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Published: August 18th 2005
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Welcome to the first update of my around-the-world Odyssey, this time from Nha Trang, Vietnam. I have included some small format photos to give a flavour of what I've seen.
In the two weeks since leaving Canada, I've adapted pretty well to the traveling lifestyle, learned enough Vietnamese words to eat, sleep and move around, met some interesting and crazy people, ate things that surprised me, and managed to feel connected to home thanks to all the encouraging emails.
I have a main backpack and a small daypack, which together weigh about 16 or 17 kg, and I've been traveling independently by bus, train and boat. This is about as different as can be from a package vacation. It can be hard work and sometimes stressful but I'm more convinced than ever that it's the only way for me to see what I want to see.
Getting here takes a very long time, some 22 hours of actually flying plus another 19 hours between flights, meaning that I spend the equivalent of a 40 hour work week in just 2 days getting here.
SEOUL, KOREA Watch my
Korea VideoBlog !
One benefit of my loose
flight connections was 13 hours to kill in Seoul, Korea. When I arrived at the empty airport at 6:30 AM wondering how I would see the city in a day, I heard a voice behind me say "Canadian, eh?". It was Yvon "Harpo" Malenfant, Acadian and ex-Montrealer now teaching English in Seoul. Before I knew it we were sharing a taxi while he and his wife were busy planning my day which included a shower and shave at a traditional Korean sauna followed by a tour of the city by subway and lunch.
Random impressions of Seoul: - Reminds me of Scarborough but nicer
- Not cheap!
- Someday we might have technology like them
Things I wonder why I ate:
- Moth Pupae (boiled in a broth but still crunchy! mmm) See Photo!
NORTHERN VIETNAM Watch my
Northern Vietnam VideoBlog !
Arriving in Hanoi at 10:30 PM, I tried my very best to look like I knew what I was doing as I negotiated a taxi, not too effectively I'm sure. The important thing is that I got to the hotel I expected without blowing my entire trip budget on the first taxi ride.
My first week or so was spent exploring Northern Vietnam including Hanoi, Halong Bay and Sapa in the extreme North along the Chinese border. While in Sapa, I joined a small group climbing Mount Fansipan (3148m - highest in Vietnam) over 3 days. See Photos!
I treated myself to an "expensive" meal after conquering Fansipan; at $10 Canadian including wine, this is about 3-4 times more than my average supper and almost twice as much as I paid for my hotel that night. I was outnumbered by the two waiters, one of whom sat at my table to keep me company with a conversation of one-word sentences and hand signs. I could have sworn I saw a light bulb appear in a cloud above his head as he suddenly smiled and ran off, returning with a larger smile and a guitar. I was obviously going to be serenaded. No, he handed me the guitar and motioned me to play for him. I'm afraid he was disappointed.
I then started working my way south by train to Hue (former capital) and then by bus to Hoi An (old and quaint town) and now to Nha Trang (beaches and
Hanoi: Snake Meal
It does NOT taste like chicken! parties).
Train travel is slow but most interesting. It took 17 hours to cover the 680 km between Sapa and Hanoi. I conversed for hours with a Vietnamese family in my cabin by passing my phrase book back and forth while pointing at what we wanted to say. There is something hypnotic about fading in and out of people's daily lives as you pass by their open houses and fields to the techno-beat sound that a train makes.
There are people everywhere and they are always busy! The work ethic seems alive and strong here, whether pumping water into a rice paddy or trying to sell you something. There is very little in the way of modern technology and everything is done by hand. Even the railway crossing barriers are manually operated by some who's job it is to meet the train at each crossing and lower the barrier. There is only one ATM in all of Hanoi. What lacks in technology is made up for in McGuiverism. It's amazing what you can do with a bit of bamboo. On Mt-Fansipan, I watched our guide chop down a 6-inch diameter tree, cut it into 1 m lengths and
proceed to split them lengthwise all with a single home-made knife and in the time it took for me to eat breakfast.
Traffic is interesting, mostly comprised of small, heavily loaded motorbikes intermixed with bicycles and cyclos. The traffic system is simple "he who honks hardest" gets the right of way.
The food has been mostly excellent, and I still have not tired of Pho (beef noodle soup), although I have not been able to bring myself to have it for breakfast as many do.
Random impressions of Vietnam: - The Saskatchewan of rice!
- Typical questions I'm asked: Where you from? Are you married? How old are you? How many brothers/sisters? How old are they? Are they married?...
- Strangers in the street rubbing my arm and laughing at the hair
- Boats so heavily loaded that water pours in as they continually bail
- There are no MacDonalds!
- Pool tables everywhere, even in the countryside under thatched roofs
Things I wonder why I ate: * Snake anything (Cobra Blood, Snake wine, Cobra meat) which does NOT taste like chicken - See Photos!
* That box lunch on the train (whatever
Sapa: Mt-Fansipan
Highest peak in Vietnam it was)
From here I'll continue south to Saigon (a.k.a. Ho Chi Minh City) then up the Mekong River by boat to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I plan to spend the next few weeks in Cambodia, Northern Thailand and Laos instead of going into China as originally planned.
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