Careening Through the Universe

Sunday, 12 October 2014

Laos - Vang Vieng

In Vang Vieng I went kayaking down the Nam Song River (no real paddling required because of the current) and then rented a bike for an afternoon. I biked to a cave, which was bigger and more interesting than I thought it would be, and then I just went for a bike ride on the main road out of town (felt like getting some exercise). I stopped for a bit when I turned around to head back (had some water and a snack) and a guy came out of a house across the road to make sure I was alright. He was worried that there was something wrong with my bike and that I was stuck. I thought it was so kind of him and was a bit sheepish to say that I was just having a rest.

Kayak resting spot

Kayak starting point

Kayaks

Vang Vieng

Cave

Vang Vieng was also a return to cooler temperatures but not cold by any means. I still sweated a bunch during the day but it cooled off enough at night to wear long trousers.

Laos - Vientiane

First stop in Laos was Vientiane. It was a really quick stop and I only really had a morning to explore but that worked out to be about right for the city centre. I walked to the That Dum Stupa (seriously, that's what it was called on the map), the Patuxai Monument and the Vat Sisaket.

That Dum Stupa

Patuxai Monument

Vat Sisaket

I had an amazing sandwich just before we left to go to the next city. It had real cheddar cheese in it, which I hadn't had in ages. Oh cheese, how I'd missed you!

Random stuff from Vietnam

1. Family size restrictions
There are no rules on how many children a Vietnamese family can have unless you work for the government. If you are a civil servant, you can have up to two children. If you have a third child, you lose your job.

2. Traffic
Yes, the traffic seems crazy at first but once you get used to it, there's a definite organization to it (as long as everyone knows the rules). Larger vehicles generally have right of way regardless of main road vs. side road designation but in an accident, the driver of the larger vehicle must pay compensation to the driver of the smaller vehicle regardless of who is at fault. So it sort of keeps everyone from abusing their "powers" (drivers of larger vehicles can't do dangerous things just because they have right of way because they will have to pay if they hit someone else).
And it's a really good thing that they have so many motorbikes/scooters, especially in big cities, because if all those drivers had cars, the traffic jams would never end!

3. Additional Photos
Photos taken when in transit between destinations in Vietnam (I think I have the locations right but I might not...):

Between Nha Trang and Quy Nohn

Between Quy Nohn and Hoi An

Sugar Beach

Between Hoi An and Hue

Thursday, 2 October 2014

Travel Dislikes

I am really enjoying travelling but have come across a few things about travelling of which I'm not all that fond.

1. Sunscreen
I hate wearing sunscreen! It's all greasy (even when it claims not to be) and it collects any sort of dust or dirt that may blow by. I know this is more of a general dislike than a travel dislike but when I'm not travelling, I don't wear sunscreen all that often - if I'm going to be outside for extended periods of time in the summer, I'll put it on but for a regular work day or to go run errands or at any point during the winter, I don't bother (sacrilege, I know). Seeing as while travelling I tend to spend a lot of time outside exploring (which is one of the things I really love about travelling), pretty much every day I slather on the sunscreen. Bleh!

2. Foreign ATM's
I don't really like having to use ATM's in foreign countries because it always turns into two minutes of mentally chanting "Please don't eat my card! Please don't eat my card!". I don't really care about the additional ATM fees or the increased risk of someone hacking into my account but the idea of potentially losing my card is quite stressful. Also, withdrawing 4,000,000 of anything from my account is a bit unnerving.

3. Being Privileged
I am privileged. I'm spoiled. I am incredibly lucky. Not only do I live in a country where I don't get sick drinking the tap water and I don't have to worry about being overheard criticizing the government, but I've also never experienced war or it's after effects and have never had to seriously worry about when or from where my next meal will come. On top of all that, I have enough money and security to leave my country to visit others. I'm so spoiled that I'm about to complain about being spoiled.
It's easy enough to forget about how privileged I am when I'm at home, but when visiting poorer countries, it gets thrown in my face constantly. It's good to be reminded about how lucky I am and it gives me a chance to be truly grateful for all I have, but being constantly reminded of it is a bit overwhelming. I get frustrated because I can't even the playing field. Even if I gave away all my money and possessions, it would never be even close to enough to fix the problem. I don't know how to make it right.

4. Mosquito-borne Diseases
Every time I get even a slight twinge of a headache, my first thought is now "Oh my god, I've got Dengue Fever!". Perhaps I should dislike my hypochondriac tendencies instead but I'm choosing to blame it on the existence of the disease.

Vietnam - Hanoi

Hanoi was my last stop in Vietnam before heading to Laos. We arrived by sleeper train from Hue. I went to the Ho Chi Minh Complex (with mausoleum, Presidential Palace, and Ho Chi Minh Museum), the Museum of Fine Arts (really good!) and the Temple of Literature.

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

Presidential Palace

Ho Chi Minh statue

From Ho Chi Minh Museum

Museum of Fine Arts

Temple of Literature

It's hard to believe that my tours around Japan, Cambodia and Vietnam have finished already! Time has flown by and I'll have to start planning out what's next soon. Off to Laos next.

Vietnam - Cuc Phuong National Park and Ha Long Bay

On the way to Cuc Phuong National Park, we stopped at the Hoa Lu temples, which are located in a citadel from many years ago. The scenery was fantastic, with huge prominent chunks of limestone rising up out of flooded rice paddies.

Hoa Lu Temples

At the national park we went to an endangered primate centre and went for a walk through the jungle to see a 1000 year old tree (I asked if they had to change the sign every year - to 1001, 1002, etc - and got a very exasperated reply that 1000 wasn't exact... It meant it was thousands of years old).

Family of gibbons

Wildlife preservation sign

Thousand year old tree

Directional sign

The next day we drove to Ha Long Bay and got on a small cruise ship (6 rooms?) to tour around. We stopped to see a cave and then went swimming and spent the night on the boat. The scenery was great when you could see it around all of the other boats.

Ha Long Bay

Stalagmites and stalactites

Ha Long Bay

Vietnam - Hue

Public service announcement for anyone travelling to Hue: it's hot and humid - like 34˚C hot with 82% humidity (so feels like 48˚C if you believe the Weather Network). I was not impressed when we first got there. Sure it's been hot everywhere except Dalat but this felt gross. We got there at lunch time and then I spent the afternoon hiding in the shade by the Perfume River with a headache, watching boats go by and worrying about the next day when we had a full day of outdoor sightseeing planned.

Empty boat on river

Full boat on river

Very full boat on river

I shouldn't have worried so much - yes, the next day was hot but it was also fun and there was some shade and a bit of a breeze so it was ok. We went to the Citadel and Imperial City where we learned about the many kings of the Vietnam from 1800's to 1945. The overriding impression I came away with is that the kings had a lot of sex. One king even had sex with five ladies in one night, got three of them pregnant and still got up for an early morning meeting the next day. Oh, and another was so unhappy with his predecessor that he had his corpse exhumed and fired it out of a canon! (Kind of hilarious unless that's the person chosen to rule your country).

Imperial City

We then went to the Thien Mu Pagoda, took a boat trip up the Perfume River, saw how incense sticks are made, had lunch at a nunnery, visited an old coliseum (where they used to have tiger vs. elephant fights), explored a royal tomb and visited a small village (where a lively old woman gave us a demonstration on old farming techniques).

Thien Mu Pagoda

Tiger claw marks in concrete

Royal tomb

It was a busy day and what made it more fun is that we were transported to each destination on the back of motorcycles (errr... Mom, Dad, maybe don't read that last part). I'd never ridden on a motorbike before so for the first leg I was huddled up against the driver, holding onto him for dear life, but by the end of the day, I was sitting back where I was supposed to and holding on by myself.