Ho Chi Minh - Saigon

So, I'm now here in Vietnam. I've just been touring around Ho Chi Minh for the past couple of days. I have to say that the first thing I learned is that I don't know how to cross the street.

The cars now drive on the right (correct) side of the road, at least most of the time. However, cars are a vast minority. The motorcycles are taking over. At every stop light (if you can find the stop light) there are hundreds lined up. They all move out 100M in a mass wave and then spread out in every direction. I've heard the term wading through traffic, but never have I experienced it before. The best advice is to begin walking and move at a slow and constant rate. The sea of motorcycles parts like water around a rock and bikes go whizzing past on either side of the pedestrian traveler. The temptation is to make a run for it, but only a slow and patient walk will see you through to the other side. Oh, and the traffic lights are set so you can't see them at the crosswalks. So, you have to kind of guess when the light will change and choose when to begin the trek across.

Tomorrow I head to the Mekong Delta (hopefully) for 4 days.

Bangkok

So, I have spent the last few days in Bangkok. It's been a good time and I'm looking forward to heading off tomorrow.

First, the food situation is probably not too bad, however I can't communicate well enough to figure that out. The thaws use peanuts frequently and their English is the worst I've come across so far. So, McDonald's, salad (when I can), and fruit is the good food for me.

Yesterday and today was a day of sight seeing. I went and saw a three different temples yesterday and then the Grand Palace today. All of them were impressive with the Grand Palace being the best. The architecture is very beautiful and awe inspiring. I also got to see the changing of the (2) guards.

Last night I went and saw a Thai boxing match. I have to admit it was quite entertaining but far from my favorite sport. It seems strange to watch people kicking and punching one another. I doubt I'll be watching any boxing in the near future but it was an interesting cultural experience.

I was sitting behind a large fenced off area in the cheap seats. It felt as though I were in some kind of prison or cage. The lighting was dim and the seats were just flat surfaces of poured concrete. At the start it was sporadically filled with foreigners. Soon, however, the Thais came pouring in. They swarmed the cages and were frantically switching seats to try and get a better view. The reason for the cage is that, in theory, betting of a certain type is only supposed to go on in the cheap seats. Having paid only the equivalent of $12 for our tickets, we got to watch the Thai men aggressively place bets and then cheer their chosen fighter. It was interesting to watch these passive Buddhist people (something like 90% of placing bets on two men who are intent on knocking each other out Thais are Buddhist) placing bets on two men who are intent on knocking each other out.

The evening entertainment served as a strong contrast to the opulent palace and temples. It also was a reminder that reality often differs from ideals ,and religious generalizations don't hold true when you examine the daily lives of people.

Almost Missed Saigon

So, I'm now in Bangkok. Slowly, I'm making progress towards Vietnam and I will actually fly there on Saturday, May 28th. Until then, I'll be hanging out in Bangkok and playing the game of "avoid the peanuts". So far, so good.

Oh, my interesting comment of the day is about the Bangkok International Airport. What's interesting is that you fly in right over a golf course. This isn't so unusual in itself, but the fact that the players actually have to cross the runway at one point and some of the holes are only about 50 yards away from landing planes is a little strange. If I played that course, there could be a major international disaster.

Pictures

I'm hanging out in Kuala Lumpur for a couple of days. As such, I have access to a computer and a reasonably good internet connection. So, here are some pictures:

I tried to upload more picture from Langkawi but for some reason it didn't work. So, I'll do that sometime in the future (maybe).

Monkey in Langkawi:


Bali Pictures:

House on rice paddies in Ubud(sideways)


More Rice


Monkeys in Ubud's Monkey Forest



Ubud Art Store (one of hundreds)


Street Commerce


Ubud Rice Terraces

More Pictures

Lovina Beach - Sunrise


Dolphin Watching at Sunrise



Road Scenery


Kuta Beach Sunset

1 Week in a little island called Bali

Transport? Lady? Man? Mushroom? Charlie? Massage? Marijuana?
You name it, you can get it in Bali. Every ten feet or so somebody will offer transport, and if you don't need that you will be updated with a serious of other products and services that can be purchased for a price. The Bali people are all very friendly, kind, and entrepreneurial. Everybody is willing to offer driving service and it seems that everybody has a side business or a friend who can get you "anything you need". That said, everybody is also very relaxed and easy going.

I've been here for almost a week now. Our trip has taken us from Kuta (think California surf town that was carried to Asia on a giant wave), Ubud (think some time where it's still the 1960's and everybody enjoys producing and selling their crafts (wood carvings, paintings, stone carvings, glass, etc.) on streets nested amongst rice paddies in the mountains) to Lovina beach (think quiet beach where the water is extremely calm and the people even more calm) and back to Kuta.

So far it's been great. I'm surprised by the number of people in Bali. There's 3 million people on the island and they seem to have about 3 million different restaurants - most of them with the same menu (oh and good news, I can eat the food because Balinese oil = coconut oil). The traffic is horrible on the South side of the island, but as you come north the mountains are amazing (although nothing like the rockies) and there's several lakes in amongst the rice terraces.

So, to be brief a few highlights:

Ubud - Amazing bungalows for rent where you get your own room, a loft, a balcony, and a view of the rice terraces all for C$5 per person.
Snorkling - We went for a snorkeling trip to Deer island (I forget the Indonesian name) that's on the North tip of Bali between it and Java. The reef is awesome. I could be easily impressed buy I've never seen tropical fish besides in an aquarium. The coral spreads out over about 50 meters and then drops off in a huge cliff to an unknown depth that looks exactly like something out of finding nemo. There were thousands of fish of all sizes and colors. Apparently, they get black and white tipped sharks and whale-sharks in that area, but we didn't see either of them.
Dolphins - We were up at 5:30 this morning and out in the Java sea to try and catch a glimpse of some dolphins. We saw a few and chased them around until around 9:00am. All in all, it was not that wonderful, the boat ride was better ( this super narrow boat - just wide enough for your hips) that's supported with wooded pontoons).
Kuta - Waves. The waves in Kuta are huge right now. The beach lifesaving squad said they are particularly high right now and nobody can go surfing because of it. It was fun to do a little body surfing but you really see how strong the Ocean is. I hope I will be able to take some pictures because they are impressive.

Anyhow, that's all for now.

Pictures may be coming.

Tamen Negara

May 7th, 2005.
So, Taman Negara (Malaysia's National Park and home to a 150 million year old rain forest) took its toll on the family. When we arrived all 5 of us were healthy, energetic and ready to take on the world, or at least the rain forest. Things were different when we left; Mom got a touch of asthma but was otherwise well, Jeremy had a cold, Allison had a cold, innumerable mosquito bites and one wasp sting, Dad had a cold and an eye infection, and I had fun. I think everybody else had fun too, so I feel as though I got ripped off.
Our time in the park was quick, but enjoyable. The trip began with a 3 hour bus trip from Kuala Lumpur followed by a trip up the river. To go up river, the family jumped in a wooden long boat and all the luggage went up front. The boat itself is very simple with about six rows that accommodate two people each. At the back the "captain" works the motor, steering the boat along the river and puling the prop up when the water gets too shallow. The river was extremely low because the rain forest hadn't seen rain in about 8 weeks. Our boat driver was impressive and obviously knew the river well. He would weave in and around rocks, sunken trees, and shallow areas. Only twice did we get high centred. On those occations everybody jumps out of the boat and pushes. It was quite fun and since we were being splashed anyway, getting wet wasn't a problem.

Once we arrived we were a little disappointed to see the village across the river complete with vehicles of all sorts. The romantic notion of being deep in the rain forest somehow isn't the same when a Proton (Malaysia's car brand) is parked across the river. Anyhow, the trees were great and there were monkeys out and about. That was great. So, we got our room keys, dropped off our stuff, and had some food.

Soon after dinner we met out guide, Hamzah. He's a nice guy and was excited to take us out on a jungle walk. By this time the sun was down, so it's a night jungle walk. He opted to take us on the quite path that few people go on. I was happy with this because there was a greater chance of seeing animals and lesser chance of seeing people. As it turns out both were pretty scarce. While we saw no other people we only saw a couple of mule deers, a procupine, and a few different insects. However, the sound of the jungle was a amazing and teeming with life. At one point we shut off the flashlights and were enveloped in a darkness that can't be described. I was within an arms length of Jeremy but suddenly I couldn't distinguish the difference between eyes opened and eyes clothed. At the same time, our ears were treated to a symphony of insects, leaves rustling, and far off animals. It was a spectacular feeling. When we emerged from the jungle we were treated to a blanket of stars that was absolutely breathtaking.

The next morning, we were up early, met Hamzah and headed out on a hike up the hill. The hike was only about a 5 KM loop but gained 340M of elevation and was in intense heat and humidity. This nearly killed half the family and I think was the source of the later malaise. The view from the top was not exactly spectacular but I enjoyed the walk. On the way down we went along the world's longest canopy walk. This is a series of walkways that are about 20M in the air. It's great to walk along the treetops and see the rainforest for above. Very cool.

We then returned for lunch, put Dad to bed, and the rest of us headed out to the swimming hole. This involved a 40 minute boat ride up the river. The boats were slightly smaller and this time the river was a gorgeous panorama of Amazonian proportions. The scenery was that of lush green jungle along a clear rocky river that would be twist and turn along the dense foliage. The smells in the air were very pure and the wind was just the right temperature. Once we arrived at our spot, we hopped out of the boat, walked a little ways and then jumped into the river. The swimming hole is a part of the river just after a cascade along a few rocks. The water was cool and refreshing. It also had a strange deep reddish tan colour. It was like swimming in tea. After the hot and humid hike, the dip in the river was perfect. The only drawback was that there were hundreds of bees/wasps waiting for us upon pulling ourselves out of the water. I would say that at least 50 were landing on my sandals. A quick dunk in the water cured that. A few different boats came up to the swimming hole and of the 15 people that were there only one person was stung. Of course, that happened to be Allison. Any form of biting or stinging insect managed to find her and leave a nice red welt along her skin. In another life she must have done something very bad to a lot of powerful insects.

After the river trip we returned back, had a bite to eat and made an early trip to bed. The next morning, we reversed our trip in. This time however, me decided to make it interesting. Along with the boat ride and the bus trip we threw in an eye infection for Dad, a trip to the doctor to get drops in KL, a taxi ride to the airport, a plane ride to Langkawi, and finally a taxi ride to our hotel. When we were given some fresh pineapple/something else juice upon check-in it was a welcome welcome to Langkawi.

More later.