Flashpacking around Bangkok

We'd arranged to meet our Dad, Dennis, in Bangkok. The plan was to spend some quality father/sons time checking out the surrounding provinces.

We were picked up from the airport and whisked away to check out the Damnoen Saduak floating market. Most of the locals live densely along both sides of the canal. Everyday the floating market is packed full of hundreds of vendors exchanging goods in small boats.


Watching the confusion you can see how once upon a time it would have made sense for the locals to meet via the water to trade. Now with lots of sweaty tourists in the mix it's a bit of a spectacle but very entertaining none the less.


The next day it was off to Kanchanaburi, home to the River Kwai and the death railway. The river was made famous by the movie The Bridge on the River Kwai. The short story of the death railway is that in 1942, Japanese forces invaded Burma from Thailand and conquered it from Britain. To maintain their forces in Burma, the Japanese needed a railway. Using forced labour, about 60,000 Allied POW's were put to work (about 38 prisoners for every km of railway).

Nowadays the river and the area around it is very picturesque. Cafes and restaurants line the banks and there is a train you can ride across the bridge for a small fee - very cool indeed.


Next up was Pattaya, a lively beach city famous for having everything that Thailand is notorious for. Dad put us up at the nicest accommodation we've stayed in since leaving New Zealand, the Palm Grove Resort. We quickly transformed from backpackers into 'flashpackers' at this very nice accommodation.


One night we fulfilled Dads life long dream of going to watch the Tiffany Show. Tiffany's is an all transvestite cabaret show. Our expectations were low as we imagined poorly rehearsed dance and song routines starring women with adams apples and barely concealed body hair.

The performance was amazing. The sets were gigantic in size and elaborate in detail. The performers were "beautiful" in their own special transvestite way and to start with we were sure some were actually female - we now blame this on being seated too far away from the stage.

Afterwards you can meet the performers outside and take photo's. Much to Dads disgust we both chickened out - but so did he.


The next stop was Rayong, a small and laid back beach city. The beach was the best we've had outside of New Zealand. Long and stone free with a gentle slope, our only complaint was that there wasn't any surf. For a few baht you can hire a sun chair and laze about whilst you are waited on.

Random Fact: Your ability to get away with things in Thailand is a direct reflection of your social status. Traffic fines and other mundane things are for the 'common' folk.

Highlights:
- Meeting up with your father overseas. It's really interesting comparing your way of doing things to how someone a bit older operates. It's safe to say that experienced mature travelers have a better way of negotiating.
- Suckling on the parental teet. We got our fill - that's for sure.
- Living nicely. It was great to stay somewhere luxurious and enjoy a better way of life, if only for a short time - you can't beat beers by the pool.

Lessons Learned:
- The Vietnamese currency 'Dong' is useless outside of Vietnam - despite being told that Dong and USD are "same same".
- It's not bribery, it's 'giving him pleasure'.

Hanoi and Halong Bay

The capital cities we've visited so far have been a mixed bag and Hanoi was no different. Hanoi has seen it's fair share of conflict over the years and as a result it's a bit backward compared to Vietnam's other major cities.

We were based in the Old Quarter of Hanoi which is where most tourists call home during their stay. If you're into shopping and markets the Old City is perfect. In the old days each street specialised in a particular trade e.g. shoes, silk etc. and there are still pockets that do this - useful if you're looking for something in particular.

From the Old Quarter it's a short walk to Hoan Kiem lake which can provide a reprieve, which is more than a little welcome, from the big city hustle and bustle. The lake gets it's name from a legend involving a sword and a turtle god and the island in the middle is called Tortoise Tower.


Hanoi is famous for not having an exciting night life. If you're looking for busy bars we're sure they're around but you'll have to do some searching. On the positive side Hanoi is the gateway to cool attractions such as Halong Bay and Sa Pa. We elected to go to Halong Bay. Of course there was no shortage of friendly locals trying to induce us to buy their or their families package trip.

We shopped around before deciding to go with Hanoi City Backpackers. We chose these guys because they were relatively cheap and the group was comprised of like minded individuals of a similar age.

The bay is picturesque. Smooth ocean as far as the eye can see and thousands of small islands dotted around the seascape.


After a couple of hours at sea we went kayaking. It wasn't like kayaking in New Zealand, things were a lot simpler, there were no spray skirts and the paddles were made of wood.


The highlight was paddling through a cave into an inlet within the island - confused? Picture below.


First pair back to the boat got a free drink so we turned up the pace to comfortably edge out two pairs of Aussies - one of whom we'd dubbed One Australia. Back on the boat with beer in hand it was time to bask in our glory whilst watching the sunset.


After Halong Bay it was back to Hanoi to continue the sight seeing. We checked out the Water Puppet Theater which was quite entertaining but the 45 minute session was long enough.


We'd heard on the grapevine that Vietnam were playing Lebanon at football whilst we were in town. Eager to witness the locals getting excited and generally carried away we made sure we were present in the crowd. The locals weren't as excited as we were about the match and the stadium wasn't at full capacity - we decided the Vietnamese must be 'fair weather' fans much like the supporters of Liverpool.

The fans that did show didn't let us down with several flares being lit and thrown before half time. 'Kungfu football' was the winner on the day with the locals running away with the match to win 3-1.


There are oodles and oodles of museums in Hanoi. We went and checked out the Ho Chi Minh Museum - all you ever wanted to know about the life of Uncle Ho. The best part was giving the man himself a high-5. Keep in mind he's old so Clint went easy.


We also swung by the Temple of Literature - Vietnam's oldest university dating back to 1076. Back in the day the universities highest award was the doctor laureat. The tests were extremely difficult and few students were successful in passing the final exams, which involved some oral questions from the king himself.

The names of the laureates of the university were carved on stone steles which were placed on top of stone turtles, much grander than having your name carved on a wooden honours roll.


Random Fact: When something bad happens at a football match the Vietnamese crowd choose to be silent instead of using the popular western response of 'boo!'.

Highlights:
- Third world football match. We can only imagine the atmosphere when Vietnam beat Thailand.
- The amount of cultural attractions on offer. From water puppets, museums and mausoleums, it's all in Hanoi.

Lessons Learned:
- Don't let a moto driver help you buy football tickets. They'll make it sound impossibly hard for you to complete the task on your own, but trust us it is very simple. We were either ripped off by our moto driver, or you could believe his side of the story and swallow the line that he was ripped off by the ticket lady. Sure thing buddy.
- Watch out for dogs. The little ones can be particular ferocious and have been known to show a liking for western guys.
- Go to Halong Bay in the summer. Whilst we weren't freezing things could have been warmer.
- If you go to the Mausoleum research when it's open. It is closed after 11am and some weeks days.

Hooray for Hue

Hue (who-aye) was the imperial capital of Vietnam a couple of centuries back and is famous for it's architecture, monuments and war history.

Hue is easy to get a grip on. The main landmark is the Perfume River (misleading name), with the old city on the north side and the newer city, including most hotels and restaurants, on the south side.

We spent less than 24 hours in the city but they were productive albeit wet hours.

To get the ball rolling we hired bicycles and donned our rubbish bag raincoats and set out to see the Forbidden Purple City. Surrounded by a wall about 2 km's by 2 km's and then by a moat. The forbidden city was where only the concubines, emperors, and those close enough to them were granted access, the punishment for trespassing being death. We were quick to deduce that privacy was important to the emperors and that they didn't like unexpected visitors dropping by unannounced.

Opposite the main entrance to the forbidden city is a large citadel with the biggest flag we've ever seen - the photo below doesn't do it justice.

The photo below is inside the main gate approaching the palace.

The perimeter and gates of the forbidden city are pretty impressive but once inside things aren't as amazing as the name leads you to believe. This is largely thanks to the US who flattened the place during the war.

To get to the palace you cross a causeway surrounded by pond water. There are hundreds of carp in the water and if you feed them (or pretend to as we did) a feeding frenzy occurs.

Inside there are heaps of random little oddities like a giant phoenix, dragon and buckets.

Military buffs would have a field day in Hue as the city was very close to the border between North and South Vietnam (it played host to the battle of Hue) and tours etc are available for the DMZ or demilitarized zone. Because time was at a premium we had to give this a miss but riding around there was an abundance of captured tanks and artillery on display.

Hue is also famous for the emperors tombs which are located just out of the city. Once again we didn't have time to see these - maybe next time.

Random Fact: In Vietnam one road rule is strictly enforced (only the one) and that's drivers and passengers of moto's must wear helmets. The law came into force about 10 months ago and we can only imagine the record profits that helmet manufacturers must be enjoying as 80 million people buy helmets.

Highlights

- Traditional Vietnamese performance. Featuring singing, dancing, instrumentals and dancing dragons it was the most fun we've had sitting down for some time.

Lessons Learned
- You need more than 24 hours to check out everything Hue has to offer. If you're in a hurry two days would probably be enough.

- If it's cold and you don't have much warm clothing then rubbish bag raincoats are surprisingly warm.

Hoi An

Hoi An is famous for it's tailors. Our plan was simple - go nuts and get work gear made to measure for a fraction of the cost we'd spend in the west. With this in mind we spent a day doing reconnaissance to determine our plan of attack.

Through inspecting fabrics and looking through catalogues showing the latest styles we quickly sussed out the situation and got down to business.

There are pretty much two options. The first is to go through a family outfit and the second is to go to a larger chain. The family outfit is cheaper than the chain but the quality is unpredictable.

As with anything you pay for what you get and we wanted to make sure that our suits looked sharp and that we didn't waste our money. We decided on the chain option and graced Yaly's with our time and custom.

Yaly's has Hoi An on lockdown with four stores operating and the locals don't like it. They have a smear campaign running where they bag Yaly's and say it's overpriced and that they (or their family) make the "same same" for "cheap cheap". It's true that you pay a bit more at Yaly's but it's still a pittance compared to what you would pay back home. And hey, it can't be that bad if it attracts celebrities such as Jennifer Hawkins and Mick Jagger.

The next few days were spent getting measured and attending fittings. We spread the love (and the risk) around when it came to getting shirts. Having appointments and tasks to do each day was a refreshing change from the unstructured travel we've been doing.

One of Clint's suits is shown below. Forgive the wrinkles, it's been in a suitcase for a few days.

Dan opted for a three piece ensemble, the wrinkly result is below.


Hoi An is a great small city. It has retained it's old fashioned charm with cobbled streets and small traditional buildings. The French left a nice touch behind with the elegant architecture and fine cuisine. We focused on shopping this time, but we'd both like to return and spend more time there.


A great way to spend the evening is to select a restaurant and devour a set menu before moving on for dessert. Arguably home to the best desserts in Vietnam.



Random Fact: When the sun sets and the locals pack up the market the rats come out to play. They are big and everywhere.

Highlights
- Breakfast in the same market. Three courses for $1.50 NZ.

- Bartering with the locals. Most of the stores are busy which means the staff barter in a fun and friendly way as they aren't overly hung up on making a sale.

Lessons Learned
- Make sure the women who helps you choose your suit has good English and a pleasant personality. You don't actually meet the tailor and she is the go between so get someone nice.
- If you decide to get a suit from Yaly's go to Yaly #4 to choose your fabric. Situated slightly further out of town the fabric is cheaper.

Duh it's Da Nang

Da Nang is a port city 30 minutes north of Hoi An. It's often overlooked by tourists as it's so close to Hoi An which is a tourist magnet. We were interested in checking out a city that isn't commonly frequented by tourists and it fitted the bill nicely.

While we were hanging out in the city we made friends with a student called Thang (Tongue). We arranged to meet Thang and his girlfriend My (Me) for dinner. It was great hanging out with locals who weren't after money and who just wanted to find out more about you and practice some English in the process.

Up and about early the next day we visited the cities greatest claim to fame - the Museum of Cham Sculpture. Set up in the French colonial era to preserve the relics of the ancient Champa kingdom it's the only museum in the world dedicated to this fascinating subject.

Danang isn't frequented by tourists. The buses stop to let people off at the Cham Museum before taking them away again. As a result the city doesn't really cater for people like us. Hardly anyone speaks the English and it's a bit more of a challenge to find out info. This was good and bad as it was harder to find things out, but nice to be away from the general travel hubs.


For the afternoon we had arranged to meet Thang and My who had offered to take us to the marble mountains. The marble mountains are famous for stone sculpture making - the finished product is on sale everywhere. The mountains are also home to some buddhist sanctuaries and some surprisingly cool caves. The mountains are quite impressive and definitely exceeded our expectations.


Clint tested the claim that his camera can withstand a 1 metre drop (on to concrete) by unwittingly letting it fall down the steps above. It bounced and rolled it's way right down to the bottom with the shutter open and loved it.


Later that night Thang and My took us to a fantastic local restaurant. They thought we were the first foreigners to visit the place and considering there are no signs and that it's down a long and dark alleyway we believe them. The food we had was for special occassions and was the nicest meal we've had in Vietnam. We're both surprised that the type of food the restaurant serves up isn't commonly available in tourist friendly locations. Whoever initiates that would be on to a winner.


During the Vietnam war American GI's took R&R at China Beach which is a short moto ride from Da Nang. If you've seen the movie Apocalypse Now parts of China Beach feature as do the quotes "You either surf or you fight" and "Charlie don't surf". With that in mind we set out to go surfing.

We hired boards from the local surf shop and it wasn't long before we were being pummeled by the waves. Winter meant that we had the place to ourselves and didn't have to worry about any traditional surfing etiquette. The surf was quite large and patchy as the wind was up but it was great fun and we both managed to do alright. When we'd finished we were both happy to be back on the shore as the swell was getting big for rookies such as ourselves.

Feeling like we'd been through a washing machine it was time to track down a bus and scarper out of town.

Random Fact: In Vietnam the twin that is born second is considered the eldest. This means that temporarily Clint is the big brother - turning the social dynamic between us on it's head.

Highlights
- Hanging out with locals and being treated like people. No alterior motives or sales pitch just mutual interests
- Inpersonating Kelly Slater at China Beach

Lessons Learned
- It's hard to leave Da Nang.. the transport out of the city is limited and takes a bit of work to find
- Da Nang is a city of the future. There is a lot of development going on and there are high hopes for the place going ahead. Time will tell but alot of multinationals have setup shop.
- Stone museums lose their shine a little after visiting Angkor Wat