Good Morning Viet Nam!!!!!

Is this the Face of a Happy Camper or what?

We arrived in Viet Nam last week and have been lovin' life since we got here. Though sharing a boarder with the Chinese Viet Nam is a world away in culture, cuisine, and cacophony? (Ah - the elusive third rhyme in alliterative verse).

As lead-off hitter for the Viet Nam vs. China comparison, we head to the storefronts of Ha Noi. While restaurants just 165km North in China have Dogs, Snakes and Odd-shaped Rodents as their "tantalizing treats" in the window (See the "China Part 4" post for further detail - arguably one of the better posts) the restaurants in Ha Noi dangle these.....
Apparently the French left more behind than simply appalling city planning and white flags.

But seriously, the French influence here is amazing. I have been able to enjoy French press coffee, Pain au Chocolat, and Escargot - and that's just from the street vendors!
Curbside Baguette anyone?
Every nook and cranny of Ha Noi's Old Quarter is filled with French atmosphere. For example, here's a Nook I passed the other day
And here are some neighboring crannies
The French architecture extends from major municipal and cultural buildings such as the Opera house (you read that right - Opera) and Cathedral to each and every street corner. It's just Grand.
But it's not all fun and games people. Actually, it is. For example - crossing the street. While this is a lost art in the West, where LED's flash the ubiquitous "walking man" and droves of pedestrians mindlessly have faith that the "walk / don't walk" machine would never place them in harms way, in Vietnam it remains a highly interactive experience. The best method we've derived so far is to concentrate on making eye contact with 17 or so motorists simultaneously while slowly placing one foot in front of the other and not stopping for any reason. NOT STOPPING FOR ANY REASON.
Should you fail to heed our waring, you could be met with this fate....
Note the Heels!

I've witnessed at least one motor bike accident per day in Ha Noi - don't worry, nothing serious.

Ingrid and I have enjoyed Ha Noi so much that we've camped out here for an entire week - Sans a three day trip to Ha Long Bay (keep reading young Skywalker - patience).

Though there is much more for us to see during our adventures, at present, we'd strongly recommend this location to anyone looking to escape to the East and bask in a very special city.

Ladies and Gentlemen, for your retinal pleasure, allow me to introduce - Ha Long Bay.
Unlike the Karst limestone topography in China, shaped by millions of years of caustic erosion, the Karst limestone topography of Ha Long Bay was formed when an enormous dragon fell from the heavens and landed in the Bay of Tonkin. As the giant dragon thrashed about, it's tail formed depressions that were filled by the ocean and Ha Long Bay was created.
(Ha Long means "where the dragon descends into the sea" - how they get all that from "Ha Long" is beyond me)
We took cruised for three days aboard a mighty vessel
Explored the limestone caves found throughout the islands - Quick Fact - "Hospital Cave" served as a secret hospital during the American War.
Summited the towering island peaks
kayaked among the plethora of promontory - "I know, I know, Cut your hair"
and did it all under the watchful eye of our very own dragon.
The time afloat was a welcomed respite from urban life, however even at sea, we were unable to avoid the "Hello, buy something" call of vendors.
In a few hours we begin our journey South along the Viet Nam coast. Wish us luck and pray we don't encounter any dragons....


Yeaaah!
Me joudsime Vietnami. Kuigi Ha Nois ujuma veel ei laheks, on siin siiski monus ja voib paikse paistelisel paeval isegi lyhikese varukaga ringi kaija.

Nagu Adam mainis, on siin kovasti yht koma teist Prantslastest maha jaanud alustades saiakeste, kohviga ja lopetades hoonetega. Nii siis kui ma yks paev Prantsusmaale peaks minema voib mulle tunduda, et olen jalle Viet Namis.

Ok, nyyd siis selgus, et need ilusad Lime stone(kivi) maed mis on mu lemmikuteks saanud, jooksevad Hiinast kuni Viet Namini valja. Et seda ilu jalle nautida, votsime 3 paevase laeva reisi, Ha Long Baylt, kus yhe oo veetsime laevas ja yhe Cat Ba saarel. Seal turnisime magede otsa, kaisime koobastes ning soitsime systaga magede ja vee kylade vahel. Kui ilm oleks ujumis kolblik, siis vist veedaks seal kandis vahemalt nadala voi rohkem.

Seikluseid jatkub aga koikjal ja alati. See et sind yhest bussist 3 x edasi tagasi tostetakse, kuna tootajad on pidevas segaduses on taiesti tyhine ja loomulik. Ja nagu yhel teisel laeval juhtus olema, ei olnud yhel paaril isegi lubatud toit tellitud ja hotelli ruumist ei tahtnud keegi juttu teha. Sellest seiklusest pajatas kogu seltskond lausa mitu paeva raakides et kuidas see klient(suur mees) hakkas siis olle jooma ja keeldus maksmast,enne kui asjad on korda aetud ja neil noutud asjad olemas. Enne kaptneniga kakluseks minemist lahendati asjad siiski ara. Parast jarjekordset bussist bussi inimeste nihutamist selgus, et see "suur mees" oli Eestlane ja mul oli voimalik kuulda nende poolne originaal juhtum eesti keeles.

Vietnami peamiseks liiklusvahendiks on mootor rattad ja kuna kohalikud on juba synnist saati rataste otsas yles kasvanud, ei ole naistel mingi probleem kimada ringi korge kontsa jalanudega.



Teede yletamisel avastasime Adamiga, et foori tuld pole motet oodata, kuna liiklus ei peatu kunagi. Nii siis yletasime teed sammu haaval, lastes soidukitel nii eest kui tagant mooda kimada.

$1.- = umb. 15000.- Dongi. Oobimine $1.-6.- oo.
Toit(praad) ligi $1-2.- Olu (umbes .-20 kuni $1.-) on odavam kui mahl($1.-).

China Part 4 - Guilin, Yangshuo, Longji & Food

What's the best way to get from Chengdu to Guilin??? If you guessed 30-hour sleeper bus, you made the same mistake we did!

Ingrid and I enjoyed 30-hours of Southwest China aboard this love boat. All-in-all, it could have been worse. The television provided us with hours of Chinese film and karaokee played at a soothing 121 decibels - Oh! and the speaker was right over my brain - but fortunately the Chinese don't suddenly breakout into senseless dance routine mid-plot(unlike Bollywood).

SO why would we go through such conditions to reach a place you've probably never heard of???? For This....

Guilin is a city of 1.3M Chinese located in the Karst limestone topography of Southwest China. The scenery is best described as Otherworldly (or "Magical" as the Disney fans say).


We spent a few days in Guilin enjoying the Caves that run underneath these edifices, officially the oldest scenic sight in China and, arguably, the world - opened by the Somethingorother Dynasty in Alongtimeago (rejoice that I remember them being China's original tourist attraction and stop sweating the details).




- BIG fan of the caves, could ya tell? -

the not so wild, wildlife


and (sung to the tune of the Ramones "my sharona") Duh-duh da-da, Duh, Da, Duh, Da, Duh-Duh Da, Da-Duh-Duh, Da-Da, Duh, Da MY PAGODA!

Hey, mom always told me I was a character:

Am I on a roll here or what!?!

From Guilin we ventured 65km South to Yangshou, a backpackers paradise set deep in the heart of Karst Country.

Yangshou is a sleepy town of just 300,000, which in China is more or less backwater. We camped out here for several days because the views and the town were really a pleasure.

We met Edya and Shay (don't worry Shai Bandner, you'll always be my first), a great Israeli couple living in Boston, and the four of us ventured along the river for a 6-hour trek to take in the sights. Mind you - the same route can be covered in about an hour aboard a luxury riverboat sipping a Latte and nibbling pastries, but we opted to walk along the river bank. Seemed like a good idea at the time, then the rain began.



Every morning from our hotel window we watched this guy perform Chi-gong exercises in unison with sunrise (while we lay in bed of course, and if you bought that sunrise comment I've got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you).

From Yangshou we turned North to the village (pronounced "Willage") of Longji. If Yangshou wasn't small enough, Longji at 13,000 did the job. The purpose of going to Longji is to view "The Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces". These terraced mountains cover a height ranging from 300m to 880m and were built 1,000 years ago during the Bigfansofthewhitestuff dynasty.

This area is also Mao Willager territory and for those who haven't seen the discovery channel special, they're the women who maintain 2m of thick black hair on their heads! Bear in mind that most of these women are barely 1m in height. No real good photos of the ladies, those sprites are surprisingly fast, what with the load of hair they're wielding and all.

The terraces were phenomenal but as you can see from the photos, mother nature did not provide us with the best weather for viewing.

P.S. This is what rice looks like, I was expecting to see Orange and Navy "Uncle Ben's" boxes growing from trees.

Speaking of food, I've mentioned in previous posts that we've seen some unique delicacy here in China, this might be a good time to introduce you to our food.

Here is our restaurant.

These guys have stalls all over the place and for less than $1USD you can get a filling and tasty meal any time of day. Assuming you can handle the MSG, you simply point out what you'd like in your stir-fry and they whip it up right in front of you.

Veggies are on the right and there are 15 different types of meat/protein on the left! Let's see, there's Pig, Chicken, Beef, Egg, Tofu... what could make up the other 11 flavors????

Okay, I see Snake, Eel, Fish, Duck, Quail, Turtle, Snail, ROUS'es (Rodent's Of Unusual Size - on the left), Raccoon (Not in photo) and what could be in that sturdy steel cage behind the ROUS'es? I'll give you a clue - Sing with me now, "How much is that Doggie, in the window?" - Prices are in the Upper Right of the Photo.

And just in case those flavors leave a nasty taste in your mouth, you can always wash things down with a nice tall glass of Snake Wine.

Wow! I'm spent after all this blogging. Where's the Snake Wine at?

Guilin'i otsustasime minna 24h-se bussiga,et naha rohkem Hiinat ja kogeda esimest korda magamis bussi.Soit venis aga 5 h. pikemaks kui plaanitud kuna vaanuliste, kaanuliste, uduste magede vahele oli oosel moodustunud autode kolumm, kes plaanisid oodata paikse tousuni, et edasi soita. Nii siis vottis ka meie bussijuht end rivvi ja keeras koos reisijatega magama.Hommikul arkasime autode signaalitamise peale, et siis taas liikuma hakata.
Buss ise enesest oli mugav kuigi Adamil ja mul rippusid jalad yle serva. 30 h-ni jooksul onnestus meil aga Hiina filme vorrelda India omadega. (Yhest India filmist elu jooksul on taiesti piisav, kuid Hiinakad olid paris asjalikud)

Guilini joudes nagime oma esimesi imelisi magesid, mis jooksevad pikalt mooda Li Jiang'i joge vahemalt Yangshuo'ni valja. Et seda koikke sisse votta ja vahe trenni teha jalutasime me mooda kallast yhest linnast teise mis vottis umb. 6h. Need 2 linna on mu lemmikud Hiinas, kuhu ma kunagi (soojematel temperatuuridel) tahan tagasi tullaMolemad linnad voimaldavad vaatamisvaarsusi (hooneid, koopaid, magesid jne), naistele on seal piisavalt shoppamist ja pidutsejatele on baare ja klubisid piisavalt. Ja nagu meie puhul, kuna olime "valged" inimesed, toi klubi omanik meile lauda kingituseks hunnikus alkoholi ja puuvilju ning tutvustas meid oma ohtu tahele-kutile, kes laulis ilusas ja puhtas inlise keeles(poisil oli supper haal ja seetottu algul arvasin, et ta teeskleb ja liigutab niisama suud).

Guilinist 3 h. pohja poole asusid ilusad ja huvitavad riisi pollud/maed, kus meil onnestus ringi hulkuda ja ka lopuks ometi ara naha milline riis taimena valja naeb. Ilm oleks kyll voinud parem olla, kuid siiski saime me toreda elamuse ja ylevaate, mis see suur istandus endast kujutab.

Guilinis onnestus mul katsutud kasside nimekirja pikendada. Vorreldes Cheetat, lovi ja tiigrit voin oelda, et tiiger on neist koige voimsam ja kui need peaksid omavahel voistlema, siis minu panus oleks tiigri kasuks. Nii kui ma olin roomsalt tiigri otsa hypanud, taipasin kui kiirelt mu elule voiks lopp tulla ja arvatavasti see ei olnud mu elu koige targem tegu. Nii siis tegin kiisule veel moned paid ja laksin teda teisele poole puuri imetlema.