Vietnam - First Impressions

The guide books describe Vietnam as enlivening, enriching and exotic.
My first thought was overwhelming, loud, busy and dirty but not in a turned off kind of way. Just a lot to take in kind of way.  I am glad this isn't our first stop on our travels but that we eased our way in. My senses might not have been able to take it.

After spending the last ten days on the quiet eastern islands in the Gulf of Thailand, it feels like this country that has about 86 million people (a tour guide said 91 million) with 65% under the age of 30, are all here in the capital of Hanoi. In actuality 10% of the population lives here.

As time is flying we jumped right in after arriving at 6 pm with some street food and the famous Ro Nuoc - water puppetry - that goes back to the 11th century as a form of entertainment when the rice fields were flooded.  Not high tech but the live band consisting of authentic, original musical instruments were great and gave you a sense of history. Was enough traditional music for Brad and Anna to refuse another musical cultural evening with me of Cay Cau.  I guess I kind of agree.

Navigating the streets is a feat all in itself.  Where horns blaring are not cuz someone sees a cute girl, but a warning to get out of their way, they are not slowing down, and the yellow lines in the middle are purely decoration, with no speed limits posted  and any traffic signs mere suggestions.... Well what can I say, cross at your own risk, stay in groups  and try to make eye contact with the on coming vehicle.

I thought there were motor bikes in Thailand.... Well that was nothing compared to Vietnam!
I think I heard that there is probably one motorbike per person, and if 10% of the population lives in Hanoi, that is 9 million motorbikes.... Let me just say, the honking never stops.  NEVER.

After school pick up.

Another sensory overload is the sights.  No simple clean lines or large expanses for your eyes to rest on expect the beautiful central lake in the Old Quarter.  In a big city where property is expensive, homes are built up. That makes for a lot of skinny tall buildings with wiring all on the outside.
Vietnam is known for their noodles, more so than rice, and so even locals joke about their noodle wiring.

These boxes are the meters to see which family on which floor in which room is using how much electricity.

The wires often hang low enough for us to almost hit our heads. Surprisingly, with all this open wiring there aren't many electrical fires.

Just some random photos

Just some random photos that help me remember our journeys and make me smile....

Transitioned to sailing with a few quiet days on Ko Chang where we were going to charter our boat from, and take some time to catch up on journaling and blogging. Which of course takes three times  as long on the islands with their random in and out and very slow wifi service.
Amazing food, cute little bungalows at Saffron by the Sea, and no tourists or someone trying to sell us something all just a short ferry ride away.

Watching the sunset while eating at our resort (can you call it a resort if there are only seven bungalows?). Rated number 1 Thai restaurant on the island.

Best on our travels so far.

Once we got on our sailboat and began our tour of the islands we saw so many different types of fishing boats with most out at night with their neon green lights shining out in the horizon. You could often hear Thai pop music coming from the boats as they came in to the bays.

Lots of fun smaller fishing boats painted in different bright colours.

 Enjoying the many different views and sights from the boat and when on land.   A variety of resorts from expensive to small bungalows with no power.  Quiet empty bays and some attempts at hikes in to view waterfalls. Alas.... The waterfalls are not their most glorious right now.  A dramatic change from rainy to dry seasons.  Good thing I have a good imagination.

Yep, this waterfall has potential!

An unusual occurrence ..... Another boat anchored in the same bay, but it happens.... Imagine that, we aren't the first to do this. 

Happy times when the wind is in the sails...

 Stopped occasionally at a resort for something really cold..... Please!

No ice maker on the boat.

Simply Put...... Just enjoying the different views that came our way.

A different sunset every night.

Play time as often as possible!!

Checking out the different night sky.

A very simple fishing village that looked more charming from the water. Reality was stark living in bare homes on stilts all open to the dock.

Captain Brad taking us off to another island and another sunset!

For those wondering if all our sailing photos were taken all in one day, because Brad is always in the same shirt, The answer is no. Between the heat and extra humidity from the rain, the only time you feel dry or are dry, is when there is a breeze.  So Brad's logic is why soak a new shirt every day. Just wear the same one.  Eight days in a row. Can't wait to see some new clothes in Vietnam.

Seven Nights At Sea

What constitutes adventure when traveling?
Pushing yourself physically? Living and eating like the locals? Trying something new?
I say just go sailing in a foreign country where things don't operate the same way they do back home.

This story has two parts.  It could be a his and hers perspective if you will, as Brad and I do have a different perspective on sailing, but I would hate to be too stereotypical so I will call it part one and part two of sailing in Thailand.

Our lovely Vague à L'âme

Part one:

Begins with me asking Brad if we could have a crew or at least a cook when we decided to sail the eastern islands in the Gulf of Thailand. Partly because I pictured myself  sitting on the bow, a light breeze keeping my golden locks out of my eyes, swimming up to the swim deck while someone brought me a watermelon shake ..... And mostly because I didn't want any responsibility, especially if problems arose.
Reality was that I agreed it would just be the three of us and I would be first mate....
I started to get worried when in our orientation to the boat we were informed that there are no weather channels to check ( just google the nearest mainlands weather ), and VHF radio is not used (just call the owners cell).  I guess we wouldn't of understood anything anyway, as my Thai is still very basic.
Each day seemed to come with one adventure or another....

Finicky and a little difficult was how the owner described the main sail furling system. Another 'F' word comes to mind.  Holding the boat into the wind with surges and swells for three hours while Brad tried to find a creative way to deal with the stuck sail midway up the mast was not the relaxing picture I had in mind.
A burn, mild sunstroke and blisters was Brad's first day.  His take: "these things happen on boats".
The problem continued and little did we know it just required Brad to climb the mast and fix it from there.... Yay, right. No thank you!  That's when you're glad the charter company is in charge of servicing their boat.

Can't figure our why Brad didn't want to give this a go.....

Look up, waaaaay up....

Or when your dingy engine looses it's rev and as you are coming back from a little dingy ride up through an  estuary and then a river surrounded by mangroves to check out a waterfall and the engine has to work so hard with no umph that the fuel is used up before you get back to your sailboat anchored out in the middle of the bay, leaving you to paddle 300 meters against surge and waves and wind.  Two strokes forward, one surge back, two strokes forward, one surge back, repeat...... Over and over again!..... Again, not quite what I pictured.  I can only imagine how hard the local fishermen were laughing as they watched us from their boat anchored a few meters a way.  Middle aged woman with big straw sun hat, in a little dingy that looks like a wave could easily turn it over, givin her with husband encouraging sounds heard above the grunts  and groans.

Probably the best near disaster missed was coming in to anchor one night.  Nice and slow, like always.  Checking out the depth and good place to drop the anchor. Anna and I at the bow, looking for rocks or coral.  We were getting shallow so Brad hits reverse to back up the boat only to have the boat suddenly surge us forward into 2 meters of water... Our reverse wasn't working and we had no idea why.  Again, so glad the charter company is responsible and after an interesting anchoring experience with no reverse we waited for the mechanic to arrive.  In their engine overhaul a pin was not replaced....  A rather scary experience.... I'm about ready to check in at the nearest resort, Brad continues to believe that any day on the water is still a better day than on shore.

Then after the second visit by maintenance when they fixed the dingy motor and main sail, Brad takes the dingy out and comes back to the boat, paddling..... This time the propellor fell off when Brad hit reverse.... What can you do but laugh.... And call the charter company once again....

So happy when things are working...

Part two:

It's a good thing that we didn't have our camera to capture the mishaps, because that is only one part of the experience.
The boat, named Vague A L'ame - meaning waves of melancholy - was a beautiful 37' Catalina that was just the right size for the three of us.
The water color is that perfect aquamarine and so warm it almost isn't refreshing, but is, and you
could float for hours as long as your imagination of the fish below don't chase you out sooner.

Momma lovin the warm water.... Staying afloat with just a little help....

The islands we visited varied.  From shores speckled with resorts, to fishing villages built high on stilts along the waters edge and no one speaks any English at all or bays whose only inhabitants are shore lined palm trees and white sands leaving our boat light the only thing in competition with the stars.

Looooonnnngggg stretches of softer than soft white sands......

Snorkelling along the coral reefs doesn't disappoint and fish of all kinds are there for our viewing pleasure.

The winds were stronger than predicted which made for some perfect sailing days and though the
winds brought unexpected rain for this time of year it only ever lasted an hour and the clouds made for some gorgeous sunsets.

Days spent drifting along with moments of silence allowing for contemplation, reading, no daily agendas, Anna handling being off line extremely well, being able to cook our own meals after eating out for 1 1/2 months, playing games under a starry night sky, warm breezes, amazing sunsets and dolphins swimming by your boat as you sip your morning coffee and watch the sun come up......

Loving how laid back and fun and easy Anna is to be with!

You make my heart happy Anna! 

Auto pilot! Sitting back and enjoy the perfect steady  southeast wind!

When I was getting wound tighter with each daily mishap, Brad gallantly came to the rescue.
Cooking, Anna and Brad letting me win at scum (ya right, I rule!) and Brad serving his two girls with love.

I may not be ready to go and live on a boat like Brad dreams of, but the memories of these last seven nights at sea will be a highlight of this trip and I think now that Brad has had his sailing time, he could go home..... But not yet!!!!  Vietnam, here we come!

Temples of Angkor

There's re over 1000 temples in the Angkor area ranging from piles of rubble to the massive famous Angkor Wat.  You can find them in jungled forest setting or farmlands.

I am not sure how to find the words to describe these religious structures whose period began in AD 802 until 1431. There is a genius in their architectural grandeur and awe in their spiritual devotion and creative ambition.

The temples are a mix of tribute to their Hindu gods and then later modified to Buddhist  temples each one showing a different focus.  Some for cremation ceremonies, ladies temple, temples for healing, temples that were tributes to the kings father  and more.

The villagers would donate their time to travel miles to where there was stone and bring it back, building everything with pure manual labor, often sacrificing with their lives for the hope that the blessing the priest would give them would raise them higher in their next life.  During the time of Hindu worship the villagers would never see inside these structures but with Buddhism the cast system changed and they could go in and make sacrifice to Buddha.

The temperatures were 37, felt like 44 and no matter where you stood you felt like a wax statue slowing melting  as the day progressed.  My mind was  also saturated with information and it became difficult to remember which king was building temple to which god, for what reason, depending on which mythological story of milk churning for a 1000 years with a turtle holding up the mountain until thousands of female goddesses emerged resulting in the apsara dance......??? Let's put my confusion to the heat and info lost in translation.
We went to the Angkor National Museum after our tours of the temples and highly recommend going first or at least doing a lot more reading to get a better grasp off he history of the temples that are wrapped in religion and wars and myths.

Here are a myriad of photos and I won't overwhelm you with their context.  That's what Google is for!

My creative side loved the textures, light, design, colour and layers of thought this time among the ruins brought. I look forward to recapturing a memory / moment on canvas or sketch when I get home.

Site where tomb raiders was filmed.

The four faces of Buddha that represent:

Charity, Compassion, Sympathy, Equality

This temple had 54 of these faces.