Notes from a Pom

As far as I remember I left you last in sunny Hoi An, well to continue this tale let us resume from Hue. Surrounding Hue, is the DMZ and site of famous conflicts such as Hamburger Hill, where the only real consequence of the battle was a lot of filling for cannable hamburgers. The Demilitarised Zone, or DMZ, was a stretch of land 5km of each side of the Ben Hai River which marked the barrier between North and South Vietnam under the terms of the 1954 Geneva Accords.

In Hue, we met up this this mad woman named Thu, she is 31 and not yet married, almost unheard of in Vietnam. She told us that if she did not marry soon she would "become a nun and live in a Pagoda". Anyway she has 10 bothers who she employs as motorcycle guides round Hue. She very swiftly talked us into going on one of her tours, and proceeded to entertain us with her command of the English language which for the most part she had learnt from foreigners...She was able to swear better than both of us!

The tour itself was for just a day and we went hurtling down little country ally ways, passing through the hearts of little villages and seeing the temples and monuments, and into the DMZ. The highlight of hue however was mad Thu, and her brothers. If you are ever in Hue and and a loose end, then pay this lady a visit.

From Hue wolf and myself decided to make our own ways up to Hanoi about 700 km north. Wolf opted for the bus, which was a bit of an 18 hour ordeal. Dealing with self centered isralies and too little leg room. I opted for a little more luxury, and traveled up on the train.

The train to Hanoi, was an experience, on the surface very similar to any train in the world, however just below the surface gloss, you started to see the differences. To begin with getting on the train, it was necessary to talk to around eight people, to shout at the driver and get him to unlock the carriage, my ticket was examined so many times, that by the time I got to my bed it was looking fairly travel worn. The train stopped in Hue for the best part of an hour, before creeping off before hitting its top speed of about 50km an hour. I looked out the window, and became the official entertainment of the carriage as various people stopped by the carriage and tried out their English on me. It was very nice and was great to be the center of attention. Some food arrived in due course, which had been pickled in a mix of viniger and bleach. 10 or 15 minutes after dinner the consensus was that everybody went of bed. So though it was just past 7pm, I obliged as much to hide from the mossies as anything else. A couple of hours later, the compartment was stormed by 6 guys brandishing rice wine, and would not leave until we had worked though all they had. I think the reason they insisted I dank everytie they did, what that they loved to watch me sufferer every time I had a sip. Once the petrol/ rice wine was finished I was allowed to try and get a little sleep.
On most trains if it starts to rain, you shut the window, and in theory you stay nice and dry. Not so here, the window was just a steel mesh, and the glass was long since missing.So I woke up at one point in the evening fairly soaked as rain lashed in through the window. Turning round meant that only my feet got wet, a better option. Traveling by train, was great fun, and I still got a hell of a lot more sleep than wolf.

Hanoi, is a relaxed city, filled with French colonial style buildings, the pace of life is much more relaxed when compared to the rest of Asia, and the street vendors do not give you as much hassle. We are staying in the old quarter, and overlooking what we affectionately call the intestines market. Every morning at around 6 it seems as if half the wildlife in Vietnam is executed and prepared for the days market. About this time the market has a wonderful aroma, of blood and rotting vegetables.

Asides from these delights, we were in Hanoi for business. We had to track down visas for Lao. Ideally without being completely fleeced in the process. We found the Lao embassy, after a bit of work, as it had moved twice in the last two years, and it looked as though is would be moving again shortly. With a big sime on his face he told us that we could have the visas for $50 and $55 for wolf as he carries an american passport.
This was about the best price we had been quoted and so were fairly happy just to have this arranged. On our way back, we met a couple of girls we had bumped into easrlier in thier trip, and said they had just got thier for $30 at the very same embassy. Such is life, even government it pays to be a woman.

We have spent a few nice days in Hanoi now seeing the sights and playing in paddle boats on the lake,and sampleing the local specialities.
Yesterday we sampled some rice wine, inculding one that was titled "one night, five times" which according to the label was a harmonious blend of herbs and rare animal testicals. I have to say that it tasted as bad as it sounds. It amazes me that is was the drink of coice for the emporors of old. Addmitidly some of them had as many as 300 wives and concubines, so mabe it was usefull for them!

Anyway tonight was leave for Savanakhet in Lao, on a journy by bus that is suppoed to take 24 hours, but we have herd reports that it has taked as long as 104 hours! We are not looking forward to it! We have plenty of supplies so it should be a laugh.

I hope I am not boring you all too much with my drivel.
Saigon is a great town, and it is quite something to just wonder around watching people going about thier daily lives. It still freaks me out a little being propositioned by professional women on the street corner, but a simple no thank you with a smile and they leave you be.

We spent a few days in Saigon, wondering around and in the evening playing silly games with the vendor children selling books, postcards, chewing gum, and plates of spring rolls that looked as though they were fresh last year.

We made a trip to the chu ci tunnels round Saigon, which were used by the Viet-Cong to great effect during the war with America. Crawling along these tunnels was very different, and it has to be said rather nerve racking. The tunnels themselves are may be at most two feet high and very long. We crawled along about 70 meters of a section of tunnel leading into an old command bunker. It was so close and humid, the dark oppressed and you could imagine the fear the Americans would have felt as they tried to enter these enclaves. Knowing that round any corner there could be a trap or a rifle waiting.

Wolf shot of a few rounds on an M60 heavy machine gun to pass the time.
It is the kind of thing that rambo or arnie carries round. And the amount of noise it made was astounding. Walking back from the shooting range you could hear the gunfire cracking in the distance through the jungle, and unsettled every one we were traveling with. The life of a soldier is not for me. You get to play with some big toys, but at the end of the day, it is all for a reason.

After Saigon, we headed out to Delat, in the central highlands. At 1500 meters up the coolness of the air was a relief. In the evening we even had to wear jackets. The scenery is in some respects very reminisant of Scotland, except for the Vietnamese, the sun, and of course the bamboo.

We spent a couple of days there visiting waterfalls, and local tribes.
Avoiding the local motor cycle guides generally communing with nature. A couple of university students from Delat befriended us and every evening we would go out for dinner, and drink incredibully strong coffee. We would talk about Vietnamese culture, and in return the wanted to know how to sware like sailors. So being the good sararitans were are, we obliged.

From Delat we went down the coast to Nha Trang, which is very much the
party town of Vietnam. And the only reason we had to leave in the end
was that it was so dam expensive on our very limited budgets. We ran into almost everybody we have met so far on the trip, and each time it was insisted that we have celebratory drinks and dancing. The diving in Nha Trang is supposed to be pretty god, however we decided to wait until we hit Thailand as it is supposed to be that much better and we have plenty of time there.

We are in Hoi An, a town filled with tailors. At every corner we are offered suits, shirts, dresses(!), and anything else that could be sown.
We arrived in Hoi An after a 12 hour night bus journey. And were immediatly tricked into buying shorts and shirts. They did a great job and it is quicker to have clothes made for you here than it is to wash you own.

That about bring us up to date, next we head to Hue, then Hanoi.
So take care everybody, and have fun.

First of all I am not in Bali, so no worries there, but I don't think I will be heading to Indonesia any more. An in addition will be heading fairly sharpishly through Malaysia as well. Wolf and myself are currently in Nha Trang of which you will hear about later.

Anyway, on to more pleasant things.

The journey from Siam Rep to Phoem Phen was as usual in Cambodia bumpy, and we got through it simply by watching the kids, and dining on big fried spiders which incidentally like everything else taste like chicken.



Phoem Phen is a cowboy town, where the gun is king and armed robbery is rife, so we did not really spend much time 'out on the town.' we did however spend an inordinate amount of time relaxing and chilling out by the lake watching the dragon flies turn to bats in the evening drinking and banana lassies. Heaven.

While in Phoem Phen we made our way to the killing fields there where 10,000 people were murdered and burried in mass graves a temple has been built to honour the dead. Every skull recoverd is placed in the temple. It is, to say the least, a powerfully emotive place.



After a day or two of that we realised that we had to move once in a while and headed down to the coast to Shinokvile(spelling?) Cambodias beach town, and for once the roads were in good condition.



We spent a day there ambling along the beaches doing a little rock climbing and a lot of burning in the sun. It was also the first time I had seen the sea since I arrived.

Well cutting many a long story short we got back to Phoem Phen and headed out to Vietnam.

The roads were aparrantly unservicible even for Cambodians, which is saying something so we had to wait a week or two or take a few boats through the Mekong delta. So we did.

It felt like some poor Hollywood flick, sitting on the roof of the boat watching the scenery skim past and perplexed looks of the local people, with awesome thunderstorms breaking overhead. There are plenty people in Vietnam that hide from westerners thinking we are 'American GI' back again.

After two days of travel we got into Sigon having traveled by moto, speedboat, Vietnamese fishing boat, mini bus, barge and coach. And the thought of a bed was all consuming.

Thats all for today campers, just the essentials.

Well this will be the fifth time I have tried to write this post. And with luck it will get through this time.

First to answer a fairly common question. Yes I am heading for Australia.
I fly into Perth on the 9th and will be making my way east for Melbourne at Christmas and Sydney for new year. Second no I haven't blown up a cow with a rocket launcher in Cambodia, but the number of people that tried to talk me into it was unbelievable.

Right,

Cambodia,
what a place! So diverse, the friendliest people, with some of the worst recent history. Some of the worst roads in the world, but the most people trying to maintain them.
We crossed into Cambodia at Poi Pet heading for Siam Rep, along the notorious National Highway 6. This road almost all dirt track, with pot holes up to three feet deep and 12 feet wide. In addition this is towards the end of the wet season, and it is completely flooded in many places.



The journey is 120 km, and it was expected that it would take about 3 hours. A long time for so short a distance, but the actual journey was closer to 12 hours! The bus got stuck in rivers and overflowing paddy fields along the way and we had to all get out and push the bus to get it moving, along with 20 or thirty Cambodian truck drivers who where standing around at the time as their truck had washed a few meters down stream, or the wheels had sunk below the mud.



In the end the drivers of the bus just told us to get out and walk as there was another bus waiting the other side of a particularly bad area.
We ended up having to walk in the dark for two hours in water up to our waist to get through it , but it was all OK in the end, just a little wet. A cool beer when we eventually arrived was all that keep us all going.



The reason we headed for Siam Rep (translated to Thailand Defeated, a little cheeky for some where so close to the border of Thailand) was because of the Angor Wat Temple complex. It was featured in the film Tomb Raider, which I imagine most of you will not if not have seen. Lush temples built in the 12th - 16th century, abandoned and reclaimed by the forest.





Angor was the main trading hub for South east Asia when it was built but fell by the wayside some time in the indeterminate (I don't know) past.





It was discovered in the late 19th century and restoration proceeded for many year until war broke out, it has since been ravaged by Pol Pot and a merry band of looter striping away much of the intricate carvings.




The complex is under restoration again, but only in parts. Some are left more or less as they were found, with enormous trees enveloping the walls and rooms. It is a fantastic display of the power of nature.






Anyway enough of the history lesson. It was a superb place to go and I think I have some amazing photos, but you will have to wait for them. I will continue this shortly, but for now a cool beer waits.

PS I am in Saigon now.