August 24, 2005
Losing my camera
(Day 185) There's a reason I take so many pictures. Entries sometimes don't get written up until several days later when I have free time, and the pictures serve as reminders for what I did on a particular day. Therefore, when my trusty Pentax Optio S4 went missing, it had to be one of the worst moments of my trip so far.
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Posted by markyiin at 12:05 AM | Comments (2)
August 22, 2005
More of Halong Bay and Water Puppetry
(Day 184) It was a beautiful morning, one worth getting up for. Not that I really had a choice. We were due downstairs at 7:00am for breakfast, and afterwards we were brought back to the docks to continue our tour. Depending on whether people had paid for a two, three, or four day excursion, we were directed onto different crafts. On a boat that could've comfortably seated 24, my international group numbered only 11. Having signed up for the two day variety, it was back to the mainland for us.
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Posted by markyiin at 07:29 AM | Comments (5)
August 21, 2005
Halong Bay
(Day 183) Flying from Hanoi to Bangkok and back again probably increased my cost per day average and cost me time in Vietnam. Ideally, I wouldn't have had to go back. However, given the choice all over again, I wouldn't do anything differently. Blitzing through cities, visiting attractions, is a rewarding experience, but staying in places with no backpacker scenes, mingling with local people unconcerned with tourist dollars... It's a totally different world.
The blog resumes back in Hanoi, from which I embarked on a a three hour ride to Halong Bay. At Halong City, I left my shuttle of Swiss, Germans, Spaniards, Brits, and Koreans to join a group of Japanese, Dutch, French, and Vietnamese tourists. Halong Bay, the third UNESCO World Heritage site I'd visit in Vietnam (Hoi An and Hue being the other two), is the country's biggest draw, and it's not surprising that people from all over come to visit.
Posted by markyiin at 10:08 PM | Comments (10)
August 12, 2005
Hanoi
(Day 167) I could've sworn the schedule said we'd reach at Hanoi at 4:00am. Whether we had some delays during the night which I wasn't aware of, or I simply remembered wrong, we didn't get there until around 9:00am. Which probably worked out for the best anyways. It's always better to arrive at a new place in daylight.
Posted by markyiin at 11:42 PM | Comments (17)
Thien Mu Pagoda
(Day 166) The only train I could get a ticket on didn't leave until the early afternoon. A pain in the butt since it left me with not enough time for another tour, but giving me a whole morning that I somehow had to pass. Since I had missed out on the Thien Mu Pagoda the day before, I figured I'd make it a goal to see it before I left town.
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Posted by markyiin at 08:45 AM | Comments (4)
August 11, 2005
The Tombs of the Nguyen Emperors
(Day 165) "One day it started raining, and it didn't quit for four months." That's what Forrest Gump once said of Vietnam weather. While it hasn't been non stop rain for me, I can't remember the last time I saw the sun here.
This morning was no different. Light drizzle with the threat of heavier downpour. I had already signed up for a tour to see the tombs of the Nguyen emperors. It was too late to cancel.
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Posted by markyiin at 06:29 AM | Comments (4)
Lost keys, Lost capitol
(Day 164) Like every other Southeast Asian country, Vietnam has a well beaten tourist trail that everyone follows. Numerous travel agencies offer flexible, hop-on hop-off, open tour bus tickets that make stops at all points of interest along the way. Competition has made this one of the cheapest ways to get around. For as little as US$20, its possible to travel from HCMC to Hanoi, or vice versa.
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Posted by markyiin at 06:14 AM | Comments (1)
August 01, 2005
Hoi An
(Day 163) In the 16th and 17th centuries, Hoi An was an important trading port in southern Vietnam, attracting merchant ships from all over the world. Many of the historic buildings have been well preserved, allowing architecture enthusiasts to explore the Chinese, Japanese, and European design influences. Today, with its UNESCO World Heritage listing, it continues to be a popular stop, but for tourists arriving on buses, not merchants arriving by sea.
Posted by markyiin at 12:45 AM | Comments (3)
Stopover at Nha Trang
(Day 162) Thanks to five backpackers sitting in the back row who wouldn't shut up, I hardly got any sleep on my overnight bus to Nha Trang. When we arrived at our destination, I was looking forward to a nap more than enjoying the beach. I had another overnighter to catch later, and I knew I'd be a wreck if I didn't get some proper rest in between.
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Posted by markyiin at 12:38 AM | Comments (4)
July 29, 2005
The Motorbike Diary
(Day 161) To some, the traffic here can be intimidating, even downright scary. To me, it looked like an exciting challenge. I had skipped skydiving and bungee jumping in New Zealand due to budget concerns. There was no chance I'd pass up the extreme sport of driving in Vietnam.
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Posted by markyiin at 08:37 AM | Comments (10)
The Cu Chi Tunnels
(Day 160) The war in Vietnam has to be some of the darkest days of American history. I've heard the jokes, about how we ignorantly built a base on top of a series of underground tunnels, and couldn't figure out for years why things kept exploding at night. Whether this is rumor or actual fact, I'll leave that up to history buffs, but it's pretty clear our inability to infiltrate the them resulted in perhaps one of our worst military defeats.
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Posted by markyiin at 08:12 AM | Comments (4)
July 27, 2005
The colors of the Mekong Delta
(Day 159) One has to look past the unaesthetically brown appearance of the Mekong River to fully appreciate it. Commencing all the way in western China, it travels 4500 km, through multiple countries, before emptying into the sea in southern Vietnam. Waterways have always been important to human settlements. The Mekong Delta is no different, being the lifeforce of a thriving community. Part of the reason I signed up for a two day tour from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City (rather than take the 12 hour direct bus) was because it included sights around the area, hopefully giving me a glimpse of life in rural Vietnam.
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Posted by markyiin at 01:35 AM | Comments (9)
July 25, 2005
Vietnamese food
(Day 158) "Look! That little kid's got your bag!" said Jo. We had just gotten off a minibus to be transported to Vietnam via boat.
"Yeah, that's okay. I got a little bit of riel I need to get rid of anyways." Cambodia, or Camry-land (I swear, 90% of the cars on the roads are Toyota Camry's), used US currency for most transactions, but sub dollar amounts came back in riel. At the exchange rate of 4000 riel per dollar, a 1000 riel note was conveniently 25 cents.
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Posted by markyiin at 10:26 AM | Comments (9)