All quiet on the Western front

So, there has been radio silence since we landed back in the UK, and that's because it's been incredibly hectic. After nature intervened with a volcano, and delayed our homecoming by 6 days, we were thrown in at the deep end with no time to readjust - straight back to work, unpacked backpacks and boxes all over the house, mountains of laundry and other miscellaneous household chores just waiting to be tackled. Throw the wedding into the mix, and you have complete, non-stop chaos... And so the blog has taken a backseat to real life for a while.

At the risk of boring you all with the minutiae of my Bridezilla antics (my new motto being: 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em'), I will restrict this first post at least to non-wedmin anecdotes - though as I seem to spend most of my time with a bridal magazine on the table in front of me, a pair of scissors in one hand and a pritt stick in the other compiling a scrap book, I can't promise that you will be so lucky next time... and apologies for that in advance.

So - of all the places to be stuck, Ben and I had to end up in QATAR. A dry state, when all you really want is a cold beer or chilled glass of wine. *sigh* On the plus side, we were staying in a nice hotel, for free, with an all you can eat buffet 7-10, 11-3 and 5-9 - so we had comparatively little to complain about when many people were sleeping on airport chairs or floors (as here in Milan airport)... or stuck in the Maldives in a 5* resort with a family of four.*

After three days in Doha, we were pulling our hair out with boredom (not just because there was no alcohol, but admittedly this was a major factor...) and we hopped on an unscheduled flight to Rome, that had letters instead of a flight number and did not show up on any departures or arrivals boards or websites in Doha or Rome. Mysterious! At least it wasn't cancelled like all of these flights...

I can assure you the flight did exist, as we arrived gleeful and safe in Rome on Sunday 18 April - the day before we were both set to start work after our respective 'career breaks'. Less than ideal - but what could be done?

I begged and begged Ben to stay in Rome for one night so I could sample the delights if Italian paaaaasta, but he adopted an unusually strict stance and we found ourselves on a (free) bus to Geneva, put on by Qatar airways for those originally destined for Geneva, Zurich or Milan. Luckily they were not checking boarding passes, and we hope there weren't two unfortunate passengers stranded as we took their places....

Seventeen hours later, with two hours waiting at Milan airport in the middle of the night, we arrived in Geneva, six hours later than anticipated, and too late for any sleep in our pre-booked hotel room. *sigh* Luckily, we were there just in time to pick up the second of our booked hire cars (the first having been cancelled while we were on the bus, due to an impromptu ban on international hire), and thanks to dad for spending hours on the phone collating info about how best to get back to the UK, and availability of trains, buses and hire cars.

During the bus ride, we also managed to pick up a couple of hitchhikers on their way to Paris, and we set off on a beautiful drive through the French country side, arriving in Paris around 5pm.... and at Gare du Nord at around 7pm - exhausted and in desperate need of a nap after a gruelling 45 hours on the move. Luckily, Ben's mum had stepped in and saved the day by booking us into a lovely hotel just off the Champs Elysee.

We went to a delicious and quirky bistro with Florian, but had to turn down his suggestion of a 25 minute hike up Montmartre as we were simply too exhausted. The next morning we breakfasted with Ben's parents at the George V hotel, before heading off towards Dieppe. 'Oh what a lot of time we have!' we thought, happily. But lo and behold, the roads were narrow and winding, and our cheese and wine stop in the Carrefour took a little longer than anticipated, so before we knew it, it was an hour before the deadline for check in at the ferry and we still had the hire car to drop off in the centre of town...

Ben dropped me off at the port with the luggage, and I completed some sneaky manoeuvres to manage to check us both in without Ben actually being there, which was a relief. While I waited for Ben to get back to the port, I was thoroughly entertained by everyone else's stories about their journeys across Europe. One man had run out of Parkinson's medication, and was desperate to get back. I overheard another guy on the phone to the car hire company: "So..... The rental agreement says I need to drop the car off in Avignon. Hmm. Yes. Hmm. Well, you'll find it in the Dieppe ferry port, with the keys in the ignition. Byeeee!"

Luckily, Ben made it back in time, we boarded the ferry and enjoyed some beers with our wine and cheese on the way. Ben's dad picked us up from the ferry port and drove us back to London. After not having seen us for so long, he was probably a little disappointed that our chat lasted about 7 minutes before we both conked out for the journey, and arreived home on Wednesday - six days later than planned. Ouchie! Here's hoping the insurance will pay out on that delay....

* Honestly, the things some people complained about.

Tibet - an overview

We have now arrived safely and well in Nepal after ten days in Tibet, with limited internet access and no access to facebook and blogging, etc, due to the Chinese internet restrictions.  There is so much to say about Tibet that I do not know where to start, so for the time being I will have to stick to a few highlights... We flew into Lhasa and spent 4 days there, before moving West to the border with Nepal via Gyangtse, Shigatse, Sakya, Shelkar, Everest National Park and base camp and Zhangmu (the miserable border town).

 

1. Tibet is intensely spiritual and everywhere you go there are people actively practising Buddhism - spinning prayer wheels as they go about their everyday business, adding colourful prayer flags to every possible location, prostrating themselves in front of temples and in the middle of main roads as part of their pilgrimage.* We were both in awe of Potala Palace in particular, strikingly red and white and set above Lhasa, and still very much an active spiritual centre for Tibetan Buddhism.

 

2. As it's quite difficult to get the Tibet permits for each area of the 'country' and the 'political situation is so uncertain, there were hardly any tourists in Tibet, and most of those we saw or met were staying in Lhasa only (on a cheap package deal from Chengdu in China).  We appreciated this most at Everest base camp (an awe-inspiring experience under normal circumstances) and for sunrise there, as we were literally the only tourists there.  How may great places in the world can you watch the sunrise alone these days? (See picture!)

 

3. The scenery is spectacular - the mountains are ENORMOUS and the skies were bright blue throughout our ten days there, with the exception of a light snowfall one afternoon in Lhasa, which coated the mountains around the city and made it even more beautiful.

 

4. The people are so friendly and welcoming, and this is in part because they are aware of the support in the West in the plight for Tibetan autonomy.  This extends from the city centres to the rural villages, and across all age groups.

 

5. Many things are unexpected - including caving with a monk who has lived alone for 18 years in a tiny monastery at the base of Everest, which is usually closed to the public by the Chinese military.  We were lucky on the day we were there in that the military had not turned up, and so the monk led us on a spiritual journey through TINY nooks and crevices underground, with the aim partly being to help us appreciate the natural beauty of the world - which we definitely did after emerging from 20 uncomfortable, dirty, cramped minutes in the dark into the bright lights at the foot of the greatest mountain on earth.

 

Low points included the food, the cold temperatures, the altitude sickness and the general lethargy we felt as a result of these!  Also, the Chinese government is continuing to stamp its mark over the Tibetan culture and cityscapes, for example by placing a Chinese flag in amongst each collection of prayer flags, and banning young people from joining the monastery without paying sufficient funds and collecting many government stamps and approvals.  This extent of this is really very upsetting when you hear about it from within Tibet itself and from Tibetans.

 

*Not sure if 'pilgramage'is religious-ly correct, but you get the idea...

Traditional medicine

Ben has unfortunately been struck down with altitude sickness in Lhasa.  Due to a lack of Western doctors, we visited the Tibetan hospital and picked up an exciting array of traditional medicines to combat this - black pellets and a grassy ball to make tea out of something that looks suspiciously like the panda dung on display in Chengdu last week... Bahaha!

What's in a name?

Over the last 5 years I have acquired three separate Chinese names, and various interpretations of each, and am not entirely happy with any of them.  It's quite difficult to choose a name that has the significance and meaning that you intend it to, and also one that sounds like an actual Chinese name and not some botch anglo-version.  It's common to base your Chinese name on the sounds in your own name and this can be a good starting point, though it can also be a curse - Ben's name translates quite easily to Ji Ben, with one unfortunate possible translation of... 'stupid chicken'!  Another friend's name, with one vowel sound slightly mispronounced, translated to 'Olympic Games', providing endless entertainment to taxi drivers in advance of the summer 2008 games in Beijing.

 

The comedy is frequently mirrored in Chinese people's choices of English names - for example, today there are many Enids, Gwynnies and Maudes - and it's always great to meet someone called Cherry, Dirk, or even better - Smile, who was my language partner in 2007.  We discussed business English - but even at that stage in his English learning, he was completely unaware of the unsuitability of his name - unfortunately I did not have the heart to break it to him, and I've felt slightly guilty ever since...

 

Our guide in Tibet is called Sting - another classic name - and he is proving to be possibly the most interesting 26 year old I have ever met.  As a young child, he escaped from Tibet with his mother to Dharamsala in Northern India, where he studied the teachings of the Dalai Llama.  Twelve years later, he returned to Tibet, as his grandfather was unwell and needed him here.  Without any Chinese registration permits, birth certificate or official documents of any kind (which is apparently quite common in rural China), he was classed as a political threat and spent six months in jail.  After paying a large amount of money, he managed to acquire the necessary registration documents and has spent the last six or seven years working as a guide in Tibet.  He is fiercely proud of his culture and the Tibetan people, and very knowledgeable.  Sadly, the fact that he was a political prisoner means that he has a black stamp against his name in the government books, so will never be granted a passport, and will not see his mother again unless Tibet gains independence and she could return here, or he would be allowed to travel abroad.

Tibet - we have arrived!

After so many emails, some stress and several changes to flights we have finally arrived in Tibet - and on our preferred day in the end!  We have been knocked for six by the altitude as we have flown in to 3650m directly, but we have a very sweet and informative guide and are staying in comparative luxury after a rash decision back in London to upgrade our Tibetan accommodation for the trip!  It's pretty sunny and the fleece and thermals are finally seeing some action.

 

The flight was fantastic with incredible panoramic views of the tops of snowy mountains (see pictures). Less pleasant was the aeroplane breakfast that we were subjected to this morning - cold congee, tomatoes, pickled egg and preserved radish and even the 'bread roll' did not escape the Chinese treatment, with an unidentifiable and unpleasant red meat-like paste in the centre.  We made up for this at lunchtime with a fantastic, hearty Tibetan noodle soup for 40p.  Delicious!

Chengdu and its giant pandas

Ben and I spent a few days in Chengdu while we wait for our Tibetan permits to come through, and I was quite excited about this as it's the main tourist destinations in China that I had not yet visited.  Despite being a major tourist attraction (at least, according to my guidebook....), we got a lot of attention from the locals and have not seen any other waiguoren around town - so much that we began to feela bit like celebrities with a wave and smile here and there!  We are finding everyone to be very friendly and unusually helpful - even proffering directions when we have not asked for any, hailing cabs for us and shouting 'hello' in the streets!  However, the dialect is quite confusing (the pronunciation of EI and AI and SH as A being just the tip of the iceberg) and the city (despite the population of 13 million) was SO quiet - China, but not as we know it... a disorienting experience!

 

We spent the first day eating Gong Bao Ji Ding* (see picture!**) and wandering around the temples and parks.  As it was a Sunday, the locals were out in force - dancing, doing taiqi, singing, flying kites etc, and it was really fun just to observe the community in action.  Of particular note was the Green Ram Taoist temple, which had several unusual bronze figures - the eponymous ram, and another figure which has characteristics of each of the four Chinese mystical animals - these figures are then rubbed for luck and to remove life's troubles, and after rubbing a part of the animal, you are supposed to rub the corresponding part of yourself.  This is all done very vigorously!

 

On our first evening we went out for hotpot (another Sichuan speciality, and renowned for being very spicy).  OBVIOUSLY we ordered a non-spicy soup, and although we were assured that it was not spicy we were greeted by a dark red, chili-filled, bubbling angry-looking broth - see picture for the evidence!  Our bright red, sweating faces caused the waitresses and the rest of the diners much amusement - but we enjoyed ourselves, and took respite in the tiny section of plain broth in the centre!

 

On our second (and last) day in Chengdu, we headed to the main tourist attraction - the Giant Panda Research and Breeding Centre, which involved an early start to get there for the morning feeding session and avoid only seeing the pandas asleep.  We saw LOTS of pandas and they are SO CUTE! The younger ones (about 2 years old) spent the morning playing and play-fighting on wooden climbing frames, and the older ones were mainly sleeping or eating - Ben has taken a particular liking to this lazy lifestyle, and is hoping to adopt the lounging, laid back eating position himself.... In terms of food, pandas eat a lot of bamboo of course - what is less documented is that they are also partial to a specially formulated 'panda bread' which was available for us to try.... it looks like a cross between oatcakes and the panda dung that was on display, and needless to say did not taste good to us!

 

On our return to the hostel we discovered that our Tibet permits had arrived, and we are all set to fly to Lhasa on 30th March.  I am REALLY excited about this, as Tibet has always been near the top of my 'to-go-to' list, but due to the difficulties in actually getting there, the expense and travel restrictions, I did not expect to have the opportunity.  

 

*Ben's - and most foreigner's - favourite Chinese dish, and a speciality of Sichuan province, where we are now.

 

** Apologies for the random order of the photos - it's the email blogging again...

Navigating Asian metropolises: rules for the road

Given our recent experience on mopeds in various Vietnamese cities, here are some tips and hints for the road...

 

1. Confidence is key!

 

2. When in doubt, position yourself next to a local doing the same manoeuvre and follow closely (similar to the well practised technique for crossing the road on foot).

 

3. U-turns are acceptable on any road, at any point - for safety, get on the inside of a car or small van and use it as a shield.

 

4. Get a horn that makes your moped sound like a big lorry.

 

5. Use said horn as a substitute for indicating, braking, notifying everyone of your general presence, etc...!

 

.... and enjoy!

Welcome to China!

We took a 7am bus lasting 8 hours across the pretty hectic border between Vietnam and China, where we handed our passports over into a massive scrum for a good half hour, and spent that time craning our necks to try and keep sight of them.

 

After the border crossing, we were asked where in Nanning we wanted to get off, so I tried our luck by asking for the airport, seeing as we had an 8.30pm flight to Chengdu. "Airport? Sure!" came the reply, and we dutifully put our bags in the appropriate section of the bus.  Two hours later we stopped on the motorway, and the man in charge shouted "Airport!" - so we got off, with about 12 other people - all of whom got into fancy cars awaiting their arrival for transfer to the airport.  Hmmm..... Of course, we had not made any such arrangement, so spotted a plane taking off in the distance and walked towards it, along the hard shoulder of the motorway for half an hour - with all our luggage - until we saw the exit for the airport, which we took (see picture of Ben above!).  Welome to China, people!

 

We arrived at about 11pm at the Loft hostel in Chengdu, where we have a room with a shared bathroom for Y100 per night.  It is essentially a cell, with hard beds, a stone floor and 'trendy' exposed brickwork walls.  The showers have mould on them and the bathrooms are an outside flight of stairs away.  I thought we had left discomforts like this behind when we got proper jobs - aparently this trip is not an extended holiday, but back to 'travelling'... *sigh*  In any event, we are stuck here for the time being as our Tibet permits are being sent to this address - so we had better get used to it and MTFU (as Rob would say..).

Hanoi and around

Vietnam is a nation of early risers - and I'm talking roughly 5am throughout the week, and I was surprised to discover that this trend continues in the north where it is much cooler and less humid than the south. As a result, Ben and I have been setting alarms for between 6 and 7.30am every day for at least the last week. Therefore, we took the opportunity to have a lie in in Hanoi, and a lazy day mainly involving, breakfast, lunch, a relaxed stroll around the pretty lake in the Old Quarter, dinner and beers. Fantastic! In the evening we ventured to the 'famous' water puppets.... Girls - you did not miss much!

In line with our recent excursions, we decided to rent (yet another) motorbike to explore the area around Hanoi, in particular the small handicraft villages in the nearby countryside. We visited a ceramics village (Ba Trang), a silk village (Van Phuc) and a SNAKE village (Le Mat) - but cowered when offered live snake for lunch. (Gross) highlight of the day was happening upon a local village's lunchtime cock-fighting session, where about 100 men were gathered around the small ring watching the cocks fight. As the only girl there, I moonlighted as the main attraction for the first 5 minutes after our arrival, but then things carried on as normal, wagers were placed and the local kids jostled to get in my camera shot. An interesting, if distasteful, stop on our journey...

Unfortunately, our last day in Hanoi did not go as planned, largely because Ho Chi Minh does not receive visitors on a Friday and we had not spotted this in our guidebook... We toured his house on stilts (not that impressive, for the record - but apparently this shows how he was a 'man of the people') and then headed for lunch, a massage and some Bia Hoi. In the end, not a bad way to spend our last day in Vietnam!

In other news, we have had our Tibetan permits issued and they are (hopefully) winging their way to Chengdu as I type - we will hopefully be meeting them there sometime before Monday and then heading to Tibet on Tuesday for 10 days. I'll be back to blogging by email while in China, so apologies in advance for the poor formatting!

Hanoi has great pavements, but they are useless as they are full of motorbikes!

Spotted in Hanoi: the shop where Brucie buys the cuddly toys....

Images from the floating villages of Halong Bay...

Yes - he is rowing with his feet!

No comment...

Halong Bay

We just got back from a 3 day trip to Halong Bay, with one night spent on the boat and the second in a hotel on Cat Ba island. There were 8 of us, and it turned out that we had the tour to ourselves without having to pay the extra for the private tour option - a nice surprise! And given the extensive karaoke session on the first evening on the boat, this was probably for the best - what we lacked in tunefulness, we certainly made up for in enthusiasm.Unfortunately, the weather was (typically, for this time of year) misty so we spent a lot of time convincing ourselves that this just made it all the more "atmospheric"! Despite the bad visibility and the mist, it stayed dry and we were able to spend the day on the 'sundeck' admiring the spectacular scenery and Tola, Jess and I took a kayak trip through a low tunnel into a beautiful, sheltered lagoon area. A little cold for swimming though....!

On the second day we were taken to a cave for a 'walk' which involved wriggling on our stomachs through muddy a hole about 60cm wide and 50cm tall - twice, in both directions! This led to many a 'Bridget Jones' moment for the girls, and my skirt and white blouse were definitely not suitable attire... We got some comedy photos out of this though, and the cave was pretty cool - not that we could see much with only one torch between us!
In the afternoon, we took a boat to the over-hyped monkey island, which was a bit of a dis-fest. On the way up the hill, we encountered an angry, large monkey. Our guide waved a large stick at it to get it to move from the path, and the monkey ran at him! After this excitement, those of us at the front were armed with large sticks and a healthy dose of fear for the rest of the short walk. We later learned that tourists have been bitten by the monkeys in the past, and that the monkeys are aggressive because they have been taken from their natural habitat near Hanoi and placed on 'monkey island' as a tourist attraction! SCAM! Luckily, we all escaped unscathed.

On the journey back to Halong city, we watched Invictus on DVD - what a FANTASTIC film! Ben had a hard time selling a film about how the 1995 rugby world cup was politicised to a group of 7 girls, but I think we all enjoyed it more than he did in the end! Rent it on DVD if you have not seen it.
Back in Hanoi, we hit Bia Hoi junction before the girls all left for Bangkok and various onward destinations. Thanks for the good times, Team Benetton!

Spotted on a bike in Hoi An!

Hoi An

We arrived very early and very hungover in Hoi An so did not venture out until lunchtime, but what a fantastic lunch we had! We ate at Secret Garden, a leafy and shady terrace and garden down a narrow side street in the old part of Hoi An (a UNESCO world heritage site), and had some delicious rice flour rolls - a nice alternative to the spring rolls we have been having with almost every meal! We also had fish in clay pot (a local speciality) and lemongrass fish soup for our mains. All of the dishes were very tasty and used a delicious combination of Asian spices.

We bumped into Lisa, Jess and Paula from work while we were wandering around the market, and so went for a drink and a catch up, and from the balcony spotted Tola, Fiyin and Carole! We arranged to meet up for dinner later and took the shuttle back to our hotel, which is nice but annoyingly far from town (this is the last time I let Ben choose the accommodation!). I had the Cau Lau - a local dish made with noodles that must be cooked in the water from the local well - but found it to be very disappointing and almost flavourless.

Ben and I had decided to rent a motorbike after the fun we had in Da Lat, so the following day, we rented three bikes and after a brief (read: prolonged) expedition to the tailor for dresses, Tola, Fiyin, Carole, Ben and I set off on our bikes to explore the area around Hoi An, heading first for Marble Mountain, China beach, Cao Dai beach and the small island in the southern part of Hoi An. We saw lots of beautiful scenery and river activity on our journey, and due to the fact that at least one of the bikes seemed to be a little possessed, there were a lot of comedy moments, including Fi's bike bursting ahead at the traffic lights... largely without her! I am really taken by the motorbikes and am considering getting a licence when I get back to the UK.... easy rider!
On our final morning in Hoi An, Ben and I took a cooking class at Red Bridge, and had a fantastic (if competitive) time making our own rice paper, rolling spring rolls, banh xeo and aubergine in a clay pot - all of which were very tasty. We took an interesting walk through the local market and then a 25 minute boat ride to the cookery school itself, which was set in a beautiful leafy garden. Definitely recommended!
In the afternoon, we flew to Hanoi to begin the Halong Bay trip with Kangaroo Cafe.... Oh - our dresses all turned out fantastically, leaving Ben wishing he had got a suit made!

Ambushed!

Mui Ne, Da Lat, Nha Trang

Ben and I have just spent 3 nights in each of Mui Ne and Da Lat (connected by several perilous bus journeys), kite surfing and chilling out (respectively!) in Mui Ne and hiking and seeing the beautiful countryside in and around Da Lat. Ben is very proud of his kitesurfing efforts, so here he is in all his glory....

The southeastern coast and the central highlands are a picturesque part of the world, with huge sand dunes along the coast, beautiful mountains further inland and green fields and trees stretching as far as the eye can see. Although the roads were terrible and the driving dangerous, the bus journey from Mui Ne to Da Lat gave interesting insight into rural Vietnamese life. As we drove through and past small villages of wooden painted huts, set among paddy fields and alongside various expanses of water, we overtook huge tractor-like contraptions, motorbikes laden with all sorts of goods for the markets - huge bunches of lavender, coconuts, chicken coops, pigs - trailers piled high with logs and women sat on top, and more!

In Da Lat, we decided to rent a motorbike and risk the roads - and we had a fantastic day exploring the surrounding area, seeing the Datanla waterfall and visiting the pagoda, summer palace and crazy house.... yes, a crazy house - there is no better way of describing it! A woman designed and had built her own house. She must have been a mentalist, but it's fun to look around and you can even stay there these days! Though presumably during the day your hotel room becomes tourist fodder, so I'm not sure why you would choose to....We also hiked to the top of the tallest peak in the Central Highlands - at 2169m - the climb up to which included parts at 45 degrees steep, and involved hauling oursleves up using tree roots. It reminded us of the fabled Jack's Rake in the Lake District, but was worth the effort and the sweat for the fantastic panoramic views across the valley and the other mountains from the top. On the local bus back to Da Lat, I was touched to be presented with a box of mostly melted strawberry sorbet by an elderly lady - I think she must have taken one look at my bright red, sweaty face and felt sorry for me!
We chose to spend one night in Nha Trang en route to Hoi An, and having been there it's a shame we couldn't stay longer - the town seems to be decked out for package tourists which means it's actually quite a pleasant and fun place to spend a few days on the beach - lovely loungers in the shade, fancy yet affordable restaurants and bars directly on the beach with dancefloors at night, watersports if you are so inclined.... Cramming all of this into one night, which also coincided with Paddy's Day, meant that getting up at 5am this morning to come to Hoi An was a bit of a wound for us both!

With just each other for company, we have resorted to playing a lot of cards.  Unfortunately for Ben, the games often end like this..... haha!

Ben is lucky we didn't end up with several of these in quarantine and en route to the UK....!

Sensational Saigon

As soon as we crossed the border into Vietnam, my illness disappeared and I fet strangely at ease. The more time we have spent here, the more I have begun to realise that it just reminds me of China.... Home sweet home!

Saigon is a fantastic, bustling, chaotic city of motorbikes, pho and Bia Hoi, with a rich, if tragic, history. We spent the first day wandering around, soaking up the atmosphere and visiting the incredible War Remnants Museum, which documents the war-ridden past of Vietnam, and focuses on the American phase of the Vietnam War (1959 - 1975). It displays the factual history of the wars, accompanied by heartbreaking stories of individuals affected. I was (embarrasingly) moved to tears by the pictures of mothers and their children born with defects resulting from Agent Orange and other chemical warfare. Despite their circumstances, each photo somehow portrayed an element of hope or happiness and told a deep and moving personal story. In addition, the museum exhibited models of the tiger cages and graphic descriptions and pictures of the torture methods and traps used. The only downside of the museum as a whole was that the explanations and displays are quite propagandist, and you can't help but feel that you are being told a very one-sided story, which is perhaps unnecessary given how tragic and upsetting the reality is.

We also visited the Reunification Palace, with its beautiful landscaped gardens and impressive range of government reception rooms. The architecture of it is quite interestng, as after the unification, the palace was rebuilt to resemble severval Chinese characters as you face the building (eg: 口 kou (entrance, gate) and 中 zhōng (central)).

We also took a tour to the Cu Chi tunnels, about 50km away from Saigon - this is the easiest and cheapest way of seeing the tunnels, although it did not help my recent irritation with tours in general. Ultimately, it was a very interesting tour spoiled only by th eunnecessary stops at handicraft factories and the fact that every tour goes at the same time, so the tunnels are hugely crowded in the morning, and presumably compeltely empty in the afternoons... Our knowedgeable guide, "John Wayne", was able to show us many of the Viet Cong traps, and demonstrate how they worked. As we searched for the entrance to a tunnel in the undergrowth, the additional sound effects (read: loud explosive sounds) certainly heped us begin to imagine just how terrifying it would have been during warfare. There is a somewhat gratutitous and hugely noisy shooting range, where tourists can purchase bullets and fire guns used in the Vietnam War, and while the noisiness of it all did lead us to wonder how all soldiers involved were not rendered deaf, it essentially seemed a bit tacky.

Reasons why I like Vietnam...

1. Great food
2. Cheap beer
3. Friendly people
4. Interesting history
5. Embalmed Communist leader
6. Chaotic, addictive cities
7. People wear pyjamas in the street
8. Cute children and hilarious dogs

Hmmmmmm.... sound like anywhere else to you?

the Mekong Delta

Ben and I joined a day trip to the Mekong Delta today, which began with a 7am 3 hour boat trip from Saigon to the Mekong river, and along to My Tho and Ben Tre. We saw boats of all shapes and sizes, and hundreds of locals going about their everyday lives, and so in some ways, I found this to be the most rewarding part of the day.

The rest of the tour grated a little, to be honest, but it's the simplest and cheapest way of seeing the Mekong Delta with limited time. Unfortunately, the area we saw (and I suppose this was the most commercial part, being the closest to Saigon) has been geared to tourism, and money is practically teased out of your pockets as you go around - even if by some miracle you are able to hold onto your cash, you are made to feel guilty by everyone you pass whispering 'give money, give money' covertly and from behind their scarves....! Unfortunately, this mainly annoyed me, and didn't increase their chances of a donation that would otherwise have been very forthcoming.

The Mekong Delta is beautiful though, with lush green, marshy areas and so many trees, including the water coconut tree (NB: the water coconut does not taste good), colourful flowers and unusual fruits. The river leads into hundreds of progressively smaller waterways which feed through the land and breathe life into the communities that live there. According to our tour guide, 21 million people live in the area and their quality of life is getting increasingly better as the water quality improves and the infrastructure and links to the mainland become more developed.

We visited a few examples of local industries (though how much of these were staged, I cannot be sure), and watched delicious coconut candies being made and tasted the honey tea and various honey products made from the local bee farms (which brought back harrowing memories of my time on a bee farm in Beecroft, Australia *shudder*). In addition, the area provides "almost all" of the tropical fruit eaten by the Vietnamese population and much of the sand used for construction in Vietnam, Singapore and elsewhere, is dredged from the riverbed (either efficiently, in which case taxes are paid, or by using a water pump, whereby you get less sand but you are able to avoid paying tax) and shipped to the relevant location.

Overall, it was an enjoyable day out, but Ben and I were both pleased that we opted for the single day trip rather than a longer excursion. The bustle of Saigon is quite addictive, and we are enjoying our time here, seeing the city sights, absorbing the craziness of the city and drinking Bia Hoi on the tiny streetside stools! More on the city itself to follow....

Phnom Penh

Struck down by a mysterious and vicious traveller illness (I'll spare you the details...), Ben and I spent two nights in Phnom Penh. With no appetite for food and unable to enjoy a chilled beer, we found ourselves at a slight loss for what to do... While we gathered strength, we luckily managed to catch a string of old films from our hospital - sorry, hostel - room, before heading out on a brief trip to some of the sights after the heat of the day had died down.

It being Phnom Penh, the main tourist 'attractions' lie in the Choeung Ek killing fields and the S21 prison which now houses the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. We fist visited the killing fields, and Ben and I both found the experience incredibly upsetting. I was in particular very impressed by the way the area functions as a beautiful and peaceful memorial for those who suffered at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, with landscaped areas and trees in flower, while also highlights the atrocities that took place in an informative and interesting way. The unearthed and emptied mass graves remain, and are harrowing reminders of the genocide and the tragedy, and the exhibition and accompanying video provide raw facts for the visitors to digest. The memorial itself is a tall white building, filled on every layer with hundreds of skulls - an arresting visual reminder of just how many people were brutally tortured and killed on this piece of land, and elsewhere in Cambodia.

It is almost impossible to comprehend how somewhere in the region of 2 million people were killed under the reign of the Khmer Rouge, whether by execution, starvation or disease, at a time when the entire population of Cambodia was around the 7 million mark. Furthermore, that this could take place just over 30 years ago (1975-1979) is mind-boggling.

The S21 prison held additional information and personal stories about the genocide, an contained a haunting display of hundreds of the individuals that were imprisoned there, adding a very personal perspective to the history. The former school was converted into a prison, with several mass cells and most other rooms converted into around 18 tiny brick or wooden cells. The balconies around the building were blocked off with barbed wire to prevent suicide attempts. Playground apparatus was used as a torture instrument, and the atrocity of this was highlighted by the artwork on display that simply was horrifying to look at.

Together, these exhibitions and the memorial gave a touching and distressing insight into the turmoil Cambodia and its people have faced and continue to live in the shadow of.

Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples

We spent the entirety of Tuesday at Angkor Wat, leaving at 5am to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat itself, and then exploring another four temples in the complex over the course of day, before watching the sun set from the top of another temple - unfortunately I have forgotten almost all of their names... They included Bayon and Angkor Thom. We took a tuk tuk around and the breeze between temples was very welcome - it is over 35 degrees at the heat of the day and I feel like I am melting! we also had a very entertaining guide, who spent a fair amount of time telling us ancient contraception stories and his own 'intimate' stories, as well as explaining to Ben how best to pick up Cambodian prostitutes and demonstrating some strange 'dance moves'.... The rest of the time we found him to be very informative and knowledgeable, just with a large dose of bad taste. Luckily, we managed to share him around between four of us, as Ben and I had met up with Tola and Christina for the week.

The sunrise was really nice, but marred only by the several thousand other tourists who had also got up to see it - but for a World Heritage Site that sees over 2 million visitors every year, I guess that's to be expected. We had tea or coffee with condensed milk after sunrise, and eventually got breakfast at about 9am, after having walked around Angkor Wat, and marvelled at the impressive structure and the intricate detail in the bas relief on the internal walls, telling stories of the battle between Cambodia and Thailand in the early 12th century. Siem Riep, the nearest town to Angkor Wat, actually means 'Thailand defeated' with reference to this same battle.

The particularly interesting thing about the temples of Angkor is that they have both Hindu and Buddhist significance, as the king changed from Hinduism to Buddhism, also in the 12th century.

The temples surrounding Angkor Wat cover a huge expanse (it is the largest collection of religious buildings in the world), and so we headed to some more temples on Wednesday (this time in an air-con minivan - bliss!), including Banteray Srei. I found these smaller temples almost more enjoyable than the 'must-sees' of the first day, because each one was slightly different and unique - be it in colour, structure, disrepair or intricacy.

We also saw a fountain and an engraved river bed (at the top of a 2km walk up Kbal Spean in the heat!), which were very different and interesting. The river bed was engraved with 1000 lingas (small round pillars) and several statues of Vishnu and Brahma under water, and it was fun to spot them under the water. We also came across a group of men throwing things at a big green snake up a tree, which was entertaining! However, the promised oasis of a waterfall for cooling off in after the sweaty hike turned out to be shallow, dirty and almost entirely dried up - not to mention directly beneath the above mentioned snake!

Scam Central

After a night in Bangkok where we indulged in a streetside pad thai and some beers on Khao San Road, we took a cheap bus to Aranya Prathet, the border town near the Cambodia, and hopped in a tuk tuk towards the border. So far, so good.... but of course a scam was waiting just around the corner, when we arrived at a fake border station, selling overpriced visas. *sigh* Of course, there was a 'processing fee' but, with no idea about whether or not we could actually get a visa further on, we ended up bargaining them down to about an extra $5 each. Irritated, hot a sweaty, we headed onwards and crossed the border, and on the way met some friendly Brits who were also facing scam after scam... Their story made me a feel a little better about ours, so here it is!

After having bought a ticket one way from Bangkok to Siem Riep in Cambodia, they decided to get off the bus on the Thai side of the border, having suspicions that it was a 'scam bus' that would deliver them to a certain hostel in Siem Riep. Sure enough, the driver confided, "shhh! This is SCAM BUS!! hahahaaaa." Feeling pretty good about themselves, they headed on to the border, from where they intended to get a shared taxi to Siem Riep. Instead, we all ended up on a bus (due to lack of numbers for the taxi), for which they had to pay a further $9. They then discovered it was the same bus that they had got off on the other side of the border, with the same people, but for which they had handed in their tickets. And the hostel it was linked to was in fact the same hostel they had booked into already! Wound.

Anyway, we finally arrived, found our room had been given to someone else, so checked in to another hostel and went for some well deserved cheap beers and food. I'd forgotten about the stress involved in this 'backpacking' malarkey!

再见!

So, the time has come to leave Beijing (for the time being at least) and I am terribly sad to go. Every time I leave I have this sinking feeling, but I know deep down that I'll be back! Especially now that Ben has been bitten by the proverbial Beijing bug, and would not be averse to spending some of our (married - eek!) life together out here… so I'll have to hold him to that!

 

We had a lovely last weekend here, involving, manicures, massages, Xiao Wang Fu's duck and a dose of KTV - can't get much better than that!

I'll be keeping up the blog as and when I can over the next 7 weeks, as we embark on our trip round Cambodia, Vietnam, Tibet and Nepal.  Until then, 再见!

Sundays in Tokyo - Yoyogi park and Harajuku

Sunday is the day to take a trip to the beautiful Yoyogi Park, and the surrounding area of Harajuku.  The park is pretty and peaceful, and it was there that Ben discovered a new found love of bird photography - which has got me a little concerned about our future!

 

In the park there are lots of teenagers practising dance routines, and it is a prime spot for people watching!  The outfits are spectacular, to say the least.  Near the gate at Harajuku station, there are a few crazy, busy and hectic streets around which performers and attention-seekers hover, and pose for pictures.  Never a dull moment!

 

I was also able to try out my DELIGHTFUL new Diana mini Lomo camera.  She is so beautiful.  I hope I am using her correctly, or I will be terribly disappointed when my 'arty, stylish, colour-saturated, half frame, double-exposure' photos don't come out...