Flew into Narita airport, Japan to a sea of neon lights. Headed to the information desk to ask about taxi's, the lady a bit bemused said "It's very expensive, it'll cost about 250,000 Yen" I pulled my phone out of my bag, did some quick calculations, £1980!!! I punched in the numbers again, there must be some mistake! I then headed to the subway which cost about £8 to Asukasabashi. The trains, as I understand it, are all privatised so run on different lines, you have to buy tickets according to the company that owns the lines as opposed to a ticket to your destination or a ride on the 'Metropolitan' line. It was very confusing and asked nearly everyone I encountered if I was in the right station, on the right platform and on the right train. My train was due in at 18:21, at 18:21 on the dot the train pulled into the station. My confusion was magnified when I was directed on a train and none of the stations we stopped at matched my map. I interrupted a chap playing on the Nintendo DS who was heading to Nagoya for a heart operation...great, here I was fretting over whether I was on the right train and this chap was about to have his chest ripped open!
Finally made it to where I was headed only to realise that the roads don't have names, only the main roads do. Stopped in a police box to speak to a very serious looking man wielding a rather large cane, "hai" he said pulling out a map, he smacked the cane on the desk "left and left, hai" he said. Two seconds later I was at the Khaosan Tokyo Ninja hostel. It was a sight to behold. The outside was in clad in geometric shapes, white-washed with little black ninjas painted on. I entered through the slide door and I was give the key to bed 18 on the forth floor. I followed the red lino up the stairs through a white stairwell with octopus ninja scrawled on the walls. Got to the forth floor; to the right was the locker room, to the left was the bathroom (with remote controlled toilet with a glorious heated seat) and the dorm was Mr Ikea's wet dream. There was about 16 capsules knocked up from a bit of MDF. The capsule was rather cosy, relatively spacious with a light, shelving, plugs and a little window, luckily my bed was next to a window, so got plenty of natural light. Capsules are the way forward, no being disturbed by people coming into the room, switching on lights, moving around, etc. Most importantly it was really private and found myself thinking I was at home, then waking up rather confused as to why I was in a coffin!
Got a one-day travel card and headed off into the city. Started at "central park" which seemed to be surrounded by universities. Visited a few shrines, which are different from the other temples in SE Asia, they are not as ostentatious and seems exude power and regalness, with its simple lines. The difference is like comparing Steve McQueen to Liberace.
Shinjuku is where all the action is, lots of neon lights and huge TV screens embedded in buildings. Again the confusion set in as Shinjuku station is size of a town but seemed to not lead anywhere. I was going around in circles for a good 3 hours before finding my way around Shinjuku, mainly because you find your way around using landmarks, and past the Japanese art-deco building of Isetan. The highlight of Shinjuku was a cluster of alleyways with tiny bars, half the size of my front room, there were rock bars, jazz bars and traditional Japanese pubs all lining this little oasis tucked away behind the busy Shinjuku roads.
The Japanese love jazz and take it very seriously. You never hear muzak, they opt for soothing tones of Miles Davis or Thelonius Monk in shopping centres, restaurants, trains and of course, the plethora of jazz bars. There are also about million art galleries dotted all over Tokyo, with the most surreal and creative art I've ever seen. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in Ueno was a slight disappointment, there was a William Morris exhibition which I had no interest in, I was hungry for Japanese traditional and contemporary art. One hall displayed art work from Japanese school children...I was blown away that children are this talented and creative. Using every technique and material, some art was still life, lots of geometric shapes and a lot of psychedelic images. It made me realise that Japan's modern renaissance was all about absolute freedom and the mind was allowed to create, nothing was absurd or too out-there!
The party district of Roppongi was quite swish, but at the same time had a very seedy and aggressive atmosphere. Mainly, I think, because the majority of the clubs were gentlemen only. It isn't as in your face as the red-light district of Kabukicho, that was all 'pink cabaret' and hidden shops behind pink curtains decorated with anime ladies offering the depraved Japanese male all sorts of naughtiness. It's a bit weird, having something so immoral hidden behind a sugar-coated, pink, cartoon silliness. It's a little Victorian, like unspeakable, unacknowledged sins behind a veil of proper face for society. Anyway, watch the sunset from the Roppongi Hills, behind the Toyko Tower (which is like the Blackpool Tower). The sky was doing crazy things and was gutted about the absence of a camera.
I wanted to venture out of the city to Kyoto or Okinawa, but looking into transport this was going to be expensive. I figured that I wasn't going to come back to Japan anytime soon, this was once in a lifetime, so what the hell. I booked myself onto a Shinkansen (bullet) train to Kyoto, it cost 24000 Yen or £192 (ouch). The 7 hours road trip was reduced to a 2.5 hour train trip through central Japan past Mount Fuji. I wanted to catch the 8:05 train, the train left Tokyo station at 8:05. The scenery was breathtaking, apart from when I thought there was something wrong with my eyesight only to realise that it was posts dotted along the track going past so fast, they were just flickers. The train was so clean and very quiet, people are so polite and respectful (baring in mind that chivalry is non-existent). The journey was so smooth. I'm very impressed!
Kyoto is more traditional then Tokyo. Lots of traditional wooden buildings, surrounded by a magnificent mountain range. Kyoto is really quirky, it reminds me a bit of Camden Town. Lots of funky and second-hand clothes shops. I got myself I one-day bus pass. My bus to Gion (lots of temples, little traditional roads and geishas) was due at 10:43, the bus showed up at 10:43 and off we trundled. All the drivers have Britney Spears headsets, and one with a comedy voice was talking constantly, I don't know what he was saying but no-one was paying any attention. There are so many temples and shrines, it would take about 3 weeks to see them all. There is also a stretch of road called Tetsugaku-rio-Michi or the path of philosophy, which is just a nice walk really. I couldn't find the Sumiya Pleasure House to see all the geisha's, I'm sure I was just being dense with the whole 'let's not name our streets' policy.
I had planned to head to Tsukji fish market, it opens are 5am with a tuna auction, but I slept in. By all accounts, it's very good and the food is incredible as your sushi barely dead when they serve it you. Central Tokyo around the bay and station is more the Tokyo you see on television and hub-bub of technology, but it really isn't the place that makes Tokyo so amazing and completely different from any city in the world.
The whole of Japan is silly really, in many ways it's so modern, forward-thinking and serious. On the flip side, it's all about garish, silliness, cartoons (Manga is a cartoon) and childlike. The women are so liberated, but oppressed at the same time. You barely see couples or mixed-gender groups together in the street and a lot of women are alone. Using a mobile phone in public is a serious faux-pas, despite being the birthplace of the cell, I don't think I ever heard one go off or anyone talking on it, but everyone was clutching one.
Wednesday 25 February 2009
Malaysia
I didn't spend as much time in Malaysia as I would've liked as I was down to my last £300 (£200 of which I was saving for Japan). In times of financial crisis, sacrifices must be made; flights/packages to Thailand/Malaysia are cheap and easy, just how I like it ;)
Kuala Lumpur (KL) is an incredible, cosmopolitan and vibrant city. It reminds me a little of Rio, in terms of it being a tropical metropolis. Got to KL Sentral station and tried to hail a cab; one stopped and informed me that the road my hostel was on Bukit Bintang was closed off for a valentines parade, he gave me very precise instructions on how to get to the monorail, where to get on and where to get off. The monorail was great, incredibly cheap, very efficient and easy to use. Got to Bukit Bintang, which is the main shopping district and the first thing I saw was a massive Topshop, somewhere I could hear angels singing! The hostel, Red Palm, was tucked away behind the hustle and bustle, parallel to a massive food court - I'm telling you, no need for travelling as every country in the world has a restaurant here!
The hostel is one of the coolest places I've stayed. Much like the Afroba, it felt like I was staying at a funky friends house. The owner Sofia was really welcoming and gave loads of advice about monks asking for a donation who are part of a syndicate and very friendly men who scam people out of money. The hostel was also next to a row of curry houses, which constantly smelt incredible...drool...
Heading off around KL, on the main strip where I was staying, a big stage was erected where Malaysian pop stars performed love songs in honour of St Valentine. For those on there own, you can have a very cheap massage with a happy ending?!
As well as the skyscrapers that dominate KL's skyline, there is also colonial buildings left by the British and building built in a very Islamic style dotted around Merkada Square (where there is also a cricket field). The fantastic areas of Little India and Chinatown were amazing, bustling assault on the senses. I sat in a very Art Deco Colosseum Cafe in Little India, which looks like has not been touched since its opening in 1922. I was instantly transported to a time where ladies were draped in fur and pearls and men wore hats, not the khaki trousers and Primark t-shirt I was wearing!
I wanted to head of the Central Market, but the road was closed off the a bicycle race, that I watched. I lasted approx 2 seconds as fluoresent, Lycra clad men whizzed passed without incident, no crashes, no falling over, no rearing off the road...just happily whizzing around KL.
I then realised that I only booked the room in the hostel for one night and it had already been booked out to someone else, eek! Sofia (the owner) recommended one just up the road called Travellers Palm Lodge, which was equally funky and cool, run by a lady called Suzy. The place was covered in turn of the century telephones, gramophones and a burgundy bathroom! I want to live here!
My flight to Japan, stopped in the divers Mecca of Sabah (south-east from the Malaysian pennisula), it confirmed my opinions of Malaysia being packed with thick rainforest and perfect coastline - looking around you see little house with slopping red roofs, surrounded by a thick canape of palm trees. Malaysia really is a little bit of paradise coupled with all the creature comforts of a modern developed world. The people are as friendly and happy as they are in Thailand and has the prices to match! I need to come back here, to visit the jungle railway, Georgetown, Melaka and Pulau Tioman.
Kuala Lumpur (KL) is an incredible, cosmopolitan and vibrant city. It reminds me a little of Rio, in terms of it being a tropical metropolis. Got to KL Sentral station and tried to hail a cab; one stopped and informed me that the road my hostel was on Bukit Bintang was closed off for a valentines parade, he gave me very precise instructions on how to get to the monorail, where to get on and where to get off. The monorail was great, incredibly cheap, very efficient and easy to use. Got to Bukit Bintang, which is the main shopping district and the first thing I saw was a massive Topshop, somewhere I could hear angels singing! The hostel, Red Palm, was tucked away behind the hustle and bustle, parallel to a massive food court - I'm telling you, no need for travelling as every country in the world has a restaurant here!
The hostel is one of the coolest places I've stayed. Much like the Afroba, it felt like I was staying at a funky friends house. The owner Sofia was really welcoming and gave loads of advice about monks asking for a donation who are part of a syndicate and very friendly men who scam people out of money. The hostel was also next to a row of curry houses, which constantly smelt incredible...drool...
Heading off around KL, on the main strip where I was staying, a big stage was erected where Malaysian pop stars performed love songs in honour of St Valentine. For those on there own, you can have a very cheap massage with a happy ending?!
As well as the skyscrapers that dominate KL's skyline, there is also colonial buildings left by the British and building built in a very Islamic style dotted around Merkada Square (where there is also a cricket field). The fantastic areas of Little India and Chinatown were amazing, bustling assault on the senses. I sat in a very Art Deco Colosseum Cafe in Little India, which looks like has not been touched since its opening in 1922. I was instantly transported to a time where ladies were draped in fur and pearls and men wore hats, not the khaki trousers and Primark t-shirt I was wearing!
I wanted to head of the Central Market, but the road was closed off the a bicycle race, that I watched. I lasted approx 2 seconds as fluoresent, Lycra clad men whizzed passed without incident, no crashes, no falling over, no rearing off the road...just happily whizzing around KL.
I then realised that I only booked the room in the hostel for one night and it had already been booked out to someone else, eek! Sofia (the owner) recommended one just up the road called Travellers Palm Lodge, which was equally funky and cool, run by a lady called Suzy. The place was covered in turn of the century telephones, gramophones and a burgundy bathroom! I want to live here!
My flight to Japan, stopped in the divers Mecca of Sabah (south-east from the Malaysian pennisula), it confirmed my opinions of Malaysia being packed with thick rainforest and perfect coastline - looking around you see little house with slopping red roofs, surrounded by a thick canape of palm trees. Malaysia really is a little bit of paradise coupled with all the creature comforts of a modern developed world. The people are as friendly and happy as they are in Thailand and has the prices to match! I need to come back here, to visit the jungle railway, Georgetown, Melaka and Pulau Tioman.
Thursday 12 February 2009
Laos
I rather lazily and decadently got on a plane to get from Hanoi to Luang Phabang, I'm running worryingly low on cash and I'm dreading the credit card bills, so perhaps flying wasn't the most frugal option, but saved me 24-hours on a bus. Felt very out of place on the flight, as apart from 2 Aussies, I was the youngest person on the flight by about 15 years! Getting my ready for my Saga trips.
Luang Phabang it's so beautiful. The UNESCO world heritage site is situated in the mid-north, nestled in a valley. It looks very much like a village in the south of France and there are temples everywhere. I get very uneasy talking to monks, especially when they're about 7 years old, so I ignored them (minus 50 karma points). I stayed in the guesthouse called Vilay, which was just on the outskirts of the centre of town and near the Mekong river, on Kok Sak Road...tee hee! As Luang Phabang has a lot of temples, you get woken up by the sound of beating drums from the wats at 4am, I think this is a call for everyone to bring food to donate to the massive procession of monks, I declined as I'm not getting up at 6am for anybody, (minus 75 karma points).
Passed through Vieng Vang, as according to reports it's a bit of a water-sports place. It was rammed with backpackers with heavy-duty hangovers. It was incredibly beautiful with the river snaking its way around the mountains.
I then got on a bus to Pakse, which is to the south. From there you can see Wat Phou (pronounced What Poo...this is too much!), the largest Khmer site outside Cambodia and Si Phan Don or 4000 Islands on the Cambodian border. I headed to the largest island in the Mekong called Don Khong. It is a very sleepy island and good base to explore the rest of the islands (not all 4000 of them, just the best ones). It also has a large selection of wats and lots of little villages hugging the banks of the river and cafes catering for the massive amounts of French tourists. People in Laos are really friendly, they just walk passed and say Sabai Di (pronounced zebadee) with a smile...they're not trying to sell you anything or invade your personal space, just being friendly. Laos is more laid-back then it's SE Asian counterparts, has the most spectacular sunsets and scenery. The north is really mountainous and beautiful, the south is currently at the arse-end of the dry season, so is a little dry and scorched, but still boasts rolling landscapes.
I explored the islands of Don Det and Don Khon with its disused French railway and waterfalls. I've been rather colonial on this trip, just falling short of the handlebar moustache, blunderbuss and carry around a heft supply of bells/mirrors for the natives. So sat in the little cafe on the island, which was a little wooden shack overlooking the river and ordered tea, to my delight it was a pint of the stuff, none of this fruit tea rubbish, proper builders tea with milk and sugar...apart from it wasn't sugar, it was salt. I had to surreptitiously pour it away as I was too embarrassed to admit my mistake and worried that I might get charged for another (I'm running very low on Kip and there are no cash machines on the islands).
After this little drama, I trotted off towards the waterfall, I was taking photos of derelict colonial buildings, when I arrived at this mass of water bursting its way through jagged rocks, I realised my camera was missing. I then retraced my steps back the 3km walk to see if it had by chance just fallen out of my pocket, it hadn't, but just in case I walked the 6km there and back again just to double check in the heat and humidity (just think of the tan and weight loss). I asked at a few restaurants and a tickets agent, nothing. None of them seem to understand the word police either, so I couldn't report it missing. As I was heading to the city next day, I thought I would report it then. Totally gutted, I had a few fantastic shots that I ear-marked for framing.
Then headed off to the Mekong that separated Laos from Cambodia to see the Somphamit Falls on the other side of island and go Irrawaddy dolphin spotting. The falls were immense; the Mekong river is unimaginable in size, stretches over 5 countries, starting from the southern tip of Vietnam all the way to south China, it's on average about 3km wide, now to see this expanse of water crashing through a small gorge is incredible as the water swirled and crash underneath me.
I then embarked on a mammoth journey from south Laos, near Cambodia to head to the north-west capital of Vientiane, which borders northern Thailand. I booked what I thought was a tourist bus, embarked at 9am from my guesthouse when I quickly realised this was a local bus for local people and I was the only white in the village...I don't have anymore comedy catchphrases! We passed through some remote villages, all really cute and rustic rows of wooden houses, loving built with carved doors and balconies, surrounded by mountains and fields. We passed through Savannakhet, which seemed a bit soulless to me. I befriended a monk who was sat behind me, he asked where I was headed, he was headed that way too, I asked what time we arrived, he pointed at the sky and showed me 4 digits on his left hand, he meant 4am! Oh Christ, I haven't booked anywhere and I have to wonder around Vientiane at 4am looking for guesthouse, great! About 11.30pm we passed a bus station I recognised and figured we had another 3 hours, apart from the bus driver took the opportunity to go about his business on route and then disaster struck! The bus broke down, amid the hammering and clanging, I started to panic about what would happen if the driver couldn't fix it and how would I know as no bugger speaks English, I looked around and the locals looked quite relaxed, even the ones with small babies, so I decided to chill-out...I kept dosing off and waking up panicked like a granddad at Christmas. The bus started and we ended up heading back the way we came, so maybe it just went in for an MOT. Arrived at 5.30ish and by the time I got to my guesthouse on the main strip in the city it was 6am and city was starting to wake, phew!
The city of Vientiane is so beautiful, again looks like France and more like a town then a city. Traffic is very light and the whole city is populated with massive colonial villas with wooden shutters, wrought iron fences, courtyards and wrap-around verandas. I want one!!! It has this really incredible temple, that lacks all of the ostentatiousness that the others have but there was something very regal and wise about it. The royal palace looked a bit like a stately-home-cum-precocious-hotel in England, if I was the queen, I would move! Between the hours of dusk until dawn, there is a plague of Biblical proportions of mosquito's that swarm around everywhere, very unnerving especially in the bathroom! There is nothing more satisfying then the crack of the mosquito light as it claims another victim.
Speaking of colonialism, next stop Malaysia.
Luang Phabang it's so beautiful. The UNESCO world heritage site is situated in the mid-north, nestled in a valley. It looks very much like a village in the south of France and there are temples everywhere. I get very uneasy talking to monks, especially when they're about 7 years old, so I ignored them (minus 50 karma points). I stayed in the guesthouse called Vilay, which was just on the outskirts of the centre of town and near the Mekong river, on Kok Sak Road...tee hee! As Luang Phabang has a lot of temples, you get woken up by the sound of beating drums from the wats at 4am, I think this is a call for everyone to bring food to donate to the massive procession of monks, I declined as I'm not getting up at 6am for anybody, (minus 75 karma points).
Passed through Vieng Vang, as according to reports it's a bit of a water-sports place. It was rammed with backpackers with heavy-duty hangovers. It was incredibly beautiful with the river snaking its way around the mountains.
I then got on a bus to Pakse, which is to the south. From there you can see Wat Phou (pronounced What Poo...this is too much!), the largest Khmer site outside Cambodia and Si Phan Don or 4000 Islands on the Cambodian border. I headed to the largest island in the Mekong called Don Khong. It is a very sleepy island and good base to explore the rest of the islands (not all 4000 of them, just the best ones). It also has a large selection of wats and lots of little villages hugging the banks of the river and cafes catering for the massive amounts of French tourists. People in Laos are really friendly, they just walk passed and say Sabai Di (pronounced zebadee) with a smile...they're not trying to sell you anything or invade your personal space, just being friendly. Laos is more laid-back then it's SE Asian counterparts, has the most spectacular sunsets and scenery. The north is really mountainous and beautiful, the south is currently at the arse-end of the dry season, so is a little dry and scorched, but still boasts rolling landscapes.
I explored the islands of Don Det and Don Khon with its disused French railway and waterfalls. I've been rather colonial on this trip, just falling short of the handlebar moustache, blunderbuss and carry around a heft supply of bells/mirrors for the natives. So sat in the little cafe on the island, which was a little wooden shack overlooking the river and ordered tea, to my delight it was a pint of the stuff, none of this fruit tea rubbish, proper builders tea with milk and sugar...apart from it wasn't sugar, it was salt. I had to surreptitiously pour it away as I was too embarrassed to admit my mistake and worried that I might get charged for another (I'm running very low on Kip and there are no cash machines on the islands).
After this little drama, I trotted off towards the waterfall, I was taking photos of derelict colonial buildings, when I arrived at this mass of water bursting its way through jagged rocks, I realised my camera was missing. I then retraced my steps back the 3km walk to see if it had by chance just fallen out of my pocket, it hadn't, but just in case I walked the 6km there and back again just to double check in the heat and humidity (just think of the tan and weight loss). I asked at a few restaurants and a tickets agent, nothing. None of them seem to understand the word police either, so I couldn't report it missing. As I was heading to the city next day, I thought I would report it then. Totally gutted, I had a few fantastic shots that I ear-marked for framing.
Then headed off to the Mekong that separated Laos from Cambodia to see the Somphamit Falls on the other side of island and go Irrawaddy dolphin spotting. The falls were immense; the Mekong river is unimaginable in size, stretches over 5 countries, starting from the southern tip of Vietnam all the way to south China, it's on average about 3km wide, now to see this expanse of water crashing through a small gorge is incredible as the water swirled and crash underneath me.
I then embarked on a mammoth journey from south Laos, near Cambodia to head to the north-west capital of Vientiane, which borders northern Thailand. I booked what I thought was a tourist bus, embarked at 9am from my guesthouse when I quickly realised this was a local bus for local people and I was the only white in the village...I don't have anymore comedy catchphrases! We passed through some remote villages, all really cute and rustic rows of wooden houses, loving built with carved doors and balconies, surrounded by mountains and fields. We passed through Savannakhet, which seemed a bit soulless to me. I befriended a monk who was sat behind me, he asked where I was headed, he was headed that way too, I asked what time we arrived, he pointed at the sky and showed me 4 digits on his left hand, he meant 4am! Oh Christ, I haven't booked anywhere and I have to wonder around Vientiane at 4am looking for guesthouse, great! About 11.30pm we passed a bus station I recognised and figured we had another 3 hours, apart from the bus driver took the opportunity to go about his business on route and then disaster struck! The bus broke down, amid the hammering and clanging, I started to panic about what would happen if the driver couldn't fix it and how would I know as no bugger speaks English, I looked around and the locals looked quite relaxed, even the ones with small babies, so I decided to chill-out...I kept dosing off and waking up panicked like a granddad at Christmas. The bus started and we ended up heading back the way we came, so maybe it just went in for an MOT. Arrived at 5.30ish and by the time I got to my guesthouse on the main strip in the city it was 6am and city was starting to wake, phew!
The city of Vientiane is so beautiful, again looks like France and more like a town then a city. Traffic is very light and the whole city is populated with massive colonial villas with wooden shutters, wrought iron fences, courtyards and wrap-around verandas. I want one!!! It has this really incredible temple, that lacks all of the ostentatiousness that the others have but there was something very regal and wise about it. The royal palace looked a bit like a stately-home-cum-precocious-hotel in England, if I was the queen, I would move! Between the hours of dusk until dawn, there is a plague of Biblical proportions of mosquito's that swarm around everywhere, very unnerving especially in the bathroom! There is nothing more satisfying then the crack of the mosquito light as it claims another victim.
Speaking of colonialism, next stop Malaysia.
Thursday 29 January 2009
Vietnam
Entering Viet Nam (as the Vietnamese call it), was a sheer joy. I paid a lot of money to get onto a VIP bus, which supposedly made going through customs hassle-free, this isn't the reason I hasten to add, it was because the cheaper buses were all fully booked. The landscape of Vietnam is lushiously green and seems far more developed and organised.
I started in Saigon, bagged myself a really nice hotel room (which turned out not to be as cheap as I thought it was going to be) in the backpacker district. Location was fantastic, really close to all the things I wanted to see and reminded me of a classier Khao San Rd. The city is very colonial and as it is Tet, the streets were all decorated and people were running around in their posh frocks. I headed to the American Wars Crimes Museum (it's not actually called that anymore), which is totally horrific, although looking around you wouldn't know that twice the amount of bombs were dropped here then during the whole of WWII.
Went to the Mekong Delta, it ended up being more of shopping trip then the tour of the delta we were expecting. It was lots of fun though and managed to avoid the snake wine! The tour guide was called Duc (pronounced weird, I called him Doug), he was the highlight, he kept making jokes about the natives kidnapping blondes, so fair people should buy a hat and talking about Stiffler from American Pie?!
I think I nearly had my bag snatched about 3 doors down from the hotel. You get used to gambling with your life every time you cross a road and motorcyclist scooting really close past you. This happened and I felt a grab on my shoulder, I turned around and the cyclist was looking at me...hmmm. He'd be lucky, there are about 4 books in there, even Geoff Capes would have problems!!
They do open tours here, basically you book your destinations and 24 hours before you want to leave, you reserve your seat on the bus. My first stop was Nha Trang. This is their sea-side resort and is really nice, lots of expensive hotels and lovely beach, although the sea is really choppy. Had a bit of a panic when I arrived, as all the hotels and guesthouses were full, so ended up paying a whopping $26/night.
Hoi An is a lovely little town, lots of really old buildings and little shops full of arts and crafts. They have these little wooden townhouses that belonged to the merchants which were really cute. The hotel is fantastic, I have my own bathtub and there is a swimming pool. Although it's starting to get colder the further north I go. I had my first experience of a sleeper bus, it was hideous. I had to sit next to an old Vietnamese dude, when he wasn't yawning loudly, he was snoring loudly!! Men have to make such a song and dance about everything?!
Hue wasn't what I expected. It has the citadel, which is like a mini Forbidden City. Other then that, there is nothing here. Other then a cool bar called DMZ, named after the Demilitarized Zone, which was the buffer zone between north and south Vietnam during the American war. Got a bus to Hanoi, thinking about my last couple of towns in this fantastic country when I realised that the hotel didn't give me back my passport when I checked-out, doh! My head started racing of all the things that could go wrong, maybe they sold it on the blackmarket, maybe they've lost it, maybe they can't get it too me...I got it back, after paying the delivery boy 100,000dong or 4 pounds for travelling 17 hours on a moped to get it to me.
Checked in to this really nice hotel in Hanoi old quarter. I've prided myself on never getting lost and having a good sense of direction, but the old quarter does my head in! It's a maze of little narrow roads, packed to the rafters with little shops selling everything imaginable, you end up walking round in circles, you can't find anything even stationary objects and you have to deal with a million mopeds aiming straight for you! I expected David Bowie and his tight lycras to show up, how I manage to find my way to the hotel, I will never know?! For example, I booked plane tickets to Laos (to save myself a 24 hour bus journey) and had to go back to collect the tickets (remember those), made a mental note "it's on Ta Hien Street, next to Dragonfly bar', I walked past said bar about 4 times with no sight of the travel agent and behold suddenly it was there. The French quarter is where I should be staying, but I still haven't found that Russian billionaire. It is like a little piece of Paris has emigrated here.
The climax of the trip is Ha Long Bay, a site that attracts many visitors and is the must-do for any trip to Vietnam. The day was spoilt by a mass of tourist all of the same thought. Apart from the Japanese, who make the worst tourists, the bay was incredibly beautiful. It's absolutely amazing, all this massive limestone formations dotted around the sea.
I started in Saigon, bagged myself a really nice hotel room (which turned out not to be as cheap as I thought it was going to be) in the backpacker district. Location was fantastic, really close to all the things I wanted to see and reminded me of a classier Khao San Rd. The city is very colonial and as it is Tet, the streets were all decorated and people were running around in their posh frocks. I headed to the American Wars Crimes Museum (it's not actually called that anymore), which is totally horrific, although looking around you wouldn't know that twice the amount of bombs were dropped here then during the whole of WWII.
Went to the Mekong Delta, it ended up being more of shopping trip then the tour of the delta we were expecting. It was lots of fun though and managed to avoid the snake wine! The tour guide was called Duc (pronounced weird, I called him Doug), he was the highlight, he kept making jokes about the natives kidnapping blondes, so fair people should buy a hat and talking about Stiffler from American Pie?!
I think I nearly had my bag snatched about 3 doors down from the hotel. You get used to gambling with your life every time you cross a road and motorcyclist scooting really close past you. This happened and I felt a grab on my shoulder, I turned around and the cyclist was looking at me...hmmm. He'd be lucky, there are about 4 books in there, even Geoff Capes would have problems!!
They do open tours here, basically you book your destinations and 24 hours before you want to leave, you reserve your seat on the bus. My first stop was Nha Trang. This is their sea-side resort and is really nice, lots of expensive hotels and lovely beach, although the sea is really choppy. Had a bit of a panic when I arrived, as all the hotels and guesthouses were full, so ended up paying a whopping $26/night.
Hoi An is a lovely little town, lots of really old buildings and little shops full of arts and crafts. They have these little wooden townhouses that belonged to the merchants which were really cute. The hotel is fantastic, I have my own bathtub and there is a swimming pool. Although it's starting to get colder the further north I go. I had my first experience of a sleeper bus, it was hideous. I had to sit next to an old Vietnamese dude, when he wasn't yawning loudly, he was snoring loudly!! Men have to make such a song and dance about everything?!
Hue wasn't what I expected. It has the citadel, which is like a mini Forbidden City. Other then that, there is nothing here. Other then a cool bar called DMZ, named after the Demilitarized Zone, which was the buffer zone between north and south Vietnam during the American war. Got a bus to Hanoi, thinking about my last couple of towns in this fantastic country when I realised that the hotel didn't give me back my passport when I checked-out, doh! My head started racing of all the things that could go wrong, maybe they sold it on the blackmarket, maybe they've lost it, maybe they can't get it too me...I got it back, after paying the delivery boy 100,000dong or 4 pounds for travelling 17 hours on a moped to get it to me.
Checked in to this really nice hotel in Hanoi old quarter. I've prided myself on never getting lost and having a good sense of direction, but the old quarter does my head in! It's a maze of little narrow roads, packed to the rafters with little shops selling everything imaginable, you end up walking round in circles, you can't find anything even stationary objects and you have to deal with a million mopeds aiming straight for you! I expected David Bowie and his tight lycras to show up, how I manage to find my way to the hotel, I will never know?! For example, I booked plane tickets to Laos (to save myself a 24 hour bus journey) and had to go back to collect the tickets (remember those), made a mental note "it's on Ta Hien Street, next to Dragonfly bar', I walked past said bar about 4 times with no sight of the travel agent and behold suddenly it was there. The French quarter is where I should be staying, but I still haven't found that Russian billionaire. It is like a little piece of Paris has emigrated here.
The climax of the trip is Ha Long Bay, a site that attracts many visitors and is the must-do for any trip to Vietnam. The day was spoilt by a mass of tourist all of the same thought. Apart from the Japanese, who make the worst tourists, the bay was incredibly beautiful. It's absolutely amazing, all this massive limestone formations dotted around the sea.
Thursday 22 January 2009
Cambodia
Headed on a gruelling 12 hours bus journey from Bangkok to Siem Reap. You meet so many great people out here and trust me to sit next to most irritating couple on the planet...thank the lord of MP3 players!!!
As we pulled up to the Friendship Bridge, the man in charge stated that we should be weary, as when we cross the border we will be approached by lots of children who will pick our pockets and are on drugs (I always knew children were the root of all evil). Passed through Thai immigration with no problems, lovely air-conditioned building. Crossed the Friendship Bridge which seemed to be over a landfill site, as oppose to a river into Poipet. Entered this little shack with a tiny little opening where your passport was taken off you, stamped, looked at, stamped, looked at...eventually, we got our passports back and sat outside while we waited for an Iraqi guy who was in our group to pass through immigration.
Poipet felt like a post-apocalyptic hell. There was a steady stream of solemn looking people pulling wooden carts across the border. The place was a complete mess of mangled concrete and dust. People maimed by I assume landmines shuffling along, children walking around with their eyes rolling into the backs of their heads and a huge fade sign stating, "Please protect our children from sex tourism, report all cases of child abuse." I was so close to turning back around.
Once we left Poipet, it was a totally different story. Miles of green paddy fields, dotted with little wooden houses built on stilts, each with an enormous bale of hay, pond, chickens, cows and children running around. I can totally understand why Anglina Jolie adopted one, they are the cutest kids!
Siem Reap was the first port-of-call, we were offered a free tuk-tuk into the centre of town, provided we looked at the some guesthouse, I shared one with a couple of guys. The driver took a bit of a detour and as we were marvelling at the amount of posh hotels, a moped came screeching up besides us and tried to grab the guys bag. Luckily they didn't succeed, but shook us all up. The guesthouse ended up being great, got a massive room and en-suite in the centre of town for $4 a night...apart from a dreadlocked Italian dude who insisted on playing his guitar and singing constantly?!
Angkor is absolutely majestic, the site is huge! Despite is being ransacked by war, abandoned for centuries and ravaged by the Khmer Rouge, it's very well preserved. All of the tourists and hawkers, didn't really take away from the peace and tranquility of the place. I don't know enough about Hinduism to fully understand the meaning of the place, but in the middle of the jungle these monuments to Khmer architecture and empire looked very much at home. So much so, that one of the temple had tress growing on top of it, the roots straggling the structure - man and nature as one. Ended up watching a rather unimpressive sunset from the top of Bakheng Hill. It was cool, loads of people congregated, but getting back down really steep narrow steeps with hundreds of other people was a bit scary! The most annoying thing about Angkor are the hoards of children that run up to you as soon as you arrive at a temple. One girl introduced herself to me as Spidergirl, I fobbed her off but she remembered when I came back and called me a 'fucking liar', another 6 year old girl went to the extremes of telling me that Pol Pot killed her father...hmmm, didn't Pol Pot's regime get over-thrown 30-year-ago? It's a miracle!!
The bus ride to Sihanoukville was a bit scary, at Phnom Penh bus station the inspector looked at my ticket and flapped about a little bit, finally putting me on the bus, sitting on plastic stool in the middle of the aisle. Half way into the journey, we stopped for comfort break only to have our tickets checked by a very scary woman. She stopped the bus from moving, saying that I didn't have a ticket; 'that's what the tickets inspector at Phnom Penh gave back to me' I told her. The driver and his assistant got off the bus, argued with her a bit. Meanwhile I was munching on some fruit that a Cambodian man offered me. Finally she stomps off and we get on our way. Once I settled into guesthouse, I found the correct ticket in my back pocket, oops!
Sihanoukville is more laid-back with a beautiful beach and cool cafe-bars, mostly run by ex-pats. Got to top up the tan and drink lots of Cambodian coffee, which is good. Met lots of cool people, including this crazy artist guys who chatted to me hours about life, science, religion, etc.
Headed to Phnom Penh and the Happy guesthouse which backs onto the Boeng Kak lake, which is extremely polluted. The room isn't the nicest, but it'll do, it has a steady stream of travellers and great communal area. Went to see the Killing Fields and S21 prison, the fields were a series of shallow ditches where the Khmer Rouge buried the people they executed. A tree that was used to kill children was pointed out. Then headed to S21 prison, just to add to the misery, which is converted school, chopped into cells that was used to detain and torture people. It was horrible, the steel beds and medieval instruments were still there. It made me feel sick thinking about all the pain and suffering that was inflicted in those cells. People really are cruel. What made me more sick was bring ripped off by the tuk-tuk driver. I should have been more forthright and told him to fuck off, but after seeing the Khmer Rouge's legacy, didn't really want to mess with any Cambodians!
So, New Lunar Year is the last day I spend in Cambodia. It is a fantastic country, so interesting and friendly. If you can get over the pollution and dust and the fact that Cambodian ladies wearing pyjamas as day-wear?!
As we pulled up to the Friendship Bridge, the man in charge stated that we should be weary, as when we cross the border we will be approached by lots of children who will pick our pockets and are on drugs (I always knew children were the root of all evil). Passed through Thai immigration with no problems, lovely air-conditioned building. Crossed the Friendship Bridge which seemed to be over a landfill site, as oppose to a river into Poipet. Entered this little shack with a tiny little opening where your passport was taken off you, stamped, looked at, stamped, looked at...eventually, we got our passports back and sat outside while we waited for an Iraqi guy who was in our group to pass through immigration.
Poipet felt like a post-apocalyptic hell. There was a steady stream of solemn looking people pulling wooden carts across the border. The place was a complete mess of mangled concrete and dust. People maimed by I assume landmines shuffling along, children walking around with their eyes rolling into the backs of their heads and a huge fade sign stating, "Please protect our children from sex tourism, report all cases of child abuse." I was so close to turning back around.
Once we left Poipet, it was a totally different story. Miles of green paddy fields, dotted with little wooden houses built on stilts, each with an enormous bale of hay, pond, chickens, cows and children running around. I can totally understand why Anglina Jolie adopted one, they are the cutest kids!
Siem Reap was the first port-of-call, we were offered a free tuk-tuk into the centre of town, provided we looked at the some guesthouse, I shared one with a couple of guys. The driver took a bit of a detour and as we were marvelling at the amount of posh hotels, a moped came screeching up besides us and tried to grab the guys bag. Luckily they didn't succeed, but shook us all up. The guesthouse ended up being great, got a massive room and en-suite in the centre of town for $4 a night...apart from a dreadlocked Italian dude who insisted on playing his guitar and singing constantly?!
Angkor is absolutely majestic, the site is huge! Despite is being ransacked by war, abandoned for centuries and ravaged by the Khmer Rouge, it's very well preserved. All of the tourists and hawkers, didn't really take away from the peace and tranquility of the place. I don't know enough about Hinduism to fully understand the meaning of the place, but in the middle of the jungle these monuments to Khmer architecture and empire looked very much at home. So much so, that one of the temple had tress growing on top of it, the roots straggling the structure - man and nature as one. Ended up watching a rather unimpressive sunset from the top of Bakheng Hill. It was cool, loads of people congregated, but getting back down really steep narrow steeps with hundreds of other people was a bit scary! The most annoying thing about Angkor are the hoards of children that run up to you as soon as you arrive at a temple. One girl introduced herself to me as Spidergirl, I fobbed her off but she remembered when I came back and called me a 'fucking liar', another 6 year old girl went to the extremes of telling me that Pol Pot killed her father...hmmm, didn't Pol Pot's regime get over-thrown 30-year-ago? It's a miracle!!
The bus ride to Sihanoukville was a bit scary, at Phnom Penh bus station the inspector looked at my ticket and flapped about a little bit, finally putting me on the bus, sitting on plastic stool in the middle of the aisle. Half way into the journey, we stopped for comfort break only to have our tickets checked by a very scary woman. She stopped the bus from moving, saying that I didn't have a ticket; 'that's what the tickets inspector at Phnom Penh gave back to me' I told her. The driver and his assistant got off the bus, argued with her a bit. Meanwhile I was munching on some fruit that a Cambodian man offered me. Finally she stomps off and we get on our way. Once I settled into guesthouse, I found the correct ticket in my back pocket, oops!
Sihanoukville is more laid-back with a beautiful beach and cool cafe-bars, mostly run by ex-pats. Got to top up the tan and drink lots of Cambodian coffee, which is good. Met lots of cool people, including this crazy artist guys who chatted to me hours about life, science, religion, etc.
Headed to Phnom Penh and the Happy guesthouse which backs onto the Boeng Kak lake, which is extremely polluted. The room isn't the nicest, but it'll do, it has a steady stream of travellers and great communal area. Went to see the Killing Fields and S21 prison, the fields were a series of shallow ditches where the Khmer Rouge buried the people they executed. A tree that was used to kill children was pointed out. Then headed to S21 prison, just to add to the misery, which is converted school, chopped into cells that was used to detain and torture people. It was horrible, the steel beds and medieval instruments were still there. It made me feel sick thinking about all the pain and suffering that was inflicted in those cells. People really are cruel. What made me more sick was bring ripped off by the tuk-tuk driver. I should have been more forthright and told him to fuck off, but after seeing the Khmer Rouge's legacy, didn't really want to mess with any Cambodians!
So, New Lunar Year is the last day I spend in Cambodia. It is a fantastic country, so interesting and friendly. If you can get over the pollution and dust and the fact that Cambodian ladies wearing pyjamas as day-wear?!
Friday 16 January 2009
Bangkok
Had a bit of a drama on the plane, my EpiPen was confiscated by the air steward, as it was a sharp object; "will you need it during the flight?" he asked with the biggest smile on his face, "not unless you're planning on giving out little bags of nuts?!" It was quite embarrassing being pulled out the queue and ushered to one side, I started thinking about Nicole Kidman in Bangkok Hilton, eek!
Got to Khao San Road, and it's amazing. Such a cool vibe, surrounded by loads of travellers and holiday makers. I want to buy everything - but need to remind myself that whatever I buy I have to carry around and I hate carry bags from Tesco! Also, I know I'd probably get it home and hate it. I ended up in this great little hotel on Rambuttri Road, which runs parallel to Khao San and has everything, including an English cafe (yes, I had a full English) and curry house. I've also found this cool reggae bar down an alley off the Khao San, they have a loud music-off with the Harley bar next door, so you can't hear a flippin' thing, but it's great.
Been swapping books and exploring the city. Wednesday is a Buddhist day and all the tuk-tuks get government subsidises to take tourists around all the temples. So I hoped onto a tuk-tuk and went to the 'big Buddha', which is about 45 feet tall and then 'lucky Buddha' which is a 300 year old statue. Met this Thai English teacher, who took pity on me looking lost and bewildered about what to do in a temple. He showed my how to pray to Buddha, which I did. He went on to about a tailors that make suits for Armani, Hugo Boss... Without me or this dude mentioning it to driver, he took me to a tailors, they showed me all their brochures, got out rolls of fabric to choose from, all I could say is "don't wear suits, look at me do I look like someone who wears suits?" So, off I went to the marble temple, where I bumped into a Filipino lady who was going on about buying jewellery in Thailand and selling it on for profit in England. No surprise that I ended up in said jewellery shop...I was starting to feel like I was in the Truman Show. After this, the driver asked to take me to another 'factory' for 'special promotion for tourists'...when I said no, he said just so I can get the coupons (to pay for fuel). He was old and I thought I would get some karma points, so I agreed. By this point, I had no patience for sales pitch.
It's so warm and sunny, although people say that it's cold for this time of year. I think it's blowing in from the chilly northern hemisphere. I'm loving it, having been wrapped up for the best part of 12 months. Hanging out at the hotel pool (it's on the roof), trying to get some colour and because of all the gorgeous French men ;)
I'm really enjoying playing games like 'real monk/fake monk' and 'real lady/lady boy', it's great because no-one argues with me, so I'm always right! I love Thailand and would love to spend more time in Bangkok hanging around with all the travellers and exploring the country, like Chang Mai, Attayutha, Koh Chang and down south. I'm definitely going to come back here soon...once I've cleared my credit cards...and bring a big suitcase!
All my visas for Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos are now sorted and getting a bus to Siem Reap. Next stop Cambodia!!
Got to Khao San Road, and it's amazing. Such a cool vibe, surrounded by loads of travellers and holiday makers. I want to buy everything - but need to remind myself that whatever I buy I have to carry around and I hate carry bags from Tesco! Also, I know I'd probably get it home and hate it. I ended up in this great little hotel on Rambuttri Road, which runs parallel to Khao San and has everything, including an English cafe (yes, I had a full English) and curry house. I've also found this cool reggae bar down an alley off the Khao San, they have a loud music-off with the Harley bar next door, so you can't hear a flippin' thing, but it's great.
Been swapping books and exploring the city. Wednesday is a Buddhist day and all the tuk-tuks get government subsidises to take tourists around all the temples. So I hoped onto a tuk-tuk and went to the 'big Buddha', which is about 45 feet tall and then 'lucky Buddha' which is a 300 year old statue. Met this Thai English teacher, who took pity on me looking lost and bewildered about what to do in a temple. He showed my how to pray to Buddha, which I did. He went on to about a tailors that make suits for Armani, Hugo Boss... Without me or this dude mentioning it to driver, he took me to a tailors, they showed me all their brochures, got out rolls of fabric to choose from, all I could say is "don't wear suits, look at me do I look like someone who wears suits?" So, off I went to the marble temple, where I bumped into a Filipino lady who was going on about buying jewellery in Thailand and selling it on for profit in England. No surprise that I ended up in said jewellery shop...I was starting to feel like I was in the Truman Show. After this, the driver asked to take me to another 'factory' for 'special promotion for tourists'...when I said no, he said just so I can get the coupons (to pay for fuel). He was old and I thought I would get some karma points, so I agreed. By this point, I had no patience for sales pitch.
It's so warm and sunny, although people say that it's cold for this time of year. I think it's blowing in from the chilly northern hemisphere. I'm loving it, having been wrapped up for the best part of 12 months. Hanging out at the hotel pool (it's on the roof), trying to get some colour and because of all the gorgeous French men ;)
I'm really enjoying playing games like 'real monk/fake monk' and 'real lady/lady boy', it's great because no-one argues with me, so I'm always right! I love Thailand and would love to spend more time in Bangkok hanging around with all the travellers and exploring the country, like Chang Mai, Attayutha, Koh Chang and down south. I'm definitely going to come back here soon...once I've cleared my credit cards...and bring a big suitcase!
All my visas for Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos are now sorted and getting a bus to Siem Reap. Next stop Cambodia!!
Wednesday 14 January 2009
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is like the love-child of a Moroccan Souq and New York. It's all skyscrapers and every crevice has a shop to selling their wares. It is far more cosmopolitan then China and as a city, a lot greener then Chinese cities.
Finally made it after a mad-panic trying to get out of Xian, as no bugger can speak a word of English, including travel agents. Got onto the plane where I was served what looked like a kinder egg, I open it with a knife and inside it look like fudge, after a bite I realised that it was an egg...? The flight was a bit scary as the engines were making funny noises and I swear I could smell smoke half way through the flight, I held onto my St Christopher so tight I drew blood.
Hong Kong has become a journey of firsts. It's the first hostel I've stayed in that isn't the best (felt like I was sleeping in a prison cell and I could hear rats scurrying around outside at night time), had my first cold shower, my first English tea, first MacDonald's and first casualty...I lost my Kafka book I was reading that had a postcard of all the places I should visit in Japan. I'm really pissed off about it as I was enjoying the book :( I'm now reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, which is about a boy with asperger's. It started making me think that maybe I had aspergers (stop sniggering).
The hostel was called Lily Garden in Kowloon and in the heart of the tailoring district. The place was surrounded by clothes-making factories. Being the daughter of a dress-maker, it made me feel very at home with all the Singers and pins. There were an awful lot of curry stalls too, which served the most fantastic curry and samosas that nearly blew my head off.
The view from Victoria Harbour is superb and the weather was sunny and luke-warm, not warm enough to permanently ditch my horrid coat though. Looking out onto Hong Kong Island and watching the world go by, I was there for about 15 minutes and then I noticed that I had a tanline left by my t-shirt. So now I look like a Brit abroad with a builders tanline.
I love Hong Kong, so bright and vibrant. I'm a city girl, so I guess it's places like this that I feel most at home. Although, I felt slightly out of place against the well-dressed locals, who were all queuing to get into Louis Vitton and Chanel. Oh well, when I marry that Russian billionaire I won't have to queue, they will open the shop especially for me!
Finally made it after a mad-panic trying to get out of Xian, as no bugger can speak a word of English, including travel agents. Got onto the plane where I was served what looked like a kinder egg, I open it with a knife and inside it look like fudge, after a bite I realised that it was an egg...? The flight was a bit scary as the engines were making funny noises and I swear I could smell smoke half way through the flight, I held onto my St Christopher so tight I drew blood.
Hong Kong has become a journey of firsts. It's the first hostel I've stayed in that isn't the best (felt like I was sleeping in a prison cell and I could hear rats scurrying around outside at night time), had my first cold shower, my first English tea, first MacDonald's and first casualty...I lost my Kafka book I was reading that had a postcard of all the places I should visit in Japan. I'm really pissed off about it as I was enjoying the book :( I'm now reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, which is about a boy with asperger's. It started making me think that maybe I had aspergers (stop sniggering).
The hostel was called Lily Garden in Kowloon and in the heart of the tailoring district. The place was surrounded by clothes-making factories. Being the daughter of a dress-maker, it made me feel very at home with all the Singers and pins. There were an awful lot of curry stalls too, which served the most fantastic curry and samosas that nearly blew my head off.
The view from Victoria Harbour is superb and the weather was sunny and luke-warm, not warm enough to permanently ditch my horrid coat though. Looking out onto Hong Kong Island and watching the world go by, I was there for about 15 minutes and then I noticed that I had a tanline left by my t-shirt. So now I look like a Brit abroad with a builders tanline.
I love Hong Kong, so bright and vibrant. I'm a city girl, so I guess it's places like this that I feel most at home. Although, I felt slightly out of place against the well-dressed locals, who were all queuing to get into Louis Vitton and Chanel. Oh well, when I marry that Russian billionaire I won't have to queue, they will open the shop especially for me!
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