all of vietnam, and more

Mui Ne, Vietnam
Originally uploaded by ddboo.

Wow. OK, its been a long time since have been able to blog. I finally figured out that I can blog thought flickr and beat the system but it was my last day in Vietnam. So this blog will be long and will be entirely about Vietnam. I am now sitting in Cambodia in the dirtiest, grungiest internet cafe in town. It is however the only one open in town due to the Chinese new year, or Tet as the Vietnamese say. Hopefully my photos and witty comments have kept you all entertained in the meantime. And by "you all" i mean you mom, and your friends at work. Hi!!.

Right after my last blog we went to Vang Vieng it feels like that was months ago. People go there to go tubing down a river. We, however, were big dorks and did not. That is the one regret I have so far from this trip. Is that we slept too late and were too tired to go, then we left the next day. Don't ask.

Vang Vieng is this town made up of two streets and a river where there are bars and cafes lining the streets with beds in them, yes in the bars. Instead of a regular table you get a "breakfast in bed" type table so you can eat lying down. There are at least three TV's in each restaurant, most of them playing friends reruns or some movie. By the time I left that town I swore that if I ever heard the friends song again I would smash the TV that was playing it. Its always playing somewhere, either right beside you or off in the distance. We left here for Vietnam on a 24 hour bus ride after being here for about 24 hours. We asked one of the guys in the friends restaurants to play good morning Vietnam to get us pumped about going, its a good movie!

The bus ride really deserves a blog in itself cause it was mental, but I will try to sum it up. We left Vang Vieng and headed 3 hours to Vientiane where we then headed to Hanoi. The Bus was pretty normal until the bus driver decided he was tired and pulled over on the side of the road for 5 hours and slept. yep. Were just all sitting there like ???? and hes just snoozing away. Anyway thank god for gravol cause I managed to sleep most of the 5 hours away as well. When he woke up we went to the Vietnamese border where we had to make a foreigners alliance to even get to the border guards cause the Vietnamese would push, shove, crawl, yell, anything to get in front of us in line. It took "budding in" to a whole new level. I have never seen anything like it. We were all so appalled, but learned later that different culture, different set of manners, rules, etc. Fair enough. Apparently personal space really isnt something that is valued here. After discovering the cultural differences I realized that being pushed instead of hearing "excuse me" was something that I would just have to get used to for the time being.

So we arrived in Hanoi on Jan 31st and stayed there for 2 days. We got up at 5am one morning to go watch Tai Chi in Lenin park. The people get up at about 5am, hit the park for some Tai Chi, quick round of badminton or a workout in the outdoor public gym then go to work around 9:00am. And the park is packed! Everyone is there. Meanwhile in Canada my alarm clock was going off at 7:50 for me to be outside waiting for my ride at 8:00am. Another cultural difference or lazy? I think lazy. Or maybe they go to bed really early.

Hanoi to me was not my favourite. It was smelly, there were roasted dogs in the market and about 20,000,000 motorbikes coming at you at all times. There are no sidewalks to walk on because they are filled with motorbike parking. So the technique to getting around is to walk (very carefully) between the gutter (which is full of filthy water and rats) and the crazy traffic where hundreds of motorbikes are whipping by at 100km per hour blaring their horns. I did manage, once, to fully submerge my entire foot in the gutter water. I think it still smells. Crossing the street there is like playing chicken. Although there is a technique to that too: Walk S-L-O-W and make eye contact with the drivers and they go around you as long as you don't make any unpredictable moves. Like deciding to dash to the sidewalk could cost you your life, or at least your foot. We also did all the tourist stuff like see Ho Chi Minh's embalmed body (it looks like he is just sleeping). They heard you like cattle through the mausoleum where you are not allowed to put your hands in your pockets, laugh, talk, or do anything besides look and walk. I, of course, found out all these things the hard way. I wonder why Ho Chi Minh's body is in Hanoi instead of Ho Chi Minh City. hmmm. Food for thought - incase your bored reading this. Hanoi is definitely something to see in your lifetime though thats for sure, just for the level of craziness - smell, noise, constant action, people, etc..

So onto Halong bay where there really isnt much to say besides what the pictures on flickr say for themselves, it was beautiful. We went up in this tour group and this Irish girl taught us a game called Mafia. Which we then continued to play for 3 days straight. Talk about an addictive game. Its not a card game or board game, just a mind game with some scrunched up pieces of paper where you have to try to figure out who is the real mafia. I can imagine how dumb that last sentence sounds for those who did not play. I apologize for that and once I get home I will get you all addicted. Christmases will never be the same again.

So back to Hanoi and on the next bus to Hoi An. For those of you who have Pinks new album, check out the secret track. Its really cool and its about Vietnam which was so weird that I was on the bus in Vietnam and I didn't even know it was on my ipod and it came on. what a ka-wink-e-dink (is that how you spell it ma?). This was an overnight 12 hour bus where we brought on take-out Indian food that was so good and peanut butter and banana sandwiches. We then tormented everyone on the bus by making them play mafia with us and smell our curry and peanut butter.

Hoi An was my favourite in Vietnam, it was so cute the town was quaint and peaceful, people were so nice. The food here was to die for, fresh seafood, fresh herbs and spices. We did a cooking class one night (i kept the recipe) and it was food paradise. Each bite better than the next. I am going to cook it when i get home but it probably wont be the same. We were really only planning on a couple days here and ended up staying for 5, i think. The towns industry is clothes making. So all along the main streets are tailor shops. You walk in, pick a style of something hanging on the wall or in a magazine (or make one up), they take your measurements and make it for you for really cheap. So we would have an amazing breakfast on the river, walk to the shops, get fitted for a new top or something, rent bikes, drive to the beach for the day, come back around 4:00 for a "fitting" where you see if your clothes need any altering, then go to the guesthouse, have a shower and be ready for dinner and drinks by 7:00pm. repeat 5 times. That was Hoi An.

On to Nha Trang where I don't have all that much to say. Its great if your 19 and want to get wasted all the time, its a real beach party town. They are known for there scuba diving, but I did not partake. We took this opportunity to veg in our air-con room and eat banana pancakes (which are so good, I am so addicted to them) and watch HBO and MTV. We just needed some chill time I guess. Plus Nha Trang had a tough act to follow after Hoi An. I did, however run into someone i knew from Vancouver. How weird is that? running into someone you know it Vietnam?

We went from here to Mui Ne a beautiful little strip of beach about 3 hours north of Ho Chi Minh City. Its a fishing village. And you know it by the smell. But again, the food - so good. We had hot pot which is when they bring a steaming broth to your table and a plate of raw seafood and veggies and you make your own soup. yum. We had to cut this stop short cause we found out that all the border crossings into Cambodia by bus were closed for a week due to Chinese new year. So we booked a flight to Cambodia and hopped on the next bus to Saigon to catch the flight. It was unfortunate but it was just a beach, there will be alot more of those.

OK so the last chapter of Vietnam for those of you who are still reading was Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). We basically went there to catch a flight to Cambodia but got there a day early to check the city out. I was pleasantly surprised after Hanoi. We were there for valentines day, the three of us sat in our room ate chocolate and watched horror movies. It was so romantic. It was really hot there, probably 30degreese, and in the city it felt like 100. We went to the war reminiscence museum to take in some history about the American war. It was terrible sad and depressing which is to be expected with any war. But something clicked. I realised that I had seen alot of people in the streets with weird deformities begging for money and then it all made sense. Napalm. The children of those who were exposed to this are now old enough to beg on the streets. Really sad. Anyway I think my flickr pretty much sums it up. There is nothing American here, none at all. I suspect they are not big fans...

Flying to Cambodia was so luxurious after busing my way down the Vietnam coast. It was a 20 minute flight and bam! Your there. Phnom Phen is where we landed, then we had to figure our way out to Sihanookville where we went to our friends dad's beach house for the Chinese Happy New Year. Yes, its funny, they all call it "Happy New Year". like "today is happy new year", "the bank is closed because of happy new year".

At the house we got our first intro to Cambodia which is visibly poorer than the rest of the area. I think there is alot of corruption here and its said about 10% of the people have all the money. The poor are really poor and the few rich are very rich. They are still reeling from the genocide of the Khmer Rouge and Polpot from the late 70's. Somebody told me the other day that the people are being lazy and living off aid from Europe and Japan, instead of pulling there country together. I don't know though, I don't know enough about the country to have an opinion that i can post yet....

When we got here today, we met this 24 year old Cambodian boy who took us to the beach on his motorbike. He was studying to be a banker. He is holding off getting married until he finds an Australian or European girl to marry so he can go there and make alot of money to send back to his mother and sisters. Being a banker here you make 1$ per day. And there are big landcruisers driving around and really expensive pimped out SUV's. Someone if not making 1$ per day. Apparently alot of aid money disappears and alot of new SUV's appear on the roads....

We went to an amazing white sand beach with no one on it for a couple of hours yesterday where the water was as warm as a bath. And turquoise blue. Who would have thought Cambodia had beaches like this. Last night we watched an interesting transaction take place between two Cambodian families. The mother of the family I was staying with had sold a pig to another family in town for 100$. The family who bought it came back the following day to return the pig because the pigs foot was injured. Next thing I know there is a huge pow-wow being held where all members of both families were standing around discussing, very seriously this pig, about 20 people in total. The outcome was unbelievable, the people who returned the pig agreed to give the other family 70$ for it. The other family agreed this was fair. Then no one took the pig. They set it free because of pride. The pig symbolises bad blood between the two families because of the argument so no one wanted it. This was a perfectly good fat pig, that was worth 100$! I couldn't believe it. There it went, snorting off over yonder. haha. I though about grabbing it and taking it to the market myself for 100$. Its amazing what the people in this area will do to save face. They laugh when they are angry just because anger is a sign of weakness. So instead of road rage they sit there and laugh. I think we should start doing the same thing...

Today we took a taxi to a town called Kampot which is really nothing. Just a town beside a river. OH ya, except they are supposed to produce the best pepper in the world. We came here because tomorrow morning we are going on a trip up a mountain through a jungle in Bokor National park. Phew. that was long. Peace.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Me against the internet…

That’s how I feel today..but the rest of the week has been amazing. I am trying to upload pictures and its so s-l-o-w. I have been here for about 3 hours so far. What do I expect in a country that only has one ATM?? Yes..in the whole country One bank machine. At least I got to have a webcam 80’s party with Steph and Martin in real time while I wait. 80’s party’s have taken on a whole new meaning now – thanks to the internet we can have them with on the other side of the world! Only problem is now I have Foreigner stuck in my head.

So we have been in Laos for about a week now. I am wearing smelly white strings tied up ½ way to my elbows from one of the coolest experiences ever. We rented bikes in Luang Prabang (super cool French inspired small city that shuts down at 11:00pm sharp…) for a day and decided to bike around and see the city. We stopped to jump in the river and cool off after visiting a really cool temple. Which I don’t have the pictures from but should upload them - the paintings in this place were crazy. I will get them uploaded. Someday. Anyway these young monks were swimming in the river, they completely ignored us since they aren’t supposed to speak to or look at women. But as soon as we got out the guys we were with and the monks erupted in to the biggest seaweed war ever. We left the river all stinky from gross seaweed river city water we decide to head back to town for a shower and some grub. On the way back we heard loud karaoke music and took a detour to check it out. Lo and behold (what does that even mean??) we come across a birth party where this father was celebrating the birth of his new baby (I don’t know if by celebrating he meant trying to deafen it cause the music was SO loud my ears hurt) and they invited us to join. It was so cool, they had us up dancing with their friends and family and even brought us into the house to bless us and the baby. I guess this is a Buddhist tradition. So after lots of dancing, really spicy food and Beerlao we left a few hours later feeling like we had just stepped in and out of the twilight zone. We are supposed to wear the strings they tied on us during the blessing for a week cause they bring good luck. They are now yellow and starting to smell, but c’est la vie..

The following morning we got up ay 5:30am to witness the walking of the monks. They come out of the temple and walk down the street with baskets that people put food in. All the food they eat in a day is whatever is given to them during this daily ritual. We bought some rice and sat on the sidewalk waiting. It was a surreal experience - it was still almost dark out and there must have been 100 monks.

Last night we got back from a trek here in Laos. We left early in the morning and it was raining, good thing it stopped or I’m sure I would have looked like swamp thing by the time I got to the first village and scared the village people to death. Our guide was a guy name Huan (means house in Lao) he was a 25 year old student and a great guide. We trekked or about 3 hours and arrived at this small village in the mountains, this place was an eye opener. Really the first time I have noticed poverty in the villages. All the ones in Thailand were basic farming, live off the land villages and it seemed to work - the people seemed happy and healthy. Not so much here. The kids were all snotty and sick and very very dirty. Uncle Art would have a heart attack if he saw their teeth. And they didn’t seem to be really growing many crops and the livestock was scarce. And we sat there and ate our lunches. Nice big baguette sandwiches with ham and cheese while the kids stared on. I lost my appetite. No eating there for me.

After a few more hours of hard mountain hiking we arrived in the village where we would spend our first night. This was better, seemed they had it a little more figured out than the first place. Except the opium. All the men were smoking opium and walking around so stoned. It was creepy. But the kids were awesome, even though there seemed to be an over abundance of them, condoms? I doubt it. The guys we were with played a volleyball like sport with them while An and I took pictures. They love posing for the cameras and seeing themselves on the screen after. They scream and laugh, it’s so funny. We had cold hose showers in the outhouse and ate some good food, had a Beerlao and a mini ipod party (iPod speakers – our best friend!) and crashed at 9pm, so wiped out from the trek. The following day was basically the same except we had to walk along a river all day and we all took turns getting sock soakers. That night we were camping in tents on the beach. We arrived to the beach by kayak and jumped in the water. We were so hot and dirty (see my flickr for really embarrassing pics). We set up camp, ate, had a campfire with some of Huans friends and they serenaded us with Lao music and tried to feed us chicken heads and feet. Good times. Next morning we got up at 8:30 after a sleep that left much to be desired.. We began our 4 hour kayak down the Namkong river, which actually turned into about a 6 hour kayak cause the outbreak of seaweed / mud fights and the guys flipping there kayak over the rapids slowing us down. Plus we spent an hour hanging out at waterfalls..

Anyway that pretty much brings me to now. We are going to leave Luang Prabang tomorrow and go to Van Vieng, about a six hour bus ride to go tubing. Yep, that’s the big thing. Tubing. We were going to head straight to Vietnam but our visas don’t start till the 30^th so we decided to chill in Laos a little more. I prefer Laos to Thailand, the people are still glad to see you and not constantly trying to grab a buck out of your pocket. I am even learning the language, thanks to our Dutch buddy Dan who seems to know…every language?? Anyway that’s that. Check out the pics from the trek. Hopefully I can get to those temple ones but I have been in the internet café for 4 hours. Over and out. xoxo

No time!

Hey! So much has happened and I really haven’t had time to sit down and blog! So here it is. Actually it’s really annoying cause I just spent ½ hour writing one and the computer crashed just as I was about to his save. Arg.

We just got to Laos. We have been doing so much. Where do I start.. I guess with the last post is a good idea. We left Bangkok on an overnight train to Chiang Mai. It was a 12 hour ride, really comfy with beds. Then we got there and decided to leave right away cause the amount of dirty old men in that city is pretty disturbing. Every bar..old fat white guys and young Thai girls (lady boys??)…or both. Who knows. They really don’t try to hide it…no shame.

We left the next day on a 3 day trek in the jungle. The trek included about 5 hours of hiking each day which always seemed to be straight uphill or straight downhill. My poor legs. Thank god I had good hiking shoes - the people who didn’t were screwed, falling down all over! We went swimming in this great waterfall where all these little Thai boys (and there mothers) wanted to take photos of me. I don’t think they have ever seen such a tall woman. I felt like Barney the purple dinosaur at Canada’s Wonderland.. On the second day we rode elephants for an hour on which was very exciting at the time..not so much anymore.. (more about that later). The trek was really fun. We stayed in these small tribal villages in the mountain, our guide cooked great Thai food for us at night, even made dishes and cutlery out of bamboo. Mr. 30 Bhat was his name. he was funny. We had campfires and played games at night. Going to the bathroom was a terrifying experience - you seriously never know what will be waiting for you, especially if you have to go at 3am, thank god for headlamps. An and I made a pact that if either of us had to go in the middle of the night the other must get up and go with, cause I wouldn’t send my worst enemy out there alone. The next morning we went bamboo rafting, we were so tired from getting no sleep and hiking so much, we had to stand for 4 hours on the river. But it was still great. Being tired really feels different when your floating down a river in Thailand then it does at work. We even did the hokey poky.

So back to Chiang Mai after that to see if we could get into this elephant camp we heard about on the trek. This Thai lady started rescuing logging, tourism and street begging elephants from Burma / Thailand that were being abused or neglected and started this sanctuary. We decided to go up and volunteer for a couple of days. So we drove up there and learned all there is to know about the Asian elephant. We bathed with them, fed them, took them for walks in the morning but the best part for me was to just sit back and watch them. They are so emotional and intelligent. They form these families and protect their young like I couldn’t believe; they even adopt other elephants with no family around and take care of each other when sick. Anyway please, if you ever come to Asia or anywhere DO NOT RIDE ELEPHANTS!! I felt rotten about it the whole time…but I didn’t know what the training process was like and I knew next to nothing about elephants in general.. I won’t go into the stories of these animals cause they are really sad. Just don’t ride elephants.

After that we left Chiang Mai, headed to Laos where we are now. What a trip that was. One day on a bus and two days on a boat sitting on a 2 X 4. Honestly, my ass still hurts. I stood and read my book for 2 hours today cause it was better than sitting on the benches. The town we stayed at last night was cool, right on the edge of the Mekong river, this place had no electricity after 10:00pm and was completely run on generators. We went down to the beach and had a campfire, then went to bed in the weirdest place ever. There was a mouse on the floor all night eating a bun I had left there and my bed was on a slant so me in my sleeping bag kept slipping slowly off the bed all night, I guess whats what you get for a dollar! There was a toilet down the hall, but I would rather pee in the jungle than use it. Scary stuff. Just so you all know there is no toilet paper in Asia, instead there is a hose beside the toilet to clean your ass with then what? Put pants and undies on your soaking wet butt?? I haven’t quite figured it out yet. I just store toilet paper everywhere since you never know when curry belly might hit. Another issue I am having is doorways. I currently have 3 goose eggs on my head cause I keep walking into doorways. Other tall travelers I have met have the same problem. All the doorways are smaller than me. I am like Alice in wonderland. Haha. Oh ya, on the way to Laos ion the bus we drove past an accident and I saw 2 dead bodies! That was a first for me. Pretty traumatizing. Oh..speaking of traumatizing, we also saw someone bbq’ing the fattest sickest rats ever in Bangkok, I don’t know who eats them but someone does. So gross.

p.s i tried to add a picture but the internet is too slow! check out my pics on the side!

xo

made it!

Were in Bangkok! After a terrible tearful goodbye, 4 gravols (life savers), 30 hours hours and lots of really BAD food.. we made it. I like Bangkok, its really chill and HOT. ALOT of backpackers, millions of hippies. The food/beer is delicious and cheap the people are really pushy....always trying to sell you jusk. kinda like mexico. Actually it kinda reminds me of Mexico only weirder.. and the food is alot better. The first night we made it till 9pm, which is 9am in Toronto. We had Thai food, a beer, then a 3 dollar 45 min thai massage. Man, it was nice, I was in heaven. I kept 1/2 falling asleep and I kept thinking that the people walking on the floor was turbulence and I was still on the plane?!





Yesterday we spent the day driving in a tuk tuk (no doors, or windows!) through the worst pollution EVER to see the rest of the city since we had to wait here till Thursday to get our Vietnamese visas. We saw alot of dirty old men in the park, which was sad, they are with these poor young Thai girls (or boys?!)...the sex trade here is really bad and everyone just turns a blind eye because it brings in alot of money, sex tourism its called. Brutal.

Then we found these weird big lizards. We think they were Kimodo dragons but they probably aren't. I saw my first Monks (see flickr pics)! I got a blister walking around from my flip flops and put lip gloss on it. it works like a charm. no more pain. We saw a man with 4 nipples selling bags to backpackers on Koh San road. We ate curry, had a couple beers and a facial then went to bed (yes, we have started a nightly spa treatment ritual, at these prices who wouldn't!) Everything here is cheap beyond belief, its hard to spend money here! So tonight we are off to Chang Mai on an overnight train for some trekking and riding elephants in the jungle. I am so excited! I miss you all so much, i wish you could see this place! its like mars. haha. xoxo :)

"on a freight train with no brakes..."

In 24 hours we will be soaring through the skies of New York State. Gulp. I am just sitting here, not really sure if whats going on is real. My going away party was awesome (thanks everyone!) and its been great to have a week off to spend some time with my sisters and parents (Mr. and Mrs. Costanza), get packed and sleep in.

We were a bit freaked out last week when 9 bombs went off in Thailand on new years eve. So...we had to alter our plans with a little less Thailand, thats fine though, i am most excited about Vietnam anyways. So thats it. Lets see how I deal with the 24 hour flight.. me...who has ADD and OCD. I go bananas after 2 hours in a car, should be interesting to say the least. OH..and nevermind saying goodbye to Martin and Steph tomorrow at the airport. That will be a whole separate soap opera on its own :(

SO i will have one last 80's party tonight than 9am, drive to Buffalo. wish me luck!

d & m's adventures in bostonland

Ah..just us, the open road and a belly full of hot wings. Here we were...Boston, for a 4 day get-a-way :)

We had an awesome time. I had no idea it was such a cool town. Its so old and European-ish with brick sidewalks, lots of statues, monuments, old churches and pubs galore!

We spent a day and night walking around Cambridge, checked out Harvard campus and had yummy burritos. That night we caught a cool band playing in a pub, had some pints and hit the sack. The next day we moved downtown. Shopped, walked the freedom trail and Beacon Hill (awesome warm weather for November) and took tonnes of pics. We ate seafood (Legal Seafood - a Boston Tradition) the next night, after a full day of walking around Faneuil Hall Marketplace and eating ice cream. Then we ate some more, slept, walked, relaxed. I did not want to come home (as usual). It was a bit of a drive but the Buffalo Wild Wings we stopped at in Rochester, gave us something to look forward too.

guluwalk - bad coffee and overpriced batteries, all for a good cause

This Saturday my Dad, Andrea and I took to the street for an 11km walk in support of the children of Northern Uganda. These children are forced to walk every night to the closest town for protection from being kidnapped by the LRA (Lords Resistance Army) and turned into child soldiers or sex slaves. It is estimated over 66,000 children have been stolen from their homes over the course of this 20 year war in the region.

Team Acholi (the Acholi people are the tribe most affected by this despicable war) consists of Andrea, Maria and I. Unfortunately, Maria couldn't do the walk because of work, but my dad took her place. Together we raised $1285.50!! Thanks ALOT to everyone who donated to this awesome cause. Visit http://www.guluwalk.com/ or Andreas blog for more information. :)

e-bombing and going crazy...

Well..the title sums up the last 3 months of my life...well the last year really.

e-bombing is a term I coined for sending more than 4 emails in a row, to one person, about the same subject, without getting a reply within a 5 minute time span. Andrea and I have perfected the art of e-bombing each other, all night, 7 days a week... sometimes reaching up to 100 plus email's a night...Often bringing unsuspecting victims into our world of madness and confusion (sorry guys). Never mind the text messaging, I wont even go there.

So..whats so important that we must email and text constantly for a year you ask? Well... we are planning our great escape. Which, as you can imagine, takes alot of planning. Here's the coles notes version:

Leave January, fly to Bangkok. Travel Asia /India
Go to Africa in May to volunteer for a while here:

http://www.kidsworldwide.org/tanzaniawatoto.htm

Travel East and South Africa until we either go broke or burn out and go home, or go to South America.

The original plan we devised in October 2005 was a "Round the World" trip... but we obsess about Africa and don't know if we will ever get past it. I am so completely fascinated by that continent. So after a year of surfing, posting, carpooling, saving, making spreadsheets and working multiple jobs....here we are...3 more months.

my first day!

I am so jazzed up about this new blog. I'll be reporting on location all over the world in about 6 months time and I hope to provide everyone with a really great in depth experience. But first, here is a picure of me!!

A little about me? Well, where should I start? I live in Toronto and I am not notable according to the folks at Wikipedia. I tried adding my own entry in and it was rejected. This leads me to my current life goal: to become notable. To be able to enter myself into wikipedia and not be rejected. The question now is: Where do I start?