Lazy day in Hoi An

Today i decided to take a break from sightseeing and trains -yes its a tough life ;-)
Anyway, Hoi An (which is 40mins by car from Danang) is a nice little laidback town so i've decided to set up camp here for a few days.

The town is small enough to explore by bicycle and its not far from the beach. Roads are flat and the traffic not so crazy like Hanoi. So at 7am this morning i peddled to the beach 6km away, passing by streams, vegetable fields and more rice paddies on the way.

Beach at 7am -where are all the tourists?

There, i met up with 2 new friends i'd made from my train journeys -Peter and Helena. We were the sole tourists for at least a few hours. The girls selling trinkets/ nuts/ pineapples/ pringles/ foot massage/ manicures etc. were very disappointed at the poor turnout and our insistence in not buying anything.

Vietnam Railways Happy Meal

Ok, i knew i wasn't going to eat it and should have just said no but my healthy sense of curiousity made me open those little containers sealed with foil. So may i proudly present the contents of the set meal you get when sitting on the Hue to Danang leg, soft seat with a/c - only 40,000 vnd!

n.b. i tried the veggies -they tasted a bit sour - didn't try the stewed meat is unidentified - (is it dog?!)

"The Extras-cart"

To "upsize", you had to pay for the good stuff -namely fried fish cakes, giant chicken drumsticks, and what looks like kebabs or satays. The train officers helpfully cut it into smaller portions for your convenience. On another note, they are the most multi-tasking train officers i've ever seen. Vietnamese officers industriously hand out meals, water, clear out rubbish and even sweep the floor in addition to checking your ticket and patiently answering questions from stupid tourists ("Are we there yet?") ! Oh, and they also help to recycle the containers that were used for the rice in the set meals! Yes... you heard me...

Hue to Danang - Trigger-happy train ride

It was a very scenic ride from Hue to Danang as the train chugs along the coast and up the Hai Van pass. i was trigger happy throughout the 4 hour journey. Everyone else (all local) were oblivous to the views -some were sleeping, others were reading their newspapers - i was the only person gawking and was some source of amusement to the passengers behind me. Oh well, at least no other tourist fought with me for the window seat :-)

View from the train - its part misty, and part smudged window pane -they were sealed so i couldn't wind them down.

At some parts, the railway tracks were so close to the sea that it felt like we were almost above the water.

Hanoi to Hue - Carriage 10, Bed 14

Yingzi and Fuikien left for Singapore yesterday so i'm on my own now! I'm glad they started off my trip with me though - we had loads of fun -well at least i did :-)!

This morning, my overnight train from Hanoi rolled into Hue at 9am. The ride took 14 hours but it wasn't so bad. For those uninitiated to Vietnamese train rides - don't look to finding any peace and quiet or privacy - Vietnamese music blares out from the speakers, kids run up and down the carriage screaming and playing games, and entire families can squeeze in to have a picnic -even if you are sitting in the same cabin!

The soup trolley comes round at about 8pm to dish out some beef soup for 5,000d (about 50 cts SGD) but i didnt have the stomach for it. For breakfast, cup noodles are handed out -Gourmet! i love instant noodles.

A French couple and a Vietnamese man were in the same carriage as me. The French couple were taking part in the Hue Festival of Arts starting June 3 (which i'm going to miss because i'd have left by then) and the Vietnamese man was well, curious. He poked around my guidebook, and my rucksack, and asked where i was from. When he heard that i was from Singapore, he gave a really bright grin and pulled out his laptop and proudly showed me his photos of his Singapore and Malaysia holiday -which he had artfully done in a MS Powerpoint presentation. Cue in slides of the Merlion, the zoo and the birdpark. It didn't exactly make me miss home ;-)

My guidebook said that Hue was a city that was small enough to explore by foot but i couldn't walk 5 metres without being asked if i wanted a "motor? cyclo? tour? hotel??!" Finally gave up (did i mention it was also sweltering out here?) and spent the rest of the afternoon riding pillion to explore the sights around Hue. Its much more fun to whizz around in the traffic than walking - i've had some harrowing moments where my life flashed before me when trying to cross the streets in Hanoi.

i can't post pictures again. I can't even access my own blog (BLOGSPOT, are you reading this?!)

ok time for dinner.

Ha Long Bay

Chillin on the deck

Sailing around the coast -this is a UNESCO world heritage sight - my pictures definitely don't do justice to the scenery!

In the limestone grottoes - this one is called "Surprised cave" - i kid you not. maybe something got lost in translation somewhere.

Yingzi and Fui Kien getting on like a house on fire. They didn't know each other prior to this trip. Thank goodness they both got on well together! I wouldn't have known what to do if they didn't - maybe vote one of them back to Singapore or something :-)

My first bout of food poisioning in Vietnam

Not exactly a wonderful occasion to mark ;-) but nonetheless i've survived.. so it seems.

Yingzi, Fui Kien and I have returned from our excursion to Ha Long Bay today. The junk boat meandered around the islands and limestone grottoes - there are 3,000 islands in total! Its the low season now so we have managed to avoid most of the other boats and sailed in relative peace and tranquility.

Anyway, i think it was the dinner that i had on the boat that caused the food poisoning so by the next morning, i was pretty glad to get off the boat and survive a bumpy 3 hour bus journey to get from Ha Long city back to Hanoi! What a shame though - it was really relaxing on the boat!

Not sure why i can't post pix now so i'll try again later.

Trekking in Sapa

Just got back from a fantastic 4 day trip to Sapa Valley. Sapa is located in the north-west of Vietnam. To get to the trail head at Sapa, we took an overnight train from Hanoi to Lao Cai, followed by an hour's drive.


We spent 3 days trekking through rice terraces and villages around the valleys, and stayed at the homes of local hill tribes for a couple of nights.

Most of the local hill tribes survive on small-scale subsistence farming. In Sapa valley, they can only grow 1 crop of rice a year. They are currently cultivating young rice saplings in anticipation of the rainy season in June and July.

On the first night, we stayed in the Ta Van village, with the Dzay minority people. Here are the proud grandparents of the household with their granddaughter.

Tired trekkers! Our entire 3 day trek route was 30km in total. It was great to get some fresh air up in the mountains.

On the 2nd day, we trekked down to the valley to Ban Ho village to stay with the Tay minority tribes. This is the local provision store.

I didnt get a picture of the Tay house we stayed in though - because it had been pouring all day, up until we'd left. They rear some pigs, ducks, chickens, and grow crops like rice, bittergourd, sweet potatoes, etc. Its definitely an educational trip for city people! The Tay tribes stay in stilt houses -don't think matchstick houses. Ours had 2 levels, plus an attic. The house comes complete with TV, dvd player and posters of Korean soap stars! Globalisation -what can i say ;-)

More photos of Hanoi

Everyone going about their business at 9am in the old quarter of Hanoi.

The stately Hanoi Opera House, next to the Hanoi Hilton hotel.

At the Van Mieu - Temple of Literature.

You can't tell from the photos but its sweltering hot here!! Leaving on an overnight train to Sapa tonight for some trekking. Hopefully it will be cooler up in the mountains. I'll post some more photos when i get a chance.

Happy Birthday Uncle Ho!

Not the latest movie poster for X-men.. Yesterday, May 19 was Uncle Ho's birthday. There were loads of red and yellow banners on the streets commemorating this event.

Packing & Paranoia - 1 Day before my flight to Hanoi

Um, did i mention i'm going away for 2 months.. ?

Ok - i think i'm almost all set to go. Except that i'm paranoid that i've left out something.

So i've gone through all the items again. Somehow i've ended up with an entire list of snail mail addresses - some people have DEMANDED postcards - you know who you are ;-)

And i'm also paranoid about overpacking and walking around with too heavy a rucksack. Ugh!!

So i hope this is the start of a very fun and exciting 6 months for me travelling around Asia and Europe. I'll keep everyone updated regularly through this blog - and if it ain't exciting, i'll just have to make something up to keep you all tuned.