I spent a total of 9 days in cambodia and despite the glowing reports i had heard beforehand i didnt find anything of great interest with probably the least friendly money grabbing people i have ever met thrown in. Crossing the border from vietnam and going from tarmac to knee deep mud gave me an inkling into what lay ahead.
Crossing the border turned out to be much more simple than expected and the earlier problems with the bikes for the time being seemed to have resolved themselves. Our first port of call was Kampot, described in lonely planet as a charming river town with excellent backdrop of the local mountains and amazing pepper. Maybe they should rewrite this as what the two of us found was anything but charming and the scenery left alot to be desired. I have never before entered a guesthouse or anywhere else for that matter where every resident is over 55 and single male. Lets be honest its well documented why they are here. As i saw it written on one guide "Cambodia has two attractions Angkor Wat and Lawlessness." Basically if you have the means to back it up you can do anything you want and no-one cares in the slightest. After 5 weeks of warm smiles from very welcoming people in vietnam, cambodia was a bit of a shock. As soon as we stopped we were surrounded by people begging, but begging forcefully demanding money. This led to us beating a hasty retreat and meant we were sorely tempted not to rest anywhere as our second stop yielded the same result.
I understand that cambodia is a developing country and all the rest of it but Laos and vietnam seem to manage where cambodia doesnt. We took off the next morning chased out by the rats in the room and headed to the capital. The main road from Kampot to the capital Pnomh Penh was an experience i dont really ever want to repeat. 160km of single track road covered in loose gravel, and clouds of dust flung up by the trucks that come hurtling by. It could well have been the least pleasant day ever spent on a bike ever. After reaching Pnomh Penh 10 hours later it was just a relief as the worst of it was over and the ruts and potholes hadnt completely destroyed the bikes.
The capital was pretty much empty due to a festival, and the wide immaculately paved boulevards were empty. Literally no atmosphere whatsoever, as every building is either a ministry, department, institute or some other arm of the government. All these buildings are huge and beautifully designed but i just cant understand why they didnt spend it on something more useful.
There are three main tourist attractions in Cambodia, two of which are in Pnomh Penh and these are where we spent our time visiting. These are both unfortunately also two genocide museums relating to Pol Pot and his mental Khmer Rouge regime. His ideas of turning cambodia into an agrarian utopia turned foul and ended up in the slaughter of 2 million citizens at various death camps(cambodia at the time only had a population of 8 million). The first museum was the biggest prison in cambodia which was essentially a converted high school. There wasnt a great deal to see but walls of portrait photos of faces of men, women and children was pretty harrowing as only 7 people ever survived being sent there. The next stop was the Killing fields where the murders and burials took place. The field is dominated by a pillar containing all the bones and clothers of over 8000 people dug up from the surrounding pits. Its not great to see and pretty depressing especially as it was only 40 years ago and most of the old people all lived through it.
Two days was plenty in Pnomh Penh as there is nothing else to do and anything other than the three or four main streets were pretty gross. This meant that our final journey with the bikes was about to begin, the 330km ride to Siem Reap and Angkor wat. I was pretty excited about seeing the temples as everyone i have spoken to said it was amazing and it would be a great finish for this part of the trip on the bikes. The road to Siem Reap turned out to be pretty good although for large parts Josh was limping along at 40kph as his bike seemed to fill up with water everytime it rained. Siem Reap is a pretty nice place to hang out although is built solely for the hoards of tourists. Unfortunately we found out motorbikes are banned from the temples so that first evening i sold mine to some guys outside the hotel for $60. I just wanted a quick sale. A congratulatory drink followed although i think both of us were pretty gutted about losing our independence and the fact that the most amazing month had come to a close.
Its the wet season now in cambodia and the next few days disappeared in torrential rain storms with the water in the streets coming up to our knees as the river burst its banks. We managed a day trip on push bikes to angkor and i will say it is pretty cool but theres just so many temples. We did maybe 15 temples in a 10 hour day and for me that was plenty as they really are that much different from each other, plus the exceedingly pushy people selling tat are so so irritating it just ruins the experience.
By now i was pretty fed up with cambodia and was looking forward to leaving. We had to take the bus to Kratie which is over the other side of the country in order to connect to a bus the next morning that would take us onto Laos. I had forgotten how much hassle public transport here involves and it wasnt helped by the fact that we paid for a VIP bus but ended up being dumped off at the local bus station. We then had to change after being assured that we wouldnt have to, and then when to top it all off that bus didnt show we had to grab the crappiest minibus you have ever seen. The 6 hour journey turned into a nightmare 10 and we only just had time to grab a boat out to see the river dolphins before it got dark. There are only 70 irawaddy dolphins left in the mekong and it is reconned that they will be extinct in the next couple of years. It was pretty nice watching them in the mekong which is currently at full flood and the sunset over the surrounding jungle was immense. This brought the end to what i can only describe as a really disappointing stay in cambodia and am now in Laos. Its still really wet here, bring on november and the dry season!!!
Tuesday, 19 October 2010
Friday, 8 October 2010
Keeping the fat lady at bay
A hell of alot has happened since last i wrote in dalat. We have navigated our way through Ho Chi Minh city accross the ferries and waterways of the mekong delta and over the border to Cambodia. All this in two utterly exhausting weeks, but ones that will live with me forever.
Dalat was a bit of a let down and sucked to be honest, there was really nothing to do at all and three days were more than enough. I was pretty glad to see the back of it as we returned to the coast and the fishing village of Mui ne. This place is the up and coming beach resort in vietnam but to be fair it was nothing to write home about. We found an ok place on the beach went out for some beers in an overly priced bar and generally complained about there being too many other foreigners. To be honest we have become travelling snobs, as with a motorbike it actually seems like and adventure rather than a holiday. Mui ne was good for two nights as we managed to get a look at the famous sand dunes which were cool almost like a few square miles of the sahara. On leaving Mui ne time was of the essence as Josh only had one more week left on his visa, which meant we had to do Ho Chi Minh, the delta and Phu Quoc island in this time.
I was dreading riding to Ho Chi Minh due to one of the quirks of my bike being i cant get it in to neutral so it stalls all the time. A city of 7 million people and hundreds of traffic lights was going to be fun. To be fair i only stalled 3 times on getting into the centre and it really wasnt as bad as i thought or that may be because i am now used to vietnamese traffic and the way the roads work here. I had been to Ho Chi Minh before and wasnt fussed about any of the sights, but took a walk anyway and went to the Museum of American War Crimes. Catchy title and a nice biased look at everything that went on. The photo gallery was amazing but the rest take it or leave it, pretty much the same as most museums you see. We had planned to go out to Cu Chi tunnels but as time wears on you long for a day of doing nothing which is pretty much what we did. Read a book in the park, practiced english with some students and drank some coffee to avoid the heavy afternoon rain.
Two nights was plenty especially as we had annoyed the hotel owner by insisting our bikes did not live on the street. We were both really excited about the next few days as neither of us had ever ventured into a region like the delta before. First day 90km to Ben tre. Easy we thought have a lie in, breakfast and head out around 10am. At 10am the heaviest rainshower ever starts so we are delayed by an hour, then the road gets a bit rough and my bike dies and we head to a mechanic. After Hoi an my bike had been great and joshs had been the problem as his chain amongst other things were causing him to take regular stops. Today was my turn and what a day. In total we completed 70km in 7 hours, arrived in the dark and i had spent nearly 10 quid in mechanics which comparative for vietnam is a truck load. I hate riding in the dark here and this sucked big time as we didnt even make it to Ben tre. I was seriously considering binning the whole thing as it had been an awful day.
Fortunately there is always the next day and it was joshs turn again although the problems were not too extensive and we did see a few of the islands in the delta as well as taking in the lush jungle and coconut plantations. There are no sign posts in the delta and we had to guess our way which ended in a 60km dead end road. It was soon to get dark so we had to ride 160km flat out along narrow roads, over tiny bridges barely wide enough to walk over and avoid the other hazards that litter the roads. Up to this point i hadnt really considered how dangerous the bike riding would be but we saw a proper accident for the first time which also resulted in my first dead body. In vietnam every year 70,000 people are killed on the roads which is over 200 a day. This is a crazy stat and seeing that really messed me up for the rest of the day. Fortunately the run into Can Tho went over a really amazing suspension bridge at sunset which was stunning and helped me put the days events behind me. Like with dog i am willing to try most things and here we had a buffet dinner of snake, frog and wait for it rat. Rat honest to god is amazing it doesnt taste like chicken its 10 times better!!
A really early morning start got us from Can Tho to Rach Gia intime for us to unwittingly ride into the biggest festival of the year. The place was boiling hot and absolutely crazy with people everywhere, which meant it took at least an hour to navigate through the small town to the ferry terminal. We wanted to take our bikes with us and had an infuriating few hours being told we could then couldnt take our bikes. Eventually for a ridiculous price we made it to the paradise island of Phu Quoc. I was totaly ready to unwind but joshs bike messed up straight after the ferry and this time the mechanics couldnt help. It seemed to right itself the next day but died again while pottering around the island. We were both gutted as it really looked like this was it. We got somebody to come and buy our bikes the next day as i didnt really want to ride on on my own as it wouldnt be as good. But miracles do happen and before the guy arrived josh went crazy at his bike and somehow it started working again. So relieved!! I havent really considered what i will do post bike and i dont really want to either until it is really necessary.
Fortunately we were back in business enjoyed a nice day on the beach and then headed back to the mainland and the cambodian border. We had done alot of research on crossing the border and had heard something differnt from everyone, from putting money in the passport to just sneaking accross. We decided on the honest option and had no problems whatsoever. So far the only issue has been the complete and utter state that cambodia is in. I will write about that in the next one but safe to say im looking forward to leaving and ive only been here a day!
Dalat was a bit of a let down and sucked to be honest, there was really nothing to do at all and three days were more than enough. I was pretty glad to see the back of it as we returned to the coast and the fishing village of Mui ne. This place is the up and coming beach resort in vietnam but to be fair it was nothing to write home about. We found an ok place on the beach went out for some beers in an overly priced bar and generally complained about there being too many other foreigners. To be honest we have become travelling snobs, as with a motorbike it actually seems like and adventure rather than a holiday. Mui ne was good for two nights as we managed to get a look at the famous sand dunes which were cool almost like a few square miles of the sahara. On leaving Mui ne time was of the essence as Josh only had one more week left on his visa, which meant we had to do Ho Chi Minh, the delta and Phu Quoc island in this time.
I was dreading riding to Ho Chi Minh due to one of the quirks of my bike being i cant get it in to neutral so it stalls all the time. A city of 7 million people and hundreds of traffic lights was going to be fun. To be fair i only stalled 3 times on getting into the centre and it really wasnt as bad as i thought or that may be because i am now used to vietnamese traffic and the way the roads work here. I had been to Ho Chi Minh before and wasnt fussed about any of the sights, but took a walk anyway and went to the Museum of American War Crimes. Catchy title and a nice biased look at everything that went on. The photo gallery was amazing but the rest take it or leave it, pretty much the same as most museums you see. We had planned to go out to Cu Chi tunnels but as time wears on you long for a day of doing nothing which is pretty much what we did. Read a book in the park, practiced english with some students and drank some coffee to avoid the heavy afternoon rain.
Two nights was plenty especially as we had annoyed the hotel owner by insisting our bikes did not live on the street. We were both really excited about the next few days as neither of us had ever ventured into a region like the delta before. First day 90km to Ben tre. Easy we thought have a lie in, breakfast and head out around 10am. At 10am the heaviest rainshower ever starts so we are delayed by an hour, then the road gets a bit rough and my bike dies and we head to a mechanic. After Hoi an my bike had been great and joshs had been the problem as his chain amongst other things were causing him to take regular stops. Today was my turn and what a day. In total we completed 70km in 7 hours, arrived in the dark and i had spent nearly 10 quid in mechanics which comparative for vietnam is a truck load. I hate riding in the dark here and this sucked big time as we didnt even make it to Ben tre. I was seriously considering binning the whole thing as it had been an awful day.
Fortunately there is always the next day and it was joshs turn again although the problems were not too extensive and we did see a few of the islands in the delta as well as taking in the lush jungle and coconut plantations. There are no sign posts in the delta and we had to guess our way which ended in a 60km dead end road. It was soon to get dark so we had to ride 160km flat out along narrow roads, over tiny bridges barely wide enough to walk over and avoid the other hazards that litter the roads. Up to this point i hadnt really considered how dangerous the bike riding would be but we saw a proper accident for the first time which also resulted in my first dead body. In vietnam every year 70,000 people are killed on the roads which is over 200 a day. This is a crazy stat and seeing that really messed me up for the rest of the day. Fortunately the run into Can Tho went over a really amazing suspension bridge at sunset which was stunning and helped me put the days events behind me. Like with dog i am willing to try most things and here we had a buffet dinner of snake, frog and wait for it rat. Rat honest to god is amazing it doesnt taste like chicken its 10 times better!!
A really early morning start got us from Can Tho to Rach Gia intime for us to unwittingly ride into the biggest festival of the year. The place was boiling hot and absolutely crazy with people everywhere, which meant it took at least an hour to navigate through the small town to the ferry terminal. We wanted to take our bikes with us and had an infuriating few hours being told we could then couldnt take our bikes. Eventually for a ridiculous price we made it to the paradise island of Phu Quoc. I was totaly ready to unwind but joshs bike messed up straight after the ferry and this time the mechanics couldnt help. It seemed to right itself the next day but died again while pottering around the island. We were both gutted as it really looked like this was it. We got somebody to come and buy our bikes the next day as i didnt really want to ride on on my own as it wouldnt be as good. But miracles do happen and before the guy arrived josh went crazy at his bike and somehow it started working again. So relieved!! I havent really considered what i will do post bike and i dont really want to either until it is really necessary.
Fortunately we were back in business enjoyed a nice day on the beach and then headed back to the mainland and the cambodian border. We had done alot of research on crossing the border and had heard something differnt from everyone, from putting money in the passport to just sneaking accross. We decided on the honest option and had no problems whatsoever. So far the only issue has been the complete and utter state that cambodia is in. I will write about that in the next one but safe to say im looking forward to leaving and ive only been here a day!
Sunday, 26 September 2010
The real Vietnam: riding the Ho Chi Minh trail
What an amazing week, i could quite possibly say its the best week out of the entire six months i have been away. After initially coming up with what we both thought a slightly hair brained idea it has turned into a stroke of genious or at least is paying massive dividends.
For the last week after leaving Hoi an with a few more kilos of clothes than planned we headed inland away from Highway 1 and the tourist trail that follows the entire of vietnams coast. The country may be long but it is also very thin and after 40km we had hit Highway 14 also known as the Ho Chi Minh trail. This road famously follows the supply routes of the vietcong from north to south (along the border with lao) and for this reason it is the most bombed area of the world. Both Josh and I have essentially gotten fed up of package tours everywhere, always being hassled by touts and the never ending supply of 'same same but different' sights. Instead what we have been after is unspoilt countryside, amazing views, mountains, forest and what i would now call the real vietnam.
Joshs bike has been so far without any problems and mine has had a few hiccups shall we say and is double the age of the other bike. I would say i set out with some tripidation of the bikes capability to do 800km of mountainous riding along roads that are one big pothole. The first day nearly killed me we did 350km in one stretch having gotten lost for about an hour earlier on. One thing about asia and i have found this everywhere if you ask for directions and they have no idea they will give you some anyway. This led us a merry dance but we eventually found our way and blitzed 40km inland towards the trail. My bike which makes numerous noises then started to vibrate really badly and forced me to pull into a garage. 10 minutes and 10,000 dong later (30p) my bike was better than new. The potholes had loosened a nut which was the problem. Sorted and for the first time when someone knew they had you over a barrel they didnt try and rip me off.
The rest of the day was shattering, roads that were beautiful but needed full concentration and then just when i was really tired we had to do the last 30km in the dark. I have lights that are pitiful at best and there are no street lights so 30kms straining to see while trucks are hammering past and people are everywhere and theres potholes and sections of the road missing was so exhausting. Nevertheless we made it to Kon tom our first staging post. I had not seen a foreigner all day and the town was no different. We dumped our stuff in our cockroach ridden room and went out for dinner. In vietnam you never eat from a resteraunt only off the street and in Kon tom we had prawn pancakes which were insanely good. I think this was probably the best food i had eaten anywhere ever!!!
The next day was a short hop 45km to Plikou as our bodies wouldnt take much more, so we treated ourselves to a lie in and the chance to eat breakfast before heading off. The towns themselves have nothing to see and are just dust bowls but its for the road that we were here so i didnt care too much. In plikou we just chilled in our nice hotel ready to do the 180km to Boum ma thot. We were treated to amazing roads again all day and the feeling is incredible. On a bus all this passes you by but on a bike you see it, smell it and have everyone waving and shouting hello from the side of the road.
Buon ma thot is the coffee capital of vietnam. Iced white coffee is something to which i am now addicted and there is nothing better than sipping this while watching the world go by. We have bought ourselves lots of the stuff in an attempt to not too succesfully recreate what we have had so far. On my trip i have tried to tick off as many new things as possible and one that had alooded me so far was Thit Cho also known as dog. The random place we were staying (im pretty sure they had just kicked there son out of his room) took us to a dog restaurant. The place was heaving so it must be good. We tried the lot, BBQ dog, dog blood sausage, dog soup, dog with ginger and generally the taste was pretty good although it doesnt smell great. The taste is unlike anything else not quite beef, not chicken or pork but you have to try it to know what i mean.
Our final day on the trail took us 200km south to Dalat a mountain resort in the south highlands. We both agreed that despite the road surface for large sections being the worst we had ever seen the scenery was incredible. People talk about great drives of the world and for me there have been some good ones in six months and this was by far the best. For large sections there were ethnic communities perched on the sides of stunning valleys, jungle, friendly people, mountain passes and exciting bends to really get stuck into.
We now plan to keep the bikes until Angkor wat in cambodia, and we are hoping we can cross the border easily (not too much money in bribes). We will see but tomorrow its back down to the coast and the amazing beaches of Mui ne. I cant wait
For the last week after leaving Hoi an with a few more kilos of clothes than planned we headed inland away from Highway 1 and the tourist trail that follows the entire of vietnams coast. The country may be long but it is also very thin and after 40km we had hit Highway 14 also known as the Ho Chi Minh trail. This road famously follows the supply routes of the vietcong from north to south (along the border with lao) and for this reason it is the most bombed area of the world. Both Josh and I have essentially gotten fed up of package tours everywhere, always being hassled by touts and the never ending supply of 'same same but different' sights. Instead what we have been after is unspoilt countryside, amazing views, mountains, forest and what i would now call the real vietnam.
Joshs bike has been so far without any problems and mine has had a few hiccups shall we say and is double the age of the other bike. I would say i set out with some tripidation of the bikes capability to do 800km of mountainous riding along roads that are one big pothole. The first day nearly killed me we did 350km in one stretch having gotten lost for about an hour earlier on. One thing about asia and i have found this everywhere if you ask for directions and they have no idea they will give you some anyway. This led us a merry dance but we eventually found our way and blitzed 40km inland towards the trail. My bike which makes numerous noises then started to vibrate really badly and forced me to pull into a garage. 10 minutes and 10,000 dong later (30p) my bike was better than new. The potholes had loosened a nut which was the problem. Sorted and for the first time when someone knew they had you over a barrel they didnt try and rip me off.
The rest of the day was shattering, roads that were beautiful but needed full concentration and then just when i was really tired we had to do the last 30km in the dark. I have lights that are pitiful at best and there are no street lights so 30kms straining to see while trucks are hammering past and people are everywhere and theres potholes and sections of the road missing was so exhausting. Nevertheless we made it to Kon tom our first staging post. I had not seen a foreigner all day and the town was no different. We dumped our stuff in our cockroach ridden room and went out for dinner. In vietnam you never eat from a resteraunt only off the street and in Kon tom we had prawn pancakes which were insanely good. I think this was probably the best food i had eaten anywhere ever!!!
The next day was a short hop 45km to Plikou as our bodies wouldnt take much more, so we treated ourselves to a lie in and the chance to eat breakfast before heading off. The towns themselves have nothing to see and are just dust bowls but its for the road that we were here so i didnt care too much. In plikou we just chilled in our nice hotel ready to do the 180km to Boum ma thot. We were treated to amazing roads again all day and the feeling is incredible. On a bus all this passes you by but on a bike you see it, smell it and have everyone waving and shouting hello from the side of the road.
Buon ma thot is the coffee capital of vietnam. Iced white coffee is something to which i am now addicted and there is nothing better than sipping this while watching the world go by. We have bought ourselves lots of the stuff in an attempt to not too succesfully recreate what we have had so far. On my trip i have tried to tick off as many new things as possible and one that had alooded me so far was Thit Cho also known as dog. The random place we were staying (im pretty sure they had just kicked there son out of his room) took us to a dog restaurant. The place was heaving so it must be good. We tried the lot, BBQ dog, dog blood sausage, dog soup, dog with ginger and generally the taste was pretty good although it doesnt smell great. The taste is unlike anything else not quite beef, not chicken or pork but you have to try it to know what i mean.
Our final day on the trail took us 200km south to Dalat a mountain resort in the south highlands. We both agreed that despite the road surface for large sections being the worst we had ever seen the scenery was incredible. People talk about great drives of the world and for me there have been some good ones in six months and this was by far the best. For large sections there were ethnic communities perched on the sides of stunning valleys, jungle, friendly people, mountain passes and exciting bends to really get stuck into.
We now plan to keep the bikes until Angkor wat in cambodia, and we are hoping we can cross the border easily (not too much money in bribes). We will see but tomorrow its back down to the coast and the amazing beaches of Mui ne. I cant wait
Saturday, 18 September 2010
Refinding the groove
Nearly three weeks now in Vietnam and i am in Hoi an the tailoring capital of the world or so it seems. I arrived this morning with Josh who i met in Ukraine and remet randomly in Hanoi. We have been traveling together for the last week after we both decided to buy motorbikes and see the country from a different perspective.
After getting to Vietnam i headed up to the mountain country along the Chinese border for a couple of days mainly to check out how things had changed since my last visit. I probably shouldn't have as the picturesque mountain town of sapa now exists as a tourist trap. Slightly disappointed i cut down my stay to two nights although i did manage to head out of town to some of the more remote tribal villages on a rented scooter. Seriously i didn't think the bike would make it with the state of the road. At one of the villages i met a Vietnamese couple on holiday who then proceeded to show me round sapa as well as all the local food markets. Honestly black chicken (a different species not burnt) is incredible i must have had it three or more times that day. I was also introduced to Pho the staple of Vietnamese cuisine which is noodles in spicy soup although out of the town thats about all you can get so its beginning to lose it magic.
From sapa i took the train to Hanoi after being smuggled on board by a security guard as all of the tickets were sold out. After china this was a refreshing change especially as he didn't ask for money. Onboard i managed to pick up a spare ticket from a family heading back after being on holiday. They were really cool and spoke a bit of english which made the 12 hour journey pass alot faster although teaching and then playing endless games of snap was a bad idea. The ticket didn't go all the way to Hanoi so i had to grab a bus in the pitch black (no streetlights in Vietnam) and pray for forty minutes i was going the right way. Shattered from traveling and the day before i did pretty much nothing in Hanoi for 5 days. I had been before so the sights were of no interest instead a book, ipod and the lake was perfect. On the last day i bumped into josh who i had met in Ukraine. Our journeys had separated after a day and then came back together again. I kind of wanted to ride a motorbike down Vietnam but not on my own and turns out so did he so we agreed to meet in Hue a few days later buy bikes and take the trip from there.
We met in Hue and bought our bikes. They basically cost $200-250 each and all was well at the beginning. We took them out for a test drive and perfect. Next day leaving our bags we headed up to the DMZ (de militarised zone) to see the tunnels and the dividing line between the north and south before heading up to khe san where the famous siege of the US marines happened. We spent the night up there and awoke to solid mist, great this will be a steep learning curve. We had already learnt to ride a bike in Vietnam rush hour traffic probably not the best idea but you learn fast. Then riding in the rain up the coast, then the mountains and now thick fog. All fun and games. The plan was to ride down the Ho Chi Minh trail for 100kms before taking the back road over the mountains to hue to pick up our stuff then over the famous (top gear) hi van pass to Danang and china beach. It kind of went ok until we got delayed in hue sending a parcel then my bike making funny noises. Despite this we soldiered on going over the hi van pass at sunsest (seriously amazing) me at about 2mph and josh powering on ahead. We then took on Danang vietnams third largest city at night which is something that will live with me forever, just a mass of lights, horns people crossing without looking. Insanity in its purist form.
Somehow completely shattered we turned up at our small guesthouse on a deserted section of china beach. Not being a beach person i was not sure about spending too long here but it was amazing. Pristine white sand, palm trees and perfectly clear water the perfect place to relax and unwind although the sun got us both by the end of the day. The ownly downer was going swimming forgetting my solitary bike key was in my open pocket and remembering with horror later. The solution a shifty looking guy with blank keys files me a new one in 10 seconds flat by looking in the lock. Not a comforting thought considering our bikes live outside.
Today we just did the 20km to Hoi an along the coast road to where we are now a nice hotel with a pool $6 a night, happy days. An in two days time we attempt the next section of the Ho Chi Minh trail, should be amazing.
Heres hoping my bikes makes it ;-)
After getting to Vietnam i headed up to the mountain country along the Chinese border for a couple of days mainly to check out how things had changed since my last visit. I probably shouldn't have as the picturesque mountain town of sapa now exists as a tourist trap. Slightly disappointed i cut down my stay to two nights although i did manage to head out of town to some of the more remote tribal villages on a rented scooter. Seriously i didn't think the bike would make it with the state of the road. At one of the villages i met a Vietnamese couple on holiday who then proceeded to show me round sapa as well as all the local food markets. Honestly black chicken (a different species not burnt) is incredible i must have had it three or more times that day. I was also introduced to Pho the staple of Vietnamese cuisine which is noodles in spicy soup although out of the town thats about all you can get so its beginning to lose it magic.
From sapa i took the train to Hanoi after being smuggled on board by a security guard as all of the tickets were sold out. After china this was a refreshing change especially as he didn't ask for money. Onboard i managed to pick up a spare ticket from a family heading back after being on holiday. They were really cool and spoke a bit of english which made the 12 hour journey pass alot faster although teaching and then playing endless games of snap was a bad idea. The ticket didn't go all the way to Hanoi so i had to grab a bus in the pitch black (no streetlights in Vietnam) and pray for forty minutes i was going the right way. Shattered from traveling and the day before i did pretty much nothing in Hanoi for 5 days. I had been before so the sights were of no interest instead a book, ipod and the lake was perfect. On the last day i bumped into josh who i had met in Ukraine. Our journeys had separated after a day and then came back together again. I kind of wanted to ride a motorbike down Vietnam but not on my own and turns out so did he so we agreed to meet in Hue a few days later buy bikes and take the trip from there.
We met in Hue and bought our bikes. They basically cost $200-250 each and all was well at the beginning. We took them out for a test drive and perfect. Next day leaving our bags we headed up to the DMZ (de militarised zone) to see the tunnels and the dividing line between the north and south before heading up to khe san where the famous siege of the US marines happened. We spent the night up there and awoke to solid mist, great this will be a steep learning curve. We had already learnt to ride a bike in Vietnam rush hour traffic probably not the best idea but you learn fast. Then riding in the rain up the coast, then the mountains and now thick fog. All fun and games. The plan was to ride down the Ho Chi Minh trail for 100kms before taking the back road over the mountains to hue to pick up our stuff then over the famous (top gear) hi van pass to Danang and china beach. It kind of went ok until we got delayed in hue sending a parcel then my bike making funny noises. Despite this we soldiered on going over the hi van pass at sunsest (seriously amazing) me at about 2mph and josh powering on ahead. We then took on Danang vietnams third largest city at night which is something that will live with me forever, just a mass of lights, horns people crossing without looking. Insanity in its purist form.
Somehow completely shattered we turned up at our small guesthouse on a deserted section of china beach. Not being a beach person i was not sure about spending too long here but it was amazing. Pristine white sand, palm trees and perfectly clear water the perfect place to relax and unwind although the sun got us both by the end of the day. The ownly downer was going swimming forgetting my solitary bike key was in my open pocket and remembering with horror later. The solution a shifty looking guy with blank keys files me a new one in 10 seconds flat by looking in the lock. Not a comforting thought considering our bikes live outside.
Today we just did the 20km to Hoi an along the coast road to where we are now a nice hotel with a pool $6 a night, happy days. An in two days time we attempt the next section of the Ho Chi Minh trail, should be amazing.
Heres hoping my bikes makes it ;-)
Wednesday, 1 September 2010
Trials and tribulations on the roof of the world
On my last day in Chengdu i finally met violet the lady who has put up with my constant questions and change of plans to pick up my tickets and passes in order to get to Tibet. Chengdu itself was a great place to lie around and do nothing, not that there is much to do apart from try the local delicacy hotpot and look at pandas. Compared to the zoo i went to in Kunming yesterday the pandas have the greatest life ever.
The train from Chengdu to Lhasa is 1 day and 19 hours long and passes over a 5100m pass before continuing along the Tibetan plateau at 4600m and then dropping down to Lhasa which occupies the lowly altitude of 3600m. I was really nervous about this train after my experiences at the top of Fuji. This anxiety wasn't helped when i was asked to sign a disclaimer in case anything happened due to the altitude. The train ride itself was great as for the entire journey the scenery was incredible and there were two australians in the next carriage to talk to and play cards with as nobody on the train spoke a word of English and the constant eating of chickens feet is enough to make anyone nauseous. Arriving at Lhasa train station was an experience, the building itself was strangely futuristic and brand new as the train line had only been completed in 2007. Outside though i had a taste of what was to come, a city under siege from heavily armed Chinese troops. The people on the train were all Han Chinese and were moving to Lhasa under financial encouragement from the government and soon Tibetans will be the minority.
Due to the restrictions on foreigners traveling in Tibet the whole trip was already organized something i hate as so far i have been able to wing it. I was staying in a hotel for the first time on my trip and it was great to be able to leave all my stuff out and not have to go hiking in the night to find a toilet. Despite all my fears about altitude sickness the train journey went fine and when i arrived in Lhasa i could walk around freely without fighting for breath. I stupidly thought i would then be fine and that afternoon i undertook a long walk all around the Tibetan old quarter the barkhor. Lhasa is divided into the old Tibetan part of the city and the new Chinese section that threatens to overwhelm the unique charm of the city. After a few drinks with a dutch guy in a bar (which closed at 11pm) i started to walk through the pitch black streets as the old town has no lights. My experience in Lhasa so far had been great and it was to continue as i lost myself amongst the monks, the people on pilgrimage and the colourful market stalls. Many Tibetans unlike the Chinese speak a few words of english and everywhere i was greeted with smiling faces and cries of 'hello' and 'how are you'. Unfortunately by the time i reached the hotel the effects of what i later found out to be a rich oxygen environment on the train had worn off and the beginnings of a headache and various aches and pains as well as a lack of breath started.
That night i did not sleep at all and in the morning i had to get up at 6am in order to get on the bus for the eight hour ride to Shigatse to the west. The bus ride was incredible twice we went over 5000m passes and also we saw yam drok lake which was bluer than anything i had ever seen. Each time we went higher the banging in my head got worse and walking came with great difficulty. At this point i was seriously worried about going to everest base camp the next day.
The towns of Tibet are all small but thankfully outside of Lhasa there a fewer Chinese and they have a different atmosphere. Pretty much everything eaten or drunk comes from the yaks which you see everywhere wandering the high pastures. In shigatse i took some pills which helped with the sickness and i managed to sleep a little. Again we had to rise early and we headed to Tengri a small town on the edge of the everest national park. I took another bunch of tablets but as we went above 4000m they stopped being effective. When we finally reached Tengri at 5000m i again had a pounding headache worse than anything i had felt before and this time nausea and pins and needles in my limbs. I was traveling with 8 others and although they had sickness it was not anywhere near as severe as mine. The road to base camp was another 5 hours but over the worst road you have ever seen. Absolutely gutted i realised i could not make it and if it got any worse i could be in serious trouble as tengri was the last place with medical facilities. Unlike the Nepalese side there is very little infrastructure in Tibet and later i found out people have died on the same tour i was doing a comforting thought.
I spent the afternoon and the night trying not to move as well as having every local remedy they could give me as well as taking altitude pills and pure oxygen. None of this helped as i had just gone too high too fast and felt so ill. Again being sick and lying in a hotel room on your own in a place where no-one speaks english is the worst feeling. I even managed to panick my parents with an expensive phone call in order to speak to someone. The people in the hotel were so kind and were incredibly worried. I found out the next day the old lady who had given me the local remedies sat outside my door making sure i was still alive. I managed to sleep somehow and woke the next morning feeling great. I was just one day too early to go to base camp and this demoralised feeling was made worse when i saw the photos the group brought back of everest completely clear. So gutted its unbelievable and for me i have unfinished business in Tibet.
After this we again went to Shigatse to see the monastery before taking the 8 hour ride back to Lhasa via several viewing places by glaciers and mountain lakes. I was staying for an extra day on the tour and had a private guide to take me around the temples and palaces of Lhasa the next day. My guide showed me so many things i had missed the first day including the snipers on the buildings in the old town as well as the security cameras placed in every alley. To see the pothala palace is a dream come true for me and i could sit and look at that building all day as the different lighting makes it come alive. Also i went to another monastery as well as the most holy sight in the whole of Tibet the Jankhor temple. It was filled with prostrating people as well as those making the epic trip from the outer regions of Tibet to give yak butter as an offering to the budhas. The deep feeling felt by these people was really something to behold and not being religious there devotion really touched me. Tibet is amazing and im glad i saw it before the Chinese destroy it completely. Its stunning that purely due to the wests heavy reliance on china they let the tragedy continue. It left me with a bad taste in my mouth and today i left China for Vietnam and felt a great sense of relief.
The train from Chengdu to Lhasa is 1 day and 19 hours long and passes over a 5100m pass before continuing along the Tibetan plateau at 4600m and then dropping down to Lhasa which occupies the lowly altitude of 3600m. I was really nervous about this train after my experiences at the top of Fuji. This anxiety wasn't helped when i was asked to sign a disclaimer in case anything happened due to the altitude. The train ride itself was great as for the entire journey the scenery was incredible and there were two australians in the next carriage to talk to and play cards with as nobody on the train spoke a word of English and the constant eating of chickens feet is enough to make anyone nauseous. Arriving at Lhasa train station was an experience, the building itself was strangely futuristic and brand new as the train line had only been completed in 2007. Outside though i had a taste of what was to come, a city under siege from heavily armed Chinese troops. The people on the train were all Han Chinese and were moving to Lhasa under financial encouragement from the government and soon Tibetans will be the minority.
Due to the restrictions on foreigners traveling in Tibet the whole trip was already organized something i hate as so far i have been able to wing it. I was staying in a hotel for the first time on my trip and it was great to be able to leave all my stuff out and not have to go hiking in the night to find a toilet. Despite all my fears about altitude sickness the train journey went fine and when i arrived in Lhasa i could walk around freely without fighting for breath. I stupidly thought i would then be fine and that afternoon i undertook a long walk all around the Tibetan old quarter the barkhor. Lhasa is divided into the old Tibetan part of the city and the new Chinese section that threatens to overwhelm the unique charm of the city. After a few drinks with a dutch guy in a bar (which closed at 11pm) i started to walk through the pitch black streets as the old town has no lights. My experience in Lhasa so far had been great and it was to continue as i lost myself amongst the monks, the people on pilgrimage and the colourful market stalls. Many Tibetans unlike the Chinese speak a few words of english and everywhere i was greeted with smiling faces and cries of 'hello' and 'how are you'. Unfortunately by the time i reached the hotel the effects of what i later found out to be a rich oxygen environment on the train had worn off and the beginnings of a headache and various aches and pains as well as a lack of breath started.
That night i did not sleep at all and in the morning i had to get up at 6am in order to get on the bus for the eight hour ride to Shigatse to the west. The bus ride was incredible twice we went over 5000m passes and also we saw yam drok lake which was bluer than anything i had ever seen. Each time we went higher the banging in my head got worse and walking came with great difficulty. At this point i was seriously worried about going to everest base camp the next day.
The towns of Tibet are all small but thankfully outside of Lhasa there a fewer Chinese and they have a different atmosphere. Pretty much everything eaten or drunk comes from the yaks which you see everywhere wandering the high pastures. In shigatse i took some pills which helped with the sickness and i managed to sleep a little. Again we had to rise early and we headed to Tengri a small town on the edge of the everest national park. I took another bunch of tablets but as we went above 4000m they stopped being effective. When we finally reached Tengri at 5000m i again had a pounding headache worse than anything i had felt before and this time nausea and pins and needles in my limbs. I was traveling with 8 others and although they had sickness it was not anywhere near as severe as mine. The road to base camp was another 5 hours but over the worst road you have ever seen. Absolutely gutted i realised i could not make it and if it got any worse i could be in serious trouble as tengri was the last place with medical facilities. Unlike the Nepalese side there is very little infrastructure in Tibet and later i found out people have died on the same tour i was doing a comforting thought.
I spent the afternoon and the night trying not to move as well as having every local remedy they could give me as well as taking altitude pills and pure oxygen. None of this helped as i had just gone too high too fast and felt so ill. Again being sick and lying in a hotel room on your own in a place where no-one speaks english is the worst feeling. I even managed to panick my parents with an expensive phone call in order to speak to someone. The people in the hotel were so kind and were incredibly worried. I found out the next day the old lady who had given me the local remedies sat outside my door making sure i was still alive. I managed to sleep somehow and woke the next morning feeling great. I was just one day too early to go to base camp and this demoralised feeling was made worse when i saw the photos the group brought back of everest completely clear. So gutted its unbelievable and for me i have unfinished business in Tibet.
After this we again went to Shigatse to see the monastery before taking the 8 hour ride back to Lhasa via several viewing places by glaciers and mountain lakes. I was staying for an extra day on the tour and had a private guide to take me around the temples and palaces of Lhasa the next day. My guide showed me so many things i had missed the first day including the snipers on the buildings in the old town as well as the security cameras placed in every alley. To see the pothala palace is a dream come true for me and i could sit and look at that building all day as the different lighting makes it come alive. Also i went to another monastery as well as the most holy sight in the whole of Tibet the Jankhor temple. It was filled with prostrating people as well as those making the epic trip from the outer regions of Tibet to give yak butter as an offering to the budhas. The deep feeling felt by these people was really something to behold and not being religious there devotion really touched me. Tibet is amazing and im glad i saw it before the Chinese destroy it completely. Its stunning that purely due to the wests heavy reliance on china they let the tragedy continue. It left me with a bad taste in my mouth and today i left China for Vietnam and felt a great sense of relief.
Sunday, 22 August 2010
Compounding the problem
I think i will just come out with it right from the very beginning i really have not enjoyed china due to so many reasons its hard to list. I am all for new and different cultures but china really is something you have to witness to believe. Everybody knows china has 1.4 billion people but that is just a number until you are on the ground you dont realise what that feels like especially when they just see you with dollar signs in there eyes. Everything in china involves standing in a queue or waiting around for days because all of the bus and train tickets for some journeys are sold out for two weeks. In xian it took two hours to go 20km due to the traffic. This for a few days is ok but after three weeks i have been struggling, i very nearly couldnt face going to the great wall or the forbidden city. These are cool places but if there were less people it would be infinitely better. Another thing with china is the various customs such as hawking up massive gobs of spit constantly in the street, on the metro just everywhere as well as letting babies relieve themselves at will. On the metro i have seen a woman just stand up and hold the baby in the aisle and let it go. For chinese who are used to this i guess they dont mind but when it is 40 degrees 90% humidity as well its enough to drive you insane.
Anyway enough of the bad things i did spend five days cycling along a really scenic river in yangshou, going swimming, eating great food and drinking on the rooftop terrace. After nearly 5 months of constant sightseeing i was really happy just to do nothing. The train to shanghai was sold out so i had to stay an extra day but after a 24 hour train i eventually arrived and went straight to the expo. I had heard various reviews of the expo but decided to check it out for myself. Ill sum it up two hours to get in, and between 1-3 hour queue for any good pavillions. So instead i took a tour of the turkmenistan pavillion amongst a few other less well known. The highlight had to be North Koreas proudly proclaiming "a paradise for people" it made me laugh a bit anyway. There is really nothing in shanghai apart from a battle against 22 million people so i left for beijing. I stayed longer than expected in yangshou as well as hong kong so i only had two weeks before i had to be in chengdu.
Beijing is really one of the oddest cities i have ever seen. I was walking down a street lined with really expensive shops but due to the smog and the tramps going through bins as well as the decrepit bicycle carts it just doesnt gell, its two alien worlds being forced together. I took one day trip out to the great wall at Mutian yu which was spectacular although it looks like it was rebuilt very recently. The other sights in beijing like the forbidden city really are overhyped and i hate to say it you have seen one you have seen them all. The real highlight for me was the summer palace, the day i went the smog was not so bad and from the pagoda there was a really spectacular view of beijing. I also managed to see Mr Mao to get the hatrick of dead communist leaders.
I only had five days left to see Xi'an and chengdu so i took the first available train. 12 hours standing. It is the worst thing i have ever done. The first hour i could speak to this guy who spoke english then that was it 11 hours crammed into the area where you can stand as moving was impossible. It was so hot, it smelled people still continued to spit and get food and cigarettes everywhere. By the end i was nearly insane as at the same point i hadnt eaten anything for over a day being unable to keep anything down due to my first bout of food poisining. Fortunately i arrived in Xi'an checked in and fell asleep for the rest of the day. I had organised to see the terracotta warriors the next day and i joined a tour from the hostel. The warriors are really not what you think, very few have actually been excavated most of it is just mounds of earth. Its ok but again the stress getting there, the fact the tour guide was trying to rip us off, that the food in the restaurant was revolting and the painfully slow traffic just ruined it.
Anyway im now in chengdu the city that had the really bad earthquake a few years ago. This place is alot more laid back and today i went to the panda breeding reserve. It was a special place as they were really close, although they are only very slightly more active than sloths. I have so many photos but the internet here is so slow as everything is filtered by the government. I am only able to write this using a proxy website.
And tomorrow i go to Tibet. Solo travel is not alowed so with the help of many people i have arranged a tour for the next eight days. I have no idea what it will be like, maybe you dont see the real tibet i just dont know. But taking the highest railway in the world complete with oxygen masks is really cool. For the first time in a while im really too excited!!!!
Anyway enough of the bad things i did spend five days cycling along a really scenic river in yangshou, going swimming, eating great food and drinking on the rooftop terrace. After nearly 5 months of constant sightseeing i was really happy just to do nothing. The train to shanghai was sold out so i had to stay an extra day but after a 24 hour train i eventually arrived and went straight to the expo. I had heard various reviews of the expo but decided to check it out for myself. Ill sum it up two hours to get in, and between 1-3 hour queue for any good pavillions. So instead i took a tour of the turkmenistan pavillion amongst a few other less well known. The highlight had to be North Koreas proudly proclaiming "a paradise for people" it made me laugh a bit anyway. There is really nothing in shanghai apart from a battle against 22 million people so i left for beijing. I stayed longer than expected in yangshou as well as hong kong so i only had two weeks before i had to be in chengdu.
Beijing is really one of the oddest cities i have ever seen. I was walking down a street lined with really expensive shops but due to the smog and the tramps going through bins as well as the decrepit bicycle carts it just doesnt gell, its two alien worlds being forced together. I took one day trip out to the great wall at Mutian yu which was spectacular although it looks like it was rebuilt very recently. The other sights in beijing like the forbidden city really are overhyped and i hate to say it you have seen one you have seen them all. The real highlight for me was the summer palace, the day i went the smog was not so bad and from the pagoda there was a really spectacular view of beijing. I also managed to see Mr Mao to get the hatrick of dead communist leaders.
I only had five days left to see Xi'an and chengdu so i took the first available train. 12 hours standing. It is the worst thing i have ever done. The first hour i could speak to this guy who spoke english then that was it 11 hours crammed into the area where you can stand as moving was impossible. It was so hot, it smelled people still continued to spit and get food and cigarettes everywhere. By the end i was nearly insane as at the same point i hadnt eaten anything for over a day being unable to keep anything down due to my first bout of food poisining. Fortunately i arrived in Xi'an checked in and fell asleep for the rest of the day. I had organised to see the terracotta warriors the next day and i joined a tour from the hostel. The warriors are really not what you think, very few have actually been excavated most of it is just mounds of earth. Its ok but again the stress getting there, the fact the tour guide was trying to rip us off, that the food in the restaurant was revolting and the painfully slow traffic just ruined it.
Anyway im now in chengdu the city that had the really bad earthquake a few years ago. This place is alot more laid back and today i went to the panda breeding reserve. It was a special place as they were really close, although they are only very slightly more active than sloths. I have so many photos but the internet here is so slow as everything is filtered by the government. I am only able to write this using a proxy website.
And tomorrow i go to Tibet. Solo travel is not alowed so with the help of many people i have arranged a tour for the next eight days. I have no idea what it will be like, maybe you dont see the real tibet i just dont know. But taking the highest railway in the world complete with oxygen masks is really cool. For the first time in a while im really too excited!!!!
Tuesday, 3 August 2010
From Japan to China
What can you say about hong kong its nothing short of incredible. I had originally planned to be here for four days just long enough to get a Chinese visa. It is already day six in hong kong today and unfortunately i will have to leave tomorrow otherwise i would have been tempted to stay for a few weeks. Admittedly being here for longer than planned is partly due to the fact that UK visas are double the cost and take double the time of everyone elses and hopefully i should have it today.
The last three days in japan were completely mental trying to fit everything i had left to do. From Hiroshima i headed back to kyoto to use as a base in order to visit Himeji castle as well as Nara. The castle unfortunately was under restoration and so only the gardens were accessible but they were the best i saw in japan so no loss there. The next day i day tripped nara which was the ancient capital of japan and has all the temples, pagodas etc set around a big park. Nara is famed for its tame deer which wander the busy streets in big herds and add to the calm and relaxing atmosphere. I also planned to go the baseball at some point in japan and that night Hanshin tigers were playing in osaka which is an hour away from Nara. I arrived about 2 hours before the game and found much to my disapointment it was cancelled due to the weather which had been raining on and off all day. Gutted i remembered there was a game in Kobe another city close to osaka. This story shows how amazing japans transport actually is as from the Hanshin stadium i caught the train back to osaka, ran and jumped onto a train to kobe before navigating accross the city on the subway and making it to kobe just as the game started. Relieved and happy at the situation i took my seat and settled in to enjoy the game and the crazy japanese fans. The team here the Orix buffaloes are pretty rubbish and so there werent that many people there although the chants of 'home run home run in the bag' were loud and pretty comical in there accent. Unfortunately one inning later the heavens opened and this game was also called off so slightly dispondent i went back to Kyoto. The one day in two weeks where it rained was the one where i needed it desperately not too. Theres not much you can do when you have a limited schedule so that remained the only thing i didnt manage to get done in japan.
That left me with a day in osaka which everybody had said wasnt great although their aquarium is amazing. It has to be one of the best in the world and it had a huge seven story central tank with whale sharks as well as a tiger shark. It was well worth a trip to osaka just on its own. The final night i tried out a capsule hotel which is a really interesting experience. If your my height its fine but people who are over six foot must struggle. The capsule hotel is only really for business men who missed the last train but mine had a gym, tvs and was really comfortable. Thats another month gone already nearly half way :-(
As i said before hong kong is great its more like i would call proper asia but has all the trappings of home as well. For me japan was too sterile a country and suprisingly i found it not particularly interesting or exciting but as soon as i was in hong kong its more like proper travelling again. I had a couple of days exploring the various areas of the city as well as lantau island the home of a spectacular cable car ride as well as the worlds largest seated budha. Hong kong has everthing you could possibly want from beaches and mountains to the best skyline both in the day and night i have ever seen. Hong Kong has the world record for the longest running light show but honestly it is appaling and the city without the show is much better and the view from the star ferry going between the island and kowloon will stick with me for ever. It really must have been the jewel in our empire. After a couple of days i met up with Ben a friend i met in Russia and we had a couple of days just chilling before joining a pub crawl with some others from our hostel on our last night. For what it is Hong Kong is really expensive maybe like 10x china where i am now. Drinking was around 6-7 quid a beer but somewhow for a tenner we got free drinks and entry galore. My night was cut short as i have another cold due mainly to the chinese obsession with near freezing air con in any indoor area. A week of going from 40 degrees to 20 then back into 40 really messes you about.
Another long one but i have had so little access to computers recently. Im now off to take a dip in the river in yanshou in southern china (the scenery from the HSBC cormorant fishing advert) which is stunning and also a legendary backpacker retreat.
The last three days in japan were completely mental trying to fit everything i had left to do. From Hiroshima i headed back to kyoto to use as a base in order to visit Himeji castle as well as Nara. The castle unfortunately was under restoration and so only the gardens were accessible but they were the best i saw in japan so no loss there. The next day i day tripped nara which was the ancient capital of japan and has all the temples, pagodas etc set around a big park. Nara is famed for its tame deer which wander the busy streets in big herds and add to the calm and relaxing atmosphere. I also planned to go the baseball at some point in japan and that night Hanshin tigers were playing in osaka which is an hour away from Nara. I arrived about 2 hours before the game and found much to my disapointment it was cancelled due to the weather which had been raining on and off all day. Gutted i remembered there was a game in Kobe another city close to osaka. This story shows how amazing japans transport actually is as from the Hanshin stadium i caught the train back to osaka, ran and jumped onto a train to kobe before navigating accross the city on the subway and making it to kobe just as the game started. Relieved and happy at the situation i took my seat and settled in to enjoy the game and the crazy japanese fans. The team here the Orix buffaloes are pretty rubbish and so there werent that many people there although the chants of 'home run home run in the bag' were loud and pretty comical in there accent. Unfortunately one inning later the heavens opened and this game was also called off so slightly dispondent i went back to Kyoto. The one day in two weeks where it rained was the one where i needed it desperately not too. Theres not much you can do when you have a limited schedule so that remained the only thing i didnt manage to get done in japan.
That left me with a day in osaka which everybody had said wasnt great although their aquarium is amazing. It has to be one of the best in the world and it had a huge seven story central tank with whale sharks as well as a tiger shark. It was well worth a trip to osaka just on its own. The final night i tried out a capsule hotel which is a really interesting experience. If your my height its fine but people who are over six foot must struggle. The capsule hotel is only really for business men who missed the last train but mine had a gym, tvs and was really comfortable. Thats another month gone already nearly half way :-(
As i said before hong kong is great its more like i would call proper asia but has all the trappings of home as well. For me japan was too sterile a country and suprisingly i found it not particularly interesting or exciting but as soon as i was in hong kong its more like proper travelling again. I had a couple of days exploring the various areas of the city as well as lantau island the home of a spectacular cable car ride as well as the worlds largest seated budha. Hong kong has everthing you could possibly want from beaches and mountains to the best skyline both in the day and night i have ever seen. Hong Kong has the world record for the longest running light show but honestly it is appaling and the city without the show is much better and the view from the star ferry going between the island and kowloon will stick with me for ever. It really must have been the jewel in our empire. After a couple of days i met up with Ben a friend i met in Russia and we had a couple of days just chilling before joining a pub crawl with some others from our hostel on our last night. For what it is Hong Kong is really expensive maybe like 10x china where i am now. Drinking was around 6-7 quid a beer but somewhow for a tenner we got free drinks and entry galore. My night was cut short as i have another cold due mainly to the chinese obsession with near freezing air con in any indoor area. A week of going from 40 degrees to 20 then back into 40 really messes you about.
Another long one but i have had so little access to computers recently. Im now off to take a dip in the river in yanshou in southern china (the scenery from the HSBC cormorant fishing advert) which is stunning and also a legendary backpacker retreat.
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