Who needs a minivan?

Who needs a minivan?

2 parents, 2 kids, and groceries - no problem, just pile onto a motorbike. 2 TVs to move or a refrigerator or mattresses -no problem, just put on the back of your motorbike. This has been one of the most fascinating and terrifying things about Vietnam. Thousands of motorbikes and bicycles everywhere, with a few cars, buses, and trucks thrown on the road too.

I was met at the airport in Ho Chi Minh City by a driver and taken to the hotel where I would meet the group later that night. The first sights of the city were overwhelming. I checked into the hotel, and was immediately happy with my choice to go with the 'comfort' version of my tour - the man at the airport holding a sign with my name on it and my own room in the nice (3*) hotel, complete with own bathroom and tv. It took me a few hours in the room to get up the courage to venture outside, and when I did it was a challenge! Although there are traffic lights, lines dividing the road, and cross walks, no one seems to pay them any attention. There are motorbikes coming from every direction at all times, regardless, just using their horns to tell you to get out of their way.

That night I met my group that will be together for the 15 day tour of Vietnam, south to north. There are only 10 of us, and I was a bit surprised to find out that the majority of them are retired. I guess that is the downside of the 'comfort' version of the trip. Still, it has been fun and extra well organized by the tour guide which makes it all very easy. We had a group dinner that night, an outdoor restaurant near the market. None of us were sure what to do as we hadn't been planning on eating at outside restaurants and had already seen the kitchen where they were washing dishes in a bucket, but we figured it must be ok. The food was good and so far no one has been sick.

On Monday, we took a cyclo ride to see the sights of the city - again a bit terrifying with all the traffic zooming around us.

My view from the cyclo

We visited the War Remnants Museum, which was previously called the American War Crimes Museum, with photos and stories from the American War, as it is called here. There was a photo exhibition that said it was a gift to the people of Vietnam from the people of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sponsored by the Louisville Courier Journal - very random! Then we visited the Cu Chi Tunnels, learning more about the war and the poor opinion of Americans.

Going down into one of the tunnels the Vietnamese used to hide from the Americans


The next day we took an overnight trip to the Mekong Delta - it was a few hours on the bus and then we got on a boat on the Mekong River. On the boat we stopped at several different family homes that have opened their doors to tourists. We stopped at one for yet another huge meal. It was great food, except that the fish was placed on the table whole and seemed to be looking at me! We visited a brick and pottery factory - definitely not easy jobs. So much of it was still done by hand in horrible conditions.
We went to another home for fresh fruits and tea and to relax in a hammock. Some of the others held a massive python, but I had no interest in holding the snake.

And we took a long boat ride, hats provided!

That night we stayed in one of the family homes. They put on a huge dinner and breakfast for us and we were able to ask the mother questions, with our local guide as an interpreter.

Learning to make spring rolls at the homestay before dinner - I'm pretty sure sitting on the table wouldn't pass any cleanliness checks.

The next day we were up by 6am for a few reasons: 1) Roosters. 2) The 10 of us were in 1 big room. 3) We were told we should go check out the local market. The local market was truly local - I'm not sure it was worth getting up at 6 to see!

After breakfast we took our boat back and visited the floating market- with all sorts of fruits and vegetables on sale. They advertise what they have for sale by hanging the item on a stick above their boat.

We also visited a village where we watched them make rice paper, rice wafers, pop rice, and coconut candy - and of course had samples and bought some too. Then it was a bus ride back to Ho Chi Minh City and a free afternoon. I went for a walk, but went the wrong direction a few times, so it took longer than I expected on a very hot day. But I found the market, got a north face back pack for $12 (something tells me it may not be real) and had local Pho for lunch. It was basically a chicken noodle soup, but I had to attempt to eat the long noodles with chop sticks and a spoon - it was not a pretty sight! Then after my long walk, I relaxed with a $5 pedicure. :)

We left the hotel at 10pm that night for our overnight train journey to Na Trang. We were in the best type of accommodation - 4 berth soft sleeper, but it was definitely an experience. I shared with Son our tour guide, Chris from NZ, and an unknown Vietnamese man who was trying to sleep. We stayed up for a while talking with the others and having some drinks and snacks, knowing that there wouldn't be much sleep. I think I slept for about 2 hours, waking up around 5 when we were getting close to Na Trang.

Son and Chris on the train. The 4 bed cabin was about 7 ft by 7 ft- cosy!

This is me when we got off the train looking like a bag lady.

After a city tour of Na Trang, we were convinced by our tour guide that we had to try the mud baths. We were skeptical, but all 10 of us ended up going. It was interesting and more fun than we expected - all sitting in a giant tub of runny mud, covering ourselves and each other in it. Then, baking it on in the sun before washing in hot springs. That night I went out for dinner just with Son, our tour leader and Chris. We took a taxi to a place Son liked, but when we got out, I had to veto - it was an outdoor restaurant on the corner, with bowls of seafood that would become my dinner just sitting out. Ok, not even a restaurant, basically just a set up on the street corner with little table and chairs. And serving only seafood. Luckily Chris agreed with me that our stomachs probably wouldn't be up for such local dining, so we got Son to take us somewhere that actually had a kitchen.

Friday, we had another day trip on a boat - they took us snorkeling, to an beach island to relax, served us lunch (and beer), and had 2 girls giving manicures, pedicures, or massages - we thought it was a perfect boat!

We stopped at one point and took a smaller bamboo basket boat to shore and walked through a local village. Lots of the kids were waving and shouting hello. One 4 year old decided to run after us and hit me with a stick - I guess like kids anywhere!

Others from my group on the bamboo basket boat - literally a giant basket made of bamboo and then lacquered. Our bigger boat is in the background.

This is the island where we spent a few hours - I read, had a massage, and played beach volleyball- not what I thought I'd be doing in Vietnam!

We took a cyclo tour around Na Trang - I of course was the lucky one to get in an accident - well not really, but the guy did rear end a motorbike, but only lightly.

Hong Kong

So I left Australia and set out on the 2nd half of my trip - on my own through Asia. First stop Hong Kong, where I was met at the airport by Susan, a work colleague who moved from London to Hong Kong over 2 years ago. She took me back to her great apartment with a water view, set me up a sofa bed, and gave me her laptop with wireless internet - a definite luxury! So I wasn't quite roughing it yet.



I had changed my flight to arrive in Hong Kong a day early, because I needed to get a visa for Vietnam. I was at the consulate at 9:01 to arrange the visa and spent the rest of the day exploring the city. I had visited Hong Kong for a few days last summer with Rick, Maureen, Tim & Brendan, but it was fun to be back. And it was definitely a different feel than Australia!



After walking around a while I spotted the trams going down some of the streets, and decided just to jump on the next one that came by. It was fun exploring without really having a destination.

I visited a temple, a few markets, took the miles of escalators up (and then tried counting on my way down, but tired after I got to 500), passed a movie set, and then had some lunch in the park.

Friday night, Susan & I went out in the city, it was fun being out somewhere that felt familiar- it felt it could have been after work in London or NY just as easily as Hong Kong.

Saturday we had lunch on the waterfront near her new apartment and then took a cable car up to the Big Buddha.

That's me before climbing all the steps up to visit the Buddha.

Afterwards we took a taxi to the beach and had dinner at a South African restaurant on the beach. Susan is South African, and I had never tried any South African food, so it seemed like a good idea, though strange to be in Hong Kong on the beach at a South African restaurant!

And Sunday morning I was off at 6:30am to the airport to fly to Vietnam!

Things I learned in Australia

So, after 5 1/2 weeks in Australia, I have finally had to say goodbye to Kate & Annika. But, I can definitely say, I have learned many things - most I don't think will be useful again, but you never know.



1) Wet season really means wet - not just an occasional shower. Do not expect a sun tan. Do not bring a beach towel.

2) All of the interesting animals are nocturnal.

3) People really say g'day.

4) There are crazy looking and crazy sounding birds in Australia - some can kill you.

5) It is possible to get tired of visiting wineries. But never of drinking the wine.

6) When something seems odd, always ask. You never know when you will be trapped because the only road is suddenly closed for a car race.

7) There is such a thing as a snorkel for a car - and there was a point when I wish we had one.

8) There are camels in Australia!

9) Apparently Australian drivers need to be reminded that falling asleep at the wheel is bad - tons of road signs that were not blunt - eg - "Drowsy drivers die."

10) There is a way to shorten everything - my favorites are rego for car registration, journo for journalist, and on the tv on a Saturday when they were advertising a show for next Monday, it just said Monday Week.

11) Yet there are a few words they make longer such as bread roll (aren't all rolls made out of bread?)

12) I can actually go to sleep with grasshoppers in my bedroom...well when I have been beaten and have failed in chasing them away.

13) You are really in the middle of nowhere when you can sit in the middle of the road and eat ice cream.

14) Conversations with random guys may be worthwhile - you can laugh about them for days later.

15) Fly nets are an essential accessory - especially when trying to enjoy a picnic in the outback.

16) Make sure to have Tim Tams before a night of drinking - bad things can happen if chocolate isn't around.

17) You shouldn't drive in the evening b/c you may hit a roo. (Luckily we never did.)

18) Even I can get tired of peanut butter.

19) Never travel without a supply of wine, again you never know when you will be stuck watching a car race.

Sydney & Queensland

I flew to Sydney on Saturday (Feb 23rd). Kate & Annika stayed in Melbourne and would meet me in Queensland a few days later. I spent the afternoon checking out the city, debating my decision to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridget the next night, as it was looking really quite high, and riding the tram, just because I wanted to.




My weekend alone didn't end up being lonely as I had a friend to meet in Sydney - Alison, who I had met on the Berlin to Budapest trip in December. Sunday we spent at Manly beach, enjoying the sun and water warm enough to swim in...and waves! I then took the ferry back to the city, where everyone was starting to gather to watch "history in the making" as the Queen Victoria & the QE2 cruise ships passed in the harbour. Since I had nothing else to do, had a towel to sit on and a book, I sat on a hill and waited with thousands of other people for the appointed hour when the ships would leave. I was kept entertained by a couple from Nashville who asked me if "your mamma & daddy own one of them big horse farms in Kentucky" in an excellent southern accent (the answer is NO, by the way!) When the two ships finally starting moving, it was rather un -impressive, I had been told there would be all sorts of fanfare, but really, just two cruise ships passing. The QE2 was leaving the harbour for the last time and the Queen Victoria was there for the first time, and was just moving into the better spot next to the Opera House.




I then walked through the gardens, a bit scared of the hundreds of bats hanging from the trees over my head, to Woolloomooloo, an area of Sydney, just simply because I like the name!



Monday I managed to get a visa for China, after being forced to pay 3x as much for being American - Aussies are charged $30 for a visa, everyone else in the world $50, and Americans $155. I was trying to get it on my Irish passport, but couldn't, since I had entered Australia on my American passport, while the Irish was stuck at the Russian embassy for a month. Visas (and Russia) is a bit of a long story and rather sore point, but I am no longer going to Russia or Mongolia.



I went up the Sydney Tower for views of the city and sat through Oz Trek - "a virtual tour of Australia", which was fun, as we had done most of it already.







Then, it was time for my bridge climb! I booked it back in December, after having several friends tell me it was terrifying but a must do. And it was $250, so I made sure it was paid for before I stopped working. There are no pictures, since we couldn't take cameras, but you'll get the idea on here: http://www.bridgeclimb.com/theClimb/BridgeClimb/sydneyphotos.htm.




We were suited up in a grey jumpsuit, given a breathalizer, and loaded with stuff - everything we took up had to be attached to us, so nothing could fall on the 8 lanes of traffic below. The whole process took 4 hours, with less than 2 hours actually on the bridge. It was awesome though, we climbed up through lanes 7 & 8 of the traffic on the bridge and back down between 2 sets of train tracks. Apparently it was 1100 steps, but didn't seem it since I was constantly looking around. While we were at the top, the Queen Victoria left the harbour, again with lots of people watching. It was neat to be able to see down onto the ship and we got people on the ship to wave to us on the bridge.




Tuesday I met Alison again for a few hours, and then it was off to the airport to fly to Queensland, where Kate was waiting. When I got off the plane, I had the choice of a $13 bus to the hostel or a $15 stretch limo. Of course it was an easy decision! I never thought I'd be putting my backpack into the trunk of a limo and then be dropped off at my hostel! There were 2 other people in the back with me, but it was definitely much better than the bus!

Kate had warned us that it was wet season in the tropics - but I had no idea what wet season actually meant. It hadn't rained much at all in Darwin when we were there, but so far North Queensland has been a very different experience - we haven't seen many days without rain. Its been fun, massive downpours of rain lasting for hours, but has not been the laying on the beach week I was planning on (what do you expect in the wet season in the tropics?!?)

We went on a day trip around the Whitsundays islands, stopping to go snorkeling and to sit on the beach. It was a very grey day with some rain, but was still fun. We had to wear wet suits in the water to protect from stingers (yet another dangerous creature in Australia).

After Airlie Beach, we headed to Townsville, where we stayed with Phil, another friend I met on my trip in December. We had a night out in Townsville, not the most attractive of cities, but we still had fun!

We took a ferry to Magnetic (Maggie) island, where we actually had a sunny day. We rented a mini-moke, a tiny little car, and drove around the little island. Kate taught me how to drive manual, which was fun, but I won't even try to pretend it was a smooth ride for the girls! We searched and searched for Koalas, that were supposed to be in the trees along the walking tracks, but again were disappointed.

The mini-moke - open top, tiny, and with a big pokemon painted on the hood!

On Sunday we left Townsville to stay in Misson Beach for 1 night. On the drive there, it started raining and pretty much never stopped. Luckily Kate has experience with all the crazy things that happen in Australia, so stopped at the police station to ask about the roads to Misson Beach...only to find out the road was "cut" and we wouldn't be making it there that night. We drove to Cairns instead, and found a luxurious Comfort Inn with 2 TVs and clean towels - very exciting for us now! So we were happy and waited out the rain that evening.

After Kate confirmed the roads were ok, we packed up and left for Cape Tribulation, where we were going to stay 2 nights. We made a few stops along the way- for groceries and for another driving lesson for me - this time in a real car.

Again, can't claim it was all smooth - that's me stuck up into the bushes when I couldn't get into reverse - but...I did do it and make it out on the roads!

Then it started raining, well pouring, again. We took a ferry across to Cape Tribulation and were planning what we would do there...when we came to

Another road we couldn't cross - 0.8 meters of water, way more than our tiny (bright yellow) car could handle. And so we turned around and headed back to Cairns again, where we managed to get the same room in the Comfort Inn that we had checked out of 7 hours before.

So, we can say that we definitely experienced wet season in the tropics. We didn't do much in the rest of our time in Cairns, ventured out a few times, but got soaked each and every time. Even though some sun would have been good, it was also nice to be able to stay in one place and relax, after our 5 1/2 weeks driving around Australia.