Ha Noi Traffic

Imagine crossing roads like these.

Extreme Ironing

I love a private joke taken past too far and down the road to full out nutters. On that note, I welcome you to the world of Extreme Ironing. Enjoy.

Rocky Mountain Flatbread Company

Our new favourite restaurant - the Rocky Mountain Flatbread Company has amazing food and a great eco friendly attitude. But let's be real, it's the food that counts and it was fantastic.
Very reasonable prices - on First just west of Burrard.

A Question of Judgement

My grandfather described it as "homogenized weasel piss" and perhaps that's a tad harsh. I would, in an effort to be as fair as possible, say that it is the Baby Duck of beer, that it is a pre-made Shandy, that it is the worst beer with the best marketing. So when friends bring over a six pack of the silver bullet, I try to look the other way. I try to look past it, if you will, and see more as a friend than as a drinker of homogenized weasel piss.
The more "chick", the more glam and fabulous that friend is, the more apt I am to see past it. When Mich'Elvis' leaves her left over Coors Light in the fridge, it kind of makes sense. She probably didn't want a beer to begin with. She was probably looking for something a little more fabulous, a little more chic than beer and had simply left it too late. After all, there is very little that's chic about a Cold Beer and Wine off sales store in the back of a hotel, but sometimes that's all you got.
All of which does very little to explain away the behaviour of Dylan. He not only drinks Coors Light quite willingly (passing up on quality brews, I have seen him reach into a cooler full of tasty suds and come up with a smile and a silver bullet), but recently I think he has taken things a little too far.
Left over from watching Playoff Football (no less), sitting in the bottom of my fridge are two "near beers". What has the world come to? Will someone talk sense to this man?

More Photos

Second half of photos

First Batch of Photos from Vietnam

Saigon to Hoi An

Seperate Ways

Back in Hanoi, our band of six went in three seperate ways. Claudio Lopez and Samantha went south in search of sun and sand. Rob, unwilling to risk the smell of more train travel, held down the fort in Hanoi with Harumi, who's flight was soon to go anywhere else. And Donna and I went north into the hills of Vietnam.
We took an overnight train north northwest to the Chinese border of Lai Cau. From there we took a minibus south southwest into the mountains to the very small town of Sapa.
The French, reminded of the Alps, established this small town high on a slope overlooking a winding valley. When the clouds lift (which isn't often), the views are wonderful. While our hotel was higher than most, it didn't offer a great view. It was, however, wonderful.
We stayed at the Baguette & Chocolat. An old French building that has been converted into a bakery / restaurant / mini-hotel. They only have four rooms and each is giving a pastry name in lieu of a number. We stayed in the croissant room.
It was very cold in Sapa and our hotel offered no central heating. With big french doors opening on to a small balcony and large windows and high ceilings, our room was cold. In the corner they had a small electric heater which was better at lighting the room than heating it. Knowing that, the hotel drowned our bed in with two enourmous duvets - making it the coziest room we had in Vietnam.
In the morning, the smell of croissant and pain au chocolat would waft up the stairs and as we made our way downstairs for a continental breakfast by the fireplace the smell would overwhelm us.
What makes the hotel special is its purpose. It is a training facility for disadvantaged youth. They take in orphans and street kids and give them an education and teach them a skill.
Sapa itself doesn't offer much, but the trek's through the valley are interesting. The surrounding area isn't populated by Vietnamese, but rather by hill tribes of ethnic minorities. We hired a private guide for a day to show us a few villages. She was a local and had a very interesting perspective on the politics of her world. She was bright and clever and spoke English very well - which is amazing as she has only learned it from speaking to tourists.

Comical Hats

Not surprisingly, Donna and I couldn't find any Happy Birthday stuff in Hanoi before heading out to Ha Long Bay. We had meant to buy some before we left, but, well, things happen. And so we found ourselves searching for something festive that didn't say Happy New Year on it. We failed. The best we could do was steal some ribbon off of a Christmas display and loosely attach it to a conical hat. Sure it's a little plain looking, but they are everywhere (only the baseball style hat is more common in Vietnam) and they do kind of look like party hats - just a little oversized.
Besides we did look comical.

Internet Disruption

Apparently, the earthquake in the Pacific has severed our internet connection to the outside world. Google is quickly adding itself to the list of survivors in the event of a holocaust as they were back on line first. Hotmail took longer and Blogger is now back up and running just in time for me to leave Vietnam.

Warning At Sea

From Hanoi, we took a tour to Ha Long Bay. The ancients described this dappling of limestone islands as the Descending Dragon. The story has it that Hanoi was chosen as a new capital based on a dream of a dragon flying towards it and it was called Ascending Dragon and Ha Long Bay was formed by a dragon crashing into the shoreline of the sea.
We took to the seas in a modernized version of a Junk. We had sails, but we also had a motor and airconditioning if needed. Along with our party of six, our junk carried eight other tourists - two more Canucks, two Thai, two Koreans, and two Russians.
We ate and drank and sailed around little islands stopping at a few sights. The islands are riddled with caves and we had the chance to go inside one of them, but it wasn't that interesting and our guides childish riddles made it a little painful at times.
Our junk carried several small open style Kayaks. (The kind that you can't sink even if you try.) And the highlight, for me, was taking them out on short little trips. We explored the edges of several islands and even had the chance to paddle through a tunnel into a bay that would otherwise be hidden.
Claudio Lopez turned a year older on the trip. It was a beautiful place to celebrate a birthday.
That night, while most played charades and I strummed the old guitar I found on board, the staff watched TV. So it was that we were at sea in a little Junk, when we heard the Tsunami warning. Not where you want to be.
Still, despite a 6'3" bed squeezed into a room not much larger and the possibility of the world's fastest Junk ride, I slept like a baby.

Hoi An

It seems that I have greatly underestimated the appeal of having tailors make your every whim. I have out spent Donna. I'm not sure how it happened. It seems to have crept up on me one garment at a time and then in the guise of a tailor made suit (cashmere blend) it leapt upon me. It seems that we may need a suitcase to get our loot home.

Travel Alert

Hanoi, VIETNAM - In conjunction with the offices of Interpol, the following travel advisory has been issued: Claudio Lopez is on the move. Once again, women of foreign nationalities with names not native to their culture are in the most danger. Last seen in Hoi An, it is believed that he was purchasing disguises a la Hugh Hefner and James Dean. It is possible that he is traveling with both a Japanese woman and a Canadian woman. Thankfully, each has a name appropriate to their culture.

Was it Something I Said?

It has been quite some time since I've seen my own blog. For reasons unknown, I can post to the blog, but not see it. Although, I can generally surf the web without any problem.

Tailor Made for Tourism

Hoi An is the cutest cleanest place yet in our travels. Things are generally more expansive here, but the place is worth it. After a week, I'm ready to pay for sidewalks.
While the traffic overall is quieter in this small town, the real joy lies in there being less cars and trucks here. Mopeds and scooters are easier to deal with when they don't have to deal with cars. The town is picturesque with a heavy influence of both French and Chinese in style. But it is a great town because of the shopping.
Every other shop in Hoi An is a clothing store except that they have very few items on display and in lieu of stock they simple have bolts and bolts of fabric. Everything is made to order. Everyone is a tailor. Half now, half later. Whether you want a different colour or collar, nothing is a problem. You can look through fashion magazines or pick from mannequins.
We've ordered a few things (which are almost ready) and if we like them, or packs could get a lot heavier.

Vietnam, brought to you by Heineken

I forget who said, 'To be a legitimate country you have to have your own army, your own airline, and your own beer.' Vietnam has plenty of good beer and I have put in a better than good effort to sample them all. When you are paying anywhere from fifty cents to a dollar, it is hard to turn your back on the brew.
Not many foreign beers are available and even if they were, I wouldn't be interested. Heineken is doing its best to change all of that. I don't know if it is a red star/yellow star connection or if they are like this everywhere, but they are one of the biggest corporate sponsors in Vietnam. For Christmas, they seem to be putting up a giant Heineken bottle Christmas tree everywhere we go.

Hue

Our train pulled into Hue early in the morning. (Deb had left us in Da Nang in search of a beach. Rob was still with Donna and I.) Trains, as you may know, don't always stop for the same amount of time. Smaller towns often get smaller stops and neither Donna nor I are strangers to the dangers of missing your stop. I have pushed a friend from a moving train and Donna, with the aide of her sister, has pushed complete strangers from a still train. So when we pulled into this small town and the conducter started yelling "Hue" over and over again at us, we jumped into action. We were off the train in a flash, pushing anyone aside who stood in our way. We got off the train with several minutes to spare. I think Rob still doubts our sanity.
Hue is much more enjoyable than Nha Trang. It is a smaller town and with it a slower pace. The tourism is also far more historical and a whole lot less "party". It is a shame that we haven't left more time for it. We've arrived today and we are leaving tomorrow. Still, it has been a great day.
It all began with finding a beautiful hotel for $20.00 (That includes free internet and breakfast.) If the building is new, and I can't say that it is, its architecture certainly was influenced by French colonialism. We are on the six floor, which is high for Hue. Our room is behind a heavy wooden door at the end of a wide hall that feels extraordinarily big due to its high ceilings. We have large windows, heavy wooden furniture, and a small balcony overlooking the Perfume River.
Having secured a room very early in the morning,

Hard Sleeper

Last night, we left the hustle and bustle of Nha Trang behind. Left behind too was the luxury of the Asia Paradise Hotel. Instead we took the overnight train to Hue. In booking the train, we were mislead a few times - not deliberately I think, just more of a language barrier. There was a great deal of confusion as to when the tour agency closed and opened and how that coincided with train office. In the end, it was our third visit in twelve hours and our agent had the train office on the phone and he confirmed that there was space in first class, but felt the need to reconfirm the price which we had known for quite some time and was not an issue. Having hung up to check with us again on the price, he needed to call back again to book and by that time the space was gone. So second class it was.
The difference between first and second class lay in two features. The first being 4 vs. 6 per room. We being a band of 4 definitely wanted 4 per room. The second being "Soft Sleeper" vs. "Hard Sleeper".
Now, being in marketing, I can see right off that the name of Hard Sleeper is not a good selling point. But what I can say is that it is an accurate description of the bunk they provide. The soft sleeper comes with a 3 inch mattress on top of a rock hard board. The hard sleeper, we were told, just has a thinner mattress. Truth be told, I've had many blankets that were thicker than what served as a mattress.
Not surprisingly, I slept like a baby. The rocking motion of the train put me to sleep as soon as the lights went out.
Donna and company had a rougher time of it. She also has a more sensitive nose than I do and even I noticed the smell was a little more than ripe. In fact, it was really gross whenever the train stopped for a while. As soon as we got moving again, it always smelled a little better.
While it didn't smell any better in first class, and I can always sleep - even on a board, I still want to make the following NOTE TO SELF: Book ahead.

A Day Lost at Sea

We took a tour on a boat. We read snorkeling and Aquarium and water sports. What they should have said is a strange attempt to mimic Mexican party boats aimed at 20 year olds looking to get drunk enough to think Brother John sounds good in Vietnamese.
We promise to ask more questions.

Let the Chips Fall

The Nha Trang Beach Hotel is, by local standards, a nice hotel. So when I say that it only cost $12.00, you must understand that many backpackers are staying in decent places for the standard rate of $6.00 We are far from slumming it. In fact, at $12.00, we're a little upscale.
Now it looks as if the hotel was built in two phases and those phases don't quite line up in height. So from one building to the next is a half flight of stairs.
Our friends have a $16.00 room in the front half and we have our less expensive room in the back half. The key difference in the two rooms is that their window faces the street and our window faces the hallway. We have air conditioning and the window locks and so it doesn't seem to be a big deal when we book in, but in the night the wind picks up and the window begins to rattle.
I am awakened not by the window, but rather by Donna wanting me to resolve this rattle problem. Which I do - by opening the window.
I am awakened again, this time to discover that Donna can't sleep. She is afraid that someone is going to get into the room while we sleep. I try to convince her that it is far more likely that they would break in while we are away, but this is doing no good in a dark hotel room in a foreign country with the Loop-O-Matic in full effect.
Why do I say that she is the Loop-O-Matic 3000? Not because she is afraid, however unlikely, that someone is going to reach through the window and open the door. Not because I discovered in the dark that she had lodged a chair under the door knob - a locking mechanism that is far superior to the hotel locks and should someone be able to reach through the window and unlock the door would then foil them somehow. No, it is because I was able to get her to sleep by placing a bag of chips on the edge of the curtain. Yes it was the additional security provided by the ancient Chip Trap that let her get to sleep.
Of course, we found a new hotel the next night that met her security standards for the low low price of $50.00

Teretz

The road from Mui Ne to Nha Trang begins with a brand new stretch of road. It winds its way along the windswept coast. The road climbs over the foothills of mountains as they tumble to the sea. A new road, it is open and uninhabited and really quite beautiful.
The Vietnamese have a very different sense of driving and in particular driving safety is certainly not foremost in their minds. Not only do they see lanes and stop lights as 'suggestions', they don't really adhere to which side of the road is appropriate for driving in any given direction. All of which works to some degree. Now safety, in say the form of helmets, is sorely lacking. Still, it seems that they can get away with driving 8 motorcycles to a lane with up to 5 people on a bike including a 4 year old standing on the crossbar - all without helmets. They get away with it, because they just aren't going that fast. They cut each other off at low speeds and no one gets angry. No one gestures or yells. They just slow down or stop. Likewise when the pass on the highway, they don't wait for a clear view. They pass on corners and hills, knowing that should an oncoming bus appear, the driver won't be angry he'll just swerve. All of this in my view depends on speed.
Having said that, I have yet to see a speed sign. It is likely that I've just overlooked the obvious, but I just haven't seen one. I think they go slow because the roads are always clogged. Well except on that stretch of new highway heading north out of Mui Ne. Where our driver seemed determined to test the gripping power of the bus as her sped through corners.
The sound of the luggage sliding back and forth underneath of us was making me very uncomfortable, so you may not find it hard to imagine Donna, looking frazzled, suddenly raising out of her chair and yelling, with an angry tone that didn't match the politeness of her words (a politeness I'm sure was lost on her audience), "Would you please slow down!"
When our team, and there was a team, of drivers turned to look - partly trying to see who the mad woman in the back was and partly trying to understand what she was shouting about - Donna ducked back into her seat as if it hadn't been her.
Perhaps she made the difference, perhaps we just joined back to the old clogged highway, either way we took everything a little slower after her outburst.