Waiting for a train

Tuesday 5^th April 2011

MP3 track of the day: Hurry up and wait - Stereophonics

Weather: Cold and cloudy.

GOOOD MORNING VIETNAM!

Well this is going to be the quickest blog in history. After waking up, again early, I had breakfast before checking-out and sticking my 'big bag' within the luggage room. I kept my small bag (with my computer and camera) with me and went up to the 5^th floor. Understandably no one else was around and so I had full control of the TV. I put on 'The Social Network' which is a film about how Facebook came into being. Believe it or not but it was really good.

Afterwards I passed the remote onto a guy, who had just come in, and went out to waste a bit of time. I bought a Mars and then headed back into the common room. On the way I stopped off at the bar and ordered some lunch. There were quite a few people playing pool and so I joined then until my dinner showed up and someone put 'Tron Legacy' on the TV. It wasn't as good as I remembered.

For the rest of the evening I spent the time watching TV, playing pool and eating food. This 'rest stop' has been nice however I'm looking forward to moving on. What I'm not looking forward to is going through Chinese immigration. As my guidebook doesn't show Taiwan as a 'Chinese state' it could get it taken off me (therefore I've put it right at the bottom of my bag). I always worry about entering a new country;

· How are things going to work?

· How do I book my transport?

· How much are things going to cost?

· How much English do the population really speak?

· Will there be chocolate cake?

I think, once I've found my accommodation within Nanning, and I've booked a train, bus, boat to Hong Kong then all will be fine. Until then my 'worry-o-meter' is on high. So here I am just waiting to leave. The taxi is booked for 8pm and so I need to get ready.

Goodbye South East Asia!

Toodle Pip!

Not a lot happening

Monday 4^th April 2011

MP3 track of the day: If I ruled the world – Jamie Cullum

Weather: a bit of everything. Hot, cloudy and spitting with rain

GOOOD MORNING VIETNAM!

Being up early saw me out early, trying to complete the only job I had left; I wanted to change some 'Vietnam Dong' into 'Chinese Yuan'. Just like finding an ATM, two days ago, this proved very difficult. I was walking the streets of Hanoi for, what seemed like, hours and all I got was 'no', 'we only exchange for American dollar' and 'too little money to change'. It was quite weird finding South East Asians unwilling to take my money … this never happens. I was going to spend the rest of the morning 'window shopping' however the city doesn't lend itself to that activity. To avoid getting run over, or being asked if I wanted my shoes shining … again, I hid within my hostel.

Some guy was uploading new films onto the TV's hard drive, therefore the TV was out. I sat myself down at a computer and surfed the web. Having copious amounts of time does make you look for something to do. I found myself looking at my 'near-future' travels which consisted of Hanoi to Nanning, Nanning to Hong Kong and then Hong Kong to Shanghai for the F1. Time isn't on my side, for this leg of my trip. What's more, I was horrified to find that both Chinese trips would take over a day to complete. I checked my diary … and then check it again. I didn't really have time to do two major overland journeys and be in Shanghai by the 13^th April. I therefore started to look at budget flights through a site called 'Ctrip China', which was recommended to me. I found a flight from Hong Kong to Shanghai, on the 13^th April, which was only £5 more expensive than a twenty hour train journey. I booked it thus easing my travel woes within China.

I still had the problem of too much 'Dong' and no 'Yuan'. If I couldn't exchange my 'Dong' then I'd better spend it. I started to think of anything that I needed, or wanted; the only thing that I could think of was a new Mclaren shirt or baseball cap (as mine is rather dirty) for the race. With the equivalent of £15 in my pocket I wondered where, within Hanoi, I was going to start looking for Mclaren merchandise, let alone actually getting any. I spoke to the receptionist and she marked, on my map, a department store. She also marked a place where she thought they might be able to change my money. As the money exchange store was on the way to the department store I went in to find things hopeful. The guy behind the counter seemed interested, however the person who deals with money exchange was away for the next five minutes. I said that I would return. I left to hunt out this department store only to find it closed … permanently.

I headed back to the money exchange to find the blokes mum holding a big wadge of cash. As I sat down the lady showed me a calculator with a number on it. The exchange rate seemed pretty good and so I swapped almost half a million 'Dong' for one hundred and fifty 'Yuan'. After this I headed back to my hostel. As I had to swap a little more money than I wanted I had a light lunch before re-packing my bag and watching 'Scott Pilgram Vs The World' ... Quite funny. For the rest of the evening I split it between surfing the web, watching films and eating tea. As I'm not leaving until 8:00pm tomorrow, but I have to move out of my dorm by 11:00am, I will be stuck within my hostel looking after my luggage. I feel tomorrow will be more of the same, without the search for currency.

As I find my time within South East Asia is coming to a close I've done a 'round-up', just like I did for the other nations that I've visited. So I bet when I left Singapore you were wondering where the 'country round-up' was. Well I've decided to put all of South East Asia into one big post. Overall I've enjoyed my travels within South East Asia; its certainly been an experience. Below is a list of the South East Asian countries that I've visited, in order of my favorite finishing with my least favorite.

- Vietnam – The 'saving grace of South East Asia'. Hue and Hoi An are two of my most favorite places I've been to. The country has so much to see and so much to do. The people are friendly, though prices can fluctuate a lot 'travel company' to 'travel company'. One of my most favorite countries I been to within the world. Just skip Hanoi.

- Thailand – People where friendly, lots to see and not bad value for your British pound though you really can't trust the people where money is concerned.

- Malaysia – Lots to see; I had a great time in Georgetown and Melaka, the food was lovely. The country is very pretty, especially the Cameron Highlands and the Taman Negara National Park.

- Cambodia – It started off so well. Siem Reap was lovely and the temples of Angkor were amazing. The problem with this country is everywhere else. My bus journeys through Cambodia weren't amazing and the less I say about Phnom Penh the better. The country is also a lot more expensive than Thailand or Laos.

- Laos – Beautiful but not a lot to see. With it's lack of infrastructure, and it's 'up and coming' drinking culture, Laos is a country that I won't go back to in a hurry. It has some very beautiful parts and, in certain ways, the country has kept a 'rustic charm', however there isn't a lot to do in Laos and the country can be completed in less than two weeks.

- Singapore – A little unfair due to it's size; Singapore was okay but after a day or two it got pretty boring. The food wasn't that great either and it was the most expensive country out of the lot.

Coming from organized countries it took me a while to get used how things worked here. Instead of booking a bus ticket, or a tour, online within minutes it took a good half a day to walk around numerous travel agencies to get the best price … which did become extremely annoying. Not being able to trust the people where money was concerned did start to overtake my feelings towards the people and it's true that Japan or New Zealand, for me, were countries that I enjoyed traveling in a lot more than South East Asia. I am a bit of a worrier and so not being given information about travel arrangements was very disconcerting, however I got through. In order of the countries that I've visited, below are my favorite experiences within South East Asia..

.

Singapore

1) The surrender of the British Army – Visiting the 'Battle Bunker', and 'Changi Prison', gave me an interesting incite into the 1942 surrender of the British army and the consequences of that surrender.

Malaysia

1) Melaka – A great city to chill in.

2) Taman Negara National Park – Very beautiful and a great boat ride through the jungle; a 'must do' if you go.

3) Georgetown – The food was great and this was my favorite city within Malaysia.

Thailand

1) The White Temple, Chang-Rai – My favorite temple within Thailand.

2) Chang-Mai – A great city to hang out in. Due to the city being near the mountains its quite cool, making the temperature pleasant to walk around in.

3) Kanchanaburi – Very sad but the 'bridge over the river Kwai' is a must see, especially the cemetery located there.

4) Elephant trekking – Quite scary but how often are you going to be able to travel by elephant?

5) Cooking course – Thai food is lovely and to be able to cook it is a bonus.

Laos

1) The slow boat down the Mekong – Two days of beautiful scenery and playing cards. I would say that this was one of the best journeys I've made in all of my traveling.

2) The mini-van ride between Phonsavan and Vang Vieng – High up in the mountains the scenic drive has only been beaten by the 'Icefield Parkway' within Canada. Very, very beautiful even if the driving was a little erratic at times.

3) The Plain of Jars – An archaeological gold mine the Plain of Jars were pretty impressive.

4) Louang Phabang – Best food, and night market, within Laos. I great place to spend a couple of days relaxing.

Cambodia

1) The temples of Angkor – The 'Bayon' was my favorite temple however 'Angkor Wat' and 'Ta Phrom' were both amazing.

2) Teaching the children in Phnom Penh – A real experience that will stay with me forever. Something that all of us would enjoy.

3) Siem Reap – Yes it is touristy, however the city has a nice, safe, feel to it and the river makes it look lovely.

Vietnam

1) Hoi An - A very beautiful little town where you could end up spending a fortune. It's a great place for a weeks holiday; a beach close by, a pretty town, not too busy, lots of stuff to buy and great food. The paintings and cakes on sale here are amazing.

2) Hue – So much to see including an excellent ancient citadel, the demilitarized zone and old emperor tombs. The city itself isn't that pretty but the historical weight of the area makes up for it.

3) Da Lat – A lot different to the rest of South East Asia. What it lacks in main attractions it makes up for with a chilled out atmosphere and beautiful scenic drives.

Below I'll go through certain aspects of South East Asia.

Accommodation

The budget accommodation within Singapore isn't any better than anywhere else within South East Asia, though it is more expensive. Overall South East Asian accommodation is clean and cheap, with the average dorm costing £5 in Malaysia, £4 in Vietnam, £3 in Thailand and £3 in Cambodia. Dorms were hard to come by in Laos however a double room only cost about £2, making the Laos accommodation the cheapest within South East Asia (though cleanliness was a little 'hit or miss'). All hostels and guesthouses, apart from in Laos, have free WiFi ... even in the remotest of places, which was certainly a benefit. Most Vietnam accommodation came with a free breakfast however don't get too excited, it was never that good.

Transport

The VIP buses within South East Asia were very comfortable. Good sized seats, loads of leg room and being pretty cheap they were my favorite form of transport. HOWEVER, if the trip was six hours or less, they weren't my first choice as they always use bus stations miles out of town. It means that you have to get a tuk-tuk to said bus station and then another when you arrive at your next destination. This system of out-of-town bus stations is stupid, annoying, time consuming and totally illogical. I therefore opted for the mini-vans within Laos, Thailand and Malaysia.

Very cramped, but often cheaper than the VIP bus, the mini-van picked you up from your guesthouse / hostel and droped you off at your next one making traveling less stressful. Apart from the lack of room the other problem with the 'mini-van' was the total lack of information from the driver; breaks would just appear and you never knew how long each break would be. In Laos both VIP buses, and 'mini-vans', stopped at out-of-town bus stations; however mini-van travel was cheaper and quicker. The driving within Laos and Cambodia was the most dodgy of all of South East Asia; it was perfectly normal for a mini-van driver, in Laos, to over-take slower vehicles on a blind corner. In Cambodia I had a bus driver who was drunk. Cambodian mini-vans, and buses, stopped miles out of town, however most guesthouses and hotels provided a free tuk-tuk pick-up as it's common for Cambodian tuk-tuk drivers to take you to a guesthouse of their choosing rather than the one you wanted to go to.

Boats are good, cheap, and usually float. They maybe a little noisy however the boat is certainly the most relaxing way to travel.

The train within Thailand was certainly cheap however it was slower than the VIP buses and quite dirty. Personally I would avoid this type of travel. Malaysia, Cambodia and Laos had no passenger train services worth taking and Vietnam's train service was much more expensive than coaches.

With 'Air Asia', flights are extremely cheap HOWEVER, 'Air Asia' only serve major airports and so flying to smaller towns and cities can be more expensive than flying within Europe. Flying within Laos is ridiculously expensive as 'Lao airways' are the only operator. I looked at booking a flight from Pakxe to Siem Reap and it would have cost me over $160.00 for an hour long flight. Lao airways did used to have an appalling safety record however recently this has improved.

Weather

Hot, hot and hotter. Even though I traveled with South East Asia's 'cool season' It was biblically hot the closer you got to the Equator. Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Southern and Central Thailand were really hot. However, once in Northern Thailand, Northern Laos and the Cameron Highlands (Malaysia) temperatures plummeted at night making it very cold indeed. I did like the change in temperature however my accommodation, within the colder regions, wasn't great in providing extra beading or blankets ... not sure why.

Vietnam was odd. It was late March when I arrived in Hue, on the same lateral line as Savannakhet (Laos). Hue was very cold and wet which I found baffling as, back in January, Savannakhet was hot.

Money

Singapore cost me £30.00 per day making it the most expensive of all South East Asian countries. However, due to it's size, I was only there four nights and so I didn't end up spending a lot. I found both Malaysia and Thailand to be more expensive than I planned with both costing me around £20.00 per day. However I did do quite a bit of shopping in Malaysia and quite a few tours within Thailand so my money did stretch a long way. Even without shopping, or doing any tours, Cambodia was extremely expensive; my average daily amount was £21 making it more expensive than Malaysia. Laos was the cheapest country for me, within South East Asia. With little to entertain me – and the fact you could get a good meal for less than 90p – I ended up spending, on average, £12.00 a day. Vietnam ended up costing £18 a day; considering how much I liked the country I would that it was worth every pound.

People

The local people here have been quite mixed. In Malaysia I found them rude and unhelpful. That's a little unfair I suppose, it was really only Kuala Lumpur that I felt that way. In Georgetown and Melaka the people where nice enough however, anything regarding money, and it was difficult to trust them. Purchasing items within Thailand was worse as, if you didn't purchase at the price the shop owner wanted, the owner could turn quite nasty. Overall I got annoyed with the constant 'buy this' and 'buy that' … 'this is lucky for you sir' and 'I do you good price'. Take money out of the equation and the people in Thailand where helpful and friendly; in Malaysia they still weren't that great – as they knew no income could be made – but generally they were okay. The people of Singapore where much like the people within Malaysia.

Only within Laos and Siem Reap, Cambodia, were the people genuinely nice. Often the people wouldn't mention money at all, leaving it to me to remind them. Whats more the people of Laos were always honest with the change and didn't expect a tip. Whilst staying within Laos I almost forgot about the hard sell of Thailand, however the hard sell was very apparent within Cambodia. The amount of times I was asked if I wanted a tuk-tuk, motorbike, book, cool drink, scarf etc in Phnom Penh was more than I could count; it became extremely annoying and I became ruder with my replies. Vietnam's 'hard sell' wasn't as bad as Thailand, however it was worse than Laos.

Infrastructure

As you would expect Singapore's infrastructure was as good as Western Europe ... within the tourist areas. Go out to 'little India' for example and things became less glamorous with broken pavements, chaotic traffic and badly kept retail areas.

I don't believe that the people in Malaysia, or Cambodia, know what a pavement should be used for as vehicles, rubbish and stalls took up all the space present; I didn't enjoy walking within the road. It also appears that traffic lights are just something that changes colour as the traffic moves regardless. The road layout is chaotic and the road laws are a complete mystery to me and, it appears, the local population. Rubbish is left all over the place however internet access is everywhere and reliable.

Pavements can be used within Thailand and Vietnam. It appears that these countries try to make their cities look appealing with a lot of street art. Apart from Bangkok, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City the road system seems to work well and there's a lot less rubbish around than in Malaysia or Cambodia. The internet is just as reliable, and free, as within other South East Asian countries. Vietnam's street scene looked more affluent than Thailand's. The annoying thing about Vietnam was that you could only withdraw £60, from an ATM, at anyone time; this meant that a lot more withdrawals, than normal, were needed adding additional bank charges.

The lack of ATM's and banks made Laos a 'plan ahead' country. Traffic Jams are problems that happen in other countries, however this isn't due to great road planning, more to the lack of traffic. Tarmac seems to be an 'optional extra' on most of Laos roads but pavements are walkable. The internet was everywhere however it was a lot slower than any of it's South East Asian neighbors. Laos, being the poorest of all South East Asian countries, can be forgiven for it's infrastructural downfalls. However I do feel that communism, unlike in Vietnam, is holding the country back with the lack of international investment, lack of international banks and the 11pm curfew (which, to be honest, isn't that well enforced).

Plumbing was fine within Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam. Hot water was plentiful and usually didn't cut out at certain times. Hot water within Laos and Cambodia was sporadic and depended on how much you paid for your accommodation. No South East Asian plumbing could handle used toilet tissue being flushed down the toilet.

Food

The food within Singapore wasn't that good and was pretty expensive for the region. Heading north, Melaka and Georgetown, in Malaysia, were two of the best places I've eaten within South East Asia. The food quality continues within Thailand with Thai food being my favorite of all. Once in Laos the food took a turn for the worst. Overall the food was okay but, after a while, it got very bland. Local Laos food is pretty cheap however anything international is expensive; whats more, unlike Thailand, there is little in the way of 'street food'. Most food is cooked in restaurants, behind closed doors, which doesn't allow the customer to see their meal being cooked. This would be fine in most countries however I feel that Laos probably has the worse hygiene record of all of South East Asia; there isn't one person I know who hasn't been ill within Laos. Cambodian food was good, a little like Thai food, however western dishes were just as expensive as local ones therefore I pigged out on food that I had been missing. The bread within Laos and Cambodia was amazing, totally down to the French influence.

I found the Vietnamese food a little disappointing. It was more of the same, however I was hoping for a little 'Chinese' influence. Don't get me wrong, the food was fine, just not as nice as I was hoping for and not as tasty as Thai food. Before I left for South East Asia a lot of people recommended the food; they described it as 'mouth watering'. Don't get me wrong, the food is tasty however don't be fooled that it's any better than any other country within the world. Each country has great tasting food … even the UK.

I usually always Purchase food from street stalls and I've always felt fine. I had two golden rules in regards to food within South East Asia; make sure the food is cooked in front of you and make sure that it is served piping hot. If you are not sure if the food you have just eaten was dodgy or not order a coke as that will usually kill any unwanted bugs within your stomach. I love spring rolls and the best were in Melaka, Malaysia … closely followed by most places within Thailand. Laos and Cambodia moved away from deep fried spring rolls and opted for fresh ones which, in my opinion, is the worst idea since Abraham Lincoln decided not to stay in one night and instead decided to 'take in a show' at his local theater. Vietnam provided a mix of 'fried' and 'fresh' spring rolls however neither were brilliant.

Driving

The driving within South East Asia is entertaining to say the least. I was surprised to see that Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand were all supposed to drive on the left-hand side of the road however most road users just tried to find any empty bit of tarmac. The driving in Laos was the worst of all; it wasn't uncommon for bus, or mini-van, drivers to over-take slower vehicles on blind corners and I'm sure a few drivers were a little drunk (or high on something).

Traffic doesn't stop for pedestrians so you just have to work your way through the chaos. Scooters are the worst as, when they do stop for traffic lights, they usually stop on the pedestrian crossing making it unusable. Scooters which don't stop will just mow you down. Tuk-tuk's are also pretty bad. For general chaos I'd say the Cambodian nation took first prize; you have to see it to believe it. Vietnam was the most 'road organized' nation within South East Asia. Many signs indicating 'one way', weight and speed restrictions were erected in strategic places. It's just a shame that the entire population ignored them.

Would I come back?

Vietnam yes; the rest No. For me there are better places within the world to visit that may cost more, however I feel that they give you a better return for your investment. I see travelers choosing South East Asia for their six to twelve month traveling experience, which isn't a bad choice. However, once investigating further, I find that money has a lot to do with their decision. I would urge people, who are thinking of traveling, to put money aside and choose a country(ies) that you feel you would enjoy the most, even though it may mean cutting the length of your trip. I would have preferred to have spent three months in Japan / New Zealand / Canada than six months traveling through South East Asia as, for me, pound-for-pound, I feel that I would have gotten a better return in experiences and enjoyment in one of those other countries.

Would I recommend South East Asia to others?

Yes; However I feel Laos is certainly an area for the younger traveler (the rest of South East Asia caters for all ages pretty well) and I would re-cite the above statement to make sure that people coming here are doing it for all the right reasons

Conclusion

South East Asia is a strange place. Apart from Vietnam (which has a Chinese feel), culturally it isn't as stimulating as I thought it would be; I felt that South East Asia was trying so hard to catch up with the west's quality of life and, in doing so, it was forgetting it's heritage. You can't trust any of the people where money is concerned and you always have to be careful with your possessions. It is cheap, the weather is good, and there are a lot of other backpackers here. I've had some great times but generally they have been because of others and not because of what the countries have to offer (apart from Angkor Wat and Hoi An).

Finally I recommend purchasing a pair of 'flip-flops' before coming to South East Asia. It's polite to remove your shoes before entering most buildings and, after five months of taking my shoes off at least four times a day, I'm fed up of laces!

Toodle Pip!

I'm off to China

Sunday 3^rd April 2011

MP3 track of the day: Suspicious minds – Elvis Presley

Weather: Cloudy but surprisingly warm

GOOOD MORNING VIETNAM!

Even though there was no particular reason to get up early, I still found myself within the shower at 8:30am. After lazing around I left the hostel around 10am, searching for money. I needed to search out a 'Vietbank ATM' as they didn't charge me for withdrawing. I went to one I'd used a couple of days ago only to find it out of order. I back-tracked, heading back to my hostel, stopping at various ATM's along the way. For some bizarre reason most were out of order and I wondered whether there had been a problem (brilliant timing considering it's a Sunday). Ironically, after walking around for about twenty minutes, I found two 'Vietbank' ATM's within a minutes walking distance of my hostel. I had previously missed these and there they were both working fine. As I withdrew my money I thought about how much harder my traveling life would be without ATM's. For me ATM's are one of the best machines ever invented …though, I have no idea how they work.

Once back at my hostel I sat on a small, cushioned stool with the sign 'travel desk' in front of me. I booked my train ticket to Nanning, which cost 240,000 more Dong than the lady at the train station said it would. I thought about going to the train station, to get my own ticket, but it was a 120,000 taxi ride there and back and so, for £4, I decided it wasn't worth the hassle. I booked an extra night here to take me up to my departure date. It's quite funny that I've spent over a week in a city that I don't like. This has happened all over South East Asia with me spending a lot of time in Phnom Penh, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur.

Finally I pre-booked accommodation in Nanning. Even though there doesn't seem to be a lot to do there I decided to go for three night as this would, hopefully, allow me to get used to the new country that I found myself in. I then surfed the web, played a bit of 'solo pool' until I got bored. Due to another traveler putting on some rubbish film I headed out into the chaos that is Hanoi. I had no particular reason to do so other than I was bored. My short walk lead me around the local lake; roads had been closed and thousands of people were looking at the water. As I'm quite nosy I followed the crowds to find six boats rowing on the water. I couldn't tell what was going on and so, as it looked rather dull, I left and entered a supermarket close by. I decided to purchase some snacks for my train ride in two days time. These consisted of a rather large packet of chocolate biscuits and a few sweets.

After all this excitement I returned to my hostel to watch a little TV, have tea and eventually sleep. The only job for tomorrow is to try to change some Dong into Chinese money. Apart from that I may take a little stroll around the shops, that's if my cold has gone by tomorrow.

Toodle Pip!

A cold, a dead guy and a train

Saturday 2^nd April 2011

MP3 track of the day: Monster -The Automatic

Weather: Hot and cloudy.

GOOOOD MORNING VIETNAM!

Yet again I found myself up at the crack of dawn. My cold seemed to have gotten worse throughout the night however, once showered and dressed, I felt a little more human. I was back on the 'bread with butter' for breakfast however I ordered another hot chocolate. My plan for the day was to, yet again, head to 'Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum'. However, unlike the last time, I decided to have a long hard look at my map before setting off.

It was all going so well; I was walking in the correct direction, according to my map, until a road that I needed didn't exist … only a wall. I had no option, I had to head south. This time I decided to get my map out and make sure that, with this change in direction, I didn't get lost. Once past the military museum I could head north again and soon I found myself near Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum. Just like two days ago, the Vietnamese police and armed forces were everywhere. Unlike two days ago the queue had been moved. For the next fifteen minutes I found myself following many blue signs, with arrows, until I reached the end of the queue.

Being a weekend the queue moved quite quickly. This can easily be explained due to the lack of school visits. I couldn't take my bottle of water with me and so, after a long gulp, I threw it in the bin. With no camera I breezed through security and I soon found myself at the entrance gate to the mausoleum. My guidebook had stated that a 'saddened look was advisable to please the many guards'. With my head bowed low, and my chin almost on the floor, I made my way into the mausoleum. It's weird but the harder I tried to look sad the more I wanted to laugh.

As I followed the slow procession of people, up a set of marble steps, I looked at the guards. They weren't as professional as British guards, their eyes moved constantly. Eventually I could see a room in front of me with a glass box in the middle. Just before going in a ladies phone, behind me, started to ring … she was shot.

You weren't allowed to stop within the mausoleum. Instead you had to walk continually around the glass rectangle box – with a guard at each corner – until you exited out of the door on the opposite side. I wasn't sure what I was expecting but what I saw did startle me. I was amazed at how well the body had been preserved; skin, hair everything was perfectly normal. As I shall be visiting China (and I would like to visit Russia at some point) I need to get used to this 'eternal tombing'.

I was glad to leave the mausoleum; not only was the experience a little weird but the guards became more relaxed the further I got away from the tomb. As I walked I thought to myself. When you die it seems you have three choices:

· Burial

· Cremation

· Eternal tombing

I decided there and then that I want it noting. I do not want to be eternally tombed. I thought I would head back to the hostel however, as I continued along a path lined with guards, I saw a sign indicating the entrance to 'Ho Chi Minh's house'. Now I'd found it I decided to go in. 15,000 dong later and I found myself wishing that I had my camera with me. The grounds were lovely with a wooded lake as the main feature. The new 'palace' could be seen in the distance; a huge golden building standing within perfectly kept grounds. I followed the procession to Ho Chi Minh's house. The house was exactly as I expected a famous communist leaders house to look like. Made out of wood, and consisting of two rooms, the house felt very 'peasantry' with a hint of luxury. The wood seemed pretty new and so I questioned the authenticity.

Once through the crowds, and away from the house, I moved as quickly as I could to get away from the thousands of people and the hundreds of guards. I was heading towards Hanoi's train station and so, given my current predicament of trying to enter China, I decided to go in and ask a few questions. It took just one question to realise that I was in the wrong train station and so I left, went around the block, and entered Hanoi's main train station. Once in there I met a lovely lady who spoke perfect English (she should become a tour guide). She said that no train to Kumming, or Hong Kong, leaves from Hanoi however there is a direct train to Nanning. I inquired into this service and it seems that it departs everyday at 9:40pm, arriving in Nanning at 10am the following day. What's more it's a direct service; the train stops, as it's passengers pass through immigration, and then continues. The final plus was that it only costs 750,000 (about £25) for a soft sleeper. The only negative was that the train didn't leave from this station either; there was another station, just out of town, that the train departs from. Not really knowing where Nanning was I thanked the lady and returned to my hostel, though not before having a hot chocolate and a lovely slice of cake in a restaurant.

I spent the rest of the day surfing the web. I blogged, uploaded photos, read the news and searched for flights. Even flying from Hanoi to a major South East Asian airport (Singapore, Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur) and then into Hong Kong it was going to cost a lot more than the train. As the night wore on the train sounded more and more appealing. I got my Chinese guidebook out and located Nanning; which is just across the boarder from Vietnam, near Hong Kong. My current plan for China seems to have altered; I'm going to try to get to Nanning for the 6^th April and stay there three nights. I shall then move onto Hong Kong before getting to Shanghai for the F1. After that I can slow down abit and head to Leshan, before heading back down south to Kumming and then back tracking up to X'ian.

With that sorted (well kind of) I looked at the date. As I was booked into this hostel until the 3^rd April (and I would have to catch the train on the 5^th April) I decided that I didn't have enough time to make a trip up to 'Sa Pa' worthwhile. Instead I decided to stay here, in Hanoi, and watch a load of films (and eat cake … and souvenir shop) for the two days. I've been racing through Vietnam and so a bit of a break is most welcome.

None of the above is booked, that I shall do tomorrow. For now I'm going to have something to eat, chill in the common room and have an early night to finish off my cold. Tomorrow I need to get some more cash before sorting out the next leg of my trip.

Toodle Pip!

Summers arrived in Hanoi

Thursday 31^st March 2011

MP3 track of the day: Half the World Away – Oasis

Weather: Sunny and hot. The white clouds have gone; however they've been replaced by blinding light, bleaching the sky white ... I just can't win.

GOOOD MORNING VIETNAM!

I had been told that, the hostel I was staying in, was classified as a 'party hostel'. This has not been my experience so far. Last night I went to sleep around 11pm; entering my dorm I found the lights off and everyone else in bed. The others weren't asleep and so I was able to turn on my 'reading light' to aid me in getting ready for bed. As I struggled to fit everything within my small locker I spoke to a woman from Derby. She used to live in Alvaston and she also used to go to Saint Benedict's School … small world. We chatted for a while before going to sleep.

**********

At 7:30am everyone was up. Three girls, including the one from Derby, were off on a cruise around 'Ha Long Bay' for the next two nights. The other two people were off somewhere else leaving the entire dorm to me. I wished them all a pleasant trip as they went out of the door. I too decided to get up as I had a busy day ahead of me. Once dressed, and I had eaten breakfast, I looked at the sky. It seemed the weather was improving. Due to this I booked myself on a day trip to 'Ha Long bay', for tomorrow, for my Birthday. After this I hit the streets of Hanoi.

Within five minutes I had been offered six motorbike rides and I had nearly been run over twice. I made my way through the chaotic morning streets of the old Quarter heading, or so I thought, to Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum. It didn't take me long to find out that my, internal navigation system, had been slightly damaged. Due to the winding, and chaotic streets, of the old quarter I found that I had headed south, instead of West. I quickly recalculated where I was and rectified the situation.

Today I had made two decisions. Firstly, due to the weather yesterday, I had brought my coat with me; secondly I'd decided not to look at my map whilst walking around the city (to limit the amount of 'motorbike' offers I got). Both were bad decisions. Firstly the clouds had parted, the skies were turning blue and the sun was out in full force. Summer seemed to have arrived within Hanoi and there I was, wearing a gore-tex waterproof coat. The coat soon came off and, for the rest of the day, it hung annoyingly over my right arm. Not using my map was a decision I had made to stop the continual barge of motorbike requests. Previously every time I had put my hand into my back pocket, to located and display a map of a city with South Est Asia, a swarm of transport providers would circle my position. Even without a 'map in hand' I still got endless amounts for motorbike offers and I also found myself lost again. After a short while I was outside the prison I'd visited yesterday. The prison was located even further south than I was earlier today; I turned around and headed north west.

Finally I found myself on a long street leading to Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum. The queue to see 'Uncle Ho' was vast, leading quite a few blocks south of the mausoleum. Not really seeing any point in joining the queue right away I decided to photograph the area. It soon became apparent that, due to the huge police presence, the area was very tightly restricted and I couldn't get anywhere near the mausoleum. Admitting failure I joined the queue.

The queue moved pretty quickly and I soon found myself having to have my bag scanned. My camera had to be taken out of my bag and placed with in a 'no camera' holdall. I came out of security completely confused. You weren't allowed to take your camera in with you and yet here I was, past security, still with my camera in my hand. I was about to follow the crowds and join another queue, in front of me, when a Vietnamese official instructed me to head down a road, to my left, to a 'camera drop off point'. Once at the 'camera drop off point' I handed over my expensive SLR; in return I received a piece of plastic with a number on it. I was told that I would be able to pick up my camera at the other end of this vast complex. I was then shown to, yet another queue, which didn't seem to be moving very quickly. I stood within this 'other queue' asking myself one simple question '...Was seeing a dead guy worth the possibility of my camera, plus most of my travel photos, getting stolen'. I pulled out of the queue, asked for my camera back, and walked away. The whole process had been chaotic, badly organized and intimidating. If I have time I'll come back at a later date … without my camera.

As Ho Chi Minh's museum was close by I headed there. For 15,000 dong I found myself, once through security, in a very grand '17^th Century European feel' building. The ceilings were high and the floor, plus staircases, were made of marble and white stone. The museum consisted of one circular floor. It was more of an art museum – telling 'Uncle Ho's' life, in art, from start to finish – with documents in glass cabinets located in certain places. I didn't spent long; I was soon out of the museum thinking that the building had been more impressive than the contents.

Moving on I tried to find Ho Chi Minh's house with little success. Instead I found myself at the gates to 'Hanoi's Botanical Gardens'. As the entrance fee was only 2,000 dong (5p) I entered, just to get away from all these Vietnamese people asking me if I wanted a motorbike. The idea was to head straight through these gardens and out of the northern exit where I hoped to find a crashed B-52. The term 'Botanical gardens' should be used as loosely here as it was in Lakota, Fiji. There was a distinct lack of flowers, which is quite a vital part of a botanical garden. What it lacked in flora it made up in trees, brick paths and small lakes. I found the botanical gardens a metaphor for how I thought my day might plan out. The Vietnamese government knew that the capital needed a botanical garden, just like I knew that I had to see all of these sights. However both of us really couldn't be bothered and so a half-hearted attempt was made. It was lovely to leave the chaos of the city behind, if only for ten minutes, as I made my way to the northern exit. Once out I turned right to try to find this B-52. Instead I found the 'West Lake' (another 'sight' on my list) which was in the opposite direction to the crashed plane. I turned 180 degrees, went past the botanical gardens, and went into a small urban area. Once I had walked through some narrow, and chaotic, streets I was presented with two small square pools of, not very clean, water. In the middle was a bridge. To the left of me was the remains of a B-52. I circled the pond trying to find the best angle for a photo. The area of water wasn't that big – maybe thirty meters-squared – and so I was amazed that the pilot managed to ditch his plane here instead of the shanty town that fanned out from this central point.

Once photos had been taken I headed out, again passing the botanical gardens, and back to the 'West Lake'. I walked up one side of the lake, stopping to take photos and to have a 'nose' around a pagoda. This 'West Lake' has to be my favorite part of the city; It's quite and beautiful, in it's own way. I was quite upset, once I had reached the northern end of the lake, at the thought of having to turn around and head back into the chaos. Before heading into said chaos I stopped for an early lunch; the time ... noon.

By the time I'd got back to 'Uncle Ho's' mausoleum the crowds had dispersed and most of the Vietnamese police had left. The mausoleum is only open until 11:30am and so this allowed me to take a couple of photos before, once more, trying to find Ho Chi's house. I followed my guidebooks instructions to the letter and I still couldn't find the damn place. I must have walked around the same block more times than I can count. Just like the Jade pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City I decided to leave the house … I reckon I probably saw it on my walk anyway.

It was now 1pm and I had achieved, bar going into the mausoleum, everything I had planned for the day. I still found myself hating Hanoi and so, to complete the sights as soon as possible, I headed to the military museum. 20,000 dong later I found myself in front of an information board indicating that there were six rooms, plus two open-air exhibits. The rooms were labeled S1 to S6 and so I started with S1. The usual bias displays were spread throughout this room, detailing the Vietnamese victorious war against the French colonialist. It didn't take me long to move my way through this room, due to the fact I was fed up with all the bias statements. It got worse as I moved onto S2, the American War. 'Puppet regime' littered the placards indicating what each photo was showing. With so much bias it wasn't even worth reading the information present; I mean, how can you trust anything that was being displayed? I breezed through the rest of the museum and, to cut my tour even shorter, I found S4 to S6 closed. Overall the museum had been terrible. It's strange how no museum, within Vietnam, has detailed the successful French campaign to colonize Vietnam in the first place; the museum felt as though the North Vietnamese were still angry over the two wars. The only interesting items on display were all outside. A collection of shot-down French and American planes, an anti-aircraft rocket launcher (the rocket was huge), tanks and airplanes littered the courtyard. I took quite a few photos before I found the best exhibit of all. A European woman, with a short skirt and great legs, who inspecting a 'puppet regime' armored car at the time.

Moving on I left the 'bias museum' and headed to the final site that I wanted to see, within Hanoi. 'The Temple of Literature' was your standard Vietnamese temple. Located behind brick walls, within the center of town, was a rectangle shaped plot of land. The main buildings ran up the middle of the rectangle with grounds on either side. As I purchased my ticket I glanced at a sign to my left:

'No souvenirs to be bought, or sold, within this sight'.

The relief, of at least for thirty minutes, not having anyone trying to sell me anything was displayed all over my face for all to see. I stepped through the stone outer-gate to, believe it or not, be confronted by a guy trying to sell me a book. I pointed to the sign to which he just laughed, and said he was 'allowed' to sell things. I said no thank you and pressed on. I went past the 'well of heavenly clarity' (a walled pond) before making it to the main wooden temple. Past the wooden temple I found a huge bronze bell, erected within a wooden pagoda, on the left-hand side of the complex and a huge wooden drum, within a similar wooden pagoda, erected on the right. It was lovely just to be able to walk around with a moderation of peace. On the other side of the outer-brick wall beeping horns, shouting and the general city chaos could be herd but on this side of he wall, on this side, peace prevailed.

A Vietnamese guy was taking photos of his beautiful girlfriend within the entrance to the main temple. I went past and inside the temple, one last time, before heading out of the site. The time was 3:30pm and so I decided to head back to my hostel, but not before stopping for a slice of cake and a drink. I went into a 'Highlands coffee' restaurant chain where I sat down for 'afternoon tea'. I was already sat down when I was handed a menu; the prices were extortionate. I breathed in and order a white hot chocolate (not seen this before … thought I would give it a try) and a slice of 'opera cake' for 100,000 dong (£3). I would say that both items were enjoyable, but overall a little disappointing for the cost. It didn't take me long to finish either of these items and soon I found myself, within my hostel common room, surfing the internet.

So, apart from seeing 'Uncle Ho' I have completed all of the 'touristy' things that I wanted to do here in Hanoi. Tomorrow shall be spent in 'Ha Long bay'; the day after I'll try to visit Ho Chi Minh, again, before working out my next move. As my 'Ha Long Bay' tour starts at 8am tomorrow (and I've been informed that I need to change rooms) I need an early night. I therefore decided to spend the evening within the common room – watching Sherlock Homes – before heading for a shower and a early night around 10pm. As my tour tomorrow starts at 8am and finished at 7pm I'm not sure I'll be online. One thing is for certain; as it's my birthday no expense shall be spared if I want anything.

Toodle Pip!

The size of York but with London's population

Wednesday 30^th March 2011

MP3 track of the day: Hells Bells - ACDC

Weather: Cloudy and cool. Around midday the sun did make an appearance; the clouds were parting however it only lasted a couple of minutes.

GOOOD MORNING VIETNAM!

I'd prepared myself for a day of boredom. I'd got up early and I was eating my breakfast, at 8:00am, keeping one eye on the front door. Today my Chinese F1 ticket was due to arrive and I didn't want to miss it. After breakfast I inquired into a tour and traveling north into China. A trip to 'Ha Long bay' seems pretty straight forward to achieve; getting into China, on the other hand, does not. A few telephone calls later and it seems whether I take the train, or the coach, I cannot get a direct service to Kumming. Instead I get dropped off at the boarder, at a town called 'Lao Cai'. After crossing into China I will need to purchase a coach ticket – at the local bus station - to Kumming. All of this wouldn't normally be a problem however most Chinese don't speak a word of English. Some serious thinking had to be done. I could fly however, at £150.00, it's a lot more expensive than making my own way over land. Currently I haven't got a clue what I'm going to do.

After this helpful, but daunting, travel advice I took a seat and started to read my book. As I had finished my book about the Vietnam War I went back into Rome with another of (enter authors name) books. Only a few pages in a small Vietnamese chap, with a Fedx package, went to reception. Reading the address label it had my name on it. I intervened between him, and the receptionist, showing my passport. He handed me my package. It was only 9:30am and I now had my F1 ticket within my hand. With this, and with my accommodation booked, I was off to the race … if I can get into China that this. I have to say that 'Booking F1.com' have been amazing. I'm sure that I haven't been their easiest customer, however their customer service department have been outstanding, helpful and incredibly efficient. It's easy to forget that customer service still occurs within the world when you're stuck in South East Asia. With my ticket in my hand I went out sightseeing.

I headed into the French quarter. It was only ten minutes south of where I was staying however, due to the manic traffic and the amount of people, it took a little longer to cut my way through the chaos. Within the French Quarter there were four museums:

· The History Museum

· The Museum of Vietnamese Revolution

· The Museum of Vietnamese Women

· Hoa Lo Prison

The closest museum to my accommodation was the Museum of Vietnamese Revolution. I managed to walk straight past it, by mistake, as I was drawn to this beautiful golden building with a very impressive main tower. 20,000 dong (66p) it cost to enter the History Museum. I paid the entrance fee and went up the curved, elevated, path that lead into a grand entrance. The golden building was very beautiful; it felt very colonial. Once inside I had to place my bag within a locker before the security guard would let me through. The first exhibition were items from the ancient capital of Hue. Apparently the museum has more artifacts, from the old imperial capital, however it's awaiting it's renovation to display the other items. What was on display was a temporary exhibit and it consisted of eight, well lit, glass cases within a black room. I didn't know it then but this exhibit would become my favorite within the museum. The reason I liked it so much was because there was a beautiful book, made out of gold, and a golden seal beautifully crafted into a dragon. I peered through the glass case for quite a while, looking at these two objects. Fearful that the Vietnamese guard might think I was planning on stealing those two exhibits I moved on.

The museum went through the ages of Vietnam. Not being in a very 'museum mood' – and the fact most of the writing was in Vietnamese – I skipped through the exhibits rather quickly. It felt as though the museum had emptied it's entire back collection of Neolithic artifacts and placed all of them on display. Rows upon rows of stone spear heads, axe heads, tools and pottery were placed in front of me until all the pieces seemed to blend together. There were other bits and bobs including wooden stakes, clothing and religious stone sculptures. I walked leisurely around the tiled museum floor stopping only when a piece jumped out at me (not literally). It had taken me an hour and a half to see the contents of this museum. I had one final look at the golden book, and seal, before heading back out into the city.

The grounds had a few more exhibits, but nothing major. I then found myself, reading my guidebook, outside the front gate of the museum. The time was 11:15am, which presented a problem. My guidebook informed me that two of the other museums, that I wanted to see today, had 'lunch closing time' until 1:30pm. I therefore decided to use this time to take a few photos, of the area, before having a spot of lunch. I headed back to my guesthouse for lunch and ordered a truly Vietnamese dish … a burger. It was okay, but not as filling as I'd hoped. I'd planned on stopping by the cake shop I spotted yesterday however, once I'd had a closer look, it didn't look that great.

I soon found myself around 'Hoan Kiem Lake', heading south towards the Museum of Vietnamese Women. I found the museum – but not before entering a school by mistake – where the entry price was 30,000 dong. That was a little more than my guidebook stated and, considering a guy at the hostel didn't rate it that highly, I decided to leave it. I headed towards the 'Hoa Lo Prison' where, amazingly I found it open at 1pm. I re-read my guidebook where it state that the prison closed for lunch and re-opened at 1:30pm, however here we were with the doors wide open and the ticket office waving me in. I purchased my ticket however I was a little skeptical that the doors would close five minutes after I'd entered.

Hoa Lo Prison was constructed by the French to keep 'political Vietnamese revolutionaries' in. Afterwards the North Vietnamese used the prison to hold captured American pilots. It was funny how, when the French used the prison, the conditions were terrible, torture was rife and the Vietnamese inmates were treated worse than animals. However, during it's use as a 'prisoner of War camp' the North Vietnamese allowed the American prisoners to have Christmas dinner, decorate their sells and play games within the courtyard. There was evidence to back the above conditions; there were photographs, paintings and eye-witness accounts during the French occupation and photographs during the prisons use as a prisoner of war camp. Even if the information, at this museum, was truthful it still presented communism as a 'can do no wrong' political view. Even if the North Vietnamese never used 'Hoa Lo' as a prison it never mentioned the amount of people that regime imprisoned, killed and possibly tortured.

Once outside I headed back towards the History Museum; across the road was the Museum of Vietnamese revolution. I paid the 15p entrance fee and entered the museum through a side door (due to maintenance work at the front). This museum had to be the most boring museum I ever had the misfortune to enter. Thirty-six agonizing rooms containing, what felt like, everything under the sun was present. Just like in Vientane's (Laos) history museum the 'American Imperialist and their puppet regime' was back. The exhibits were either bias, or boring, and therefore I decided to skirt through the museum rather quickly. Room twenty-six had to be my favorite; the room was dedicated to 'revolutionary plastic plumbing pipes'. If anyone's wondering what 'revolutionary plastic plumbing pipes' looked like I can safely say that they look the same as any other within the known world. The only saving grace, for this museum, was one piece. Looking like a bomb with a tree sticking out the end this was, apparently, an American listening device. Dropped from a B-52, just like an ordinary bomb, it planted itself within the ground disguised as a small tree. This harmless bomb would then allow the Americans to listen for any enemy movements within the area it fell … clever that. I gave the museum the time it deserved and was out within the hour. I headed into town for a hot chocolate and small cake (quite nice though not as nice as the cakes within Hoi An). The day was drawing to a close; I spent the last few hours of daylight walking around the French, and old, quarters taking photos. I also tried to get further information about getting to Kumming with little success.

I came back to the hostel around 4pm and chilled for a little while; I was back out, and on the streets of Hanoi, at 7pm. It was dark by now, so I made my way to my intended target with haste. Tonight, in the middle of this mad city, I was going to have a civilized evening. Yes, I was going to the theater. The 'Water puppet theater' was a tourist hot spot and a 'must do' according to fellow travelers. I rocked up at the ticket booth, thirty minutes before the next showing, to see if there were any tickets left. 'Only one' was the answer from behind the counter; I snapped up the ticket and went in. The theater was very grand; read carpets leading up a stone, with wooden hand rails, staircase that went into the theater. My seat was right in the back left-hand corner; This had one negative and two positives. The negative being that I was quite far away from the stage, however the positives were that, as the staircase was in front of my seat, I had copious amounts of leg room and the exit was right next to me (meaning if it was rubbish I could make a quick get away).

The stage was like any normal theater stage, only flooded with water. Instead of having a 'pit' for the musicians, they were put on an elevated platform to the right-hand side of the stage. This was great as all the musicians were in traditional costume playing traditional instruments. At the back of the stage was a traditional Vietnamese / Chinese style gateway. Unlike Vietnam the performance started bang on time. First of all we had a few traditional pieces of music, followed by the puppets coming through the gate.

These 'water puppets' started way back in the 17th Century when a farmer, presented with a flooded rice paddy, had the idea of turning it into a performance stage. The performance wasn't a continual story, it was more a group of very short stories. Most of the stories were themed around peasants and farming; there were peasants picking rice, looking after buffalo and picking coconuts. The occasional dragon popped up but that was it. Culturally it was a very interesting evening however I couldn't stop myself wondering how it was all achieved. Half way through the performance I could see the sticks, under the water, attached to the puppets however that didn't explain the puppets freedom of movement. You could have paid an additional 20,000 dong to use your camera. This I felt spoilt the performance as a few secrets were revealed with the help of the audiences camera flashes. After fifty minutes it was all over; I exited quickly and headed back to my hostel to find the Aussies I had met in Ho Chi Minh City. I had something to eat before retiring to bed.

I don't like Hanoi. It's like a city the size of York – though not as beautiful - with a population of London. It's manic and, even though it's a walkable city, getting anywhere takes a lot longer than expected due to parked scooters blocking the pavements, the roads being totally congested and the constant stream of Vietnamese people asking me if I want a motorbike, pineapple, bicycle, two-man tent or if I want my shoes cleaning. As many Vietnamese have pointed out my shoes are dirty, however they are walking shoes … they are supposed to be dirty. Considering I love South Vietnam the North is becoming a massive disappointment. I would like to leave Hanoi tomorrow but there's still so much to do. Tomorrow I plan to visit 'Uncle Ho', his house and his museum before visiting the West Lake and a pagoda. There's also the Military museum, and the Temple of Literature. I also need to organise a day trip to 'Ha Long Bay' (maybe for my birthday) and then work out how I'm going to get into China. It's ironic but I find myself wanting to do everything possible within Hanoi … so I never have to come back.

Toodle Pip!