http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Wilder/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Wilder en-us Fri, 25 Dec 2009 04:14:21 +0000 Fri, 25 Dec 2009 04:14:21 +0000 Slow Boat Through ChinaClimbing onto the bus which would take me to the pier in nearby Yichang I began wondering just what I had gotten myself into. I had been spent the past 36 hours in buses trains cars and tourist offices. It had been over 2 days since I had enjoyed the luxury of a hot shower or the comfort of a real bed. And I was now consigning myself to yet another bus ride followed http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Chongqing/Chongqing/blog-447833.html The Long Way RoundChina is big. This is something that I had known in an abstract kind of way before I had ever decided to descend onto its proverbial doorstep. The fact crystallized even more when I began researching the provinces and cities that I wanted to visit during my 3 week stint here. But it wasnt until I had my first 18 hour train ride that I began to really understand just how mass http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Chongqing/Chongqing/blog-447447.html Adventures in YangshouAs soon as I walked through the streets of Yangshou for the first time I knew that this city would be setting unrealistically high expectations for the rest of China. It was cute and quaint and unbelievably beautiful. The cobblestone streets twisted sinuously around ancient teak storefronts and cheerfully bedecked restaurants. Lush limestone karsts circled the town and riv http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Guangxi/Yangshuo/blog-442367.html The Kindness of StrangersThe first instance of the impenetrable language barrier rearing itrsquos head on me in China came when I attempted to purchase train tickets from Nanning to Guilin. Having been forewarned I took special care to write down the number of tickets date and ideal time of this departure beforehand. I can only get down on my knees and thank the Gods above that the Chinese http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/blog-441207.html Tackling ChinaChina. Unbelievably confusing more then a little crazy and infinitely complicated. I had fixed this country in my mind as the epitome of the challenging travel destination. Before I had begun this trip I would never have dreamt of tackling this country on my own. The language was too difficult the cities too vast. Even while successfully navigating through places like Nepal http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/blog-441162.html Sapa in the RainMy first sight of Sapa was the rain drenched evergreen trees crowding the side of the road and spilling down the rolling green hills and valleys that wrapped around us like a cozy blanket. Between the quiet meandering streets shockingly verdant wilderness and vibrantly patterned apparel of the local minority women I felt as though I had left the bustling pace of Vietnam far beh http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Northwest/Sapa/blog-440775.html Hungover in HanoiFinally after having endured corrupt taxi drivers theft a sinus cold creepy old men on the trains pushy locals an attempted mugging blatant exploitation a raging hangover and more sexual innuendoes then I care to count I had arrived safe and sound in Hanoi. I had expected that the capital city of this strange and bustling country would be large impersonal and utterly d http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/blog-435390.html Halong BayHaving booked my boat ticket for Halong Bay through my hotel in Ninh Binh rather then through a travel agency in Hanoi I had to catch an early morning bus North in order to meet up with the rest of my group. The convenience of avoiding an unnecessary stop in Hanoi was partially offset by the fact that I would need to catch a local bus to Halong City. I was slightly nervous about handi http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Northeast/blog-429415.html The Train Ride North to Ninh BinhDeciding to give the train one last chance I booked myself in a hard seat for the overnight trip from Hue to Ninh Binh. I perhaps should have looked into what exactly lsquohard seat sleeperrsquo meant before buying my ticket. Boarding the train I was a bit appalled to see that the seats were small wooden benches similar to what you would find in a city par http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/blog-429238.html The North and South DivideAfter my last train experience I decided to catch on overnight tourist but from Nha Trang to Hoi An instead. What a difference. Granted the lsquobedsrsquo were nothing more then seriously inclined seats you had to be shorter then 6ft to fit in them comfortably and I was squished in the back with 4 other travelers for the duration of the trip. Bundled together lik http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/South-Central-Coast/blog-426833.html Vietnamese Train RideAccording to my trusty Lonely Planet guide taking the train along the coast of Vietnam is more scenic comfortable and interesting then taking the bus. For the record Lonely Planet knows shit. I caught an 11pm train up to the beach town of Nha Trang. Since it was dark when I left and would be dark when I arrived I could effectively cross lsquoscenicrsquo from the l http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/South-Central-Coast/Nha-Trang/blog-425506.html Highlands and LowlandsIn an effort to escape the relentless heat I decided to head up into the mountains of Dalat for a few days. This small town surrounded by lakes and waterfalls is so beautiful that both sides declared it a neutral zone during the war. No bombs were dropped here or rounds fired. It managed to escape this violent period of history unmarred. I caught a late afternoon bus http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Central-Highlands/Da-Lat/blog-424982.html Canadian Geisha in Can ThoWhile waiting for my laptop to get fixed I decided to head South into the Mekong Delta to visit the floating market. Having missed the experience in Thailand I was really looking forward to witnessing this early morning spectacle. I caught a local bus to the town of Can Tho where I was as usual adopted. This time my personal guardian angel took the form of a young http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Mekong-River-Delta/Can-Tho/blog-424068.html Acts of KindnessI arrived in Ho Chi Minh City on a rainy afternoon after a border crossing from hell. Feeling wrung out and exhausted I allowed myself to be persuaded into one of the lurking taxirsquos who were issuing promises of a lsquocheap guesthousersquo. When I asked him how much the taxi ride would cost he pointed to the front seat and said lsquometerhellipno worriesrsquo. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Southeast/Ho-Chi-Minh-City/blog-422933.html Cambodian History Lesson Crash CoursePhnom Penh. A city where you can hire a child prostitute for 2USD and order an assassination attempt for 200. A place where the cops are more corrupt then the criminals. Where anything can happen and often does. Having left Lee behind in Siem Reap where she would be spending some additional time and money helping the local street orphans and disabled vi http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-421405.html Templed OutAs we pulled into the bus terminal at Siem Reap Lee and I were unexpectedly greeted by the sight of our names being held aloft by a friendly looking tuk tuk driver. As we hadnrsquot made a reservation with any guesthouses or scheduled a pickup we were justifiably confused about this occurrence but decided to go with him regardless. As we jostled through the chaotic crowd of eag http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Angkor/blog-419645.html Cambodian CrossingThe crossing from Laos to Cambodia hit us like a slap to the face. After reveling in the relaxed pace of the former the chaotic and abrupt nature of the latter came as an unwelcome surprise. The first sense of distaste came at the border crossing. As we were passed from one border official to another it felt as though I was perpetually reaching into my wallet for the obligat http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/blog-418334.html Southern LaosAfter experiencing the friendly and beautiful North and witnessing the tacky tastelessness of Vang Vieng it was time to turn my eyes to the mysteries of the Southern provinces. Due to an unfortunate quirk of nature and assisted by the fact that our visas were rapidly running out we decided that the sights of central Laos were not appealing enough to tempt us and so booked a tick http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-417409.html A Portrait of Vang ViengLet me try and paint an accurate picture of Vang Vieng. Imagine a town set in the backdrop of central Laos. Itrsquos a place where the dramatic landscape of the North concedes to the gentle plains of the South. A river wide and serene hems in the town from the West. Looming in the distance and circling around to the north is the lush and imposing limestone karsts http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-417735.html Plain of JarsHeading down to the city of Phonsavan meant once again tackling the nauseatingly windy mountain roads of Eastern Laos. I was expecting a repeat of the miserable retching we were forced to witness on the way to Sam Neua and had my trusty bottle of Tiger Balm on hand in order to help me ward off the smell. However miraculously enough we somehow managed to find the only busload of ir http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-414347.html