Malaysia - Melakka

The bus journey from KL to Melakka provided us with a pleasant surprise - it was airconditioned and had large, comfortable seats - and all for the price of 2gbp/3eur per person. After 2.5 hours onboard this luxury we arrived at the bus station in Melakka, 4km out of town. We hopped on a local bus (after ignoring many taxi touts 'sir you want taxi, I take you sir, sir where are you going....')and arrived at the centre of town - Dutch Square - 30 minutes later.

Melakka was first colonised by the Portuguese, then the Dutch and finally the British, so an appropriate place for us to visit! The Dutch influence could be seen in the many tall houses complete with long windows and shutters, at Dutch square (where every building was painted a deep brick red for some reason) and the obligatory windmill (?). Today the Dutch houses have been integrated into China Town, so unfortunately there weren't any 'kroketten'!

Exploring China Town and Dutch square took us most of the afternoon. Given that it was still Chinese New Year (it lasts 2.5 weeks) China town was especially colourful (as per all our other visits to China Towns in Malaysia) with red lanterns everywhere, decorated temples, incense and many street stalls (we sampled some of the dumplings but didnt get tempted by the grass jelly drink.) There was also a lot of giving away of oranges/satsumas so by the end of our time in Melakka we had gone through quite a few - it seemed rude to decline any offers.

In the evening, we had seen in the local paper that there was a festival to celebrate Chinese New Year, with the king of Malaysia present. Needless to say we thought it would be worth a visit.
We took up our positions on the side of the road along with hundreds of other people at around 8pm. We then endured a 1 hour procession of cars dropping off the VIPs and VVIPs. Then the king arrived in a car with blacked out windows (so that no-one could see him!), which was the starting sign for an hours worth of speeches. Finally the street parade began - a lot of colourful costumes from all cultures that make up Malaysia, but unfortunately for us mere mortals the parade only performed in front of the king (however all was beamed onto a TV screeen directly in front of the king, in case he missed anything) - so needless to say we didn't see too much - but we had waited so long that we couldn't leave. However, we enjoyed the atmosphere and the finale fireworks - although during the display Nicola got cornered by 2 market researchers who were eager for her to fill in their questionnaire on the event - great timing!

The next day we carried on exploring Melakka. Highlights included a Dutch fort, a traditional village where the majority of houses were on stilts and a Chinese graveyard - a first for the both of us. For those that don't know the best way we (Nicola) can think of describing them is that they are similar to the hobbit homes from Lord of the Rings - semi-circular mounds rising out the ground.
The only disappointment of the day was the Portuguese Quarter - recommended in our guide book as being pleasantly typical of a Portuguese seaside town, it was anything but - more like a once tacky but now discarded seaside town! So unfortunately we didnt stay for the drink we had planned as a reward for the 40 minute walk it took to get there!

We left Melakka the following morning to begin our journey to Sarawak - Malaysian Borneo (via Johor Barhu, where we had an overnight stop). The bus journey to the Melakka bus station took 1 hour and 20 minutes (1 hour longer than the journey in) as we were told that although it meant a small detour, the bus stop by our guest house was the most convenient for us as it was the closest and therefore the easiest for us (we had all our rucksacks etc)- small detor indeed!.
Once we arrived at the bus station we were targeted for a bus scam:
- we asked 2 tickets to JB, we received 2 tickets but they charged us for 4 tickets;
- after pointing out the error we were given 3 tickets but no more change;
- then we were given change for just one of the excess tickets and then finally
- we were given the correct change for two tickets!
All this took 5 min and they only relented as the queue behind us grew and they realised we were blocking the way and not going to give in! Fun and games but we were happy that our Vietnamese lessons had paid off and that we stood our ground! We boarded the bus and were on our way to the jungle.....

Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur

An early start (again!) ensured that we had a smooth drive down from the Cameron Highlands - not many crazy Malay drivers around. The road signs were also pretty good so we arrived in Kuala Lumpur (KL) in good time in the early afternoon. Getting around KL, however, was another matter, given the one way system! It took us 3 attempts to reach the hotel and the same number to drop the car back at the rental station. So by that point we were happy to leave the Proton and the one way system behind.

First thing to note is that our hotel - The Istana - was, to speak in Dutch, erg lekker (very nice). A 5 star hotel which had the expected luxuries - big room, big bed, big bathroom, fantastic breakfast and a large inviting outdoor pool - all of which were a very welcome treat for us backpackers. Having been able to get a very good price due to some renovation work, it was such a steal that we didn't even feel guilty!

Other than enjoying the hotel and pool, we explored KL in the 2 nights / 1.5 days we had available. As usual, the exploring was carried out on foot, which was relatively feasible as KL isn't such a wide-spread city. One of the highlights of our walking tour were of course the Petronas Towers, which although impressive by day, look amazing at night when they are lit up. We could also see them out of our hotel window which was an added bonus! A second highlight was the bird park. It is the biggest open bird park in the world where many of the birds are free to fly in the enclosures that you can walk through. It really was fanatastic as we could see many topical birds up close, including some rare varieties. The toucans and hornbills were amazing - large , colourful birds. We got incredibly close to them and even saw and heard them fly - they make a loud woosh noise.
We also got re-introduced to the Giant Hornbill, which we had seen on our trek in Khao Yai national park in Thailand - and this time we were obviously a lot closer.

Other points of interest were the main square, where Malaysia's independence was declared in 1957, commemmorated by the tallest flagpole in the world (almost 100 metres!), the national mosque, although this time no dressing up - unfortunately the mosque was closed and Chinatown including its main shopping street, which thankfully was undercover as we were there during a heavy tropical afternoon rainstorm (more time for looking at bags, watches etc!). We also took a trip to Brickfields (a south Indian community), with the intention to see the only Buddhist temple in KL. The temple was dissapointing, but we had a great punjab roti for lunch ;-)

We sampled a little of KL's nightlife with margherita, which we both found very strong - or maybe our tolerance is now low ? Anyway, we declined the option to dance into the small hours at the many cheesy discos that lined our walk home - we like to think that this was purely because we didn't have the required ID on us.....

After our pampering in KL we were ready to leave the luxury life behind and hop onto a bus down towards our next Malaysian destination - Melakka.

Malaysia - Cameron Highlands

Having packed the car in Georgetown we set off for the Cameron Highlands. A slightly ambitious plan given that we didn't have a detailed map and it was our aim to avoid the main motorway route. This became apparent at the first main crossing where we spent 30 minutes (and a few cross words) circling around Butterworth industrial estate while trying to find our way! However once en route our combined navigation and driving skills brought us to the base of the Cameron Highlands relatively smoothly - accompanied by cheesy Malaysian radio stations.

The Highlands are approximately 1500 metres above sea level and so we began the long and windy ascent to Tanah Rata, our base for 2 nights. Driving up the mountain was an experience: firstly our lovely Proton struggled at the first sign of anything uphill, while Malay drivers struggled at driving full stop! Cutting corners and overtaking in blind spots were too common an occurrence. Still we made it safely to the top, where we were greeted by refreshing northern European temperatures of 15-25 degrees - a welcome change from the 35-plus humid conditions on Penang.

The Cameron Highlands were established by the British Colonial Administration as a weekend retreat. This is very obvious in the building style which resembles traditional English Tudor cottages and the availability of English food such as pub lunches and roast dinners! Now the Highlands are more popular with the Malay - especially as it is only 200km from Kuala Lumpur - which has led to a building frenzy resulting in some awful brightly coloured apartment buildings. Fortunately there is plenty of green left, mainly jungle, vegetable gardens and vast areas of tea plantations. Our time in the Highlands was mainly spent exploring these.

The jungle was the first on our list. We set off early in the morning to climb two of the nearby peaks, which rise to an altitude of 1800 metres. The climb was long and steep but the resulting views were fantastic - we even saw an eagle circling below us. The way down led us through a traditional village of Orang Asli (Malay for 'wild people').

After a quick roti for lunch (yum yum yum) we set out to have a look at a tea plantation. We weren't the only ones and we experienced our first Malay traffic jam - albeit surrounded by beautiful scenery and people handpicking tea - better than the M1 or A2! On our way back - after sampling a cup of tea (we declined the soggy looking English sandwiches) - we stopped off at a butterfly farm (surprisingly the main attractions turned out to be some spiders and other horrible looking big creepy crawlies - all of which were native but luckily for Nicola behind glass), a honey farm and some fruit and vegetable stalls, where we bought some delicious strawberries for which the Highlands are known. To top off the day in more than one sense, we drove up to the highest paved peak in Malaysia. No need to say that our poor Proton was pushed to its limits trying to deal with the steep inclines and deep potholes. We were rewarded with a peak that was partly covered by mobile phone masts and a view that was significantly obscured by cloud! Slightly disappointed we made our way back (a lot easier down than up) to settle for a heart warming traditional Chinese meal - a Steam Boat. Basically a soup based fondue with meat, fish and vegetables.

Worn out after our busy day we went back to our hotel only to be greeted by the biggest moth we had ever seen, which wasn't too happy about being in an enclosed hallway. It wouldn't have been out of place in the butterfly farm with its 15cm wing span. No need to say it was up to JP to secure the route back to the room! Once this hurdle had been overcome we settled in for the night in preparation for an early start to Kuala Lumpur....

Malaysia - Penang

After another trip that involved planes, boats and automobiles, we entered a new country on our travels - Malaysia. Port of entry was Georgetown, the capital of a small-ish island called Penang, off the west coast of mainland Malaysia.

Georgetown was established by the British as an important and strategic port, but was abandoned fairly quickly in favour of Singapore. Still, the colonial influence is visible across the whole of the city, with British-style mansions competing with mosques and Chinese temples. Apart from this, Georgetown was for us the place where we met up with Tammy and Ian, who took a small break from their housebuilding on Koh Samui to accompany us for a few days. For those of you who know Tammy - everything is well (a year off obviously agrees with them!), the house is coming along (see their blog) and the preparations for the wedding are in full swing (see their other blog). Still, even for people at leisure a break is every now and again in order, so there they were, waiting for us in the hotel.

The hotel we stayed at was called the Cathay hotel, an old colonial mansion that has been made into a guesthouse with several rooms and dorms. For those wondering - we had our own rooms, which were extremely spacious, although they could do with a lick of paint here and there. The hotel is run by three old Chinese guys, who together must have a full set of teeth! Also, we believe they were already alive at the time of building the mansion, but they were still friendly and helpful enough.

The hotel is located in the centre of Georgetown, so after freshening up we set out to explore the town and find somewhere to drink and eat. Given that it was the beginning of Chinese New year (which is mainly celebrated at home with the family, apart from the noisy dragon dances that take place all across town to bring good luck) all Chinese and Chinese-owned restaurants were closed. As this is a sizeable chunk of the restaurants on offer, our choice was limited to mainly Indian. Which was no punishment at all! Over the next few days, we had Indian for breakfast, Indian for brunch and Indian for dinner. Highlights were roti and dosias, all eaten with the hands. This seems messy, but is remarkably easy to master - the only damage being a cup of tea which was spilled over Nicola, but this was because the waiter was too busy chatting to her!

To stay on the food theme - as the Chinese New Year progressed (it lasts a whole week or longer!), more and more restaurants re-opened, so we also had the chance to try the hawker-food for which Penang is famous. Plus, as we are in Malyasia now, we had our first introduction to Malay food in the form of barbecued stingray with sambal - very tasty!

Other than eating, we spent our days with our 'Thai' friends working off the calories by sightseeing and walking. The walks in particular became epic - one down Penang Hill (which we went up by funicular railway) for about 2 hours, descending from 800 meters to sea level - kicked into gear by spiders as big as a hand and accompanied all the way down by monkeys. The second one, following a brief speedboat-ride, along the north coast of Penang, surrounded by jungle and sea.

After two days together, Tammy and Ian went back to Koh Samui, while we stayed a final day, before we set off to the Cameron Highlands by car (hurray!!). The fact that we had troubles finding our way on a small island didn't bode well for the 300 km+ trip ahead of us......

Thailand - Koh Chang

Hello - it has been a while since we last updated the blog - we have been too busy having fun!!!!

We have been chilling out on the Thai Island of Koh Chang, which was a welcome mini holiday to recover from all the 'stress' of travelling! Mind you, getting there was enough of an effort - it took us a whole day to get there from Siem Reap: a flight to Bangkok, then another one to Trat (south Thailand), a 1 hour boat ride to Koh Chang and to top it off a 30 minute car journey to our resort. A long trip, especially as you take into account that the distance, as the crow flies, is only 350 kilometer (which by car would have taken even longer - dirt roads).
Fortunately, the trip was broken up by some new experiences - Trat airport was nothing than a few wooden huts, while the transfer to the plane was via a seaside resort train-car. The airport handles only 3 flights per day, which is just as well, as the runway doubles as a through road for the locals for the rest of the day.

Upon arrival at our accommodation (an Indonesian-style wooden hut (in Thailand!?) - but with mod cons including the needed air conditioner), Nicola checked the bathroom only to find a 10 inch red and green lizard sitting above the shower! It disappeared pretty quickly (so we realised it wasn't fake!) and only resurfaced on our last night.
However, that wasn't the end of our animal encounters as later that night we found out we had mice. They made their presence known by running across the beams in the roof on each side of the hut, by poking their head around the bathroom door or just scurrying under the bed. Back to nature! We decided (wisely or not?) that since it was our choice to stay in a hut in a tropical garden we couldn't really complain but to be certain we slept under the mosquito net every night - obviously to avoid the odd mosquito but also any mice falling off the roof!!!!

With the exception of the second day (as we had had too much sun the first day) our time in Koh Chang consisted of chilling out at the beach, reading in the shade (it was hot!), swimming, the odd massage and eating.
The beach we were staying (Liam Chiachet) is relatively quiet and has one of the nicest beaches - a long stretch of sand shaded by palm trees. The water was warm, relatively calm and we only swam out of our depth once at high tide - and this was still a good walk out!

We ate some pretty good food, the highlights of which were fresh curried crab on the BBQ and a yellow curry. We also had the biggest prawns we have ever seen - but unfortunately they were not as juicy as their smaller counterparts! The crab and prawns were eaten at a beach side cafe - all very idyllic!! - which also included a fire show, which was actually pretty good.

The second day - our only non beach day - resulted in us - surprise surprise - doing a 5 hour walk around part of the Island. We started off by walking to a waterfall (the only one on the west side of the Island). We thought the entrance of 6GBP/9EUR each was a little steep, but as we had walked an hour to get there we coughed up! A 20 minute walk led us to the waterfall and a deep rock pool where we had a refreshing dip in the cool water - a lot of fun and JP's first swim in a waterfall rock pool. Following on from there we walked either along the beach or on the road when this was not possible. There is just one road around the Island, which is very steep in parts. Which we experienced at the last section of our hike where we walked half an hour up a steep road and then a dirt path to a view point. Let's just say we were knackered when we arrived at the top! On our way back down (to find the Island bus service) we found another view point, which we realised was the one we were aiming for! Never mind - we are getting good legs!!!!

We enjoyed the remainder of our time in Koh Chang, but we were ready to leave the beach life behind - although maybe not the Thai food. Next stop Penang, Malaysia, the first predominately Muslim country on our travels and where we will meet up with Tammy and Ian for a few days.....

Cambodia - Angkor & Siem Reap

Onto Siem Reap and the Angkor Temples, a seven hour journey from Phnom Penh, which we did by boat. The prospect of being on a boat, enjoying the view of the riverbanks, getting a brief peak into Cambodian life and obtaining a tan appealed to both of us. So, at 07.00 we set steam for Siem Reap, together with 50 fellow travellers, perched on the rooftop of a boat (our choice) that sped down the river.
And the journey was not a disappointment. The scenery changed all the time - from small fishing villages to large Wats, and from people out to catch their fish for the day using small handnets to docks where ships were being built. All the while, the weather was fantastic, with the sun steadily rising in a bright blue sky. Both of us were content, dividing our attention between the scenery around and the books we had brought to pass the time.

However, after about 4 hours, we reached the Tongse Lap Lake, which covers about 20% of Cambodia's landarea. We were due to cross this massive lake to get to Siem Reap on the other side. But we (or more accurately - the skipper) hadn't really taken into consideration the effects of it currently being the dry season, so after about 2 minutes the boat met the ground. Not once, but repeatedly, to such an extent that continuing forward was impossible. The guy overlooking the engine room was sent into the water on a 'recky mission'. The fact that he could wade through the lake, at chest height, didn't bode well. So, there we were, fifty westerners on a speed boat, stuck in the middle of a lake! Undoubtedly much to the amusement of the local fishermen.
Fortunately, after twenty minutes, a small boat pulled up alongside our boat, took approximately 15 fellow passengers on board to lighten the load and guided us through a deeper passage in the shallow lake. After the 15 passengers were re-loaded, we set sail to Siem Reap with renewed speed, where we arrived at approximately 3 o'clock.

Readers of the previous entry will have remembered that Cambodia was hot, very hot. So imagine having been on the roof of a boat for a good eight hours during the hottest part of the day. Both of us looked like the proverbial Englishman on a Spanish holiday after day one - too red!(but only our faces, legs and arms - a funny sight, as evidenced by the smiles we got from the other hotel guests when we dived into the pool for a refreshing swim).

The remainder of that day, we didn't do anything other than swimming and having dinner in our hotel. A dinner that was accompanied by a 'traditional' Cambodian dance and shadow puppet show - sometimes you have to do the 'truly touristy thing'!.

The next day we started our exploration of Angkor, by bike. Based on several discussions, we had high expectations. And let us start by saying that even these were exceeded by what we experienced over the next few days. Lots of temples, most of them of stunning beauty. The highlights:

Of course Angkor Wat, the most famous temple in this all-in-all 300 square kilometer site. We visited several times: on our first day, when we explored it in detail for a few hours around mid-morning, on our second day on our way back, when we saw it in the softening evening light and on our last morning, when we got up at 04.30 to see the sun rise over it. Everytime we were taken aback by the sheer size and beauty of this temple, how well it is preserved and by the realisation that this was built more than a thousand years ago.

Then Angor Thom, an ancient city, of which some of the main temples and buildings have survived. We spent a good few hours looking at all the different buildings , the highlights of which are the main temple (Bayon) whose towers are covered in Buddha faces and a terrace that holds life-size carvings of elephants.

Also Ta Phrom, a smaller temple that is overgrown by the jungle. The beauty of this temple being that once you get out of the way of the main tourist spots, it is possible to have the feeling that you are alone and are able to absorb the beauty of the ruined temple in quietness.

Finally, just being there, cycling around for two days, getting to another temple, exploring it (they are all different), taking in the beauty and the craftmanship of these people such a long time ago and then moving on, was a brilliant experience.

It is hard to put all of this in words - suffice to say we took more than 150 pictures. A selection of these you will find attached to this entry - for the other pictures you'd better be prepared to sit through a long session of picture-showing!.
In summary - Angkor is an incredible place, it is beautiful and impressive. We had very high expectations, we were not disappionted at all. Definitely one of the highlights on the trip!


And now for something different - we have uploaded pictures to our older entries, please have a look! And if you have any comments, feel free to use the comment option in the blog or write to us!

Cambodia - Phnom Penh

The journey from Cat Ba to Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) was not very interesting - another boat trip (this time we got the slow boat back to the mainland - advertised travel time 2 hours, real travel time nearer 4 hours), followed by a quick taxi ride to Haiphong Airport. Nothing more than a shed which is served by 2 flights per day, so given the fact that ours departed at 20.20 and the other flight in the morning this literally meant they had to open up the airport.
In between we had a very quick look around Haiphong - north Vietnam's largest port. In stark contrast to the industrial development of the harbour area, the city centre has maintained its late 1900's feel and pace of life. Hence, very quiet and almost sleepy on a Sunday afternoon, nothing to write about really.....

We literally spent the night in Ho Chi Minh City, so the next day we were en route to Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia. From the hustle and bustle that characterises Vietnamese cities to a capital 'Vientiane style' - no high-rise buildings and many side-roads not yet paved.
Remarkably, Cambodia was a country at war only ten years ago, ending when its former extreme regime 'Khmer Rouge' was evicted. This means that the country is still very poor and has a lot of disabled people, many of them victims of the minefields that still cover large parts of the country.
The result is that the main sights and tourist areas in Phnom Penh have a fair share of beggars, limbless or otherwise disabled people. Quite gruelling, especially when you take into account that 10% of these are children and that because of the poverty, there are no facilities or prospects for these people.
The more fortune ones are trying to make a living by selling to tourists. The 'Hello Misteerrrrr, you buy (cold water, postcard, fresh fruit, souvenir - pick your choice)' is something we will remember. Although, it has to be said, it is all done in good spirits. As they know they are not the only ones selling, this leads to conversations such as:
'Hello Misteeerrrrr, you buy cold water ?'
'Thank you'
'Please Misteeeerrrrrr......'
'Thank you, we already have water'
'Yeah Misteeeerrrrr, but not from me, you can buy one more!'
'Thank you, really, but we are fine'
'Misterrrrr, you buy postcards ?'
'Thank you'
'Look Misterrrrr, ten postcards, one dollaaarrrrr, see: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten; eins, zwei, drei, vier, funf, sechs, sieben, acht, neun, zehn; uno, due, trei, quattro, cinquo, sei, sept, otto, novo, dice; un, deux, trois, quattre, cinque, six, spet, huit, neuf, dix; een, twee, drie, vier, vijf, zes, zeven, acht, negen, tien' (note - all mistakes are due to the literal transcription of their counting!)
'Very impressed with your counting, but thank you'
'Okay Misteeerrrr, you by flute'
'Thank you, I don't need a flute'
'You need a flute, for your friends and family, as souvenir, you can ship them home!'
'Thank you!'
'Misteeerrrrr, only one dollaaaarrrrr. Okay, two for one dollaaaarrrr' (note - imagine shipping these home at 20 dollars per item)
'Misteeerrrr, nice flute - listen - 'tiedelie' - your mother would like it, Misteeerrrr'
'Really, thank you, we are fine, we have all we need'
'I have something you don't have, Misteerrrrrr!'
Note: instict is to say - 'so we don't need it either', which we didn't say. However, this would have been precisely the appropriate comment, as some sort of bird-shaped mobile was on now offer - 'for one dollaaaarrrr'.
'Thank you, we are fine, we are going to look at the temple'
'Okay Misterrrr, thank you, good luck to you!!'
'Thank you. And to you'
This conversation and every possible variation of this we have had many a time at every sight, both in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap (see next entry). For those interested - in the end we did buy some postcards and lots, lots of water.

Which brings us to the second distinctive feature of Phnom Penh and Cambodia - it is hot. Not just hot, but really hot. Coming from Hanoi, the temperature difference is remarkable - during the day about 35 degrees Celsius. And a very dry heat, unlike other tropical countries. So water was desperately needed!

Finally, like Laos, Cambodia is a country that has to rely upon a lot of aid to keep going. Many infrastructural projects are sponsored by more developed countries, while also the NGO's like WHO and UNDP (and many more) have a significant representation. Once more very visible by the fleet of comparatively expensive cars that cruise the streets.

For the rest - Phnom Penh is a nice town, but in one-and-a-half day we had seen it. We saw the main temple (including the resident monkeys), the riverfront (including our favourite hangout, the Foreigner's Correspondence Club, where one could say life goes by from a balcony overlooking the river. We also saw the Silver Pagoda (including busloads of Japanese trying to get into a photo), the Royal Palace (albeit from the outside, as the complex was closed due to an official visit from the Swiss President) and the Russian market (where many fabrics, handicrafts and western designer stuff were on offer - leading to Nicola's first spending spree).

From Phnom Penh it was on our way to, going by other travellers' and friends' comments, one of the potential highlights of our trip - Angkor Wat. Of which more in the next entry....

Vietnam - Cat Ba Island & Ha Long Bay

Our journey to the Vietnamese Island and National Park, Cat Ba, and the surrounding area of Ha Long Bay, began with a 2.5 hour train journey to Haiphoomg, for the grand total of GBP1.20 (EUR 2). Fantastic value, although the hard wooden seats meant that we were happy to get off at the end! (While we are on the subject of wood, apparently it is common for the Vietnamese to sleep on hard wooden beds, i.e. no matrasses, in summer as it is so hot!).

Once we had arrived at the train station the next step was to get a boat across to the Island of Cat Ba. There are variety of options with regards to the boat (fast, slow, different times etc) and with people getting commission for different journeys we were accosted by many people all giving us different information so that their offer sounded the best! (This would have been a useful time for Nicola to be fluent in Dutch so we could discuss in private - especially our pricing strategy!). Anyhow, eventually we made our decision and bought the tickets.
Given that we were already at the jetty, we were a little surprised when we were put in a minibus and driven 20 min across town to the port, where our boat was waiting. But everyone seemed to think this was pretty normal, so we just went along with it. Once on the boat we decided to sit outside for the 60 min crossing, to the amusement of the locals who couldn't seem to understand why we would want to be outside when there were comfy chairs inside.

Around 4 pm we arrived at Cat Ba Town, a small fishing town, with great views, which has expanded with guesthouses/hotels/restaurants along the promenade. A nice enough place - a kind of Vietnamese Blackpool/Zandvoort, complete with lovely multi-coloured umbrella style street lights.
Given that we were here in winter - the busy period is May-August - it was quiet, but within easy reach of Ha Long Bay, so it was a great place to base ourselves for a few days.

On our first full day we took a day boat-trip around Cat Ba Island and into Ha Long Bay. Ha Long Bay has over 1900 steep limestone islands/outcrops jutting out of the sea, over an area of perhaps 30 sq km. While limestone islands like this are not unique, Ha Long Bay has the largest number and it has been dubbed by some as the 8th natural wonder of the world. It certainly is impressive and we saw some amazing scenery as we sailed in and out, and around these natural outcrops. We had the boat to ourselves, as we had decided to treat ourselves, which made it extra special as we could relax on the deck and watch the world go by. For lunch we anchored in a quiet, sheltered bay with small untouched beaches. We had a little paddle but chickened out of the swimming as the water was too cold!
We ate a fantastic lunch on the boat of fresh fish and squid. The skipper used this break to collect fresh clams by digging in the sand around the waters edge, which made for a a nice afternoon snack.
As well as the amazing scenery we also passed a couple of floating fishing villages, which are nestled in the sheltered parts of the outcrops. There were around 5 houses in each village all with fishing nets, boats and a lot of dogs! Even here we didn't escape the 'you buy, you buy' culture people paddled up to us in a small boat laden with drinks, crisps, fruit - a mini supermarket!!!!!

Our second full day on Cat Ba was not so relaxing as the first, since we took part in an organised 4 hour hike through the national park (you were not allowed in without a guide). Through tropical-like vegetation, the path started out paved and very easy (we even encountered Vietnamese in high heels!), but after an hour it had turned into more of a rock scrambling expedition, which was quite steep in places! After 3 hours and 4 steep hills later we had a final climb to the top where were rewarded with fantastic uninterrupted views of the mountains. Our guide, who wasn't that young, did this 4-5 times a week - we were suitably impressed, especially as it took us some time tom recover! The day ended with a boat ride back to Cat Ba Town and a well deserved beer or two in the evening with a fellow trekking couple.

It is now 11am in Cat Ba and we are off to pack our bags for our journey back to the mainland. From there we fly to Ho Chi Minh City, where we stop overnight before flying to our next destination Phnom Penh in Cambodia....

Vietnam - Hanoi

After a short flight from Vientiane and completing all the necessary documentation at the Vietnamese immigration, Hanoi was waiting for us. We had heard and read a lot about Vietnam, especially about being 'vigilant' with regards to tourist scams, as the average Vietnamese sees a westerner primarily as a 'money-tree' he can shake and dollars will fall off. As we found out in our first hour......

Arriving relatively late, we had made reservations for a hotel in Hanoi's Old Quarter, the 'Prince'. Our taxi driver - who required some negotiating with about the price, even though it was fixed at $10 by the Hanoi Airport Authorities- got us there in good time.
By the way, traffic in Vietnam beats Thailand and Laos hands down. Rules do not seem to exist, while drivers (of cars and mopeds alike) honk their horns just to indicate that they are still moving. At the same time, people that want to cross by foot just step in the middle of this, moving forward with (seeming) confidence, the traffic parting like the red Sea around them. Surprisingly, there are very few accidents, but this is mainly due to the relatively low speed at which everything moves.
But back to our taxi driver, who got us there in good time - we thought. Before we could say or do anything, a 'bell-boy' from our hotel jumped into the taxi, ordering the taxi-driver (who was obviously 'in' on the scam) around the block, as the Prince was supposedly full. There he showed us a 'back-up hotel', which was cheap (!!) and offered some great day trips to popular tourist destinations around Hanoi. As it was late and the price was really cheap, we decided to take the room and then make our way to the Prince to check out the real story. The very worst case scenario being that we had to pay twice that night. At that time, our 'bell-boy', probably alarmed by our intentions to go the Prince and our obvious disinterest in his tours, made a miracle phone call to the Prince, where there had become rooms available after all. And making sure we got lost in the labyrinth that is the Old Quarter (probably so that we wouldn't blow his cover) he turned his attention to a fresh bus-load of prospects for cheap rooms and tours.......

All of this did not really contribute to our mood and first impressions of Hanoi. The more so, since Nicola had caught some kind of bug, which caused a case of tiredness and tummy-ache. However, once we made it to the Prince, everything turned for the better - a great and quiet room (quietness is very hard to find in Hanoi) and very friendly staff. So a few minutes later we sat down in a nice little restaurant in Hanoi's Old Quarter for some food (soup for Nicola, more substantial fare for JP, including the best dish of this trip so far - fried aubergine with loads and loads of garlic).

After a good night sleep, we decided to give Hanoi another chance, so we set off for a sight-seeing walk of the town. Combined with running some errands, as travelling means continuously being on the look out for the next thing (be it a ticket, getting cash or booking hotels).
This first day we focused on the Old Quarter, the area of our hotel and as the name suggests, the oldest part of Hanoi - A labyrinth of narrow streets.
Apparently by crossing a the mountains between Laos and Vietnam, we had also crossed a cultural divide - Laos, Thailand , etc. are culturally influenced by India, while Vietnam is under influence of China. This was not only evidenced by the numerous small shops, selling everything, from sweets to fake flowers, but also by the completely different style of temples (pagodas they are called here, which share Buddhist and Confucianist elements). Most compelling evidence, however, was the scene of the markets, where every thinkable animal (from fish to turtles (!) and from chicken to dog (!!)) and every part of these animals (ears, tongues, brains, etc.) were on offer - fresh!!! On a side note, because of Nicola's slight illness, our gourmet experiments were limited to ham and cheese sandwiches (Nic) and noodles (JP).

The second day, we strolled around the French Quarter and the ceremonial centre of Hanoi and Vietnam - the area around Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum.
The French Quarter gets its name from the fact that it was designed in Parisian style by the French during their colonial presence. Admittedly, from a well-chosen vantage point one could have the feeling of being in a French city - with a majestic opera building and tree-lined boulevards leading off it. Including the ongoing chaos that is traffic.....
The area around Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum is mainly off limits, but the large square used for military parades and his mausoleum are open to the public. Unfortunately though, he only holds audience early in the morning (which is when we were running our errands), so we did not see the embalmed body, just the colossal yet boring building that holds this.

And then it was time to pack up. Since we had decided to spend some more time in Laos, we had cut short our time in Vietnam. To make sure that we would not only see cities, we had planned a trip to Cat Ba Island (Ha Long Bay), where we could escape the hustle and bustle of Hanoi and apparently see some of the most breath-taking scenery Vietnam has on offer.

And our final vote on Hanoi: after the initial wake-up call, we actually enjoyed the city. Very quickly it became clear that if you are vigilant for scams, they are not too hard to avoid - a quick 'no thank you' with a beaming smile generally gets you an even broader grin in return. The traffic is noisy and chaotic, but at the same time, everybody expects the strangest things to happen, so it is hard to do something really unexpected. As proof of this, on the second day we had an eighty-year old granny hanging on for dear life onto Nicola's little finger, while we ushered her across ten 'lanes' of traffic. But it was good to leave this all behind and make our way to a more relaxing par of the country......