225) Odds and Ends

I got home a few days ago. The last few days in Seoul were spent at Nam's studio, eating very well, sleeping on the couch and trying to take care of last minute things.


These are just some odds and ends of pictures didn't make it up on other posts.

224) The Last Days

There are some days when I want to be with friends and family and all I have is myself. There are other days when all I want is to be alone and I find myself surrounded by people, or locked into conversations or other such things.



Two days before my trip in SE Asia was to end I met the perfect combination of my want to be alone and secluded and stunning surroundings. I rented a kayak all day and headed out to the southern part of Halong Bay for the best day of my trip.



The bay is dotted with small steep islands that are full of wonderful cliffs, stunted forests and birds. To make the scene better, some of the islands have small strips of beach and/or hidden coves. I was free to explore all of this alone and at my leisure, hardly coming in contact with people save the occasional fishing boat or junk going by at a distance.



I spent some of my time paddling around between the islands, some time relaxing or walking around on the beaches, and some time just sitting in my kayak in the middle of an indescribably beautiful cove just looking at the scene in front of me, and listening to birds.




When I got back to the town the sun was setting and I treated myself to the best cigar I had (a Fuente OpusX) and some Baily’s and a fantastic fish dinner. To end the night I got a massage that was excellent.



The next day I rented a bike and headed to Cat Ba National Park and did a little hiking and site seeing there, and then continued around the island on my bike. I met three other people and we had a nice dinner of sand crab (think of a mix between a military helmet and a prehistoric sea creature) and some good conversation.



The following day I left the island and headed back to Hanoi and caught my flight back to Seoul. It is always crazy how suddenly and unexpectedly a trip can end, especially when you have no idea what day it is most of the time. I love travel.

223) Cat Ba Island

Cat Ba Island is a wonderful place. I spent the day just walking around on the beach and on the trails that connect the separate beaches and climbing on the limestone to get some nice vantage points.



In general the people on Cat Ba are not as nice as the others I have encountered in Vietnam. As a matter of fact, I was even called a "cheapskate" today because I refused to buy some pearls. Of course there are some really great people here too, and those are the ones I will continue to give my business to. The picture below is from the balcony of my $5 a night hotel room.




Overall there is nothing worth complaining about. I am in an absolutely gorgeous place and eating wonderful food and smoking the last of my cigars (and I always save the best for last!)

222) Ninh Binh (The Karst)

Ninh Binh is an area in northern Vietnam, south east of Hanoi. The city itself is nothing special, but just outside of it are some truly amazing scenes. The two main attractions are the Tam Coc Caves and Bich Dong Pagoda (seems like they are pronounced in the most juvenile way possible…)






To get to the Tam Coc caves you must hire a small boat and an old granny will row you on a river surrounded by rice patties and surreal karst scenes. You also go through three caves or grottoes that the river cuts through.




I went as early as possible in the morning and there was a mist hanging in the morning air (which I was hoping for) and a little drizzle at one point. It was really nice to get back away from the city and hear the sounds of nature.





Ninh Binh is a small city but it produces enough sound pollution to make Chicago sound like a nature sanctuary in comparison. I have never heard car horns so loud or frequent in my life- it almost sounds like a citywide practical joke at points- but a joke that is not at all funny.





Bich Dong Pagoda was nice, although I didn’t take any pictures there. The scenery on the way there and back was what struck me the most.





The only real problem with both places is typical of what happens in a less developed country in tourist attractions: people hassling you for money.

221) Myths

Putting some myths to rest...

Myth one: budget guesthouses always have respectable pillows. Myth two: a twenty-four hour bus ride out of Laos is a nice experience. And finally (and more seriously) myth three: people in northern Vietnam are smug.


So, myth one… Ed, Andrew and I shared a three-person budget room our first night in Vientiane. After inspecting the flat out dirty room I began to wonder what lay under the pillowcase and sheets. To my awful surprise I found what is pictured above (the book is a reference of the color white). Needless to say we did not use the pillows or have a good night sleep.


Myth two is in regards to the bus ride from Vientiane to Hanoi. At least I was prepared for the hours and the fact that it was not a sleeper bus. When we all got on the bus someone said “This is about a 12 hour trip, right?” Poor bastard was 12 brutal hours off. A few other people were expecting to have boarded a sleeper bus, which would have been a real treat (a sleeper has actual beds instead of seats). Like I said, at least I was prepared for some of the initial circumstances, but I was not ready for the bus to be fully packed with people (and with bags of corn and tractor tires lining the aisles). And to top it off I am pretty sure the bus was a retired Korean city bus- not bad for a 4 or 5 hour trip, but not at all good for a 24 hour ride.



And myth three: I have heard a lot of negative things about the people in northern Vietnam from a lot of people. So far my experience has been very good overall. I had one very weird experience on my second day in Hanoi, but other than that the people have been average to great. The kids have especially been fantastic. On the train from Hanoi to Ninbinh (a great train with wooden seats that seem more fit for a park than a train and costing about $1.50) a little girl took an interest in me and sat with me for about an hour. Communication was minimal but I shared my ipod with her and she snuggled up next to me.