Middle Kingdom and the Christmas Tree City

We were not long in China, but we saw some of the most famous scenery on the Li River between Guilin and Yangshuo. First we arrived in Nanning by bus and navigated the English-less station to the ticket counter and escaped as soon as we could from the squirming masses in the station and the rapidly sprawling Nanning city. Nanning is the overland port to Vietnam for all those cheap manufactured Chinese goods to be exported through. It is a busy and expanding place there were well over a dozen cranes supplying materials to the new high rise buildings on the outskirts.
We came to Guilin at night and gave in to the touts offering cheap hotel rooms because we were completely disoriented my the poor map we had and the lack of pinyin (romanized Chinese) street signs. The next morning we set out for breakfast and a proper map when we ran into Mike Wu- a retired english teacher turned tour agent. He set us up with a noodle shop where we had the local breakfast dish: Guilin mifan (noodles) for 3 yuan (<0.50USD). There was only a little meat but that was made up for by the free broth, variety of pickles and herbs to add as extras. Through the Mike Wu fellow we arranged a boat down the Li River for only us two. Compared to the posted rates we got a fair deal after some bargaining.
The region is known for its Karst topography- that is limestone landscapes complete with caves, blind valleys, disappearing streams and haystack hills. The Li River cut though this scenery and is little developed on the river. There are mountains with names like "Thumb," "Seven ladies" and "Nine Horse Painting" inspired by the images they evoke. The ride was beautiful though a little chilly but our driver was friendly but spoke no English. When we arrived on the disembarkation point we had a meal of a freshly butchered chicken (killed while we watched) and grilled fish. It was delicious and as authentic as Chinese food gets.
That night we stayed in Yangshuo, a smaller town surrounded in limestone hills. I went out for water and ended up in a tea house sampling the local leaf with an assortment of young Chinese ladies. There was a good language exchange then over several cups of mild green teas.
In the morn we strolled around Yangshuo. In the market we got some empty steamed buns and saw meats hanging ready for sale. The choices were broad: from common chickens, pigs and cows to the more exotic goats and even dogs- completely de-furred and teeth exposed. The Cantonese will eat anything with legs besides tables and chairs. We settled for noodle soup and fruits.
In the afternoon we headed back to Guilin to catch the bus. It was unfortunate that we booked the bus ahead of time as it turned out. We had to wait around for the "sleeper bus" which was a "sitter" and the most uncomfortable at that. The bus even stopped in Yangshuo for the driver to eat for an unspecified amount of time. These kind of stops occurred more than once and became a nuisance to the wary and uncomfortable riders. At about one AM the bus stopped and we switched into a real sleeper bus which was cold and smelled like feet.
We were dropped outside of Guangzhou in the morning. A taxi brought to the train station where we tarried for the window to open and after booking we found out it was for a flight we cancelled and sought the train to Hong Kong. This was a struggle as the station we were at was a mass of wriggling humans all fighting for the ticket window. A security guard gave us the vital bit of information: the Kowloon express originates from the East Station not the Main station. So rode the subway over there and got on the proper train with little difficulty.
Customs was a simple affair of asking for a stamp and receiving it.
Arriving in Hong Kong.....

Through the Dragon's Mouth

We made it out of Vietnam and into the country to the north. I am in a strange den-like internet bar in Guilin- we needed a local to find the place up an indistinct stairway, the windows are covered over and we needed to provide ID and deposit to enter. The cigarette smoke haze makes it seem almost a nineteen twenties speak-easy where the booze is information.

The "Friendship Pass" out of Vietnam was smooth and only our mandarin oranges were confiscated by the Chinese, they probably had a nice snack. The bus took us to a busy bus station in Nanning where we found the ticket counter and booked to Guilin. The lack of Chinese language skill slows transactions to a crawl but with the aid of our phrasebook things get done. The bus driving here is much less of a ... ahem... thrill than in Cambodia and Vietnam. Here there are freeways with a motorcycle lane and traffic laws that are actually obeyed. We arrived Guilin at night and followed a lady to a random hotel for 70Y a night. We stayed one then headed out......
more to follow..... must leave for bus to Guangzhou.
When in Hong Kong more will be posted.

Tomb to Traffic

The next day in Hoi An we went on a expedition to the most extensive Champa ruins in Vietnam at My Son. Compared to the contemporaneous ruins of Angkor they were a mere heap of bricks. But the construction techniques have not yet been deciphered; it was all built of mortarless brick construction and much of it has survived six tropical centuries. The finale of Hoi An was a wonderful meal at Bale Well. There is a set menu of several kinds of barbequed meats on a stick served with crepes, greens and herbs to be rolled in banh trang (paper rice sheets) and dipped in peanut sauce. Delectable! Especially with a Bia Saigon (beer) to wash it all down.
The next morn we departed for Hue. The first day in Hue we spent walking the old Imperial Citadel and Palace. The buildings were damaged during the American War and many are completely gone but multinational efforts in the last twenty years have restored a few of them. Of coarse in Hue, it was required we eat Bun Bo Hue (Hue-style beef noodle soup) but sans the blood cubes for me. Nothing in the States I have had under this name can compare to what we got on the street for 15,000 dong ($0.90 USD). That night we had another local speciality- a round of snacks- I cannot find a food reference for these. Banh it, banh beo, banh ram and banh loc is the list- they are steamed dishes of rice or tapioca flour with shrimp or pork, herbs and fish sauce. The latter two are in banana leaves and the other in small bowls. Difficult to explain but good tasting. Our second Hue day was spent on a river tour of the the tombs of the Nguyen dynasty and the nearby temples. The tombs were impressive compound complete with gardens, lakes, streams, temples and scaled-down palaces - they were a microcosm of the real world in imperial Vietnam. The tomb of Tu Duc was especially impressive- he was a barren king and so dedicated much energy to the construction of his final resting place with he also used as a resting place while still living, retreating there to compose poetry and walk under the pine trees.
We left Hue on a night bus to Hanoi. Our first encounter with Hanoi was being dropped in the outskirts to a pack of motorcycle taxis. We found a ride into the Old Quarter and searched for lodging but it was early and most people had not checked out yet. We had coffee and secured a room before setting out on foot to the Temple of the Sword Restored and the Temple of Literature. The walk was long but kept us on our toes (sorry) dodging motorbikes, street vendors, heaps of rubbish and other obstacles. We have become experts in navigating across a river of motorbikes and taxis when crossing the street. Our tight schedule has caused us to choose Halong Bay over Sapa (bummer) so we found some reasonable tribal craft deals to scoop up some colorful hill tribe artifacts before going on the overnight boat trip into the famous scenery of HaLong Bay.
The trip began in the AM by boading a minibus with a gang of Aussies hungover from the night before. They turned out to be our mates on the boat, too. Included were some university students, a lush fisherman, an environmental consulatant, backpackers, a Korean tourist, a Brit, two Polish ladies who are on holiday from teaching in Mongolia and a Kiwi (New Zealander) in the dozen of our boat party. It turn out to be a rollicking good time with beers, liquor, seafood galore and beautiful scenery amongst some good folks.
We spent the night on the boat then return to Hanoi the next day. It was afternoon so we found better accommodation and set out on mission for the good eats- banh cuon (steamed rice pancake? with ground pork and fish sauce) on the street. The lady was even selling homemade hooch and gave me a free sample, wahoo!
Today we stayed in Hanoi again and tried to go to Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum but it was closed. We did make it to the Vietnamese Museum of Ethnology which I am glad not to have missed. There were many of the hill-tribe crafts and artifacts of daily life on display as well as houses constructed by the tribesmen themselves on-site.
Then we tracked down a restaurant in guide book as "a spring roll lovers delight." Well it was not our delight as it fell well short of expectations- it was fancy and fashionable with little substance and inflated prices (though half US prices). We sauntered back to homebase then set out for a beverage and supplies. We returned and booked our ticket to Nanning (China) for tomorrow. So we will say goodbye to Vietnam and Ni hao to the Middle Kingdom.

Sorry, I could not make it to Sapa to see the the Hill-tribes or to Dien Bien Phu, maybe next time. But I did make it to Dien Bien Phu Street in Hanoi so I have a photo for my military historian friends.

Many H-names

Hoi An behind, Hanoi ahead and I am here now in Hue.
Riding the sleeping bus was quite the trip- in a semi-prone position while the driver barrels down the dark highways and byways using the horn as a cowcatch for all the night motorcyclists. It was like being in some space capsule stowed away in cryogenic sleep was the stars wheel past. I did sleep though.
We arrived after seven in the morning in Hoi An. The usual swarm of xe om (motorcycle taxi) came by trying to give us the ride to the "best" or "very cheap" hotels in town. We had to go find Dô Dich. Using the excessively detailed information provided by Chú Van we found Cafe Balu and had a drink. Actually we were only given the name. It turned out that the staff of Cafe Balu did not know Dô Dich but Chu Phuc was the boss. So some family came by and took us to the Billiards hall where we were shown a room. Then we went to see the Grandmother of Anh's friends and she told us to come back for lunch. We walked to find to beach and walked and walked in circles it turned out. Sometime we found a place to rent bicycles and made it back in time to eat. Ba Ngoai (grandma) had made bitter melon soup, stewed pork, steamed greens, eggs and rice. It was good stuff (served with fish sauce, of coarse!). After chatting a bit we went to visit Chu Van's vacation house being built. Quite fancy- definitely his style.
Then we went to see the beach. The weather was cool and windy so it was not prime beach time; the rain forced us under cover and into the clutches of the buisness hungry restaurants. We grudgingly ordered a coconut water- it was not young and cost more than twice the usual price here, those bastards! Having not agreed on the price I guess they have to take advantage of out of towners. Next we biked the old town of Hoi An, through its narrow streets and old trading town architecture. It was pleasant. The building suffer due to excess humidity though- everthing is coated in brown algae and moss making for stark contrast with the yellow painted walls. We ate in a restaurant with a view of the river and town but mediocre food.
More.....

Reporting from Nha Trang

OK I am still alive and made it further despite not posting.

We made into Saigon and out again, it was too big and crazy with everyone trying to score a few dong off any foreigners they could find. We fled to Mui Ne.

Mui Ne was a small quiet fishing village before 1995 when a complete solar eclipse passed overhead. After that the place was transformed into a beach resort town for Vietnamese and foreign alike. People still fish but many fisherman's sons drive motorbike taxi and their daughters work in hotels. The scenery is spectacular with stretching beaches and expansive sand dunes. We relaxed a few days after hectic cities and busy travel schedules.

Then we took a quick trip to Da Lat in the mountains. Pines grow in abundance there and we ate the best che (vietnamese pudding) from a 74 year old woman who had been selling it for 50 years!

More.... bus coming to take us to Hoi An

Through the Mekong Delta

Sorry for the lack of photos but the computer is having trouble with loading them from the camera.


We left Phnom Penh on the 29th but not before visiting the Killing fields at Choeung Ek where more than 17,000 were killed by the Khmer Rouge and buried in mass graves. I wonder if in thirty years people will visit Darfur. Foolish humans...
The guesthouse in Phnom Penh had a happening commons and good food. We spent our evening amongst the backpackers and travellers there- mostly Europeans and Australians. People of the empire are not as common here.
When we left it was by bus south of the city where we boarded a 10m boat. The boat floated down the Mekong a broad muddy river. On the banks were rice fields, vegetable farms and an occasional village. At the border we stopped to be checked out of Cambodia. There was a rickety dock with two narrow boards to cross. Then we landed directly on the muddy bank to go to the Vietnamese border crossing. After looking through the papers they gave us the stamp stamp and we got on another bigger boat.
Further down the river divides into smaller channels where we were much closer to the shore and could see the people fishing and working. Once into Vietnam the better economic opportunity was obvious- people had more. Were they happier? I could not tell. The boat kept going and going, the trip totaling eight hours. We arrived in Chau Doc in the afternoon. There was no map in our book leaving us at the mercy of the drivers- we hired a pedal powered taxi to take us to a hotel. The trip turned out to be a few blocks. Once set up with lodging we walked the town and bought a large durian. At the docks a young man offered to take us to the floating village. We went with him in his row boat to houses where they raised catfish and carp below the floor boards. There were even pigs, chickens, dogs and cats floating on their own rafts. Then we went to a village of Cham people, an ethnic minority in Vietnam. They were weaving cloth on a loom but selling manufactured cloth for tourists.
The next day we headed down the delta to Can Tho. On the bus we met an Israeli traveller who works in China as a tour guide. He provided interesting conversation for the trip. Can Tho is a large trading city in the center of the delta but we found the people unfriendly so we carried in to My Tho where we stayed the night. The hotel had a beautiful view of the river so we relaxed near docks and went to have Hu tieu the local speciality- a pork noodle soup. We took a public bus to Saigon the next day.

Arrival in Phnom Penh

We made it across Cambodia and into Phnom Penh, the country's capitol on the Mekong River. The bus took about six hours to cross the nearly flat land between here and Siem Reap. While Cambodia I have discerned it to be a land of change and polarity. Eight hundred years ago the Khmer People ran an empire stretching from the South China to the Andaman Sea and its capitol was the glory of SE Asia, a place of pilgrimage for Hindus and Buddhists alike. Now it is a country poverty stricken and ravaged by wars and recovering from genocide. Many relatively rich foreigners come to see the ruined empire now while the Khmer youth come to the tourist meccas working for few dollars a day if they are lucky.

On the last day in Siem Reap we took our driver Piso out to lunch and chatted a bit. He told us that the typical wage for an unskilled laborer coming to work in Siem Reap would expect a salary of forty dollars a month. Which would mean that a typical meal at the restaurant would cost two or three days pay and everyday they see foreigners eating there twice or thrice a day. Piso gave us a short biography I will share to illustrate the life of many Cambodians in the last generation or so. He was born in a rice growing village fifteen miles from Siem Reap. When he was late teens or early twenties he became a monk at the nearby temple and then transferred to a larger temple. For six years he was a monk. Then wanting a family he resigned and became a security guard at the airport for several years trying to save for a motorcycle. At some point he quit and bought a passenger wagon for the motor bike and drives tourists around for $12-20 per day or short trips for a dollar or two. He said that he enjoys the freedom of being a driver but that for two months during the rainy season there are no tourists to drive. The competition is stiff for the drivers because there are so many and all the tourists are looking for the third world bargains. He has an employed wife ten years younger than he is and a child on the way. I can only imagine what most other's lives are like.
To be on the low income scale in America but be on the top in another country is not always pleasant. You can be treated like king but you have to step on all your subjects. Also you will be swarmed by more orphans, landmine accident amputees and homeless elderly than you could possibly help out. When one receive they all expect the same.
There are bright spots, I think that compared to Thailand the people are more honest and give you a fair price up front without as much bargaining. Children are often oblivious to it all while playing in the mud. In the country side the temples hold the people together with a common cause and belief in something greater than the expensive manufactured goods.

As for us, we have been eating excessive amounts of fruit. Small yellow banana, mango, mangosteen, durian, milk fruit, rambutan, pineapple and others I do not know the names of have all been on the on the menu. Especially rambutan- we have been eating about a kilo a day between the two of since we found them and they are cheap. We are avoiding the restaurants because they are relatively expensive and opting for food from street vendors who have original inexpensive choices. No one should fear for us having a lack of good gastronomy!