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Post by chech on Dec 28, 2014 17:03:02 GMT
Highlights of Vietnam and Cambodia with Singapore. ~~~ Views = 8578 14 January - 2 February 2015 A copy of this tale can be found on my blog. All the photos can be found here. Travel Days – 14/15/16 January 2015 And I do mean 'days' as in plural. I actually had a hard time finding flights to Hanoi. Most would connect through Hong Kong, Narita or Seoul. I booked the flights two months in advance and the pickings were a bit slim. In the end, I found a connection through Vancouver and Seoul. Since the Vancouver leg left Toronto at 7 am, I had to fly in the day before and spend the night in Toronto. No problem. I have my favorite hotel to go to – the Alt. I’m on a first name basis with the front desk staff now. The overnight is also a good idea in winter as anything can delay or cancel flights. As I would find out. I was dogsitting my sisters dogs while she was on the mainland. She was due to fly back the evening of the 13th and at the last moment, the flight was diverted to Stephenville (and airport on the west coast of Newfoundland with a runway long enough to accommodate the space shuttle and was an emergency landing strip for it). However, it has no services to accommodate a hundred or so passengers so they ended up returning to Toronto. Pretty good. Toronto to Toronto in 9 hours. The reason for the diversion was an icy runway. So, I spent the night watching flight after flight get cancelled. Now, it was likely that the flights in the morning wouldn’t be affected, but with four full Air Canada flights cancelled, that means those planes wouldn’t be in St. John’s to leave the next morning. Have I lost you yet? Luckily, I had booked the noon flight which mean that plane would leave Toronto the same morning. My only worry was them bumping me for a higher paying customer since I had gotten the flight on points. Double luckily, I had already checked in, which I’m told lowers the risk of being bumped. And the plows were out in force all morning. In the end, Air Canada put on a couple of extra flights to accommodate the stranded passengers and I got out on time no problem. Despite -17 degree temps. And my sister was on one of those flights, so we passed at 34,000 feet over western Newfoundland and her dogs only had to spend about 4 hours alone in the house. <whew> Yeah. My couch is intact. I got into Toronto at 2:30 and checked into the Alt. I went to Terminal 3’s Swiss Chalet for dinner and also picked up some Vietnamese Dong at the exchange counter. My bank didn’t have that currency available. Neither source had Cambodian currency, so I’ll have to pick some up there. I asked the clerk for $200 Canadian in Dong and he looked at the screen, smiled and said “prepare to be a millionaire.” Yup. I have two and a half million dong. I think I’ll buy a boat. Back at the Alt, I took a shower without crushing my toes with my shampoo bottle this time. I watched Under Siege and took a couple of Dristan which put me out. With such a long day tomorrow, I really want all the sleep I can get tonight. And the day started at 4:40 am Toronto time. I was up and out in 20 minutes and dropped my bag off at the counter but while it goes straight to Hanoi, I have to source a boarding pass in Seoul. I have 2 ½ hours to do that. Shouldn’t be a problem. The auto machine also scanned my Vietnam visa, so I know that’s good. It’s different having to take a domestic flight out of Toronto. The domestic terminal has more services and better wifi. The flight is on the new 787 Dreamliner. [/url] This isn’t the double decker. That’s the A380. This is Boeing’s new carbon composite jet. It has larger windows which don’t use shades. They have automatic darkening that you can control. The cool part is that you can see through the window when it’s darkened. The seats are more form fitted but are no more spacious than the regular seats, but the best part is that you have to work to get them to recline. You can’t press the button and go BANG into the forehead of the person behind you. The entertainment system is also miles ahead of the regular one. It’s a touch screen that you don’t have to pound with your fist to work. Much easier to navigate and more offered including games. If there was a downside, it’s that there is also a control pad on top of the armrest. Yeah, you know where I’m going with this, don’t you. So, depending on where you like to rest your arm, you either kept turning on your light, kept turning down the volume on your movie or kept calling the flight attendant. For such a gorgeous plane, someone screwed up on that count. The plane also flew at 40,000 feet which is the highest I’ve ever gone. And we raced the sunrise all across the country so the horizon had a pink glow the whole way. Oh, and in promo pics, you can see the wings look like they sweep upwards quite a bit. Yeah, they do. When I looked across to the window, all I could see was wing. The end of it was well above my field of vision. Pretty cool. I watched Gone Girl and munched on tea and trail mix. At least it was tea this time. I was halfway through my ‘tea’ on the flight yesterday when I realized it was actually coffee. I was thinking…this is bitter tea. Nope. Weak coffee. My first clue should have been when the attendant said “here’s your coffee.” LOL We landed ahead of schedule and everyone stopped to take a pic of the plane as we got off. Nice with the mountains in the background. There’s no security check or anything. Just show my boarding pass and off I go. Vancouver is a very nice airport. A bit of shopping, lots of seats, free wifi, plugs at select seats and some comfy seats around. The ones facing the view even have a foot rest. I picked up a Bacon-n-egger at A&W and tried to get a tea at Starbucks, but they had no English Breakfast. Yup. I’m in British Columbia and I can’t get English Breakfast tea. They actually had no black tea at all, so I settled for a muffin and my first Coke of the trip. What is it about travelling that draws us to consume so many carbs? My flight to Seoul left on time and I settled in with a Korean couple going home to visit relatives next to me and a guy who couldn’t get the seat back far enough no matter how many times he jumped in the seat to push it back. Lunch was probably one of the better airplane meals I’ve had, so whoever is doing the catering in Vancouver makes great meals. It was tender chicken chunks and a little ball noodle. I decided to take a nap and I think I conked out for maybe 30 minutes out of the two hours I had my eyes closed. I spent the rest of the 10 ½ hour flight watching movies. We got a noodle service at the halfway point. We landed in Seoul at 3:30 – a full 45 minutes early. Gotta like that. Since I wasn’t staying in Korea, I didn’t have to fill out any landing or customs cards. I didn’t have a boarding pass and as soon as I got off the flight, there was a representative from Korean Airlines with a list of flights. She directed me to the Transfer Desk B. I had to go to another terminal (where I think everyone had to go) and while they turned one way for baggage, I turned the other for Transfers. I then found myself in this huge shopping area in the main terminal. And very good signage everywhere. There was also employees in blue jackets everywhere to help us if we got turned around. Who? Me? Nah. I found the transfer desk and got my favorite aisle seat then went looking for my fridge magnet for Korea. Despite the fact that it was one of the largest airport malls I’ve been in, it was almost all duty-free perfume, alcohol, jewelry and chocolate. Oh, so much chocolate! I resisted and found the one souvenir shop in the whole place. I got my fridge magnets and went in search of my gate. I found it and when I sat down, I noticed a lonely little passport sitting on the seat next to me and no one nearby. Now, believe it or not, this is the second time in one day that I’ve found a missing passport. On the flight to Seoul, I found a Canadian passport on the empty seat across from me as I boarded. I checked the name, called it out and this girl is sitting in the row behind and looks at me as if to say “who the heck are you.” I hold up the passport and her mouth just dropped. Well, there was no pronouncing the name on the Thai passport I found at the gate, so I gave it to the airline clerk at the desk. He announced the name and a moment later I noticed a guy doing that “oh crap, where’s my passport” dance as he patted all his pockets with that “oh crap, oh crap, oh crap” expression on his face. I caught his attention and pointed to the airline clerk who was coming toward him. It was so obvious he was the one that lost the passport. So, hold on tight to your passports, ladies and gents. And if you insist on keeping it in one of those neck pouches, don’t buy the basic department store ones. The strings break far too easily (as it did for two men on my Patagonia tour). If you want a neck pouch, get one with a strap like a shoelace that is well sewn into the pouch. Okay, so where was I? Oh yeah, the gate. We boarded just a few minutes late and departed a little late as we were waiting for passengers. The A330 had seats and entertainment centres like the Dreamliner. Lovely touch screen and decent selection of movies and stuff. And an exterior camera where you can view down or forward. Unfortunately, it was a night flight, so there was nothing to see. Korean Air is a very nice airline. It had a nice meal service with a delicious hot soft bun. There was even toothbrushes with paste available in the bathrooms. The flight landed just after ten, about 40 minutes late. I didn’t have to fill out any landing cards and got through passport control very fast. Not that it mattered. I spent the next hour waiting for my bag. It seemed like they offloaded the cargo first as the first 30 minutes was almost all oversized baggage and cardboard boxes. Now, given that I had started in Toronto and flew through two more airports, you’d think there’d be a chance the bag didn’t make it, but it finally popped out. I had seen a bag with a TT tag pass by earlier, so I figured I wasn’t the only one looking for the transfer. He was there with a TT sign, waving it at me as it I had Trafalgar stamped on my forehead. There were two women and a man with him. Two were solos and one woman who is expecting her friend tomorrow. She is from Canada and the two others are American. Our transfer is a tour guide, just not our tour guide. He said there were 22 on the tour. Awesome. It took about 45 minutes to get to the hotel and he gave us some basic information about Vietnam and Hanoi. He reminded us that Vietnam is still a Communist country but that like China, it’s politically Communist for economically it’s a free market system. When he references the Vietnam War, he calls it the American War and he said not to worry for the two Americans….the Vietnamese are a forgiving people. I can believe it. I experienced this in Japan. He gave us an idea of what we could do on our free day. Of course, I’m at about 30 hours with 30 minutes sleep so my first thought was ‘what day of the week is it?’ and my second thought was that I know exactly what I’m doing with my free day. We arrived at the hotel and checked in. While the other three discussed what they might do on the free day, I just smiled and said I’m a happy wanderer (who likely won’t be wandering too far from my bed before noon). I got to my room and after checking the net and brushing my teeth, straight to bed it was for me. I honestly don’t remember putting my head on the pillow. Oh, next time I say I’m looking at doing 3 flights totally over 20 hours of flying in one day, smack me in the back of the head.
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Post by chech on Dec 28, 2014 17:03:14 GMT
Day One – 17 January 2015 Weather: Sunny-ish, 22. Wow, what 8 hours of solid sleep can do for jet lag. I woke at 9:30 and knew there was no making it down for breakfast, so I snacked on a breakfast bar and took a long hot shower. Then I took my time getting ready so that my hair had time to dry. And I have a lot of hair. So, I did a laundry and explored the room. Found not one, not two...but four robes in my closet. Two terry towel and two silk robes. The bathroom has a nice selection of items and a good hairdryer as well as two complimentary bottles of water. There’s a safe, a stocked bar fridge and a kettle hiding in a drawer. The TV has an excellent selection of channels including my favorite Discovery and NatGeo which always have something on. I was all set by noon to wander and went down to the front desk for a map. Our transfer said that when we ask where to go to see the Hanoi Hilton that we shouldn’t use that term as we’d likely be directed to a hotel on the other side of the city – The Hilton. He said to ask about the Hoa Lo Prison and it’s right next to the hotel. I can see it from my room as it turns out. Since it’s not covered on the city tour, it was a great spot to check out. Last week I watched an episode of Don’t Drive Here that was done in Ho Chi Ming City. The series has a guy go to different cities and try out driving there in every kind of vehicle imaginable. Had I not seen the episode, I would have been in scooter shock today, but the show gave me an introduction as to what to expect. Scooters. Everywhere. One thing I learned from the show was that helmets are required for adults but not for children. For that reason, you can see a man and woman on a scooter with a toddler squat between them without any protection whatsoever. Utter insanity! They guy on the show was just in shock at this and even shadowed a family going about their day with their two kids on the scooter. Oddly enough, that family owned a car, but preferred the scooter as it goes places faster. The show also noted that there are not a lot of cars on the roads due to exceptionally high tariffs which can triple the cost of a car, but that the tariffs are set to disappear around 2017. They expect an explosion of car sales and utter gridlock after that. So, if Vietnam is on your list of places to see, come see it before gridlock sets in. Cause there’s nothing more fun than standing on a street corner scooter-watching. Except scooter-dodging while crossing the roads. Check out this video. Okay, where was I? Oh yeah. Scooter-shock. So, I walk the block to the prison and pay the 30,000 Dong to get in. $1.69 The entire prison is no longer here. There’s a apartment building occupying the footprint of most of the prison. Only the front section remains. The prison was built by the French in 1896 to hold thousands of Vietnamese “patriotic and revolutionary” fighters. Vietnam used it to house prisoners from 1954 to 1964. From 1964 to 1973, it held American pilots who were “arrested” after being shot down. In 1993, part of the prison was demolished and the rest turned into the historic relic. Yeah, I love the word choices used to describe the various events, but as they say, the history books are written by the victor. No doubt the stories of maltreatment of Vietnamese prisoners by the French contains a great deal of truth, but the stories on the treatment of the US pilots is a series of obviously staged shots of the men enjoying games and care packages. Details from the pilots on their release are at odds with what is presented here. Granted, information on their treatment is freely available to the Vietnamese through the internet and it is in no way restricted here like it was in China (where I couldn’t access Google and Facebook without a proxy). The French had a guillotine which is still there right next to the cells of death row. Prisoners were usually given ten months before sentence was carried out but overcrowding meant that they were often executed within days. There is a memorial to the patriotic and revolutionary fighter on the back wall of the prison that was added in 2000. Part of the original wall remains, complete with the broken bottles that top the wall to dissuade escape. I spent more than an hour checking out the prison and picked up a fridge magnet and my cat figurine for Vietnam. The transfer had recommended a walk around Hoan Kiem Lake and I headed that way. The pollution was starting to scratch at my throat so I put on my mask for the walk. Hanoi had a lot of rain last week and it has washed a lot of the pollution out of the air. I had read that the pollution in Hanoi can be worse than Beijing, so I brought along my pollution masks just in case. For the most part, I did fine for most of the day and just wore it when I was breathing harder. Like when I was scooter-dodging. Yeah, crossing roads can be hazardous, but unlike China, if you don’t quite make it, the Vietnamese actually will hit the brakes. They also obey traffic lights...somewhat...and crossing on a walk signal is okay…to a point. Some scooters will run the red light. And I’m not talking a fresh red. I’m talking a red light that has been red for 10 or 20 seconds. I watched one guy do a Hollywood move through the crossing traffic. I actually held my breath. I was sure he was going to get splat. It took about 10 minutes to walk to the lake and being Saturday…and yes, I had to think about that…there were a lot of people out and about for a walk. The lake has a nice walkway all the way around it with a lot of benches and an area for artists who will draw your portrait. I found a KFC at the north end of the lake and had a late lunch. It was an interesting set up. You ordered on the first floor and picked up the meal on the second floor and could sit there or on the third floor. As with the KFC in China, it’s much better than KFC at home. These guys use real chicken in the sandwich and the breast that came along with my combo wasn’t a greasy mess. When I was done, I headed out to do the other side of the lake and took my time heading back to the hotel. I had meant to pick up a Coke before I got there but couldn’t find a store, so I got two at the bar there. They cost me double what the entire meal at KFC cost me. Ouch. I was back in my room by 3:30 and had until 8 to relax, type this up and load up my first few photos. And watch a NatGeo special on Torres del Paine. An hour before the welcome dinner, I get a phone call from our tour director, Thom. He said hello, I’m in Saigon. LOL His flight was cancelled, so he was calling to say he had arranged for another guide to take us to dinner. He said he hopes to make it to the restaurant before we’re done, but I can’t see him making it. Between the flight time and the driving time from the airport, he’ll be lucky to get in by midnight. Nice of him to call. Nothing has changed from my point of view. The welcome dinner is still at 8 and the substitute guide could have explained the situation easily enough. He also said that we’d be leaving for the city tour at 8:30. Awesome! I think I’m going to easily beat 10 ½ hours of jet lag…or is it 13 ½ hours? I was down for the welcome dinner by 7:45 and it was a short drive to the restaurant. We walked up a spiral colonial staircase to the second floor and had a room to ourselves. There was a menu on the table that said it was a set menu and we thought we’d have to choose from the list. Nope. We get it all. They brought out plate for each group of four to divide amongst ourselves. It was delicious. Spring rolls, garlic bread, chicken on a skewer, rice, melon and more. Some fishy stuff too that I didn’t touch. We spend about two hours chatting and eating and head back to the hotel at 10 pm. I’m out by midnight. Hopefully, our TD is on a plane.
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Post by chech on Dec 28, 2014 17:04:14 GMT
Day Two – 18 January 2015 Weather: Sunny, some cloud (fog?) and 22. Wake up was at 7 am and I went down to check out breakfast. Woah! What a spread. It’s one of the largest selections I’ve seen complete with omelet chef. I filled up on eggs, toast, bacon and tea. I will try the Danish tomorrow. Our guide, Thom, was around giving out our name tags and making sure we didn’t get mixed up with the other tour groups. Yup…we had to chase one tourmate who was going with the Odyssey group. Some of the others on the tour said they had a hard time getting to sleep last night. I slept like a log and realized it was the Dristan. It’s a decongestant with an anti-histamine in it that can cause drowsiness. So, its effect is two fold. I get a great night’s sleep and get my sinuses dried out. Thom showed us out to our pink bus and with only 22 people on the tour, we all can take a pair of seats each and still have leftovers. I eventually opt for the back row. It’s elevated and gives me a chance to take pics left and right. As we leave for the Ho Chi Minh Masoleum, Thom introduces himself, the driver and the driver’s assistant. Yes. After 15 tours, I’ve come across something completely different. Thom says it’s normal here because, well, there’s more “action” here. No one has to ask what kind of action he’s talking about. One need only stand on a sidewalk and find out. Actually, the sidewalk is also a “street” so maybe one shouldn’t stand on a sidewalk or they might find out the hard way. The driver needs an assistant to stop traffic if he wants to do a U turn in the middle of nowhere. The assistant also makes sure we don’t get splat by traffic when we step off the bus. Cause them scooters go *everywhere.* Check out this video and about half way through you'll see a woman just casually walk across the multiple lanes of traffic. Notice how she doesn't alter her stride. Yup. Be predictable and no one will run over you. Yeah. The scooters. More on them later, but man, I could pull up a seat on an intersection and watch them all day. It’s insanity and poetry in motion at the same time. The assistant also helps us cross the street and after a hot morning, he even provides a cold towel and cold water service. I kid you not. Seriously. I kid you not! Thom tells us that the driver and his assistant will split the tip. He also won’t enforce a rotation since we have so few real bus days, but he won’t let anyone hog the front seat. In fact, the front seat is rotated twice in one day. Thom says that given the traffic, a half day in the front seat is all most really want…then they want the back seat. Too late. It’s mine! LOL He put on Gavin’s safety video and afterwards, he went on to say he is staying in the hotels with us (unlike other tour groups, he said, which make their guides stay elsewhere and don’t always pay for it. He said TT was good to their guides which is nice to know). Thom said he was available to us 24 hours a day, except in Saigon where his family is. There, he is available 23 hours a day. No one asks what he is going to do for that hour. He passed out our Whisper system as well and they are the good ones that work a hundred metres away. He was able to round up some wandering tourists with it during the day. He had to change the batteries on one and when he took them out, he looked at them and said “oh look, made in China. That’s why they’re no good.” Heh. The Vietnamese joke about the Chinese the same way the Danes and Norwegians do about each other. Our first stop is the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. He tells us it will be crowded and to stay with him like sticky rice. We get to enter the mausoleum through the tourist entrance which has almost no wait while the locals are in another line where they can wait up to 2 hours or more. Thom has us line up 2x2 and he has to collect all our cameras as photos are not allowed and they take no chances. In fact, there aren’t many photos of Uncle Ho online. We have to pass through a metal detector and pass our small bags through an x-ray machine and then we walk up to the impressive structure. There are guards wearing white uniforms everywhere and they even make sure no one has their hands in their pockets. We walk in, walk by the remains of Uncle Ho and walk out. No stopping. No talking. Outside, we meet up with Thom and get our cameras back. Then we’re free to take photos of the exterior of the mausoleum. The site was chosen as it was where Ho declared Vietnam’s independence from France in 1954. A little background now. Before France, it was the Chinese who occupied the territory for 1000 years. In the 1800s, the French moved in. First in the central region, then the south and then the north. They wanted to make Vietnam the centre of Indochina. Ho Chi Minh was born in 1890 and he didn’t like the way the French treated the Vietnamese. In 1911, he traveled to Saigon, North America then Europe and settled in Paris where he thought the best way to defeat the snake was to learn about the snake where it lives. He wrote articles to educate the French public on the treatment of the Vietnamese under French rule. In 1930, the Indochina Party unified all the parties in Vietnam and would become the Communist Party. Ho traveled to other Communist nations to learn about it and even joined the French Communist Party. At one time, he worked as a translator for a Russian delegation in China but in reality, he was playing 007 and gathered information. In 1940, the Japanese looked to “help” Vietnam get rid of the French but they weren’t much better. Ho led the independence movement from 1941 onwards. The French returned after the war and were eventually defeated in 1954 at the Battle of Dien Bien Pho. Even with independence, the north was Communist and the south was capitalist. The US moved in to prevent the spread of Communism and were driven out in 1973 but the war continued for another 2 years. Ho Chi Minh died in 1969 so he never did see his country reunified. He wanted to be cremated and his ashes divided and spread in the north, south and central Vietnam but his wishes were not followed and his body embalmed and placed in the mausoleum. The body has to be re-embalmed every year and the mausoleum is closed for 2 months while this is done. Thom gave us time to get some photos and then did a group photo with his cell phone. He said he would share it on social media. Then we started walking towards Ho’s residence. The presidential palace is an old French school that was converted but Ho refused to live in the luxury while the Vietnamese suffered in the south, so he moved into a simple three room house. He had three cars – gifts from Russia, China and France. On one of his birthdays, he was given a house on stilts nearby. Earlier in his life, he spent time with the hill tribes in northwest Vietnam and they used to live in these types of homes, so one was built for him in 1958. It had three rooms as well but no bathroom. That was in a bunker next door. When he became too ill to use the home, he was moved into a building behind it where he died on Sept 2, 1969. However, Sept 2nd is the independence celebration and rather than interrupt the celebrations, they delayed the announcement. Officially, he died on Sept 3rd, 1969. Thom noted that the French occupation did have its good points. The French left behind their architecture, their cuisine (especially the baguette) and the written language. They are disappointed, however, in the fact that the French did not teach them how to make good wine. As we finished up, we walked by the mausoleum on the other side and down by the One Pillar Pagoda. It’s under restoration, but they have a spot where you can view the Pagoda. The story is that the first emperor was childless and had a dream that he would be given a child on a lotus leaf and shortly after, he met and married a peasant woman who bore him a child. In gratitude, he built the Pagoda in the lotus pond. We got aboard the bus and were treated to our cold towel and cold water service by the driver’s assistant. Really. I kid you not. I have pictures! Refreshed, we moved on to the Temple of Literature which was founded in 1070, sixty years after the city was founded as the new capital. This is a temple of Confucius that was the site of the first university. Here, the best of the best were educated and their names inscribed on marble plates on top of stone turtle statues. The turtle is one of the four animals worshipped besides the dragon, phoenix and unicorn. I don’t expect to see the other three. The turtle is the god of education and was the first. It’s also a symbol of long life. Hanoi was founded in 1010, so you can imagine what went on here five years ago. There are signs still around with 10 10 10 on it representing the 1000 year anniversary on Oct 10, 2010. The original emperor moved the capital from the militarily secure area in the northwest to the current location as it would be better to grow economically. He chose the site after he saw a dragon ascending from the Red River. He named it Thang Long (soaring dragon) and in 1831 it was changed to Ha Noi which means ‘between the rivers.’ The original site was full of rivers but over the last thousand years, the course of the rivers shifted and left behind a lot of lakes like the one I saw yesterday. As we walked through the grounds, Thom noted that the royals and students each used different entrances. We got to use the royal entrance, but didn’t enter through the gate for the best students. At one point, one tourmate kept on walking and Thom had to call him back but said he hesitated as it meant he would get an extra lunch. We love his sense of humour. We got a few minutes to take pictures and headed off for lunch. En route, he pointed out a man getting a haircut on the sidewalk. He said it is called a windy cut as the wind takes care of all the fallen hair. The restaurant was so much like the one we were at last night, many thought we were in the same restaurant with the spiral staircase and same room, but it wasn’t. Obviously, it’s a popular style. We had a set menu and again, we didn’t have to choose from the list. We got a sampler of all the items listed. My favorite was the Steamed Rice Pancake Rolled Minced Pork Hanoi Style. As we finished up, Thom gave us a little information. He encouraged everyone to keep their passport in their room in the safe whenever possible. In his 20 years of touring, he’s never had a problem with the safes but has had people lose their passports by carrying them. He also warned that like Europe, they do have pick pockets. They also have motorbike snatchers. They’re like the body snatchers but they just want your purse or camera, so he warned people to keep the straps around our body and to not stand on the curb. He admits that despite the risk, he’s never had any of his travelers targeted. Someone asked why they had crosswalks if no one bothered to obey them and he smiled and said they were for decoration. Much like the traffic lights. Pretty red, yellow and green lights which offer suggestions to the traffic. He noted that in Saigon, there are tourist helpers who stand at the crosswalks to help tourists cross. As we drove towards the old quarter, Thom asked what the price of gas was at home and it turns out that it’s not much different here. But then again, the Vietnamese make much less money, so it’s expensive for them. Cars are triple the cost of the same in the west and houses are about 4 times the cost. But he says they’re all rich. After all, they’re all millionaires. He went on to say that the country is Communist in name only. The only vestige that is really left is the one party system. Other than that, you’d never say this was a Communist country. Their economy is the free market and isn’t interfered with to any degree by the government. There is apparently little restriction on travel too as Thom has travelled quite a bit from what he says. We did a walking tour of the old quarter that was really an introduction to how to navigate Vietnamese streets, which in itself is like doing an adventure optional. Sidewalks are not sidewalks. They’re scooter parking lots. And they also serve as the on and off ramps for the scooters that park there so you have to watch for scooters going down the sidewalk as though 007 was chasing them. Crossing the streets are a real treat. Ninety percent of the traffic is scooters. You can cross anywhere and the trick is to be predictable and just walk. The scooters will go in front or behind you. The cars too. So, that’s the one thing that is impressive. There is a respect between the scooters and pedestrians and I imagine accidents come from someone hesitating at the wrong moment or speeding up at the wrong moment and it catches the scooter driver off guard. And scooters are used to transport *everything*. As I think I noted, children don’t have to wear helmets so you can see one, two even three kids on the scooters with one or two adults. They can carry oil drums, flowers, hats, eggs…you name it, it can carry it. At some point, I will stand at an intersection and just watch. It’s fascinating. On our walk through the old quarter, we came to the Hanoi Cathedral which looks so out of place. It looks like it belongs in Europe. Ten percent of Vietnamese are Catholic (due to the French presence no doubt). It’s not open to the public. As Thom was giving his talk, a gorgeous SUV was being loaded onto a flatbed in front of the cathedral. He asked the police what was going on and they said the driver had pulled up, asked them if he could park. The police had said no but the driver simply locked his door and left. So, the police called the tow company. Yeah. If the police are standing there and say don’t park here, don’t park there. Thom said he had never heard of a tow away zone until he went to San Francisco. It cost him $280. We kept walking and Thom pointed out a very narrow house. He said if you were of any size, you would have to walk through it side-on. But he said it wasn’t the narrowest house in Hanoi. A little farther down the street was a “house” built in the space between two buildings. He said someone just looked up, saw the empty space and thought “I think I’ll build a house there.” The little balcony is adorable. We get back to the lake and get our chance to cross that same multi-lane street and I took [/a] video. This is how it's done. Notice how the scooters will go in front or back. We stop on the other side and as Thom is speaking, I noticed a Vietnamese guy stand very very close to the woman next to me. Her purse was on her shoulder but most of it was behind her. He held up his phone as if recording Thom, but it was obvious what he was doing. I just turned and stared at him. Two girls behind him starting saying something to him then the woman turned around and looked at him and gave me that ‘knowing’ look. She moved the purse forward and the guy left. We got back to the bus early cause I think Thom sensed some were getting tired. (Some arrived late last night) and we went back to the hotel for a 2 hour rest. Some had a nap. I downloaded my photos. At 6, we were down in the lobby to leave for the water puppet show. This is a northern tradition that is now spreading to the south, though he expects it will become harder for the tradition to survive in the modern age. It was the primary form of entertainment in the north for hundreds of years. The show is not done in English and doesn’t need to be. It was a real treat. The puppeteers are in the water behind a screen and control the puppets on long poles. Sometimes you could get a glimpse of the pole which can’t be that light. The puppets are made from a wood fibre but still have to be replaced every 8 months or so. The water is coloured green not because it’s dirty water but to hide the poles under the water. I took some here, here, here and here. The show lasted about 45 minutes. It cost $1 to be allowed to take pictures, but no one was enforcing it once inside the theatre. (I’m guessing they could only charge those they see going in with cameras). I was in the fourth row and it was tricky getting pics and video but I think I got enough to give you an idea what it was like. We were back to the hotel by 7:30 and I think we were all thankful for the free evening. I doubt many were going to be awake after 10 pm. I didn’t even make it to 10…
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Post by chech on Dec 28, 2014 17:04:32 GMT
Day Three – 19 January 2015 Weather: sunny, 23 Despite being out like a light at 9:30, I couldn’t sleep passed 4 am. I tried but finally gave up at 5 am and got up to type and pack up for the day. We have to pack an overnight bag for the night on the Junk (which Thom assures us is not ‘junk’). The company we’ll be using has six ships and there’s a chance we’ll have the ship to ourselves. If we don’t, he said we’ll be the majority. I went down to breakfast by 6:15 and tried the danishes. Delicious. I put my luggage out for 7 and went down to the lobby for our 8 am departure. Thom said it’s 168 km to Ha Long Bay but that 168 km in North America goes a lot faster, so he says it will take about 4 hours to get there. The drive through Monday morning traffic in Hanoi was as interesting as ever. One thing to be said about a city of scooters. Traffic moves fast. There were no traffic jams. If the traffic stops, the scooters just use the sidewalk. We were out of the city fairly fast. Thom said that Hanoi was the largest city in Vietnam by area but that Saigon was larger by population. There are 92 million in the entire country with 10 million in Saigon and 8 million in Hanoi. So, that answers my next question. How many scooters are there in Hanoi? Eight million. Who knew? Thom entertained us with information on the Vietnamese language. He said there were 4 fewer letters in their language. They have no F, J, W or Z. But they do have a number of accents that can change the sound and meaning of a word. For example, Ma has six meanings depending on the accent used including ghost, horse, miserable and mom. Yeah. You really have to be careful how you use that word when referring to your mother in law. We passed through the city of Bah Linh which is the factory centre. There were a number of recognizable names here like Canon and Samsung. My phone and camera are home! Didn’t see Nike. My sneakers are not happy about that. Thom explained the optionals available and said there was no pressure to take any of them. He went from person to person and took a list of who wanted to do what. The recommendation was to pay in cash as he didn’t have a credit card machine. They didn’t cost a lot. I decided to skip the optionals in Hue in order to have some downtime (re…watching football). I will take the optional to My Son temples in Hoi An, the cooking demo and dinner and the tunnels in Saigon. Don’t think they total more than $100. He gave us a run down for tomorrow as well and said that we get a brunch on the boat and an early dinner, but no time for lunch, so he said to eat a lot at the brunch. LOL Actually, he said he picked up some snacks the night before and spent two hours trying to find snacks that were not made in China. He handed out some rice chips as a teaser. He said that Vietnam is the world leader in rice exports and the second largest exporter of coffee. Who knew? Oh wait. I did. They told us that in Panama. Brazil is number one but Vietnam is the world leader in the export of Robusta coffee. Thom said his father grows coffee. He said that if anyone wanted to bring coffee home that they should wait until Saigon. Not because the coffee is any better there (it’s the same) but because it means we don’t have to carry it that far. We made a rest stop at a large embroidery factory. Really nice bathrooms and a café with a large selection of snacks of every description. I got M&Ms. We got back on the road at 10:30 and Thom passed around a sheet showing how the Vietnamese people started as the hill tribe people of the north and slowly expanded south. The expansion ended in 1867. The Khmer had the south part of the country for some time but the Chinese eventually pushed them out. A third people that once occupied the central region had earlier been squeezed out by the Chinese and Khmer. Ha Long means descending dragon and is where they believe it came back to earth to save the Vietnamese people. The area became famous after a French movie called Indochine. It was also the site for two Bond films. It is part of the Gulf of Tonkin. Sixty percent of the gulf belongs to Vietnam and the other 40% is in China. This is a problem for fishermen who might not have GPS and end up crossing the border and getting arrested. The city of Ha Long is visible through the haze as we approach the pier (which is on an island connected by a causeway). Thom said that the hotels there were struggling since the boats began to offer overnight trips. This meant people would spend their entire time on the bay in the boats and go straight back to Hanoi. As a result, only a limited number of ships can get licenses for overnight cruises. The pier has a number of boats. Thom said there is another pier but that the quality of those ships were not quite as high as these. He said we were not on the most luxurious boat but were not far off. He said it is a 4 star boat. We stopped and went into the boat’s office where everyone was treated to a glass of tea. We were given tags with our room numbers on it and walked across the pier to the ship. It’s a sweet little ship. The room is downright cute. And I can see why Thom thought it best that we not take luggage. As a solo, I probably could have managed my luggage in here no problem, but a couple would have a harder time. The bed pretty well takes up the entire room. It also has a bathroom with a shower. No TV. Spotty wifi. We headed out by 1 pm and could see the islands in the distance. We were directed up the third floor dining room for our lunch buffet. The cruise director is a young and eager young man and he did an introduction of the boat’s staff. We started to enter the islands and I was being tugged between eating and taking photos, so I popped out, took photos, popped back in to eat, popped out, popped back in for dessert. Gorgeous. With only 34 people on board, it’s very spacious on deck. The sun deck is great. We sailed until 3 pm and then offloaded onto the tender for a short ride to the floating village. It took two trips and once we were all there, we all loaded into row boats, six people per boat. We had our Whispers with us and had to wait for Thoms’ boat to catch up to us so that he could give us a commentary. He said the village we started at had 14 families and about 34 people. That is down from 300 as they are being relocated to the mainland slowly. They expect it’s inevitable as the children are educated on the mainland and once they get a taste of life on the mainland, they don’t want to go back. Much like the children of the people on the reed islands on Lake Titicaca. We rowed by several other villages among the pinnacles and even explored a hole in a rock complete with stalactites hanging from above. We rowed back to the village and were back on board the boat in time to watch the sunset. All I can say is wow. When I went looking for a tour to do during the winter, I had read as far as Day Four for this tour (this cruise) and stopped. I didn’t need to see the rest of it and called my travel agent. And it has paid off in spades. A gorgeous day and amazing scenery on a comfy boat with incredible staff. There was a cooking demonstration after the sunset but I wanted to download my photos. All 400 of them. Dinner was at 7 pm. I went up at 6:30 to find half the women on the tour dancing in the dining room. We had to choose between fish or beef earlier in the day. We had pumpkin soup, salad, and a panacoda for dessert. The 4 am morning hit me around 8:30 and dinner broke up at 9. I went back to my room and sorted stuff out. I found two plugs to charge the batteries. I was out like a light before 10.
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Post by chech on Dec 28, 2014 17:04:59 GMT
Day Four – 20 January 2015 Weather: Sunny, 22 I couldn’t sleep after 5 am. The problem is that I checked the time on my cell phone and dropped it. Like dropping a book flat on the floor in a library. I probably woke everyone in the cabin to the left, right, above me and across from me. I’ll blame the cabin above me if anyone mentions it. I went up on deck to check out the stars but there were too many lights to see much. This bay is the parking lot for the ships at night. Guess it ensures an oil tanker doesn’t run us over at night. I went back to my cabin to pack up my back pack and returned to the sun deck to watch the sunrise. It looked a lot like the sunset, just in a different part of the sky. At 6:30, one of the staff came up and did a short tai chi session with about a dozen or so people for about 20 minutes. The ship had started to move by now and was snaking its way out of the ‘parking lot.’ Since the area is a UNESCO World Heritage site, the government asked that all the boats be painted white. There are hundreds of them. Every nook and cranny has a boat going in or out in every direction. No traffic cops or nothing. Boats big and small go where they want. The bigger you are, the more leeway you get. We pull into another bay as we are having our continental breakfast. It’s not what we would call continental. It was a full breakfast. When we were done, about 15 of us got on the tender to visit the Surprise Cave. It’s a limestone cave located about 150 steps up the side of one of the pinnacles. I love caves! Some were dissuaded by the suggestion that the climb would be hard. It wasn’t. If you can climb to the third floor on the stairs, you can climb to the cave. The nice part is that you can get a nice view of the bay from the stairs. With the sun behind us, it lite up the bay nicely. (The other pinnacle that you can climb for good views is not far away but the view would be into the morning sun and would be hazy). The cave is impressive. Not as large as the cave in Slovenia but many more formations. At one point, Thom said that if he appears heartless at times, it’s because he left his heart in the cave and then he pointed to a hole in the wall that was shaped like a heart. (I knew he wouldn’t say he left his heart in San Francisco. His rental car is there, in the impound lot somewhere). There was another formation with obvious connotations. Thom asked what it was and no one would say. He said he knows what it looks like then hesitates and says “a cannon!” Well, yeah! He even pointed out the hole in the wall on the far side that it was shooting at. I missed some of his commentary as I adjusted cameras for night mode for some people. Worthwhile to experiment with your camera before you leave. The night mode made a tremendous difference to their photos. It took us about 30 minutes or so to walk through the cave and down the steps to the wharf where the tender took us back to the ship. Then it was time for the brunch. Tempura veggies, egg noodles, cheese, sticky rice. There was a fair selection of fish items too. I think I’m good till supper at 4 pm. I was back on the sun deck to take more pictures and watch the massive pinnacles float by. At one point, we came up behind another cruise ship that was going slower down a narrow passage and our boat beeped its horn like a scooter. The other ship shifted to the right and we passed by. At 10:30, we emerged from the pinnacles and headed to the pier. The staff got together and the cruise manager did a farewell speech and then five of the staff did a dance for us. You can watch the video. We were off the ship by 11 am and on our way back to Hanoi. At 12:30 we stopped at a ceramic factory for a short look-see. It was a great chance to get to the bathroom and stretch the legs. And you could sit with the girls painting the ceramics and do some painting. Just outside the shop were a bunch of kittens but they ran off before I could get a picture. There was also two hedgehogs in a box. Two of us wondered if they were smooth or prickly. I touched one to find it prickly…and it hissed at me. Then I suddenly had to go to the WC. We were back on the bus before 1 pm so we were ½ hour ahead of schedule. Always good on a day when you’re catching a flight. Thom gave us some information about the history with China. He said it was once considered Vietnam’s big brother but that China didn’t like Vietnam’s close relationship with Russia and in 1968, Vietnam asked China for support in the American war. China gave them an ultimatum to cut all relations with Russia in return for support but Ho being the guy he is, wanted to be friends with everyone and refused. They maintained their relations with Russia and China wasn’t their big brother anymore. The Communist system is more flexible here as I noted. Out of more than 90 million Vietnamese, only 4 million are Communist party members. Becoming a member actually isn’t that easy. It requires that one be recommended and it makes it easier to get a government job. Thom told us that his father fought for the South during the war and spent 3 months in a re-education camp. On his return, he moved south and was one of the first to plant coffee in the area and he was appreciated for doing so. He also led a farmer’s association and his work has gotten him off the ‘blacklist.’ So much so, his son was able to become a policeman. About 2:30, we pulled into a town that had, of all things, a massive church on the hill above it. We walked up the hill and Thom said it was a Catholic village and that the funds to build the church came from other Catholics in Vietnam as well as from foreign donations. This one, however, is also a Buddhist temple. You just have to walk around to the other side and voila. Thom wasn’t sure how the Catholics felt about that. The Buddhists were not happy. The village used to be bigger but after 1954 when the French left, a lot of the Catholics moved south. About 200 families remain. There is also an orphanage next door. We tried to get inside but all the doors were locked. From here we carried on to Hanoi and passed the airport on the spiffy new highway. Our transfer had told us the airport only opened two weeks ago. It’s now the largest one in Vietnam but the one in Saigon is being renovated and will be the largest in Southeast Asia when it’s done. We drove 20 minutes beyond the airport to a cultural village. Actually, it’s a house owned by an artist and it has carved statues all around with a water puppet theatre, pagodas and more, including a restaurant. This is our dinner stop. By 4:30 we sit down to eat and everyone is kinda looking at their watches given that we have a flight out at 7:15. Thom said we’d be on our way by 5:30 and sure enough, they managed to serve a huge meal in less than an hour. They served it the same way as the other restaurant, coming out with small platters that we shared between us at each table. Spring rolls, chicken, fish, rice, noodles. After a while, you just want to say stop! LOL From here, we headed to the domestic airport for our flight with Vietnam Airlines and Thom said we were permitted to have 44 lbs but that if our luggage was overweight, he suggested we just smile at the counter agent. We took a couple minutes to repack our overnight bags into our luggage (as this was the first time we saw the luggage since yesterday afternoon) and then we checked in. I didn’t notice anyone flashing a smile. I traded seats with a man who’d been here as a C-130 pilot in the war and he wanted the window seat to watch the approached into Hue, a flight he’d done many times before. It was too bad it was dark out. We took off on time and the flight took 50 minutes. It was quite bumpy and the plane hit the runway like a ton of bricks. The man watching out the window said he’d gone some distance down the runway then just flared and brought it down. I think I heard Thom say the pilot was a trainee. Then he said the flight only cost $70. Wonder if I could pay double next time and get a pilot with more than ten hours. We collected our luggage and had to show our luggage tags as we went out into the small Hue airport. The city is generally pronounced like “Way.” In the north, they call it “Hoi.” It was the capital from 1802 to 1954 and belonged to the south in the war and was only 75 miles from the border. In the Tet Offensive, it suffered a great deal of damage. It was about a 20 minute drive to our hotel, the Imperial, in the centre of Hue. Everyone was spent and by the time we all got our rooms, we were ready to turn in. The room is quite nice and the shower was great. The room has all the amenities including a nice little box for the bathroom stuff. By 10, I couldn’t stay up any longer. Thankfully, we don’t have our sightseeing until 8:30. Not that it matters. I’ll likely be wide-eyed and bushy-tailed by 5 am.
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Post by chech on Dec 28, 2014 17:05:39 GMT
Day Five – 21 January 2015 Weather – sunny, 23. Yup. I was up at 5. But I’m doing well. Some of the others are waking at 3 or 4 and can’t get back to sleep. I went down to breakfast and found another amazing spread. Another omelet chef and a huge selection of hot items, fruit and breads with tea or coffee. Very nice. We left at 8:30 and took a short ride to the Perfume river for our Dragon boat ride. Now, I know what most of you are thinking. Big canoe that sits one on each side with a paddle and a dragon’s head on the front. Yeah, I was fully expecting to be handed a paddle. No such luck. The dragon boat is like a catamaran with a seating area on it and the front of the pontoons has a figure of a dragon on it. And a really laid back captain. Thom said the captain doesn’t own the boat. They are owned by a local company and can cost up to $50,000 a piece. Thom pointed out two islands on the river and said they were called Blue Dragon and White Tiger because each are powerful animals and protectors in the Vietnamese culture. He pointed out a building that was several stories high and said that traditionally, nothing could be built higher than a building belonging to the royal family, but that the French ignored this. We sailed for about 40 minutes and shopped at the table on board. I got two pairs of silk PJs for $14. At least I think they’re silk. They are pretty cool. From here we walked up to the Thien Mu Pagoda. This was built in 1601 when the ruling Lord of the region, Hoang, was told that a Lady in red was said to have appeared and said a lord was coming and would build a pagoda on the site. And he did just that. We had a few minutes to look around. Off to one side is the car driven by the monk, Thich Quang Duc, who set himself on fire in Saigon as a protest over the treatment of Buddhist. The photo was seen worldwide and it even made Kennedy reconsider his support for the south. The car can be seen in the background of the original photo. From here, we took the bus to the Citadel. It is massive. It was built to protect the royal family and is actually three components. The outer citadel, the Imperial City and the Forbidden City. It is not as intact as the Forbidden City in Beijing but the immense size and restoration going on is impressive. The structure was damaged by cyclones and later in the war. It was even occupied by the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese army for a month after the Tet Offensive. There is a huge flagpole inside the wall and for 31 days the occupiers flew their own flag. A massacre of between 2800 and 6000 locals who were sympathetic to the south occurred during this occupation. Apparently, if I heard right, there is no monument to remember the victims of this atrocity. The Citadel was founded in 1802 by Nguyễn Phúc Ánh not long after he took control of Vietnam. The whole site is being restored by UNESCO and the main entrance is currently under restoration. This is the first site in Vietnam to be named to the list of World Heritage Sites. Just inside the main gate are five cannon that have never been used. They were cast from captured enemy weapons and the five represent the five elements – earth, fire, water, wood and metal. As we moved into the Imperial City, we got our group photo taken and moved to the Supreme Harmony Palace where the numerous columns have already been restored by UNESCO. (No photos allowed in here). This was the site of ceremonies and there is a throne in the large room. The columns were considered symbols of the harmony between the king and his subjects. After the Imperial City is the Forbidden City where only the royal family were allowed along with their servants, who were all eunuchs. Thom told us they servants were either boys who were born eunuch or were volunteers. The volunteers had to sign an agreement before the procedure as there was a risk of death. There were no pain killers or sharp knives, but there was a lot of rice wine. Then they had to fast for three days since they couldn’t pass liquids. Those that survived became royal servants though some rose to become men of power. The servants were buried after death and their lost ‘organ’ was buried with them since they believed that losing a part in life meant they wouldn’t have it after death. And they didn’t want to go there without it. We stopped into the theatre where the king usually sat on what we would consider the stage while the performers were back near the door. Then at the library, we found what is not typical – the four animals all on one roof – the dragon, turtle, phoenix and unicorn. This area of the Forbidden City had a lot of empty spaces where buildings had been destroyed in the war. A model of the entire Citadel in the Harmony Palace was a great perspective on just how large the complex used to be. We walked out of the Forbidden City to a line of cyclos. These are the one or two person seats behind a bicycle. These were one person cyclos and there were 23 of them waiting for us. Thom got everyone sorted out and we headed off for our Be My Guest lunch. The ride was thrilling. It took about 20 minutes or so to navigate through the streets. And yes, I have video here and here. Our lunch is at the garden home of Mr. Phan Thuan An. His home survived the war and is 2500 sq metres of garden that was planned and built in the tradition of fung shui which has a number of principles originally meant to orient buildings. The living and working area should face south. The temple faces west. There should be a screen on the main entrance and here it’s the rock garden just outside the door that functions as a screen. Symbolic dragon and tiger needs to be on either side of the entrance for protection. There should also be water in front. Mr. An brought us inside and continued to talk about his home and history. Five generations of his family have lived in the house and he showed us some medals his father and grandfather had wore. He worked as a teacher until 1975 and since then has worked in the restoration of relics in Hue that were damaged in the war. He showed us a copy of National Geographic from 1931 and inside was a picture of the main gate of the Citadel in colour. It’s being used today to help with the restoration. He was a delight to listen to and we sat down to enjoy a meal prepared by his wife and served up by his grown children. It’s the same style of platters shared between the table and some of the items were cut and shaped – like our salad which looked like a turtle. A delicious meal and we got to say hello to the chef who was actually quite shy. From here, we headed back to the hotel. There were optionals offered including the bonsai visit and the royal family dinner. I opted out of both to have the evening free. Don’t think anyone went to the bonsai visit but a number of people did the royal dinner and later said that they enjoyed it. I went back to my room and did a laundry and stuff while I watched the two football games I had missed. By 10, I was ready to pack it in.
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Post by chech on Dec 28, 2014 17:06:40 GMT
Day Six – 22 January 2015 Weather – another sunny and 23. I’m up and out and in my favorite back seat for the 180 degree view. Before we left, an employee from the hotel came aboard to thank us for staying and then walked the length of the bus to give us all cards asking us to give our opinion on Trip Advisor. It’s a three hour drive to Hoi An from Hue over the Hai Van Pass. Thom said there is a rail line going through Vietnam but that it’s a single line so that going from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City can take 30 hours. He calls it the Vietnam Bullet Train. A Flight takes under 2 hours and the bus is 2 days non-stop. I didn’t ask how long by car. Probably abou 15 minutes by scooter. There was nothing more fun than watching the faces on the westerners riding in the cars behind us as their local drivers went to pass our bus on the narrow, winding hillside roads. Someone asked him about the children born here with American fathers and he said they were shunned because they were black and white, not yellow. He even admits to seeing this harassment as a kid. In the 80s, the children were all repatriated to the United States as part of the Homecoming Act. A friend of Thom’s left here when he was 14 and moved to Minnesota where he now works for IBM. Then Thom put on a song I think he called the Dust of Life from Miss Saigon and it was quite emotional. He went on to talk about the boat people. They were primarily people from the south fleeing after the defeat in 75. They feared the same response seen in Hue after the Tet Offensive. Some were taken by the US and other countries, some ended back in Vietnam and were imprisoned and even more died in the attempt. Estimates say that 3 million attempted to flee and only 1 million made it to safety. Our next stop was a short photo op at a fishing village off the road. It’s on the Vinh Hien Lagoon which is a brackish water lagoon and is the largest in Southeast Asia. Thom says the best shrimp come from this lagoon. We take pics and get aboard when Thom points to a Japanese water buffalo. Everyone looks, cameras raised only to see a tractor tilling a field. We drove a bit farther and had a rest stop where there were some gorgeous little dogs and a sample of the local rice wine. Then we headed up the pass. Thom said there was a tunnel that is off limits to scooters and motorcycles. If they want to go through it, they have to pay for a truck service that transports their bikes to the other side. We make a stop for a pic of the ocean. There was a better opportunity at the top of the pass but Thom said the vendors there were very aggressive. Since our rooms in Hoi An won’t be ready until 2 pm, Thom offers to take us to a restaurant since lunch isn’t included. Everyone is up for that. We enter the city of Danang and Thom points out Monkey Mountain where the US made its first landings in the war. The city’s economy is supported by steel, fishing, time shares and tourism. The tourism is primarily due to the proximity to the airport. People arrive and go to Hoi An. It has a population of about 1 million and is the 3rd largest city in Vietnam. It was leading in investments until a massive typhoon struck in 2007 and a lot of investments were cancelled after that. The typhoon killed 300 people and many are still missing. A memorial was erected on the beach. It’s a ship that is facing the see as if it’s going to leave to search for the missing. And that beach is China Beach. Though they don’t call it that. It’s a gorgeous 42 km long beach. We make a brief photo stop and get my feet wet in the water. Or rather, my sneakers. The driver’s assistant is waiting with a brush to rub the sand off our feet and shoes. Thom says that Danang is a cleaner city because of its smaller population and better infrastructure. There are five bridges over the river including a dragon bridge. Yeah. Dragons! The French also landed here in 1858 and Danang was the first city taken. Then the French moved south to take Saigon. Our stop here is at the Cham museum. They were the people from the central part of Vietnam who were squeezed out when the Viet came south and the Khmer went north. They left behind an impressive collection of carved statues, many of which are in this museum. My Son is the largest Cham site found so far with some 70 structures dedicated to the Hindu god Siva. The area was excavated in the early 20th Century. The dragon of the Champa Kingdom is different from the Vietnamese dragon but both have a ball in its mouth. It’s usually a pearl and they believe it is being preserved just as society needs to be preserved. We continued on towards Hoi An which isn’t far from Danang. On the way we passed some new construction and Thom said they were time shares. Most are sold to people from Hanoi with about 12% coming from Saigon and 5% from Danang. Foreign ownership is not permitted yet but that is expected to change. Hoi An is a small city compared to the others with only 82,000 people and it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Tourism is the #1 industry and has been since 1999. Prior to that it was a sleepy community but cheap housing brought a boom to the area which now boasts million dollar homes. This is a place famous for tailors. As a UNESCO site, groups have to pay to enter (though I saw little enforcement on the open streets). The money primarily goes to restoration. We started a walk through the town. In the area preserved by UNESCO, scooters are not permitted. Only bicycles. Thom takes us to the restaurant he recommends and I go for the hamburger. In the shade I didn’t realize it wasn’t cooked through, but my tummy never did say anything about it. Abs of steel! From here we started a walking tour of Hoi An. Motorized vehicle are not permitted on the narrow streets and that was a relief for some in the tour who didn’t like the scooter dance. We made a stop at a Chinese temple called Phuc Kien that also functioned as an assembly hall. It was built in the 17th C. Outside was a nice sculpture of the carp becoming a dragon. The carp is considered a powerful fish and after swimming upriver for 1000 years, it can become a dragon. The entrance has three gates. Middle was for the royalty, the left was for the men and the right was for the women. It’s no longer enforced. The women made a point of using the left one. The temple has a painting of the goddess of the sea and protector of sailors, Thien Hau, who saved the Chinese who had come here by boat in 920 CE. She was assisted by gods who can see and hear for 1000 miles. The temple has huge coils of incense that one can light asking for a myriad of things and the incense can burn for up to a month. The heat at this point is starting to wear everyone down and Thom decides to cut the walking tour short and bring us to the hotel. He will complete the rest of it the next day for those that want to go. The Green Heaven Hotel is across the river for the UNESCO part of Hoi An and just a short walk. We check in and get our complimentary foot massage coupons. My feet say oh yay! I go up to my room and drop my stuff and go back into town to walk a bit. My feet say ney! I pick up the obligatory fridge magnet and a pendant for sister #3 and my first Vietnam t-shirt. Then I hobble back to the hotel and check in for a foot massage but she told me to come back later. My feet say no way! I go back to the room to freshen up for the night’s cooking class. Looking back, I should have skipped this one and took the time to wander the streets in the evening. Very safe and the place is rocking. Our cooking class showed us how to put fish or chicken in the banana leaves for cooking and we cut up our vegetables for cooking and made the dipping sauce as well. The meal was delicious. They gave us the recipe as well. We were done by 9ish and so was I. We walked back through the night time partiers on the street and I checked to find the foot massage spa closed for the evening. My feet say hey…wait a minute!
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Post by chech on Dec 28, 2014 17:07:03 GMT
Day Seven – 23 January 2015 Weather – Sunny, 23, delightful. It’s another jam packed day. Breakfast is in the restaurant which faces the street and has a patio so that you can eat outside. Another omelet chef and a great setting in comfy temperatures. I heard some say they had to move rooms because of flies but I hadn’t noticed them. I would see a couple later on in my room and they were fruit flies. Then I noticed the plate of fruit in the room. Not hard to add two and two. I mentioned to Thom that they should reconsider leaving fruit open in the room like that as it only encourages the flies. They could always offer it at checkin and that way the fruit doesn’t sit there all the time. Before I head out to the bus, my feet tell me to try the spa again and sure enough, the girl is there and I get my foot massage. Ten minutes. She did both feet but I think I would have been happy if she spent the whole ten minutes on just the one bad heel. My feet said ahhhhhhh. We get on the bus and Thom says we’ll need our Whispers. But he doesn’t call them that. He calls them “listening devices” which we all find kinda humourous in a Communist country. He head off to our Be My Guest lunch at the Tra Que Organic Farming community. One of the others had mentioned that he met a group who were doing a farm tour of Southeast Asia and that they had visited this farm. It’s in a gorgeous setting and is like you would imagine a community farm. A huge field of small plots. They grow everything here from mustard to peanuts to herbal medicines and papaya. We get a welcome drink that has mint, sugar, ginger and lemon basil seeds in the bottom. Quite tasty. They we are all fitted out in our shirts and hats. The farmer proudly shows us what is in many of the plots, picking some to let us smell or taste them. He picks some mustard seeds and tells us that it’s a cure for an ailing tummy. You just grind them up into a paste and put them on the belly button and no more nausea. We ask for a pound each. Just in case. They use various organic techniques like composting for fertilizer and doing a system of rotation. They’re not far from the ocean so there is apparently a bit of a salty taste to some crops and they use a plant from the sea for fertilizer that often contains little fish. As we are walking, a loudspeaker starts up and is quite loud. I miss some of what he has said until we move away. When someone asks what it was, he says it’s just government messages. Then he turns to us, smiles and says “just noise.” They get their water from underground and each family has a well and pump located throughout the field. The water is not sprayed but rather picked up in cans and poured on each plot. He gave everyone a chance to help one of the other farmers plant a section. We started by using their hoe to dig a trench. The hoe is bigger with a longer pole and works best if you use it side on like one of the pics above. He asked if anyone knew how to use a hoe and it got a lot of chuckles. Later Thom told us that we shouldn’t say “yum” when we see food either. It’s the same as a word that rhymes with Lornie. Then the farmer dumped in some fertilizer and went to another bed to pull some plants. Can’t remember what it was, but the seeds are planted en masse and then pulled to be planted with spacing in another bed. When we finished planting the bed we went back to the house for a foot massage! My second of the day. My feet said yaaaaaaaaaaah! Then we sat down for our cooking demonstration and lunch. They showed us how to cook Vietnamese pancakes. When one of the cook stoves wouldn’t light, he looked up at us and said “made in China.” It was another platter after platter affair with various meats and stuff. Something for everything. The spring rolls and pancakes are delicious. After a while, we start looking at our watches. My Son is over an hour away and it’s getting on to 2 pm with the sun going down at 5:30. As we head out, we pass by the dishwashing section. From here, we went back to the hotel and set a time to leave for My Son (pronounced Me Son). I wasn’t sure about this one since my foot was acting up (pouting, I think) but I’m glad I did. The late arrival also meant we got sunset shots and a deserted site. The drive wasn’t an hour and a half as had been suggested. It was just over an hour. The temples were built between the 4th and 14th Century by the ruling dynasties of the Champa people. They are Hindu temples dedicated to Shiva. They were built with brick and the walls of many of the structures got progressively thicker the higher it went. This kept them sturdy and many survive to this day. Unfortunately, during the war, the US believed the site was harbouring Viet Cong and destroyed much of the site in a week of carpet bombing. The craters are still there as in the foreground of this pic. They believe the site was built here because of the mountain in the background which looks like the tooth of a cat. I think it looks more like Abe Vigoda. We walked the site until it started to get dark and checked out more temples that are undergoing restoration. Apparently, the old brick is superior to the ones used to restore the missing areas. The Champa were able to create a brick that held very little water and didn’t need to use any mortar. It’s believed they held them together with a sap. We got back to the bus just as it was getting dark and were back at the hotel by 7 for a free evening. My feet wanted to go back to the spa. My wallet said no way.
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Post by chech on Dec 28, 2014 17:07:29 GMT
Day Eight - 24 January 2015 Weather: Still sunny and warm but getting hotter I’m up for another nice meal on the patio. Our flight is for 10 am so the wake up is at 6 for an 8 am departure. On the way, we pass a contraption in the water that Thom calls lazy fishing. It works with the tides. They come in, the fish can swim inside but when the tide goes out, the water goes below the wall and the fish are trapped. All the fisherman have to do is row out and collect dinner. The flight to Saigon is only an hour and Thom takes us to a restaurant called KOTO. It stands for Know One, Teach One and is the brainchild of an Australian man who is helping disadvantaged youth by giving them training and a job in the restaurant where they can learn the hospitality industry and when they’re done, they can work in any hotel or restaurant in the city. The meal was good and I dropped some dong in the donation box on the way out. Thom tells us that the locals still refer to the city as Saigon for the most part because the name Ho Chi Minh City was imposed on them by the north. I didn’t hear anyone here use that name. The name comes from the forest and a particular tree that was there – Sai for forest and Gon for the tree. The Khmer came here in the 7th Century and stayed here until forced out by the French. (Khmer were the people of the area and are not to be confused with the Khmer Rouge). He said few here speak French despite their long history here because they didn’t want to educate the locals. Army service in Vietnam is compulsory and has to be completed between the age of 18 and 28. It used to be 1 1/2 years but now is 2 years. Women are not required to go but can volunteer. Once completed, they are given priority for education. There is no social welfare in the country as, like Japan, it has that sense of community. They care for each other. You get that feeling just from the traffic where they don’t even use the finger. And Thom implored us not to teach that to anyone. He said if someone didn’t have children, they ‘adopted’ nieces and nephews. Unemployment was 6% in 2008 but is now hanging around 8%. He tells us not to trust the rickshaw drivers here as they promise a happy price but you don’t get a happy ending. There are more cars in Saigon but just as many scooters. The traffic moves a little slower, but we still never got stuck in traffic. It always moved. Thom said the iconic building where the helicopter landed is no longer there and is now the US consulate. Our first stop is to Reunification Palace or Presidential Palace. It’s a reconstruction from the original French design which was prettier. The new one has that 1960s look to it with the exterior meant to represent bamboo. There is three levels underground to serve as a bunker and bomb shelter. There’s also an escape tunnel to the river where a boat was waiting. The old one was bombed in 1962 when the army tried to overthrow President Diem. He was a Catholic with an anti-Buddhist and his policies didn’t sit well with the US. He jailed monks and did what he could to replace Buddhism in Vietnam. This is what prompted the self-immolation in Saigon in 63. The monks had called the media to say there would be an event at that location and most didn’t take it seriously. A couple did and they showed up to see that not much was going on. Then the car drove up, the monks stepped out, poured gasoline on one who sat in the street and he lite himself on fire. The photo went viral and the US was ready to stop supporting the south unless Diem stopped persecuting the Buddhists. Diem was assassinated shortly after. The building was bombed again in 1975 by a pilot who had infiltrated the air force in the south was ordered by the north to turn around from a bombing mission and hit the palace. This is what prompted the US to start evacuating Saigon. This story was not published until after the war and the pilot is considered a hero. This is the location of the iconic photo of the tanks breaking down the gates in 1975 when the south fell. When they showed up, the president at the time (for all of 43 hours apparently) said all was for them but the response was that he could not give what was not his. The building is now a museum and has some working offices. Having been bombed twice, the building is not considered to have good Fung Shue (sp?). There is a rug on the second floor with dragons on it. The balcony next to it looks out on a long road which is like an arrow directed into the building and the dragons are meant to intercept the arrow and protect the building. Guess it wasn’t there in 62 or 75. Thom shows us to various meeting rooms and the private apartment in the back before we descend to the bunker which is very 60s. There is a board showing the number of foreign troops in Vietnam in 1968. Other rooms have radios, typewriters etc that are straight out of 1962. The lower levels are considered to be B-52 proof. When we’re done, Thom takes us to a spot not on the itinerary. It’s the War Remnants Museum and absolutely should be on the itinerary. He says he’ll give us an overview but that we are free to visit the museum on our own because it can be an emotional visit for some. (We do have one Vietnam Vet in the group who flew C-130s for two years and spent some time in Saigon). The exterior has a number of US aircraft on display and the museum has three levels. Thom tells us to start at the top and gives us an hour to look around. The third floor is where one should spend most of their time. It has a lot of photos with descriptions. It’s a truth that isn’t often seen and unlike the Hanoi Hilton, this one felt less “propaganda-ized.” And it is emotional. I took a look at as many photos as I could and worked my way down. There is also a room dedicated to the effects of defoliation on the country which is still an ongoing problem. Next to the museum is a prison used by the French with a guillotine and the ‘tiger cages’ in which prisoners were kept in the open. From here, we passed by the post office, Notre Dame (built by the French in 1868) and the Opera House. Thom had offered to get tickets for anyone who wanted to see a show there and about ten said yes. He arranged it and one couple tried to back out. We weren’t impressed cause it meant Thom would have to pay and $108 isn’t chunk change to him. We were planning to chip in to cover the cost but when they went up to the ticket office to get their tickets, the couple managed to talk the ticket office out of it. We went to our hotel which is the Riverside Renaissance. Another nice hotel. I’m on the Club Floor – the 20th – and I have a huge room. Like all the hotels in Vietnam, it had free wifi, TV, safe, robe, slippers and big beds. They all had a decent selection of bathroom amenities. And this one has a nice view. I take the night off to catch up on everything. My feet are looking at the Spa brochure.
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Post by chech on Dec 28, 2014 17:07:52 GMT
Day Nine – 25 January 2015 Weather: Hot with some humidity but a breeze so it’s not oppressive. Doesn’t feel like 32. Another nice breakfast with a view of the scooters below. It’s dizzying to watch the thousands of scooters flying by below. We’re off by 8 and Thom gives us a short look at Ben Thanh market which is within walking distance of the hotel for a later visit. It has a selection of tourist and local goods with a food section that has a bit of everything, including the WTF is that. We follow Thom around, ignoring the calls from the stall owners and one vendor tells Thom that he has trained us well. She said we were all cold as ice. Yup. And we can cross the road like locals now, too. We get aboard again and head towards the Mekong Delta. Thom reminded us to take insect repellent because the local flies love western food. Heh. No worry about malaria here but dengue is a concern in some areas. I wasn’t sure what to expect at the Delta as the Trip Advisor reviews were not very favourable saying that they were constantly assaulted by vendors and the area was essentially a tourist trap. Not with this tour. Apparently, the day trips that you book at the hotel all go to that area but TT has us going a little farther away and we didn’t see anything touristy. Thom did say there used to be crocodiles in the Delta. Not anymore. Whew! The Mekong River starts in Tibet and winds its way through Myramar and forms part of the border between Laos and Thailand. It divides into multiple rivers along the way. The area we are going to is My Tho which is considered the coconut province and produces the most coconut in the country. He said there are 25 different types of coconut in the area and that it’s used for candy, oil, liquor, sunblock and fiber for mats etc. It only takes 3-5 years for a coconut plant to produce. In the upper river, rice is the number one product while in the lower delta, it’s coconut, seafood and exotic fruits. It also has 10 different types of bananas. Who knew? We arrive in My Tho and are transferred to tut-tuts with six to a vehicle. We are given the farmer hats and take a 15 minute ride to our boat. We get a short safety briefing and are reminded that there are no crocodiles in the water. We go down a narrow river and out into Mekong River where we are treated to a selection of fruit and a drink. The boat has cushioned seats and in the warm breeze, it’s probably one of the nicest river boat cruises I’ve had. And I haven’t seen a single vendor. We asked about the eyes on the front of all the boats on the river and Thom tells us that when there were crocodiles, the locals had problems with attacks, so someone decided that it would fear some thing with bigger eyes and put them on the front of the hull. The crocodile attacks stopped and the tradition remains despite the lack of crocodiles. We stop on the far shore and are led to a brick making factory where we get a quick tour. They take the clay from the river, mold it and put it in the oven to dry. Twenty bricks cost about a dollar and five thousand dollars can build a house. Next stop is a noodle factory. It’s a rudimentary process in an open building. The rice is soaked into a paste and then dried and flattened into large sheets that are dried on bamboo racks. Then the sheet is cut into noodles. Thom buys two 5 kg bags for $4 each. He said his wife will pick it up at the hotel in the morning. From here we walk through the forested village to a rowboat. Here is where being fit comes into play because the ladder to the rowboat is pretty basic. Sturdy, but takes coordination to climb down. It’s six to a boat and I took video but it's interrupted by one woman who wouldn’t stop complaining behind me. Gorgeous boat ride down a narrow river and all I hear is whining. The guide reminds us once again that there are no crocodiles in the water but that there may be snakes above that might fall into the boat. Un huh. Then he tells us how to survive an attack by a boa constrictor. And I need to know this why? He said that if one starts to wrap around, just raise your hands above your head and get a hold of the tail and break it. The constrictor will release you. And I need to know this why? We row back to the first boat and get aboard for the short trip to our lunch stop at the Mango House. It’s an outdoor lunch under a thatched roof. Gorgeous. The fish lovers get a fish something like bass. We finish up and then take a short walk to a local village. The local guide points out that coconut trees are being cut down and replaced by pomelo. We take a short cut that they can’t take in the wet season and stop at a house in the forest where we meet a Cambodian War veteran. He comes out in his uniform and says hello. He was an artillery officer and now lives here and makes rice paper. He collects a pension from the government for his service as well. His wife gave us a demonstration on making rice paper. The rice mix is poured onto a cloth over the fire and then spreads it out quickly. It dries in a matter of seconds and with a flat tool, it’s pulled up and laid on a bamboo rack. Ever wonder why your rice paper has a funny pattern in it? Yup. Bamboo. It’s left to dry before being stacked and sold. We sat down for some rice chips and a drink while the veteran answered some questions. When we were done, we said farewell and walked back to the boat for the ride down the river to our bus which was waiting at a different spot. It was about a 90 minute drive back to Saigon. It’s a free night and the ten others are off for a night at the opera. For me, it’s a perfect chance to recharge. With any luck, I’ll finally get 8 hours tonight.
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Post by chech on Dec 28, 2014 17:08:21 GMT
Day Ten – 26 January 2015 Weather – hot but still not too oppressive. Today is a free day but an optional to the Cu Chi Tunnels is offered. Twist my rubber arm. Thom had to remind the women that it’s the Cu Chi Tunnels – pronounced Chew Chee – and not Gucci. No one gets off the bus. Thom tells us the tunnels were first built starting in 1948 in opposition to the French. They were built first to connect villages, some as long as 48 km. When the US came, guess where they built a base? Yeah, smack dab on top of these network of tunnels. You know where I’m going with this. The Viet Cong were only too happy to take advantage of this, striking at the base from within. The US was baffled as to how they were managing to get into the base and started to use defoliant to clear the forest around the base. They also dropped a half million tons of ordinance on the area. Both were ineffective against the tunnels. They could have been standing right on one of the entrances and never know it. The Vietnamese started to build more tunnels and deeper tunnels. The red stone clay ground in the area was perfect as it hardened like cement and didn’t even need bracing. They went down 3 levels with each tunnel getting smaller. The first one is down about 4 m, the second is 6 m down and the third is 8 to 10 me down. Thom has been down to the second level but said he didn’t want to go down to the third. And he’s not a big guy. The tunnels were used as a bomb shelter for the locals and could fit 2000 people. Up to 1968, they could come and go fairly freely as the forest covered their movements but after the defoliants were used to destroy the forest, they could only move in and out at night. The kitchens could only have the fires going in the early morning when the mist hid their smoke and the exhaust ports were located away from where the kitchens were underground. As the continued to dig the tunnels, the dirt was thrown into the rivers or used to fill up bomb craters. They had no power and oil lamps were used but sparingly as the smoke was too much for the small spaces. No one person knew where all the tunnels were so that avoided having large sections discovered. In fact, they went unnoticed in many cases and some were re-discovered. So still remain undiscovered. In one case, a road was relocated so as not to disturb an area of newly discovered tunnels. We arrived at the tunnels and Thom said not to get too excited when we entered a tunnel to have our tickets checked. He said it’s only an underpass to get across the road. Yeah, there’s a story in there somewhere. We get through the underpass and come upon another group with a really skinny girl in this tiny hole. Then a soldier hops in holds the cover over his head and drops down to show how concealed the entrance was. I have video. From here, we move on to something that looks like a termite hill but it is in reality an air vent. Pretty ingenious. Thom said that they remained undetected at first because the Vietnamese put black pepper in the area and the dogs would sneeze and runaway. So, after a while, they figured this out and when the dogs sneezed, they knew they were on to something. So, the Vietnamese started to use items from US soldiers to put near the air vent so that the dogs smelled something familiar. The area around the tunnels is treed now but these are all new trees and the new ones are numbered. Which means that pretty well every tree is numbered. The areas around the tunnels were also host to a number of booby traps. They were first designed to catch animals and modified for the war. I took video of two demonstrations here and here. In many cases, the traps were design to maim, not kill as it would be demoralizing to the other soldiers and the US public to see so many wounded. And on the battlefield, it’s advantageous to wound rather than kill enemy soldiers as a wounded man means 3 soldiers have been removed from battle. One wounded and two to carry him. He showed us a trench with an entrance and a group of mannequins showing what life was like in the area. We got the booby trap demonstration and visited an M-41 tank that had been disabled in the area. US ordinance was also collected and used to fashion into a number of items including the spikes used in the booby traps. There was a soldier demonstrating how tires were used to make sandals. From here, we have a chance to go down into the tunnel. There are two sections and Thom says that if one had heart problems then the tunnel is not for you. If one has asthma then the tunnel is not for you. And if one is afraid of the dark then the tunnel is not for you. Cool. The tunnel is for me. Just. It’s a chore to just duck-walk through about 10 m of very hot tunnel. I can’t imagine living here. Or fighting here. There are two sections of tunnel, but most opt to not do the second section which turns out to be shorter than the first. Everyone gets out okay. Then we walk to a shop area where you can hear gunshots. It’s a firing range where one can shoot the AK-47, M-16, a jeep mounted .50 calibre and more. The AK costs $2 a round. I go through $40 pretty quick. The weapon is actually held down by the barrel so that you can’t actually handle the weapon (no risk of someone turning around and saying “oh it jammed” as they keep pulling the trigger). You can hold and aim it normally in its secured position. The AK kept misfiring but the soldier in charge just collected them and gave me more to replace them. I found the AK a lot like the old FN-C1 that we used to have. More metallic feel to it. Not the plastic feel of the M-16 type that Canada uses now. After a few of us burned through the $$ fast, we moved on to view a film made during the war by the Vietnamese about life in the tunnels. Very interesting. Love how they used the term “American killer hero” to refer to some of their troops. When we were done, we got back to the bus and headed back to Saigon. The optional only cost $22. We were done early in the afternoon and that gave me time go to the Ben Thanh market to get some last minute souvenirs. I ran into some tourmates there and since I wasn’t ready to go back, one stayed with me and the others left (they took a taxi as some are still fearful crossing the street). We did our last tour of all the stalls and I got a t-shirt that said Vietnam was a country, not a war. There are others that are much less ‘correct’ and while interesting, they’re not something I can wear. My tourmate was a tough bargainer. We head off for our scooter dancing session to the hotel. We keep running into construction that cuts off our route and end up back to the river, but on the way, I realize we’re at the base of the Bitexco building. We decide to go up to the observation deck for a look-see. First thing I see is why the construction keeps cutting us off. The entire street for about a kilometer is under construction, so going to the river is the only way to get to the other side. We take about 20 minutes to look around and my tourmate says we can see the helipad. She manages to sweet talk us through the bar there and we’re able to take a look at the helipad. We finish our walk which included walking in the street at rush hour where the construction ended. You can marvel…or cringe…at the video. I have a couple hours to get ready for the Farewell Dinner for Vietnam. It’s farewell to three tourmates and Thom as he doesn’t come to Cambodia with us. The dinner is held at the former residence of US Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge. The current owner has maintained the home as it was although it’s smaller than it was when Lodge was here as part of the property was sold off. The owner doesn’t speak very much English but greets us and invites us to check out the rest of the house including the bedrooms. The place is gorgeous. In a smaller bedroom, someone got curious and opened the bathroom door to find a bunch of stuff piled in there as if someone had stuck it there in a rush. Pretty funny. Not sure if the rooms are actually used by the owner or if it’s maintained as is. Then we all sit down for a short film on Lodge and his time as ambassador. When it was done, we all sat down to another set menu. Yes, we get everything on the menu. If one doesn’t eat pork or fish or is a vegetarian, they would have a substitute. This is what all the set menus were like. Today is a tourmate’s birthday and we’ve all signed a card and he gets a cake. One tourmate had misheard who the card was for and thought it was the driver’s birthday, so she signed the card ‘thanks for getting us safely to our destinations.’ Well, you want to see a table erupt. Before long we were adding other possible things she could have said…like “thanks for the ride” or “thanks for taking me to places I didn’t know existed.” The cake was delicious. We finished up by 10, and thankfully, have a late start in the morning. We fly to Cambodia!
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Post by chech on Dec 28, 2014 17:08:42 GMT
Day Eleven – 27 January 2015 Weather – hot and getting hotter We have a leisurely morning and head off to the airport for our noon flight. Thom puts on Never Say Goodbye by Elton John and puts on the farewell video from Gavin. He’s not permitted in the airport since he’s not flying and we all give him a hug and a well deserved tip before we all wander into the airport. We all get checked in and go through security and immigration. At one point, someone left a bag with our Vietnam vet and jokingly said ‘if you move, I’ll kill you’ and as she walked away he turned around and said ‘that’s what they said the last time I was here.’ What a great group. It’s a short flight to Siem Reap and we’re met by our guide who we call Tran. He gets us aboard and gives us an introduction, noting that we might find the area has a distinctive Indian feel to it. He gives us an outline as to our itinerary for the next two days and notes that we need knees and shoulders covered if we want to climb to the third level of Angkor Wat. Then he gives us suggestions as to what we can do for the rest of the day like visit the museum or shop in the Old Market. Our hotel is the Tara Angkor which is really nice. As we get sorted out, some complain that they weren’t given an itinerary. It seems Thom spoiled us by giving us a sheet the day before that detailed everything for the next day. I’ve only had that on a couple of tours. The rest, like Tran, write the itinerary up in the lobby for all to check. I hook up with three others and we walk to the museum but since we want to check out the Old Market, we don’t want to spend the $12 to see it with so little time. Instead we start to walk and I look at the map. My feet say too far, so I suggest we grab a tut-tut which Tran said were okay. Everyone agrees and we flag one down and tell him we want to go to the Old Market. He says Old Market no good. He knows better market and proceeds take us to a tourist trap of high priced jewelry. I forgot my old trick to prevent this. When the driver suggests a different location, we should have said we were meeting friends at the Old Market and that keeps them from trying to take us somewhere weird. We walked out of the market and walked by the Raffles hotel and along the river. At one point I laid my stuff down and didn’t realize my camera had come off my wrist. I walked about 50 m and turned around to take a picture and no camera. I suddenly have a heart condition! I skip back along the river and find it among the leaves. Holy cow! Luckily everyone was up on the sidewalk and didn’t notice it. I catch up to the others and we go back to the street where one of the others is attracted to spring rolls on the street, so we sit down for a feast of 25 cent spring rolls and Coke. It hit the spot. The kid at the next stall was really interested in my camera and loved pressing the buttons. With his mom’s permission I took a pic of the kid. Great expression. Another block and we finally get to the Old Market and spend an hour getting some retail therapy. I find a silver dragon pendant for about $20. Tran later said not everything is silver but this looks silver. The vendor pointed out to me the ones that weren’t silver and you could tell the difference. The silver also got weighed and there was little movement in the price. The non-silver didn’t get weighed and was negotiable. I picked up some scarves and as the sun went down, we found a great tut-tut driver and it was all of $4 for the trip back to the Tara hotel. I gave him $5 and he was delighted. Posed for pictures and all. By the time I got back to the room, I was spent. There’s a bit more humidity to the temperature here but still not nearly as oppressive as it was in Cartagena. Tomorrow, it’s Angkor Wat!
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Post by chech on Dec 28, 2014 17:09:11 GMT
Day Twelve – 28 January 2015 Weather – hot and hazy I slept like a log dreaming of a certain team winning the Superbowl…and it wasn’t the Seahawks. Breakfast is again a great spread with an omelet chef and seating indoors and out. Seems we batted .100 when it came to great breakfast buffets. We get split into two groups and meet the nine who join us from the TT Thailand tour. All but 2 from their tour did the extension. They all go on the first bus with some from our tour and the rest of us get on bus 2. Tran splits his time between the buses and we can usually hear him on the “listening device” when he’s on the other bus. We can also hear the coughing. Apparently, someone came on tour already sick and spread it to the whole group. They also got a woman who had apparently broken her foot over Christmas and was going around in a wheelchair part of the time and hobbling on a crutch at other times. Sounded like there were some issues there with their tour. I know I wouldn’t have done the tour with a broken foot. There are a lot of places one cannot go and why waste the tour unable to climb to the third level of Angkor Wat? Travel insurance, eh? So, we’re off to Angkor Wat and we’re like a group of kids going to the candy store. The first stop is at the entrance where we get off the bus, get our pic taken and printed on our multi-day ticket (to prevent others from using it when we’re done with it). This one is good for up to a week. We get back on the bus and drive around to the back door. Angkor Wat has a back door. Who knew! Tran hands us off to a local archeologist who he says he’s the expert. Cool. First thing he tells us is that the site is surrounded by a moat that is perfectly square. This isn’t for protection but as a symbol of the sea while the temple itself is a symbol of the mountains. The five towers represent five Himalayan peaks. As we walk in, he points out people in the water who are cleaning out the algae. We stop at the back gate and get some basic information. Angkor Wat means City of Temples and is the largest religious monument in the world and largest stone structure ever built. It was the capital of the Khmer empire and built in the 12th Century by the Khmer King Suryavarman II. Unlike other temples, this one was dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu instead of Shiva. It took 37 years to build and construction stopped after the king died. Twenty-seven years later, it was sacked by the Chams whose king established his state temples at Angkor Thom and the Bayon nearby. The site eventually became a Buddhist temple and was never fully abandoned but was neglected for some years, the moat protecting it from encroachment by the jungle. It was discovered by westerners first in the 16th Century and again in the 19th Century by the French. Restoration began in the 20th Century and in some cases, the French had used concrete for restoration and that had to be removed and replaced with the same sandstone used by the builders. Restoration was interrupted by the Khmer Rouge. During the wars, it was used as a barracks but left relatively untouched except for the theft of artifacts – among them the heads from hundreds of statues of Buddha and some minor damage from small arms fire. We step up to the door of the back gate and voila, there’s Angkor Wat perfectly framed in the doorway. Well, except for the ten people squeezed in there trying to get a picture. So, I squeeze by and just take a pic in the open. Okay, I take like 12 pics. After we’re done with our snapfest, we turn left and it’s not long before we see the monkeys in the field. Even cute baby ones that don’t have a lot of fear of humans. Doesn’t take much to drag our attention from Angkor Wat…for a minute. We walk to the first level and take pictures then move through the hall which has carvings in the wall. The carvings are considered the greatest known linear arrangement of stone carvings. They show Hindu epics, procession of the first king and representations of battles as well as the Churning of the Sea of Milk. In one hallway there are several Buddha statues without their heads. The Khmer Rouge had taken a chainsaw to the statues, selling off the heads to raise money. Some of the heads were later returned, but most remain headless. If I heard right, there were more than a thousand. We step into the area just below the third level and look up…way way up. The stairs to the third level are very steep. We don’t use the original steps. Wooden ones were constructed with handrails to make it easy…or rather easier. At this point, knees and shoulders need to be covered and hats off. I make the climb and turn around to take a pic. Not sure if it does the angle justice. It’s a great view from the third level. The centre tower has what looks like four courtyards around it but they are the king’s swimming pools which are kept drained now. We visit the reclining Buddha and the meditating Buddha. When we’re done marveling at the site and taking pics, we line up for the climb down. Some go down backwards. I look back hoping all behind me are holding on. One misstep and we’d be a staircase of dominoes. When we’re all down safely, the archeologist takes us to the spot where we can take the iconic photo. Since its dry season, there’s not a lot of water there. Most thought the reflection was from the moat but it’s actually just a pool of standing water. We go mad taking pics and turn around to see most of the group taking the long walk back. The photographers in the group take off after them. I pass a horse all done up and stop to take some pics with Angkor Wat in the background. I offer a tip to the horse owner but he turns it down. My fav pic from Cambodia. We say farewell to the archeologist, find our buses and head out now to the Bayon temple which is at the centre of Angkor Thom. It was built by the Buddhist King Jayavarma in the late 12th or early 13th Century. As we get closer we realize it’s more than just a pile of rock. The towers all have faces. Pretty wild. Tran shows us spots where we can get 3 or 4 faces in one photo. And one spot where you can stand nose to nose with one of the faces….sorta. Yeah, the face is like 5 metres behind him. Like Ankor Wat, there are a number of carvings depicting various events like the battle on Tonle Sap to cockfights. We weren’t the only ones in awe of this amazing temple. We head on out for our lunch. It’s another set menu in an open air restaurant. Delicious. Since I don’t like fish, I tend to get deep fried spring rolls a lot. Yum. Oh wait… We have no temples for the afternoon and I think that’s planned because it can get hard to do them all day in the heat. First is the obligatory factory stop to Artisans Angkor where disadvantaged youth are taught various trades from woodworking to carving. We do a quick tour and are let loose on the shop. I like the t-shirts they’re wearing and manage to get one. Better quality than what is on the street. We all get back to the bus early and head on to our Buddhist blessing. Tran shows us around the monastery and into the temple where we have to take off our shoes and sit on the rug so that the soles of our feet face away from Buddha. Incidentally, that’s a huge digital clock under the statue of Buddha. Two young monks show up and sit before us. One of them takes questions and he tells us about how this monastery has a school that teaches all the subjects including the sciences. Some will become monks. Some won’t. When the questions are done, he asks us to close our eyes and they do a chant and spray water in our direction. At least I hope that’s what I tasted. It’s almost five by the time we get to the market and we agree to 30 minutes. I’m able to pick up some last minute stuff and we’re back to the hotel by 5:45 which gives us about an hour to get ready for the Apsara dancing and dinner. The site is only like four doors down from the hotel but we still get the bus. (Granted, in the dark, the footing would be tricky). We get another set menu and a great view of the dancers. I took some video here, here, here and here. We get back to the hotel by nine and I’m absolutely wiped. I was out like a light by 10.
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Post by chech on Dec 28, 2014 17:09:27 GMT
Day Thirteen - 29 January 2015 Weather – hottest day of the tour at about 33 with 38 humidex. Bed early, wake early. I’m not having much luck getting a full eight hours. I’m averaging six and a half. I’m down for another great breakfast and I’m back aboard the bus for more temples. One tourmate who was on the other bus yesterday didn’t come along. He was on the plague bus and seems to have gotten the bug. Our first stop is Ta Prohm. This temple is famous for a fairly modern reason – it’s where Tomb Raider was filmed and the locals are quite proud of that. It’s a very impressive temple with that mix of man and nature as the trees are slowly taking over the temple. It was built around the same time as The Bayon temple and was built to honor the king’s family. It’s under restoration by India (each temple that is being restored has a sponsor country doing the work like the Japanese who are restoring The Bayon). The trees are not being touched and won’t be removed unless they die. They can live for more than 300 years. The roots are all over the side of the temple and in some cases, making their way through the walls. After Ta Prohm, we head to one of the best preserved sites in Siem Reap, Banteay Srei temple – Citadel of Women or Beauty. It is constructed primarily of red limestone which has preserved many of the intricate carvings. The temple was built just before 1000 CE and is the only temple not built by a king. It’s dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva but later rededicated to Siva. It is believed to have been abandoned in the 14th Century and was rediscoverd in 1914. This led to a case of looting though some of the relics were returned. The site has been restored with the aid of the Swiss. And I got a photo that I think I’ll add to a new collection I will call “Tourists Behaving Badly.” And yes, we pointed out the sign and made him get down. We get back to the hotel by 1 pm and have the afternoon free, but Tran has offered to take us to the site of one of the Killing fields at 2 pm. Everyone shows up for that and it’s a 2 minute bus ride to the site which is a Buddhist monastery called Wat Thmey. The Khmer Rouge had used a lot of monasteries not only to drive out the monks but because they had walls and made it easy to contain people. Tran said thousands were killed in the area but that not all their remains were found. Some have been buried but one monument here is dedicated to the victims and it is full of skulls and bones. There are boards with information on the Killing Fields and stories from individual families. One tourmate asked if we could see where the people had died and he pointed at our feet. Well worth the visit and we’re grateful that he included it. (And it should be on the itinerary in the future for sure). We go back to the hotel and tonight is the optional sunset cruise on Tonle Sap. I was divided on this because the Trip Advisor reviews were pretty negative, though Tran said we’d have a boat to ourselves. Some others opted to do the hotel’s version of the tour since it was $9 cheaper and included dinner. It was a good chance to see how it compared to the Trip Advisor reviews. Tran picked up nine of us and we drove for about 30 minutes. Since the itinerary said dinner was included, we got a discount on the tour and got it for $30 instead of $45. He even stopped at a store en route and picked up some pop and beer. We drove by some houses on stilts and Tran said that in we season the lake can grow to five times its size. The stilted houses stay well above the high point of the water. He said the floating village has to relocate about five times a year due to the rising water. Permanent structures like the cell tower are built high. We get off at a building and walk down to the water where there is a mass of boats picking up people. Tran shows us to our boat which comfortably seats the ten of us. It’s like rush hour on the water with boats running at different speeds up a canal to the lake. There’s no organization. They just go. We get out on to the lake to see the floating village along the edge. The boat moves slowly through the village giving us a chance to take pics. Tran points out the police station, the school, the church and more. It really is a complete village that moves five times a year. The buildings are towed by the boats as necessary. It even has a school boat to drop kids home. Once we get by the village, we tie up at a piece of wood sticking out of the water and watch the sun set. We don’t stay until it gets dark as they wouldn’t want to attempt that canal in the dark. We get pics including one with the fisherman going out for the night to fish. A gorgeous way to spend the evening. We get back to the hotel by 7 and later meet up with the hotel boat cruise crowd. They didn’t go to the crowded dinner boat we saw (which is likely where the complaints come from)… …but to the boat belonged to the Tara hotel. Nine of them had a boat meant for 250 all to themselves. Since it’s our official last evening together, a bunch of us get together for dinner at the hotel. By 10, most of us are ready to lapse into a coma. My flight to Singapore isn’t until 1 pm, so I leave my luggage where it is and I am out cold.
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Post by chech on Dec 28, 2014 17:09:51 GMT
Day Fourteen – 30 January 2015 Weather – pleasantly hot. Bed early. Up early. I had plenty of time to pack all my stuff and meet with some others for breakfast. We sit and chat and had tea until 10 am. By the time I’m down with my luggage, Tran is waiting and we’re off. I was able to get business class on Malaysia Air for my flight to Singapore via Kuala Lampur. Tran wasn’t able to enter the airport with me, so I gave him his tip and went in search of the Malaysia Air counter. I went the wrong way and went back, found it and lined up first in line. Two minutes later I looked back and there were like 100 people behind me. I’m able to use the airport’s lounge which isn’t much more than nice chairs and a staff more interested in their cell phones. Still, a comfy way to spend a couple hours. The flight left on time and I had a great lasagna for dinner. I had no issues with Malaysia Air and think the bad press isn’t warranted in terms of how it functions. The flights were on time and fairly full for the first and pretty well completely full for the second flight. The food was good, the service exceptional and the planes modern. The landings were better than the Vietnam Airlines flights. We get into Malaysia and there’s no immigration card, no passport control. I leave from the same terminal and just walked in from one gate and left in another. The security gate was at the gate so I couldn’t take my Coke in with me. It’s a short flight to Singapore and I get chicken on a stick and a view of dozens of ships off the coast of Singapore. We land on time and while I’m waiting for my luggage, I see my transfer outside and wave to him. Don’t think he saw me. My luggage was #3 out the window and I went and said hello to the transfer. The drive to the Orchard Hotel took about 30 minutes in moderate traffic. Traffic made of cars, not scooters. What a contrast. We pull into the hotel and a man comes up to me with an envelope and says all the information is in there and walks off. Too cool. That was going to be my first question on check in. I get my luggage and check in at the hotel and am told that breakfast isn’t included. No problem. I’ve eaten enough. It’s almost 8 pm by the time I get up to the room so it’s too late to check out the area. My day tour starts at 8:30, so I settle in to surf, upload photos and type up this tale. I’m ready to sleep by 11. I think I just caught up on all my jet lag.
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Post by chech on Dec 28, 2014 17:10:13 GMT
Day Fifteen – 31 January 2015 Weather – partly cloudy, 26 or so For the first time, my alarm clock woke me this morning. Yup. Caught up on the jetlag now. I munch on my snacks, have a tea and am down for my city tour. A van picks me up and takes me to a parking lot where there are several buses waiting. A woman looks at the documents I have, puts a sticker on my shirt and points me to the bus doing the city tour. I head for the back row. The city tour is fairly basic but is more than enough to orient us. Our first stop is to the Merlion on the water – my Amazing Race moment. Singapore means Lion City, so this guy is their symbol. The wharf gives a great view of the Marina Bay and the Singapore Flyer (ferris wheel). We have 20 minutes to snap pics and get back to the bus. Our next stop is a Buddhist temple which is quite small compared to what we had seen in Vietnam. The temple used to be on the waterfront and is now quite some distance from the shore as Singapore builds up the land. We’re given 25 minutes at the temple but only need 5 minutes and then move on to the obligatory factory stop. This one is a gem factory that produces artwork from the gems. The work is impressive and expensive. Tens of thousands for the larger pieces. Several hundred for photo sized ones. Our next stop is the botanical gardens and the guide said this is where he usually loses people, so he takes us to the Orchid gardens which is somewhat contained. We get 40 minutes to look around. From here, we go to Little India where a lot of people are able to walk back to their hotels but the bus drops off the rest, including those of us that want to go to the Flyer. I asked how much a taxi would cost to come back and he said to take the train instead. I usually hate taking subways in foreign cities but since English is primarily used on all the signage, I figure it can’t be too hard. It’s $33 for the Flyer and it takes a half hour to do a spin. Just like the London Eye and a decent view of Marina Bay from the side and a great view of the waterfront. And a great view of the way across the harbor to where the subway is under the Marina Bay. I get off and take that route to the high end shopping mall at the base of the Marina Bay and find the subway. It’s not too hard to figure it out, especially when you have people in a hurry behind you helping you buy your ticket. I ask about which one to take and an employee tells me a better way to go than the guide had said. More direct and a shorter walk to the hotel. It was pretty straight forward and only cost $1.80. I’m guessing a taxi would have ran me $40 minimum given the Saturday afternoon traffic. I get out of the subway and on to the street and see that I’m on Orchard…but don’t know if I should turn left or right. A parking attendant tells me to go left. Good call. This whole area is malls – above ground and below ground. To cross the street at some spots, I have to go down. I decide to go right to scope the area and what do I see but a Krispy Kreme. Finally, after searching the planet, I finally come across one in Singapore. And it was delicious. I get back up on the street and eventually find my hotel. I walked the malls along the way but most were high end stuff. I asked the front desk if there were any souvenir shops and she gives me a map and circles on of the malls. Remember when the parking attendant had me turn left? If I had turn right, I would have taken about ten steps and seen them. So, I walked all the way back, picked up my fridge magnet and my ‘cat’ figurine for Singapore (which happens to be the lion) and headed back to the hotel by 6. I repacked my luggage, uploaded the rest of my photos and was zonked by 11. Tomorrow is going to be a very very long day.
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Post by chech on Dec 28, 2014 17:10:33 GMT
Day Sixteen – 1-2 February 2015
Weather – climate controlled airport and airplane.
Once again, my alarm clock got me going at 6 am. I was down to the lobby by 6:30 for the 6:45 transfer. By 6:40, the taxi drivers start asking if I want a taxi. One said the plane is not going to wait for me. To the dismay of the taxi drivers, the transfer shows up on time and it’s a very quick drive through the city on Sunday morning. There’s no one in the Cathay Pacific lineup and they even sign me up for their rewards program. My luggage is checked through to Toronto and I go to check out the airport. I pass through immigration, but there’s no security check.
Odd, I think.
Again, the shops are almost all high end. I use up the last of my Singapore $$ on a fridge magnet, coke and kit kat. Then I get to my gate to find that is where the security check is performed. Damn, I had to drink the coke before I got in.
And it’s not even 9 am.
The flight leaves on time and it’s just short of four hours to Hong Kong. The plane has the 4 middle seat configuration and the seats are very tight. The man next to me claims the armrest so my elbow has no where to go. Which generally isn’t a problem until I went to pick up my glass of Coke. My elbow got stopped short by his arm and I missed the glass, spilling it all over his leg.
Thankfully, he didn’t speak English.
Though I don’t need to know what his language was to make a guess as to what he as saying.
The drink cart is right next to me and the attendant is fast with the napkins. Luckily, buddy is wearing dark pants. I’m wondering if they’re silk but if they were, I’m guessing he would have been in business class.
He doesn’t say a word and I get off the plane unscathed. I follow the signs for transfer (which can be missed as the door itself isn’t as well signed). I go through security there to the shopping area and pick up a couple coke with my visa card. My gate requires the train ride between terminals but those signs are very well done. Luckily, I don’t hit another security check and get to keep my Cokes. (I recall that from my last flight here in 2010)
The AC flight is on time and I get the bulkhead seat that I paid $120 for so that I could get off the plane fast (so that I can race to the hotel to catch the first quarter of the Superbowl). I didn’t even take my carryon cause I didn’t want to risk people taking up all the overhead space, so I just have my computer and fanny pack. Everything I need fits in there or in my pockets. Turns out there was lots of room in the overhead. (Likely due to AC’s policy on reducing the size of carryons….thanks AC!)
Best part, the middle seat is empty. Once they close the doors, the guy on the other end looks and me and then the seat. I say ‘you take that half, I’ll take this half.’ Good deal.
The flight leaves on time. There’s not much to see outside but I’m not sure if it’s haze or smog. I’m thinking smog. It’s very thick.
Funny how my Hong Kong flights seem to pass so quickly. We were fed, I watched 300:Rise of an Empire and then took a two hour nap. I plugged in my phone so that the cord went from my seat to my video screen in the wall. This kept people from using the space in front of us as a walkway.
We got a noodle service half way through and 90 minutes before landing, a full breakfast. Four hours before landing, there was a request for a doctor as someone was ill. I kept an eye on the map to see if we were changing course for Edmonton but we stayed the course. We’re scheduled to arrive about 15 minutes late.
Okay. I might miss the kickoff.
Just before landing, the flight attendant asked me and my pal if we would change seats so that the EMTs could see the sick passenger there.
She got me a seat just a few behind me so that I still can get off the plane fast. Then they announce that no one is to move once we land so that the EMTs can deal with the sick passenger.
Okay. I’m going to miss the first quarter.
Then two other people put up their hands and say they are sick.
Okay. I’m going to end up in quarantine with a plane load of Chinese passengers.
We land and pull up to the gate with the announcement made just before to remind people to stay seated.
Yeah, you know where I’m going with this. People still get up and get their stuff as if the announcement didn’t apply to them. (People who obviously understood the announcement as the word “but I…” was heard a few times).
Hey. I’m missing the Superbowl and I stayed put! LOL
In the end, I think they would have been better off getting the EMTs aboard and then emptying the plane while the patient was checked out. We spent 45 minutes in our seats while the three passengers were checked.
I got my sister to text me a play by play….which is funnier given that she didn’t have a clue about football.
We got off the plane and got to passport control just as the Istanbul flight emptied in front of us. Took about ten minutes for that line to go through the machines (very efficient) and then I get to the luggage thinking it should all be out by now.
Nope. They held it back until we were off the plane. The luggage started to arrive covered in snow.
Took a full half hour for my bag to show up.
Then it was halftime.
Yeah. All eleven flights on this tour went smoothly except for the tail end of the one I had meticulously planned out.
But I’m sure they heard me scream in the lobby when Butler intercepted the football.
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
I managed about four hours of sleep and was up for my early flight and walked out into a snowstorm.
Hmmm. No worries. My plane arrived the afternoon before around 4 pm. Even with the snow and de-icing, we got to St. John’s on time. The winds were pounding at over 80 kph as we landed. No worries. Air Canada once landed in the middle of Hurricane Igor’s gusts up to 130 kph.
As my sister picked me up, my throat started to feel scratchy and my sinuses filled.
Wonder if I’ll end up in quarantine yet.
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Post by chech on Dec 28, 2014 17:11:52 GMT
SUPERBOWL HANGOVER! - 2 February 2015
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Post by chech on Dec 28, 2014 17:22:09 GMT
Extra day...cause cats don't recover from hangovers that quickly....
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Post by californian on Dec 29, 2014 22:22:39 GMT
Another fantastic adventure and a great tale coming soon to this forum!! Happy New Year, Chech and enjoy your vacation! Looking forward to learn all about Cambodia and Vietnam.
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Post by chech on Dec 29, 2014 23:54:47 GMT
Happy New Year! Yes, I'm really looking forward to this one.
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Post by tiffany on Dec 30, 2014 12:59:57 GMT
I can’t wait to read about this tour. Only a few weeks away for you! I wish I could go on as many tours in a year as you do!
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Post by Oz-T on Jan 1, 2015 22:26:21 GMT
... I wish I could go on as many tours in a year as you do! We probably all feel that way, Tiffany. Chech is always off to some fantastic place.... .... no wonder every page in her passport looks like this...
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Post by chech on Jan 2, 2015 1:08:36 GMT
LOL....I'm still having to explain this page to customs...
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Post by californian on Jan 4, 2015 1:23:12 GMT
Here is my prediction: Seahawks 31-any other team 14 (Patriots, Chech??)
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Post by chech on Jan 4, 2015 13:54:40 GMT
LOLOL The worst part is that I'll miss the Jan 18th games and won't be able to download them until the next day...and then take a couple days to watch them. So, no spoilers! LOL I'll let you know when I have seen them. Granted, it'll be a miracle if I can go two or three days and not hear who is in the Superbowl...but I'm gonna try!
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Post by californian on Jan 4, 2015 17:27:51 GMT
OK, no spoilers from me, Chech, but do you want to know which teams made it? I found that I (heart) radio is the best way of keeping informed, love going to bed at night with it, and listening to my favorite morning programs, a little bit of home, sports, even traffic news are interesting when I am so far away!
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Post by chech on Jan 4, 2015 18:14:59 GMT
Nope...don't want to know anything. I'm going to avoid all sources of news and sports for those couple days and see if I can watch the games without knowing the outcome.
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Post by Oz-T on Jan 4, 2015 21:21:46 GMT
Generally, South East Asia isn't heavily into Gridiron football so you might be able to travel around without it being overheard as the most important topic, Chech. Vietnam might be a little more attuned to American news due to the wartime legacy so you might need to isolate yourself to avoid hearing anything. Perhaps that'd be a good time to write your postcards. ... Just don't mention the Superbowl to anybody at the Post Office.
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Post by chech on Jan 4, 2015 22:33:57 GMT
LOL...not worried about the locals spoiling me as much as fellow tourmates walking into breakfast and doing a happy dance cause Denver is in the SB...
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