Scuba Diving

I am taking a scuba diving course here in Nha Trang!! It is so fun, but really intimidating. I just passed my written exam today. I did two dives today in the ocean, very cool. It's so awesome to swim with the fish and the plant life is amazing. It's great. I have wanted to do it forever, so glad I did. It's half the money it would cost in Canada, and this way I get to actually do my practice dives in the ocean instead of Lake Winnipeg. Anyways that has been taking up all my time. But other wise I would just be lying on the beach, did that last week. I will be taking an overnight train to Hoian Thursday night. Ok that is it for now just thought I would update quickly.

mistake

So in the following post I mistakenly put a pic of me walking instead of in front of the falls. To tired to fix it.

Finally pictures

Ok finally some photos. After all this time thinking i couldn't download photos because none of the computers has USB plugs I realized I just needed to make a CD! They make CD's everywhere. Plus I should be backing up my photos anyways, in case something happens to my camera. I'm so technologically challenged. Sorry some the photos aren't rotated, I know how to do it but keep forgetting. The photo to the left is part of "the Crazy house" in Dalat. Its designed by an architecture who doesn't believe in straight walls. It was pretty fun. Below is a girl using a loom to make embroidered tapestrys, the stuff is amazing. Of course I bought a few things.

And also below is me at "Elephant" waterfalls near Dalat (central highlands of Vietnam).

To the left is the silk worm and cocomb from a silk factory (near Dalat). Crazy to see how they make silk from this!!!! Below is a view of the valley and mountains around Dalat. It is stunning here. Unfortunately kinda cloudy for great photos.

To the left are flowers from a flower farm. And below is me at the top of a mountain I climbed near Dalat (about 2000m). Doesn't look impressive because so cloudy. Was really fun.

To the left is the "Fairy strem" running into the ocean. Definately not the best photo of the stream, but I walked back with about 15 cows and here is photo of one of them.

ok I"m a retard and did this one twice, and forgot to flip again. (Tricia fix it if you feel like it). Anyways this is me in the red sand dunes.

Above is me sand sledding in the white sand dunes.

This is the beach near my hotel in Muine. Aren't the cows great? The beach in front of my hotel looked like a typical resort beach so not worth showing. Below of course is sunset. Well off to Nha Trang tomorrow. Another beach town, but suppose to be more touristy. So see I like it or not. After that going to Hoian, Tricia will be there this week so we will probably be there some of the same time.

Once again I forgot to rotate the image and don't know how to fix it after. These two pictures from the floating market on the Mekong Delta in southern Vietnam.

Random Thoughts

-Vietnamese bus drivers suck driving sitck, imagine this in the mountains

- No need for shower sandals when every hotel has them waiting in the bathroom

- When they greet you on arrival and beg you to stay at their hotel for $5, why book a hotel?

- Being white doesn't make me beautiful

- Wet toilet seats are gross, rather use a squatty

- Throwing used toilet paper in a garbage can feels wrong

- Chopsicks are fun

sand sledding

Sand sledding was ok. It's much better on snow. As soon was we got there, children were waiting to escort us to the hill with crazy carpets. The girl that followed me was older than the others (around 12) , and a real business woman. I asked her 5 times how much it cost and she wouldn't answer. After she pushed me down the hill twice and took a few pictures she asked for 50,000 dong. That is just over 3 dollars. Doesn't sound like much, but one dollars takes care of a family in the country for one day. Plus all the other children were only chargng 10,000 dong (a more reasonable price). Another British couple, not realizing, actually paid her the 50,000. So when I said it was too much, she said "they paid it". I told her she had ripped them off. And I paid her 15,000 dong. At first the pretended to be upset, but I told her everyone else was paying 10,000 and I was being generous since she had done a good job. She then smiled and it was all good.
Otherwise I haven't don't much of anything. Rode a bike into town yesterday (about 5km). Browsed in the shops. Have been really good and not buying stuff. Bought a tank top (because I needed one) and some beaded jewllery. Thats it.
Going to Dalat tomorrow. They call it eternal spring, always around 25C. Sounds like there is good hiking there. So will be a nice change bause going to another beach after that. Alright going to lie on the beach now.

Mui Ne

Got into Mui Ne (on the south central coast of Vietnam) yesterday. It is amazing here. Probably will spend 4 nights here. All the hotels are right on the beach. I have a little bungalow, with TV, and hot shower for 11 dollars/night. The food at the restaurants is really cheap and good. I had breakfast for around 60 cents this am (banana pancakes and banana milk shake). The sea food is amazing. Last night I had shrimp and rice and mango milk shake for 1.50 (mind you they did forget my order and it took an 11/2 hours but this isn't typical and the waitress was only about 10 years old).
The beach is still relatively untouched. There are several hotels but it is hasn't been spoiled to0 much yet. Yesterday while on the beach a farmer went by with about 6 cows. Then some fisher men were pulling in their net right in front of the hotel, a few of the tourists helped. It's so authentic feeling. I haven't really been to any other tropical beaches. But I have feeling the Dominican or Mexico lacks this local experience. Some of the tourists complain because the beach is a little dirty (not to bad to me, the odd plastic bag, but I"m used to Oxford House). In about 10 years the beaches will probably be cleaner, but not as original. Today I am going to check out some sand dunes and go sand sledding? Should be interesting.

Ho Chi Minh

Arrive in HCMC this afternoon. My bus ride was very boring compared to the last one. I am citied out I think. Don't feel like seeing to much here. So going on a Mekong River tour for Sat and Sun. Then leaving the city on Mon and going to a beach town (Mui Ne).

Cambodia pictures

These first three are from the boat trip I took on the Mekong. It was kind of a glorified big raft with a motor. It was quite fun. People all bathe in the Mekong as you can see. I had to post the picture of the naked boy,it's just to funny. Kids run around naked in the city as well.






















So these pictures are all from the temples at Siem Riep. The first one and 3rd one are Angkor Wat at sunrise. The 2nd one Angkor Wat as well. The 4th one is call Ta Prohm. It has trees growing all over it because they decided to leave that one as found, with no . It was my favourite on. Plus I timed it right and got there before the huge tours groups (ie. Korean). Actually it was just me and two other people exploring that one, it was great. The last one was form one of the Angkor Thom temples, Bayon, like any of you care the names anyways, but I proud of myself I still remember. I only visited about 7 temples when I was there. There were lots more, but it's to much to see them all in only two days when its boiling hot.

Phnom Penh

Had an interesting bus ride here this am. It was mostly a local bus. I guess there was a more expensive bus that had a toilet, that most of the tourists went on. I didn't know about that bus. But after tourist overload for the last few days, it was refreshing. The girl I was sitting with could hardly speak English. I think I was very curious to her. Probably as curious as the Buddhist monks are to me. She was mostly quite shy. But she couldn't resist herself at one point and squeezed my chubby face and arms. And then stroked my forearms a few times. It was kind of funny. But thankfully this only happened once.
The guy sitting across the aisle could speak English, and he was quite friendly. He was from Siem Riep and worked as a Japaneese guide at the temples (spoke Cambodian, English and Japanese quite impressive). It was very interesting to hear a local persons perspective of the tourists. Apparently the Korean tourists are the least liked. I can kind of understand why, based on some of their behaviour that I observed. Anyways thats not the point. I had a hotel in mind, and he told me it was a cheap place and not very nice. He was travelling with his buddy (also a Cambodian tour guide) and his buddies ?female companion who was a Japanese tourist. He insisted I come with them to their hotel, he said it was only $15 and quite nice. Obviously I was hesistant. But after great difficulty getting of the bus due to being swarmed by a million tuk-tuk drivers (tuk-tuks are carriages pulled by motorbikes) and hotels personal it was too overwhelming. So I opted for the easy option of following them. Once I clarified that I wanted my own room (he actually asked) it has been fine. I haven't actually seen them since. And the guys negotiated the room for much cheaper than they would have given to me (they made me and the Japanese girl wait outside). So it worked out quite well. But it felt kind of sketchy for a while. The room has cable TV and airconditioning. Which is quite nice.

I went for a boat ride on the Mekong. I suck at bargaining and know I overpaid. Oh well. It was really nice. It was at dusk and the sun was setting. This internet place has USB cables and it is right next door to my hotel. So I will try to post pictures tomorrow. Tomorrow I am going to the killing fields. I'm sure it will be one of those enlightening but depressing experiences.

Siem Riep

This place is very different from what I expected. I knew it would be touristy, but I didn't expect this. The old quarters in Hanoi is touristy, but typically you see more locals than tourists, or least 50/50. Here there are only tourists in the downtown area, with locals working or selling stuff. No need to worry about currency, everywhere takes US dollars. They usually give change in US dollars unless really small amounts, than they give rheos. Everyone speaks English. Even the toddlers that don't look like they should be talking yet can say "buy a postcard". It's harder to ignore peddlers when they speak perfect English. Especially when they are adorable children. I already bought a guide book I didn't need. And although things aren't as expensive as Canada, they are considerably more expensive than Vietnam.

Ok enough complaining though. The temples are amazing. I quite enjoyed biking to them today. It was nice relaxing by the pool during mid day. I plan to take a tuk-tuk tomorrow am for sunrise by the temples. Well I should be going now.

Siem Riep

Well arrived in Siem Riep. Drastic temperature change. 30c at 9:00 at night. My supper is ready. Will update soon.

Some pictures

So here are some photos. The first two are the yummy desert we had last night. It's ice cream they put in all kinds of creative designs. Tricia's was a cannon, mine a was a topical design, and I forget what Candaces was. You can order in shapes of bumble bees, pinocchio etc etc. Very fun. Although probably wouldn't fly in North America, they would charge like $10.00. Here it is grossly over priced at $2 to $3 per treat.

Sorry these photos are the wrong way. I suck on the computer. [Tricia fixed them]

These were some ladies trying to sell us fruit from their boat in Halong Bay. Everywhere you go in Vietnam, they are selling something. Haven't seen many panhandlers considering its a developing country. See more in downtown Winnipeg.

This is a photo from our crazy hike in flip flops to see the "monkeys" on Monkey Island in Halong Bay. I think this photo made the treacherous hike worth while.

This is me and Candace on our boat in Halong Bay. It wasn't sunny the whole time we were there. It felt cool even though it was around 15C. Candace has some more good photos. If i have time before she leaves I will upload some of those. Today we are going to the ceramic village. It's early in the morning yet, the girls are still in bed. I have been up since 3:30am again. Haven't been able to sleep past this since getting here. Drugs don't help. Oh well, still having a blast regardless.

WOW

WOW!!! This place is beyond description. Its amazing how a city that is so loud and crowded can be so relaxing and peaceful. Crossing the street is one of the crazier things I have done. Regardless of how many motorbikes/bicycles/buses/cars are coming in your direction, you just walk very slowly, and you get across. It gets kind of fun after a while.

Every street, alley, and corner has someone trying to sell something. Usually they take a polite no, some are more persistent and then require firmer respones.

Halong Bay was fun, although cold. I still went swimming (the water was quite warm). It was fun jumping off the boat. For $50 we had two nights accomodation (one on the boat and one in a hotel) all our meals and transportation and a guide. It was crazy. At one point we were told to follow arrows to find monkeys on monkey Island. The next thing I knew we were on this difficult rocky hike up and down a hill in flip flops. But being me, I was up for the challenge and it was fun. You would never be able to do all this crazy stuff in North America with out signing a million waivers. Of course we didn't find any monkeys on the hike. They came out on the beach later (I think they let them out of their cage). This place is fantastic.

I am flying to Siem Riep Cambodia on Sunday. That is where the Ankor Wat temples are. It is supposed to be quite hot (40C on Sunday). I have decided to splurge and booked a 33 dollar hotel with a pool. I will stay there 3 nights and then slowly work my way back to Vietnam and through the country back to Hanoi.

If Tricias internet is working tonight i will load pictures from Halong bay. Lately it hasn't been working. OH well this place is only 33cents per hour. And thanks for all the comments when Tricia blogs for me. Cheers.

Greetings to all!

This is Tricia posting on behalf of Pam. Pam arrived safely in Ha Noi on Sunday night. Candace and I met her at the airport. While Candace and I waited for her on the other side of customs, we could see Pam bouncing around waiting for her luggage. It was nearly midnight, and she was of course full of energy, and super excited to be in Vietnam. It took us about an hour after we got back to my place (so an hour on top of the one hour taxi ride) to get her to stop talking so we could go to sleep.

Yesterday she and Candace went exploring the old quarter of Ha Noi. Surprisingly enough she bought very little, but it was only the first day. I met up with them and we went for supper. Last night the internet wasn't working at my house and all three internet cafes on my street were full, so this is why Pam has not updated as of yet or emailed anyone. This morning aroung 6:30 am she and Candace left for Halong Bay. Candace arranged a tour for them from a company in the old quarter. They get to spend a night on a boat in the bay, as well as go kayaking and biking. They will return to Ha Noi Thursday evening.

Pam finally made a decision as to the outline of her trip. On Sunday she flies to Siem Reap (Cambodia) to spend a week there, and then will work her way back through Vietnam. Fortunately she was able to get a flight just 30 minutes after Candace, so they can go to the airport together and split the horrendous cost of $10 for a taxi. I'm not joking. $10 is an atrocious amount to spend on a taxi ride, but there aren't many alternatives.

So Pam is doing well. She's having fun exploring. I'm sure she will have 6 000 photos to post when she returns from Halong Bay. Leave her comments.

Tricia

Vancouver

Got into Vancouver safe and sound. The hotel was nice, minus the fire alarm at 5:00am and having to go outside in my pjs in the rainy Vancouvery climate. Got a free meal on the plane and last night at hotel and again for b-fast so can't complain to much. Good thing because I'm starving every hour or so. The hotel is right on the water which is nice. I need to seriously explore BC one of these days. Already having nice conversations with different people. I'm so much friendlier when by myself. Gotta go almost out of time on this computer!!!

The downside to travelling

Everytime I fly with Air Canada I vow I am going to boycott them. Then it's booking time and it's difficult sometimes to find economical tickets from Winnipeg without using the pathetic excuse for an airline.

Now part of what happened today was out of their control. I got to the airport this am for my 9:00 flight to Vancouver around 7:40 and was informed it was cancelled. The plane was stuck in Toronto because of the storm in the east.

But here's the frustrating part. They hand me piece of paper with a phone number to call. After finally finding a payphone (times like this make consider a cell phone)and on hold for 20 minutes I talk to people that have been on hold for 1 hour. I then find out there is a line for customer service. Why didn't they tell us this in the first place? I get in line and finally left the airport around 12:00!!! Of course everyone in the line was very frustrated. I however have stopped being surprised by Air Canada's poor customer service. It's just part of flying with them.

Now it would be unfair to complain with out giving praise where due. When I did finally get to talk to an agent he was very helpful (although dreadfully slow ... I spent about 20-30 minutes at the counter and this was average some people were at the counter for an hour). For over an hour there was ONE AGENT for a line of around 100 people. He arranged for me to fly to Vancouer this evening, stay the night, and then catch the same flight to Osaka and then to Hanoi as before (just a day later). Early in the conversation he mentioned they would cover the hotel in Vancouver and cab ride to home and back to airport (as it was 7 hours until my flights). You would think this should be standard, but I assume nothing. It's all part of the package when travelling. Being flexible is a necessity!!!

Well that is my story. Hopefully I will get to Vancouver tonight and be one step closer to Vietnam!!!