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Published: October 15th 2007
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to market to market
pigs trotters anyone? Shin chow! (phonetic hello in Vietnamese)...
The morning of Oct 12th was spent commuting to Halong Bay by air con 12 seater mini-bus. Now the driving, let me rant for a bit - this is something I cannot get my Western head around (I am starting to get a complex for being Western!). In fact, I am sure Intrepid would love to now how terrible the majority of the Vietnamese drivers, cyclists, motor mower driven carts, buffalo-driven rice ploughs, and motorcyclists handle their vessels. That being, riding on the opposite side of the road on a two laned road, passing petrol tankers on blind corners, coming head-on to other buses and motorbikes only to miss them by inches......I could go on, but you get my idea. I am however becoming less affected by the chaos that surrounds me, and can see a nasty jaywalking habit of crossing roads starting to emerge when I return to my regulated Western environment.
So we made it throuhg some rain to Haiphong, the departure point for Halong bay cruises. Extremely commericialised, big Junks everywhere of all styles and levels of luxury. Fortunate for us, Bon (tour leader) had known we ladies like being
looked after so arranged for us to cruise overnight on a 12 seater floating pontoon with natural air con and maximum speed of 5knots ...... that did not cut it with us though, so we just used that vessel to get us to and fro to our mother ship for the next day, named 'BeinNgoc 18'. 6 cabins, twin share, air con, own bathroom/toilet combo (space saver device in Asia!), and 3 very nice meals. The silver service was really laid on - giant prawns, staemed rice, deep fried fish balls (balls of fush, not fushs' balls), spinach with garlic, pork in some form (what would a vietnemese dish be without pork, in fact it wouldn't be Vietnamese at all really, they love their pig as much as they love cat and dog!), tofu etc, washed down with obligatory pineapple and melon, a staple at most meal times. Dinner was similar, with baked whole snapper, and we all felt suitably stuffed afterwards whilst watching the stars, the glow of Haiphong across the karst limestone peaks, and hearing the sound of approaching rain 500m away across the calm, tepid (21C) waters. Some drank, some just spoke quietly, some contemplated the peacefulness
halong bay 2
everything is honky dory of it all, but a good time was had.
The success of this first trip I saw was the lack of mutiny as we neared the end of the 15 day Vietnamese Experience Intrepid tour. I have to say there has been some tension with an all women tour group and a guide eager to please some (he bought the 50th birthday ladies flowers and chocolates!!). I also had a room mate that was so vastly different, very American, and a bit moody that I found it hard to take her without feeling low about myself. Another thing that grated was the constant tipping. I have since discovered that this was a one off as far as guides go, and my current tour leader thinks very much it should reflect what service you get, not become a mandatory gesture with everyone you meet.
So the outcomes of the trip were achieved - TrAM (traffic anxiety measure)=diminished to 3/10 having been there done that now; TAM (tourist anxiety measure)=feeling the vibe now, I am cruising and not thinking (much) about work; Intrepid Self efficacy scale tool (InSEST)=highly confident I can cope with China now; Adherence scale=minor deviation for out of control drivers of buses, motorcyclists, and shopping requirements. Otherwise completed as schedule said.
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