Vang Vieng and Vientiane

4/04 (Fab)
We leave Luang Prabang for a 6 hours journey to Vang Vieng which we have chosen as a stopover on the road to Vientiane. The journey is ok, Val manages to get a bit of sleep, I don't but I do enjoy the landscape rolling down. This part of Northern Laos is made of mountains and valleys. It's beautiful but a slight haze hangs everywhere. This is due to all the uncontrolable and non-ecological slash-and-burn foret exploitations (answering the Chinese and Thai demand for precious wood). The sun is bright but we can only guess its shape throught the smog. The road is very windy, sometimes quite spectacular. Unlike Vietnam, Laos is very peaceful and the driving also. This makes the trip a bit more comfortable. We get to Viang Vieng northern bus station. Sharing a tuk-tuk with an Aussie guy, we make it to the town centre. My first impressions are very mixed. I spot already a high number of late teenagers, early 20's. It looks like a seaside resort coupled with a theme park. We manage to find a cheap guesthouse (paper thin walls!), exposed electrical cables. There is even a note explaining that to avoid electric shocks, power should be switched off at all times!!! And the bathroom power/light switch is the least protected!!!!!!!! We settle down anyway and moments later we are discovering the town.
One thing that strikes us the most is that numerous bars, sometimes one next to each other, play DVDs of Friends in loop. If one's willing to, I'm sure it might be possible to watch the entire collection in one day!!! Young Western people are lying on bamboo beds around a little table where they sip beer and do not talk to each other from early morning (ok lunch time as they're hangover) until late afternoon when they go tubing, then start again in a different bar or restaurant over a movie (cheap american blockbuster that is, no Woody Allen or Cassavetes here). We are baffled!!! Van Vieng seems to have lost its soul to mass youth tourism...But the nature is beautiful around here and because we've already seen Friends many times (!!), we go and explore around, try to get to a cave (it's closed) but we enjoy the walk in the rice fields. In town, we are lucky to witness a Baci celebration, this is a traditional ceremony to restore family and community cohesion. All members start with a prayer and offerings. Then a meal is prepared by all and few drinks shared until late at night. I guess this ritual has even more sense here than anywhere else in the country! Meanwhile we make the decision to leave tomorrow for Vientiane. We also realise that the Lao new year's celebrations will shut all the country administrations for a week but we absolutely need to get our Indian visas done here.
Dinner in town over the Nam Song river and Val gets a crepe with Nutella from one of the trolley in the street. Whomever has seen crepes being made would have laughed as much as we did (discreetly!) when the guy took a little ball of paste or batter, flattening it like a pizza base and fried the thing with chocolate in a table spoon of margarine and oil in a wok-like pan!!!!!! Val gets the fat dripping thing and we taste it: a little fishy, a little gamey, very fat and a vague taste of chocolate in the background...We just laugh!!! We manage to sleep despite the music blasting from bars around the hotel!

5/04
We get up early and get ready for a boat trip up the Nam Song river for our first and last morning in Vang Vieng. The nature is stunning, the small river (very low water) overlooked by limestone peaks, a beautiful countryside. It feels like the Halong Bay on land. We wish we had a bit more time to explore the back country on a bike, but the trip on a small narrow river boat makes our day. The river is also used for fishing and collecting waterweed by the locals, cows and buffalos grazzing around, kids are playing in the water. It's a bit of a naive landscape and nothing seems to trouble the serenity of the place...until we see a stream of 18 years old going down the river on their tractor inner tubes, some of them obviously very drunk if not more (it's 10.30am!), and around a river bend, I experience a day time revival of a scene from Apocalypse Now. Our boat goes under thin bamboo bridges connecting one bank to another with a dozen of 'River Bars' providing booze by the barrel to hords of drunks, very high and dangerous swings over shallow water (below are some very sharp rocks) and the music is blasting our eardrums in a complete cacophony. I CANNOT believe what I see and try to think of what the locals make of Westerners. Most of them have never left their village and have obviously not met other tourists than these ones. I feel very depressed when I see what the world is sometimes and even a bit horrified...There is no sense whatsoever of respect to local traditions (discretion, reserve and moral behaviour especially in a Buddhist place). But I don't blame the people from here. They only answer a demand that's probably growing, more and more since Van Vieng is on the backpacking map. In one of the poorest country on earth, every dollar is a step to hopefully a better future.
Back in town we pack and get a quick lunch and take our bus to Vientiane. It's a bit of an experience, a crammed small bus, no air con as promised but all windows and doors opened, no leg room at all...a bendy road most of the time but we made it!! 5 hours later we're in the Lao capital city, sweaty and tired. We walk around town with our heavy backpacks in the heat, to find an hotel, most of the guesthouses are full and we are wondering where we are going to sleep...finally we find a big guesthouse on the Mekong river, a noisy overpriced room full of mosquitoes...We go for a walk around, watch the sunset on the Mekong, eat, dicover briefly that Vientiane is a sleepy town, somehow a small city which feels provincial...surprising...We were expecting another one of those big busy South East Asian capitals, polluted, busy and full of touts and hassles!!! Here, the public pavement is often in a bad state, no light in many streets at night, some sewers opened, some dirt roads, no hasslers or people shouting at you in the streets: indeed puzzling for a capital city.

6/04
We decide to change accommodation but we need to go first thing to the Indian Embassy (two different locations, the first one now being the Ambassador private residence!). We go with a tuk-tuk, afrte walking in the ehat for few kilometres as the proper visa section is far out of town. We might be lucky and get our visa in few days before the holidays...tricky timing! We have to stay few days here waiting...Few hours later on the Lao/Indian rythm we check in the new hotel, the Saysouly guesthouse which we saw the night before and found the balconies very attractive. It is set on a side street near to the town centre. The room is very spacious and quiet, exactly what we need on the last floor with a big balcony overtlooking some shops and restaurants!! In the afternoon, we spend some time at the internet cafe in order to avoid the heat and to prepare our trip to southern Laos. On the way back, we discover that a few single ladies well dressed up are waiting for something at the corner of the street...and obviously not the bus!! We look at each other and smile... The city feels very suburban and quiet, somehow our little street seems to be the seedy centre!!!Cars, tuks tuks, clients, ladies and even young men dressed in woman's clothes all standing at the corner!!
We have dinner on a foodstall, a noodle soup, reminding us so much of our Hanoian time...Once in the hotel room, we spend a bit of time watching the sexy lady in red across the road waiting for her next sugar daddy, soaking the quiet ut hot atmosphere from our balcony, observing the shops owners closing down, people eating out, life at night. A languish female singing voice escapes the night bar next door...

7/04
After breakie in our local patisserie (oh, French croissants and pains au chocolat every morning here, not good for Val's waist), it's the start of a sightseeing day. Ventiane centre has few temples quite close one to each other. Our first destination is Wat Inpeng, a small temple, quite recent. Next, Wat Ong Teu, also recent. Not too interesting. We cross through the grounds of Wat Mixay where a primary school is. Visiting during a school day is a refreshing experience! The temple is closed but loads of guarlands decorate surrounding fence, and the stupas are all drapped in different vivid colours. Kids line up before leaving school and dispersing in an army salute. As most of the monuments are not opened during lunch time we go shopping a bit in the morning market Talat Sao. There is a modern mall in the middle of bamboo huts and stalls. You can find everything here. Clothes, shoes, mobile phones, washing machines, air con units etc. It is rather eclectic! Nice experience to watch people go about their daily business.
We walk to Wat Sisaket, the marvel of Vientiane. It contains a copy of the Prabang Buddha. Wat Sisaket dates back from the early 19th century and is the only temple that survived the Siam invasion of Lao in the early 1800's. The temple is surrounded by a roof-tiled cloister containing thousands of Buddha of different shapes and sizes in the wall niches.
The place breathes serenity. It is very quiet despite the big road nearby and at the time of visit, only a handful of tourists were present. Across the road, Haw Pha Keaw museum is in the former royal buddhist temple of the Presidential Palace. This place retains beautiful examples of relics of wood, stone, bronze, silver and gold buddhas but also holy fragments of doors and others. To emphasise on the holyness of the place, people still use the Wat to pray and make offerings (money). A bit like if the sacred objects in the British Museum where covered in notes and coins...It's a bit strange but very interesting. The brown color of the temple associated with the colours of the well maintained garden makes the visit enjoyable.
We have a late salad lunch, I have a Tam Maak Hung (green papaya salad). Well, never again! I can resist most of the spices but this is definitely HOT. And combined with the cuttlefish sauce (who has ever complained about the Nuoc Mam?) I'm blown...
It's now 4.30pm and we go hide in the A/C of our hotel room. The heat is now really present, maybe aeounds 38-39 degres (not so humid though) and we relax for a moment before going to watch the sunset on the Mekong River. It's beautiful to see the sun descending on the horizon, in a flaming red and light pink. Loads of local are here too, and they keep stopping on their motorbike to watch this. It is a romantic activity here. Some kids play down and the sandy strip that forms a sort of island in the middle of the river. On the other bank, Thailand feels as close as a stone throw (going to the beach is sooo tempting!). But the Mekong is very wide here, five hundred metres, maybe more... We have dinner across the street of a student residence (understand dormitories of dozens of boys in one building, girls in the other). They are all outside, chating up, relaxing. The meal tonight is Thai and not spicy! Phat Thai is 'de rigueur'! Bed time after another short walk.

8/04
We carry on visiting today. We want to see more temples and the main destination for buddhist celebration is That Luang. To get around we hire some bicycles. It is hot today but the light breeze cools us down when pedalling. Val is a bit uncomfortable at first but soon after she gains confidence and enjoys the ride. We make it safe to the temple (the city traffic in Vientiane is nothing compared to Vietnam!) which is also the residence of the Lao buddhist patriarch and is made of several buildings. None of them are old. We visit the only accessible part which is the main stupa, surrounded by smaller other stupas, witin a cloister, slightly Chinese in inspired. The whole monument is painted in gold, which is absolutely colourful under a bright sun and blue sky, but honestly, it is not very beautiful...However it is the most important religious monument in Laos and a national symbol (it is on every Lao official papers and seal) and where takes place the That Luang Festival (religious) where the place is completely decorated and filled with decorations, lights and candles.
We ride again to Wat Simuang. This place is very kitsch but extremely interesting. Here takes place a tradition of pagan rites alongside traditional rituals. This place is heavily frequented by devotees seeking answers...Worshippers attempt to lift a baby-size crude image three times over their head, success is an auspicious sign. Devotees whose wishes are granted must later return and appease the guardian spirit with offerings, like flowers, coconut or bananas. It is a real pleasure to observe them from our little corner and to enjoy some spirituality. The sacredness of the place, its busyness, the fervour is somehow pleasant and touching.Outside, the temple is surrounded by extremely colourful statues of animals, divinities and mythical figures.
We go for lunch in a trendy cafe, over cooled by the air con, where we have a salad and a sandwich...noodles are nice but once in a while a dear old club sandwich is a joy! We kill the afternoon relaxing as it's too hot to go anywhere. A[ril is the hottest month here and the heat is difficult! Val is deeply caught in a book, I nap, write. Late afternoon we cycle to a temple quite far out of town, Wat Sok Pa Luang, famous for its Lao herbal saunas. The temple is rather run down and does not offer any excitment. We are only lucky to witness a nun praying session and a few monks walking under the trees that surround the temple. The saunas are in huts in the middle of the woods and few garbage lay around...we head back to town, but the traffic is denser now and we're not having a great moment as nobody cares about cycles and we are not as powerful as motorbikes to go with the flow. Val is getting scared and I am getting quite nervous, fearing an accident. But we make it just safely to watch the sunset over the Mekong. It's different from last night and quite sublime. The sun is bright red and the reflections on the river are absolutely stunning. We both loved this ealk along the Mekong, dirt road, shops, food stalls, people around, the mighty river.
Dinner time at a foodstall in town, another walk around the sleepy town (except in our street cornber which is very busy tonight) and we have to pack as we're leaving tomorrow evening for the South.

9/04
Today is our last day in Vientiane: we relax, go for breakfast in our little cafe, (ah the little croissants), do some shopping, visit some bookshops, get new books, novels but also some books on Hmong culture, as we want to find out more abot those hill tribes. We walk along the Mekong and in the streets of the capital, wach people, women in their traditionnal skirts but still very modern in their ways of being, students chilling out, businessmen, shops keepers... The heat is becoming more and more unbearable, even at 10 am, it is such a harsh sun, it is going to be difficult in the South!!! After lunch, we go to sit in a nice air con cafe, eat some bananas cakes, do some web research and emails, reflect on our experience here...no culture shock really, no massive challenge, a slow pace, but for both of us the connection is less deeper here than in other places in South East Asia, we both feel a bit far away today, distant, as if disconnected from it all...maybe a certain tiredness as well in the trip? Who knows? We then go to the Indian embassy to get our visa...

Luang Prabang

01/04 (Fab)
New day, new month, new country, new town. We sadly leave Hanoi early in the morning to get our flight to Luang Prabang. It's a misty morning and a bit damp amd cold, like our hearts. We have truly and purely loved Hanoi and we could have spent more days here. But beautiful and peaceful is waiting for us, arms wide opened. We embrace and leave Hanoi full of images and memories. The sky is overcast today and we don't see Hanoi fading away behind us...maybe it's a sign...
A 50min flights takes us above the North eastern mountains of Laos. The sky is blue and we can already appreciate the beauty of the place. Hills and mountains connected by small dirt roads and windy rivers at their foot uncover underneath the small plane. We land safely in Luang Prabang where a Tuk-Tuk is waiting for us to take us to the hotel. A little cloud in the sky though, Val's mum should have been there with us for this journey. She had to cancel. Another time Marie-Jose, another place, we're thinking of you.
We arrive in the beautiful old and historic town of Luang Prabang, declared a World Heritage area by the UNESCO in the early 90's. Funny enough the ressemblance with Hoi An is striking. Mustard yellow houses and dark wood. The only major difference being that the French colonial influence is more visible in nearly every building. We arrive at our hotel, a bit tired but above all really hot. There might be 15 degrees difference with Hanoi and the sky is blue. We check in to get to our lovely room on the first floor of a very nice French colonial house, with a balcony overlooking an active temple, Wat Sene, where we relax for a moment with a tea...We sleep a bit as the overwelming temperature makes us feel sleepy.
When we wake up we go for a walk around town, it is indeed beautiful and very clean. Scores of Buddhist temples are tucked amongst towering palms, in this small peninsula, where the Mekong River meets the Nam Khan River. There are many 19th century colonial French villas on the main roads, some small cobbled alleyways and little back streets. We visit the most important temple, Wat Xieng Thong, a masterpiece of Buddhist architecture from the 16th century, amazing with its golden facades and mural paintings. The temple was used for the highest royal ceremonies and to temporarily house the bodies of deceased kings. Young monks walk around, vacating to their daily duties. We walk along the Mekong river and the Nam Khan, it feels nice. No wonder this spectacular little town is the main tourism destination in Laos, so many nice places and you can feel it...
Lunch, little break at the hotel, then we go out for dinner, walk a bit more. There is an interesting night market every day in Sakkarine Rd. The road is cut to traffic in those hours and you can buy many stuff from hill tribes and local handicrafts. We go for dinner then back...The city is lovely at night, a nice pace, peaceful...but our first impressions of Laos are mixed. Lao are not so welcoming compared to all the good things we've heard from fellow travellers: they are supposed to be extremely welcoming, friendly and easy going....not that much here!!! The only main difference with Vietnam is that there is no touts and if you say no they don't come back to insist. The city is really touristy to the point that sometimes it feels artificial despite its amazing beauty and stunning architectures and sights...Val compares it with Hoi An which was touristy but a bit more messy, chaotic somehow more alive...

02/04 (Fab)
Bing bong bang, it's 4am: the monks get up to start their daily routine. Right across the street from the guesthouse, our temple is one of the working temples where monks receive their religious teachings and singing. We manage to get back to sleep, the night has been a bit uncomfortable. The A/C has not been working and there is no fan. At 6am, some agitation takes place in the street. The monks are getting ready to gather and leave the temple to walk in silent to receive the morning alms. This ritual has been taking place since the beginning of buddhism and it is amazing to see the monks line up on the pavement and get the food donations from the local people, kneeling in front of them and generously donating in the little jar the monks carry. It is only a little spoiled by ever so stupid organised Western groups who talk, laugh, snap the monks with their camera right under their nose. The morning is grey but this is a beautiful ritual to be witnessed and so colourful thanks to the saffron of 250 robes highly contrasting with the white temple walls.
After an hour or so, and the last monks gone we decide to go back to sleep for a bit longer, it was a great moment, silents in our bacony, observing the religious fervor.
Wake up, we start organising our trip in Laos. We cannot do the whole country so decide to go South, we will see the North another time. The south is supposed to be less touristy and wilder, that suits us. we book some bus journeys with travel agents, have lunch on the Mekong river. We watch the villagers, the boats and fishermen, we both enjoy the natural beauty of the Mekong river banks, it is stunning. We walk to see more temples, exlore the alleyways, admire the distinctive colonial architecture and dazzling temples. Then after a nutella crepe for Val, we climb the Phousi hill, hill right at the centre of the old town, there is a temple and the view is simply breathtaking. From here, you can get an almost 360º view of Luang Prabang!! On the north side, you can see the Mekong River. In a small monastery, there is a Buddha footprint, such Buddha "footprints" are found in all Southeast Asian Buddhist countries. Usually they are richly decorated ornaments with the approximate outline of a footprint, here it is simple. There are too many tourists at the top but we go down a little and find a nice spot to watch the sunset, over the Mekong and hills. The scenery during sunset is truly magical, with the monks chanting in the background, amazing!
A litle walk in the night market, a stop in a temple to listen to the chantings of the monks, a nice dinner then it is time to go back to the hotel. Here is the relaxed pace of life in Luang Prabang! We write a bit then bedtime!

03/04 (Val)
I wake up again at 6am to watch the monks from our small balcomy, Fab stays in bed. For five minutes it is very quiet, few people in the streets getting ready, the monks preparing to exit the temples...They emerge from the back entrance of the temple, joining the tail end of the line formed by their neighbours...so many temples in the street and many monks here...:This ritual of saffron-clad monks collecting offerings of Alms (often in the form of sticky rice) from the faithful residents really touches me, simplicity and beauty, quietness in the streets. This tradition is very unique in Laos, being the only Buddhist nation still preserving the ritual. Buddhism is really central to life in this lush World Heritage-listed city and the daily alms-giving ceremony is a major attraction in itself,drawing hordes of tourists...suddenly few groups of Asian and Western tourists appear and they start giving alms too...They try to do it nicely but mosdt of tem aren't robably buddhists...I admire the monks then reflect on the tourism here...the city is beautiful but I feel a bit spoiled by the mass effect. Though World Heritage status and tourism have probably brought economic benefits to Luang Prabang, they have brought change that could ultimately alter the very character that made this Lao city the historical and cultural gem that it is. Already, many buildings have been converted into hotels, shops, restaurants...The town is beautiful but sometimes feels artificial as so perfectly refurbished, preserved with so many cafes, restaurants, shops for tourists...
I go back to bed for an hour then we get ready to embark on a cruise upstream on the Mekong River to reach some buddha caves. The cruise is nice, only 6 people on the slow boat and the driver and his kid, we see breathtaking views of the tranquil countryside, small villages and the Mekong, fascinating river...Along the way, we stop at the village of Ban Xanghai, where they make the local rice wine, the village is now full of tourists shops, very spoiled by tourism, people selling wine and scarves, jewellery....eels very artificial. We ten reach the mysterious Pak Ou Caves, two linked caves crammed with thousands of gold lacquered Buddha statues of various shapes and sizes left by pilgrims. There are approximately 4000 Buddha figurines, inside we find many little Buddha statues as well as offerings, it is really nice.
After a cruise back to the town, we rush to have lunch in half an hour before going to Kuang Si Waterfall, a beautiful multi-tiered waterfall located 30 km outside Luang Prabang. The ride is bumpy and bendy, the waterfalls are nice but with many tourists swimming and chilling out...at some placs, it even feels like a giant swimming pool full of Westerners!!! again it is beautiful but it feels a bit too touristy for us...Again we feel the negative effects of tourism...more here than in Vietnam!
Back to our hotel to chill out and listen to the monks chanting in the temple opposite. Their chanting is mesmerizing, very constant melodius rythm...beautiful.

Hanoi

24/03
The night went rather quickly despite the worry of getting kicked out everytime the train pulled in a station...
We have also made some plans with the british guys for the arrival at the station. It is 4.10am when we arrive and there are not many options to get a hotel opened at this time. So the 6 of us decide to share a taxi to get better chances and limit the risk of getting ripped off by one of the famous city scams. Soooo we find a taxi for the 6 of us and tell the driver to take us to one of the recommended hotel...but, bingo!!! the hotel we've picked up is 'closed' but he knows different places we can go to...We end up in a hotel which looks nice at first. The first thing we do is check the reputation of the hotel...We end up staying there for only three hours until the nice places open and we go somewhere else after a bit more sleep.
We check in a guesthouse tucked in a typical and authentic Hanoian alleyway in the Old Quarter. The Thu Giang is held by a lovely family, keen to help, fun and charming...We get our room and shortly after we're in the common room (that is the reception area) making friends with the clients. A french couple is a regular client, a Vietnamese guy, Ji, is a long term resident of the guesthouse, Mark and Kim, two Americans, one living in Beijing who have been here before, and the other one on vacation...This feels good and make us feel home-ey!!!
We go for lunch in a fantastic little corner shop eating a delicious Bunh Bo...This is the starts of a delicious palatable journey in Hanoi! We then go for a walk around the old quarter, visiting some of the city highlights, like the lake Ho Hoan Kiem and different historical streets. Each street is named after the trade or corporation that use to share the old quarter. One is the silk road, another the tin box road, the next the altar street or another one the stone carver...Ater spending some time there, we book some tickets for the Water Puppets show which has been created in the 11th century by farmers. The show is divided in 12 scenes relating either agricultural activities or re-enacting ancient legends. The music is being played live and is absolutely sublime. The puppets are beautifully and skilfully moved on the top of the water, sailing like little swans and ducklings, playing with the element. We're having a fantastic time and sad when the lights ending the show come. But the puppeteers present themselves, dressed up in traditional costumes...and waist-deep in the water. I find this gives even more beauty to the show. We get told that they will be presenting the show in Beaubourg in Paris next month...keep your eyes opened!!!
After the show we finish the walk and go back to the guesthouse. We meet up with the guys and go for dinner. We have quite a few drinks and come back very late...

25/03
This is an active morning. We book our tickets for the Halong Bay tour tomorrow. We made some plans yesterday to go and visit the Ho Chi Minh Mosoleum and complex. Very interesting, not necessarily the man himself but more for the experience around it. The progression within the mosoleum is very strict, people from all over the country and more line up very well dressed (there are some restriction regarding the dress code) to pay their respect to Uncle Ho. We cannot talk or even whisper, cross arms, or put our hands in our pockets. Most importantly it is forbidden to take pictures or stop in front of the glass box. It is a very strange, and quite amazing to see the devotion of the people for their ancient leader. i am also amazed by the entire complex itself and the size of it. It is nealry pharaonic! It is also rahter ironic when you know that Ho Chi Minh wanted a cremation!! We also visit the Presidential Palace that used to be the palace of the general governor under the french occupation, the humble house on stilts where Ho Chi Minh stayed instead of the colossl colonial building. We then manage to visit the Ho Chi Minh Museum. The building hosts an important collection of personal effects of the president, and retracing his life, from a simple man who went to France to write as a journalist, to the founder and thinker in the history of communism. Strangely enough and depite an understandable political bias, the propaganda is kept to a minimum. When we end the visit rain is pouring down on the way back. We then go for lunch, we have nems and Bunh Cha, a delectable speciality based on pork in a soup with noodles and vegetables. We love it. Ji knows all the best places to go to. Ines, a Swedish girl, joins us and we exchange on trips and countries.
In the afternoon, we take some time to nap, read an write. We go for dinner with the gang to have another great dish, the Cha Ca, a secret fish based reciepe served in only one restaurant which gave its name to the street around 150 years ago...Wow...We pack. Tomorrow we'll check if the Halong Bay is really the 7th marvel of the world!

26/03
We wake up around 7am this morning and get ready to depart to the Halong Bay. The bus comes and picks us up and we drive for 3 hours to get to Halong Harbour where we catch our boat. It is a little scary when we arrive as thousands of boats wait for their share of the business. Halong is indeed a very busy a successful tourist attraction and all sorts of boat providing all sorts of entertainment for all sorts of natonalities...Our boat is, luckily enough, kind of small and we will be only 16 passengers on board overnight... We sail off. We start exchanging with our fellow passengers and get to hang out with a lovely american couple who live between Portland and Mexico. Throughout the conversation we find many common grounds between us and the conversation flows, like the bay underneath the boat stern...We spend a lovely afternoon between chats, relaxing moements on the deck and I enjoy taking many pictures of this really unique landscape. Our first halt in the bay is to sea some world heritage classified caves, a bit like the Disneyland of the stalagtites and stalagmites, tackily flooded with colour lights. The guide keeps making funny comments, trying to compare the cave formations to in turns a monkey, a jellyfish, an italian ice cream and Romeo and Juliet on her balcony...Back on the boat and moments later,w e stop and embark a little duo kayak for a paddle in the bay, in the middle of a floating village. It is a small town, made of shacks floating on barrels or bamboos or whatever floats...It is interesting...At 6.30pm, dinner is served and we have one of these pre-made dinner which tastes like nothing...We even get french fries...very authentic! Outside allthe junks have gathered in a rather large area. It is a little town on the sea with all the little lights around within the rocks. After more interesting deep conversations, we go to bed. It's 10.30pm, and we are in our little cabin, lovely if not a bit dated but which retains a certain charm from another age. I enjoy myself dreaming of being Captain Franz or Jack Sparrow...or thinking of the famous chinese sea pirates ships which may emerge from any corner or islets...It is quite magical, one of the most famous landscape of Asia, 2000 rocks emerging from the sea in the mist, the view is everchanging, the atmosphere is singular.

27/03
We wake up early around 7am to have breakfast. The night has been ok if not a little cold. We gather on the upper deck of the boat, outside after the morning rain to enjoy the sailing back to the Halong harbour. It is very quiet and even the junk engine seems to respect it. The water is flat and sleek as a mirror. The mist is thicker than last night. The impression is still very peaceful. Few sea eagles glide and duck to grab fish. The Halong bay is beautiful despite 200 boats around us. Really atomspheric due to the dense fog. Off the boat all the different tours and group gather in one of the tourist restaurant (500 hundred of us!) for a terrible meal. We try to go for a walk the time our bus comes back but there is nothing reachable on foot. So we decide to sadly wait there like everyone else. We say good bye to Doug and Judy. who are going west to Haiphong. The bus arrives to take us back to Hanoi but Val starts feeling a bit sick. This is the start of a long painful 3 hour journey for her. The legroom is inexistant and the aircon is not working...and the sun is now shining brightly...on Val's laps. We finally get to Hanoi and meet again with the friendly family and people from the guesthouse. Val is staying in tonight, a bowl of rice and a movie. I go with Mark, Ji and Kim to get a seafood hotpot in one of the local restaurant. It is very good and extremely fresh but I miss my little lady... Back to the room, we chat and go to bed...

28/03
We stay in bed in the morning, we do not really feel like getting up. Val is not great still so we stay in for a bit and have a light breakie in the reception area. We chat to the guesthouse girls here and Mark and Kim are up for a snake lunch. So I hire a motorbike which I am really looking forward to...Vietnam is meant to be one of the craziest place to drive and I am really up to the challenge (I'm 15, right!). I kiss goodbye and (sadly) leave behind my other half for an adventure on the Hanoian streets wearing a mountain bike helmet! We drive throught the busy city, honking at every corner, bikes are cutting the way everywhere and in everyway but it is quite fun...Just need to stay alert really and wait to hear if a horn goes at the back...We take the Long Bien bridge built by Eiffel, bommbed many times by the US army during the war but which has always stood. There is a rail track that runs in the middle and was a main artery for bringing all the amunitions in the country from China through the North. Once on the other side, we quickly stop for a glass of sugar cane juice to refresh ourselves. The road are quite dusty and it is hot today, unlike the previous days where we were a bit cold actually! We finally arrive at the snake village, Le Mat, where we find a restaurant serving what we came for: a King Cobra! We choose the beast in a little cage and once happy with our future meal the guy takes it out and proudly shows us our meal...by holding it by the tail and waving it in front of us!!! This creature is one of the most dangerous snake on the planet and it is just dangling 1 metre from us. I had no choice but step back, rather impressed (and uneasy - I love snakes so much!!) already and then drops it on the floor!!! The snake has its famous cheecks right opened and it is really impressive now...The animal is however really beautiful and majestic. I do feel quite bad to be here and witness this: the guy is now killing the animal to get it prepared for the ritual that is eating it. Drinking the blood, eating the heart whilst still 'beating' etc... We then have lunch around smla but numerous excellent dishes made out of the cobra. The experience is quite unique and I am really happy to have come here...
After lunch we head back to Hanoi and I catch up with Val. She stayed home and chilled out watching a movie and reading. We head out again on the motorbike to visit the West Lake, well-known to the local as the youngster couples go there and seat on a bench and kiss...Vietnam is a busy and crouded country, and privacy is a luxury. It is vey touching and the lake and ride around it is quite nice. We come back to the hotel and start walking to take our dinner with our favourite bunch. This is a fish soup for me and sticky rice with crabcakes for Val. Another succulent meal and, on the way back, we stop to have Banh Cuoc on my request. They are little rice springrolls. I feel hungry of Vietnam tonight!!! We then go for a drink at our local corner vietnamese cafe where we exchange until late at night. It's time for bed afer another rather full but exciting day...

29/03
A lazy day today starting with a lie in. After breakfast we go for a walk around the local streets to suck up a bit more of the hanoian atmosphere. We go back to our little kitchen to have Bun Bo, and decide to go and try to find some books. Val has finished hers and wants to find an exchange book store where she can get a new one. It's nearby the lake and makes the walk very nice. But the shop has moved! So we decide to try and find it, but it's at the complete opposite of town. No problem for us, we love walking. After few detours we find the shop and stop on the way back for a drink at the 'Cafe 11', perched at the top of a very interesting house overlooking the lake with an amazing view, the front being a random souvenir shop stall. Inside is a really intersting architecture of recessing platforms and staggered storeys. One of them is entirely dedicated to the family shrine in a pure chinese style. We then meet up again with our fellow guests at the hotel to have dinner and a quick drink in a horrible Irish pub! Time for bed.

30/03
We spend the morning buying some last minute shopping, going to the Insian Embassy to sort out the visa: imnpossible to do it here, it takes too many days, we will have to do it in Vientiane...walking around town again to sort things out, get a parcel box, go to the post office...it is already lunchtime and we meet up with Ines, Mark and Ji to go for lunch, we end up in a lovely place, eating fresh hand made springrolls then go for a lemon juice at Pho Co Cafe (Cafe 11), We then walk to the market to see the bird cages, it is messy down there, many birds, puppies, cats in cage, some turtles too. Ines and Val try to haggle for some lovely wood cages but the guy only wants to seel them used cages, full of bird poo...amusing...We then go for a stroll the two of us, start packing our rucksacks, sort out few things and it is already dinner time!!!
Last dinner for Ines who leave for the Phillipines tonight so we go to have...a pizza and some wine, a change from Vietnamese food!!!
We laugh, chat, talk about destination, more and more we hope to go to Tibet after Nepal...it seems feasible...if the borders reopens....We say goodbye and then have a last drink with Mark on the terrace, then off to bed quite late. We had some nice encounters here, met nice interesting well travelled people, we hope to stay in touch. It felt good being part of a friendly gang and gather together few times a day outside in th alleyway. The streets here are the center of social life. People gather in them, sitting on small plastic chairs and tables, we do the same. Frequently, Vietnamese people cook small meals and share them immediately on the sidewalk. Groups of friends drink beer and play cards and majong (chinese chess) at all times of the day. Life begins and ends early here. Most people are awake by 6am and asleep by 10pm, often we are the last people up in the streets!!! I like the fact that there is a strong sense of community and unity.

31/03
We spend the day getting organised for Laos, going to the post sending parcels back home, our bags keep getting bigger so we ruthlessly sort out things, very few clothes left...the bear minimum really...we walk around the old town, around the lake, it is grey today, we feel a bit sad to leave here, we spend some time in the house, chat to fellow travellers, to Li and Giang. The guesthouse has been like a real home for all those days, a very family-friendly atmosphere, we are going to miss our fellow buddies and the lovely family here....We reflect on this city, we really like it....
Hanoi brims with commerce. The ground floor of almost every building is an open-air shop. Much of the merchandise looks identical in quality and price. The upper floors are presumably the residential property of the store owners. We both wonder how each store can stay in business, especially amongst a sea of similarly stocked venues!! Social relations and familial connections probably dictate where people shop. Even so, the economic viability of this system is a mystery to us. Sticky rice for lunch on bamboo leaves, Val cuddles the dog at the house, and tonight we are going out for our last meal here with Ji and Mark. We have what is called an 'ordinary dinner' which consists of several dishes, meat, fish, fried crabs, different veg. It's very nice and traditional. And the last drink comes, at our local cafe. We talk for a bit and we go to bed not too late as we'll be up early tomorrow for our next adventure: Laos!

Hoi An et Hue

18/03
We arrive after a hard night in the bus, we walk about town with our big bags to find an hotel, we book the Hoa Binh hotel, a simple hotel, a nice room but noisy, on the street, above the reception area. That will do for today, we go to rest, as Val is not too well and I'm also pretty tired despite a bit of sleep. We go for lunch, walk around the town, Hoi An s an exceptionally well-preserved example of a South-East Asian trading port. We walk around and the city has a distinct Chinese atmosphere with low, tile-roofed houses and narrow streets; it is truly beautiful...People also visit for the numerous art shops and tailors, who produce made-to-measure clothes for a fraction of the western price!!! We find one too as we needs to get some clothes made for our friends wedding in Sri Lanka, it is fun to find fabric, bargain like mad and think of models....now cross fingers, we will get some clothes on time and with a good fit!!! We go for dinner in the port, and it is great to chill out....

19/03
After breakfast, we go for a stroll in the market, the heat is hard to bear already so we sat by shopping around for caps and t-shirt!! I end up buying a bag crumpler and manage to upset the shopkeeper with my hard bargaining!!! We go to do some fitting at the tailor, few adjustements to make but the results are good already and so quick!!! We also go to another tailor to get some dresses made for Val, the girls there are smiley and friendly, it is refreshing....
The heat is hard so we sneak in the hotel close to ours for a swim and chilling out next to the pool, it is gerat to unwind here. Simple dinner then we walk around town, strolling through the lantern-lit streets is like walking into a fairytale. It is all the more picturesque since motor vehicles are banned from Hoi An's Old Quarter. There are so many lantern shops and unique lights in the streets, people here experiment with new shapes and materials, including lights made from hollow bamboo tubes, we both like it very much. We go to bed early as we have to wake up for 5 am as we are going on a tour...

20/03
After a very short night and a near catastrophe, we're on the mini-bus that going to take us to the My Son (pronounced me-sun) temples. It's 5.20am and we've nearly missed the van our alarm clock (or our ears) failing miserably. It does not take us more than 5 minutes to get ready, the puzzled and completely sleepy hotel portier waiting for us to get out of the room. What a mad rush...
It's a small group of 8 people. The site is considered here as the local Angkor, remains from the kingdom of Champa. We get very excited at this thought. Once at the temples, built by Cham emperors, we learn that not much is left of them. First time did a bit of work, then the American bombs finished off the job. A European archeologist even sent a letter to Nixon to end the endless bombing of the temples, at that time considered as a backline for the Viet Cong guerilla. It's a nice setting though and we peacefully walk around the little remains of what would have been an Hindu influenced splendor. The site is deserted as we're the first one in, way before the assaults of big tourist coaches. It is really worth it. In the background, the rising fog slowly unveils the 'Beautiful Mountain' (translation of My Son). It is beautiful indeed.
We gather again in the bus and go back to town. Today is sightseeing day and we buy the old town heritage building visit tickets. We visit some historical houses in the old town, dark woods everywhere, colonial houses, little temples,pagodas. All the houses were made of rare wood, decorated with lacquered boards and panels engraved with Chinese characters. Pillars were carved with ornamental designs. Hoi An emerged when Japanese and Chinese traders built a commercial district there in the 16th century and you can really feel the fusion of influences here, amazing. The original structure of some streets still remains almost intact today and you sometimes feel back in time. Tan Ky house has been owned by the same family for 7 generations, with little alterations to its original design. We then visit a couple of temples, the ceramic trade museum (the building being the attraction, not its content) and the traditional art and craft museum. It's around 1pm and everyone in Vietnam takes a big break around lunch time...but the shops are still open. It's rather fun tiptoeing in a shop in order not to wake up the shopkeeper (who by the way cannot try a forced sale on us as he's asleep!). We have some lunch rather late and go hide in our air-con'ed hotel room for a bit as it is now really hot. Dinner and off to bed. Tomorrow is an exciting day for me, I'm going to learn a bit of vietnamese cooking! Yummy!

21/03
This morning is also an early start for me. I've booked a cooking class at the Red Bridge, a well known restaurant in Hoi An. I really wanted to learn how to do good fresh spring rolls and a couple of other things...These are one of my little sin and I could eat hundreds of them. Val stays at the hotel but gets up early too. It's fitting-adjustments day for her at the tailor!
In the hot morning I go to Hai Cafe to meet up with the guide who takes us-we're a small group but very international- around the market to show us the fresh products we will use during the class and do some side business as any good guide/tout/tourism trade people all do! We then hop on a boat for a short sailing trip to the Red Bridge, located up the river in the rice paddies. We get to see fishermen skilfully and beautifully throwing the circular net in the air, some other collecting the very little shells (snails) we saw many time being sold by old ladies around town. It is a delicacy patiently savoured by the locals.
The cooking class is fun, the chef punctuating the tuition by little canny jokes. I get to meet two girls, one American, Brendy heading to Hong Kong and an Aussie on vacation. The class is fun and very interesting. Cooking our little dishes, we munch them in between two recipies. We then have a great 3 courses lunch with some fresh lemon juice. The location is beautiful, rice paddies one side, the herb garden on another, the local fishermen rowing boats on the river as a background. Time to get back and catch up with my beautiful wife around 1.30pm. She's also been very active this morning.
She went to the tailor for the fittings. As there was only a couple of things to do, the young shop assistant took her to the workshop a bit further out of town. She enjoyed the ride and chats with the witty girl who has big plans for the future. She just needs to work to finance it and wants to become a teacher. Val enjoyed meeting some girls, having an insight into the tailor trade, it was fun apparently. We talk while strolling around town, looking at the people, the kids playing on the pedestrian streets. We both notice that there are loads of kids running around throughout Vietnam. They are not ultra protected behind close doors. During our trip here we got to see many of them, free of movement, but the parents still very close but somehow withdrawn. No barrier, no tension like in Europe. Everybody seems to look after everyone else's progeniture. It is a fabulous feeling of freshness and naivity. We smile... We soon do a bit more shopping, and a pair of made-to-measure sandals later we're back at the hotel. We rest a bit before going out for dinner on the harbour, at the foodstalls. Mr Hi, table number 5, remember! table number 5!!!!! He keeps saying! We sadly pack, we liked this mustard coloured walls houses and little town a lot. Lights off, tomorrow we're back in Val's favourite bus!

22/03
Wake up early as we take the bus to Hue this morning. We go to get our free breakie in the posh sister hotel. We then get our bags and get on the bus. It is another one of the sleeper bus, more recent but the legroom is even shorter than the one we had to get to Hoi An. I am completely cramped and can't even stretch my legs. Luckily enough the journey is only 3.5 hours (for 130km!), Vietnam style. Which means once again ten stops in the middle of nowhere, a 30 mins lunch break at 10.30am which in reality is 1 hour. Anyway, we get to Hue, and as soon as the bus stops, a swarm of touts trying to sell their hotel get onboard. No real room to get off and take our bag. It is really hot today and it takes a few minutes and upset touts (I tend to be polite but reckless with them!) before we're off to our little pick of the day, Huang Hong, a little guesthouse, very cheap, but quiet, tucked in a cul-de-sac, where the air is stranglely enough quite fresh. A simple room with two double beds(!), a basic bathroom and a fan. What do you need, hey?! We go for a quick lunch and come back to the room to relax and to let the heat go down a little. It is actually around 38 degres and it is hard!!! We decide to go for a walk around 5pm to see the town but most of the old sites are inside the citadel, we stroll around, the city is busy and not so pelasant despite the lakes and river. Val feels weak tonight, dizzy and we decide to get a take away and eat in the room tonight....

23/03
We wake up early to sort out our trip to Hanoi and go and visit the citadel before the heat, it is supposed to be 38 degres today...again!! I go and find us some train tickets for this afternoon as we are not so keen on staying here for long, the city in itself has not hooked us. After a lovely breakfast on the terrace at the guesthouse, we walk to the citadel, along the Perfume river, a long walk, busy town, many scooters, the heat is already difficult to bear and we are both feeling tired ! We reach the Citadel, a city whithin the city, old ramparts, 10 km long wall where the majority of the people live...Nice to see that for once, the town even a cultural one doesn't belong to the tourists but is still a REAL town... The sights are beautiful, imperial enclosure, Chinese temples, palace, amazing pavilions, little lakes,a forbidden city for the emperor, the residences of the queen, few elephants in a garden etc etc... it feels very Chinese here again, this capital of the Nguyen Emperors. We forget the touts for 3 hours, walk around this secluded place, funny enough we catch up with a Malay guy I met during the cooking class...It is already noon and hot...we decide to head back to the guesthouse to get some food and go to the station. After a bad lunch, we check out, and let the lady from the guesthouse sort out some mortobikes for us. She ends up driving me, hard to say stable at the back of a scooter with a 20 kgs rucksack!!! We leave Hue with no regret, happy to have seen the sights, the lovely citadel but not convinced by the city, specially after magical Hoi An.
The sleeper train for Hanoi is supposed to leave at 3 pm, we wait, wait, few Westerners and many Vietnamese until 4 pm when the train appears...we discover we are not in the normal sleeper 2nd class as we wanted but in a posher coach!!!
Well actually there are no Vietnamese people here and the air con is not working...Great...after crap bus journey here comes the train journey!!!
We are both melting, asking the staff to sort out the air con, it keeps stopping...oh joy...Val talks to some English people in the luxury carriage, next to ours, it is soooo much cooler there...The staff members come to the next cabin and start smoking drinking beers and play loud music...it is getting a bit too much for Val, we paid more to avoid crazy night bus and it will take longer to reach Hanoi but we were hoping to sleep!!! Action is necessary here!!
We chat to the guy in charge of the luxury carriage and he offers us an upgrade, cash in hand of course and unofficial!!! We move to a luxury cabin, just for the two of us, a risk as we might get kicked out in the middle of the night as we have no real tickets...but will see....
Feels so much better...we go for a stroll in the train, chat to the 4 English guys next to us and finally relax...the night might be good in the end! We should reach Hanoi around 4-5 am.

Mui Ne

12/03
We leave HCM around 9am, hard to get up as we went out so late last night...We wait for a while for the bus that takes us to Mui Ne. We arrive around 1pm, a long trip, we see the country, the bus ride is crazy...vietnamese driving...but we go along with the flow, we then walk struggling with our bags to find a nice place on the beach, many of them but expensive...finally we discover a cheap little resort with nice wooden bungalows, quite basic but very near the beach, with hammocs on it and a nice vibe. Then as we check in, we discover it is full of kitesurfers!!!! Some pros come here to surf and stay for months...a fit atmosphere here!!! Boys and girls with amaxzing bodies around...The town itself just consists of one main road, with small hotels spaced some distance apart, punctuated by small restaurants and tiny souvenir shops. Nice enough but not much to do...it will be perfect for a little break.

13/03
Fab decides to learn kitesurfing and today is the start of his training, he spends most of the day on the beach learning to control the kite, on land instead of learning in the water, there are many kites here and it is nice to see them floating, flying...like butterflies in the sky...The beach here is shaping up to be the kiteboarding center of South East Asia, with waves and wind year-round!!
I am also impressed by the skills and style of the kiters, I notice many people doing the same as me, being distracted from their book and spending hours watching them....I go for a walk along the beach, an amazing 10kms of white sand beach with red dunes around. Fab comes back, he had fun but there is a lot to take in, we go for a walk, we see a really beautiful sunset, the colours are vivid here and the sky is red, burning, then pink, then mauve...amazing views...

14/03
Fab spends most of his day hoping for less wind to continue his kitesurfing training, I read, we go for lunch, we walk, then it is dinner time again...the day goes quickly, not doing much, dreaming, observing the pros in the water. We go for a stroll along the street and discover that Mui Ne is full of shops and restaurants, many for Russian tourists...funny, there are many Russians here on holidays, as they don't need a visa to get here and it is easy and cheap for them....It is lively but seems artificial, a little resort created for the tourists. The day goes like that, we chat with the lady in our resort, she has a little dog Coco, she loves him to bit, funny to watch her play with him, treats him like a baby...Again our impressions of Vietnamese people are very different from what we've heard, people are nice, smiling, direct, yes, but nothing more than the French!!!

15/03
Another quiet day again on the beach in Mui Ne, Fab continues his kitesurfing training, we walked in the morning, early before the waves arrive so we can swim. I spend my day, reading in the hammoc, watching the kitesurfers, the wind, the long beach. We chat with some French people here for the weekend, Mui Ne is a popular place for expats at the weekend, they come for the sports and the beach and it is only 4-5 hours from Saigon...convenient...Benjamin is working in Saigon and has some friends visiting, nice to chat, to talk about life in Vietnam as an expat, seems like a good experience to be living in Asia.

16/03
Our last day here as we have decided to move again ad go to Hoi An in the centre of the country, slowly making our way up to Hanoi...another day on the beach for me, hot day, wind, waves, walk, swim, reading in the hammoc, I start feelin restless and realise that I cannot be still for more than few days...funny this tension between sightseeing, discovering and chilling out...we both feel we should move on, see more, explore more and at the same time, we want to stay put...Weird...and still unresolved...
Fab is in the water, kitesurfing, I observe him, struggling with his board, succeeding with the wind, the kite, up, down, sometimes, he even starts to rise off the water, trying to steady the kite overhead with one hand while holding the board with his other and trying to wiggle his feet into the board's foot straps. Interesting!!!! At the end of the day, he manages to kite for a bit, he is happy of his achievements and full of adrenaline, it is a good sport, he likes it and wants to do some more...good good... last dinner in a cheap place on the beach, and off to bed, tomorrow morning we are up early...

17/03
Last morning on the beach before taking the bus for Hoi An at 1pm...we rise early, go for a walk, a swim, it is so nice to stroll on the sunny beach....it was nice to be here chilling out for few days, being quiet and resting...now another adventure starts...an 18 hours bus journey up to Hoi An....We say our goodbyes to Saiho and her dog, it was nice to be in this relaxed atmosphere and head to the bus with Mike a Canadian guy, kitesurfer who has been staying here too....one of the pros...he gave Fab some useful tips and is on his way to another beach before heading home...the first part of the journey is fine, 6 hours in the sleeping bus, until Nha Trang, another beach place, funny to be lying down during the day, the bus is quiet, few people, I listen to the iPod, Fab chats with Mike and it goes quickly, watching the country, staring out the window at rice-fields, and Mui Ne's sunshine fading behind us...The bus driver is mad again, crazy ride towards Nha Trang...We reach this city at 6.30pm, we have 1/2 hour break to eat, go to the loo then jump in another one this time for 12 hours to reach the centre of the country...HELL...We say goodbye to Mike, then find ourselves in a bus packed full of bunkbeds! The beds are very small, typically built on an ‘Asian’ size scale, the over-night trip is completely stuffed, making an uncomfortable night nearly unbearable. There is a mix of Vietnamese and travellers, we may be 30 people here, the drivers shout I feel very anxious and hate it...trying to stay positive as it is all part fo the experience but I already know it is going to be a sleepless night for me...Fab seems a bit more Ok despite the size of the bed...The bus makes a dozens of stops for all sorts of unknown reasons during the night...Picking up people and cargo in the middle of a dark night was the norm for the rest of the evening. Crammed people sleeping on the floor, bags around us, one driver close to Fab in a hammoc and...to finish: a girl pucks just behing us!!!!! HELL!!! Her friends try to clean it up but we wil have to put up with vomit smell for 12 hours...I feel slightly unsane and agitated!!!! I try to remember it’s just a test of patience and Buddhist calm!! No sleep of course, Fab manages to sleep few hours...Quite a funny scene at sunrise when I am able to survey the whole disorganised lots, but I am rewarded by an amazing sunrise close to Hoi an, rice fields, red sun rising slowly...it feels peaceful...so glad to arrive!!!

Ho Chi Minh City - Saigon

9/03
We spend the day in planes, a stopover in Singapore then arrive in Saigon-Ho Chi Minh around 7pm, we get our visa checked, and then get into a taxi to our hostel in the backpacker area. There are millions of cars and motorcycles in the streets, a noisy mad city, but the vibe is great...We are both tired by the day and amazed by the busyness and hectiness of this place...An hour later, we arrive at our little guesthouse in a small alleyway, Bich Duyen. A small windowless room awaits us, it is going to be our little home here for few days. We go out around the corner for a bowl of pho (rice noodle soup with meat) and are stunned by the city, it is full of people, 11 millions of human beings here....and tons of noise....after that quick meal, off to bed as we want to visit and to explore tomorrow...

10/03
We tour Ho Chi Minh today, the city is hot, hectic, millions of motos in the streets, a complete chaos but again a great vibe. We go and see the market, the Ben Thanh Market, shops, food, clothes, a real mix, we stroll around the busy people and have some lunch in one of the many food stalls, nice to sit so close to the ground and chill out despite the heat...a good colourful market, full of many things...
The warm weather is different from Bali but still so hot...After this break, we continue to explore the city, visit Notre-Dame cathedral, built by the French, the nice old colonial post office and walk to the Chinese quarter to see the Jade Emperor Pagoda, a nice Chinese temple, a colourful pagoda, filled with statues in papier-mache, woodcarving, many burning sticks of encens, people come here to pray, to give offerings but also to rest in the courtyard and escape the rumble of motorbikes and noise.
We also visit the war museum, all about the American war, we learn about the mines, the chemicals, napalm, the terrible agent orange, the mad US bombings amd massacres...a terrible war, traumatic for both sides but with terrible effects still visible here: areas being defoliated, children being born deformed and disabled...still now, a horrible cost for many future generations. The museum is a traumatic place with haunting pictures of massacre, disabled children, horrible tortures...it is hot and I feel dizzy, the shock of seeing this horror and the heat...I have to sit down and rest for a bit , drinking an entire bottle of water!!
Of course it is one-sided but still shows us the tragic legacy of this war...
We walk back past the Reunification Palace, again Ho Chi Minh is intense, busy as hell, the rumble of millions of motorbikes around us, a mad metropolis. Most inhabitants refer to it as 'Saigon', the pre-reunification name. Since the city fell to the North Vietnamese Communists in 1975, the city's name was changed to Ho Chi Minh City, after the heroic founder of the Vietnamese Communist Party.
We go for a rest then it is time for dinner around our area Pham Ngu Lao, there are many shops, hostels, cafes, it is very lively, we lose ourselves here but in a nice way, it feels peaceful despite the crazyness around us. Our first impressions are good, we were worried as so many travellers were put off by Vietnam, Vietnamese people are full on but nice, direct but not too pushy and we cannot feel this aggressivity we were told of... Yes, true, the constant sounds and smells of hectic Asian city life combined with the hazy, damp heat has an effect on us, an intense sensory overload but a good one somehow.

11/03
Today we book a tour with a small group to go and visit two things: the Cao Dai temple and the Cu Chi tunnels. The Cao Dai temple is part of a Vietnamese sect that seeks to create the perfect religion by fusing the secular and religious philosophies of both East and West. We drive for few hours before reaching the temple, very colourful, we see the noon prayer: few hundred people pray in white dress, there are amazing murals, with some pictures of eyes, their representation of God everywhere, lots of colours, sounds...we see some portraits of Confucius, Buddha, Jesus, a melting pot of religions...weird...it is nice to get out of Saigon and see around, vivid rice fields. We then reach Cu Chi after a quick lunch, we chat to the people in our group, an Aussie couple, a Brit girl, an Austrian guy and another from Singapore, all nice and friendly travellers.
Around Cu Chi, there has been intense bombing, destruction during the war. The tunnel network of Cu Chi is very famous, there were more than 250 kms of tunnel, they made comunication possible between the different Viet Cong controlled areas and allowed for surpise attacks against the Americans...this zone was heavily bombed, defoliated, gassed and devastated during the war...It was an amazing achievement considering it was dug by hand and during bloody conflicts. We visit some renovated parts of the tunnel, it has been enlarged to allow tourists in, we see the camouflaged kitchen with no smoke, the tunnels. I go in, so narrow but Fab feels a bit too claustrophobic to get inside...they are only 1.2 metres high...imagine what the real 90cm ones would have been...we imagine the VC guerilla living here and fighting and the American boys arriving in this heat and fighting them...
We go back to crazy Saigon and decide to go out all together as we all get along well. We meet up for dinner, have some drinks, end up sharing a table with some locals who treat us to some local delicacies: dried cuttlefish, salted fish, water snails, and so on...a funny little bar, wher we stay close to many scooters and motos, fells like being in a garage but in the heat and outside...weird but nice! A great jolly mood and festive night out....nice to be with many people to share about our lifes, our culture, a real melting pot tonight, stories about travels, other countries, experiences....laughter and drinks!!!

Ubud, Bali

01/03
We leave Nigel and Nikki around 6am: a little hard after a very short night and lots of wine yesterday. Very kindly Nigel leads us up to the highway. A good half hour drive later we reach the Brisbane airport, the sun shines, it is our last moments in Australia, just a bit sad to leave and we will not be in Western countries before a long time... We return the car and board our plane to Singapore, the day will be long, we'll make a Singapore stopover and another flight back to Bali, a 10 hour journey! It's pleasant to fly this morning, we have space, we can sleep, watch movies, eat, more movies, eat again. A quick stop for a Singapore stopover. Two hours in the airport, we connect to the free airport internet whilst waiting for the next departure, then another flight to Bali. We arrive at 7.30pm. We have organised a pick up from the airport to the villa that takes us to our new accomodation: we are staying in 'luxury' this week, my friend Nona from Jakarta has negotiated for us a nice little villa in quiet Ubud, a mountain town in the middle of rice paddies and also the artistic and cultural centre of Bali. It's hot, the thick and humid air wraps us and I feel the next two days will be hard! We reach our home for the next 9 days in the village of Nyuhkuning, next to the Monkey Forest. The villa is lovely, beautiful Balinese architecture, a swimming pool shared between 4 villas, air conditioning, a small tropical garden, dark Balinese wood furniture. We are delighted and pleased to have a place for ourselves! A quick dinner and then bedtime, we are tired and the humid air is hard to cope with!

02/03
We rest this morning and then decide to go explore the city, to get a feeling of the town and discover this place! We are close to the Monkey Forest, we cross it to reach Ubud, a dense forest inhabited by macaks monkeys. The shaddy trail goes through the forest, a funny little jungle! I begin to stress about the dogs... There are millions of stray and ferral dogs in Bali, wild, ill and in a pretty bad state... It's a real pleasure for me who fears these animals! However, they are not really aggressive and I will quickly get used to them...
Strolling in Ubud, we find shops everywhere. Ubud is quite touristic, but clean, a pretty prosperous village.
It is the end of the monsoon season, the humidity is very high, about 80 percent and we struggle a little to adjust. We walk around town, through the streets and side alleys, we stop for lunch in a warong (the local cafes), rest, then a little more exploration of the city. The houses are beautiful, temples magnificent, the sens of ornament, of decoration is present everywhere in Bali. We enter villas and family compounds, admire the splendor of the Balinese gardens, a mix of species, colors and contrasts. Superb! Altars are everywhere, in and around all buildings, street corners, in front of the shops, on rooftops and roof terraces, simple offerings everywhere for the Nature, Gods, Spirits and Human celebrations. Walls, gates and doorways are all carved, orned, family temples are visible in each house, pavillion, altars, the Hindu influence is everywhere. Balinese Hinduism is very specific, a true conglomerate of indigenous beliefs, of Buddhism and Shivaism of Indian origins. The worship of natural elements is very strong, as we see in the ritual of the offerings: small package presented to the gods of the house, the weaving of palm leaves containing flowers and seeds. A real expression of Balinese art, the smoke of incense floating above our small altar in the villa day... beautiful! The beauty of gestures, of flowers, of these simple but meaningful offerings touches us greatly. It inspires reverence, but also serenity. After this beautiful walk, we rest a little, swim in the villa pool and then walk again into town for dinner. It's fun to cross the forest at night, a little scary but really fun actually!! The monkeys sleep and I control my fear of dogs with little difficulty...hanging to Fab's arms!! Nice dinner in a local cafe then time to return home.

03/03
A quiet day, relaxing, pool, walk in Ubud, which we really like, we explore new corners, we see some rice fields, just out of town, chat with Balinese people affable and smiling. We also chat with our neighbours, an English couple travelling, excahnging some tips and ideas. We both want to see the island, see everything, explore each temple but decide to chill out this week and live at the Balinese time, being in serene Ubud. We discover a nice place to eat, Dewa Warong, good local cheap food with shared tables, a place to share, which will become our canteen. We meet some French, Dutch, Belgian people, a slightly alternative atmosphere floats around, travelers from all corners of the planet put together here. We like it!

04/03
Quiet morning, we chat with our neighbours, discuss Bali, an island which seems quite elusive, beautiful and complex. We decide to hire a scooter to go a little further. We leave the villa around noon to reach some villages, the village of Mas, a village of wood carvers and furniture, and Celuk, a small village of goldsmiths, disappointing. We go through some poor villages, dogs are ill, there is rubbish in the streets, and this humidity,wetness of Asia, but flowers are everywhere, at every street corner, a luxuriant vegetation ... We reach Mas, looking for furniture and wood work, a little disappointing, factories and shops along the streets, but little sculpture...just Balinese furniture in large quantity, very nice but not what we are looking for. We visit two antique shops, but are reasonable, we are on a traveller's budget!!!Same in the silversmith village, disapointing, jewelry are all the same, bad styles for tourists. We go back to Ubud to get a massage, Balinese massage is offered at every corner here!!! We go to a small spa that was recommended to us, a very pleasant hour and a half, very relaxing! The rain is suddenly torrential, funny to have a massage and hear the water flowing on the roofs (alang alang), we get back to the scooter and in time to reach our canteen Dewa, are completely wet up to our underwears!! The monsoon rain again and again!! Nice dinner again, we chat to some Belgian and a Dutch, the tables are so convenient to share, exchange, and have a great meal!! When we leave, we run into a French couple met few days ago. A place definitely cool, the food is excellent, the nasi goreng, Nasi Campur or the gado gado, all the local dishes are fresh and good. A delice and so cheap! I start eating vegetarian agan, the Indonesian cuisine is full of soy or tempeh, very healthy... After a convivial evening, we go back to our beautiful villa, this time in scooter! Crossing the Forest seems longer in scooter that by foot that night, strange ... but the monkeys are sleeping and we see very few dogs!

05/03
Early start: we drive to Padang Bay, a long ride up to this small port city. Padang bay is not a success for us, a small port with ferries going to Lombok, many restaurants, plenty of diving clubs but quite disappointing. lots of driving to see an area that we don't connect with, shame...We meet a French couple there and have lunch together, they have spent 9 months in Australia, and are travelling in Asia, they are disappointed with Bali, we tell them about Ubud, talk, exchange tips and impressions, nice. We then drive to Sidemen , a village in the rice fields, recommended by a couple in Dewa, two days ago. A very nice ride through villages, beautiful scenery, tiny rice fields clinging onto the side of the mountains, a highly sophisticated landscape of rice terraces, it's a pretty spectacular ride. Farmers work hard, we can observe the cultivation of rice, its different stages, fascinating. The sky becomes threatening, we leave for Semarapura-Klunggkung to visit Gosa Kerta, the masterpiece of Balinese architecture, a courthouse with beautiful wood panelling, painted ceilings, wooden pavilions. We want to avoid the rain, but it is impossible, a rainstorm hits us!! I like the rain in Asia, violent, strong and intense. We get soaked head to foot, when we reach the villa, the streets are innundated!!! Fab is doing really well driving the scooter in mud and puddles! He is now driving like a local, using the horn, every 5 minutes!
Short break at home to get warm and then we go to see a Balinese dance performance, an episode of the Ramayana this great Indian epic, the episode of the abduction of Sita by Rawana. There are different types of dance in Bali, we decided to go see the Kecak. There is a chorus of men sitting in a circle, chanting and scanding the scenes, words and gestures are apparently designed to exorcise evil spirits. These are vocal percussions without music, the pace is very strong, powerful, supported by undulating movements and the body lexicon-vocabulary really impresses us. The dancers are supported by these singers, the dances are graceful, with beautiful fabrics, brocade of green, red, some diadems. Each movement is one of great precision and of technical perfection, the movements of the wrists, hands are fascinating. It is truly beauiful, fingers are pointed out, so much flexibility! We then go for dinner at Dewa, find Ariane and Alain, our couple from Montpellier, Alain is a sculptor, who does some land art, and Ariane is very much into India, spirituality , yoga, we share and chat with joy. Dewa is as usual so friendly, everyone chat, relax and eat well!! A must! I wonder what it would be like to spend few months here, Bali is full of yoga, meditation classes and I slowly reconnect with my spiritual search...all about reconnecting the mind and the body. A good atmosphere, quite spiritual here and I really like it...

06/03
We decide to go walk in the rice fields throughout the small villages, despite my fear of dogs, dogs are everywhere here and in quantity! It is very hot this morning but after a good breakfast and chat with our neighbours John and Mary Louise, an English couple who are travelling in Asia after living 8 years in Hong Kong and Malaysia, originally from Streatham, very close to home!!!!! It makes us smile to think of London. We reach a temple Pura Ungegen Lebah, between two rivers, we walk the slopes of alang alang grass, the grass used for the thatched roof houses. The path-trail is nice, we finally get to Bangkiang Sidem , a small village, enjoy the view over the rice fields, visit the temple of the village, always very well maintained, very beautiful. A wall divides the various sacred spaces, everything is decorated, sculpture everywhere, mythological figures, gods are all there. We then continue on to Keliki, a village of painters, a little bit disappointing tho. The Balinese reproduce in mass Hindu images or lifestyles scenes, thinking that is what tourists want. There is little originality in what we see, each stall has the same paintings. The sun is very strong, we then decide to return home, have lunch in an organic cafe, chat with another neighbour, an American Morgan, a musician who lives here. We then go to a yoga class: the first one for Fab! The course is organised in a villa, in an outdoor studio overlooking the rice paddies, beautiful! The class is nice, despite the thousands of mosquitoes that attack us! Fab appreciates the mental and physical relaxation provided by the postures, I reconnect with yoga, with joy, despite my lack of flexibility: a rich and relaxing time. We go to Dewa warung, our canteen, which unfortunately is closed for one day! Drama! We decide to have dinner next door. a bad choice....the food is not the same, by chance we see Alain and Ariane, chat, have a beer, exchange our details, we hope to catch up aghain on Sunday night before we leave Bali. Then back to our scooter and villa for sleeping.

07 \ 03
Up early to go shopping, we go to Sukawati, a city with an art market, an active city, we do some shopping and then go to Mas again to llok for some wood furniture, but find nothing....The thunder rumbles, a monsoon rain is coming, we leave for Ubud. A short break at home to leave our bags, then go for lunch in our little organic cafe, a salad, some internet, we book a guesthouse in Ho Chi Minh, then go foir a walk in Ubud before going for another massage. We asre temtpd to buy some batiks, the ikat from Bali, the richness of Balinese fabrics is amazing but stay reasonnable again! The joys of Balinese massage, an hour massage, very relaxing, a small dinner and then off to bed early. We want to enjoy Sunday, it is our last day here!

08/03
I wake up very early, around 6 pm, spend an hour quiet before Fab rises. We have breakfast, talk with two U.S. ladies from Hawaii, here to do a retreat. We then go to the market, do some shopping, haggling like crazy. Fab go for a pedicure, we then had lunch at Dewa, then run to the post office. It's Sunday, but we are lucky, it's open: a parcel has to be sent home again we must be light and we are not!!Our bags are so heavy!! I then go to a yoga class, at the yoga barn, the studio is always pleasant, overlooking the rice fields, a moment of relaxation and to myself. Fab during this time, go for a ride in the surrounding villages, get lost in the rice paddies and small, witnessing some rural life scenes, very unique. We go for our final dinner at Dewa with Alain and Ariane, we share our impressions on the island, our feelings, talk about a study on water and its receptivity to emotions and intentions .... well a very nice dinner. Back to our scooter, and then we have to pack again....hell!!!tomorrow ... we leave for Saigon...

09/03
Last breakfast in the villa, with John and Marie Louise, we chat about London, life in Asia, their experience in India, Hong Kong, a nice breakfast, we exchange our emails, and we hope to catch up in England, a nice encounter... Departure for Denpasar and the airport, we chat with Made our driver, we talk about the local rituals, the difficulties to survive here, especially since the bombing and the decrease in tourism. We speak about Hinduism, as most other islands in Indonesia are Muslim, it is fairly unique here...an interesting time .... we leave Bali with regret, a beautiful island, diverse, rich, complex, far from the cliches of a tropical paradise: a strong culture, spirituality highly integrated in daily life and close to nature ... we want to come back here, but longer, maybe...A beautiful and gentle introduction to Asia before Vietnam ....