Traveling "alone" is a relative statement. One always seems to find mates to travel with on the road. My purchase of a 20 cent "black book" for contact information was perhaps the wisest pre-trip investment thus far. Well, that and the Cipro. The list of countries I now have a bed to sleep in now includes Canada, England, Australia, France, Holland, Viet Nam and Sweden, not to mention the few Americans I've also met (they tend to be few and far between). Most of these travel relationships last only a day or even just a few hours. That is why my time spent in the last three days with 7 Brits and have been a marked and much appreciated change of pace.
The group of seven is tightly knit. Andy and Hollie, whom I met in Hanoi two weeks ago, tell me that they're all from the same "village" about 30 miles north of London and that they've all known each other from the time they were small lads (how quaint!).
Andrew Dicker, or just Dicker, is a barrel chested young man. He stands 6'1" and probably weighs 230. If he grew up in the States he would've for sure been a dominant lineman playing high school football. We shared a motorbike on the way to the sand dunes of Mui Ne, and he is the first to give me a little background on this tightly knit group of friends. "You ever heard of that TV show Jackass? Or CKY (the original Jackass)? Andy, Chalk, Lewie, Dan and I did the same sort of stunts and filmed it all. You can check'em out on www.vimeo.com", Dicker shouts over the noise of the wind as we go 35mph on the two lane streets. He then proceeds to tell me about his work. "I work for the waste management department in the city of London. Basically, I drive a van with poo in it for a living. Shit job, but great pay!", Dicker proudly states. "I'm also a bouncer at a bar." His body had countless scars from the shit he's done, the lastest being on this trip where he flipped his motorbike and landed headfirst in a ditch with the motorbike landing on his head. The unbreakable man that he is, he came out of that with large scratches on his leg. By all accounts he should've been seriously injured, but his mates said that it's pretty typical that he would come out of it with only some scratches. The 11 cars he's totalled (going through the windshield twice) is testament to his nine+ lives. It is obvious that Dicker is a gentle giant, and I like him immediately. http://www.vimeo.com/clip:49316
I highly recommend checking out this clip and others at www.vimeo.com. search andrew dicker, andy ash, dan simpson.
Chalk, who introduces himself by his real name James, can only be described as special. The quotation marks kind of special. His enthusiasm and unabashedly oblivious do/say first, think second mentality gets him into trouble, but it is also impossibly endearing. One of the first things I hear from Chalk's mouth was, "If I learn Vietnamese, would I have an English accent like they have a Vietnamese accent when speaking English?" Chalk is in the British Army Reserves and volunteered to go to Afghanistan. He likes shooting guns. God save the Queen...
Andy, whom I met in Hanoi is an aspiring photographer who still shuns the use of digital. Surprisingly, Andy, not Chalk, is the target of the groups benign bullying. Andy's mom, apparently, has slept with all the boys in the group, and even one the girls. One time when Andy went away on vacation, he came home to a large lamp post in the middle of his front lawn as well as the house being on sale for the past two weeks.
Heidi, one of two girls in the group, emphatically breaks the stereotype that English girls are not cute. She has dark brown wavy hair and a figure that just doesn't quit. I guess that time in dance school does a body good. Heidi's also a screamer, shrieking all the way down the sand dunes on her board. Heidi's been traveling Asia with Louie, her boyfriend of the past year. When the game of "what animal would you be" came up, Louie's animal was a walking stick. I thought more of a praying mantis.
Dan is something of a local celebrity back in their small village. "Everyone knows Dan," Andy tells me over happy hour Saigon Beer at Crazy Kim's bar in Nha Trang. "It's usually, 'Hey! Dan from the wineshop'!". At 28 Dan is the old man in the group. He's into all sorts of music and tells me that I should check out the South by Southwest music festival in Austin. He likes white russians, and is fantastic company after six or seven of them.
Hollie is the total package. A laid back, gorgeous, natural brunette, Hollie can party with the boys, but also has maternal instincts that naturally manifest themselves when the need arises. She took care of Dicker after the accident. And when Chalk got wasted beyond repair our night in Nha Trang, it was Hollie who carried him on her back home to the hotel about a kilometer away. Dicker offered, but Hollie had it under control. She says it was easy because Chalk could "rest his legs on my big hips." I laugh at the comment, because they are actually very nice hips. "What? It's true!" she protests. In a group of "characters", Hollie's relative reservedness betrays her many dimensions. That she is studying Drama and English at university suits her quite well.
This is the group that I've been with for the past few days. We sandboarded, swam in the South China Sea, haggled with our hotel owner over the price of a destroyed motorbike (good work Louie at getting it to only $280!), and partied like rockstars at Crazy Kim's and the Sailing Club in Nha Trang. Until we meet in England...cheers!
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Friday, July 14, 2006
Saigon Part 1
Spontaneity comes in different forms. One manifestation is to tell someone you will be in Saigon in two weeks and then have that person immediately purchase a ticket to Saigon for a weekend excursion. Diana Lee (www.asparagese.blogspot.com) joined me for my first three days in Saigon from Singapore. Although we we both had hacking coughs, we managed to get in a day in the Mekong as well as checking out Reunification Palace. On the Mekong we paddled in little riverboats that were totally reminiscent of scenes in old movies about the war where some VCs are hiding in the rivers sucking air through a reed and then ambush your boat. Our straw hats added to the ambiance. For 6 bucks we got transportation (bus and boat), visited four islands, tested local coconut candy (divine!), had lunch, sampled local fruits, and saw a brief musical performance. Even by Vietnamese standards Diana and I thought this was quite the deal. Because we were both feeling so crappy, we party in Saigon as one should. You know the kind of sick where you are just totally don't want to speak with anyone, everyone annoys you and you want to just sleep? That's how I felt on Saturday night and Sunday morning. Sunday evening, however, was a different story.
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Sapa
The northwest of Viet Nam is covered by lush hills and mountains and is home to many hill tribes. The town which most tourists use as the "gateway" to the many villages of the Northwest is Sapa. After a few days in Hanoi and the comedically unorganized tour of Halong Bay, Sapa was the perfect place to relax for a few days. The weather was much cooler and the incesant noise of motorbike traffic is reduced to a bearable buzz. Terraced rice fields like those on the cover of my Environmental Science textbook span all directions.
Sapa, Vietnam
The "villagers" in Sapa are a curious bunch, especially the children. The H'mong girls by far have the biggest presence in the town, and the little ones all speak two or three languages. "Where you from?...You from America!", is the general greeting one gets when walking down the street. They are pretty aggressive, often slapping you on the shoulder if they don't get a response they like. The gentleman that I am, I often return the slap. Dressed in their traditional clothes dyed with natural indigo (which stains their arms and hands), these H'mong girls can often be seen in a bar playing pool or in a cybercafe playing CounterStrike when not selling their friendship bracelets or other miscelleanous traditional crap. I consider myself a decent pool player, and these girls would definitely hold their own in any New York City bar. I went 1-1 with an 15 yr old. The exclamation point to this odd juxtaposition of cultures had to be the moment when one girl was doing her embroidery while her friend was sinking the 8 ball.
Many people do two or three day treks to various villages around Sapa, but I was content with the two I visisted in one day, using the rest of my time to motorbike around the area (what a thrill!). Usually one has to pay an entrance ticket at the trailhead of these villages, but because I was with the Dzao women who invited me to their village, we sped past the post. Thankfully, the rail was up so we didn't get closelined.
Red Dzao Women
Sapa, Vietnam
The "villagers" in Sapa are a curious bunch, especially the children. The H'mong girls by far have the biggest presence in the town, and the little ones all speak two or three languages. "Where you from?...You from America!", is the general greeting one gets when walking down the street. They are pretty aggressive, often slapping you on the shoulder if they don't get a response they like. The gentleman that I am, I often return the slap. Dressed in their traditional clothes dyed with natural indigo (which stains their arms and hands), these H'mong girls can often be seen in a bar playing pool or in a cybercafe playing CounterStrike when not selling their friendship bracelets or other miscelleanous traditional crap. I consider myself a decent pool player, and these girls would definitely hold their own in any New York City bar. I went 1-1 with an 15 yr old. The exclamation point to this odd juxtaposition of cultures had to be the moment when one girl was doing her embroidery while her friend was sinking the 8 ball.Many people do two or three day treks to various villages around Sapa, but I was content with the two I visisted in one day, using the rest of my time to motorbike around the area (what a thrill!). Usually one has to pay an entrance ticket at the trailhead of these villages, but because I was with the Dzao women who invited me to their village, we sped past the post. Thankfully, the rail was up so we didn't get closelined.
Red Dzao Women
Thursday, July 06, 2006
ITINERARY
Although rather bland, this intinerary is an easy way to keep track of what I'm up to. Unfortunately, I am not uploading pictures while traveling so you get to enjoy links to great photos of some of the places I'm visiting.
July 3- Hanoi
- Arrive very late in Hanoi (every shop is closed and there are only a few street lights)
- Find a hostel by bumping into three drunk travelers stumbling home and following them to their place
July 4- Hanoi http://www.terragalleria.com/vietnam/vietnam.hanoi.html
- Meet up with Linh
- Dodge motorbikes and explore the city
- Evening at the waterpuppet show
July 5- Hanoi
- Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Residence, and Ho Chi Minh Museum
- Lunch with Linh's family
- Museum of Ethnology
July 6-8 Halong Bay http://www.terragalleria.com/vietnam/vietnam.halong.html
- Various caves and grottoes, Cat Ba Island, hiking in the national park (an extremely difficult hike)
- Sea kayaking and swimming in the bays
July 9-12 Sapa http://www.terragalleria.com/vietnam/vietnam.sapa.html
- Chillin out and enjoying the view from my hotel room
- Trekking to various villages
- Talking to local girls dressed in traditional garb who speak English really well and play nasty games of pool
- Watching Zidane get medieval on Materazzi
July 13 Hanoi
- Staying at Linh's house before heading to Saigon
- Having Linh's mama cook us a phat meal of crab stuffed spring rolls..mmm.
July 14-16 Saigon
- Meeting Diana (Georgetown friend who decided on a whim to come from Singapore to meet me in Saigon!)
- Day tour of the Mekong Delta for a ridiculously low (even by Vietnam standards) 6 dollars, including lunch!
July 17 Mui Ne http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Asia/Vietnam/Northeast_South/Binh_Thuan/mui_ne/
- Sandboarding
- Beaching it
July 18,19 Nha Trang http://www.terragalleria.com/vietnam/vietnam.nha-trang.html
- Going out
- Snorkeling? Diving?
July 20-22 Hoi An http://www.terragalleria.com/vietnam/vietnam.hoi-an.html
- Getting a new wardrobe (lots of tailors in Hoi An)
July 23-24 Hue (Ancient capital, Viet Nam's first UNESCO World Heritage site)
July 25 DMZ and the Vin Moch tunnels
July 26 Hanoi
July 27 Beijing
August 4 Los Angeles
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
My Vietnamese Sister
Linh Phan is a 17 yr old rising senior here in Hanoi. She stands about 5' 4" and has dark black hair that down well past her butt. Her face is round and reminds me of that of southern Chinese girl. That is, she is very pretty. She has a distinctive style already (she wore a beret the first day we hung out), and so when she walks down the street with me she gets beckoned by the street vendors and motorscooter taxis with everything from "Bonjour!" to "Hello!" to "Korea?". Everything except "Sin Chow":Hello in Vietnamese. We made quite the pair: a young Chinese manwho is always mistaken for Japanese and Korean, and a Vietnamese girl who is mistaken for everything but Vietnamese.
Linh traveled outside of the country for the first time last year to Singapore and wants very to study in university there. When I asked her why not the U.S., she says because she doesn't want to be so far away from her mom and dad. She's not quite sure what she wants to study, but when I told her I majored in International Relations she became quite excited.
Linh and I met through couchsurfing.com. She told me to call her when I arrived in her city, which I was more than happy to do this since I don't know a soul in this country. After dodging the 2 million* mopeds and moterbikes infesting the city while running some errands my first morning in Hanoi, I called Linh.
I know that my voice was overflowing with enthusiasm on the phone which I tried to taper a little. Fortunately I heard that excitement reciprocated on the other end. "I am so happy you called me today!", Linh said in her polished English. We decided to meet at Huc Bridge, which connects the Old Quarter of Hanoi to a small island in the middle of Hoan Kiem Lake. I told Linh to expect me to be dressed in a light blue longsleeve shirt carrying my red bag. Oh, and also that I'm a 6' 3"with long hair. Despite each of us knowing what the other looked like through our respective couchsurfing profiles, I felt obliged to not change my clothes even though I was dripping with sweat by 12:30pm from wearing that long sleeved dress shirt.
The first thing we did was eat. When in Viet Nam, what else but pho (noodles in soup)? I wasn't full after my first bowl, but Linh firmly, yet politely said that we should go somewhere else to try something different. If I wasn't sure before, I was sure then that I really liked this girl! Shaved iced with tapioca, fruit and condensed milk: a staple of the Asian dessert menu. Helping me bargain for some small things, sitting by the lake and enjoying some drinks and having great conversation about Vietnamese culture and youth rounded out our first day together.
We spent the second day visiting Uncle Ho's mausoleum and the Museum of Ethnology. Like China, Viet Nam has over 50 ethnic minorities. Since I am planning on going to Sapa (in the Northwest) to trek in the villages of the Hmong, Dzao and various other minorities, this museum was a great precursor to my trip. The models of the hill tribes' houses were impressive. One towered over 40 ft! Imagine the shape of a hatchet with its blade pointing up and you have the shape of this house. The museum also had a moving exhibit of the time of the Subsidized Economy in Viet Nam. This was a time of extreme hardship where food, cloth and soap (among various other things) were rationed at portions no middle class person today could imagine doing with. I was impressed by the openness and candor of the exhibit.
The Old Quarter of Hanoi is teeming with backpackers. Everywhere you go you hear an Australian accent. Brits run amok, and I've even met a few Israelis. Everyone has a Lonely Planet upon arrival, and if they don't pirated versions are sold here for $2-$5 (any country you want), which means that virtually every traveler is using the same information. While you can accomplish almost anything you would normally want with a Lonely Planet at your disposal, the assistance and friendship of a local has been just wonderful. Cam on (thank you), Linh.
* actual statistic
Linh traveled outside of the country for the first time last year to Singapore and wants very to study in university there. When I asked her why not the U.S., she says because she doesn't want to be so far away from her mom and dad. She's not quite sure what she wants to study, but when I told her I majored in International Relations she became quite excited.
Linh and I met through couchsurfing.com. She told me to call her when I arrived in her city, which I was more than happy to do this since I don't know a soul in this country. After dodging the 2 million* mopeds and moterbikes infesting the city while running some errands my first morning in Hanoi, I called Linh.
I know that my voice was overflowing with enthusiasm on the phone which I tried to taper a little. Fortunately I heard that excitement reciprocated on the other end. "I am so happy you called me today!", Linh said in her polished English. We decided to meet at Huc Bridge, which connects the Old Quarter of Hanoi to a small island in the middle of Hoan Kiem Lake. I told Linh to expect me to be dressed in a light blue longsleeve shirt carrying my red bag. Oh, and also that I'm a 6' 3"with long hair. Despite each of us knowing what the other looked like through our respective couchsurfing profiles, I felt obliged to not change my clothes even though I was dripping with sweat by 12:30pm from wearing that long sleeved dress shirt.
The first thing we did was eat. When in Viet Nam, what else but pho (noodles in soup)? I wasn't full after my first bowl, but Linh firmly, yet politely said that we should go somewhere else to try something different. If I wasn't sure before, I was sure then that I really liked this girl! Shaved iced with tapioca, fruit and condensed milk: a staple of the Asian dessert menu. Helping me bargain for some small things, sitting by the lake and enjoying some drinks and having great conversation about Vietnamese culture and youth rounded out our first day together.
We spent the second day visiting Uncle Ho's mausoleum and the Museum of Ethnology. Like China, Viet Nam has over 50 ethnic minorities. Since I am planning on going to Sapa (in the Northwest) to trek in the villages of the Hmong, Dzao and various other minorities, this museum was a great precursor to my trip. The models of the hill tribes' houses were impressive. One towered over 40 ft! Imagine the shape of a hatchet with its blade pointing up and you have the shape of this house. The museum also had a moving exhibit of the time of the Subsidized Economy in Viet Nam. This was a time of extreme hardship where food, cloth and soap (among various other things) were rationed at portions no middle class person today could imagine doing with. I was impressed by the openness and candor of the exhibit.
The Old Quarter of Hanoi is teeming with backpackers. Everywhere you go you hear an Australian accent. Brits run amok, and I've even met a few Israelis. Everyone has a Lonely Planet upon arrival, and if they don't pirated versions are sold here for $2-$5 (any country you want), which means that virtually every traveler is using the same information. While you can accomplish almost anything you would normally want with a Lonely Planet at your disposal, the assistance and friendship of a local has been just wonderful. Cam on (thank you), Linh.
* actual statistic
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Why I’m Going to Viet Nam
My Chinese and American friends and family have all been asking me why I want to go to Viet Nam. Why Panpan, why? I think they deserve an answer.
It may be easier to first tell you why I DIDN’T choose some other locales for my three and half week solo romp. On the list of exotic/extreme travel locales I know that Viet Nam doesn’t even crack the Top 10. But when deciding where to visit I carefully considered each country’s draws and drawbacks. They are listed in no particular order.
The Kingdom of Bhutan
Draws- Arguably the most isolated country on Earth. Spectacular Himalayan mountains as
your backdrop. Friendly Tibetan people.
Drawbacks- It’s not even that isolated anymore. Some even have satellite TV now! Can’t an indigenous people faithfully maintain their impoverished way of life for the sake of western tourists for once this century?
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (HA!)
Draw- Another one of those hermetically sealed countries. Chicks dig guys who have been to Pyongyang. The Dear Leader’s lavish parties.
Drawback- Unfortunately, a visit has to be with an official tour group. Tour groups are so passé.
Thailand
Draw- Beautiful beaches, a thriving sex industry, and an incredibly well developed tourism infrastructure.
Drawbacks- You know what they say, “When in Thailand, don’t be fooled by a hot prostitute that is really really hot, but in reality is a small Thai man who has had a sex change.”
Iraq
Draws- The thrill of being in a war-zone. An absolute MUST if one is to be taken as a serious photojournalist.
Drawbacks- Too many Americans are already there. It’s soo, like, 2003’s destination of choice.
I’ve wanted to go Viet Nam for a while now. When I think about why I want to go the first thing that comes to mind is, “Because it would be tight and because I can afford it.” If forced to give real reasons though, I guess I would say that because of my personal background, Viet Nam holds special interest. As an American, the war and its effects on the country both disturbs and intrigues me. In addition, the Chinese dominated Viet Nam for a thousand years before being expelled. (Unless I ate baguettes and wore a beret I couldn’t be more Viet Nam’s oppressor!)
I leave July 3rd and return to Beijing on July 27th. I’ve contacted some people through couchsurfing already (www.couchsurfing.com) so I’m pretty much all set for my accommodationsJ Bon voyage. I’ll try to write again soon.
It may be easier to first tell you why I DIDN’T choose some other locales for my three and half week solo romp. On the list of exotic/extreme travel locales I know that Viet Nam doesn’t even crack the Top 10. But when deciding where to visit I carefully considered each country’s draws and drawbacks. They are listed in no particular order.
The Kingdom of Bhutan
Draws- Arguably the most isolated country on Earth. Spectacular Himalayan mountains as
your backdrop. Friendly Tibetan people.Drawbacks- It’s not even that isolated anymore. Some even have satellite TV now! Can’t an indigenous people faithfully maintain their impoverished way of life for the sake of western tourists for once this century?
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (HA!)
Draw- Another one of those hermetically sealed countries. Chicks dig guys who have been to Pyongyang. The Dear Leader’s lavish parties.
Drawback- Unfortunately, a visit has to be with an official tour group. Tour groups are so passé.
Thailand
Draw- Beautiful beaches, a thriving sex industry, and an incredibly well developed tourism infrastructure.
Drawbacks- You know what they say, “When in Thailand, don’t be fooled by a hot prostitute that is really really hot, but in reality is a small Thai man who has had a sex change.”
Iraq
Draws- The thrill of being in a war-zone. An absolute MUST if one is to be taken as a serious photojournalist.
Drawbacks- Too many Americans are already there. It’s soo, like, 2003’s destination of choice.
I’ve wanted to go Viet Nam for a while now. When I think about why I want to go the first thing that comes to mind is, “Because it would be tight and because I can afford it.” If forced to give real reasons though, I guess I would say that because of my personal background, Viet Nam holds special interest. As an American, the war and its effects on the country both disturbs and intrigues me. In addition, the Chinese dominated Viet Nam for a thousand years before being expelled. (Unless I ate baguettes and wore a beret I couldn’t be more Viet Nam’s oppressor!)
I leave July 3rd and return to Beijing on July 27th. I’ve contacted some people through couchsurfing already (www.couchsurfing.com) so I’m pretty much all set for my accommodationsJ Bon voyage. I’ll try to write again soon.
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