Xin Chao! Part 3: Sapa

After a challenging night’s sleep on the overnight train from Hanoi to Lao Cai, we jump on a minibus that will take us into the mountains of Sapa and on to the isolated Topas Ecolodge for the next two days. To say the ride along the bumpy curvy twisty turvy road was nauseating would be a slight understatement. I try to keep my eyes on the road as the Australian in front of me practically sticks her whole head out the window to keep from getting sick all over the car. Finally, we reach solid ground, dump our bags and enjoy the Topas Ecolodge breakfast. Feeling refueled and rejuvenated, we sign up for a 6-hour tour of the surrounding villages to see the sweeping views of terraced hillsides and learn a little about a way of life that was, until recent years, unknown to foreign visitors.

The area is home to a number of Vietnamese minority groups, including the Black Hmong, Tay, Xapho and Red Dao groups. The main agricultural product is rice, followed by corn, cassava and other goods. We traversed the muddy rocky pathways and our guide, who is himself from a local Tay village, taught us about the methods used to improve farming, distribute basics like water and electricity (each home is allowed about one kilowatt per day). Dave enthusiastically tries his hand (actually, his whole body) at an old concrete and stone hand-churned corn mill (no doubt dreaming up new functional exercises with which to torture his clients). Although more efficient machines are slowly replacing them, some farms still use water mills to clean the shells off the rice grains. You can see a picture of one below and I'll try to upload a video in our video bar of how it works.

Our guide also takes us to visit a local home – a large wooden structure with no windows and a corrugated metal roof. Large families live inside (though smaller now due to new Vietnamese restrictions on the number of children each family can have). There are two cooking areas – one for animal food and one for human food. A large storeroom makes up the attic, piled high with huge bags of rice and vats of corn. The matriarch of the household, a strong beautiful woman in full traditional costume, invites us to try a little homemade rice wine. “I like sake,” I think, “I’ll try some of your rice wine.” Dave and I thank the hostess and down the liquor, which quickly burns our throats and warms our bellies. Quite a bit stronger than sake…

We head back through the valley, stopping to wave to the kids and take pictures of various animals and plants.





We return to the ecolodge, sweaty and thoroughly exhausted. Our room sits atop a hill, looking over the valley. Half of the electricity supplying the room comes from a solar panel outside. There are no TVs, no hair dryers, and electricity comes in and out. Surrounded by silence and a fine mountain mist, we drift off to sleep…

The next day it's off to the local market in Sapa and back to Hanoi.

Xin Chao! Part 1: Hanoi

We lumbered off the plane from Thailand to Hanoi (the capital of Vietnam), yawning from the trip and the lazy sun and sand of the Thai islands. We wandered through customs and made our way to the front entrance. Dave struck a deal with a taxi driver of questionable credentials and we were soon on our way. The number of motorbikes hit me first; the city and highways were teeming with them. Then I noticed the honking… a honking so constant, so persistent, Dave remarked that it seemed to be a driving necessity here as essential as lights. No doubt the honking was an integral part of what seemed to be a chaotic dance between motorbikes, each other, pedestrians, cars and buses. We arrived at our hotel to the lights, noises and smells of the ever-present street vendors and markets. I looked at Dave as we ventured out on the street (and I mean street; the sidewalks were covered with items for sale and motorbikes, if they were present at all) and said “So NOW the trip begins!” Throughout the next few days, we would make two more stops in Hanoi between side trips.

During the first stop, we got a taste of Hanoi culture. We traversed the wild outdoor markets of the city (fruits! vegetables! beautiful birds in cages! flowers! raw meat! cooked meat! various unidentifiable animal parts!) with Maureen and Folker and enjoyed the thrill and sheer terror of a motorbike “taxi” ride through the city. Walking through the old quarter of the city proved to be an excellent way to see, hear, smell, and feel this city and its rich culture and history.

After delicious pho noodle soup at Pho 24 with our new friends, we head our separate ways as Dave and I embark for the far north to Sapa...

Xin Chao! Part 2: Ridin' in a Junk in Halong Bay

Thanks to an awesome suggestion by my friend Lucy, Dave and I decided to book an overnight tour of the UNESCO World Heritage site Halong Bay on a junk (that's a large boat, folks). It's a risky endeavor to agree to spend 24 hours on an enclosed boat with people you never met - but we got lucky. Bev and Trev from Australia and Folker and Maureen from Germany were delightful boatmates. Together with our animated guide Hue, we traversed the stunning limestone formations and islands (over 1000 in all) of the misty mystical bay, once fabled to be formed with the crash landing of a dragon sent by the gods to protect the Vietnamese from an invading Navy. During the trip, we visited a cave filled with stalactites and stalagmites and various rock formations that apparently resembled animals. I didn’t learn much about the geology, but I learned how to find a monkey in an old piece of limestone. Of particular importance was the “happy stone,” which Hue was all too excited to point out to us a symbol of happiness and love. I’ve posted a pic below to illustrate this little story and I promise to move on.

We finished the day with a kayaking trip through a stunning lagoon dotted by 50 orange-life-jacketed tourists. Being the former rower I am, I naturally took the front seat. This is a good idea in theory, however, rowing in a lightweight four has very little to do with kayaking through a murky bay with a personal trainer in the backseat who likes to be, well, in control. After finally finding our rhythm and propelling forward in a straight line (instead of one big circle), we absorbed the scenery and relative quiet of the peaceful place before heading back to the junk.

After a delectable dinner filled with the fervor of good, solid political debate with our new friends, we slept soundly to the rocking of the boat before heading back the next day. As we disembarked from the junk, Hue looked us all in the eye, wished us the best and reminded us to “always remember the legend of Halong Bay, always remember Vietnamese people, and always remember Happy Stone.”

Muay Thai!

During a walk down the sweltering Ko Samui main road, Dave saw it. A large red poster announcing the Muay Thai fight night at Chaweng Stadium. The former high school wrestling champ and fight choreographer looked at me with those big brown eyes and I knew it was a done deal. We headed to Chaweng Beach the next night, a much bigger area than Bophut. The streets were alive and all throughout dinner we heard the loudspeakers on the roaming pickups announce the fight: “The BEST of the best! The CHAMP of the champs! Muay Thai at Chaweng Stadium! TONIGHT!” We finished our delicious meal of Pad See Ew, dabbed our faces with the toilet paper napkins on the table and headed over.

The loudspeakers played CCR as the audience slowly found their seats (about 75% tourists and 25% local Thai families). The first fighters walked into the ring. They were about 11 or 12 years old. Muay Thai fighters, or nak muay, often begin rigorous training at a young age. Six pairs of fighters in the various adult weight classes followed the young fighters. At times exciting and at others a little slow (we were there for over 3 hours!), the fight night was an overall educational experience. Muay Thai is known as the “Art of Eight Limbs” because it uses punches, kicks, elbows, and knees thus using eight "points of contact", as opposed to "two points" (fists) in Western boxing and "four points" (hands and feet) used in sport-oriented martial arts (Wikipedia, 2009). Each fight began with a ceremony performed by the fighters called Wai khru ram muay (Thai: ไหว้ครูรำมวย). During this ceremony, the fighters pay respect to their teachers and God before performing a short dance to show off their fighting skills. It seemed to us to be a chance to intimidate the opponent.

When we finished the evening, we walked down the busy street of bars outside filled with scantily-clad women holding “Red Bull + Vodka – 50 Baht!” signs. For some reason, they seemed more interested in selling Red Bull + Vodka to Dave than me. It was clearly time to head back to our peaceful Peace resort… zzzzzz

Sawasdee-kaa!

We arrive to the sticky hot island of Ko Samui in the Gulf of Thailand ready for action. Actually, ready for sleep. The total time flying from LA was about 20 hours. We roll up to the idyllic little Peace resort (after an unsuccessful attempt at bargaining down the taxis at the airport) with matted hair and sweaty jeans. The lovely staff looks us over knowingly and ushers us in for sweet tea and cold towels.
They show us to our room where we change and head down for our first real Thai meal of the-best-spring-rolls-ever and (spicy hooottt!) green curry. During the seaside lunch we giggle, toast to the glory of vacation, bask in the afternoon sun, befriend a little birdie and make big plans for the rest of the day. After which we promptly fall asleep for the rest of the afternoon and evening, waking only to watch parts of “Dude, where’s my car?” and other high-quality films on the only English-language channel other than Bloomberg television. So much for the exotic vacation plans.

Our jetlag behind us, we renew our commitment to enhancing our Thai island experience…

Eat, Play, Move

Hoi!

Apparently that is a local way to say "hey you." The guy who taught me to say it was quickly admonished by another woman - "if you said 'hoi' to me, I would smack you." Apparently it's a guy-guy thing.

Anyhoo... on to a final installment of our adventures here. Apparently, I had a lot more down time in Argentina because the postings have been much less regular here. We have enjoyed just about every minute of this vacay - feeling very lucky and spoiled. We hiked some big old mountains, saw a big ol waterfall, snorkeled with this wild reef fish, boat toured the rugged and remote Na Pali Coast (dolphin pod - yay!)... Then countered all that with some delicious yoga at Yoga Hanalei.

A couple major milestones for the two of us: Kieran actually ENJOYING being in the water and breathing through a snorkel mask and Dave actually climbing and swimming and doing all the things that have evaded him for so long. So it's all going along great, right? Aside from the frequent mosquito attacks leaving us looking like lepers, things are moving along. Then I convince him to do the "jungle hike"... a short and sweet little hike through the inland jungle of Kauai along the Wai'ale'ale Crater. If you can make the 4-mile 4WD rough and tumble drive there. We rented a PT Cruiser. We made it about 100 yards and had to park. We then proceeded to walk the 4 mile road through the sweaty sticky buggy jungle to the trailhead. It was a beautiful walk and the hike was wonderful - amazing to see the mountain ridges so close and dip our feet in the freshwater streams. Then, there was the walk back. Hmm. I sort of didn't account for that. The PB&J sandwiches were gone and water bottles almost drained. So we flagged down some Utah boys in a Jeep and asked for a ride. Riding with a bunch of college students in a Jeep would be waaaayyy better than walking, right? Maybe not. I don't know if it was the testosterone or the feeling of invincibility that comes with being 22, but it was one of the roughest rides ever. The driver tore through the ruts and potholes while the four of us crammed in the back bobbed around like those little hula dolls. By the time we got to our car, the two of us were suffering from some serious whiplash. Nothing a little cold beer, local grub and ice packs couldn't fix, I guess.

All in all - a successful trip. But something was missing... this is the kind of place you want to be with friends and family. I know I know - Hawaii is the place you're supposed to go and be all ro-mannic n stuff. But really, this island is made for friends and family to hang out and just enjoy each other. Hope to do it again with you soon.

xoxo

K n D

Breakfast of Champions

Hi All! Sorry it's been a while. 2009 has proved ridiculously busy and difficult - leaving little time for adventure and even less for bloggin'. Anyway - let's get on with it. Arrived in Kauai last Friday - staying in a lovely home in Hanalei Bay on the North Shore. After chillin for the first 48 hours trying to find our sanity after a crazy year, we decided to head out. Climb a mountain, swim with fish, grab a drink, SOMETHING. Rainiest day so far and we decide to hike the Hanalei Okolehao Trail. We finished our delicious and nutritious breakfast of local mangos, papayas, "apple bananas" and eggs, grabbed some water and took off. The trail gains about 1,250 feet in less than 2 miles, so we basically hiked a huge muddy slip 'n' slide. I think the white Adidas shorts that made it all through high school soccer finally met their match. The views, however, made it well worth it. Truly stunning panoramas of the entire north shore... We also ran across a really freaky tree with what appeared to be a dried up alien coming out. Check out pics below.

Not being as prepared as perhaps the more seasoned Kauai hiker, we forgot towels, plastic bags, change of clothes... had to drive home in the skivvies while sitting on torn out pages of some airport guidebook. Luckily, that kinda thing would hardly faze anyone on this laid-back island.

Aloha for now, friends and fam. Miss you and wish you were here. Will post about snorkeling, waterfalls, and the perils of mosquito-induced anemia soon.

xoxo

k and d