(Nick and Jodie are off on an epic tour of the Far East. They will be gone for nearly a year, and are sending back reports via email. You can follow their journey here).
Episode four : from Thailand to Vietnam (the complete version this time!)
Fri 14 Mar 2003
(It's been a while since we last heard from our intrepid heroes. Persistent rumours that they have been intrepidly lying on a beach for the last few weeks are, as you will read, not entirely without foundation...)
Sorry about the lack of communication for a while, but was sucked up by a hurricane and dropped off in Outer Mongolia. Had to sell my underwear to buy a donkey and has taken me this long to ride to the nearest internet cafe. Anyway....
Our first stop since returning back to Thailand from Laos was the Koh Yai National Park, approx 150km north east of Bangkok. We took a public bus there and after much debate of whether we had missed our stop or even got on the right bus the driver pulled over, gave us a wink and pointed to a huge red sign with 10 ft high letters. "Koh Yai National Park". Panic over we heaved on our backpacks, paid and thanked our driver and walked up to the main gate.
Our guide book had described the park as one of the biggest in Thailand, with an abundance of wildlife including Monitor lizards, Gibbons, Maraquee, Elephants and Tigers. There was nobody around as we walked through the turnstiles into the park and I felt like I was entering an abandoned Jurassic Park, constantly checking over my shoulder for approaching Velociraptors. A little way up the road a park ranger pulled over and offered us a lift to the park headquarters in the back of his pickup truck. We threw our bags in and leapt on just in time, my left leg narrowly escaping the razor sharp jaws of the raptors. Jodie let off a few rounds of the tranquillizer gun and the ranger sped off, dodging the stomping feet of a T- Rex with precision timing! Or perhaps not. We got dropped off right outside the Headquarters and paid for a nights accommodation in one of the dorms. Now our guide book says that the dorm-style accommodation at the park is basic, but nothing prepared us for this. The dorms were, in fact, old battered sheds about 25 metres in length. Chucked in no particular order onto the grubby hardwood floor were thin dank mattresses, which seemed to scuttle across the room all by themselves. Instead of glass panes in the window frames there was mosquito netting, but this was hanging off and provided little protection. This was by far the worst accommodation we had ever even looked at, let alone stayed in, but it only cost the equivalent of 30 pence per night and we did really want to see the Park.
That afternoon we couldn't explore far before it got dark, but we did see a group of Maraquee (a type of monkey) moving cautiously through the trees and then jumping down onto the roadside only a few metres away from where we were standing. Just as these creatures and I were about to communicate, finally bridging the gap between man and his ancestors, a moped came screaming round the corner and scared them off!
We decided that the next day we needed to get far away from the main road and into the heart of the park. We bought a map which showed us all the different hiking trails, and feeling particularly adventurous we chose the longest hike on offer, a 9km route through dense jungle culminating at one of the park's most impressive waterfalls! After spending the night listening to a shed full of backpackers snoring, and convincing myself that I was slowly but surely being devoured by bed bugs, I felt refreshed and ready for the mission. Jodie and I stocked up on provisions from the park's small shop (2 bottles of water and a packet of coconut biscuits) and off we went.
The trail started off as a flat, well-trodden path through woodland and over small streams, with clear red markers and signs, but after a couple of hours it became hardcore jungle adventuring! The path became steeper/sheerer and more overgrown. and now instead of the clear red markers to follow we had to keep our eyes peeled for a spot of red spraypaint on a tree every 30 yards or so to make sure we were on the right track. It felt like we had been transported into a "Honey, I shrank the kids" movie with the giant trees and plants towering over us. We came to a small clearing in the forest and froze still as we heard rustling sounds all around us and the distinct sound of gibbon calls. Jodie pointed through the trees and we spotted a hairy shape slowly making its way from branch to branch. As it came closer we saw that it was definitely a Gibbon, but when it looked over at us, seeing these two figures, crouched on our knees, covered in mud and brambles, pointing and whispering - it legged it.
Suddenly there was more rustling from the bushes behind us! Whatever it was it was big and was coming right for us! Could it be a Tiger, an Elephant!? Then the beast revealed itself.... a tour group of 8 Americans in skintight speedos burst through the bushes, letting of a multitude of stroboscopic flashes with their oversized cameras as they went. "Hi there" they all shouted in unison as they marched passed the two jungle-worn, mud-covered figures still crouching on the floor. We smiled back and tried not to scowl at them as they blundered their way off down the path. Well that was that, no point creeping our way along any more with that lot ten minutes in front of us the whole way. By the time we reached the end of the trail we had been in the jungle for almost 8 hours! Either we had taken a wrong turn somewhere or the 9km on the map was measured as the crow flies. We staggered out of the jungle - two almost unrecognisable figures. A walking collage of greens, browns and various plant life. We jumped into the waterfall's plunge pool and cleaned ourselves up. The day's trekking had been hard work but great fun.
The next day we travelled to Bangkok, and as it was a couple of days before my birthday we splashed out on a really nice hotel room with air conditioning, Sky movie channels, a fridge and A BATH! For my birthday we went to see "Lord of the Rings : the Two Towers" in the EGV Gold class V.I.P cinema in Siam Square. This is no ordinary cinema. It is quite probably the best cinema in the world. Only 20 lucky guests are allowed in for each film and there are huge padded red seats with remote controls. At the touch of a button the seats automatically recline to your desired angle until you are lying flat on your back with your legs in the air! At the touch of another button the seats massage your entire body and head with no less than 15 different preset massage programs. Another button for the bum warmer, and the final button to call for cocktails and snacks service! As we lay there toasting and vibrating away, sipping cocktails and watching the fabulous movie snuggled under blankets, we felt like very important people indeed.
The afternoon was spent at The Hard Rock cafe eating a huge lunch and drinking more cocktails, and then in the evening we met up with our friends Emma and Lisa, who we had shared Christmas and New year with in Laos. The four of us headed down to Koh Saan Road - Backpacker land - and whittled the evening away drinking....yes you've guessed it, more cocktails, served to us by Bangkok chick boys out of a multi-coloured V.W campervan. Fantastic!
A few days later Jodie and I caught a coach and then ferry to Ko Phan Ngan, one of Thailand's many tropical islands. We were bursting with anticipation as we had not yet been to any beaches (they are almost all in the south and we wanted to save the best till last), and if the photos in our guide book were anything to go by we were heading for paradise. After balancing across a thin plank onto the pier and forcing our way through all the touts, we jumped into a taxi and headed for North Beach. One of the reasons for choosing this particular island was that Emma and Lisa were staying there, and Lisa's birthday was in a few days. We pulled up at the beach and were not disappointed. The most gorgeous sugar-white sandy beaches lined with coconut palm trees, crystal clear turqouise sea and little fishing boats moored along the bay.
We spent just over a week on Ko Phan Ngan, spending most of our time reading in hammocks, building sandcastles and swimming in the crystal clear waters. A different type of experience is to be found in the south - the soaking up of Asian culture being replaced by the soaking up of sunshine and beach time. We had a well-earned rest period, but did manage to find time to hire a jeep for a day to explore the island (hairy off-road driving, and a scary 10 minute keys-locked-in-car drama which I will not go into now) and also went to an awesome all night party next to a waterfall - very cool!
We then spent about 5 weeks island-hopping, exploring , relaxing and toasting away. One story that is worth a mention is our trip from the island of Koh Tao back to the mainland. We booked ourselves onto a night ferry where we would supposedly have our own bed to sleep in for the 8 hour journey. We walked down the pier just before 9pm, tickets clutched in hand, backpacks on, to find that the only boat to be seen was this rustic looking (to say the least) fishing boat that looked like it had seen one too many monsoons. We were farmed onto it with other bewildered backpackers, and after dumping our bags we were escorted (by a man who could not speak a word of English - or chose not to... hmmm. ..) to the sleeping quarters!? A room 30 feet wide by 30 feet long and 4 feet in height. There were approx 20 mattresses that looked like they'd been stolen from the dorms of Koh Yai national park, and about 40 people! Every conceivable square inch of floor was accounted for. This only left 2 options. Sleep on the engine room floor or sleep out on deck. Some went down to the engine room - 3 of us went on deck. A tiny Thai man laid out a wikka matt for us and we huddled under Jodie's blanket. At first we were mortified at the situation we were in, but after a little while we realised that we were pretty comfortable huddled on the deck of this boat - maybe even cosy! The stars were out in force, as they always are in Asia, and with no light pollution out at sea and not a cloud in the sky they were clearer than I have ever seen. We managed to get a few hours sleep and woke up in perfect time to watch the sunrise. I think that we have now passed all the initiations required to call ourselves hardcore backpackers- maybe we could even teach Michael Palin a trick or two.
My next travel tale is slightly more luxurious. So there we were at Bangkok airport checking in for our flight to Vietnam (wohoo!). As our backpacks disappeared down the conveyor belt into check-in the woman passed us back our tickets. "It is my pleasure to welcome you both to our Royal Orchid Executive Class Service. Here is your invitation card to the Executive Class lounge and here is your boarding pass into Royal Executive Class. Have a safe and pleasant journey."
Jodie and I gave each other a confused but excited sideways glances, grabbed the tickets and quite literally ran before the woman had time to change her mind. As we ran away, laughing cheekily we heard some one shouting but we didn't look back. No one was taking this away from us! Executive class for crying out loud! The shouting grew distant and we stopped for a breather. A European looking man came running up to us sweating and panting. It was the man behind us in the queue for check in. After catching his breath back he handed Jodie a small red booklet. Yep you've guessed it, her passport! This poor man had chased us halfway across the airport! Luckily he saw the funny side too.
After passing through immigration in the Executive fast track line we entered the Executive Lounge! Big comfy chairs, big screen T.Vs on every wall, free English newspapers and best of all a self-service spirits counter and snacks bar. After about an hour of drinking spirits with mixers and stuffing ourselves with as many canapes as we could store in our hamster cheeks our flight was announced. The Executive class section of the plane was even more impressive than the lounge. Huge seats with oodles of leg room, hot towels for your face, silk pillows, big screen T.V, "The Times or the Observer for your reading pleasure sir" - and so on and so forth. After take off we were brought glasses of drink. What wine is this, I asked curiously. The steward looked at me as if I was some sort of philistine who had got lost crawling out of the dark ages. "Its not wine sir, it's Champagne!" We spent the majority of the hour and a half flight keeping the Air stewards busy bringing us more complimentary drink than etiquette allows, but we didn't care, it was free champagne and we were high on the Executive fumes.
After baggage reclaim etc we walked out into the open air of Hanoi - the capital of Vietnam. We caught a taxi into the old quarter and got dropped off at a completely different hotel than the one we had asked for. It was 20 U.S dollars a night and had all the mod cons. It was late and we were in a new and unknown country so we decided we would splash out and continue the executive life style until the morning when we would find somewhere cheaper. When we tried to check out the following day we realised that the prices here are very negotiable, and not wanting to lose our custom the manager knocked off a quarter of the price of the room. After explaining that our budget really could not stretch to that price he offered us a lower class room for 10 dollars. After another 5 minutes negotiating we managed to convince him that it was a really good idea for him to let us stay in our current room for the price of the budget room and that we would pay for 5 days up front - cash. So here we are in Vietnam staying in a luxurious room with Trinitron T.V., remote-control air conditioning and a lovely en suite bathroom with bathtub. Marvelous!
So, my first impressions of Vietnam. Fantastic! Hanoi has a lot of the French colonial history, which really shows in the architecture and food (similiar to Laos), but there is also a real oriental feel and look to the place as well. So far we have been mainly just soaking up the feel of the city, strolling around and people-watching. On almost every street corner you will find huge barrels of Beer Hoi amongst a collection of tiny plastic tables and chairs that look like they are on loan from the early learning centre. These are fantastic spots to spend a couple of hours watching the Vietnamese street life go by, and to chat to other travellers. And here's the best part. This Beer Hoi is served in a polished glass, it tastes amazing, and it costs 6 pence a pint! In Vietnam the beer is in fact significantly cheaper than water!
We have also been eating our way around Hanoi, the food is delicious and very reasonably priced. A lot of the dishes are very similar to the Thai cuisine, although we did try a dish the other night that I haven't had before. Noodles, green beans and fried chicken and duck, wrapped in super-thin, opaque rice paper, almost like a Mexican Fajita. Absolutely, positively, food dribbling down your chin taste-tastic!
Yesterday was the highlight of Vietnam so far. We visited the Perfume Pagodas, about 2 hours out of Hanoi. These are a selection of Zen Buddhist Pagodas and shrines of worship on top of a mountain! First we had to take an hour's ride in an overloaded tin boat, down a river with lush green paddy fields on either side. The scene seemed straight out of a travel book with the fields full of women wearing conical hats, and huge black mountains shrouded in mist as the backdrop. We arrived at the foot of the Pagoda Mountain, and were informed that we had come during the festival month, where tens of thousands of Vietnamese make a pilgrimage to the Pagodas to show their respect and dedication to the Buddah. It was a manic and crowded 5km climb up slate and flint steps set in the mountain side, spiralling back and forth. The steps were over 300 years old and had become finely polished by the sandal rubbing of 3 centuries worth of pilgrimages, making the climb very slippery. Also worth a mention is that for a peaceful and passive religion there was a lot of pushing, clambering, shoving and barging going on. Sure, everyone was friendly and smiling, but it seemed that everyone was battling to the top to find enlightenment first!
When we reached the top of the mountain we came to the mouth of an enormous cave. Inside were several shrines with thousands of people worshiping, laying out offerings and burning huge piles of fake money (supposedly for prosperity). We entered the throng and followed the path down into the main crowds. It was amazing to be in the very centre of all this... well, it can only be described as chaos. Everyone was yelling in Vietnamese, there were people rubbing money on stalacmites, huge crowds of people pushing there way under a stalactite which was dripping water, and then screaming (happy screams I must point out) as the water dripped onto their faces and hands. It was so invigorating and exciting, I have never seen anything like it. What amazed me the most was the great lengths everyone had gone to to get here. There were people wearing suits standing next to people in tatty rags and no shoes. There were mothers who had carried their babies all the way to the top of the mountain. There was a man by one of the shrines with no legs. Now I have seen a fair few amputees since being in Vietnam, so this didn't shock me. What shocked me was that he followed his religion so strongly that he had managed to crawl or be carried up 5km of steep, slippery, overcrowded steps to the top of a mountain! We spent about an hour in the cave just taking it all in and then took the long climb back down. It was an amazing and unforgetable experience.
So that's the story so far, and I will try and keep you all up to date on our travelling adventures. I hope you all enjoy reading our news as much as I enjoy writing about it. Sorry about the long gap between this and my last letter but the whole time we were in the south of Thailand internet was too expensive to spend time on. We are just coming up to the halfway mark of our trip and still have Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and New York to look forward to. Hope you are all happy and well and it would be great to hear what you're up to too. All our love Nick and Jodie.
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