Mae Hong Son Moto Madness

Boy was it a mission to get a moto for our planned trip around the Mae Hong Son province northern Thailand. The terms and conditions on insurance are crazy here, they expect you to pay ‘half the bikes cost’ which is over 50,000 (NZ about 2500) if it gets stolen. In the end though we gave in and hit the road on 125cc bike we named Mario (the moto). The lady hiring was shocked to here we were heading that far at this time of year (after another lady at a different shop also tried to convince us not hire a bike and to make a bus!)... it seems there are a lot of accidents from foreigners taking this journey.

Breakfast on the road

Heading north out of Chang Mai we weren’t sure what to expect on this trip. The last one through Laos had been relatively easy to find food and accommodation (considering the amazing remoteness of the locations) and the roads were hard going a lot of the time. Day one we headed towards Pai. On this leg we expected great roads and a good ride full of beautiful scenery (as Tom had done a day trip out there when he was in Chang Mai). We weren’t disappointed. Pai, although bagged on in the lonely planet is a nice town it’s self. Set in low mountains and host to some semi decent food and great hotels. The rain set in as we arrived. So we decided not to head on to Mae Hong Son town but to stay there for the night instead. Making to a relaxing afternoon inside.

Day two was a later start as we planned on only going a couple more hours riding to Mae Hong Son for the night. The weather had cleared, allowing us to enjoy a quick breakfast from 7 eleven (time and money saving). The views along the way were even more spectacular than the day before. Twisting in between and high into the mountains closing in on the Thailand/Myanmar border. We were disappointed with the town it self so decided to head on into un known territory for the night (where we were no long sure if there would be accommodation or not).  The rain set in again on us about half way to Kuan Yuan. Drenched but happy we found a hostel once we arrived that conveniently sold all the important requirements for the evening. Food and beer. Oh, and a hot shower. 

Imagine eating dinner (super hot Thai style food) and seeing a guy and a girl go past on a moto. Nothing out of the ordinary, right? Until I noticed the guy was in a hospital gown and holding an IV bag. Strange. I think this may have been the same day we saw a scorpion on the road. Only the second one I have seen on my whole trip.

Somewhere along the way I got bitten something insane up my arm and hand. They ran only on the one arm and along in a line. We concluded bed bugs. 

The third day we had a lot of k’s to cover to get back to Chang Mai so headed off nice and early. An early lunch in a small village, some good advice from the friendly owner, a coffee,  a freezing lady on a moto in the rain, a waterfall and an overflowing Hulix packed with people yelling hello and by 5pm we were back in Chang Mai for some shopping before our flight to Phuket.

I forgot to mention. We rode to the top of Thailand's highest mountain, just over 2500 metres. It was FREEZING at the top. But an awesome thing to say we have done.

As you can probably tell I am not at my best while writing this, so off for an early night.

Small Tigers and Big Tigers and Gibbons, Oh my!

Back in Bangkok we arrived after Spike recovered from his illness and I dosed myself with drugs to get through the day. Not our favourite city (well the backpackers area anyway, as we can’t speak for all of it) so we were more than happy to jump on a train for a 14 hour overnight trip up to Chang Mai. We missed out on the fast train and on a aircon carriage but at least we were on our way.

So far I really like Chang Mai. I only miss the street fruit from Bangkok! Haha. Where is my Mango Chang Mai? Our hotel is nice (which was a very welcome change from the one we found in Bangkok) and for a decent price. 

With limited time in the north I thought it best to get a bit of a plan underway and get stuck into all the things we want to try and fit in. Day one and we started with checking out the markets, finding food and the like. After we had recovered from the train trip the next day it was all go and we headed out to Tiger Kingdom to play with some tigers. Epic doesn’t even begin to cover it. Cuddling a 4 month old tiger and hearing their heart beat is awesome. They spend most of their time, about 18 hours a day, sleeping. Basically it is hot and just like a house cat, they like to sleep when it’s hot. I kept forgetting the little ones were still dangerous and accidently would pat their heads, one of the many no nos in their training. The trainers at the big cats were hilarious, grabbing our hands and cupping the tigers private areas (there are photos on facebook to prove this strange event). We spent about 30minutes in total hanging out with the tigers. Best $40 I’ve spent in a while though.

As if that wasn’t enough the next day I headed to the flight of the gibbon (as seen on The Amazing Race). Spike had done something similar in Costa Rica and has an assignment due, so stood this one out and I headed off for the adventure. Flight of the Gibbon is basically set of tree top zip lines (flying foxes) through the jungle. The longest one being an 800 metre long one. This was one of my favourites as you had time to get over the speed and the feeling and relax and enjoy the view (which was AMAZING). 

There was one the guide had to push me off though. It was a superman one. Where you had the option of the normal line or the bungy superman line. Basically you fall a couple of metres and the bungy stops you and you zip line across and into a net that you catch onto and climb up. Turns out it was one of my favourites though and I just wanted to go again. Sometimes it is funny the things that scare you to begin with but then don’t and vice versa (e.g. my Chu Chi tunnel experience). 

There was also a small freefall abseil one down a tree and the last one was a 40metre free fall tree abseil of your choice (normal, superman, upside-down, fast, slow). I went with superman, face first towards the ground. It was good fun.

Me on the normal abseil

We saw some Gibbons too, which was cool. Black ones are male and white are female. The mother was teaching a baby one how to swing. 

Tigers and Ziplines, just another couple of days on the road :D

Taking to the tunnels and shooting an AK-47

Me heading down into a tunnel

I discovered I am slightly afraid in small dark places a couple of days ago. We went out to Chu Chi tunnels and crawled in the tiny tunnels underground which we used during the war. You had to squeeze in down a small hole and get onto our hands and knees. I had a small freak out and wanted to get out, but there was a guy behind me, so I had no choice but the battle through. The second one was much easier as they had widened it for Westerners comfort and there was the odd light along the way.

Me shooting

Spike getting his aim on

Spike really wanted to shot an AK-47, as the first time he went to Cambodia he regretted not doing it, so he got amongst that and I had a go too. We had a military dude guiding us. I was pretty fun and much less loud down in the bunker thing than it was waiting up in the cafe. The guns were mounted though, so there wasn’t much kick back or anything.

I had my first manicure in Saigon too. Yeah, I know, pretty weird I had never had one. But I have always done my own nails as it was a cost I just couldn’t justify. She made one of my cuticles bleed though, although she was very very sorry. It was quiet fun really and took also an hour for only 2USD (meanwhile Spike was getting a massage, birthday present from me, as it was something non material so he didn’t have to carry it).

Normalish things become little adventures when you are travelling. Like riding on a moto from a train station to find a hotel and navigating traffic. Or going to the post office. The post office in HCMC is really big, and like many buildings here hosts a large portrait of Uncle Ho himself. A trip to the post office means yes, even more things to post home (too much shopping..... if there is such a thing?). We went to a massive electronics store the other day too. First time both of us have checked out 3D TV. 

Spike on a moto wearing one of the many pretty helments he has worn

Spike was pretty sick yesterday so we just had a quiet one and today hit up the War Remnants Museum and are just about off to the airport. The museum was really cool, lots of journalism photographs from the war. Pity we got there just after 11am and it is closed between 12 and 1:30, so we didn’t get to see it all. I saw a copy of the Kim Phuc photograph too, which was cool (I have just read the book “girl in the picture”).

Well that’s about all for now. Off to Bangkok. 

The girl in the picture

Spike got older and I hugged a Python (and we also did some other things)

Floating market

HUGE budda at a temple we visited.

From Saigon we headed off on a three day Mekong Delta trip. Day one also being Spikes 26^th birthday (along with the best day of the trip!).Three hours out the city we took a boat to Tortoise Island for lunch, had another view at rice noodle making (though this time on a much larger scale with machinery)and visited a coconut candy factory (and of course ate candy)... where we were presented with a python. When word goes out to do something that makes people a bit nervous it always takes one eager beaver to get the ball rolling. That person was me. As soon as he said “who wants to hold it” I was in. I was 100% excited and not the slightest be scared (which even surprised me!). That is the first time I have held a snake and it was awesome. Heavy though.  It made for a pretty sweet day. The day was topped off with Spike enjoying his birthday dinner of BBQ crocodile on the river front in beautiful Can Tho.

Spike and his BBQ Croc

The next day was Can Tho (very nice riverside city) to Chao Douc. These days included fresh honey from a bee hive (hand in amongst bees – I was much more nervous about this compared to the snake!), the early morning floating market (where we brought pineapple and coffee), monkey bridges, a fish farm, and a local village all before heading back on the final for 5 hours on the road to Saigon. Ewww. Slight mistake made on our part by doing the three day tour. Although we did see the Cambodian border from a Pagoda on a small hill which was pretty cool

So that’s the boring fly by of what we have been up too.

Some interesting facts we got along the way:

• There are 3.6 million motos for over 8 million people in Saigon
• They are building a metro rail system set to open in 2013
• The Saigon river is getting an upgrade, people already got kicked out of their homes when they built the new highway recently and more will have to go when they ‘beautify’ the city.
• They pump sand from the bottom of the Mekong Delta Rivers and ship it up to Saigon. The rivers are evidently getting deeper and the islands are disappearing.
• Dogs can ride motos by sitting behind a person and putting their front legs on the owners shoulders (yes, we really saw this).
• Babies can ride motos by sitting in a basket on the front.

 

Say no more..

Mosque

There are many mosques in Southern Vietnam. Religion is the cause of a divide between the Cham people of the central highlands and the south. And they are not the only people divided. It still plays an important part in many people’s lives.

I love the helmets the females wear here. They have a part at the back for their pony tail. Awesome. Not only that, but often they were wide brimmed loose hats underneath then (you know, they type that Alf on Home and Away wears fishing) to protect from the sun. The hat with the PJ’s combo, not bad sun protection. We could probably learn something from the SEA people that’s for sure.

The coolest statue outside the Pagoda near the Cambodian border

Sorry, I have gotten a little behind in the writing, will try catch up over the next day or so :)

I guess I had best include a snake shot...

Love it

20 hours on a train to Saigon

Another train. This time 20 hours down country to Saigon. It is a pretty journey. I am lacking a bit of sleep though that’s for sure. A bit of snoring and the people on the bunks below us opened the curtains and cabin door as light came, which would have been fine if the train had left on time so we had got to sleep before midnight. The journey is less bumpy than the Sapa one though. 

Spike in his bunk

After the trip to the beach in Hoi An I managed to get sunburnt cycling around town. Pretty silly of me really, but dam it hurt. Stupid Doxy (anti malarial) making my skin extra sensitive.

Picking up the tailored suits and shoes was a lot of fun. I got things made at some many different places that I can see the difference between the good stuff and the great stuff.  I have never had anything tailor before so it was a fun experience. Now all I need is a job to wear them to in August.

Me making rice milk

We also attended a cooking class, as we had heard they were great in Hoi An. After a bit of research we found a good one online, which also happened to be in the booklet in the hotel. So we signed up. Turns out upon getting there that it wasn’t the same course. Heading in still excited it we first saw signs of cracking when the couple we were on it with starting asking questions about the market, the villages, what we would be doing etc. The guide was anything but a guide. He ignored questions and skipped two of the four activities promised on the brochure. The cooking was ok, but there was not enough of the actual cooking side, too many fresh foods. But we did get to see how rice milk is traditionally made (they still do it like this in villiages) and husk rice.

All in and all a good day, but not even close worth what we paid for it, so a significant disappointment. It is sad how often we are disappointed with tours. It would never happen at home, there is no way a tour guide could be a bad as some we have had and the tours as promise breaking. They would simply have no business.

Spike and his yummy Vietnamese pancake roll

Throughout Vietnam they have speakers attached to the street lights, they blast propaganda (I mean, the ‘news’) in the mornings and evenings and music some of the other time. They also have guys who ride motos around playing the ‘news’ too. A further example (after facebook) of how the Vietnamese government takes away it’s peoples freedom.

Like Laos, the ladies outside of the cities really love their Pj’s. They were them very often. I figure it is to protect from the sun as they are made of light and comfortable material. Something that would be seen as rather strange at home though.

After another good Indian feed we hit the train in Danang (and we are back to where I started this entry).

When I am too tall, the food is good and the clothes are personalised

The Hoi An market

This is the first time I have been too tall for something. At my height it is not something that happens often. The central markets in Hoi An is first time so far that I can recall that 5’4 is too tall to fit under something.  Luckily it was tarps covering the market and not a doorway or something more painful. It is still a good reminder that I am in Asia though. Sometimes when you are on the road for a while all the strange things becomes incredibly normal. Be it the crazy traffic, weird food, or insane bathroom experiences (I am referring to the weird designs often employed – such as sinks that run straight onto the bathroom floor or toilets that bubble and make noises that sound like skype) or when you don’t blink at a rat running across a restaurant floor (yes this really has happened, more than once).

Hoi An is a small town that totally relies on the tourists. This is really the only reason it exists. A pretty little place that tourists stop in on their way up or down Vietnam to have clothes tailored at cheap prices. Every year the river front street floods. I was talking to one of the staff at a restaurant this morning and she point out to me where on the wall the water comes through in October. About 1.5 metres up the wall (which would be over 2 metres higher than the current water level). She said this makes that time of the year hard hard work for her (when they can work) and they clean out the restaurant once the water reclines only to turn up a couple of days later to a re-flooded restaurant and the whole processes begins all over again.

Me at the beach

The beach here is really beautiful. Well worth the 3km bike ride out of town (yes, I really am unfit!). Huge, beautiful and not very many people around. Today and yesterday Spike has been studying as University starts to kick in (he is finishing the history part of his degree). I have been exploring and shopping...

It is a new experience for me having shoes and clothes fitted. It will be awesome having some tailored clothes. The only downfall so far (minus the money) has been that I am a few kgs heavier than I was when I left New Zealand so am getting them fitted to my current size (which hopefully is just my travel body). I do miss the energy that exercise brings though. Ready to get fit again that is for sure.

They are fantastic little sales women here, they managed to sell me a few more things than I planned on (although a better way of putting it was ‘letting’ me buy what I really wanted to buy and was trying not to as I have to carry it!). So this evening I will have a whole new pile of clothes and shoes to try and pack into my bag. I think it might be time for yet another post home once we get to Saigon. After a 23 hour train ride beginning tomorrow night :S (Spike did pretty well on the shopping front too which a couple of new suits).

Eggplant claypot

I have found some great food here. The Vietnamese eggplant claypot (when you get a good one) is absolutely fantastic! Cooked in garlic and I am pretty sure soy, it is awesome. So so tasty. It arrives at the table still bubbling and smells delish.  One of the other local specialities is a type of wanton thing (it standard comes with shrimp and pork, but we found  a place that does vege style). It is like an open wanton with sweet and sour veges on top. Yummy. 

Back in Hanoi I decided it was about time I listen to my body and braved up to a trip to the doctor for a shot of B12. Nervous as I was a 20 minute moto ride later I was greeted by a modern and friendly international clinic with English speaking staff and a pretty much brand new building. Sweet. They even waived the doctor charge (which was $130US!) and just charged for the jab – 20USD. Now I am fully human again.

I did something really dumb in Hanoi, accidently left my pocket knife in my day bag. Needless to say I no longer have my awesome pink leatherman. Guttered.

Spike hanging out with the cow pig at a resturant on the way back from the beach.

Almost at China and 12 jackets.

I am five km’s from China. Lao Cai train station on the way home from Sapa. 

Hot Pho Ga in the market

Sapa is a mountain town known for good trekking. However I was to be rather disappointed when we arrived and had three days of pure fog and a small amount of rain. It was freezing and you couldn’t see very far in front of you, so we just chilled out. This involved hanging around town, trips to the market to eat and shop and the same around the small town itself. 

The shopping was fantastic. Northface is made in Vietnam and there is an abundance of Northface gear in Sapa as it is one of very few places in Vietnam that experience any kind of cold (and to with the fact that it is the other end of the country from the factory so the stolen goods are harder for northface to trace). After a bit of hunting we had it down pat (or pretty close) as to what was the real deal and what was fake. This lead to a heck of a lot of shopping and purchasing 12 jackets between us (don’t worry, they weren’t all for us!!)... just four of them.

A northface jacket and a heap of fog

There was a one year old at the hostel. As soon as we came in he reached out for me (not common for me and little babies). He was a very clam child. Unlike most of the young kids in Asia he didn’t pull my hair or grab my glasses. His dad, who was running the hostel, said he really likes foreigners. Funny. It was also funny when they feed him rice and such with chop sticks, so used to seeing children feed with spoons.

While I am talking about the kids, there were children no more than three, sometimes four years old selling on the streets with little ones (aged about 2, sometimes much younger) attached to their backs.  Not something I have seen anywhere else we had been. It seems while their mothers are off selling they are off selling and babysitting. I need my moment of preaching here... if only tourists would stop buying off the young children then they would get the chance to be kids (I know, the flip side is they would possibly have less food and probably still wouldn’t be allowed to go to school, so it is not as simple as it seems on the surface).

Hotpot fun

We ate the Sapa speciality of ‘hot pot’ which was quite fun. It is basically a soup delivered to your table on a gas cooker and you just add veges (and of course for you carnivores you can do meat too), cook and enjoy. It was good fun. We are back in Hanoi now, and Spike ate frog today at our fave lunch spot (go new day!!). For anyone who is interested he said it tasted like alligator. 

The local beer, Lao Cai, in Sapa and the general far north has nothing on Bai Hoi though. In fact Lao Cai is actually pretty disgusting. But you have to try these things huh. It seems most time I go for a new option it is pretty rubbish, but worth the risks for when you find something amazing.

Anyway, so we are back in Hanoi now as I finally finish this blog. Must say, I am still really liking it here. We were going to stop in for one night, just to recover from the overnight train and head down to Hoi An. But this is the second night so far. We have named this phenomenon, getting ‘stuck’ in Hanoi , the Hanoi trap. Where before you realise it you are here for a length of time a LOT longer than planned (and of course you have no desire to leave either). My theory on why this happens is a combination of the hustle and crowdedness, the quiet and openness (yes, you can have both), the way you feel at home here instantly and some x-factor (of which I cannot for the life of me figure out). 

I know for me that it can’t be the fact that I know my way around. As I can really only find my way to and from Bai Hoi (as I went for a walk yesterday and ended up walking a lot further than planned as I got off the map by getting stuck on a road the BIGGEST ministry of defence ever... no jokes... this place just went on and on for a good kilometre). So I figure it has to be some x-factor that draws Spike and I and many other e-pats and tourists in the Hanoi trap. Not that we are complaining at all. It is a great feeling to go somewhere you really like (like Florianopolis, Brazil or Cordoba, Argentina), even more rare and neat to visit somewhere and get that feeling of “I could live here”. 

Hanoi

Hanoi also means we get to visit the most amazing Indian food ever and the fantastic and cheap new day cafe for lunch. Not only is the food amazing, but the jasmine, lime, and honey tea is DEVINE.  Can’t say I am missing Lao Cai that’s for sure. Although, this is the second night and two full days here so far since Sapa and I haven’t had a single glass of Bai Hoi (possible this is a waste of such an awesome invention?). 

And it also means an awesome hostel. Where we stayed before is under renovations, so we checked into one of their slightly more expensive but amazing hostels with the biggest bed in the world (two kind singles pushed together), free fruit in the room each day, breakfast etc... awesome. We have to change today to another hotel as we have a flight tomorrow morning (as it was cheaper to fly than to take a 17hr train ride!!).