Apparently we were a very slow group, since we arrived at the designated lunch site at least an hour later than usual. There was just so much to see along the way. When we arrived, instead of taking showers we all elected to go for a swim in the local "jacuzzi". They had built a bathing pool using water from a local hot spring, and sitting in there and looking at the surrounding mountains and village was just amazing. Definitely one of the most beautiful places I've ever been in a jacuzzi.
After dinner Pet encouraged us to try the local rice wine, which most people brew themselves. It is very similar to Arak, which I drank in Borneo on my last trip. VERY potent, but otherwise not too bad. I would not care to drink more than a couple small glasses, however. The next morning we elected to walk to the local waterfall rather than trek to another tribe. After we returned, I managed to pick up the very sickly looking black cat I had been surreptitiously feeding under the table the night before. This was a huge mistake because a) she really didn't like being held and 2) she left black streaks all over my clothing, including my face. Any healthy cat worth her salt is an immaculate groomer, so clearly this one clearly was not so well off.
The trip back was really rather anticlimactic. We got dropped off in Lao Cai, spent a couple hours killing time at dinner, and headed out on the night train. The four of us were in the same sleeper cabin, this time a plush new one with beverage service. Not too bad. Today has been very lazy, with the primary goal of getting most of my clothes washed!! That, catching up on internet, and doing some last minute strolling around Hanoi before we head down south. The bus for Hue leaves this evening for the 14 hour journey. It'll be interesting to see how it compares to the train.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Sapa and Trekking
Our next journey was to the far north of Vietnam, almost to the Chinese border, to an area called the highlands which is home to many of Vietnam's minority peoples. I almost didn't get to go since all the sleeper trains to Lao Cai were booked for that evening. Then, at the last minute, a seat opened up and I was able to go. I got to the train station on the back of a Moto, which is quite an experience when you are wearing a large backpack. The train station was chaos as three fully booked overnight trains were leaving and my train was quite late. I got out on to the tracks, only to discover that the train only had 10 cars and I was booked on car #11!! Luckily there were many other people in this predicament and they told me cars 10 and 11 had just been added and would be arriving separately!! I met a couple French people and had a nice conversation with them in French while we were waiting. Since I am travelling with people who speak another language, it has made me try to think how to say things in French again.
Our sleeper car was a bit ghetto, but considering it was the soft sleeper with only 4 people in the cabin, we were actually travelling in luxury. I felt bad for the people making the overnight journey on hard benches with no cushions. I actually did manage to sleep and arrived at Lao Cai somewhat rested. We got picked up and made the hour-long journey to Sapa over twisting, winding roads. The scenery is indescribably spectacular, all dramatic green covered hills covered with terraced rice paddies, interspersed with small villages and grazing water buffalo. The villages are an animal lover's delight, and it is the season for babies. During my visit, I saw calves, kids, chicks, ducklings, piglets, puppies, kittens, and lots of adult animals. I think the piglets win, however.
We started our trek with our guide, Pet, who is from the Red Dzou people. She is the second youngest of 13 children, and all her 11 older siblings are married. Several of their children (her nieces and nephews) are older than she is. Her parents were angry at her for a long time for refusing an arranged marriage at 16 with a man she had never even met. They also tried to set her up with two other men, who she also refused. Pet is 19 and learned English from tourists, enabling her to be a guide. She is paying for her youngest sister to go to high school, which is not free in Vietnam. Her sister is the first person in Pet's family to attend high school, although Pet would like to someday. She was wearing the most amazing outfit, which she embroidered herself. I wound up buying my own outfit from Pet's mom, who we met on our return to Sapa. I may only wear it for Halloween, or hang it on the wall, but it is truly spectacular. There goes another million dong!! At least I am doing my best to support the local economy.
Our trek was just beautiful, through the rice fields and up and down over the hills. The footing was quite difficult, although not for Pet, who just bounced over the path as though she was on a paved road. All the women carry big umbrellas, for protection from the sun, the rain, and as a walking stick if needed. Soon after we started our trek, we were joined by a huge contingent of women and girls from the Black Hmong, who followed us for several miles before turning back. They have a standard repertoire of English questions, and reply with standard answers. When you tell them your name, they will say "Oh, very pretty". And when you tell you how old you are, no matter if you are 6 or 60, the standard response is "oh, very young". They were a lot of fun, although they are all selling handicrafts (many of them from other tribes) and their sales tactics can be a bit pushy. However, I really felt I had to buy something from these women who had walked all this way with us.
I think the highlight of the walk for me was standing on a water buffalo (yes, I have a picture). Pet did it first and assured me that the buffalo don't mind (he then stood up, so I think he did mind). But then I scratched his head and I think all was forgiven. We made very slow progress, in part because Andi was so popular with the children and had to stop and buy something from almost everyone she met. We wound up getting matching Vietnamese style shirts (mine is purple with a green border) at the place we stopped for tea. It's a cool shirt, but I am not coordinated enough to button it myself :) I managed to have a dog follow me all the way from the bridge to the place we stopped for lunch, where I fed him cheese and hard boiled eggs. He was a little mangy, but very friendly.
We were joined on this trek by 2 Aussies from Melbourne, Shem and Claire. Claire is a pediatric nurse and is going to be volunteering at an orphanage in Hoi An for 4 weeks. Shem is a water engineer, whatever that means :) Once again I am the oldest, although at least I am only 2 years older than Sven. We were all very tired by the time we finally arrived in our homestay village. The house itself is really nice, and we slept upstairs on mattresses covered by mosquito nets. There was a beautiful concrete patio looking out over the terraced rice fields and the village. Somehow we managed to start playing a drinking game (something I have not done since college) and consumed 39 beers between us!! We laughed a lot, which Pet thought was very funny.
to be continued...
Our sleeper car was a bit ghetto, but considering it was the soft sleeper with only 4 people in the cabin, we were actually travelling in luxury. I felt bad for the people making the overnight journey on hard benches with no cushions. I actually did manage to sleep and arrived at Lao Cai somewhat rested. We got picked up and made the hour-long journey to Sapa over twisting, winding roads. The scenery is indescribably spectacular, all dramatic green covered hills covered with terraced rice paddies, interspersed with small villages and grazing water buffalo. The villages are an animal lover's delight, and it is the season for babies. During my visit, I saw calves, kids, chicks, ducklings, piglets, puppies, kittens, and lots of adult animals. I think the piglets win, however.
We started our trek with our guide, Pet, who is from the Red Dzou people. She is the second youngest of 13 children, and all her 11 older siblings are married. Several of their children (her nieces and nephews) are older than she is. Her parents were angry at her for a long time for refusing an arranged marriage at 16 with a man she had never even met. They also tried to set her up with two other men, who she also refused. Pet is 19 and learned English from tourists, enabling her to be a guide. She is paying for her youngest sister to go to high school, which is not free in Vietnam. Her sister is the first person in Pet's family to attend high school, although Pet would like to someday. She was wearing the most amazing outfit, which she embroidered herself. I wound up buying my own outfit from Pet's mom, who we met on our return to Sapa. I may only wear it for Halloween, or hang it on the wall, but it is truly spectacular. There goes another million dong!! At least I am doing my best to support the local economy.
Our trek was just beautiful, through the rice fields and up and down over the hills. The footing was quite difficult, although not for Pet, who just bounced over the path as though she was on a paved road. All the women carry big umbrellas, for protection from the sun, the rain, and as a walking stick if needed. Soon after we started our trek, we were joined by a huge contingent of women and girls from the Black Hmong, who followed us for several miles before turning back. They have a standard repertoire of English questions, and reply with standard answers. When you tell them your name, they will say "Oh, very pretty". And when you tell you how old you are, no matter if you are 6 or 60, the standard response is "oh, very young". They were a lot of fun, although they are all selling handicrafts (many of them from other tribes) and their sales tactics can be a bit pushy. However, I really felt I had to buy something from these women who had walked all this way with us.
I think the highlight of the walk for me was standing on a water buffalo (yes, I have a picture). Pet did it first and assured me that the buffalo don't mind (he then stood up, so I think he did mind). But then I scratched his head and I think all was forgiven. We made very slow progress, in part because Andi was so popular with the children and had to stop and buy something from almost everyone she met. We wound up getting matching Vietnamese style shirts (mine is purple with a green border) at the place we stopped for tea. It's a cool shirt, but I am not coordinated enough to button it myself :) I managed to have a dog follow me all the way from the bridge to the place we stopped for lunch, where I fed him cheese and hard boiled eggs. He was a little mangy, but very friendly.
We were joined on this trek by 2 Aussies from Melbourne, Shem and Claire. Claire is a pediatric nurse and is going to be volunteering at an orphanage in Hoi An for 4 weeks. Shem is a water engineer, whatever that means :) Once again I am the oldest, although at least I am only 2 years older than Sven. We were all very tired by the time we finally arrived in our homestay village. The house itself is really nice, and we slept upstairs on mattresses covered by mosquito nets. There was a beautiful concrete patio looking out over the terraced rice fields and the village. Somehow we managed to start playing a drinking game (something I have not done since college) and consumed 39 beers between us!! We laughed a lot, which Pet thought was very funny.
to be continued...
Halong Bay and the Vietnamese Highlands
Well, I haven't been on-line in about 6 days, but it's because I've been having such a good time. I've been on two trips during that time, the first to Halong Bay, which is this amazing body of water full of karst caves and rocks sticking straight up from the water. It is a great place to go exploring on a boat, and also to do some kayaking and swimming. I have been travelling with "the Germans" for the past six days, Sven, Andrea, and Anastasia. Sven, amusingly enough, has done an internship right outside Philadelphia and was wearing a West Chester University sweatshirt when I met them!!
We went by ourselves on the bus to Halong Bay, which was an interesting experience involving three buses and a boat before we finally arrived in the town of Cat Ba. It's not much of a town, and it was clearly low season as our hotel was largely empty. We had two rooms with balconies facing the bay. The walk up to the 5th floor was a bit daunting, but the view more than made up for it. Our hotel owner arranged a boat for us (owned by his cousin, of course) and we set out for a tour of the bay. What amazed me the most were all the floating houses in the fishing villages. They are surrounded by a latticework of nets with wooden frames. All of these places have at least one dog, and all I could think about was all these dogs with absolutely nowhere to run. I suppose they could swim, but I didn't see any of them in the water.
We really lucked out with the weather, as it rains a lot in the area this time of year. the sun was deceptively strong under the light cloud cover, and I did wind up getting burned a little bit. We picked up kayaks from "the kayak guy" who basically runs a floating business out in the middle of the bay. Kayaking was lots of fun, although Andrea and Anastasia managed to capsize their kayak and had to be rescued by our boat. There is lots of coral and some interesting shells washed up on the various beaches throughout the bay. I felt very lucky to be on a small boat with only 4 people, and we really didn't see too too many other tourists out on the water.
The "tourist special" for breakfast is banana pancakes, and I have eaten many of them so far in Vietnam, along with pseudo french bread with butter and jam. I love the Vietnamese coffee, which is very strong and served along with sweetened condensed milk. Most of the tea to be found is either local Vietnamese tea (green tea, a bit bitter), or Lipton!! I guess I wasn't expecting that. We went to a fish restaurant for dinner when we got back to Hanoi; they only serve one dish of fried fish with greens, noodles, fish sauce, and peanuts. You cook the vegetables yourself at the table, and the restaurant is popular with Vietnamese as well as tourists. Very fun.
We went by ourselves on the bus to Halong Bay, which was an interesting experience involving three buses and a boat before we finally arrived in the town of Cat Ba. It's not much of a town, and it was clearly low season as our hotel was largely empty. We had two rooms with balconies facing the bay. The walk up to the 5th floor was a bit daunting, but the view more than made up for it. Our hotel owner arranged a boat for us (owned by his cousin, of course) and we set out for a tour of the bay. What amazed me the most were all the floating houses in the fishing villages. They are surrounded by a latticework of nets with wooden frames. All of these places have at least one dog, and all I could think about was all these dogs with absolutely nowhere to run. I suppose they could swim, but I didn't see any of them in the water.
We really lucked out with the weather, as it rains a lot in the area this time of year. the sun was deceptively strong under the light cloud cover, and I did wind up getting burned a little bit. We picked up kayaks from "the kayak guy" who basically runs a floating business out in the middle of the bay. Kayaking was lots of fun, although Andrea and Anastasia managed to capsize their kayak and had to be rescued by our boat. There is lots of coral and some interesting shells washed up on the various beaches throughout the bay. I felt very lucky to be on a small boat with only 4 people, and we really didn't see too too many other tourists out on the water.
The "tourist special" for breakfast is banana pancakes, and I have eaten many of them so far in Vietnam, along with pseudo french bread with butter and jam. I love the Vietnamese coffee, which is very strong and served along with sweetened condensed milk. Most of the tea to be found is either local Vietnamese tea (green tea, a bit bitter), or Lipton!! I guess I wasn't expecting that. We went to a fish restaurant for dinner when we got back to Hanoi; they only serve one dish of fried fish with greens, noodles, fish sauce, and peanuts. You cook the vegetables yourself at the table, and the restaurant is popular with Vietnamese as well as tourists. Very fun.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Hello, Madam
I'm beginning to think that's my name, usually followed by moto? cyclo? bananna? pineapple? But despite the usual amount of street heckling, I have really found Hanoi to be a wonderful city. It's a little rough at the edges, and crossing the street often turns into an unwanted adventure sport, but there is much to see and in general the people are warm and friendly. Even though there are traffic lights at most intersections, the legions of Moto drivers tend to view them as suggestions, rather than required. The trick to crossing the street with all of the turning moto drivers (even though you have the right of way) is to walk very slowly so that they can judge their progress and thus avoid hitting you. craziness.
Yesterday I went to pay my respects to Mr. Ho Chi Minh. He is preserved in a mausoleum, much the way Lenin is in St. Petersberg. Since he died in 1969, I find this more than a bit creepy. The room is quite cold, and he is placed in repose, as though merely sleeping. It could very well just be a wax figure, which i would find infinitely less disturbing.
I intended to go straight from there to the Temple of Literature, the site of the first university in Vietnam, founded in 1070. Due to my fabulous sense of direction, however, I wound up getting a longer tour of the surrounding neighborhood than I had bargained for. By the time I reached the Temple, I was starving and had a great lunch of a falafel wrap and this mint-passionfruit shake at a restaurant which trains street kids for careers in the hospitality industry. Then it was on to shopping at Craft Link, which is a non-profit organization selling handicrafts from minority peoples in Vietnam.
This was my big splurge of the trip thus far, as I decided to buy a large piece of Ikat, which is very intricate hand-dyed and hand-woven silk, for the enormous sum of 975,000 Dong. That's only $60, but it was quite a big purchase. I also bought two smaller pieces of weaving. That quite satisfies my shopping bug for the moment, leaving me free to sightsee!!
I did finally make it to the temple of literature, which is an amazing complex of restored historic buildings, including 80 something stellae on the backs of turtles containing the names of everyone who passed their doctorate examinations in a certain year. It is good luck to rub the turtles' heads, despite the numerous signs in Vietnamese asking visitors to refrain. I once again got lost travelling from there back to the hostel, and actually had to break down and take one of the ubiquitous motos.
Happy hour at the roof bar quite restored my equinimity. We then attempted to find a Bia Hoi place (one of the fresh beer joints that pop up all over Hanoi and are frequented by locals). We thought we had found one, stuck our behinds on the tiny little seats on the sidewalks, only to discover the liquid being served was hot tea!!! Boy did we feel stupid, but politeness dictated we really had to drink it. I think the lesson is that Bia Hoi must be found and consumed earlier in the day!!
Yesterday I went to pay my respects to Mr. Ho Chi Minh. He is preserved in a mausoleum, much the way Lenin is in St. Petersberg. Since he died in 1969, I find this more than a bit creepy. The room is quite cold, and he is placed in repose, as though merely sleeping. It could very well just be a wax figure, which i would find infinitely less disturbing.
I intended to go straight from there to the Temple of Literature, the site of the first university in Vietnam, founded in 1070. Due to my fabulous sense of direction, however, I wound up getting a longer tour of the surrounding neighborhood than I had bargained for. By the time I reached the Temple, I was starving and had a great lunch of a falafel wrap and this mint-passionfruit shake at a restaurant which trains street kids for careers in the hospitality industry. Then it was on to shopping at Craft Link, which is a non-profit organization selling handicrafts from minority peoples in Vietnam.
This was my big splurge of the trip thus far, as I decided to buy a large piece of Ikat, which is very intricate hand-dyed and hand-woven silk, for the enormous sum of 975,000 Dong. That's only $60, but it was quite a big purchase. I also bought two smaller pieces of weaving. That quite satisfies my shopping bug for the moment, leaving me free to sightsee!!
I did finally make it to the temple of literature, which is an amazing complex of restored historic buildings, including 80 something stellae on the backs of turtles containing the names of everyone who passed their doctorate examinations in a certain year. It is good luck to rub the turtles' heads, despite the numerous signs in Vietnamese asking visitors to refrain. I once again got lost travelling from there back to the hostel, and actually had to break down and take one of the ubiquitous motos.
Happy hour at the roof bar quite restored my equinimity. We then attempted to find a Bia Hoi place (one of the fresh beer joints that pop up all over Hanoi and are frequented by locals). We thought we had found one, stuck our behinds on the tiny little seats on the sidewalks, only to discover the liquid being served was hot tea!!! Boy did we feel stupid, but politeness dictated we really had to drink it. I think the lesson is that Bia Hoi must be found and consumed earlier in the day!!
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Museums and Lakes
Well, there are some honest cab drivers in Hanoi. Certainly the one who drove us to the Museum of Ethnography, if not the one who drove us back and tried to charge us 4 times the price. This museum detailing the 54 minority ethnic groups of Vietnam is really fantastic, if a bit overwhelming at times with all of the costumes, artifacts, and dioramas. Since it is still Tet (the Lunar New Year), there are many special programs, including the 4 mythical creatures dance featuring a dragon, lion, tortoise, and phoenix. I felt bad for the actor playing the tortoise, who had to bend and scrunch himself inside this costume while walking only about 2 feet off the ground!! The best part of the museum was, of course, the gift shop. I bought several pieces from the Hmong and one from an another unknown minority group.
The rest of the day I spent wandering around Hoan Kiem lake in the center of the Old Quarter, which means "Lake of the Restored Sword" because of a mythical tortoise who supposedly restored a sword to his owners. Ngoc Son Temple resides in the center of the lake and is well worth a visit. Unfortunately, the weather remained overcast and spitting, so I took a break for some Vietnamese coffee at one point. Asking for only a small amount of sweetened condensed milk was a mistake, as the resulting liquid was strong enough to power rocket ships!!
I had intended to visit the famous water puppetry theater later that evening, but got sucked into the happy hour crowd at the hostel's rooftop bar. It was quite a nice group of people, even if Andreas, the Swedish guy, was born in 1987. we wound up playing pool (badly) at an Irish pub and I had quite a respectable plate of fish and chips for $4.50. Our quest to then find a local Bia Hoi (fresh beer, basically a bar where they brew their own beer) place was unsuccessful, but I think we know where to go this evening.
I am off to the temple of literature, Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum, and more shopping.
The rest of the day I spent wandering around Hoan Kiem lake in the center of the Old Quarter, which means "Lake of the Restored Sword" because of a mythical tortoise who supposedly restored a sword to his owners. Ngoc Son Temple resides in the center of the lake and is well worth a visit. Unfortunately, the weather remained overcast and spitting, so I took a break for some Vietnamese coffee at one point. Asking for only a small amount of sweetened condensed milk was a mistake, as the resulting liquid was strong enough to power rocket ships!!
I had intended to visit the famous water puppetry theater later that evening, but got sucked into the happy hour crowd at the hostel's rooftop bar. It was quite a nice group of people, even if Andreas, the Swedish guy, was born in 1987. we wound up playing pool (badly) at an Irish pub and I had quite a respectable plate of fish and chips for $4.50. Our quest to then find a local Bia Hoi (fresh beer, basically a bar where they brew their own beer) place was unsuccessful, but I think we know where to go this evening.
I am off to the temple of literature, Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum, and more shopping.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Greetings from Hanoi
I'm finally in Hanoi, Culture Club is playing on the radio (never mind that i'm probably the only person here old enough to remember when this was actually a hit), and life is good. I flew from Hong Kong yesterday, a nice uneventful trip. The shuttle from the airport was $2, and very good, even though i was the only white person on it. The little girl sitting next to me fell asleep with her head on my shoulder during the trip in, which i found quite endearing. Immediately after heading towards the city center, the roads were lined with grazing cattle (and some water buffalo, i think) and the spectacular, verdant green of rice paddies. Despite the fondness of the shuttle driver for his horn, and the incessant moto drivers offering me rides, I can tell that this is much more my type of place than is Hong Kong.
I'm staying at a place called Hanoi Backpackers, which is basically a big dorm, albeit a very nice one. My bed is extremely comfortable, much more than the one i slept in for so many nights in Hong Kong. However, there are other downsides, such as snoring roommates, and walking in on naked boys in the bathroom( there's a door to the shower: I don't understand why he wasn't in there). Anyway, my quest for dinner last night was easily met by a cute little cafe on the square next to the catholic cathedral. Easily the best dinner I've had my whole trip (well, except for the sushi) and I sat at a table with an older Australian woman industriously writing postcards. We got to talking and are going to visit the Ethnographic museum this morning, for which i have high hopes. Cheers.
I'm staying at a place called Hanoi Backpackers, which is basically a big dorm, albeit a very nice one. My bed is extremely comfortable, much more than the one i slept in for so many nights in Hong Kong. However, there are other downsides, such as snoring roommates, and walking in on naked boys in the bathroom( there's a door to the shower: I don't understand why he wasn't in there). Anyway, my quest for dinner last night was easily met by a cute little cafe on the square next to the catholic cathedral. Easily the best dinner I've had my whole trip (well, except for the sushi) and I sat at a table with an older Australian woman industriously writing postcards. We got to talking and are going to visit the Ethnographic museum this morning, for which i have high hopes. Cheers.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
New Year's Day
Don't worry; I have had some positive experiences in Hong Kong :) Yesterday, after a nap, I decided to get out and experience all the throngs of people milling in the streets outside the hostel. Many had clearly come from the nearby New Year's Market in Victoria Park and were carrying the spoils. These ranged from beautifully arranged gladiolas, orchids, pussy willow branches, and peach and plum blossoms, to every sort of inflatable kitchy toy imaginable. I can understand little boys running around with huge inflatable pigs or inflatable shields and swords. But grown men unselfconsciously carrying large inflatable lollipops with pigs heads on top? And lets not forget the inflatable cigarettes, pigs on a stick, hammers, and silly hats.
I went to Victoria Park to catch the action at its source, and it was a site to behold. It was difficult to move down the aisles because there were so many people, but everyone was in a fine mood. I spent a long time taking photos of all the beautiful flowers; they really were a sight to behold. There were large cooking stations at either end of the park, but alas everything in the pot looked a bit too scary. So I splurged and went out for sushi instead.
Being a singleton, I thought I would get placed at the bar, but they stuck me with another table of two instead, a man and woman who were clearly on a date. We didn't really talk to each other during the course of the meal, except that the woman helpfully informed me that I had just poured vinegar, not soy sauce, into my dish!! My eyes were way bigger than my mouth, and I just couldn't finish the last two items. But everything was excellent, and the bill still came to about $15.
I stayed in bed for a while this morning, partially because I had been coughing a lot the night before, which couldn't have made my roommates happy. I think it was also because the prospect of taking 7 pills, my inhaler, and prescription cough medicine was just a little more than I wanted to deal with. I decided to explore the Western Market, which unfortunately was closed when I got there, it being both Sunday and the Chinese New Year. My focus then shifted to Hollywood street, which is known for its antiques. It's also the site of Man Mo temple, one of the original Buddhist temples in Hong Kong. People were still pulling up by the carload to light incense and pay their respects at 5 pm. From there is a large set of steps leading up to the mid-levels. My lungs weren't quite up for the whole thing, but I made it as far as several street cats, who I tried unsuccessfully to coax over. At this very moment the "lady of the cats" showed up with food and water for all 6 of them. Apparently she is part of a neuter and release program in the area, and she feeds about 50 of these cats every day. Now that is dedication.
I am torn between the need to make sure that I have completely recovered from the flu and my desire to leave this place forever. Perhaps its foolish to think that everything will magically be better in Vietnam, but I can't help wishing so.
I went to Victoria Park to catch the action at its source, and it was a site to behold. It was difficult to move down the aisles because there were so many people, but everyone was in a fine mood. I spent a long time taking photos of all the beautiful flowers; they really were a sight to behold. There were large cooking stations at either end of the park, but alas everything in the pot looked a bit too scary. So I splurged and went out for sushi instead.
Being a singleton, I thought I would get placed at the bar, but they stuck me with another table of two instead, a man and woman who were clearly on a date. We didn't really talk to each other during the course of the meal, except that the woman helpfully informed me that I had just poured vinegar, not soy sauce, into my dish!! My eyes were way bigger than my mouth, and I just couldn't finish the last two items. But everything was excellent, and the bill still came to about $15.
I stayed in bed for a while this morning, partially because I had been coughing a lot the night before, which couldn't have made my roommates happy. I think it was also because the prospect of taking 7 pills, my inhaler, and prescription cough medicine was just a little more than I wanted to deal with. I decided to explore the Western Market, which unfortunately was closed when I got there, it being both Sunday and the Chinese New Year. My focus then shifted to Hollywood street, which is known for its antiques. It's also the site of Man Mo temple, one of the original Buddhist temples in Hong Kong. People were still pulling up by the carload to light incense and pay their respects at 5 pm. From there is a large set of steps leading up to the mid-levels. My lungs weren't quite up for the whole thing, but I made it as far as several street cats, who I tried unsuccessfully to coax over. At this very moment the "lady of the cats" showed up with food and water for all 6 of them. Apparently she is part of a neuter and release program in the area, and she feeds about 50 of these cats every day. Now that is dedication.
I am torn between the need to make sure that I have completely recovered from the flu and my desire to leave this place forever. Perhaps its foolish to think that everything will magically be better in Vietnam, but I can't help wishing so.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Into the fire...
By 11 pm on Thursday evening, it was clear that my best attempts at self-medication were not going to be sufficient. I had spent the rest of the afternoon (after my return from the useless doctor's appointment) curled up shivering in my bed. I was too cold to do anything else, but I couldn't breathe well enough to fall asleep, which is what I desperately wanted. Every time I swallowed, it felt like knives in the back of my throat. I finally called the US consulate, told them about my experience that afternoon, and asked them to recommend a hospital. They recommended Hong Kong Adventist Hospital, and I packed myself up and took a taxi there, arriving around midnight.
They could not have been nicer; it was like a whole different experience. Of course, they are a private hospital, so it behoves them to have good customer service. Anyway, I arrived with quite a high fever, and the on call doctor and nurse couldn't believe that the previous doctor hadn't given me anything. They did an endotracheal wash (so not fun), sent it to the lab, and determined that I was positive for the Influenza B virus. That meant that I had to be admitted in isolation, and everyone who came into my room had to use barrier protection. I thought this was a little ridiculous, but there you go.
I finally got to lie down in my hospital bed. I had two nurses sticking needles into my arms at the same time (one for blood, the other for my IV catheter), but I didn't care I was so happy to be lying down. They started me on IV antibiotics, NSAIDS, tamiflu, pain meds, decongestants, and a sleeping aid. I felt much better even by the next morning, and spent most of my time sleeping, just because I could. Of course, that wasn't easy with someone coming in about every 15 minutes to do one thing or another, whether give me a medication, take my temperature and blood pressure (which was never abnormal to begin with), change the IV bag, record my ins and outs, change the bed, change the water, empty the trash, etc... Everyone was super nice, just there a lot.
I was discharged after 36 hours in the hospital and I feel like a new person. I still have a sore throat and productive cough and am somewhat lethargic, but I can deal with that. I will finish my tamiflu and antibiotics (augmentin, ironically the antibiotic of choice for cat bites), and also have a cough suppressant and pain medication. I have been in Hong Kong for 8 days now, but have only been a healthy, functioning person for 3 1/2 of them. Such a bummer. But at least I contrived to get the flu in a country with great medical care.
It's the Chinese new year today and tomorrow. Hopefully I can get out and enjoy it :)
They could not have been nicer; it was like a whole different experience. Of course, they are a private hospital, so it behoves them to have good customer service. Anyway, I arrived with quite a high fever, and the on call doctor and nurse couldn't believe that the previous doctor hadn't given me anything. They did an endotracheal wash (so not fun), sent it to the lab, and determined that I was positive for the Influenza B virus. That meant that I had to be admitted in isolation, and everyone who came into my room had to use barrier protection. I thought this was a little ridiculous, but there you go.
I finally got to lie down in my hospital bed. I had two nurses sticking needles into my arms at the same time (one for blood, the other for my IV catheter), but I didn't care I was so happy to be lying down. They started me on IV antibiotics, NSAIDS, tamiflu, pain meds, decongestants, and a sleeping aid. I felt much better even by the next morning, and spent most of my time sleeping, just because I could. Of course, that wasn't easy with someone coming in about every 15 minutes to do one thing or another, whether give me a medication, take my temperature and blood pressure (which was never abnormal to begin with), change the IV bag, record my ins and outs, change the bed, change the water, empty the trash, etc... Everyone was super nice, just there a lot.
I was discharged after 36 hours in the hospital and I feel like a new person. I still have a sore throat and productive cough and am somewhat lethargic, but I can deal with that. I will finish my tamiflu and antibiotics (augmentin, ironically the antibiotic of choice for cat bites), and also have a cough suppressant and pain medication. I have been in Hong Kong for 8 days now, but have only been a healthy, functioning person for 3 1/2 of them. Such a bummer. But at least I contrived to get the flu in a country with great medical care.
It's the Chinese new year today and tomorrow. Hopefully I can get out and enjoy it :)
Bedside manner? What bedside manner?
Thursday afternoon I still wasn't feeling all that well. Although my fever seemed to have abated for the moment, I still had a horrible headache, cough, sore throat, and my head hurt like crazy. Since I was supposed to fly to Vietnam the next day, I thought It prudent to get myself checked out in a country with significantly better medical care. I went to the outpatient clinic at St. Paul's hospital, just a few blocks from my hostel. Everything was very efficient with the nurses recording everyones' information and assigning them to a specific exam room where they would see that doctor. Anyone with respiratory signs, such as I had, had to wear a surgical mask. I figured I would have to wait to see the doctor. It turned out I had to wait 2 hours, which is not unreasonable for a walk-in clinic. My encounter with the doctor, however, was nothing short of ludicrous. He called me in, asked me what hurt. I told him and he did a cursory look of my throat with a tongue depressor and briefly listened to my lungs. I told him I had been coughing up some nasty green phlegm (sorry) and would like antibiotics for a secondary bacterial infection and pain medication for my sinuses. He said, no, you don't have a fever, it's just a viral infection, please wait at the pharmacy, thank you, and had the nurse usher me out of the room. The entire encounter could not have taken more than a minute. He never looked at my nose, my ears, felt my throat, or let me get a word in edgewise. I might have stayed there and argued with him, but I think I was too stunned that anyone would find this an acceptable interaction with their doctor. Absolutely unbelievable.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Under the weather
If I've been oddly silent over the last couple days, it's in part because i've spent most of the last 48 hours in bed :( It's your typical bronchitis/flu type deal, and the worst part is my incredibly sore throat, which makes coughing just agonizing. Thankfully, again, I am able to buy throat lozenges and NSAIDS/decongestants at the wonderful grocery store across the street. Yesterday was also hard because my last roommate left and I didn't get another one; it's difficult to be sick half way around the world from home. But I am feeling much better, if not quite 100%, this morning.
So as a result, I haven't gotten to see nearly as much in hong kong as i would have liked. I think the last time I wrote, I was about to visit the night market, which unfortunately was a huge disappointment. All the stalls sold the same items, which basically amounted to cheap chinese crap. if you wanted to buy plastic figurines, this was your place. but i didn't.
Tuesday i took the tram over to the ferry terminal in order to catch the high speed ferry to macau. macau has a somewhat similar history to hong kong, in that the portugese maintained control of this peninsula off mainland china for almost 400 years, before relinquishing it in 1999. Macau is a land of casinos, generating more revenue than all of las vegas!! if you're not into gambling, Macau is unfortunately not all that interesting. there are some pretty churches and other remnants of colonial architecture, but otherwise many of the same chain stores from hong kong have bases here as well. i guess one other unique aspect would be the portugese-inspired cuisine. unfortunately, i have almost no sense of taste or smell right now, and i think this has turned me off of chinese food for the rest of this trip, if not for life. sigh.
So as a result, I haven't gotten to see nearly as much in hong kong as i would have liked. I think the last time I wrote, I was about to visit the night market, which unfortunately was a huge disappointment. All the stalls sold the same items, which basically amounted to cheap chinese crap. if you wanted to buy plastic figurines, this was your place. but i didn't.
Tuesday i took the tram over to the ferry terminal in order to catch the high speed ferry to macau. macau has a somewhat similar history to hong kong, in that the portugese maintained control of this peninsula off mainland china for almost 400 years, before relinquishing it in 1999. Macau is a land of casinos, generating more revenue than all of las vegas!! if you're not into gambling, Macau is unfortunately not all that interesting. there are some pretty churches and other remnants of colonial architecture, but otherwise many of the same chain stores from hong kong have bases here as well. i guess one other unique aspect would be the portugese-inspired cuisine. unfortunately, i have almost no sense of taste or smell right now, and i think this has turned me off of chinese food for the rest of this trip, if not for life. sigh.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Window Shopping
Greetings everyone. I was a little groggy this morning having spent last night in an Irish pub watching rugby with lots of drunk Englishmen. Emily and I wound up there with Andy, a british guy from our hostel. The first match pitted England against Italy and the second involved Wales and Scotland... we were sharing a table with a couple of very vocal Welsh guys. Fun, but very expensive beer. Apparently there is a 40% tax on imported beer in hong kong.
This morning I again bought breakfast in the local grocery store, including some gorgeous sliced pineapple. And then I went to Starbucks with all the other Europeans. I'm a little embarrassed, but the coffee was very good. I redeemed myself, however, by having lunch at an authentic noodle stand, for less than my cup of coffee. Wandering around today, I noticed that the streets are just filled with people. The local park has been taken over by all the Indonesian maids and housekeepers who get Sunday off. They had all spread sheets of plastic on the ground and were talking, eating, and doing each others hair. Quite a remarkable site.
I did tons of window shopping around my hostel this morning, but was quite disappointed. the stores consist of electronics, chinese tchotckes, perfume, make-up, american and british chain stores, and high end stores such as Gucci and Ralph Lauren. My only find of the morning was a knitting store. Stop groaning, I was good and didn't buy any wool. However, I did come away with 2 pairs of Addi turbo needles for around $5 each. Since they normally retail around $15 in the US, this was a great deal. I am heading to the night market this evening, which will hopefully be more to my liking.
This morning I again bought breakfast in the local grocery store, including some gorgeous sliced pineapple. And then I went to Starbucks with all the other Europeans. I'm a little embarrassed, but the coffee was very good. I redeemed myself, however, by having lunch at an authentic noodle stand, for less than my cup of coffee. Wandering around today, I noticed that the streets are just filled with people. The local park has been taken over by all the Indonesian maids and housekeepers who get Sunday off. They had all spread sheets of plastic on the ground and were talking, eating, and doing each others hair. Quite a remarkable site.
I did tons of window shopping around my hostel this morning, but was quite disappointed. the stores consist of electronics, chinese tchotckes, perfume, make-up, american and british chain stores, and high end stores such as Gucci and Ralph Lauren. My only find of the morning was a knitting store. Stop groaning, I was good and didn't buy any wool. However, I did come away with 2 pairs of Addi turbo needles for around $5 each. Since they normally retail around $15 in the US, this was a great deal. I am heading to the night market this evening, which will hopefully be more to my liking.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
My first day
The view from the airplane as we coasted over hong kong island and kowloon is simply breathtaking. Most of the island was a dark hill, except for the settlements on the top of victoria peak. All the brightly lit sky scrapers gathered together at the foot of the island and separated by water from a similar gathering at the head of Kowloon. I wish i had gotten my camera out in time :)
Getting from the airport to my hostel was surprisingly easy. I took airport bus #11 to causeway bay and the hostel was only a block further. This place is located in the "fashion district" which consists of a group of brightly lit high end stores teeming with people at 9 pm on a friday night. there is even a Starbuck's two doors down from us (horrors) although the coffee is quite expensive compared to the espresso drinks. My post-travel shower definitely ranks up there with some of my best ever. I did an ok job of sleeping through the night, considering the 13 hour time difference. Staying up for 30 hours tends to help a great deal with jet lag.
I have two roommates. One of them is a british girl named Emily, very friendly and way younger than me. I decided to travel with her today to Lantau, one of the outlying islands, which houses both the airport and a very famous monastery, including the largest bronze seated Buddha in asia. First we got breakfast at the department store across the street, which included mango yogurt and this crazy assortment of sliced fruit, including kiwi, pineapple, watermelon, and this stuff called dragon fruit whose inside resembles a white radish riddled with black poppy seeds. It's juicy and mild, but nothing to write home about (unlike rambutan and mangosteins). We took one of the very old, very tall and thin wooden trolley cars along the main drag to the ferry terminal. Consumerism and exported american and european culture are everywhere, including lifesized Nike posters featuring various NBA stars.
It was quite an overcast day, which made the ferry ride to Lantau somewhat of a disappointment.. What would have been a dramatic passage between scores of rocky islands was mostly obscured by fog. From the base of the island at Mui Wo, we took the bus over the island to the monastery of Po Lin and the Tian Tan buddha statue. The center of Lantau is mostly covered with rock and vegetation, save for the windy ribbon cut through for the road. Po Lin monastery was beautiful, if overly touristy. I guess the same is true for the buddha. What interested me was the preponderance of Chinese and Hong Kong tourists at both venues; it wasn't just us white folks. The fresh orchids and chrysanthemums at Po Lin were especially striking.
From there, we entered this unbelievably cheesy tourist village (we are so not the only ones who can do cheese) en route to the Ngong Ping 360 tram, which brings you all the way to the start of the MTR subway system. The views of the buddha were excellent, but again the overcast weather prevented any real island panoramas. We had lunch at the monastery's vegetarian restaurant, which was authentic and therefore a wee bit scary. I stuck mostly to the mushrooms with baby bok choy, but did also have an excellent spring roll filled with something resembling daikon.
It's the year of the pig (the boar, really) and they are everywhere. Pink ones, cute ones, fat ones, you name it. So clearly, I need a pig :)
Tomorrow I'm planning to take the ferry to Macau. It only takes about an hour and I can't resist the opportunity to visit another island equally steeped in history. Unfortunately, uploading photos isn't working at this very moment, so I'll need to figure things out. Hope you are all well.
Getting from the airport to my hostel was surprisingly easy. I took airport bus #11 to causeway bay and the hostel was only a block further. This place is located in the "fashion district" which consists of a group of brightly lit high end stores teeming with people at 9 pm on a friday night. there is even a Starbuck's two doors down from us (horrors) although the coffee is quite expensive compared to the espresso drinks. My post-travel shower definitely ranks up there with some of my best ever. I did an ok job of sleeping through the night, considering the 13 hour time difference. Staying up for 30 hours tends to help a great deal with jet lag.
I have two roommates. One of them is a british girl named Emily, very friendly and way younger than me. I decided to travel with her today to Lantau, one of the outlying islands, which houses both the airport and a very famous monastery, including the largest bronze seated Buddha in asia. First we got breakfast at the department store across the street, which included mango yogurt and this crazy assortment of sliced fruit, including kiwi, pineapple, watermelon, and this stuff called dragon fruit whose inside resembles a white radish riddled with black poppy seeds. It's juicy and mild, but nothing to write home about (unlike rambutan and mangosteins). We took one of the very old, very tall and thin wooden trolley cars along the main drag to the ferry terminal. Consumerism and exported american and european culture are everywhere, including lifesized Nike posters featuring various NBA stars.
It was quite an overcast day, which made the ferry ride to Lantau somewhat of a disappointment.. What would have been a dramatic passage between scores of rocky islands was mostly obscured by fog. From the base of the island at Mui Wo, we took the bus over the island to the monastery of Po Lin and the Tian Tan buddha statue. The center of Lantau is mostly covered with rock and vegetation, save for the windy ribbon cut through for the road. Po Lin monastery was beautiful, if overly touristy. I guess the same is true for the buddha. What interested me was the preponderance of Chinese and Hong Kong tourists at both venues; it wasn't just us white folks. The fresh orchids and chrysanthemums at Po Lin were especially striking.
From there, we entered this unbelievably cheesy tourist village (we are so not the only ones who can do cheese) en route to the Ngong Ping 360 tram, which brings you all the way to the start of the MTR subway system. The views of the buddha were excellent, but again the overcast weather prevented any real island panoramas. We had lunch at the monastery's vegetarian restaurant, which was authentic and therefore a wee bit scary. I stuck mostly to the mushrooms with baby bok choy, but did also have an excellent spring roll filled with something resembling daikon.
It's the year of the pig (the boar, really) and they are everywhere. Pink ones, cute ones, fat ones, you name it. So clearly, I need a pig :)
Tomorrow I'm planning to take the ferry to Macau. It only takes about an hour and I can't resist the opportunity to visit another island equally steeped in history. Unfortunately, uploading photos isn't working at this very moment, so I'll need to figure things out. Hope you are all well.
Greetings from Hong Kong
There are going to be Typeo's in this, so i'm just going to apologize once and let it be. I am writing this from an internet cafe near my hostel, where the air is so thick with the noise of pre-teen boys playing video games that i can scarcely hear myself think. Unless i bring ear plugs next time, I'm going to have to find a different place to write this.
My flights to HK were surprisingly uneventful, other than having to get up at 4 am and travel for more than 30 hours before i reached my destination. Although I was assigned a middle seat, I managed to snag a window seat in the exit row on my flight to LAX by simply waiting until the end to get on the plane and sitting in the empty seat. A nice way to start off my morning. I did have to leave and re-enter security at the Tom Bradley international terminal, but that was blessedly uneventful. AND my bag, which was checked through from united to cathay pacific (not in the same airline alliance) actually made it on my flight. phenomenal. To hong kong, I had a window seat with no one in the middle, which I felt was really a gift.
Some observations from the flight: I have given up on ordering the vegetarian meal on future flights. It is always completely unimaginative, and never ever contains dessert. Do they think that people who don't eat meat also don't eat cheesecake? Well in my case, at least, they would be wrong. A Good Year is a truly wretched movie, bearing absolutely no resemblance to the very mediocre book by Peter Mayle. I'm surprised he didn't revoke the naming rights after seeing it. The fastest living indian is an even worse movie. Anything starring anthony hopkins was at least worth a chance in my book, but not this one. I gave up after about 1/2 hour of unintelligible jibberish. And no matter how hard you try, you are going to really, really stink after travelling halfway around the world
My flights to HK were surprisingly uneventful, other than having to get up at 4 am and travel for more than 30 hours before i reached my destination. Although I was assigned a middle seat, I managed to snag a window seat in the exit row on my flight to LAX by simply waiting until the end to get on the plane and sitting in the empty seat. A nice way to start off my morning. I did have to leave and re-enter security at the Tom Bradley international terminal, but that was blessedly uneventful. AND my bag, which was checked through from united to cathay pacific (not in the same airline alliance) actually made it on my flight. phenomenal. To hong kong, I had a window seat with no one in the middle, which I felt was really a gift.
Some observations from the flight: I have given up on ordering the vegetarian meal on future flights. It is always completely unimaginative, and never ever contains dessert. Do they think that people who don't eat meat also don't eat cheesecake? Well in my case, at least, they would be wrong. A Good Year is a truly wretched movie, bearing absolutely no resemblance to the very mediocre book by Peter Mayle. I'm surprised he didn't revoke the naming rights after seeing it. The fastest living indian is an even worse movie. Anything starring anthony hopkins was at least worth a chance in my book, but not this one. I gave up after about 1/2 hour of unintelligible jibberish. And no matter how hard you try, you are going to really, really stink after travelling halfway around the world
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
One day and counting...
Today was my last in Philly: a fun combination of packing, cleaning out the refrigerator, and double checking all my plugs and wires. A multiple tractor trailer accident on 1-95 made my journey longer than needed, but I did eventually get home to my kitties. I will miss them SO much (there were no kitties to miss on my first soujourn). So I'm all packed and ready to go, except for a last minute check to make sure I absolutely need everything in my bag. I called Cathay Pacific to reserve my vegetarian meals for the 15 hour 30 minute flight from LA to Hong Kong. I'll leave BWI at 6:30 am on Thursday morning and arrive in Hong Kong at 7 pm on Friday. Since I'm arriving at night, I decided to reserve my lodging in advance, which was easily accomplished on hostels.com. Just amazing.
One of my last projects before leaving was finishing Avery's sweater. This is the same pattern I made for Rowen, just larger and in more feminine colors, using DB cashmerino DK yarn. I have promised everyone that I will not take my knitting on the trip!! Well, at least not until I'm confronted with all that wonderful yarn in NZ :)
One of my last projects before leaving was finishing Avery's sweater. This is the same pattern I made for Rowen, just larger and in more feminine colors, using DB cashmerino DK yarn. I have promised everyone that I will not take my knitting on the trip!! Well, at least not until I'm confronted with all that wonderful yarn in NZ :)
Friday, February 2, 2007
Scarves and Plane Tickets
Having gotten over the obstacle of the vet boards, the next step was buying a plane ticket. Although I was not able to find a viable round the world fare, I did locate a reasonable open jaw ticket: flight into hong kong and flight out of auckland. With a quick visit to hostels.com to secure my first three nights' lodging, I'm on my way. The flight from LA to hong kong is on Cathay Pacific, which should hopefully be a nice experience (as far as 14+ hour flights go).
I still had 2 skeins of that fabulous transitions yarn left over and decided to make a matching scarf for my hat. This involved yet another free pattern off the internet, this one for a diagonal triangle scarf using a new technique: short row shaping. It was a fun project and the final result is warm and cosy.
I still had 2 skeins of that fabulous transitions yarn left over and decided to make a matching scarf for my hat. This involved yet another free pattern off the internet, this one for a diagonal triangle scarf using a new technique: short row shaping. It was a fun project and the final result is warm and cosy.
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