Thom not too hopeful, but low and behold, there's another fellow fiddling with a bike who looks up, nods his head, and sorts out a new tube in no time. This time it costs us 50,000 Dong (£1.50) as parts were involved!
So off we go again down the side road. This, according to the map will take us round the north of the island along the coast. Well after 20 minutes it just comes to an end in an isolated village. An old boy on a motorbike stops to help but speaks less English than we do Vietnamese. By pointing at the map and showing him where we are trying to go he gesticulated to follow him. Across a field, along sand paths ((not recommended), finally arriving at a fishing village. This was not a tourist spot, and again we were attracting looks of surprise from the locals. We found out later that some of these people never leave their village throughout their lives. The old boy happily points the direction to us. He's basically telling us to ride along the beach for the next few km. Having about 100km of motorbike experience under my belt by now I thought it best to decline this route, and we ended up retracing our route back to the main road. The rest of the day went by with no further issues you'll be pleased to know. And for the concerned out there, that's the last of our planned motorbike adventures you'll be pleased to hear.
Our final day was another lazy on the sun loungers. Carol was hilarious, for some bizarre reason she was not coping well with the sudden increase in temperature and kept going bright purple in the face quickly followed by an outpouring of sweat. Luckily 10 paces and she was in the sea to cool off. We haven't seen a reading but we think the temperature has been 35+'C for the last few days. Better than a cold, chilly frost eh?
We loved Phu Quoc, and not just for the laziness. It was a truly undeveloped island. 60km long north to south, and 19km at its widest, yet only 30km of tarmac road. How lomg it can stay like this remains to be seen, but if anybody is looking for an off the beaten track kind of place get yourself out here fast.
We departed Phu Quoc on the ferry and 2 1/2 hours later docked at Rach Gia on the southern tip of Vietnam. Then the fun began. We were headed for Chau Doc, up near the Cambodian border. We're still not sure if this particular chap was trying to help us or scam us. There is no train so we knew we had to get a bus, and the bus station is 5km from the dock. The usual motorbike taxi chaps were offering their services but we insisted on a taxi to the bus station. "Where you go? Where you go? Taxi very spensive?" was the regular shout. We thought they got our point when we told them Chau Doc, about 120km away. They still hung around though. When a taxi turned up, one of these guys jumps in the front and starts talking to the driver. We tell the driver to go to the main bus station but aren't convinced he's following our instructions. Nevertheless we arrive at a bus station and the taxi pulls up at a beaten up MPV with a sign for Chau Doc in the window. The tout then asks for over 4 times the meter reading fare. Following a bit of an argument we stand our ground and tell him we're not paying the 100,000 Dong (£3.20)he's demanding but only the 75p on the meter. We also tell him forget this dodgy looking van and head into the booking office to buy a ticket for one of the nice modern looking coaches outside. The receptionist informs us that this is only the Saigon terminal and that we should get a taxi to the main bus depot 7km away. All we've done so far is go 2km the wrong way! So we go to the main bus depot.
There is nothing less than fifty years old. The bus we need is a rickety looking thing, but the tickets cost only £1.90 each. Bargain. Then we find it only goes half way and we'll need to change to another bus. We're a bit short on options so agree to this. The bus leaves promptly at 12.10pm. It stops to pick up passengers at two bus stops before then pulling in to a petrol station for fuel. The driver then sits down at a street stall with a drink. After a few minutes we get chatting to the guy in front of us. He informs us the driver will leave once there are more passengers. We've only done about 400 metres! Fifty minutes later we head off again. About time too as Carol is still doing her purple face thing. We finally arrive at Long Xiem at 3.10pm. Three hours to cover 55km and we're only half way to Chau Doc! The friendly fella in front of us advises us against getting the local bus but to get a mini bus taxi instead. He kindly gets the bus driver to drop us right outside this booking office. Our enquiries reveal the next mini bus leaves at 3.30pm and costs 80p.
At 3.30 a transit van mini bus pulls up. It's ours, and it's absolutely bursting at the seams. We're told our bags can go in the boot and we can sit inside. Incredible! The open rear doors reveal two people already standing in the boot with bags wedged around them, and the sliding side door has a duel function. 1)The usual one of allowing access and egress, and 2)When closed it wedges in place the three people standing! Carol is lucky enough to be given a seat. I'm told my seat is the kids potty size plastic stool on the floor between the end of the bench seat and the side door. I literally wedge myself into this gap, the standing passengers get back on, as does the conductor type lad and we're off. After half a mile and four attempts the lad finally gets the door closed. We counted 25 people on board a 18 seat mini bus. So who had the worst seat? Not only did I have this ridiculous plastic stool, I also had to avoid getting my face in the conductor's armpit which was only centimetres from my head. Carol meanwhile was struggling to avoid his sweat dropping on to her as his face was almost touching hers. The numbers did become more bearable after about 10 minutes as people got off. . . . .and the journey only took an hour. With hindsight we wondered about the first tout. Was he trying to rip us off for a taxi ride, or did the 100,000 Dong include the dodgy mini bus ride to Chau Doc? From what we've seen of the Vietnamese over the last 4 weeks it's probably the latter and we could have been here two hours earlier at an extra cost of only 50p. Ah well, we won't find out now.
So now we are in Chau Doc. We've just celebrated our last dinner in Vietnam as tomorrow (Wed) we take the boat up the Mekong to Cambodia and Phnom Penh.
A new adventure now begins.
Love to everyone xxx
Now where did we leave you? Ah yes, Phu Quoc. On our penultimate day we decided to check out the north of the island. As we felt like experienced bikers by now it just had to be done on the hairdryers again. So off we set up the dirt roads again. The main north to south highway was being upgraded from dirt to something (I wouldn't want to guarantee tarmac), but in the most haphazard manner. Anyway after 30km of roadworks and dirt track we roll in to the northern village of Bai Thom and find . . . . Virtually nothing! So we stop for a drink by the sea, dip our toes and head off onto a side road. 3km later I get a puncture. We limp back to Bai Thom not too hopeful, but low and behold, there's another fellow fiddling with a bike who looks up, nods his head, and sorts out a new tube in no time. This time it costs us 50,000 Dong (£1.50) as parts were involved!
So off we go again down the side road. This, according to the map will take us round the north of the island along the coast. Well after 20 minutes it just comes to an end in an isolated village. An old boy on a motorbike stops to help but speaks less English than we do Vietnamese. By pointing at the map and showing him where we are trying to go he gesticulated to follow him. Across a field, along sand paths ((not recommended), finally arriving at a fishing village. This was not a tourist spot, and again we were attracting looks of surprise from the locals. We found out later that some of these people never leave their village throughout their lives. The old boy happily points the direction to us. He's basically telling us to ride along the beach for the next few km. Having about 100km of motorbike experience under my belt by now I thought it best to decline this route, and we ended up retracing our route back to the main road. The rest of the day went by with no further issues you'll be pleased to know. And for the concerned out there, that's the last of our planned motorbike adventures you'll be pleased to hear.
Our final day was another lazy on the sun loungers. Carol was hilarious, for some bizarre reason she was not coping well with the sudden increase in temperature and kept going bright purple in the face quickly followed by an outpouring of sweat. Luckily 10 paces and she was in the sea to cool off. We haven't seen a reading but we think the temperature has been 35+'C for the last few days. Better than a cold, chilly frost eh?
We loved Phu Quoc, and not just for the laziness. It was a truly undeveloped island. 60km long north to south, and 19km at its widest, yet only 30km of tarmac road. How lomg it can stay like this remains to be seen, but if anybody is looking for an off the beaten track kind of place get yourself out here fast.
We departed Phu Quoc on the ferry and 2 1/2 hours later docked at Rach Gia on the southern tip of Vietnam. Then the fun began. We were headed for Chau Doc, up near the Cambodian border. We're still not sure if this particular chap was trying to help us or scam us. There is no train so we knew we had to get a bus, and the bus station is 5km from the dock. The usual motorbike taxi chaps were offering their services but we insisted on a taxi to the bus station. "Where you go? Where you go? Taxi very spensive?" was the regular shout. We thought they got our point when we told them Chau Doc, about 120km away. They still hung around though. When a taxi turned up, one of these guys jumps in the front and starts talking to the driver. We tell the driver to go to the main bus station but aren't convinced he's following our instructions. Nevertheless we arrive at a bus station and the taxi pulls up at a beaten up MPV with a sign for Chau Doc in the window. The tout then asks for over 4 times the meter reading fare. Following a bit of an argument we stand our ground and tell him we're not paying the 100,000 Dong (£3.20)he's demanding but only the 75p on the meter. We also tell him forget this dodgy looking van and head into the booking office to buy a ticket for one of the nice modern looking coaches outside. The receptionist informs us that this is only the Saigon terminal and that we should get a taxi to the main bus depot 7km away. All we've done so far is go 2km the wrong way! So we go to the main bus depot.
There is nothing less than fifty years old. The bus we need is a rickety looking thing, but the tickets cost only £1.90 each. Bargain. Then we find it only goes half way and we'll need to change to another bus. We're a bit short on options so agree to this. The bus leaves promptly at 12.10pm. It stops to pick up passengers at two bus stops before then pulling in to a petrol station for fuel. The driver then sits down at a street stall with a drink. After a few minutes we get chatting to the guy in front of us. He informs us the driver will leave once there are more passengers. We've only done about 400 metres! Fifty minutes later we head off again. About time too as Carol is still doing her purple face thing. We finally arrive at Long Xiem at 3.10pm. Three hours to cover 55km and we're only half way to Chau Doc! The friendly fella in front of us advises us against getting the local bus but to get a mini bus taxi instead. He kindly gets the bus driver to drop us right outside this booking office. Our enquiries reveal the next mini bus leaves at 3.30pm and costs 80p.
At 3.30 a transit van mini bus pulls up. It's ours, and it's absolutely bursting at the seams. We're told our bags can go in the boot and we can sit inside. Incredible! The open rear doors reveal two people already standing in the boot with bags wedged around them, and the sliding side door has a duel function. 1)The usual one of allowing access and egress, and 2)When closed it wedges in place the three people standing! Carol is lucky enough to be given a seat. I'm told my seat is the kids potty size plastic stool on the floor between the end of the bench seat and the side door. I literally wedge myself into this gap, the standing passengers get back on, as does the conductor type lad and we're off. After half a mile and four attempts the lad finally gets the door closed. We counted 25 people on board a 18 seat mini bus. So who had the worst seat? Not only did I have this ridiculous plastic stool, I also had to avoid getting my face in the conductor's armpit which was only centimetres from my head. Carol meanwhile was struggling to avoid his sweat dropping on to her as his face was almost touching hers. The numbers did become more bearable after about 10 minutes as people got off. . . . .and the journey only took an hour. With hindsight we wondered about the first tout. Was he trying to rip us off for a taxi ride, or did the 100,000 Dong include the dodgy mini bus ride to Chau Doc? From what we've seen of the Vietnamese over the last 4 weeks it's probably the latter and we could have been here two hours earlier at an extra cost of only 50p. Ah well, we won't find out now.
So now we are in Chau Doc. We've just celebrated our last dinner in Vietnam as tomorrow (Wed) we take the boat up the Mekong to Cambodia and Phnom Penh.
A new adventure now begins.
Love to everyone xxx
Thursday, 11 November 2010
So Much For Doing Nothing!
We've had quite a busy 48hrs as it turns out, we've explored the northern waters of Phu Quoc scuba diving followed by a motorbike tour of the south (more of that in a minute) and to top it off we've even been trekking in the jungle/forest -I prefer jungle as it sounds more exotic!
I know we've only just come off of the motorbikes after numerous numb bum experiences but we thought we'd see what it like to actually be the driver for once so we rented some hairdryers on wheels from the resort here and hit the road. Believe it or not Tony has never actually ridden a motorbike before so it was I with a wealth of experience spanning some 6 weeks between 1999 and 2002 that led the way! The driveway out of our resort is unpaved and you may have heard that Vietnam has had a touch of rain over the last few weeks, well it has done nothing to help the muddy surface and Tonys first 200 meters on a bike proved to be a touch challenging! He handled it like a pro though (slightly annoying!!) and we got out unscathed. Turning right out of the resort we headed south on the welcomed Tarmac road, and everything was a breeze, until 400 meters on when the Tarmac ran out!
It doesn't happen too often that I am more experienced in something than Tony and I am the first to admit it I quite like it now and again and am prone to milking it a little bit! To cut a long story short at our first stop we were messing around taking photos of each other on the hairdryers when I showed him my best stunt (which was merely a u turn!) and unfortunately the hairdryers turning circle seemed to be akin to that of an oil tanker! Anyway I clipped the undergrowth at the side of the road and had a massive wobble, let out a little scream but then composed myself and just stopped. Tony praised me on a nice save and we went to set off again.
Not such a good save as it turns out, I had actually clipped the brake pedal and it was bent backwards and stuck on rendering the hairdryer immobile. After a quick spot of help from a group of teenage Vietnamese lads we (they) managed to free the brake enough to allow me to ride it to the nearest village. So that's what we did and we found something that looked like a garage but could've just been a man that was fixing his own motorbike, with a simple point of my finger in the direction of the brake pedal, he got to his feet with a smile that said "bloody tourists" and set to work. Brute force wasn't cutting it so in the blink of an eye two of them jumped on to my hairdryer and sped off. We are both just standing there wondering what just happened! A couple of minutes later they are back and it's been heated, unbent and is good as new! We had already had the discussion that this was prime "ripping tourists off" territory so cringed at the prospect of talking money. The chap put up two fingers and we thought that we'd totally got away with that one - 200,000 dong is about 6 or 7 pounds! Tony took two 100,000 notes out of his wallet and credit where is due the chap started gesturing madly - it turns out he wanted just 20,000! We gave him a massive tip anyway and set off carefully this time and the rest of the day was trauma free.
The trek through the jungle was noisy, buggy and somewhat sweaty! Whatever it was making all that noise (like a fire alarm) we didn't see them, we did however see numerous bugs (mainly of the mozzy variety) and the sweat was beyond belief. I reckon even Sure would shy away from shooting their next anti-perspirent anywhere near here! We didn't even get to reap the fruits of our labour. A waterfall with a pool big enough for a dip was waiting for us at the end of the uphill trek but on arrival we found a load of frogs hogging it, little green amphibians we could have coped with but these were the human French variety! So we dipped our feet in the small area they hadn't claimed and headed back down the long trail home.
You'll be pleased to know that the morning we spent diving went without a hitch and we had a lovely morning, it was so nice to be underwater again, particularly as the water was a positively balmy 28 degrees. It's been too long since we were last diving and we might even sneak another one or two in before we leave the island.
Other than that not much has been going on! Apart from getting slightly overexcited by the change in weather which resulted in immediate ridiculous bikini tan lines! Tony would like to stress that that's only me and he is still as white as milk!!!
Love to everyone xxx
I know we've only just come off of the motorbikes after numerous numb bum experiences but we thought we'd see what it like to actually be the driver for once so we rented some hairdryers on wheels from the resort here and hit the road. Believe it or not Tony has never actually ridden a motorbike before so it was I with a wealth of experience spanning some 6 weeks between 1999 and 2002 that led the way! The driveway out of our resort is unpaved and you may have heard that Vietnam has had a touch of rain over the last few weeks, well it has done nothing to help the muddy surface and Tonys first 200 meters on a bike proved to be a touch challenging! He handled it like a pro though (slightly annoying!!) and we got out unscathed. Turning right out of the resort we headed south on the welcomed Tarmac road, and everything was a breeze, until 400 meters on when the Tarmac ran out!
It doesn't happen too often that I am more experienced in something than Tony and I am the first to admit it I quite like it now and again and am prone to milking it a little bit! To cut a long story short at our first stop we were messing around taking photos of each other on the hairdryers when I showed him my best stunt (which was merely a u turn!) and unfortunately the hairdryers turning circle seemed to be akin to that of an oil tanker! Anyway I clipped the undergrowth at the side of the road and had a massive wobble, let out a little scream but then composed myself and just stopped. Tony praised me on a nice save and we went to set off again.
Not such a good save as it turns out, I had actually clipped the brake pedal and it was bent backwards and stuck on rendering the hairdryer immobile. After a quick spot of help from a group of teenage Vietnamese lads we (they) managed to free the brake enough to allow me to ride it to the nearest village. So that's what we did and we found something that looked like a garage but could've just been a man that was fixing his own motorbike, with a simple point of my finger in the direction of the brake pedal, he got to his feet with a smile that said "bloody tourists" and set to work. Brute force wasn't cutting it so in the blink of an eye two of them jumped on to my hairdryer and sped off. We are both just standing there wondering what just happened! A couple of minutes later they are back and it's been heated, unbent and is good as new! We had already had the discussion that this was prime "ripping tourists off" territory so cringed at the prospect of talking money. The chap put up two fingers and we thought that we'd totally got away with that one - 200,000 dong is about 6 or 7 pounds! Tony took two 100,000 notes out of his wallet and credit where is due the chap started gesturing madly - it turns out he wanted just 20,000! We gave him a massive tip anyway and set off carefully this time and the rest of the day was trauma free.
The trek through the jungle was noisy, buggy and somewhat sweaty! Whatever it was making all that noise (like a fire alarm) we didn't see them, we did however see numerous bugs (mainly of the mozzy variety) and the sweat was beyond belief. I reckon even Sure would shy away from shooting their next anti-perspirent anywhere near here! We didn't even get to reap the fruits of our labour. A waterfall with a pool big enough for a dip was waiting for us at the end of the uphill trek but on arrival we found a load of frogs hogging it, little green amphibians we could have coped with but these were the human French variety! So we dipped our feet in the small area they hadn't claimed and headed back down the long trail home.
You'll be pleased to know that the morning we spent diving went without a hitch and we had a lovely morning, it was so nice to be underwater again, particularly as the water was a positively balmy 28 degrees. It's been too long since we were last diving and we might even sneak another one or two in before we leave the island.
Other than that not much has been going on! Apart from getting slightly overexcited by the change in weather which resulted in immediate ridiculous bikini tan lines! Tony would like to stress that that's only me and he is still as white as milk!!!
Love to everyone xxx
Wednesday, 10 November 2010
Planes, Trains and Automobiles?
Well almost, but not quite.
Morning again Bloggies.
We had a wonderful couple of days in the Delta. We spent half a day on the Ben Tre peninsula. Lam & Tu did us proud as usual. No package tours for us. We crossed the Mekong fairly early (ie before breakfast) for the very first time. This was our first sighting of the river we will soon be following northward through Cambodia and Laos. We transferred to a motor boat for a cruise down one of the wider parts of the river, before stopping for brekkie in the middle of a coconut plantation. Just as we were finishing our breakfast tour parties were arriving. We then travelled by horse & cart to a small punt type boat to check out the narrower channels. We always seemed to be just ahead of a tour party thanks to the contacts our guides had. Around 1pm we headed off on the bikes to Can Tho, our final stop on the main land. On Monday morning we said goodbye to the Easy Rider chaps, but not before they escorted us around the Can Tho floating markets. It was quite sad to say goodbye to Tu & Lam, they were really nice guys, and we'll definitely miss the bargains they sorted for us.
On Monday we caught a 30 minute, £19 flight from Can Tho to Phu Quoc Island. I mean, you just can't argue with that price can you! We are now chilled out relaxing at the Beach Club resort. OMG it is so nice to have unpacked, and stayed unpacked. We've even been able to get some washing done so I haven't had to use my last clean pair of boxers! What a relief eh? Well it surely is for Carol anyway!
Tuesday involved having a lie in, walking the 10 metres to the open air restaurant for breakfast, and then spending the day on the sun loungers, swimming, or having the old spa treatment. It's great I tell you. They come down to the loungers so you don't even have to move. We only been here 1 1/2 days and we're already on first name terms with the spa team!
It was actually also our one month anniversary so we splashed out and spent a whopping £15 on a slap up meal for two at a seafood grill restaurant. For that princely sum we had jumbo prawn BBQ skewers to start, surf and turf (steak and more prawns) with chips and salad then some watermelon to wash it down. Oh and a few beverages of course, it's almost impossible to spend money on food here!
Anyway, the sun is shining and we've got a lot of doing nothing to do!
Love to everyone xxx
Morning again Bloggies.
We had a wonderful couple of days in the Delta. We spent half a day on the Ben Tre peninsula. Lam & Tu did us proud as usual. No package tours for us. We crossed the Mekong fairly early (ie before breakfast) for the very first time. This was our first sighting of the river we will soon be following northward through Cambodia and Laos. We transferred to a motor boat for a cruise down one of the wider parts of the river, before stopping for brekkie in the middle of a coconut plantation. Just as we were finishing our breakfast tour parties were arriving. We then travelled by horse & cart to a small punt type boat to check out the narrower channels. We always seemed to be just ahead of a tour party thanks to the contacts our guides had. Around 1pm we headed off on the bikes to Can Tho, our final stop on the main land. On Monday morning we said goodbye to the Easy Rider chaps, but not before they escorted us around the Can Tho floating markets. It was quite sad to say goodbye to Tu & Lam, they were really nice guys, and we'll definitely miss the bargains they sorted for us.
On Monday we caught a 30 minute, £19 flight from Can Tho to Phu Quoc Island. I mean, you just can't argue with that price can you! We are now chilled out relaxing at the Beach Club resort. OMG it is so nice to have unpacked, and stayed unpacked. We've even been able to get some washing done so I haven't had to use my last clean pair of boxers! What a relief eh? Well it surely is for Carol anyway!
Tuesday involved having a lie in, walking the 10 metres to the open air restaurant for breakfast, and then spending the day on the sun loungers, swimming, or having the old spa treatment. It's great I tell you. They come down to the loungers so you don't even have to move. We only been here 1 1/2 days and we're already on first name terms with the spa team!
It was actually also our one month anniversary so we splashed out and spent a whopping £15 on a slap up meal for two at a seafood grill restaurant. For that princely sum we had jumbo prawn BBQ skewers to start, surf and turf (steak and more prawns) with chips and salad then some watermelon to wash it down. Oh and a few beverages of course, it's almost impossible to spend money on food here!
Anyway, the sun is shining and we've got a lot of doing nothing to do!
Love to everyone xxx
Saturday, 6 November 2010
Highlands to Delta, via Tunnels & Jams
Morning Bloggies,
Six days Easy Riding done and just one full day to go. Day 4 saw us start in the dry for the first time and also saw us leave the highlands. As we descended and continued south the mercury just kept on rising. It was a bit sad to leave the friendly, waving minorities behind. It was also a shame to leave the 'Good Life' taxis behind. These were basically a generator on wheels towing a flat bed trailer, a la Tom & Barbara Good.
We hit the Ho Chi Minh trail, and as this got close to the Cambodian border our two guides showed different emotions. Lam was concerned about getting stopped by the army who have a heavy presence in this area and the fact that he had been turned back on previous trips. Tu on the other hand felt he owned the road as his father was Viet Cong and had helped build it! For the record, our overnight stop was Dong Xoai.
Yesterday we continued south in the direction of Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon if you prefer. Around 50 miles north west of Saigon we stopped at the Cu Chi tunnels. This tunnel system was started in the late 1940's when the Vietnamese first started fighting for independence from the French. By 1975 there were more than 200km of tunnels stretching from Saigon to the Cambodian border. The big difference between Cu Chi tunnel system and the Vinh Moc tunnels in the DMZ was the that the Vinh Moc were built for the local people to live in and were therefore higher. The Cu Chi were solely built for fighting purposes and were much smaller. The Vietnamese had to crawl through them so you can imagine what it's like trying to get through them as a big old lardy westerner (Bones, they wouldn't even let you in coz you'd no doubt get well & truly stuck)? They have actually doubled the tunnel size in places for the tourists but we still had to crouch, or even crawl in places. I guess there is nothing amusing about war but one thing you just have to smile about was the US army building a base to try to locate and destroy the tunnel system. Unfortunately for them they built their base right above one of the tunnels. For a couple of years they couldn't understand why their ammunition stocks were disappearing so quickly until they finally discovered the tunnel right under them.
And then we got to Saigon. OMG. It was as crazy mad as Hanoi, but felt less polluted, and had a bit more order to the chaos. The junctions are still a free for all, and while there are more traffic lights than in Hanoi (not difficult seeing as there was only two sets there!), around half the motorbikes choose to ignore them. The big difference was the number of cars though. Hanoi had very few cars whereas Saigon has got quite a few, though nowhere near the number of bikes which probably number in the millions. We had to go through approx 10 miles of heavy traffic on the way in to Saigon, and then another 10 miles through solid rush hour traffic. All the drivers are expert weavers, not just our two guides. It's quite staggering that we haven't seen an accident here yet, although we've witnessed thousands of near misses; but hey, that's life in the cities here. In all honesty I think the only two options are a near miss or a collision so hat's off to everyone for all the near misses. That evening we didn't eat with our guides. Lam's son is at university in Saigon so he went off for a little reunion while Tu met up with an old school friend. So Carol & I became real tourists and satisfied our cravings for a bit of western food. Yes, rubbish I know but sometimes you just fancy a pizza, pasta or chips!
This morning we wandered up to a couple of sights in Saigon; The Reunification Palace and the War museum. Then south to the Mekong Delta. Temperatures down here are well over 30'C and the persistent rain of the first couple of days are well behind us. We're in My Tho tonight and will do a gentle day through the delta tomorrow to Can Tho. That will be our last full day Easy Riding so some of you will be able to let out a big sigh of relief. The motorbike tour has been absolutely brilliant. It's taken us to villages and sights we would never have found, had us eating in places we'd never have gone to (and paid the locals' prices), introduced us to minority people in their own homes on a one to one basis, and generally shown us a side of Vietnam we would not have found travelling independently or with an organised package. All in all worth every penny, and we've still got one day left.
On Monday afternoon we fly from Can Tho to Phu Quoc for 5 or 6 days. The thought of unpacking our bags and staying in the same place for a few days is very appealing, especially as I've only got one pair of clean boxers left!
Love to everybody, Mr & Mrs Mck xxx
Six days Easy Riding done and just one full day to go. Day 4 saw us start in the dry for the first time and also saw us leave the highlands. As we descended and continued south the mercury just kept on rising. It was a bit sad to leave the friendly, waving minorities behind. It was also a shame to leave the 'Good Life' taxis behind. These were basically a generator on wheels towing a flat bed trailer, a la Tom & Barbara Good.
We hit the Ho Chi Minh trail, and as this got close to the Cambodian border our two guides showed different emotions. Lam was concerned about getting stopped by the army who have a heavy presence in this area and the fact that he had been turned back on previous trips. Tu on the other hand felt he owned the road as his father was Viet Cong and had helped build it! For the record, our overnight stop was Dong Xoai.
Yesterday we continued south in the direction of Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon if you prefer. Around 50 miles north west of Saigon we stopped at the Cu Chi tunnels. This tunnel system was started in the late 1940's when the Vietnamese first started fighting for independence from the French. By 1975 there were more than 200km of tunnels stretching from Saigon to the Cambodian border. The big difference between Cu Chi tunnel system and the Vinh Moc tunnels in the DMZ was the that the Vinh Moc were built for the local people to live in and were therefore higher. The Cu Chi were solely built for fighting purposes and were much smaller. The Vietnamese had to crawl through them so you can imagine what it's like trying to get through them as a big old lardy westerner (Bones, they wouldn't even let you in coz you'd no doubt get well & truly stuck)? They have actually doubled the tunnel size in places for the tourists but we still had to crouch, or even crawl in places. I guess there is nothing amusing about war but one thing you just have to smile about was the US army building a base to try to locate and destroy the tunnel system. Unfortunately for them they built their base right above one of the tunnels. For a couple of years they couldn't understand why their ammunition stocks were disappearing so quickly until they finally discovered the tunnel right under them.
And then we got to Saigon. OMG. It was as crazy mad as Hanoi, but felt less polluted, and had a bit more order to the chaos. The junctions are still a free for all, and while there are more traffic lights than in Hanoi (not difficult seeing as there was only two sets there!), around half the motorbikes choose to ignore them. The big difference was the number of cars though. Hanoi had very few cars whereas Saigon has got quite a few, though nowhere near the number of bikes which probably number in the millions. We had to go through approx 10 miles of heavy traffic on the way in to Saigon, and then another 10 miles through solid rush hour traffic. All the drivers are expert weavers, not just our two guides. It's quite staggering that we haven't seen an accident here yet, although we've witnessed thousands of near misses; but hey, that's life in the cities here. In all honesty I think the only two options are a near miss or a collision so hat's off to everyone for all the near misses. That evening we didn't eat with our guides. Lam's son is at university in Saigon so he went off for a little reunion while Tu met up with an old school friend. So Carol & I became real tourists and satisfied our cravings for a bit of western food. Yes, rubbish I know but sometimes you just fancy a pizza, pasta or chips!
This morning we wandered up to a couple of sights in Saigon; The Reunification Palace and the War museum. Then south to the Mekong Delta. Temperatures down here are well over 30'C and the persistent rain of the first couple of days are well behind us. We're in My Tho tonight and will do a gentle day through the delta tomorrow to Can Tho. That will be our last full day Easy Riding so some of you will be able to let out a big sigh of relief. The motorbike tour has been absolutely brilliant. It's taken us to villages and sights we would never have found, had us eating in places we'd never have gone to (and paid the locals' prices), introduced us to minority people in their own homes on a one to one basis, and generally shown us a side of Vietnam we would not have found travelling independently or with an organised package. All in all worth every penny, and we've still got one day left.
On Monday afternoon we fly from Can Tho to Phu Quoc for 5 or 6 days. The thought of unpacking our bags and staying in the same place for a few days is very appealing, especially as I've only got one pair of clean boxers left!
Love to everybody, Mr & Mrs Mck xxx
Wednesday, 3 November 2010
Off The Beaten Track. . . Completely!
Morning Bloggies.
Yes, we are safe and well. Sorry, we have not had a chance to update for a couple of days but will try to bring you up to speed now. We've just finished day three of the bike tour, but first of all back to day 1.
Mon 1st. We awoke to yet more heavy rain in Da Lat. The two guides (Tu & Lam) arrived at our hotel and offered us the opportunity of swapping from the bikes to a van. Bless them, all concerned about us getting wet. When we told them we'd still like to do the bikes they couldn't help their big smiles. The van option would have only required one of them and the other would have lost out on 7 days work. As it's fairly casual work the seven day tour with us is a pretty good deal for them and it would have been a shame to lose one of them. So wrapped in in our snazzy waterproofs off we went. We started off with a couple of tourist type things like a stop at a silk factory, starting off with the eggs and worms, following through to the finished product; and all done by hand or antiquated machinery at best. We also stopped off at a fairly impressive waterfall. Tu and Lam are really keen to show as many aspects of Vietnam as possible and the route we're taking passes through what the guides refer to as 'minority people' villages. Vietnamese account for approx 96% of the population with 12 or 13 (ethnic) minorities accounting for the remaning 4%. Some of these have as few as 1000 people. We stopped at a couple of these for a cup of tea and to see how they live.
Lunch was another feast at a restaurant the guides knew. Eight different dishes for the princely sum of one pound each. The only hitch during the day day was when a large stone flicked up and knocked the chain of my bike. No worries though, good old Lam had it sorted in no time.
We ended the day at a place called Lak Lake. Or Ha Lake on some maps. We'd done 163km up Highway 27 today,most of it in the rain, but had remained fairly dry inside all the waterproofs.
Tues 2nd. Shortly after heading off we stopped again for a drink a another minority house. These were Mmong people and they live in raised long houses. They don't seem to mind complete strangers just turning up for a drink out of the blue.
Two obvious signs that show we are well off the regular trail:
1) The state of the roads. Generally good surfaces, but with atrocious pot holes approaching and through the villages. They almost make West Berkshires roads look good!
2) The way the locals stop and stare as we pass, quickly followed by smiles, waves, or shouts of hello. Apparently they don't see many white folk around here. Indeed when we went out for dinner it was like an old western movie. As we entered the restaurant, if music had been playing it would have stopped as every head turned to look as us. It was as if someone had pressed the pause button for 5 seconds. Btw when I say restaurant, I use the term loosely. The setting was like an outdoor primary school dining room. The tables and chairs were probably a perfect size for 7 year olds... Or Vietnamese! Nonetheless we had another cracking 5 or 6 course meal, including a couple of beers each, this time for £2.50 each. It certainly pays to eat where the local hang out, especially when you've got a couple of chaps to translate.
For the record we stopped overnight at a town called Buon Ma Thuot in case anyone is following us that closely. Distance was about 140km. Oh yeah, and it rained again for most of the morning.
Wed 3rd. Started off raining again but at least today it stopped after an hour or two. Today mainly involved checking out the scenery as we turned west along Highway 14. Numerous waterfalls and minority villages, all still surprised to see two pale faces in town. Not much else to report apart from we're in Dak Mil, which is quite close to the Cambodian border and the locals are noticeably lighter in skin tone. Oh yeah, and as I write this at 10.30pm I can hear it's lashing down again. So much for the wet season finishing 3 weeks ago.
Tomorrow we head south following the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Fingers crossed the sun comes out as we drop out of the highlands.
Lots of love, Les McKs xxx
Ps Carol's not quite so smug about the waterproofs at the mo seeing as she has managed to split the crutch on two pairs in just three days!
Yes, we are safe and well. Sorry, we have not had a chance to update for a couple of days but will try to bring you up to speed now. We've just finished day three of the bike tour, but first of all back to day 1.
Mon 1st. We awoke to yet more heavy rain in Da Lat. The two guides (Tu & Lam) arrived at our hotel and offered us the opportunity of swapping from the bikes to a van. Bless them, all concerned about us getting wet. When we told them we'd still like to do the bikes they couldn't help their big smiles. The van option would have only required one of them and the other would have lost out on 7 days work. As it's fairly casual work the seven day tour with us is a pretty good deal for them and it would have been a shame to lose one of them. So wrapped in in our snazzy waterproofs off we went. We started off with a couple of tourist type things like a stop at a silk factory, starting off with the eggs and worms, following through to the finished product; and all done by hand or antiquated machinery at best. We also stopped off at a fairly impressive waterfall. Tu and Lam are really keen to show as many aspects of Vietnam as possible and the route we're taking passes through what the guides refer to as 'minority people' villages. Vietnamese account for approx 96% of the population with 12 or 13 (ethnic) minorities accounting for the remaning 4%. Some of these have as few as 1000 people. We stopped at a couple of these for a cup of tea and to see how they live.
Lunch was another feast at a restaurant the guides knew. Eight different dishes for the princely sum of one pound each. The only hitch during the day day was when a large stone flicked up and knocked the chain of my bike. No worries though, good old Lam had it sorted in no time.
We ended the day at a place called Lak Lake. Or Ha Lake on some maps. We'd done 163km up Highway 27 today,most of it in the rain, but had remained fairly dry inside all the waterproofs.
Tues 2nd. Shortly after heading off we stopped again for a drink a another minority house. These were Mmong people and they live in raised long houses. They don't seem to mind complete strangers just turning up for a drink out of the blue.
Two obvious signs that show we are well off the regular trail:
1) The state of the roads. Generally good surfaces, but with atrocious pot holes approaching and through the villages. They almost make West Berkshires roads look good!
2) The way the locals stop and stare as we pass, quickly followed by smiles, waves, or shouts of hello. Apparently they don't see many white folk around here. Indeed when we went out for dinner it was like an old western movie. As we entered the restaurant, if music had been playing it would have stopped as every head turned to look as us. It was as if someone had pressed the pause button for 5 seconds. Btw when I say restaurant, I use the term loosely. The setting was like an outdoor primary school dining room. The tables and chairs were probably a perfect size for 7 year olds... Or Vietnamese! Nonetheless we had another cracking 5 or 6 course meal, including a couple of beers each, this time for £2.50 each. It certainly pays to eat where the local hang out, especially when you've got a couple of chaps to translate.
For the record we stopped overnight at a town called Buon Ma Thuot in case anyone is following us that closely. Distance was about 140km. Oh yeah, and it rained again for most of the morning.
Wed 3rd. Started off raining again but at least today it stopped after an hour or two. Today mainly involved checking out the scenery as we turned west along Highway 14. Numerous waterfalls and minority villages, all still surprised to see two pale faces in town. Not much else to report apart from we're in Dak Mil, which is quite close to the Cambodian border and the locals are noticeably lighter in skin tone. Oh yeah, and as I write this at 10.30pm I can hear it's lashing down again. So much for the wet season finishing 3 weeks ago.
Tomorrow we head south following the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Fingers crossed the sun comes out as we drop out of the highlands.
Lots of love, Les McKs xxx
Ps Carol's not quite so smug about the waterproofs at the mo seeing as she has managed to split the crutch on two pairs in just three days!
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